The middle path built for families.

We built the middle.

A player can love their local rec league and still reach a point where they need something different.

Maybe practices aren’t frequent enough. Coaching varies dramatically by team. Development depends heavily on which volunteer coach you get. Games become the focus while purposeful repetitions become harder to find. Players who want more can begin outgrowing the environment.

Travel baseball can be a great fit for some players and families. But it often comes with substantially more money, weekend tournaments, travel, hotel stays and a calendar that can dominate family life.

A family shouldn’t have to choose between outgrowing rec and reorganizing its life around baseball.

A competitive, development-focused experience that keeps baseball local, accessible and family-friendly.

15 weeks. 30+ practices. 14 games. One Development Plan.

We standardize what players should learn without scripting every minute of every practice.

Foundation: Throwing, receiving, fielding, hitting, baserunning and Farm practice habits.

Repetition: Skill repetition and position exposure.

Application: Game application and baseball IQ.

Competitive development: Situational execution.

Individual development: Player-specific development priorities.

Measure: Demonstrate growth and identify next priorities.

Every team. Every season. A shared development standard.

2 Dedicated Practices / Week: Practice is a protected part of the program.

Age-Level Development Curriculum: Clear progression by age and stage.

Continuous Batting Order: Every available player bats, with free defensive substitution subject to safety rules.

Position Rotation / Development: Expose and develop across positions.

Approximately 30 Summer Practices: Purposeful repetitions and age-appropriate skill development.

Pitching & Catching Development: Intentional development for players with interest and readiness.

Player Placement Session: Establish a preseason baseline and help build balanced teams.

Player Development Record: Preseason baseline → Midseason → Postseason.

Meaningful Playing Opportunities: Shared playing-time standards without rigid inning-by-inning quotas.

Local Macomb County Fields: Game and practice fields finalized based on demand and availability.

The details that matter.

Who is Development League for? Development is for individual players and families who want a structured baseball program with intentional practices, meaningful games, trained coaching and a local schedule. Players do not need to bring an existing team.

How many players are on a Development team? Development rosters are built around 12 players per team.

How many practices and games are included in Summer Development? The Summer model includes approximately 30 structured practices over roughly 15 weeks plus 14 games.

How often do Development teams practice? The model is built around two dedicated practices each week.

How much is Summer Development? The locked Summer Development price is $942 per player, using a $249 initial registration payment plus scheduled $99 monthly payments.

Are there tryouts? Development uses Player Placement Sessions rather than traditional cut-based tryouts. Registered players are evaluated so Farm can establish a development baseline and construct appropriately balanced teams; the session is not designed to cut players based on performance.

Who builds the teams? Farm does. Development coaches do not conduct a traditional player draft. Farm centrally constructs rosters using evaluation information and practical factors such as age, pitching/catching resources, geography, availability and siblings.

Can my child request a friend? Yes. Each Development player may identify one friend they would like to play with. Farm wants players to enjoy baseball and create memories with friends, while also giving them the valuable experience of meeting new people and learning to work together with teammates they may not already know. Farm will make a reasonable effort to accommodate mutual friend requests when possible, but requests are not guaranteed. Player development, roster balance, team capacity, practice availability, geography and other placement considerations take priority.

What is a mutual friend request? It means two players request one another. Farm may try to keep that pair together when the roster construction supports it, but friend-request chains or larger groups do not create a guarantee that the entire group will be placed together.

Can families use friend requests to keep an existing team together? No. Development is intentionally an individual-registration, league-built team model. Friend requests cannot be used to recruit or stack a roster. Existing teams or larger groups that need to stay together should use Farm Club.

Can my child request a specific coach or team? Development rosters are constructed centrally by Farm, so specific coach or team placement is not guaranteed. The Head Coach’s child is the primary automatic roster connection; other placement decisions follow Farm’s roster-construction standards.

Can an existing team enter Development together? Development is an individual-registration product. Existing teams that want to stay together should use Farm Club.

Are Development coaches paid? Yes. Development Head Coaches receive a stipend and operate within Farm’s coaching standards and development curriculum.

Does Farm have playing-time rules for Development? Farm uses shared playing-time and position-development standards rather than rigid inning-by-inning rules. Coaches are expected to provide every player meaningful opportunities, use a continuous batting order, manage defensive sitting fairly and develop players at age-appropriate positions, while retaining the freedom to make legitimate baseball decisions. Year 1 will not require administrative tracking of every player’s defensive innings or positions.

Does every Development player receive exactly equal playing time? No. Meaningful opportunity is the standard, not mathematical equality. Farm does not require identical innings, positions or batting-order placement in every game. Coaches are trusted to manage games while remaining accountable to the program’s development standards.

Will every player pitch or catch? No. Pitching and catching are based on readiness, safety and interest. Coaches should develop depth at those positions, but Farm will not require a player to pitch or catch simply to satisfy a rotation formula.

Does Farm guarantee every coach will be great? Farm will select, train, support and compensate coaches, but no league can perfectly predict coaching performance before a season begins. Farm will evaluate Year 1 coaching performance and use that information to continually improve coach selection and support.

Can my child play up? Playing up can be approved when Farm determines the player is ready and the placement is appropriate from a development and safety standpoint. It is not an automatic parent-selected option.

Can my child play down? Playing down is not a normal competitive option. Exceptions require documented league approval based on legitimate individual circumstances, not simply a desire for easier competition.

Will teams be perfectly balanced? No league can guarantee perfect balance. Farm uses placement information and centralized roster construction to create reasonably balanced teams, but children develop at different rates and coaching and performance vary during a season.

Will Farm move players between teams if one team starts winning a lot? Generally, no. Once Development rosters are published, Farm does not intend to trade children simply to chase mathematical parity.

What is included in Fall Development? Fall Development is approximately eight weeks and includes two structured practices per week (approximately 16 total), eight games, Farm coaching and curriculum, fields, umpires and a new Fall uniform.

How much is Fall Development for a returning Summer player? Returning Summer Development players pay $495 for Fall through five additional $99 installment payments. There is no second join/upfront fee. Summer + Fall totals $1,437.

How much is Fall Development for a new Fall player? A new Fall Development player pays $545 total: a $149 join fee plus four $99 installment payments.

Do Summer players stay on the same team in Fall? Not necessarily. Fall is a new season and roster needs may change. Farm plans for the possibility that players will switch teams.

Can I register for Fall only during Summer registration? Farm will not promote a Fall-only choice during Summer registration. The Summer registration paths are Summer Only and Summer + Fall.

Will my child reuse the Summer uniform in Fall? Farm is planning for a new Fall uniform order for every Development player because Fall team assignments may change.