Santa Paula Little League Baseball

If you want to be one of the best hitters in the Santa Paula Little League (SPLL) scroll down further. A lot of the other information about the league is right here on this page.

SPLL is an officially sanctioned league of Little Leauge Baseball. It's a baseball league for boys and girls ages 5 - 14 who live in and around the Santa Paula Little League district boundaries (see below) that plays between the months of March through June, with All-Stars extending the time of play for certain select players for at least one tournament and maybe more. For the 12 & Under (11 & 12 only) all-star team and the 13-14 year old all-star team this could culminate as late as August if they were to qualify for the Little League World Series.

Scroll through the page for all the information about Santa Paula Little League or use these links to take you to the information you want.

When and where to sign up for SPLL baseball?

Does my child have to try-out?

What Age Group is your child in?

Where do you need to live?

What does it cost?

Is there any fundraising required?

What about sponsorships?

How is Umpiring done in Little League and how can I be one?

How to become a coach?

Who to Contact (People in charge of league)

History of the Santa Paula Little League

How are All-Stars Chosen?

Is there a Fall League (Fall Ball)?

Hitting Coaches in the Area

Pitching Coaches in the Area

Catching Coaches in the Area

High School Baseball in the Area

College Baseball in the Area

Batting Cages in the Area

When and Where to Sign Up

Sign-ups for Santa Paula Little League Baseball take place the one eveing in December and at least 3 dates in January.

The signups are at the snack bar at the Santa Paula Little League ball fields located at George Harding Park, 1400 E. Harvard Blvd.

Tryouts

The day you sign up you will be told when your child will tryout. It will be by age group. Tryouts are only if they're going to play in the 10 and under division (Minors) and above.

This is nothing to fear. Regardless of ability, every kid gets to play. Tryouts are a way to try to let the coaches get a view of each of the kid's strengths and weaknesses so as to hopefully even out the teams as much as possible.

They will rate them on their ability to field grounders, catch fly balls, hit and throw. Pitchers and catchers are not tested on this day. They will just be assigned a team and tell their coaches of their desire to play those positions. They will not need to slide during tryouts.

What Age Group is your kid in?

The age cut off is May 1st of the year the league is playing. So even if your child will turn a certain age during the league, but their birthday is May 1 or after they will be considered the age they are as of April 30th for "league age" purposes. (For example, my son will be 11 in July, 2007, but will play as a league age 10, as he will still be 10 on May 1st.)

There are leagues for T-ball, 6 years old and younger (league age), Farm (a machine pitch league), 8 and under, Minors, 10 and under, Majors, 12 and under, and Juniors, 14 and under. While exeptions are made to these brackets, it's rare and not encouraged. They are normally granted based on similar skill sets of the player to the league they would best match. This can go in both directions, but players playing down are ineligible to make all-stars and normally face pitching restrictions.

Where can you live to be in Santa Paula Little League Baseball?

The league is very strict as to players playing within their league's boundaries. You will have to present 2 forms of verification of the address the kid lives over 50% of the time (utility bills, etc).

The Santa Paula Little League boundaries are the city limits of Santa Paula.

What does it cost?

It is $100. This covers the league fees and includes a hat and team jersey.

Is there any fundraising required?

In efforts to keep fees relatively low for people, the league relies on money coming in from snack bar sales, fundraising, and sponsoring teams. To keep the burden off of just a few people everyone is encouraged to help out in any way they can, including fundraising.

Every player will be encouraged to either sell one box of candy or you can opt out of this by paying half of the price of the box of candy.

What about sponsorships?

A great way to help the league raise money is getting businesses to sponsor teams. The businesses get to help the community's kids and get some advertising in return.

If you're a business person or know of someone who is, contact the person in charge of the league. You can find them under Who to Contact (People in charge of league)

How is Umpiring done in the league and how can I be one?

The Santa Paula Little League stands in the deep tradition of Little League Baseball using volunteers to umpire the games. While there are a committed few who do a large part of this work, they are always looking for more helpers and every team is encouraged to have one or two of their parents assigned to umpiring other games than their own children's.

Call the league at (805) 525-6813 and they'd be glad to get you involved and even provide training.

How to become a coach?

Coaches are chosen to coach in the Santa Paula Little League from the group of people who sign up to be a coach. You need to fill out an application and be reviewed by the board of directors. Background checks are performed on people who will interact with the kids.

Preference is given to returning coaches, but there is always room for new coaches. Former players are especially encouraged to apply, as are parents, but neither is a requirement.

Who to Contact

Officers of the league are voted upon each year and serve one year. And they can be re-elected for succesive one year terms if voted upon to do so.

For this year's Santa Paula Little League's officers visit this website and click on board members.

History of the League

The Santa Paula Little League was very proud to have celebrated its 50th birthday in 2006.

The league began in 1956 on the playground of Barbara Webster School in Santa Paula and moved a year later to its present location at George Harding Park. The park property was formerly the grounds for the annual Santa Paula Rodeo, which began in 1939 and ended in the early 1950’s. Santa Paula civic leader George L. Harding and the Santa Paula Junior Chamber of Commerce made the arrangements for the Little League to find a permanent home at Harding Park in 1957.

How are All-Stars Chosen in SPLL?

In the Minors, Majors, and Juniors, each kid in the league picks who they feel are the 9 best players and 1 coach to coach all-stars. The top 9 from all the votes make the team and the coach that is chosen chooses 3 more players to round out their team.

Is there a Fall League (Fall Ball)?

While there have been Fall Leagues in the past sponsored by Santa Paula Little League Baseball, there is currently no such league. The closest Fall League is in Oxnard/Port Hueneme.

There is a tournament held in Ventura at the Montalvo LL fields in October, but these are for teams that don't sign up the same way as the league does and is not endorsed by the Santa Paula Little League, although some of the players in the league will be participating. Full teams are formed and enter as a team rather than individuals signing up and getting assigned a team.

The teams are responsible for coming up with the fees, equipment and uniforms. This can be done by sponsorships, fundraising, and player fees and varies from team to team how much they spend or require you to come up with.

Teams actually come from all over to play in this fall tournament. Teams from Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Paula and Fillmore, Ojai, Carpinteria, Santa Barbara and Goleta, and as far away as the San Fernando Valley.

The teams are guaranteed 3 games minimum with pool play followed by a championship bracket. Games are played on the Montalvo Little League fields.

If you're interested in playing, the best way is to find a team or create a team. Going to the parks nearby when you see kids practicing or asking around as to who is forming teams is also a good way.

If you have a team you'd like to enter in the tournament or if you have questions, you can contact Chris Russell at 654-4141.

Hitting Coaches in the Area

Fortunately for you, if this is your league and you want to hit better than you do now or need more personalized instruction than your team coaches can give you you have Andy Collins, the Internet Hitting Coach, available to you. He lives in Ventura and has a batting cage at his house.

While some may find that a bit of a drive other Santa Paula Little Leaguers are becoming much better hitters with his instruction.

Phone: (805) 642-5827

Pitching Coaches in the Area

Coach Andy also works with Little League age pitchers establishing proper throwing mechanics for acurate and safe throwing. Only fast balls and change ups are taught along with pitch location and the mental aspects of pitching for the more advanced players.

Phone: (805) 642-5827

Catching Coaches in the Area

Coach Andy Collins has taught many of the top catchers in the area. Many of whom have gone to college on scholarships. His top students have been All-League in High School, have caught for teams participating in national tournaments, with one acheiving 3-time All-National honors. And all of them that work with him for any length of time make the league all-stars for the surrounding leagues, as well.

Phone: (805) 642-5827

High School Baseball in the Area

Santa Paula High School benefits the most from the Santa Paula Little League program. Although some players go to the private schools like St. Bonaventure in Ventura, Santa Clara in Oxnard, and Oaks Christian in Thousand Oaks. Each of these schools have Varsity and Junior Varsity baseball teams.

This is a perfectly legitimate way to extend the love of baseball you received from Santa Paula Little League Baseball.

College Baseball in the Area

In a 50 mile radius there are Ventura, Oxnard, Moorpark and Santa Barbara city colleges (2 year junior colleges) that have baseball programs. They are a junior (2 year) college. University of California, Santa Barbara and California State University, Northridge that play Division I college baseball and California Lutheran University that plays Division II. Westmont College in Monteceito plays in the NAIA. The other colleges in that same area don't sponsor baseball teams.

Batting Cages in the Area

The closest batting cage is Who's on First at 961 N Rice Ave. in Oxnard. phone: (805) 485-4001. They specialize in baseball and slo-pitch softball.

Camarillo Bat-R Up at 487 Dawson Dr. Ste 3S in Camarillo Phone: (805) 987-2287 do have baseball machines, in addition to fastpitch softball and slo-pitch pitching machines.