Big Willow 2023 Spring Registration is now closed. Thanks to all who've signed up. See you at the ballpark!
Check back in late 2023 for Spring 2024 registration.
A: The Spring season runs from approximately April 29 thru approximately June 30.
A: Players age 4 through 12 (as of May 1, 2023) are invited to play in our Spring league. See the table below for more info.
A: Yes! A friend request can be made during the registration process for the Mites and Juniors divisions. We will do our best to satisfy all friend requests, but can't make any guarantees.
A: No. All registration for the Spring season is for individual players only.
Mites and Juniors: Teams are formed by the league organizers using friend requests, schools attended and availability of head coaching volunteers. Our goal is to create teams with familiar faces for kids to build friendships and create a love for the game.
Farm and Majors: Teams are drafted by the head coach volunteers using player evaluations and knowledge of player skills based on past performance. Our goal is to create evenly balanced teams to provide for fair competition and a fun and enjoyable season.
A: See the table below.
A: Weekday game start times will be as follows:
Saturday game start times will be as follows:
A: Farm and Majors will have playoffs the last two weeks of the season.
The deadline to register is April 23, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. Be sure to register as early as possible because registration space is limited. Your early registration also helps league officials create teams, plan schedules, recruit parent-coaches and honor friend requests.
A: Big Willow welcomes players from all over the West Metro. While Big Willow is based in Minnetonka, players in past years have come from Hopkins, Golden Valley, Plymouth, Edina, Eden Prairie, St. Louis Park, Wayzata and more.
A: Big Willow board members (who are already volunteers!) are exempt. Head coaches are exempt. Sponsors are exempt. All others, including assistant coaches, are required to either complete one volunteer shift per player or purchase a buyout. Volunteer shifts can be reserved via the VOLUNTEER SHIFTS tab on the top center of the Big Willow website. See the Parent Volunteers section below for more info.
A: Contact the registrar.
To register your child to play youth baseball or T-ball, you will need to establish a SportsEngine account and become a member of this Big Willow Baseball site.
Big Willow is an independent league and registration is open to any family interested in joining. Our travel and tournament teams for older players are designed for residents living within the city limits or the school district boundaries of Minnetonka or Hopkins. Players attending a Hopkins or Minnetonka district school are also eligible.
If you already have a SportsEngine account from other activities (Hopkins Hockey, Hopkins Basketball, Hopkins Football & several others) it is the same account and your existing family information will be used. For help with setting up an account and becoming a member, please see the Account Setup document to the right.
If you would like to request a scholarship, please email the contact to the right and do not continue with online registration.
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Note: The registration process will prompt you sign in to your existing SportsEngine account prior to registering your player(s). If you do not already have a SportsEngine account (from a previous season or another sports league) you will need to create an account. Items to keep in mind about SportsEngine accounts:
If you cancel your child's registration prior to March 15, you will receive a full refund of your registration fees, less $15 for expenses related to processing your registration.
If you cancel your child's registration between March 15 and April 25, you will receive a refund of 50% of your registration fees.
If you cancel your child's registration on or after April 25, you will not be eligible for a refund.
Questions?
Registrar
Phone: 952-484-8607
Big Willow President
Please note that if your child's birthday falls between May 1 and August 31 and you have questions about which division he or she qualfied for, you may email the registrar contact above. Please also note that the age brackets below apply to our Spring league. Summer league divisions will differ - please refer to the Summer league page.
| Division | Description | Participation Criteria | Program Days | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mites | T-Ball - Fun introduction to baseball and team play. | For kids going into Pre-K, Kindergarten, or 1st grade; No previous T-ball experience; 4, 5, and 6 year olds as of May 1st. | Tuesdays and Saturdays | $100.00 |
| Juniors | Coach/Machine Pitch - Emphasis on developing basic baseball skills, knowledge and game situations. | For kids going into 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade; 7-8 year olds as of May 1st. (6 year olds with prior experience may participate.) | Wednesdays and Saturdays | $145.00 |
| Farm | Player Pitch (First Level) - Emphasis on building hitting, fielding, and pitching skills, and participation in games. Teams organized by draft to provide balanced competition. | For kids going into 3rd, 4th and 5th grades; 9-10 year olds as of May 1st; 8 year olds with advanced skills may participate in Farm try-outs | Monday-Thursday 2-3 days/week | $155.00 |
| Majors | Intermediate Baseball - Players continue to develop and apply baseball skills in a more competitive environment. Emphasis on developing consistency and well-played games. Teams organized by draft to provide balanced competition. | For kids going into 5th, 6th and 7th grade; 11-12 year olds as of May 1st; 10 year olds with advanced skills may participate in Majors try-outs | Monday-Thursday 2-3 days/week | $155.00 |
Farm & Majors Divisions - The Farm and Major's (Kid Pitch) Division will be formed through evaluations process and draft process to make sure that teams are evenly formed.
Juniors & Mites - The Juniors (Machine Pitch) and Mites (T-Ball) divisions have been formed by friend requests and school attendance as best as possible. Any sign up after team formation will be placed by empty spots to fill teams evenly.
Minnetonka Big Willow Baseball requires that every family fulfill one volunteer shift per player as noted in Table below. These volunteer hours are used to support the concession stand and other functions. Volunteer opportunities beyond concession stand duty will be advertised in the upcoming months.
You may elect to not fulfill volunteer duties at the time of registration. The volunteer buyout fee noted below will be added to your registration cost.
If you elect to volunteer and your family's hours are not fulfilled by the end of the season, you will be billed the incomplete volunteer fee. All volunteer requirements must be scheduled by June 1st to avoid the incomplete fee.
| Volunteer Requirement | Buy Out Amount | Incomplete Volunteer Invoice Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per Child | 6 Hours (2 shifts) | $250.00 | $350.00 |
Big Willow Baseball Association uses TrustedCoaches for all Background Checks, Concussion, and Abuse Prevention Training. All volunteers wishing to coach will need to complete the following Coach Registration as well as required training. Previous background checks/training will need to be brought up to date. Thank you - Big Willow Board.
Note: For best results, complete the coach registration form using the same Sports Engine login used to register your kids.