Beginners League:
Offered for kids ages 5-6, Beginner's League is a child's first real exposure to playing baseball. While everybody is aware that it's a brand new experience for the child, what often gets lost, and something the NHAA never forgets, is that it's also a brand new experience for YOU, the coach and parent.

The goals of our program are to introduce the kids to the fundamentals of baseball, provide an encouraging environment, have a ton of fun, and leave the kids with a positive, memorable experience.
Your child will participate in a structured program teaching the fundamentals of hitting, throwing, base running, and fielding, as well as through controlled games to promote the development of their skills. Introducing the children to baseball fundamentals is the primary goal of the NHAA Program.

• All practice/game schedules will be finalized once registration is closed, quantity of teams is determined, coaches are selected, and rosters finalized.
• All practices/games will be held at Ross Elementary Field and Oesterle Field.
• Depending on the weather, you can anticipate (1) practice/game on a weekday and (1) on a weekend.
• You can anticipate each practice/game should last approximately 1-1/2 hours. 

Expectations
The NHAA believes strongly in keeping things simple when teaching the game of baseball and softball. With that in mind we have developed five goal areas for each of the age groups. As a coach we want to keep these five goal areas in mind every time we plan a practice. They represent the fundamental building blocks for success. The goals at one level need to be accomplished before the goals at the next level can be pursued.
 
These are the Five Goals that we hope to and you should expect your child to have achieved at the completion of the Beginner's League Level:

• Learn the Basic Rules - the right direction to run when the ball is hit; runners must touch the bases; how to record outs (catch the ball in the air, throw to first, or tag the runners); running past first base; scoring a run; three outs constitutes an inning
• Throwing Mechanics - turn the body so that the front shoulder points toward the target; keep the elbow above the shoulder; step toward the target with the non-throwing foot and release the ball.
• Tracking - follow the ball with the eyes to the glove, whether on the ground or in the air (use softer balls); use two hands to catch and field; try to catch the ball out in front of the body.
• Hitting - how to hold and swing the bat; batting safety (when not to swing bats, wearing batting helmets); hitting off a tee; hitting softly tossed pitches
• Learning Positional Play - if the ball is hit to your buddy, let him or her field it