Equipment
Sierra Foothills Little League provides each coach/team with a bag of league-appropriate equipment. Equipment bags are distributed to league coordinators at the beginning of each season and coaches are expected to take good care of equipment, which is re-used for a limited number of future seasons. Each equipment bag includes 2 or more 2018 APPROVED USA Baseball Bats, 4 batting helmets, catching equipment including chest protector, shin guards, helmet and mitt, multiple cases of division-appropriate baseballs, a lineup card & a first aid kit. Catching equipment is not provided for the Tee Ball division where children do not pitch.
Ball players are expected to have their own baseball mitt and cleats.
Little League Bat Policy
New bat regulations took effect January 1, 2018, dictating which bats are allowed for play across all SFLL’s divisions. Little League Baseball, along with most other major youth baseball organizations (e.g. Babe Ruth), are adopting a USA Baseball Bat standard for all Junior, Major, Minor, Farm & Tee Ball divisions for the 2018 season. Primarily, the new rules have been implemented to make all bats as "wood like" as possible and to create more uniformity in standards as players move up through youth baseball levels and to improve safety. As part of Little League Baseball, Sierra Foothills Little League intends to comply with all national standards and best practices.
Many of the bats your players were using in 2017 will no longer be acceptable for the 2018 baseball season in SFLL games or practices which requires the replacement of most current bats. The key for all parents is to make sure bats have a USA Baseball marking (below).
A one-piece wooden bat does not require the Baseball USA marking while a multi-piece wooden bat would require this (e.g. the handle and barrel are different pieces of wood).
It shall not be more than 34″ inches in length; nor more than 2⅝ inches in diameter, and if wood, not less than fifteen-sixteenths (15/16) inches in diameter (7/8 inch for bats less than 30″) at its smallest part. Wood bats taped or fitted with a sleeve may not exceed eighteen (18) inches from the small end. NOTE 1: Solid one-piece wood barrel bats do not require a USA Baseball logo. NOTE 2: Also, permitted for the Intermediate (50-70) Division and Junior League Division are bats meeting the BBCOR performance standard, and so labeled with a silkscreen or other permanent certification mark. The certification mark shall be rectangular, a minimum of a half-inch on each side and located on the barrel of the bat in any contrasting color. Aluminum/alloy and composite bats shall be marked as to their material makeup being aluminum/alloy or composite. This marking shall be silkscreen or other permanent certification mark, a minimum of one-half-inch on each side, and located on the barrel of the bat in any contrasting color.
Intermediate & Juniors Divisions ONLY: Both USABat Standard bats and BBCOR bats may be used in Junior Divisions.
Umpires and coaches at all SFLL levels will be told not to allow any bats without the appropriate marking for any games or practices.
We have included several resources below that include more details on the new bat requirements. The following link is a great resource including an informational video, and we highly encourage you to visit this webpage prior to purchasing any new bats for use in 2018:
https://www.littleleague.org/playing-rules/bat-rules/
http://www.littleleague.org/learn/equipment/baseballbatinfo.htm.
Approved Bat List (by Manufacturer): https://usabat.com/