League Overview
ENYTB was established in 1996 to foster the growth of youth travel baseball in the eastern region of Upstate New York and adjacent areas. The League has no geographic boundaries per se. Its geographic center is the No. Colonie/Clifton Park, NY area, and stretches as far west as Syracuse and the Utica-Rome area, as far east as Pittsfield MA, as far north as Queensbury, NY and Rutland, VT as far south as Poughkeepsie, NY and as far to the southwest as Binghamton, NY. Teams from Montreal have participated in the League's fall baseball program as well.
Total league membership 15 years ago was 8 teams, all in a single age division (14U) and under a single sanctioning body (AABC). A record 250 teams participated in the League's 2009 summer program (12 age levels and three sanctioning bodies). We must be doing something right!
One of the key elements of the League's successful growth strategy has been its membership rules, which encourage League participation and growth:
(1) No team in good standing with the League shall be denied entry to the league provided its roster is comprised exclusively of players who did not participate in the League for another League member in the prior year or if they did, their team is not active in the League in the current year, or the player has been "released" by his previous club/team or qualifies under any of the League's several exemptions. see ENYTB Constitution, Article XVI
(2) Furthermore, any team, once started in the League, has the right to continue in the League forever, provided it remains in good standing with the League.
To see a timeline of ENYTB's history and record of growth, see League Info > About Us > Timeline
Another key element in the League's successful growth strategy has been its ability to strike a balance between the interests of players and members in the matter of inter-member competition for players. ENYTB's rules have evolved over a decade and a half, and rely much more heavily on "roster protection" than they do territory. The League rejects both extreme views on free agency. It believes that total free agency would not provide the stability and continuity required to maintain club programs from year-to-year. At the same time, the opposite extreme where players are limited to playing for one club based solely on their place of residence is unnecessarily rigid, leading to much player dissatisfaction and less overall participation.
ENYTB ROSTER PROTECTION
- By definition, any player who did not participate in the league in the prior year is a free agent in the current year i.e., they are free to play for any club/team of their choice.
- Once a player chooses to play for a member club, he becomes that club's "protected" player.
- Members are not allowed to tamper with another member's protected players i.e., they are not permitted talk to current league players about playing for their organization. This means no personal tryouts, no working out with their team and no discussion with the player, or anyone acting on behalf of the player, related to the prospect of the player playing for their team. All of the latter are forms of tampering.
- To change teams, a player must obtain a "release" from his current club,or qualify under any of the various league exemptions, as described in Article XVI of the League's Constitution.
ENYTB offers a continuous program of organized travel play from 9U through Unlimited, with the opportunity to qualify for approximately 90 berths in 22 sanctioned National Championship Tournament Series (NCTS) under three different national sanctioning bodies: AABC (1996); NABF (1999) and PONY (2003). ENYTB also hosts numerous sanctioned tournaments every year, including at least one at every age level. In addition, ENYTB sponsors its own end-of-season tournaments for each age division from mid-July on.
ENYTB teams are classified for regular season play according to their age and overall skill level. The Gold Division provides our most advanced teams a level of competition far superior to that commonly found in league play. The Silver Division includes a broader range of teams, including many who can give our gold teams a run for their money on any given day. The Bronze Division offers teams a lesser but still challenging level of competition.
ENYTB earmarks its berths in sanctioned tournament berths to each of the gold, silver and bronze classifications. Thus, every ENYTB member team, regardless of its skill level designation, begins the season with a realistic chance for success, including the potential to compete in a sanctioned championship tournament and even possibly a World Series and become a national champion. The ENYTB program has produced three consecutive national champions: 2007 DevilCats (NABF16U); 2008 Spring Renegades (AABC13U); and, the 2009 Spring Renegades (AABC9U).
In summary, regardless of age or ability level, ENYTB offers every member team a first class travel league experience every step of the way from customized online registration and scheduling, to competitively balanced regular season play and abundant opportunities for participation in one or more sanctioned National Championship Tournament Series (NCTS).
Several ENYTB members also operate "house" leagues. They were seeking opportunities to play similar level teams from other house leagues. In response to this need, ENYTB developed its ENYPONY program in 2009. ENYPONY includes PONY sanctioning, inter-member supplemental travel play during the regular season on an optional basis, as well as sanctioned and league sponsored post-season tournaments. Tournament winners at this level advance in the same NCTS as the travel league. This option attracted 7 members in its first year and included approximately 75 recreational level teams from age 9U through 16U. We hope to build on this program's first year's success and continue to seek new participants.
