Marblehead Summer Travel Baseball

Marblehead Youth Baseball’s Goal: Summer baseball is a fun and exciting opportunity for all kids to experience, no matter their ability of commitment level! It is the goal of Marblehead Youth Baseball to provide any player with the interest of playing summer ball to have the chance to do so. A wide range of options for various levels of commitment and ability exist to meet that goal.

This Document: This document is intended to layout a clear and transparent process for Summer Travel Baseball. The process will apply to all issues surrounding Summer Travel Baseball including Team Selection / Manager and Coach Selection / Fees / Eligibility / Alternates / Team Uniforms & Conflict Resolution.

Overview: The summer baseball program (excluding summer pick up ball) is for players aged 9-15 who are interested in competitive baseball. Play typically begins in late June and runs into early August. There are typically 3-4 games per week, in addition to practices. It is the goal of the board to field as many teams as possible to compete over the summer. However there will only be one team (for each age group) entered in the Cal Ripken / Babe Ruth Districts. The 12-year-old district team will also be the team that represents the town in Cooperstown.

Player Eligibility: We anticipate fielding teams for each age group to compete in the Cal Ripken District (All-Star) tournaments and Bay State Baseball (Travel) League. We may field additional teams to compete in the Bay State Baseball League and additional local weekend tournaments, based on the level of interest. We will try to accommodate as many players who want to play, as possible, but cannot guarantee a spot for every player in the summer.

Parents and players should understand that it is MYB’s policy that in order for a player to be eligible for summer play, he/she must have been registered for that year’s spring season and have played in at least half of his/her team’s scheduled games.

Cal Ripken District teams determine a player’s eligibility by their age as of April 30, 2015. Other summer programs, including Bay State Baseball accept this designation so age specific teams can be created. Younger players are eligible to play up in most summer programs MYB participates in, although the MYB executive committee must approve a player doing so. Expected Commitment for all U12 Teams: Players are expected to declare their availability in writing before the selection process. A player’s commitment will have an impact on which team the player would be eligible to play:

Cal Ripken / Bay State / Cooperstown Team: (11/12 Rostered Players) Commitment Level = HIGH. Players must commit to be available for the Districts and States (if necessary). A player may not miss more than 3 Bay State Games with the exception of games missed for legitimate illness, injury or family emergency. A player must participate in the Cal Ripken & Bay State Tournaments (miss no more than 3 games) to be eligible for Cooperstown.

Bay State Only Teams: (Up to 20 Rostered Players) Commitment Level = Moderate. Players must be available to play in 50% of the Bay State Games.

(MYB recognizes that these are guidelines and reserves the right to adjust them based upon level of interest at a specific age group, adjustments must be approved by the Executive Committee.)

# Of Players per Team: Each U12 Ripken team will consist of 11/12 players per team. Alternates will be added to that roster and must be approved by the selection committee; alternates may only play if one of the 11/12 selected players is injured or unavailable. Every effort will be made to ensure the alternates were one of the last several candidates for the respective team. The selection committee must approve any alternates on the team. The same will apply for the Cooperstown team. A majority vote by the board is the only way to change the number of players per team.

Each Bay State team will roster up to 20 players. The coach will determine the number of players to attend each game. Factors will include availability, interest, and ability.

Summer Team Selection Process: A list of players who have registered for summer play will be provided to the managers in each league (Majors, AAA and AA). Managers will be asked to rank in order from strongest to weakest by age all of the players who have registered for summer play. This ranking will be submitted to the League President & Vice President only.

Selection Committee: The selection committee will consist of the respective league coordinator / President & Vice President. In the event of a conflict of interest (ie..a member of the selection committee is also coaching one of the teams) the summer coordinator will fill in.

Summer Coordinator – The Board may select a Summer Coordinator to assist with the summer process and serve on the Selection Committees. Cal Ripken / Cooperstown Teams 12’s: A meeting will be held with all Major league Mangers. Meeting Attendees: Managers / Respective (Summer) Team Manager & Selection Committee. The Selection Committee will run the meeting. The managers will discuss candidates and vote the players onto the teams by secret ballot. The Selection Committee & Team Manager may select the last player on the team. However the Team Manager may elect to have the Managers vote on the last player.

Cal Ripken 9’s, 10’s, 11’s: The Selection Committee will review the input from the Team Managers and select the team from that data. In some instances the Team Manager may be consulted for his or her opinion. Should the selection committee have trouble selecting the team, they may require a tryout.

13’ s-15: Based upon the level of interest the Selection Committee will determine what tournaments and leagues the teams will enter for the summer. If there is interest in entering the Babe Ruth Districts that team will be selected by the managers who will submit a ranking of all interested players to the Selection Committee.

Bay State Teams / Travel Teams: The Bay State Travel Teams will be filled in with all of the remaining players who expressed interest in summer play and could not make the full commitment or were not selected for a Ripken Team.

MYB anticipates the following teams:

 Cal Ripken District & Bay State Teams o U 12 o U 11 o U 10 o U 9  Bay State Teams o 12/11 year old team o 10 year old team o 10/9 year old team

Additional Teams will be added pending player interest and availability. The goal of the summer program is to provide as many players as possible the option to play competitive travel baseball. Manager & Coach Selection: To be eligible to Manage / Coach a summer team the Managers and Coaches must have been a rostered Manager / Coach during the spring season.

Anyone interested in Managing & or Coaching a summer team must declare their interest in doing so by June 1st. The Board will meet and select team managers. The team managers may select their respective coaches, however all coaches must be approved by the Board. All managers and coaches must complete the online Cal Ripken training class.

Summer Baseball Fees The summer baseball program is a cornerstone of the Marblehead Youth Baseball program and as a result partially funded by the league. However there is a fee to offset many of the summer costs such as umpire fees / baseballs / tournament fees / uniforms etc….

Upon selection to a team the summer payment fee is due before a player plays in his or her first game. The Board will set the fees no later than May 15th. of each year.

The Cal Ripken 12 year old district team travels to Cooperstown in August. The trip is entirely self-funded by the players and coaches. Cooperstown Dreams Park (CDP) sets the fee. The fee is per player & COACH. MYB pays these fees to CDP upfront, as a result the fee is due to MYB within (14) days after the team is announced. The 2014 fee is $1,050 per Player and $450 per COACH.

There are no scholarships available for the Cooperstown trip. However, a payment plan may be worked out in advance with the League Treasurer. A team may fundraise to offset the costs of traveling to Cooperstown. Fundraising programs must be approved by the executive committee.

Uniforms Uniforms & Hats are supplied to all summer teams (except the Cooperstown team). While much appreciated privately donated uniforms will not be allowed.

The Board will select the uniforms that will be worn by the teams. The only person(s) allowed to order summer apparel are the Equipment Manager and / or the Summer Coordinator. The league will also supply coaches’ uniforms.

Coaches will also receive a collared shirt for Bay State games.

Should a player and or coach not return his/her uniform a charge of $50 will result.

CDP Team: CDP supplies coaches and players with uniforms / socks / rainwear etc…Players are required to purchase two pairs of white baseball pants. For more information on the pants please refer the CDP website. http://www.cooperstowndreamspark.com/ Marblehead Youth Baseball donates up to $1,500 for pins for trading and collecting in Cooperstown for the Cooperstown Team. This is the only League funded expense for the Cooperstown Team.

Conflict Resolution Any concerns and or issues regarding the processes above or how these processes were applied should be addressed to the League President. In the case that the issue is not resolved with the League President the issue may be brought to the Executive Committee.

We look forward to a great summer of baseball! Go Marblehead!