How are the leagues structured?

• 5U-10U follow an "Age Pure" format
• 3U-4U; 11U-12U; 13U-14U and 15U-18U leagues follow an "Age Blended" format

DYB focuses on player safety, competitive balance and fun. These are the decision points used during Player Evaluations. These evaluations are not just a grade, but serve to help our league ensure that in each season all teams are balanced, all players are able to have fun, all while still remaining in a safe environment. The levels offered are designed to be graduated, which are structured in a way that provides all participants with completive balance & competition commensurate based on each player's individual skill level. Each level builds upon previous levels, much similar to what can be found in an academy format. DYB always advises parents and/or guardians to strongly consider, "Which level they truly believe that their specific player will get the most enjoyment out of?" It is our desire that all of the children participating in our league, enjoy the game of baseball regardless of age, ability, and commitment.

See below for details on each level of play offered.

This program is focused on the development of beginning & intermediate skill level players.  The program offers recreational competition solely within the Dragon Youth Baseball program.  This program focuses on basic skill development, learning how the game of baseball is played, and exposure to multiple positions in both the infield & outfield.  Coaches are strongly encouraged to promote a safe learning environment for their players, while also allowing them  to occupy multiple positions during the course of a game.  Coaches must abide our General Rules & Exemptions regarding player positioning.

All games are played at the Bicentennial Park fields in Southlake, TX.  These teams can expect to play 1-2 games each week, as well as with 1-2 practices each week. 

This program offers (Single A) competition against area associations.  The program focuses on continued skill development against higher level competition against area association teams.  Coaches are still required to promote a learning environment and are bound to the DYB rules regarding player positioning, and the agreed upon Interlock rules.

The commitment to participation and learning is higher for the premier program.  However, DYB recognizes that many of these athletes play multiple sports therefore there are generally fewer premier teams in the fall because of multisport athletes.  In both Fall and Spring seasons the premier teams interlock with other area baseball associations; such as Grapevine, Coppell, Colleyville, etc.  Interlocking means they will play about half their games at locations other than Bicentennial Park home of Dragon Youth Baseball.  These teams can expect to play 2 games per week, mostly double headers (back-to-back), in addition to 1-2 practices. 

The number of Premier league teams at each Age Group in any given season, greatly depends upon the total number players registered, as well as their skill levels.  We attempt to have at least 1 Premier team for each Age Group 7U and older, each season.  For example, the Spring season generally has more than the Fall, due to higher number of participants. 

Unfortunately, not all players who qualify to play at the Premier level get drafted to a Premier teams' roster. Players MUST attend our Player Evaluations in order to be considered for Premier. Coaches then draft their teams from those eligible players. Any players who are deemed as "Premier Eligible", but who also ultimately do not get drafted to a team's roster, will then be placed back into the pool of players for their respective Age Group's Recreational League draft.

All DYB Rec and Premier players are eligible to participate assuming that they are not in violation of the DFW Interlock participation eligibility rules. We follow DFW Interlock rules in regards to a Select player's eligibility. DFW Interlock rules can be found HERE. This however does not guarantee that other baseball associations will also run their tournament in a similar fashion. As a general rule, if you want to be eligible for Summer All Stars, you need to refrain from appearing on a Select team roster.

Our Summer All Star program offers a more intense 4-6 week session of tournament style baseball against other local area All Star teams. Summer All Star teams typically practice 3 times per week at a minimum, and play in tournament games during the weekend. These tournaments are generally setup with 2 pool games and a single elimination tournament on Sunday. Most pool games are double headers on Fridays/Saturdays, and on Sundays the elimination bracket can be comprised of 3-5 games depending on seeding. Summer All Stars provides the competitive player with a chance to compete for tournament trophies and play against (Single A) level talent from the surrounding areas. 

There is a commitment from the player and parents that the player will be available for the month of June in order to participate in practices and games. There is no guarantee of equal playing time and there are no rules regarding number of innings at a particular position.

The DYB Select Program offers the most competitive and highly skilled players a way to showcase their talent against top competition.  Because DYB's core focus is our recreational league we limit Select teams to players who have demonstrated the ability to play at the AA, AAA and Major division levels. 

Teams play against local and out of state competition.  There is a yearly commitment to the team and coach.  Schedules vary per team but are generally lighter in the fall compared to the spring.  The fall is considered instructional with a light game schedule (~10-12 games and possibly 1-2 tournaments) however in the spring the select players primary athletic commitment is baseball.  Teams average 30-50 games in the spring/summer session playing in the TEBA (Texas Elite Baseball Association) league and area tournaments.  They practice 3 times per week and may utilize 3rd party facilities and coaches.