Co-ed youth baseball

The Celbridge Bobcats Youth Baseball Club was established in 2022, bringing baseball to boys and girls aged 6-15 in North Kildare and providing a local alternative to other more traditional, main stream sports.

FUN is at the core of what we do, and we are dedicated to creating positive memories that will last a lifetime.

With a wide range of playing abilities, we regularly take on new players with no knowledge of how to play the game and help them develop basic core skills like batting, fielding, and throwing. The club provides all equipment to new players at trainings who may not have their own glove or bat.

A member of Baseball Ireland, we are active in the youth league and regularly play against 4 other youth clubs in the greater Dublin area, with many of our players also participating in the Baseball Ireland Youth Academy programme and making an impact at a higher level.

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Our three youth teams

The Celbridge Bobcats have three teams: (1) Coach Pitch / T-ball for kids aged 6-8, (2) Little League for ages 9-12, and (3) Cadets for ages 13-15. Youth league age is based on age as of 1st of January of the current playing season.

Coach Pitch (ages 6-8): Coach primarily pitches underhand to his or her own players on a slightly smaller field, base distance 50ft. This is more of a Rounders style of play. Games are very laid-back and focused on the kids having fun. Coaches are very involved and helping ensure the kids know what is going on. Main goal to have fun and hold attention, while preparing for Little League when they turn 9.

Little League (ages 9-12): This is when the game moves away from the Rounders style Coach Pitch game and more toward baseball, with players pitching to each other and trying to strike each other out. The kids love this. Base paths are slightly longer at 60 feet, with pitching distance 46 feet. Baseball Ireland Little League incorporates Coach Pitching, which means if the pitcher walks the batter (throws 4 ‘balls’), then the coach pitches to the batter. This provides more opportunities for batting and fielding, while also developing player pitching.

Cadets (ages 13-15): No more Coach Pitch – Cadet level is one step closer to full on baseball. Regular hard ball baseballs are used. Batters are getting stronger and able to hit the ball harder and further, and it is great to see the progression at this stage from those who started out playing at a younger age. The pitches start coming in faster, with the pitchers experimenting with a wider variety of types of pitches and throwing off-speed pitches to deceive the batter. The game becomes much more mental than before, with the epic ‘poker game’ battle between pitcher and batter of ‘what pitch will the pitcher throw next’ and ‘what pitch is the batter expecting me to throw’. Base runners can lead off while the pitcher is in the stretch, and there are full on baseball rules. This is the last stage before the adult league in Ireland.