Raptors Athletics Baseball  

2025 AA information

WELCOME TO THE 2025 AA SEASON OVERVIEW

General Info: Raptors will play in the Arapahoe Youth League (AYL). AA teams will play in in one of two divisions (National(NL)-intermediate & American(AL)-advanced).

Important dates for the 2025 season:

Early Registration opens: October 15, 2024

Early Registration closes: December, 31, 2024

Regular Registration opens: January 1, 2025

Player Evaluations: January 25-26, 2025

Uniform fittings and orders start: January 27, 2025

Uniform orders due: February 9, 2025

Practice Start Date: March 2, 2025

Opening Weekend Tournament Games: March 29-30, 2025

Regular Season Games Start: April 5, 2025

Regular Season Games End: June 1, 2025

AYL Night at Coors Field: May 9, 2025

Playoffs start: June 7, 2025

Playoffs conclude: June 19, 2025

 

Ages Offered: 6U & 7U (Coach Pitch), 8U (Modified Coach Pitch), 9U, 10U, 11U, 12U & 13/14U.

Age Determination Date: Age as of May 1, 2025.

 

Approximate Number of Games in Season: 10-22 including playoffs. Games will be overscheduled to allow for as many games as possible without creating the need to reschedule potential games lost due to weather related issues.  There are no guaranteed minimum number of games.

 

Format for League Games:  AA Season starting in April for all ages, typically one (1) game every Saturday and one (1) game every Sunday per weekend will be played.

Format for Championship: Two (2) games/double elimination playoff with a single elimination championship game.

 

Number of Practices per Week: Two (2) 90-minute practices per week within the town of Castle Rock from March - June. Optionally, teams are permitted to practice more than two (2) times per week if practice times are available. Below is our general guideline for when each age group will practice. 

5U - 8U 5:00pm - 7:30pm

9U - 10U 5:00pm - 8:30pm

11U - 14U 5:00pm - 9:30pm

Practice Locations: Practices are held on Town and County fields within Castle Rock.

Primary fields are the Douglas County Fairgrounds (DCFG). We will use the fields at Metzler, Paintbrush, Butterfield Park, Centennial Park, Mitchell Gulch, Founder's Park and others upon availability.

Preseason practices in March will be held exclusively at DCFG and Metzler fields. Once the season starts we will use the other fields due to losing some field availability because of AAA game schedules and loss of permits for various reasons. Below is a guideline of where teams will practice throughout the season.

13U/14U – DCFG fields 1 and 2, Any Metzler or Paintbrush field

11U-12U – All fields above and DCFG 3

10U – All fields above and Mitchell Gulch

8U-9U – All fields above and Butterfield Park or Centennial Park

6U and 7U – All fields above and Founder's Park  

 If needed, Raptors will also use available fields provided through Douglas Count School District at Rock Ridge Elementary, Sage Canyon Elementary, Castle Rock Elementary, Soaring Hawk Elementary, Buffalo Ridge Elementary, Sedalia Elementary. Larkspur Elementary, DCHS and CVHS

Raptors is also working on obtaining field availability in Castle Pines North (Retreat Park and Coyote Ridge Park) and Larkspur (Larkspur Community Park)


 Cost to play for 2025 : 

All Age Levels

$550 Early Bird (October 15 through December 31, 2024), $600 (January 1, 2025+)

Payment Plans: Early Bird registrations must be paid in full at time of registration. If you desire a payment plan, then you must choose the full price option

Cancellation of registrations: If you wish to cancel your players registration prior to the start of the season, you will need to send an email to the Baseball Director stating your desire to cancel the registration and have your player removed from the system


Refund requests:  The registration fee is 100% non-refundable. Optional registration insurance can be purchased at the time of registration.


Location of Games: Local area and greater Denver area fields provided by Aurora Spartans, Cherry Creek Bruins, Parker Hawks, Elbert County Wranglers, Highlands Ranch Warriors, South Jeffco Coyotes, or Littleton Thunder.

  

Registration Opens: October 15, 2024 to returning players, November 1 to new players.

 

Registration Deadline: First come, first served and/or when teams are full. If registration fills, then a waitlist will be provided. Returning players on the waitlist will take precedence over new players if spots open up. Players are not considered registered until they are paid with at least their initial payment. Teams are considered full if they have 12 rostered players for 8U through 14U. 6u and 7U teams should have 13 players.


How to Register:  Interested players should register and pay online by clicking on the registration button on the home page of Raptors baseball.


PLEASE NOTE: Weekends that show no games does not mean it will not have games, weather does impact baseball and games will be loaded on available weekends for play.  

·        At the conclusion of the league game schedule, ALL TEAMS will be seeded for the double elimination playoffs. Teams will play until they have lost twice with the exception of the championship game. Playoff games will begin June 7th, and end with the World Series played June 19, 2025.  

·        Please Note: All seeding is done by the AYL baseball board.

·        The above described season is subject to change at any time by the AYL Baseball BOD.

 

 

Raptors AA - Basic Information

Practice Details:

  • Please arrive to practice on time as teams move on and off the field on the field will have overlapping practices.
  • ​Practice schedule is updated every two weeks and sent to the head coach for communication to the team. 
  • Canceled practices due to weather or game related make-ups will not be rescheduled.
  • Practice schedule (days and times) will change when permit availability changes on a monthly basis.
  • We do our best to ensure that team practice time slots and fields are consistent; however, there are times where you may be switching fields and times which will be different from the prior week/month.
  • There is no trespassing on any field that is locked
  • If weather is inclement, please call the appropriate (Douglas County or Town of Castle Rock) weather line for updates.
  • Town of Castle Rock Weather Line: 303-660-1364
  • Douglas County Weather Line: 720-733-6999


Game Commitment:

  • Two games per weekend and can be scheduled on Saturday or Sunday. Most teams will have one game on Saturday and one game on Sunday per weekend during the season.
  • AYL will not make concessions to play on Friday nights due to any religious or other restrictions.
  • Games are held around the south Denver metro area
  • Raptors teams plays against other club member teams in the AYL, including other Raptors teams
  • Raptors home game fields are the Douglas County Fairgrounds, Metzler Ranch, Paintbrush Park and Larkspur field
  • Most coaches ask, and athletes are expected, to arrive one hour prior to game time to warm up
  • AYL Baseball is committed to the experience of the season and will cancel games at it's discretion due to weather related issues.
  • All game changes are updated and posted in the AYL League Website
  • All teams in AA will participate in the season end double elimination tournament. This is not optional, and it is expected that the athlete will be available to play with their team through the end of June 2025.
  • ​It is expected that any summer vacations will not be taken until the conclusion of the baseball season.


TEAM FORMATION:

There will be player evaluations held in Mid-January to make sure players are assigned to the appropriate level of play. Raptors does not cut players from the AA level. Teams will be formed by 2/9/2023

 

TEAM FORMATION

  • Roster size is at the sole discretion of the Raptors Baseball Executive Committee. Raptors will not roster more than 13 players per roster and will do everything available to make sure rosters do not fall below 11 players.
  • 8U -14U AA teams will have 12 player rosters unless registration numbers dictate larger or smaller rosters.
  • 6U and 7U teams will have 13 player rosters as a standard due to being able to have 10 players on the field at a time in those age divisions.
  • Coaches are required to participate in Evaluations for their age level. Evaluations will be held the weekend of January 25/26, 2025.
  • Raptors does not provide or condone any individual team or player tryouts at the AA level. We do not cut any player at the AA level and coaches are not authorized or permitted to to host tryouts for any AA team within the Raptors program.
  • Returning head coaches are granted returning players to their team. If a registration fails to include the coach request, then the coach will have the discretion of bringing the player back to their team.
  • We do realize sometimes kids are not a fit with a particular coach/team. Due to this we do allow coaches to communicate these concerns to the executive committee. Raptors will work to find a new team for that player.
  • AL head coaches can communicate kids from the previous AL season that should attend evaluations due to lower skill development or performance from the previous season. Raptors will require these players to participate in evaluations to make sure they do have the skills to continue play in the AA AL division or to see if a change to NL is the correct move for their current skillset.
  • Raptors does not cut any player from the AA level, however , starting at the 10U age, we will make suggestions of kids possibly moving to Rec Baseball if they do not have the basic beginning skill set that is required to play Raptors Baseball. If the family chooses not to accept this suggestion, then we will roster the player, but it will be communicated that the experience might no meet the expectation.
  • After evaluations, AA AL coaches will be allowed to make suggestions on players to fill out their rosters, however, all roster decisions are at the full discretion of the Raptors Baseball Executive Committee.
  • Coaches need to submit players they are expecting back on their rosters prior to roster formation. If they do not indicate kids they want to return, there is no guarantee of getting those kids back on their roster.
  • Any team or coach wanting full autonomy over their roster size or team composition need to be designated as a AAA team and play in the AAA/Majors/C-prep league.





  • Returning Head Coaches will receive a discount on their season fees for volunteering to coach
  • Head Coaches will pay for season in full and will receive a refund of their fees once the season has concluded and all equipment loaned to them is returned.
  • New head coaches interested are required to fill out coaching documents including application and subject to background check
  • New Head coaches will receive a discount on their season fees for volunteering to coach
  • Coaches will receive immediate access to roster once the roster is active and are expected to begin communications with the team within 24 hours of receiving the roster.



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