Parent's Frequently Asked Questions

Parent's Frequently Asked Questions About CPBA

Who can play?
Any boy or girl who will be no younger than age 5 or older than 17 on July 31, 1997 is eligible to play in CPBA.

Which league will my child be in?
Players with league ages (that attained on 7/31/97) of 5-6 are in the Shetland League, age 7 is Pinto 7, and Age 8 is Pinto 8. At age 9 through 14 the players are put in two leagues based on age and skills ratings and the outcome of a player draft. Ages 9 and 10 are in Mustang or Mustang Franchise. Age 11 and 12 are in Bronco or Bronco Franchise. Age 13 and 14 are in Pony or Pony Franchise. Ages 15, 16, and 17 are in Colt League.

Do I have to buy any equipment?
Players only need a baseball glove. A protective cup is recommended as are shoes with cleats (either baseball or soccer type). The league supplies bats, batting helmets, and catchers gear. Each player gets a uniform including major league style cap and jerseys. Players get to keep their cap, pants, and socks, but the jersey must be returned at the end of the season. Jerseys cost $12 to $20 so please make sure you return it to your team manager at the end of the season.

Does the league carry insurance?
The league carries liability insurance as required by PONY Baseball, the Pleasant Valley School District, and the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Parks District. For many years CPBA carried a secondary health insurance policy. As costs rose over the years, and our use of the policy was so infrequent, the board decided last year to no longer carry this policy.

CPBA does not carry any form of health care insurance. As such, we as parents are responsible for any costs for health care incurred due to injury as a result of our child participating in Camarillo Pony Baseball.

How much will my child get to play?
Our Bylaws specify minimum playing time requirements. All leagues utilize "round-robin" batting which means all players present bat in order, guaranteeing every player a turn at bat. In the Instructional Leagues (Shetland-Pinto) each player must play two defensive innings.

In the Competitive Leagues, each player must play at least three defensive innings, and no player can miss a third defensive inning until all other players have missed at least one inning. Exceptions are made for games that end prematurely due to the 10-run mercy rule. Playing time rules are considered to be very important and the penalties for not adhering to them are strong. If you believe your child has not been given his fair amount of playing time, check with the team manager immediately.

How are balanced teams created?
Instructional league teams are formed based as best as possible by the neighborhood (based on school attended info on registration card) with no attempt to balance teams based on ability.

Competitive League teams are formed in two ways. Franchise Leagues and Colt League teams are formed by means of a player draft based on skills ratings scores. Mustang, Bronco, and Pony League teams are formed by the Director of Players in cooperation with each league commissioner based on the skills ratings of those players that were not drafted in the franchise leagues.

Important Notice: Players who did not attend a skills rating day will be placed on a waiting list to be added to teams as skills rated players who were on teams are injured or move away from the area.

How does the two league system work?
At ages 5 through 8 there is not a great deal of difference in the size and ability of the players. So for these age groups there is a single league for 5-6 years, 7 and 8 year olds.

Beginning with the age 9-10 Mustang, and continuing through age 11-12 for Bronco and 13-14 for Pony, each age group has two leagues.

The Franchise League teams are formed by means of a player draft based on skills ratings scores. The board selects the Franchise managers, and they select the approximately 1/3 of the players to play on the Franchise teams. After the completion of the Franchise league drafts, the Mustang, Bronco, and Pony League Commissioners work with the Director of Players to form balanced teams based on the skills rating scores of the remaining undrafted players. The registration forms for each of these teams are then bound together with a rubber band and managers pull a team "out of the hat" at their leagues managers meeting. Managers then make a trade with the manager of the team that has their son on it, and the teams are then complete.

Can I request or refuse a certain league or coach?
If you or your child had a bad experience with a certain manager or coach you may request that he not be on that individuals team by writing your request in on your registration form.

Coach requests are honored as best as possible on Instructional League teams. Competitive League teams are formed by a draft so coach requests are not possible.

If you request your child not play in the Franchise Leagues, please understand that forming balanced teams for all the players is an important league policy. While most of these requests are granted, please understand this request may be denied in order to retain the competitive balance of the leagues.

What kind of awards are given?
The league supplies participation trophies for all players in Instructional leagues. Competitive league teams placing first or second in their post season tournament receive trophies at the closing ceremony. Mustang, Bronco, and Pony leagues are divided into two separate post-season tournaments. Players selected to the Mustang, Bronco, and Pony League All-Star Teams each get a participation trophy.

How does the post season tournament work?
All competitive league teams participate in a post-season tournament. This is one of the reasons the registration fees are higher for these players. The purpose of the regular season is to develop players skills and build the best possible team for the post-season tournament. Tournament time begins just after Memorial Day weekend, and is the most exciting part of the baseball season because it provides every team a fresh opportunity to become a champion. Team Parents decorate their dugouts and cheer with more enthusiasm than ever as the tourney progresses toward conclusion. Substitution rules are relaxed slightly, but all players must still play at least three defensive innings.

How are All-Star Teams Selected?
Each competitive leagues selects All-Star teams. Franchise League teams compete in tournament play all over Southern California. Mustang, Bronco, Pony, and Colt league teams play a 3 game exhibition series and are selected by a vote of the players. Each team determines which players will represent their team during the exhibition series here in Camarillo.

Pinto 8 league has a player ballot to select two teams for an exhibition series, and then one team of players is chosen to enter tournaments outside Camarillo.

Franchise League team managers and players are selected by secret ballot by the managers. Each league selects two or sometimes three teams depending on the tournaments available and the requirements of those tournaments.

A complex set of rules and procedures have been developed (see CPBA Bylaws) over the years to insure the best coaches, and the most deserving players are chosen who can best represent Camarillo in tournaments which lead to the Pony Baseball World Series held in August. Manager and player selection is done under the direct supervision of the Board of Directors to insure proper procedures are followed.

No matter how good the rules and the implementation of them is, selection of All-Star teams is highly subjective, and is sometimes the source of hard feelings. To accurately pick the best 12 or 24 players in a league of 72 is impossible. One must only look to the major leagues and the controversy there each year to see how difficult the process is. If your child feels he should have been selected and was not, please explain to him the difficulty of the job of selecting a team, and that perhaps next season his turn will come.