https://www.pony.org/Default.a...;

Birthdate Range: Sept. 2012 - Aug. 2014

PINTO 8U is an instructional league to teach eight and under (Minimum age 3 in Baseball, 4 in Girls Softball) players the fundamentals of baseball and Softball.

PINTO 8U comes in three flavors, Coach Pitch, Machine Pitch, and Player Pitch. If your community does not offer a SHETLAND LEAGUE it is recommended the pitching core be handled by coach-pitchers or a pitching machine. If the Shetland League is not used in your community, it may even be good to start PINTO 8U�????�???�??�?�¢?�????�???�??�?�¢ LEAGUE players with the batting-tee, switching to the coach-pitch format in the latter part of the season.

PINTO 8U teams are full members of PONY, receive supplies, and the full support of the headquarters staff and Field Director organization. International tournament play is not conducted at these age levels. Leagues may play in regional invitational tournaments, but it is recommended they do so with regular season team rosters. The focus should remain on training more than the competition.

Pinto teams may be attired in cap and t-shirt rather than full baseball uniforms. The cap and t-shirt will thrill a beginning player almost as much as a full uniform, will leave the player the added thrill of receiving a full uniform for a later day, and will prevent excessive demands on the league budget.

Managers and coaches at this level must be concerned with the development of all of the players on their team. These are training leagues and the development of a player's skill and personality must remain the prime goal of the manager and coach, rather than the winning of a league title.

Every effort should be made to place every player who registers for the program on a team in these early years, and every effort should be made to play every player on the team in every game.