OUR LEAGUE IS ABOUT SERVICE, PLAYER DEVELOPMENT AND FAMILY. OUR CAUSE IS TO HAVE A PART IN CREATING QUALITY YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHILE DEVELOPING GREAT GAME SKILLS. COME JOIN THE HISTORY AT NELL, IT IS OUR TIME TO SHARE THE VALUES WE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY.

OUR PROGRAMS

At NELL, we are proud to be a supporter of Little League baseball and everything that it stands for. The ability to offer fall, developmental baseball, as well as a full little league spring season has been a tradition here for over 70 years.

FALL PROGRAM

At NELL, we run a developmental/recreational league for baseball and softball in the Fall that is focused on fun, skill development, and up-skilling to getting ready for the Spring official Little League season. We follow most of the same rules as traditional Little League seasons, but do make some local rule changes to encourage player development, such as only allowing pitchers in some divisions to only pitch one inning, to encourage coaches to get as many players exposed to pitching during the Fall to develop.

During the Fall, many of our players and families will play “up a division” to get ready for that next level up in the Spring season. For example, we will have AA players from the previous Spring play up to AAA in the Fall so they can get used to the idea of the new rules that prepare for full Little League baseball, such as stealing bases, permanent kid pitch baseball, as well as a more competitive set of gameplay. While they might try out for those advanced divisions in the next Spring, some may make it, some may not based upon availability of players and teams during the spring, but we believe that Fall is a great time to try something new and push yourself to see what you’re capable of and learn new game play.

Registration for the Fall season starts on July 1. Tryouts for the Fall season are traditionally in mid to late August, with a draft and team assignments soon to follow. Practices begin shortly after tryouts, with a season that begins in mid to late September, ending minimally two weeks prior to Thanksgiving. The seasons are approximately 14 to 16 games long and end with an elimination team tournament and championship Saturday.

The TeeBall teams do not typically practice unless agreed to do so with the coach and parents. PeeWee plays on Mondays/Wednesdays. Rookie plays on Tuesdays/Thursdays.

FALL FEE SCHEDULE (2024-2025)

PROGRAM	EARLY BIRD FEE
PeeWee TeeBall (4y/o)	Free
PeeWee TeeBall (5y/o)	$50
Rookie TeeBall	$50
Softball	$50
Baseball	$125

(Early bird discount runs 7/1-8/1, then the fees increase to$155 for baseball and $65 for all other programs.)

FALL COMPETITIVE PROGRAM

For those seeking a more competitive fall season, the Saint Pete Barracudas is an option that accommodates those players that want to try some next level baseball. This is a select program with tryouts, where teams of different age brackets compete in local travel tournaments. There is a bit of a heavier commitment in terms of practices, games, financial commitment as part of the Saint Pete Barracudas teams.

Tryouts are available to all age eligible players for that division and are communicated out during the Fall (as of Fall 2024) to those players email addresses, based on their age for the season (which is slightly different than Little League age dates) so they know about the tryout dates and times. 12U tryouts are first, followed by 11U, 10U, 9U, and 8U if a team is fielded. Those players that do not make that competitive team are still welcome to play recreation baseball in the Fall. Any player that is selected for the Saint Pete Barracudas teams are required to play the Spring season under our normal NELL Little League program. We do not run a competitive program that encourages players outside of our NELL boundaries to just play competitive ball without commitment to being full-time Little League players in the Spring.

Looking for more information? Go here: Frequently Asked Questions

Age Ranges (2024 Example):
12u: Players born between 5/1/2012 and 4/30/2013
11u: Players born between 5/1/2013 and 4/30/2014
10u: Players born between 5/1/2014 and 4/30/2015
9u: Players born between 5/1/2015 and 4/30/2016

SPRING PROGRAM

Our Spring NELL season is traditional Little League baseball. We play by Little League rules throughout the season, but we do have some local rules to encourage the ability to get kids to pitch sooner in the process, as well as fair play by ensuring minimum number of innings in the field and at bats needed, which is more generous than current Little League baseball rules. The end of the season is marked by our championship Saturday, with the winning teams from that tournament playing in the District 5 Little League top team tournament (our district) for the following two weeks. We also field All-Star teams comprising of the best players from our Spring season to compete in official Little League tournaments over the course of the summer.

Registration for the Spring season starts on November 1. Tryouts for the Spring season are traditionally in mid to late January, with a draft and team assignments soon to follow. Practices begin shortly after tryouts, with a season that begins in late February, ending the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend. The seasons are approximately 16 to 20 games long and end with an elimination team tournament and championship Saturday.

For those kids who have played Saint Pete Barracuda baseball in the fall, they are required to play Spring NELL Little League baseball. At NELL, Spring Little League baseball trumps all other Saint Pete Barracuda needs in the spring. For example, occasional tournaments may be played Saint Pete Barracudas teams as long as the priority of the players safety and ability to play is focused on their Spring NELL Little League baseball teams first. The ability for Saint Pete Barracudas teams to practice during the regular spring season is sparse, as all of our fields are usually allocated to our NELL Spring Little League baseball and softball teams for practicing and game times.

Our Spring programs have games from February - May, with 1 practice per week and 2 games per week.

SPRING FEE SCHEDULE (2024-25)

PROGRAM	EARLY BIRD FEE
PeeWee TeeBall (4 y/o)	Free
PeeWee TeeBall (5 y/o)	$95
Rookie TeeBall	$95
Softball	$85
Baseball	$165

(Early bird discount runs 11/1-12/25, then the fees increase to$190 for baseball, $100 for softball and $110 for PW5 and Rookie Teeball.)

BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL SPECIFICS

GAME DAYS AND TIMES

Weeknight games start between 6-6:30 pm depending on division.

Weekend games start at 9am, 11am or 1pm depending on division.

We do not know the days for the games as that depends on how many kids register and how many teams we create.

LOCATIONS

While we keep most of our games at our facilities on 45th or 62nd, there are times we “interlock”, or combine divisions with other Little Leagues or Softball leagues in the areas to have a competitive schedule, and games may be within other parks in Pinellas County.

COACHES

We are always looking for managers in these divisions, giving priority first to those managers that have been part of the league the longest. Managers select an assistant coach, whose player, in addition to theirs, is protected during the draft. Managers can have any number of assistant coaches after that, decided after the draft as they understand the players they have on their teams. You can register to coach at the same time that you register your player.

TRYOUTS / DRAFTS

All Minor and Majors divisions work from a draft format. The kids tryout just so the coaches can see the talent/skills leading up to the draft. Every kid make a team. The draft helps us to balance the talent across all teams to ensure competitive play, a good learning environment and a positive experience.

TEE BALL SPECIFICS

Having Fun, Building A Foundation

The primary goal for NELL Tee Ball leagues is to instill a lifetime of love for baseball. We want our kids to have fun and learn the basics of baseball – hitting, catching and throwing. This is part of process for our larger goals of truly working to develop well-rounded highly skilled players. Finally, as a league, we encourage the development of focus and fair play.

Details

Tee Ball programs are for 4-5-6 year olds (with an option for 7 and/or 8 year olds) who want to learn the fundamentals of hitting and fielding. In Tee Ball, players hit a ball off a batting tee. Rules of the game may be varied to accommodate the need for teaching. It is normal to have 2 practices/games per week throughout the season. For Tee Ball, practices are incorporated into the game play.

The primary goals of Tee Ball are to:

Have fun
Instruct children in the fundamentals of baseball
Allow the children to experience the value of teamwork

Player Agent

For more information, please contact our Tee-Ball Player Agent.

Practice and Game Details

The TeeBall teams do not typically practice unless agreed to do so with the coach and parents. PeeWee plays on Mondays/Wednesdays. Rookie plays on Tuesdays/Thursdays.

Divisions

PeeWee: Ages 4-5: Hitting from the tee only, basic fielding
Rookie: Ages 5-6 Hitting from the tee and coach pitch from the knee, fundamentals plus swing position, fielding position

Baseball

Having Fun, a bit more serious with a defined growth path for your child!
The primary goal for the NELL Baseball leagues is to instill a lifetime of love for baseball. We want our kids to have fun and learn the basics of baseball – hitting, catching and throwing while excelling at the game of baseball. As the next step in the process of creating truly well-rounded highly skilled players the NELL takes pride in the Little League process to the fullest extent. The league balances the need for highly competitive play while maintaining the essence of the core teachings of Little League International. Below are details of each level of our baseball league.

Details

Single A – (A) – Full Game from LIVE Pitching Machine, for boys and girls moving up from tee ball, but not ready for “kid pitch.” A pitching machine will be used all season.
Double A – (AA) – Full Game from Coach Pitch/Player Pitch For boys and girls in their 2nd year of Minor B ball ready for “kid pitch.” Players are expected to start honing their hitting and throwing skills. Deeper development of the understanding of the game.
Triple A – (AAA) – Competitive Full Game Skills – Refinement for next level Totally kid pitched. Emphasis on throwing motion, correct arm slot and follow thru. Emphasis on hitting, correct stance, ability to swing level and maintain a solid swing plane. Bunting is introduced along with stealing bases. Players should begin to understand in detail all the positions on the field and develop an interest in where they would like to play.
Majors – The official “Little League”. Mastering of the core baseball skills. Pitchers should know how to pitch with their bodies instead of just throwing. Hitters should be able to identify pitches, hit to all fields and bunt with no problems. Their baseball “IQ” should be very developed and area of expertise identified.
Intermediates – Intermediates is played on Little League fields, but the pitching rubber and bases are pushed back to 50 and 70 feet, rather than the 45 and 60 feet that is used for Majors and lower. Sometimes this divisions is referred to as “50/70” rather tan Intermediates. It is targeted at ages 11-13 who are ready for a more advanced level of play and bigger field that the Majors division.
Juniors & Seniors Program – The Junior & Senior League Baseball Divisions are programs for boys and girls ages, 13-14 (Juniors) and 14-16 (Seniors), using a conventional 90-foot diamond with a pitching distance of 60 feet, 6 inches. (A modified diamond is available during the regular season.)

For details, please contact the Majors Player Agent or Minors Player Agent.

League Group	League Age	Player Development / Skill Focus
Minor A	6 to 8	Throwing Structure, Fly Ball Refinement, Infield Refinement, Swing Structure Foundation – Full Game from LIVE Pitching Machine.
Minor AA	7 to 10	Throwing Structure, Fly Ball Refinement, Infield Refinement, Swing Structure Foundation – Full Game from Coach Pitch/Player Pitch.
Minor AAA	9 to 11	Competitive Full Game Skills – Refinement for next level.
Majors	10 to 12	Competitive Full Game Skills – Refinement for next level.
Intermediates	13	Competitive Full Game Skills on a larger infield. Preparation for movement to full size baseball fields at the next level of play. (50/70)
Juniors	13 to 14	Competitive Full Game Skills on real size field (90 foot bases and 60 foot pitching mounds)

SOFTBALL

Having Fun, a bit more serious with a defined growth path for your child!
The primary goal for the NELL Softball leagues is to instill a lifetime of love for softball. We want our kids to have fun and learn the basics of softball – hitting, catching and throwing while excelling at the game of softball. As the next step in the process of creating truly well-rounded highly skilled players the NELL takes pride in the Little League process to the fullest extent. The league balances the need for highly competitive play while maintaining the essence of the core teachings of Little League International. Below are details of each level of our softball league.

Details

Coach Pitch Minor – NELL Softball plays against other local leagues. Rules are based on the interlock meeting and agreement but in general, the B Minor teams will have full games with coach pitch. Generally they also bat through the entire order.
Kid Pitch Minor – NELL Softball plays against other local leagues. Rules are based on the interlock meeting and agreement but in general, the A Minor teams will have full games with kid pitch. Generally they also bat through the entire order.
Majors – NELL Softball plays against other local leagues. Rules are based on the interlock meeting and agreement but in general all little league rules are followed for the majors division. Kids pitch, three outs, etc. This is a competitive league.

For more information, please contact the VP of Softball.

League Group
Ages
Player Development / Skill Focus
Minors (8U)
6 to 9
Throwing Structure, Fly Ball Refinement, Infield Refinement, Swing Structure Foundation – Full Game with coach pitch or pitching machine
Minors (10U)
8 to 10
Throwing Structure, Fly Ball Refinement, Infield Refinement, Swing Structure Foundation – Full Game with player pitch
Majors (12U)
10 to 12
Competitive Full Game Skills – Refinement for next level. Player Pitch

Website Manager

Northeast Little League

OUR LEAGUE IS ABOUT SERVICE, PLAYER DEVELOPMENT AND FAMILY. OUR CAUSE IS TO HAVE A PART IN CREATING QUALITY YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHILE DEVELOPING GREAT GAME SKILLS. COME JOIN THE HISTORY AT NELL, IT IS OUR TIME TO SHARE THE VALUES WE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY.

OUR PROGRAMS

Local Sponsors

Northeast Little League

LITTLE LEAGUE® International

League Group	Ages	Player Development / Skill Focus
Minors (8U)	6 to 9	Throwing Structure, Fly Ball Refinement, Infield Refinement, Swing Structure Foundation – Full Game with coach pitch or pitching machine
Minors (10U)	8 to 10	Throwing Structure, Fly Ball Refinement, Infield Refinement, Swing Structure Foundation – Full Game with player pitch
Majors (12U)	10 to 12	Competitive Full Game Skills – Refinement for next level. Player Pitch