NWFALL All Star Information and Process – Spring 2023
Background
These guidelines are intended to bring transparency and confidence to all parents as it relates to the All Star selection process.
In the event that anything listed below is in conflict with the Little League rulebook, the Little League rulebook applies.
NWF wants to field as many competitive teams as possible in baseball and softball.
All Star nomination and selection is an honor. All players are expected to represent the league well.
All Star nomination and selection is intended to reward players who have excelled during the baseball season. A nomination does NOT mean a player will be selected for the All Star team.
A player may be nominated or selected to an All Star team in a different division than he/she played in the regular season. For example, a 9 or 10 year old playing in Majors, may be selected to the Minors All Star team. Likewise, an 8 year old playing AAA, could be selected to the 8U tournament team. In an effort to field highly competitive teams it is STRONGLY recommended that players who “play up” in the regular season are nominated to the lowest age division for which they qualify.
The Board of Directors will approve the number of teams and the number of players per team (Minimum 12, maximum 14). The league recommends 14 players to give more players the opportunity to experience All Stars.
NWF intends to field the following teams (final teams to be determined based upon registration numbers, availability of managers for All Star teams, availability of players for All Star teams and Board approval of number of teams): Majors (Little League division) , 9/10/11 division, Minors 8/9/10 division, 9U TOC, 8U TOC. The league is allowed to field more than one TOC team per age. If there are enough players to field a competitive team and enough coaches, the board will consider fielding a 2nd team in 9U and 8U, to give more players the chance to play. Intermediate and Seniors will also be fielded assuming there are enough players available to field a competitive team.
The order of selection for teams will be determined once the board approves the number of teams the league will field. The intention is to select players for the Majors division first. Due to tournament dates, 2023 selections will start with 8U Baseball and Softball, and then proceed with Majors divisions first, followed by Senior, Intermediate, 11U, 10U, 9U.
Nomination and Selection of Players
Initial player nominations will be collected from Team Managers/Head Coaches and from the players in each division. These nominations will be collected via Google Form.
Managers will evaluate players based on the following: ability, hustle, versatility, sportsmanship, position need. Children of board members, managers, and coaches are NOT given priority and will be considered in the same group with the same criteria as all other players. The only possible exception to this is the “wild card” selection listed below, where a manager can select 2 players based on any criteria.
The President/Vice President, Division Director, Umpire in Chief, and all managers who coach a player from an All Star age group will meet to rank players in that age group for possible nomination. ex- A Minors coach who has 8,9,10 and 11 year olds on their team should be present for 8U, 9U, 10U, 11U, and 12U selection meetings.
The Player Agent will provide a list of all players eligible for All Stars with the divisions each player is eligible for. The initial nominations will be tallied and that information will be provided to aid Managers/Coaches in their rankings.
Players will be ranked by the criteria above in order to achieve a list of the top 20 players in each age division. The Baseball/Softball Director will deliver the final list of players to the Player Agent who will confirm eligibility, interest, and availability.
Managers, who also serve as board members, will be allowed to rank players for purposes of nomination, acting strictly in their role as manager.
Under no circumstances will the rank order of players be shared with players or parents. If you have a question as to why your son/daughter was not selected, please reach out to your respective Division Director. NWFALL takes great pride and joy in every single one of our players and the selection of All Star teams increases in difficulty as we grow.
Nomination Acceptance and Commitment
Once a player is nominated to the All Star team, the player/parent will need to confirm acceptance of the nomination within 24 hours. It is desired that all players be at all practices, but this is not a requirement. Should a player have summer plans that would cause him/her to miss a tournament game, the nomination should be declined. Should a player have summer plans that would cause him/her to miss a significant number of practices, this should be discussed with the manager BEFORE being selected to the team. Remember, nomination is NOT a guarantee of selection. If the 14th ranked player is going to miss several practices and the 15th ranked player can commit to all practices, the 15th ranked player may be selected to the team.
For the sake of other players and integrity of the process, a nominated player’s nomination should remain private. No All Star teams will be announced until June 1. In some cases, the 18th ranked player could be selected to the team because 4 higher ranked players were not able to commit. In this case, the 18th ranked player doesn’t need to know that he/she was an alternate.
Once a nomination has been accepted the League will need parents to provide documentation to prove age and residence eligibility. The following will need to be delivered to the Player Agent.
Age - An ORIGINAL copy of a birth certificate with a raised seal.
Residence - A school enrollment form is the preferred method of proving residence eligibility. If your child does not attend a school in our boundary you may prove residency by providing a document from each of 3 groups listed here: https://www.littleleague.org/downloads/residency-checklist/
Player Information
A player selected to the All Star team is not guaranteed any playing time, other than what is listed in the Little League rule book for mandatory play (Tournament Playing Rules, section 9). Remember, selection to the All Star team is an honor and an opportunity to play with and against other top players in the District (and hopefully beyond).
A player selected to the All Star team is not guaranteed any specific position. For example, a SS during regular season, may be used as a RF or Pinch Runner in All Star play.
Manager/Coach Information
Regular season managers and coaches who are interested in All Stars will submit their interest to the Coaching Coordinator and Player Agent via Google Form. ALL COACHES MUST COMPLETE THE LITTLE LEAGUE DIAMOND LEADER TRAINING TO BE ELIGIBLE. Board of directors will vote on All Star managers from submitted names. Once selected, All Star managers can choose assistant coaches from eligible coaches with some preference given to other manager applicants (asst coaches can be selected whether they applied to manage All Stars or not but must also complete Diamond Leader Training).
The All Star manager (including TOC) will get 2 “wild card” selections. The All Star manager can use any selection criteria desired to choose 2 “wild card” players. For example, a manager may choose a lesser ability player who has shown great sportsmanship, or a very fast player simply to use as a pinch runner, or an average player who has a parent willing to help coach, or his/her son/daughter. The wild card players may come from the list of ranked players, but this is not a requirement. The only stipulation is the wild card player must be eligible, as confirmed by the Player Agent.