Players, Coaches and Parents:
Planning for the 2008 season of PLAY traveling baseball
is underway!
Important Dates for the upcoming season are listed
above. While we hope no changes are needed for these
dates, please check back for any possible updates.
For the 2008 season there are a couple of changes to
note:
Winter Clinic – In past seasons, P.L.A.Y. has
offered a winter clinic on Sundays in February and March
in which the traveling baseball development group has
attempted to watch/evaluate players. For 2008 we will
not be using a winter clinic evaluation as a piece in
determining the final travel team creations. As the
program has grown, it has gotten increasingly difficult
to get all the potential traveling players involved
in a meaningful evaluation environment. We are currently
working with the high school and legion baseball programs
to possibly provide a clinic under their instruction/supervision.
This would be an opportunity for players to learn more
about baseball and to use the clinic as a spring board
for the 2008 traveling season. (With the opening of
several facilities in the area in recent years, opportunities
for instruction and space to practice have greatly increased.
Places to “work on your game” in the area
include, Velocity Sports Performance, Blue Chip Sports,
Triple Play Sports and Dakotah Sports and Fitness).
15 year old traveling teams – There will be a
formal tryout process this year at the end of April
(for all 15 year olds who have signed up by the registration
deadline). The players at this level typically play
freshman baseball at the high school. 15 year olds interested
in playing traveling baseball MUST
still register with our program. Playing for the high
school freshmen team does not automatically register
you for the traveling program nor guarantee you a spot
on a team.
We have updated the Traveling FAQ link with detailed
information in regards to the season itself and expectations
of our program.
It's important to remember that Traveling baseball
is a step up from In-House Baseball. Players will earn
a spot on a Traveling team's roster (usually 12 players
per team) through a Tryout/Evaluation Process (please
go to the tryout/evaluation link for more detailed information),
and playing time will be distributed a little bit differently
than in the In-House program. The baseball board feels
that the main goal of our program is to teach the kids
as much as we can about the game and give them as many
opportunities to play as possible. Playing at a certain
level one season does not guarantee
a spot at that level in following seasons. Each season
kids will have the opportunity to move up or down based
on their tryout/evaluation. Please keep in mind - -
what level the kids play at today has no bearing on
where they will end up down the road.
As in past years, we will continue to work with the
high school baseball program. Using this approach, our
goal is to implement standards for the program so coaches
do not have to “reinvent the wheel” each
season. This will help not only our program, but hopefully
help our high school program as well. One of the baseball
boards goals, is to provide tomorrow’s high school
program with today’s PLAY athletes that have more
playing experiences using current varsity schemes to
gain a better understanding of the game.
While our program may resemble the high school program
in some ways ... our commitments below remain the same
- Key Commitment #1: P.L.A.Y. will
be a Teaching Organization, for our Players and Coaches
that focuses on teaching fundamental baseball skills
at the individual and team levels.
- Key Commitment #2: P.L.A.Y. will
focus on balancing competition and fun for our players,
as well as promoting sportsmanship and fair-play.
- Key Commitment #3: P.L.A.Y. will
continually seek ways to provide the safest environment
possible for our players.
Kent Deavers
P.L.A.Y. Traveling Baseball Director
|
home
