LEAGUE DESCRIPTION
The Ahwatukee Foothills PONY Baseball Association (AFPBA) is an Arizona corporation that was formed to provide a community-based program designed for enjoyable and wholesome activity for the young people of our community. Our league serves the Ahwatukee Foothills area. AFPBA is affiliated with the national and international PONY Baseball and Softball organization. PONY, an acronym for Protect Our Nation's Youth, is celebrating over 50 years of providing experiences in youth baseball and softball that will help young people grow into healthier and happier adults. Play is governed by official rules, as played by the colleges and pros, with exceptions deemed necessary for a youth baseball program. In addition, locally-governed PONY leagues are allowed the flexibility to adjust the rules to best serve their community. PONY Baseball and Softball is not designed for a few highly skilled athletes, but for all of the young people in our community that are interested in the game and improving their skills. Two seasons will be provided during the year: the Spring season (February - May) is oriented towards skill development, games, and the opportunity to compete in post season tournaments (mid-June - August) which may take players to the "PONY World Series". The fall season (September - November) consists of games but places more emphasis on training and skill improvement.

TWO-YEAR AGE BRACKETS
Experimentation has indicated that a 2-year age bracket is the most practical for growing players. Often because of the lack of maturity, ability and size, the younger players in a league that spans more than two years have difficulty communicating with the older players. They may also find themselves spending the majority of a season on the bench. With two-year age brackets, it is far easier to permit every player to have equal playing time because the difference in skills within an age group is not as great.

AGE-SPECIFIC DIAMONDS
Softball and baseball cannot be played as intended if the physical capability of the players does not match the physical achievements required by the game. PONY believes that rather than change the rules of baseball and softball, it is more logical to change the size of the playing fields and adjust them to the physical potential of the players. The distance between bases and the pitching distance are proportionately scaled to the ability of the players in a particular age group.
The age-specific diamonds allow the players to make all of the plays made by professional players. Home runs become a possibility. The double play, squeeze play, hit and run, and other tactics that are difficult for adult players on a full-size diamond, become part of the game for our players.

PONY TOURNAMENT PLAY
PONY Baseball and Softball conducts tournament play through six to eight levels, culminating in the PONY World Series. The contiguous United States is divided into four zones: North, East, South and West, Champions for each zone are determined through a series of elimination tournaments at the Area, District, Section, Region and Division/Zone levels. Tournament play may be limited at the local level. Most tournament-level play will be at the Zone level and will probably include Arizona and southern California teams. Opportunities for tournament play are for the Mustang through Palomino divisions.

GAME SCHEDULES
Game schedules and field locations for each division will be determined after registration, tryouts and player drafts. The number of games and the associated schedule is dependent on the number of players that register for each age division. Game schedules for all divisions (baseball and softball) will be posted at this site when completed.