The Hillsborough Hawks is a competitive summer tournament program. Teams are formed through tryouts and evaluation during the spring little league season. The Hawks mark an important step in a child's baseball journey with higher quality play and tournament competitiveness. The 2021 Hawks fielded teams that were highly competitive and won multiple tournament championships. Tryouts were held in May and our 8U, 9U & 10U teams participated in Memorial Day Tournaments in Half Moon Bay!
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"I just want you to know that you have made a huge impression [on our son] and he is so happy to be with you and the [Hawks] team."
– 2019 Hawks Family |
Program Objectives
The Hawks reinforce the ideals of sportsmanship, teamwork, commitment and fun. We use the summer program as a development tool for both players and coaches. Over a compressed early to mid summer period, players get significant game experience - the equivalent of a second full season - while also playing higher quality competition. We also leverage the highly competitive tournament environment to improve and develop our coaches.
Program Overview
HLL is fielding two 8U teams, one 9U team and one 10U team this summer. Each team has between 12-14 players. HLL fields teams based on Summer Ball Age, which follows different rules than Little League International. 2021 Summer Ball ages are:
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11U kid pitch: born after May 1, 2010
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10U kid pitch: born after May 1, 2011
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9U kid pitch: born after May 1, 2012
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8U coach pitch: born after May 1, 2013
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"My son experienced a significant jump in his baseball skills during the summer Hawks season."
– 2019 Hawks Family |
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Competitive Nature
Our traditional spring HLL program accepts all eligible players. However, the summer Hawks program is different in that there are only a limited number of players from tryouts will be selected to participate - there will be kids who try out who are not selected. If there is enough interest and skill in an age group the league may consider adding a second team for that age group that season.
Dedication
Each team fields 12-14 players. Aside from All-Star participation, our expectation is that this is the primary summer baseball commitment for players. We play quality teams from around the Bay Area which will demand our full attention. Under normal circumstances, the minimum commitment is for a player to participate in at least three of the summer tournaments. However, there are fewer tournaments this summer, so HLL has relaxed the requirement for this summer only.
We expect a number of our older (10u and 11u) players to participate on the All-Star teams. As a result, the 10u/11u Hawks teams will be less active during the month of June to accommodate the All-Star schedule.
Tryouts
Each season, an email is sent out to all eligible HLL players once tryout schedules are determined. After that email has been received, parents can register their player using the Summer Baseball link in the left side menu (only available if you are logged in to the HLL website, and if you have at least one child who is eligible for Hawks baseball).
The tryout format is structured to assess advanced baseball skills for the age group and help determine who is capable of being on a tournament team. Tryouts are open to all HLL players, and all interested players in the selected age groups are welcome and encouraged to try out.
The criteria for who gets selected considers many factors including attitude, coachability, commitment, potential to improve, strength and baseball skills. It will not solely be based on who throws the hardest or runs the fastest.
To ensure objectivity, we leverage independent raters made up of current and former HLL Board Members, and/or coaches/volunteers whose kids are older/younger than the age group being evaluated. We always assess/communicate the results of the tryouts within a few days of tryouts.
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"As a parent, you want your kids to be put in a sports environment where they can grow as a player and increase their love of the game. Our experience with the Hawks did just that. My son's confidence grew week by week from the positive coaching and encouragement from his teammates. I would recommend the Hawks program to any parent looking for a competitive baseball program that cares about development on and off the field."
– 2019 Hawks Family |
Tournaments
Teams generally participate in 4-5 tournaments hosted by neighboring Little Leagues between Memorial Day and late July. All Hawks teams generally play Memorial Day weekend. The travel commitment is relatively low given all tournaments are all in the Bay Area. Below are tournaments that Hawks teams will compete in this summer:
- Half Moon Bay (9U, 10U, 11U) - Memorial Day weekend
- Burlingame BYBA (8U) - June 8-12
- Burlingame BYBA (10U) - June 15-19
- Redwood City Classic (8U) - June 16-19
- Millbrae (9U, 10U) - June 21-26
- Foster City Summer (8U, 9U, 10U)
- San Carlos (8U, 9U, 10U) - July 11-17
- Pacifica - August TBD
Volunteers
This program is led by well-intended volunteer parents and is supported and supplemented by HLL. The managers and coaches will be responsible for traditional roles - maintaining eligibility binders, tournament registration, coordinating team activities, working with parents, etc.
Cost
The financial commitment for 2022 is estimated to be $300 per team member (minimum of two tournaments) - which will include a hat, tournament fees, practice field reservations, etc.
Contact Information
Please direct questions, comments and suggestions to hawks@hllbaseball.org
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