VIDALIA — Rami Burks does pretty much everything right-handed — except hit a softball.

When it comes to hitting, Burks switches things around and bats left-handed. It was a bit of an adjustment for the Vidalia tee ball all-star, but Burks, 6, said there’s been a big payoff.

“I’m just comfortable hitting left-handed,” Burks said. “I started when I was around 3, and the first year I did it, it turned into a hard power hit.”

Burks and the rest of her teammates on the Vidalia Little League tee ball All-Stars squad are gearing up for the Louisiana Little League District 3 tournament Friday night in Vidalia. From 6:30 to 8:30 every evening, the squad is getting plenty of work in, coach Bill McCarthy said.

The tee ball all-stars range from 5 to 7 years old, but that hasn’t stopped the girls from giving 100 percent every night at practice, McCarthy said.

“We run the bases a lot, we try to get them in shape and do a little hitting and fielding,” McCarthy said. “They’re a hustling group, and they try hard. They’re a joy to coach.”

McCarthy said the coaches’ goal is to get the girls to learn the basics of softball: proper throwing and catching mechanics, swinging the right way and, most importantly, listening.

“They’ve been coming along really well,” McCarthy said. “They played by a different set of rules in the regular season, and they’ve had two and a half weeks to adjust to a new set of rules.”

In all-stars, the team must make sure the ball gets back to the pitcher inside the circle that surrounds the mound before the umpire calls the play dead.

In addition to the new dead-play rule, McCarthy said his girls are actually learning to play different positions.

“In the regular season, they just kind of lined up between first and third,” McCarthy said. “Now they’re actually playing positions.”

Burks said she’s learning how to play first base, and the coaches have taught her plenty about how to field the position.

“Every time the ball is hit, you have to run and cover your base,” Burks said.

But if the ball is hit to her, Burks said things play out a little differently.

“You get it and run to your base, and if (the runner) is already halfway there, you go and tag them on the hip.”

Even if it’s a lot to remember, the real challenge is actually getting to a ball in play, Burks said.

“It’s both easy and hard (to play first), because you might accidently miss the ball when it’s fair,” she said.

Vidalia will play Avoyelles Parish at 7:30 p.m. Friday, followed by Marksville at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.