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COOPERSTOWN BASEBALL WORLD 12U BLUE SCHEDULE
COOPERSTOWN BASEBALL WORLD 12U WHITE SCHEDULE
TRAVEL BASEBALL 2008 APPAREL ORDER FORM
GENERAL:
The Mahwah Baseball Travel Program
is designed as a supplement to the Mahwah Youth Baseball
Recreation Program. The goal of the travel program is to
increase player skill development in a more competitive
environment. Because of the increased competitiveness of
travel baseball, the program is intended for players who
have a higher level of interest in the sport and are
prepared to dedicate more time to the sport for
practices and games.
The Mahwah Travel Baseball Program
is organized by the Mahwah Baseball Organization which
is part of the Township of Mahwah Youth Sports Boosters
(TMYSB). TMYSB and the Mahwah Baseball Organization is
an all volunteer group which works with the Township of
Mahwah to provide an opportunity for youth residents to
play baseball on local fields and facilities. The
Mahwah Baseball Organization is headed by the Baseball
Commissioner. The Baseball Commissioner appoints a
Travel Director to run the Travel Program. The
organization follows the guidelines of the TYMSB.
Currently, the Mahwah Baseball
Travel Program assembles teams of Mahwah residents, by
age for the spring and summer seasons. These teams
represent Mahwah against travel teams from other towns.
The youngest age group, 9U, is for players nine years
old and under. The program also offers teams at the 10U,
11U, 12U, 13U and 14U age levels. It is the desire of
Mahwah Baseball to field as many teams as feasible by
age group. The optimum team size is 12 to allow
appropriate playing time for everyone. Teams can,
however, be larger on a case by case basis. Also, teams
will be placed in a travel league that is appropriate
for their assessed skill level as determined by the
Mahwah Baseball Commissioner and Travel Director.
PLAYER EXPECTATIONS:
Since the travel teams compete
against teams outside of Mahwah, competition tends to be
stronger and parents should note the following
obligations before committing to join a travel team:
1.
The Mahwah Baseball Travel Program is designed as
a supplement to the Recreation Program for baseball.
Any child who wishes to play travel baseball must play
in the town recreational league. Failure to attend
recreation games could result in removal from the travel
team.
2.
There are two seasons for travel baseball. The
spring league runs from early April through early June
with one game generally played on Sunday afternoons. The
spring league is used primarily as preparation for the
summer league. Generally, two to three games a week are
played in the summer league, which runs from early June
to the end of July.
3.
Although it is expected that families will have
other obligations and periodically take vacations,
parents should consider that county/state/regional
tournaments begin in mid-July and can run through the
end of the month.
4.
It is expected that any travel-team player will
attempt to make most, if not all, practices and/or
games, and if he is unable to make a game or practice
will supply advance notice to the coaches. Although
coaches will determine distribution of playing time, it
is common practice that playing time is influenced by a
player’s attendance at practices and games.
5.
Every age group is involved in a Memorial Day
weekend tournament.
TEAM SELECTION:
The players selected for travel
teams are chosen via a tryout where a player’s skills
are evaluated in the areas of hitting, fielding,
throwing, and running. Tryouts are held in February and
early March. To allow for a proper evaluation of each
player’s skills, the travel program desires to hold
tryouts at a local indoor facility and to have at least
one outdoor session; however, because of unpredictable
winter weather, the outdoor session(s) may be canceled.
The player’s age for team
participation is as of April 30th of the respective
year. Because this age cutoff date spans multiple
school grades, players must identify the team (i.e. 9U,
10U, 11U, 12U, 13U, or 14U) for which they wish to be
considered before the tryout. The player will be
evaluated only for the team for which he selects.
It is the objective of the Mahwah
Baseball Travel Program to provide an open and fair
environment for travel team selection. Travel team
selections will be made based primarily on performance
at the current year tryout. Being a travel-team
participant in a prior year doesn't guarantee selection
for a travel team in the present year.
Tryout evaluations will be
conducted and team selections will be made by a
committee of at least three individuals. All evaluators
and team selection decision makers will be chosen by the
Mahwah Baseball Commissioner. Avoiding apparent or
potential conflict of interests will be considered in
choosing the tryout evaluators and team selection
decision makers. Travel team coaches from the prior year
are perceived to have a conflict of interest since their
children were likely on the team previously and because
the player/coach bond may influence team selection in a
subsequent year. Input from a prior-year coach may be
requested on close calls. Demonstrated player attitude
and motivation may be considered in the selection
process. Further, a representative of the Township of
Mahwah Youth Sports Boosters (TMYSB) executive board
will review the travel team selection process to ensure
the process is appropriate.
TRAVEL COACHES:
Travel coaches are chosen after the
travel teams are selected. Coaching a travel team in a
prior year doesn't guarantee a coaching position in the
current year. Individuals who wish to be considered
must submit a travel coach application form to the
Baseball Commissioner. The deadline for submitting the
application is Feb. 15. See the Mahwah Youth Baseball
Web site (www.mahwahyouthbaseball.org)
for a copy of the application and instructions on
submitting the completed application. If more than one
individual applies for the travel coach position, each
applicant will be interviewed by a selection committee.
This committee will consist of individuals determined by
the Baseball Commissioner. The committee will have
appropriate representation from the executive board of
TMYSB. Upon conclusion of the interviews, the selection
committee will choose the individual perceived to be the
best overall coach/ teacher/role model/ leader of
Mahwah’s youth for baseball. This selection will be made
based on the findings in the interview and the coach’s
evaluations from prior years, if available. Each head
coach will then choose his/her own assistant coaches and
submit those assistant coaches to the Baseball
Commissioner for ratification.
Note: If a travel-team coach from
the prior year expresses a desire to coach again and is
the only applicant for the position, then he/she doesn't
have to submit a new application.
After being selected, the travel
coach for the upcoming season will meet with the
Baseball Commissioner and Travel Director to agree on
objectives for the upcoming seasons. Coaches will be
issued equipment provided by TMYSB and be responsible
for returning that equipment at the end of the summer
season.
Mahwah Youth Baseball believes the
experience for the players, coaches and parents will be
enhanced with an open dialogue among all individuals.
Parents should know that because teams in the travel
program play in a more competitive environment, equal
playing time isn't guaranteed for all players. Decisions
about playing time are made by the coach. The coach is
expected to provide opportunities for development for
all players. If parents and/or players have concerns or
questions about the coaching decisions, they are
encouraged to discuss them openly with the coach. If
concerns still remain, parents can contact the Travel
Director to discuss. If concerns still remain, the
Baseball Commissioner can be contacted. For contact
information, see the Mahwah Baseball website. If the
issue is still unresolved to the parents’ satisfaction,
the Commissioner will notify the TMYSB Vice President of
Coaches and Players (CAP) Committee. See the TYMSB
website, www.mahwahyouthsports.org, for contact
information of the VP CAP.
At or near the conclusion of each
travel baseball season, travel-coach evaluation forms
will be distributed to the parent(s) of each travel-team
player by a member of the TYMSB executive board, usually
the VP CAP. Each parent will receive one form in which
to evaluate the head coach and another in which to
evaluate the assistant coaches. The VP CAP will
organize the evaluations and provide a report to the
Baseball Commissioner along with all noteworthy comments
from the parents.
Note: Mahwah Youth Baseball
considers the completion and submission of coach
evaluation forms to be a requirement for parents. The
goal is to encourage interest in baseball for all travel
baseball team players. These evaluations help the
organization identify areas that worked well for the
players and areas that need improvement.
COST:
Parents are obligated to pay an
additional travel registration fee if their child makes
the travel team. The 2008 travel registration fee is $175.00. There is
no charge for trying out. In addition, each player is
obligated to pay for their own personalized uniform,
which will be arranged through the Travel Director and
respective team head coaches. Costs for the uniforms in
the past have been $120.00. Costs, however, are subject
to change depending on current prices. Financial
assistance can be provided if needed.
Contacts
Baseball Commissioner: Don Floyd (e-mail:
donfloyd@optonline.net)
Travel Director: Tom Pushie (e-mail:
tspushie@yahoo.com)
Coaching
If you wish to coach travel baseball please click this
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