Fountain Valley PONY Baseball

P.O.N.Y. stands for "Protect Our Nation's Youth," and Fountain Valley Pony Baseball has been dedicated to this mission since 1975.

FV Pony Baseball is a development baseball league serving children and youth ages 3 to 14.  There are no geographic boundary limitations for FV Pony Baseball.  Players are divided up into divisions by age and skill level.  PONY is known for its  "real baseball" style rules as opposed to Little League, which uses greatly modified rules of baseball for its younger players.

FV Pony Baseball All-Star teams participate in the official Pony World Series tournament, which starts with Regionals.  Over the years, we have won multiple championships at many age levels at the Regional, Zone and World Series Pony Competitions.

Hundreds of PONY players have gone on to MLB (Major League Baseball) careers, including Hall of Fame inductees Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr.

Over the course of the last 48 years, Fountain Valley Pony Baseball has grown to be one of the most successful youth baseball organizations in the United States. We continually serve over 1400 registrants over our Spring and Summer Seasons. Many players have gone on to play in High School, College and pro levels.

In 2014, FVPB was selected by Major League Baseball (MLB) as a Top 15 Youth Baseball League in the entire United States. This prestigious honor Included leagues from various affiliations ( Little League, Ripken, Pony, Babe Ruth...) and was judged on multiple categories including; Competition, Leadership, and Development.

FOAL (T-BALL) (AGES 3-4)

FOAL T-ball is an instructional t-ball level league to teach 3-4 year old players the fundamentals of baseball by the simplest method possible: letting them play the game.  Emphasis is on instruction and fun. 

FOAL T-ball coaches are allowed on the field to offer instruction during the game. The rules require that players be given the opportunity to try different positions, and that all of them get to play in every game. 

Players in this age range have a short attention span, and it is not uncommon for players of this age, initially, to be unfamiliar with which is first base, which is third base, and which field is left and which is right. This has no relationship to the player's potential athletic ability. 

FOAL T-ball is a great time for the players to learn basic catching, throwing, batting and fielding, and a love of the game of baseball without making the experience a course of intensified instruction. 

SHETLAND (AGES 5-6)

At FV Pony, SHETLAND league is a transition from t-ball to machine pitch.   Kids will be challenged by attempting to hit from a pitching machine.  If after a certain number of attempts they do not hit from the machine, a tee is brought out, and the player will hit off the tee.  Every player hits at every at-bat!  The players continue to learn the basics of throwing, catching, and base running.  Kids will also begin to learn to throw and tag out.  

SHETLAND coaches are allowed on the field to offer instruction during the game. The rules require that players be given the opportunity to try different positions, and that all of them get to play in every game. 

SHETLAND League provides an excellent opportunity to teach basic catching, throwing, batting and fielding, and a love of the game of baseball without making the experience a course of intensified instruction.  Score is not kept at this level, helping players focus on the joy of participation. 

PINTO (AGES 7-8)

At FV Pony, PINTO  is a 100% player-pitch league.   Stealing all bases (no lead offs) is permitted, which keeps the players excited and engaged during this critical phase as players learn how to pitch.  The pitching mound distance for Pinto is 40 feet, and the bases are set 60 feet apart.   

We find that giving players early exposure to pitching allows them to become comfortable on the mound as they continue to learn and grow as pitchers.

International tournament play is not conducted at these age levels. Leagues may play in regional invitational tournaments, but it is recommended they do so with regular season team rosters. The focus should remain on training more than competition. 

Managers and coaches at this level focus on the development of all of the players on their team. The development of players' basic skills remains the primary goal of coaching at this level.

MUSTANG (AGES 9-10)

At FV Pony, MUSTANG is the point at which lead-offs are legal, pitchers can pick off runners, the drop-3rd rule applies, and players are playing real baseball in accordance with The Rules of Major League Baseball as well as specific PONY rules that are in place to supersede the MLB rules where appropriate such as pitching, substitution, re-entry, etc. 

In MUSTANG, the pitching mound is set at 46 feet, and the bases are set 60 feet apart.  Players react quite favorably to the greater challenge of the game and have little difficulty mastering the transition.

BRONCO (AGES 11-12)

BRONCO  is a continuation of the philosophy to fit the diamond to the physical potential of the players.  The bases and pitching distances are scaled up slightly from MUSTANG.  The pitching mound is set at 50 feet, and the bases are set 70 feet apart.

The transition diamond used in BRONCO permits infielders and outfielders to select their defensive positions in relationship to the anticipated speed of the ball when they field it.

This diamond positions the infielders and outfielders in direct proportion to that assumed by Major League Baseball players and permits the younger players to play the game as it was designed to play.

PONY (AGES 13-14)

PONY 14U™ LEAGUE is the transition league that takes players from the "kid" leagues to "young adult" status. It permits a player to play on a diamond tailored to his size and capability rather than being moved to one with twice the playing area in a single year. PONY 14U™ LEAGUE is specifically designed for the player in those very formative early-teen years.   The pitching distance in PONY is 54 feet, and the bases are set 80 feet apart.

The vast majority of players of league age 13 simply do not belong on a full-size diamond. At the same time, they have outgrown the dimensions of the "kids baseball" diamonds used in BRONCO LEAGUE and other "12-and-under" programs.

PONY 14U™ LEAGUE was founded for this very apparent reason. After becoming skillful players in the younger leagues, players in their early teens found themselves unable to compete, to play the game of baseball as it was intended to be played, on the regulation size diamond. 

With bases set 80 feet apart and pitchers throwing from 54 feet, PONY 14U™ LEAGUERS play one of the most fascinating games in all of youth baseball. Well beyond the beginners stage, they have mastered all but the finest points of technique and strategy and can play the game with a skill comparable to that of older players, if you let them play it on a field specifically designed to match their physical limitations.