Division Director – Mike DiSalvo
Enfield Little League is happy to continue with the Enfield Warriors travel program. We have expanded our season to now include winter training, a competitive league spring travel schedule, tournament season as well as a competitive league fall schedule. With this comes the COOPERSTOWN TICKET. The 12U Warriors travel team program will represent ELL at Cooperstown Dream Parks 2022.
The Enfield Warriors will be formed by tryouts to create multiple teams at various age levels. ELL will have Travel/Tournament Baseball Teams for the Spring, Summer and Fall of 2022. Which will range from 8U up to 12U. This is open to all 7-12-year old’s (Age as of Aug 31t). Selections will be based off tryouts. Registration fees for those who make the team will vary per division, $780- 9U, $960- 10U and 12U, and can be made in three payments (PLEASE NOT THE COOPERSTOWN TOURNAMENT FEES ARE SEPERATE). The first is a non-refundable commitment fee of $150.00 due upon selection, the second payment of $320.00 (9U)/$405.00 (10U and 12U) of will be due by January 3rd and the last payment of $320.00 (9U)/$405.00 will be due by April 1st. Cost will include winter training at MassConn/ Whipcity in Agawam Mass as well as Healthtrax in Enfield, uniform jerseys, warm up jersey, hooded sweatshirts, hats, equipment, fees (insurance, etc.), team supplies and 4-6 Tournaments as well as 12-36 additional games depending on age group. Other costs will be offset by fundraising. We will start practices one day- three days a week as a team during regular spring baseball season and continue to grow upon that as the spring regular season wraps up. Please review the Frequently asked questions for more information.
Cooperstown Dreams Park Tournament: This is the ultimate tournament were players travel to Cooperstown NY to compete in what can be a weeklong tourney. There is a huge expense with this tournament, and this is not covered in your normal Travel program fees. Therefore, we as ELL will help aid the team in creating and fundraisers to offset the costs for the players. This tournament is only for the 50/70 players that make the 12U team. The costs will be approximately $1,600 per player for the tournament. It is our hope that starting early we can offset the costs with fundraisers as the teams have done for many years any balance will be the sole responsibility of the player.
Tournaments we have done in the past typically fall with in June, July and August. Here is list of Tournaments we will be looking into for this Summers teams.
Examples of Tournaments we have participated in:
Green Monster Tournament Belchertown, MA
9U, 10U, & 12U
Jimmy Fund Tournament Agwam, MA
10U & 12U
Somers Wood Bat Tournament
9U, 10U & 12U
Mighty Mite Tournament Easthampton, MA
9U
Southwick Sizzler Tournament Southwick, MA
10U & 12U
Nutmeg State Games Baseball Tournaments
10U, 12U, 16U
Cooperstown Dream Parks
12U
Registration for tryouts is open to any player who has played this past Spring/Fall.
TRAVEL BASEBALL FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
In addition to our Recreational Baseball program, Enfield Little League offers players the opportunity to participate in Tournament Baseball, at nearly every age group. Travel baseball provides our players opportunities to compete in competitive leagues and tournaments, while representing Enfield Little League Baseball.
There is generally a lot of confusion and misinformation surrounding Travel/Tournament Baseball, so we have setup this page to provide as much information as possible and address as many frequently asked questions as we can. If you still have questions regarding travel ball, you are always welcome to submit questions via [email protected].
What is Travel/Tournament Baseball? ELLTravel/Tournament baseball teams play in tournaments and sometimes leagues, generally in the surrounding townships, but potentially out of the area and out of state as well - depending on the team and the managers and families involved. Travel teams are assembled by age group (9, 10, 11, 12 etc.) and their age group is dictated by their age on August 31st of that year. Travel baseball provides a more competitive brand of baseball than you will generally see in our Rec. leagues but is also still focused on player development.
Who can play? Travel/Tournament Baseball is committed to allowing as many kids the opportunity to play as possible and will often field multiple travel teams per age group (9yrs - 12yrs), if the interest exists amongst players and available coaches. In order to be eligible for consideration, players MUST play on a Rec. team, and make 60% of their games in the Spring or Fall Season. A player who does not achieve 60% Rec. participation will not be eligible for travel baseball, unless there was a medical, or other acceptable reason that they could not achieve 60% participation. In a case where we cannot field a team because of low interest, the Board may waive the participation requirement in order to field a team, but this is entirely at the discretion of the Board.
At what age does Travel/Tournament baseball start and what levels of play are offered? ELL offers travel baseball starting at age 9 & under (AA Division) and continuing to every age group where interest-level and participation exists. At 8-9 years old, there is typically enough interest for 1 team. At 10 years old and above, we generally have 1 team, and sometimes 2, though that is less common. Level of play (skill level) and Coaching availability will all factor into having multiple teams at one age level.
Does every player make a team? No, not necessarily. While we endeavor to select multiple teams at each age group, there are years when we just don't have enough kids or coaches to do that, so there can and most likely will be cuts.
How much does Travel/Tournament Baseball cost? Travel/Tournament Baseball Registration fees for those who make the team will vary per division, $780- 9U, $960- 10U and 12U, and can be made in three payments (PLEASE NOT THE COOPERSTOWN TOURNAMENT FEES ARE SEPERATE). The first is a non-refundable commitment fee of $150.00 due upon selection, the second payment of $320.00 (9U)/$405.00 (10U and 12U) of will be due by January 3rd and the last payment of $320.00 (9U)/$405.00 will be due by April 1st. A typical team for Travel Baseball will play in 3 to 5 tournaments in the summer season. Each tournament costs about $500-$1000; we pay and budget per team not individual player, that is why we have a set fee. We will have an opportunity for the players to take part in conditioning and training during the winter as well. Each player will be provided a traveling baseball home and away jersey, hat(s), a warm up jersey and a hooded sweatshirt. Additional equipment items such as team batting helmets and or personalized bat bags will be distributed to the players. Additional fundraising will help pay for all the costs associated with the program and supply additional swag and equipment to the players. Every penny goes back into the travel program.
What is the commitment level for Travel/Tournament Baseball? While we expect Full Participation, we do understand that family commitments can sometimes overlap with baseball. We have left the discretion in the hands of each Coach & Manager and expect that communication will occur between families and coaches to ensure that we have no cases where teams are short-handed & have to withdraw from tournaments. This is above and beyond the commitment level of your typical recreation baseball team. The intention is to maximize the players availability through communication and scheduling. Every attempt will be made to allow the flexibility for the players to fulfill multiple commitments.
Is there equal playing time in Travel/Tournament Baseball? No, not necessarily. In Rec. baseball we have rules that encourage and sometimes dictate how many innings players can and can't play in the infield/outfield, etc. These rules generally do not exist in Travel/Tournament baseball. While the overall goal should will still be focused on player development, coaches have the option to play kids where they will have the best chance to help the team and be successful.
What if my child is sick or injured and can't make the tryout? If that is the case, please notify us ASAP. As long as your child has a doctor's excuse for their injury or illness, ELL will waive the participation or tryout requirement so that they may be considered. Their evaluation will be based entirely on last season's performance in Spring and Travel (if applicable).
Who can coach? Anyone who manages a team in our organization could be a candidate for coaching travel ball. After the teams are selected, the ELL Travel Directors will select travel managers from the list of interested parties. In most cases our coaches are already selected for the first teams we are looking to fill during the start of Season.
Why do I need to volunteer at our tournament? Our parents are the reason our program is successful. Should we run a tournament(s)s the proceeds from those go right back into our program to fund the organization and help pay for field projects and other equipment. Parents are required to volunteer at their child's tournaments or pay a qualified person to stand in for them. In addition to volunteering your time, you will also be asked to volunteer your talents! Each tournament will need parents to volunteer food to sell at the concession stands, game announcers, field setup and tear-down, official scorekeepers, etc. Please be prepared to jump in and help make your child's tournament a great experience for all!
SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ELL TRAVEL/TOURNAMENT BASEBALL SELECTION PROCESS, OR TRAVEL BASEBALL IN GENERAL, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK YOUR CHILD'S COACH, OR SEND AN EMAIL TO ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS OR SEND AN EMAIL TO [email protected] AND WE WILL GET BACK TO YOU AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.