FAQ: WLBA 2015 Cal Ripken All-Star Summer Ball Program 1. Q: What are the important dates that I need to know about the All-Star Summer Ball Program? A: April 29 May 2nd - The regular season Recreational Head Coaches will be sending an email or conducting a meeting with their teams by May 2nd to ask each player/parent on their respective teams who is interested in playing All-Star Summer Ball. Parents and kids will need to let the coach know right away that they are interested. Our online registration will open after the parent meeting 4/29 at the www.westlinnbaseball.org website. April 29 th 8:15pm 9:00pm is the All-Star Summer Ball Parents Meeting/Forum. The meeting will be held at Willamette Primary School in the Gym. The meeting will be conducted by the WLBA Player Agent. Please use this meeting to ask questions or seek clarification on any issues in this document. May 17 th is the All-Star Summer Ball Combine at Fields Bridge. 8, 9, and 10 year olds at 1:30 3:15 and 11 and 12 year olds at 3:45-5:15. The All-Star Summer Ball teams will be selected on May 17 th for 12 s and 11 s, May 18th for 10 year olds, and May 19th for 9 year olds. May 31 st is the All-Star Team Camp hosted by Joe Monahan WL High School baseball coach at West Linn High School. Time TBA. This camp fee is included in the registration fee for Summer Baseball. 2. Q: How does the evaluation and selection process occur? A: Coaches provide a list of all interested All-Star Summer Ball players to the Player Agent by May 2nd. The player agent will distribute the complete list of All-Star Summer Ball players to each Head Coach and Assistant Coach at all Cal Ripken Levels. From May 2nd until May 17 th, the head and assistant coaches will be instructed to watch the players on the All-Star Summer Ball List in game situations. On May 17 th, the All-Star Combine will cover some throwing progressions, fielding, long game throws, hitting, and running. All Head and Assistant Coaches will be asked to be at that Combine. This is not a tryout, this is simply an opportunity to see all the players at once. The bulk of the evaluation for All-Stars is during the rec season.
The selection process is determined by head coaches at each age level 12U70, 12U60, 11U, 10U, and 9U. Head coaches are not able to cast a vote for any player on their own regular season recreational team, including their own child. A teams are selected first at each level then the B teams. Please consider the options of both A team and B team playing situations. Over the course of the Summer the A team plays in about as many games in the same tournaments as the B team. Many kids and parents may think you can only have a good baseball experience on the A team. In fact, we have found that Kids that may be on the bubble of an A team can have a great opportunity to flourish on the B team. We have seen many B team kids enjoy their summer full of baseball, play an additional 30 games in the nice weather, with good fields and good competition. A lot of times those kids are the ones that gain the most from the extended baseball experience. Often times, parents are more upset about a B team selection than the child. The first 9 kids are selected only if they are unanimously chosen by the head coaches of that age group. After the 9 th kid is selected on the team, then the All-Star A coach is announced. The Head coach will then select the final picks of the team. A team usually has 12 kids on a team, but is likely that some teams will choose 13. Head Coaches make the decision on the final number of the team. Each Age Level presents a different set of selection: 12 s and 11 s group will select the best 12/70 team out of that collection of players. 12/60 is next followed by what the makeup of kids remaining are at that age level. 10 s will select an A team followed by a B team and then a C team will be created if there are enough players. 9 s will select an A team followed by a B team. If there are enough players for three teams, then we would have blended teams for the B teams at that level. 3. Q: How much does All-Star Summer Ball cost and what does that include? A: The registration fee for All-Star Summer Ball is $350. After 4/29 please log into our registration system at: www.westlinnbaseball.org The fee includes, a full West Linn Baseball All-Star Summer Ball uniform (two pair of pants, two jerseys, WL All-Star Hat, WL practice shirt), 6 summer tournament entry fees (including a home tournament at West Linn Fields Bridge), and 5 dozen baseballs (a dozen balls are given to the host of each traveling tournament). 4. Q: How long does the All-Star Summer Ball Season last? A: State tournaments for 9U, 10U, and 12/60 are on July 10-12 th. The 11U and 12/70 State tournaments are on July 3-5 th.
Regional Tournaments for State Champions will start on and around July 23rd and finish close to end of July based on age group. The 11U and 12/70 regional tournaments are July 10-12 th. West Linn is hosting both the 9U and 10U regional tournaments. Please reference the Northern Oregon Cal Ripken website for detailed info - http://www.oregonripken.com/index_files/schedule.htm World Series only has a path for the 12 year olds (both M70 and M60 level for 12 year olds) and 10 year olds. The World Series will be held the Week of August 7 th for 10u and 12/60. The 12/70 World Series will be held the week of July 23 rd due to TV scheduling. It is WLBA s intention that the 12U70, 12U60, 11U, 10U, & 9U A teams will play a Cal Ripken schedule and participate in the State Tournament for their level. 5. Q: Where are the tournaments held and what kind of travel can I expect? A: Our All-Star/Summer Ball teams will travel South to Eugene/Medford, East to Kennewick / Meridian, Id, North to Seattle, and West to Hillsboro/Oregon Coast. There are plenty of tournaments locally, and this is a representation of indicative travel schedule at all levels. 6. Q: Are there other costs associated with All-Star Summer Ball? A: Yes, there are additional costs associated with travel, additional fundraising, snacks, food, etc Travel cost for all parents and kids are covered by each family. WLBA does not cover any travel or food costs. Each team can fundraise to cover these costs. Coaches are briefed on this prior to the season starting and can certainly raise money to cover some of these costs. Some teams raise $1500- $3000 to cover additional gear, snacks and drinks for weekend tourney s, team/family dinners, and other creative events. 7. Q: What is the time commitment on practice and game schedule? A: Practice: The first week of All-Star Summer Ball (June 1st) each team will likely have four nights of practice at 2.5 hours a night. Most teams then cut back to 3 nights a week at 2.5 hours a night for the balance of summer season. Some teams also hold some additional hitting cage slots over and above the practice time. Games/Tourneys: Tournaments generally start on Fridays and conclude on Sundays. Teams will travel midday on Fridays to the tournament. Coaches usually provide a carpool for kids to tourneys. 8. Q: Can we miss practices and games/tournaments due to family travel?
A: WLBA is looking for a commitment for the time period stated above to field competitive teams. In order to be fair to all 12 kids on a team, practices and games are a mandatory expectation. Baseball is still the primary sport during this season. Soccer, travel and other expected missed dates should be discussed with the Player Agent of West Linn Baseball prior to the All-Star Selection. If you have questions or concerns about possible conflicts, Player Agent Aaron Howard can be contacted at aaron.howard@countryfinancial.com or at 503-680-7935. 9. Q: What about a refund if my son decides that he does not want to play All- Star Summer Ball? A: For cancellations prior to May 17 th there will be a $50 cancellation fee. If you pull out of the All-Star Summer Ball program on or after May 17 th, there will be a $150 cancellation fee to cover uniform and registration costs. Again, please consider the options of both A team and B team playing situations. The A team is the first team selected at each level. Over the course of the summer the A team plays in about as many games in the same tournaments as the B team. Kids that may be on the bubble of an A team can have a larger opportunity to flourish on the B team. Those kids have an opportunity to play in positions on the baseball field that they may not on the A team. Positions like pitcher, catcher, and first base to name a few. We have seen many B team kids enjoy their summer full of baseball, play an additional 30 games in the nice weather, good fields and good competition. A lot of times those kids are the ones that gain the most from the extended baseball experience. Often times, parents are more upset from the results of the selection process than the children. 10. Q: If I sign up for All-Star Summer Ball Season and do not make the A team can I still play baseball? Are any kids cut from the All-Star Summer Ball program? A: No there are no Cuts in the All-Star Summer Ball Program in West Linn. Provided that we have enough willing coaches (which we strive hard to locate) and we have the correct amount of kids that want to play baseball, we will not Cut any child. The only scenario where kids will be turned away is if we cannot locate the proper amount of coaches to coach the amount of kids that signed up. Example: if 22 kids signed up at the 10 year old level, and we selected the A team with the first 12 kids, then we could field a team with 10 kids on the B team as long as we had a head coach. We would also go back to our membership and recruit an additional 2 kids to see if we could fill a roster of 12 kids total for that B team. Another Example: if 30 kids signed up for the 10 year-old level, and we selected 12 kids on the A team, and we had two willing head coaches, then we would probably
recruit to locate an additional 2-4 kids to make two B teams of 10 or 11 kids on a team. Some years the B team may take additional players on their team up to 15, knowing that many may take some weeks off to travel and use their summer to play both baseball and have family activities. Q: What is expected for playing time for my child? What does bat 9, play 9 mean in the State Tournament? A: Our All-Star/Summer Ball Coaches decide both playing time and positions, based on the need of the team and performance and attitude of the player during an intense practice and game schedule. There are plenty of practices, games and tournament opportunities for players to develop their skills. Understand going into All-Stars/Summer Ball, that there are only 9 playing positions on the field and not all kids will play the same position it takes a team. In addition, during the State and Regional Tournaments, the tournaments switch to a bat 9, play 9 format. Meaning that only the nine kids in the starting batting/fielding lineup are allowed to bat in the game. Open substitution is no longer an option. Players that do not start the game can be brought in the game as a substitute, and once removed from the game are done for the game. Players that start the game are allowed to re-enter. 12. Q: How are coaches selected? A: Coaches submit their name to the WL Board as interested in coaching at a certain age level. The Board assembles an All-Star/Summer Ball Coach Committee to decide who is the coach best suited to coach at each level and team. The league will have up to 4 Board Members plus a non-board Member on the Coaching Selection Committee. The Coaching Selection Committee will convene for coaching positions that are competed at each level. The WLBA Coaches Coordinator is responsible for oversight of the coaches selection process. 13. Q: What if I have a special All-Star/Summer Ball Request for age or team level, should I give my sons coach this information? A: These requests are ONLY to be discussed with the Player Agent. The Player Agent acts as the liaison between the Coaches and the All-Star/Summer Ball process. All requests for anything outside of the player being selected at the highest level in relation to their age needs to be determined before the All-Star/Summer Ball Selection meeting. No requests will be honored if they do not go through the player agent. Contact the player agent directly with any requests or questions Player agent - Aaron Howard: aaron.howard@countryfinancial.com or (503)680-7935.