MUSTANG will have 2 subdivisions, American and National. MUSTANG AMERICAN is a developmental level, teaching nine and ten-year-old players all aspects of real baseball. MUSTANG NATIONAL is a competitive level, where advanced nine and ten-year-old players compete in high-level baseball. Players will be drafted into these two subdivisions after Player Evaluations.
Beginning with Mustang league, the players are playing real baseball in accordance with the rules of Major League Baseball, with very few PONY-specific rules where appropriate for this age group. Kids are taught to lead, steal, pick-off, back pick, and other high-level baseball skills. This is a kid pitch division with a 60-foot diamond (46 feet to pitchers mound).
By the time kids reach Mustang, most of them have been playing baseball for several years. We expect that they can safely and comfortably catch & throw catch from distance, and hit a pitched ball. We expect a child to be able to protect themselves from a hard hit ball. A child who is new to the sport should expect to work very hard to catch up, to be able to contribute to the team.
All Mustang Players are required to complete a pre-season Player Evaluation to help us place kids on teams. Our goal is to create balanced teams that will have competitive games. We find that it is a lot more fun for everyone, and much better for each player's development, if we create balanced teams.