District/Travel Participation
In preparation for the selection of players for LP's teams which will participate in the District 27 All-Star Tournaments, all 9 - 12 year-old players are invited to attend the all-star evaluations. Players will be notified of the evaluation times and dates by their managers. Whenever possible, the times and dates will also be posted on this website. Understand that attendance at the evaluations is not a prerequisite to making the All Star team nor does your participation guarantee you making a team. However, if your child cannot attend the clinics and would like to be considered, kindly notify your manager. It should also be noted that participation in any other baseball program (i.e. AAU) has NO bearing on the selection of the Lower Perk teams. The All Star teams will be selected by a vote of the current division managers.
LPLL District/ Travel Team Selection Overview
Each head coach will provide a ranking of their team to the Player Agent prior to the evaluation that will serve as guidance for coaches.
During the evaluation, each of the head coaches in the division is given their own evaluation sheet and will rank the players based on a combination of what each coach has seen throughout the season and at evaluations. The coaches will put the kids in order from the best ranked player at number 1 to the lowest ranked player having the highest number. So, for instance, if there are only 5 players trying out (Tom, Bob, Andrew, Sam and Travis), it would be the coaches' job to put them in order from highest ranked to lowest ranked, 1 being the highest ranked player and 5 being the lowest ranked player. The rankings would look like the following:
1. Tom
2. Bob
3. Andrew
4. Sam
5. Travis
The coaches do not rank their own child during this process so that they do not have an unfair influence on their own child's selection to a team. All coaches rank players independently and do not share their rankings with one another. Each coach's rank has equal weight. When the rankings are done, all sheets go to the player agent without any of the other coaches seeing the rankings.
The combined rankings from all coaches are compiled by the player agent by adding all of the individual coach rankings for that player and dividing by the number of coaches. Using the example above, if Tom was ranked number one on 3 of the 4 coaches' sheets and number 2 on the other coach's sheet, Tom would have a score 1.25. If Travis was number 5 on 2 of the coach's rankings and 4 on the other 2 coaches rankings, he would have a score of 4.5. After all the player rankings are calculated, they are each given a score, lowest being the number one ranked player all the way up to the last player who has the highest score.
The top 10 players in the combined rankings are automatically selected for the team. A head coach will be selected from that group of players based on previous experience coaching a district/ travel team, availability and willingness to manage the team throughout the year, and final approval from the Executive Team. In some cases, the league may look outside the Top 10 selected players for a coach. The selected coach of the new team will be given a list of the next 5 players in the rankings (players 11-15 in no particular order) and will make a recommendation on which player(s) would be the best fit for the team based on overall skill or the need to fill a position. The baseball executive board (President, VP of Baseball, Baseball Player Agent) or softball executive board (President, VP of Softball, Softball Player Agent) will make the final decision on players to be added to the baseball or softball team, respectively, and will take the recommendations of the coach into account during the process. If one of the executive board members listed above has a child being considered in the 11-15 rankings for a division, then that board member will be recused from participating in that decision. Teams will be announced via our website 7-10 days after evaluation.
The league will ask for a commitment from you and your child. Practices will begin around June 15th and the game schedules could take us through the end of July. Careful consideration should be given to this commitment, since there will be 3 to 5 practices per week until the game schedule begins. Once games begin, dates and times will be dictated by whether the team wins or loses. Failure to attend any combination of 3 games or mandatory practices could mean removal from the team. Also, understand that there are minimum playing requirements at these levels. The manager is not obligated to play your son/daughter for any more that the minimum requirements. Also, please note, once play begins for an LPLL tournament team, players may not participate in any other youth baseball or softball program (AAU, CP, ARA, SF, etc.) until their team is eliminated from the Little League tournament. Games could be played at any of the surrounding District 27 complexes, including Lower Perk, Berwyn/Paoli, Devon-Strafford, Pottsgrove, Pottstown, Coventry, Upper Providence, Lower Merion, Exton, Great Valley, and Chester Valley. Any team that should win the District 27 tournament will play in the Sectional Tournament at a site to be named later. Any team that should win the District 27 tournament will play in the Sectional Tournament and then potential State Tournament. Please direct all questions concerning these evaluations to Pete Snyder (Softball) or Keith Bracht (Baseball).
Introduction to District/Travel Play
Traditionally, Lower Perk has entered teams into a number of Little League sanctioned tournaments. A tournament is typically held for each age group above 9 years old. The tournaments in which Lower Perk typically participates in are:
BASEBALL
The International Tournament: This tournament culminates in the Little League World Series in Williamsport. The team selected represents the best of Lower Perk. Traditionally this team is comprised of primarily 12 year olds.
The 11 Year Old International Tournament: This is an International tournament. LPLL will send its "11 Year Old" team to this tournament.
The Kline Tournament: This is a District-wide tournament. LPLL will send a "12 Year Old" team (which may also include 11 year olds).
The Al Patton Tournament: This is a State-wide tournament. Traditionally this team is comprised of 10 year olds.
The 9 Year Old All Star Invitational: This is a District-wide tournament. LPLL typically sends a single team at this age level.
The Major League Team Tournament (formerly the "Bob Jones Major League Team Tournament"): This is a District wide tournament. Traditionally, the first and second place teams of the Major Leagues are sent to this tournament (as the playoff schedules allow).
SOFTBALL
The International Tournament: This tournament culminates in the Little League World Series in Williamsport. The team selected represents the best of Lower Perk. Traditionally this team is comprised of primarily 12 year olds.
The 11 Year Old International Tournament: This is an International tournament. If player numbers are sufficient to have an International Team and an 11 year-old team, LPLL will send an “11 Year Old” team to this tournament.
The 9-10 Year Old State Tournament: This is a State-wide tournament. Traditionally this team is comprised of 10 year olds.