KEN CARYL LITTLE LEAGUE TEAM FORMATION
An overview of our team formation processes

GOAL
Our goal with team formation is to create the best possible experience for every player within our league. There are a number of factors that contribute to player experience, including balance of competition, connection with friends, opportunities to play for top/preferred coaches, and team continuity from season to season. While these are all important aspects of youth sports, some of them are naturally opposed to one another, so our team formation rules and processes also seek to find a balance between them. 

It's important to understand that there is an inherent difference between club sports and league sports. While club organizations seek to maintain a consistent roster of the strongest players at various positions to build a winning culture and attract more athletes to their organization, leagues must seek competitive balance so that all players within the organization have the opportunity to develop their skills and love of the game by playing in competitive games versus lopsided blowouts. With that said, we do value and encourage coaches building strong team cultures, which naturally leads to players and families having a desire to remain with a certain team. Our team formation rules reflect a desire to accommodate those cultures while still protecting the competitive integrity of our league.

TEEBALL, COACH PITCH, & A DIVISIONS
Our youngest divisions are entirely developmental, so there is no draft process or concern for competitive balance in these divisions. Players are assigned to teams randomly with every effort to honor requested schedules, teammates, or coaches named in the registration process. Coaches should consider themselves as one big team creating a fun environment for young players to learn the basic mechanics of the game.

AA, AAA, MAJORS, INTERMEDIATES & JUNIOR/SENIOR DIVISIONS
These are our divisions that are considered competitive, in that standings are kept, season-end tournaments played, and champions crowned. While AA and AAA are still considered developmental by nature (coaches should be primarily focused on development vs. winning), we believe that playing in meaningful games where game management strategy does come into play aids in player development. 

PRE-ASSESSMENT TEAM FORMATION
Before our player assessment day, which typically occurs on the Saturday before the draft week, the KCLL Board of directors will finalize the list of Head Coaches in each division. When we have more volunteers than teams, the board will select coaches based on various criteria such as experience, culture, feedback from past seasons, etc, with earliest registration as a volunteer acting as a tiebreaker. Head coaching volunteers who are not assigned a team may be connected with other coaches to partner with, if desired.

Once assigned a team, Head Coaches may bring a coaching staff on to their team. Any players belonging to the coaching staff must be protected as members of that team, up to a maximum of 4 players total.

Teams without a coaching staff that takes up the maximum of 4 player protections may protect additional players up to a total of 4, provided that those players have a parent who serves as a team volunteer (ensuring that the family desires their player to play for that team).

If a team has additional coaching staff whose children would extend beyond the maximum protection of 4 players, that coach's child must enter the open draft pool and that assistant coach and player will be assigned to the team where they are drafted.

All player protections must be submitted by the families of the protected players before our player assessment day, so that assessing coaches are aware of which players are available to draft. Protected players MUST still participate in the player assessment day, it is a Little League requirement.

No players may be protected after the player assessment.

PRE-DRAFT
Coaches are invited to observe their division's player assessment to scout for their draft board. Each team is required to offer a volunteer from their staff to act as an "independent assessor" for another division. These independent assessor scores are used to create an impartial "draft board" for use at the draft.

Prior to the draft, all coaches will receive a "draft board", containing independent assessment scores in various skill categories for all players available to be drafted. Protected players will listed separately on these draft boards to avoid confusion.

THE DRAFT
Draft order will be determined randomly each year.

The draft will use a snake format.

One protected player will be assigned to each team without needing to be drafted.

Any team with a second protected player must take that player in the first round of the draft. Any team without a second protected player is free to select any unprotected player in the first round.

Any team with a third protected player must take that player in the second round of the draft. Any team without a third protected player is free to select any unprotected player in the second round.

Any team with a fourth protected player must take that player in the third round of the draft. Any team without a third protected player is free to select any unprotected player in the third round.

Beginning in the fourth round, the draft proceeds with all teams picking, until all the rosters in the division are filled.

Trades, if any, must be completed by midnight of the day after that division's draft. Any trade which cannot be completed by that time is voided.

Coaches MAY draft up from a lower division's draft board, but they MUST RECEIVE parental approval for the change in division BEFORE THAT DIVISION DRAFTS the next day. If parental approval is not given, they must select one of the undrafted players in their division's draft. 

-MAJORS ONLY- All league age 12 year olds MUST be drafted to the Majors division (or above). Once there are only as many draft picks remaining as league age 12 year olds remaining on the draft board, coaches may only select 12 year olds. Younger undrafted players at that point will be relegated to the AAA draft.

Some registrants MAY NOT be drafted into the division in which they are registered. If this occurs, an email will be sent to the parents upon completion of the draft that indicates the player will be automatically registered in the next lower division and drafted on the next day. 

*We believe that allowing teams 4 protected players allows for good continuity from season to season. We also want to make sure that newer coaches have an opportunity to compete with established coaches, thus offering high draft picks to those with fewer protected players. Realistically, most teams that want more than 4 players to continue together from a previous team will be able to do so, as coaches should have the opportunity to draft some of those players in later rounds. However, this structure does provide for the higher skilled players to move around somewhat, ensuring competitive balance and league health. Teammate, schedule and coaching requests may still be added in the registration process, so that coaches are aware at the draft table, but are NOT guaranteed for AA and above.