Irvine Pony League vs. Irvine Little League

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purpletulip_IHB

New member
My 5 year old son wants to do baseball. I know nothing about baseball, so I googled and found these two local leagues. Can someone comment on them? Which one is better for a young starter with inexperienced parents?



TIA!
 
My son has played in both leagues

Irvine Little League is much better, not as competitive, better for the kids at that young age.
 
My son just started a few weeks ago with the Irvine Pony League "fall ball." He is five, and up until a few months ago never had any desire to touch a ball of any kind (no soccer, baseball, basketball, etc.). So you can imagine how unskilled he is. Actually, you can't. My poor little guy, he's not so good! So my "mom instincts" are on high with his coaches - one put-down, one mean or sharp comment, and we're outta there. So I am pleased to report that his coaches ROCK! They are the most patient, kind, wonderful coaches I could have hoped for. We had our first game a few days ago and my kid had a good time. He's building up his skills and having fun. What more could I want?
 
Boomben's appraisal is mostly accurate of the two different leagues. Irvine Pony has a rep for being more competitive. They are fairly well-organized and well-capitalized. Irvine Pony has the best fields as they get to play most games at Harvard Athletic Park. Irvine Little League is supposed to be a bit kinder, a bit gentler, maybe a bit more fun, etc.



That being said, I am assistant coaching an Irvine Pony Fall Ball team right now (Mite-Ball, kids 3.5-4 years old) and my experience has been excellent so far. Our head coach has years of experience with Irvine Pony and according to him, if you look at the kids playing skill positions in high school baseball locally, a much greater portion of them came out of Irvine Pony vs. Little League. Pony doesn't modify rules nearly as much as Little League so the kids get used to playing the real game earlier... Even after only three practices and one game so far, the skills of a number of the boys have greatly improved. We had a little 3.5 year old gobble up a grounder in practice yesterday and gun it to first base beating the runner by 10-15 feet.
 
ipoplaya:



My son is 5 also and has never played baseball. I would like to get him involved. Do you think it would be best to start him off in Little League just for the exposure at first and then transition to P.L. afterwards? Or do you think it's better to dive right in?
 
[quote author="SoCal78" date=1222341292]ipoplaya:



My son is 5 also and has never played baseball. I would like to get him involved. Do you think it would be best to start him off in Little League just for the exposure at first and then transition to P.L. afterwards? Or do you think it's better to dive right in?</blockquote>


In TBall, you are going to get mostly the same experience in both leagues. Fall Ball has already started for both leagues. If you wanted him to get involved right away, you could check with both leagues to see if any teams needed another player. Teams have already had 2-3 weeks of practice and bonding time though so it might be best to wait for Spring. Fall Ball is more relaxed as it's off-season and participation is much lower. Many of the kids you will find in regular Spring baseball are playing soccer now.



At such a young age, the most important thing is a good head coach, some patient and helpful assistant coaches, and involved parents. I think you will find that in either league. We have most of the dads on our team out on the field at practice and serving as base coaches during the games. Most leave the cell phones and blackberrys turned off and it really helps with working skill repetition with the boys. If your son shows love and aptitude for the game, I think Pony is probably the way to go down the line.
 
From my experience in both league's if your son excell's at baseball then Irvine Pony League would be for him.

If you are looking for a casual not so serius league then Irvine Little League is the way to go.

I enjoy the not so serious game for my 6 year old son.
 
I have to reiterate that you're all making generalities here. Again, my son's been in Pony League for two weeks, he totally sucks, and we are having a great time. His coaches are really, really, really patient and attentive.
 
How are the parents, ISM? Are they the... you know... stage-mom kind of parent? For some reason I picture rowdy parents screaming from the bleachers "C'mon! How could you miss that ball? Get that kid off the field!" LOL!! My son is totally not aggressive and a little hesitant I guess you could say - I hope to find a nice fit (not this fall but perhaps spring like you were saying, ipoplaya.)
 
[quote author="irvinesinglemom" date=1222428045]I have to reiterate that you're all making generalities here. Again, my son's been in Pony League for two weeks, he totally sucks, and we are having a great time. His coaches are really, really, really patient and attentive.</blockquote>


Yeah, our boys seem to be having a great time in Pony too!



<img src="http://www.ipoplaya.com/angels.jpg" alt="" />
 
[quote author="SoCal78" date=1222431135]How are the parents, ISM? Are they the... you know... stage-mom kind of parent? For some reason I picture rowdy parents screaming from the bleachers "C'mon! How could you miss that ball? Get that kid off the field!" LOL!! My son is totally not aggressive and a little hesitant I guess you could say - I hope to find a nice fit (not this fall but perhaps spring like you were saying, ipoplaya.)</blockquote>


Put an aluminum bat in his hand and tell him to whack the ball as hard as he can and he'll be aggressive enough! My son has a sensitive and gentle soul but it's so much fun to whack things with a bat that all goes out the window...
 
[quote author="ipoplaya" date=1222432556][quote author="irvinesinglemom" date=1222428045]I have to reiterate that you're all making generalities here. Again, my son's been in Pony League for two weeks, he totally sucks, and we are having a great time. His coaches are really, really, really patient and attentive.</blockquote>


Yeah, our boys seem to be having a great time in Pony too!



<img src="http://www.ipoplaya.com/angels.jpg" alt="" /></blockquote>


Wow, no one got to be the Angels back when I was in Northwood Little League. Of course, back then I don't think anyone wanted to be the Angels either :)





Is there still a NWLL? Or did it all become Irvine Little League?
 
[quote author="24inIrvine" date=1222433726]Wow, no one got to be the Angels back when I was in Northwood Little League. Of course, back then I don't think anyone wanted to be the Angels either :)



Is there still a NWLL? Or did it all become Irvine Little League?</blockquote>


Yeah, NWLL is still around. Irvine Little Leauge is really three leagues, NW, Central Irvine, and South Irvine.
 
[quote author="SoCal78" date=1222431135]How are the parents, ISM? Are they the... you know... stage-mom kind of parent? For some reason I picture rowdy parents screaming from the bleachers "C'mon! How could you miss that ball? Get that kid off the field!" LOL!! My son is totally not aggressive and a little hesitant I guess you could say - I hope to find a nice fit (not this fall but perhaps spring like you were saying, ipoplaya.)</blockquote>


My experience so far (one whole game into the season ;-P ) is quite the opposite. Like I said, my little boy sucks. He is by far the least-skilled kid on the whole team (and possibly in the entire league!). So I sat on the sidelines of the game nervous to overhear nasty comments from the other moms. Instead, I got invited in to a warm, joyful, wonderful conversation with them. They clapped and cheered every kid, even the other team. We commented on how cute the kids all were. Then after the game they all said hi to my son and told him what a good job he had done. Then as the two of us were walking back to our car after the game, one of our coaches drove past us and slowed down and congratulated my boy on his good efforts today.



Like I said, what more could a mom ask for? :)
 
Any experiences on AYSO? My 4.5 year boy just started the ASYO 4 to 6 soccer league. I am not impressed with the head coach and assistant coach at all. I don't think they are good with kids, and lack of energy. I am wondering all the time why they even both to coach at all. Also, the games are 40 mins ( 4 x 10 mins ). By the second half, most of the kids are tired, especially when it is 80 degree!



Any other leagues in Irvine?
 
[quote author="ipoplaya" date=1222315023]Boomben's appraisal is mostly accurate of the two different leagues. Irvine Pony has a rep for being more competitive. They are fairly well-organized and well-capitalized. Irvine Pony has the best fields as they get to play most games at Harvard Athletic Park. Irvine Little League is supposed to be a bit kinder, a bit gentler, maybe a bit more fun, etc.



That being said, I am assistant coaching an Irvine Pony Fall Ball team right now (Mite-Ball, kids 3.5-4 years old) and my experience has been excellent so far. Our head coach has years of experience with Irvine Pony and according to him, if you look at the kids playing skill positions in high school baseball locally, a much greater portion of them came out of Irvine Pony vs. Little League. Pony doesn't modify rules nearly as much as Little League so the kids get used to playing the real game earlier... Even after only three practices and one game so far, the skills of a number of the boys have greatly improved. We had a little 3.5 year old gobble up a grounder in practice yesterday and gun it to first base beating the runner by 10-15 feet.</blockquote>


IPO, in both the Mite-Ball, and T-ball, do the kids mostly hit from the Tee or from Coach's Pitch? How many times a week do they practice? Do they have game every week?
 
[quote author="irvine123" date=1222807165][quote author="ipoplaya" date=1222315023]Boomben's appraisal is mostly accurate of the two different leagues. Irvine Pony has a rep for being more competitive. They are fairly well-organized and well-capitalized. Irvine Pony has the best fields as they get to play most games at Harvard Athletic Park. Irvine Little League is supposed to be a bit kinder, a bit gentler, maybe a bit more fun, etc.



That being said, I am assistant coaching an Irvine Pony Fall Ball team right now (Mite-Ball, kids 3.5-4 years old) and my experience has been excellent so far. Our head coach has years of experience with Irvine Pony and according to him, if you look at the kids playing skill positions in high school baseball locally, a much greater portion of them came out of Irvine Pony vs. Little League. Pony doesn't modify rules nearly as much as Little League so the kids get used to playing the real game earlier... Even after only three practices and one game so far, the skills of a number of the boys have greatly improved. We had a little 3.5 year old gobble up a grounder in practice yesterday and gun it to first base beating the runner by 10-15 feet.</blockquote>


IPO, in both the Miteball, and T-ball, do the kids mostly hit from the Tee or from Coach's Pitch? How many times a week do they practice? Do they have game every week?</blockquote>


Yes, in Mite-Ball and T-Ball in Pony, it's all off the tee. The division above T-Ball, for kids that are six years old is called Shetland, is coach pitched primarily with a tee alternative if the player can't put the ball into play. Miteballers practice once a week max before the season must switch to optional practices after the season starts. The league recommends canceling practices midway through the season, which I don't think we'll do on our team. T-Ballers practice twice per before the season and have to switch to a max of one practice during the season. Both divisions normally have a single game every week. Byes could change that on occassion.
 
Can you request that your child be put in a team with kids attending the same school? I know we can request that they be with a friend (by specifying their name), but am not sure if you can generally request by school.
 
Yes in Mite Ball and Tee Ball when you are registering you can request a Buddy, also they try to put the players that go to the same schools together
 
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