Spring 2008

Pony League is for 13 & 14 year olds¹. Players who are 15 as of May 1, 1993 and are still in Middle School are potentially eligible to play in Pony, if allowed by the league after a tryout, but will not be eligible for postseason all-star play. Residence requirements, unlike Little League, are more relaxed, and our league is available to players from a wider area.

Western Hills will play its games in the established Southwest Pony Interlock League (SPIL). The regular season opens after spring break and ends before Memorial Day. The league tournament will run until early June. The SPIL is subdivided into three leagues that do not play each other: the "recreational" league, the "competitive" 13U league, and the competitive 14U league.

The recreational league will play two games per week, one during the week and one on Saturday, and there is a league tournament at the end of the regular season. Weeknight games will be at Western Hills fields, either Brumley (at WAYA) or Bechtol-Harper (off Cesar Chavez near the YMCA). Weeknight games will be against other Western Hills Pony teams. About half of the Saturday games will be "away" games at the fields of the other organizations in the SPIL (Lake Travis, Oak Hill, etc.). So, about 75% of the recreational league games will be at Western Hills fields, and 25% will be road games.

The competitive/select leagues are very different from the recreational league. The competitive/select leagues will involve players and families in a much greater time and financial commitment than has been previously available in Western Hills baseball. Specifically:

	All league games will be on weeknights and most will be road games.
	Competitive teams will play weekend tournaments during the spring Pony season. These tournaments will probably involve some travel. Between league games and tournaments, some players may have five games in a week, as well as practice.
	These teams may incur additional costs for tournaments and travel. These costs will be the responsibility of the players' families, not Western Hills.
	The competition faced will mostly be "select" teams who play baseball year-round, employ private coaches, and travel extensively.

Western Hills expects that many players who are capable of playing in the competitive leagues will instead choose to play in the recreational league because of the differences in the time and financial commitments involved. This occurs in the other area organizations as well, and we are confident that the recreational league will provide a challenging baseball experience for all players. Last year, there were 24 recreational-league teams in the SPIL, 6 in the 13 & under competitive league, and 7 in the 14 & under competitive league. Players in both the recreational league and the competitive leagues are eligible for postseason all-star tournament play, which will occur in June and July.

For more information please contact League Commissioner Richard Queen at 923-6709.