9U Tadpole

At the Tadpole level base paths are set at 60 feet, 8 year old pitchers throw from 40 feet while 9 year old pitchers throw from 42 feet, and a soft version of a hardball is used. Tadpole games are 5 innings. For the month of April a "live" pitcher is used for the first inning, and a pitching machine is used for the last four innings. In May and June "live" pitchers are used for the first 2 innings and a pitching machine for the last three innings. Pitcher counts are used to protect the health of the players. No lead offs are allowed, and players can only steal 3rd base (and cannot go home on an overthrow). Score is kept but there are no standings at this level until playoffs.

Spring Tadpole is a "house" league so there is no travelling.

Summerball

Tadpole is the first division where summer "All-Star" play is introduced.  Tryouts usually take place in mid-late May.

CMBA often forms 1 or 2 teams at the 9U level and 1 or 2 teams at the 8U level.

The season usually runs late June through the end of July.  There are additional fee(s) for those participating in the summer program and teams will travel to play other associations.

Pitching Machine

In the Tadpole division we use a manual pitching machine, and the model used is the Louisville Slugger UPM45. The following reference documents for this pitching machine are available under Resources.