The Lil' Sluggers Program is currently evaluating children (boys and girls) for our ongoing sessions.We are currently offering only afternoon sessions. Each session works best with 3 to 4 boys/girls. Scheduling and creating new sessions is based strictly on demand. When we put together a Lil' Sluggers group, we are doing so with the expectation that each student will be attending on a weekly basis. However, there is no package to buy and no long term commitment. You only pay when you attend. You keep coming as long as your child is learning and having fun. After a few sessions, each child will receive a FREE Lil' Sluggers T-Shirt. Each session lasts one hour and the cost is $20 per session per child. We offer discounted package of 3 sessions for $50 or 7 sesions for $100.
The current Lil' Sluggers program is designed for children between 3 and 5 years of age. The current sessions are a bit different than we originally planned. The original program was designed to be simply an interactive weekly activity for young children that introduced them to the concepts of baseball in a safe and fun environment. At the request of several parents, our current program has evolved into an instructional program that maintains the general concepts of the original program (fun and safe). In the current Lil' Sluggers program we introduce one basic physical skill each week while disguising the "drill" in a fun setting. We combine Blast Ball (described below) with other games and activities through each session. The "skill-of-the-week" is always the focus of the session and most activities revolve around that skill. Prior to joining a Lil' Sluggers class we would like to perform a FREE evaluation to determine if your child is at the right skill level for our program. All kids develop their athletic skills at different rates. In some cases, skill development may be accelerated by the presence of older siblings. The main goal of our evaluation is to ensure that your child will benefit from what is being taught in this program (we don't just want to take your money!). For example, a 5-year old with the physical skills of a 7-year old may not be challenged sufficiently and may become a safety risk to others, younger kids, in the program. Some of our kids are already in organized t-ball leagues and some are not. This factor alone can create a large difference in skill level between students. Our goal is to keep our groups as evenly matched as practical.
Part of the program features a unique version of baseball / softball called Blast Ball. Blast Ball is designed for kids to have a "blast" while learning the basic skills of the game. The game is played with a soft sponge coated bat, a sponge rubber ball, a batting tee, and a single base that "honks". The batter hits the ball off the tee, and runs to the base. The fielders chase the ball, grab it, hold it up, and shout "blast". If the batter makes the base "honk" before the fielder shouts "blast", the batter is safe. Scorekeeping is optional. Although our Blast Ball leagues (a totally seperate experience) are designed for 2-4 year olds, the addition of Blast Ball to the Lil' Sluggers program keeps things fun and lively while still learning baseball and softball skills.
Each Lil' Sluggers session is supervised by a responsible Lil' Slugger Program Coordinator. Sessions last one hour and include a different "skill-of-the-week" focus for each session. Most of the time is spent in actively teaching and practicing skills but we also take short breaks to do other related activities too.