Post Season Play

At the conclusion of each season, a select number of players are invited to join post-season “All Star” teams that participate in local and regional tournaments. These players, their teams, and their families serve as the ambassadors of LA-MV to other leagues around Northern California, the PONY Western Zone, and (potentially) all of the United States.

All LA-MV families are encouraged to attend these post-season tournaments, cheer for our kids, and watch some really great baseball!

All-Star Teams

LA-MV PONY Baseball typically fields the following post season teams each year. The actual number of teams is dependent on the number and availability of players, coaches, umpires, and fields.

Pinto 2 2 Travel Teams
4 In-House Teams

Mustang 2 Mustang-2 Travel Teams (an “A” and a “B” team)
1 9U (Mustang-1) Travel Team
4 In-House Teams

Bronco 2 Travel Teams (an “A” and a “B” team)
4 In-House Teams

Pony 1 Pony-13 (13YO Only) Travel Team
1 Pony (13 or 14YO) Travel Team

Colt 1 Travel Team

The Pinto-2 and Mustang-1 Travel teams are entered into local, non-PONY sanctioned tournaments. In previous years, these teams have played in tournaments in Sunnyvale, Cupertino, San Bruno, and Brentwood. The Pinto-2 Travel teams typically start practices in late May and have their first tournament Memorial Day Weekend. The Mustang-1 Travel team typically has their first tournament in late June.

The Mustang-2, Bronco, Pony, and Colt Traveling teams are entered into PONY National Tournament play as described below. These teams begin practicing at the conclusion of the regular season and/or the conclusion of In-House tournaments (early June). These teams will also likely participate in one or two local tournaments leading up to the PONY Sectionals in an effort to better prepare the teams for PONY tournament play.

In-House All Star Tournament Teams are composed of the remaining qualified players that were not selected for the Traveling All Star Teams. These teams play in a tournament held on our own fields, usually in early or mid-June.

Player and Coach Selection

Each All Star team is comprised of one Head Coach and 12-15 players that are selected by the Division Director and Head Coach, and reviewed and approved by a Committee comprised of the VP of Operations, the Player Representative,

and the Director of Umpires. Assistant coaches are chosen from the pool of parents for each team.

All Star players are selected with the objective of fielding the best possible team. Player selection begins with the information that is collected at tryouts. This is supplemented with the evaluations of “best opposing players” in the Game Reports that are submitted by Head Coaches to the Division Director after every game. Finally, every Head Coach (both Regular Season and Club Team) is asked to evaluate the performance of each of his players and pass on recommendations for All Star consideration.

Based on the Game Reports, Tryout scores, input from these coaches, and personal observations of player performance by the Division Director, tentative rosters are then assembled for each All Star team by a Committee comprised of the All Star Head Coach, Division Director, and Player Representative. This is immediately followed by telephone confirmation with each player regarding their interest and availability to commit to participating with the team. This process can take several days to complete.

National PONY Tournament Play

The PONY Baseball organization annually sponsors a series of tournaments that ultimately lead

to the PONY World Series. Separate tournaments are held for each division, Pinto through Palomino. LA-MV typically enters two Mustang teams, two Bronco teams, one Pony 13 team, one Pony team, and one Colt team into PONY tournament play, as described above.

The PONY World Series track consists of four tournament rounds:

PONY Sectional Tournaments are held in early July. Each league decides how many teams to enter and the composition of its teams, subject to PONY Tournament Team Rules that ensure fairness across leagues. Typically 4 to 8 Sectional Tournaments in each division are held around the Bay Area, with 6 to 12 teams in each Tournament. The tournaments are always double-elimination: each team plays until they lose two games. LA-MV has won 20 Sectional Championships, including two in 2003, three in 2005, two in 2006, and three in 2007.

PONY Regional Tournaments are held in Mid July, and include all teams that won a Sectional Tournament, plus the tournament host team. LA-MV is in the Northern California Region, which spans Monterey to the California-Oregon border. LA-MV is the host for the Regional Tournament for the Pony Division (ages 13-14) through the 2007 season; you can see the most recent results on our Rosita Tournament Page. LA-MV has won four Regional Championships, including Mustang in 2003, and Bronco in 2005 and 2006.

PONY Zone Tournaments are held in early August and consist of those teams that have won Regional tournaments. There are six PONY Zones around the world: West, North, East, South, Asia, and Caribbean. LA-MV is located in the West Zone, which includes all of the Pacific states, Arizona, and Hawaii. LA-MV Bronco teams finished as West Zone Runner-Up in 2005 and 2006.

The PONY World Series is held in mid August, and includes one team from each of the six Zones, plus the Zone host team and tournament host team. Details about the PONY World Series are available on the PONY web site.

Additional Information

	LA-MV Season All Stars Page has the latest schedules and results for all LA-MV All Star teams.
	Rosita Tournament Home Page has the schedules, results, and team information for the Pony North Region Tournament at Rosita Field.
	PONY North Division Central Region web page includes locations, schedules, and results for the Sectional and Regional tournaments.