The 2008 Kick-Off Meetings will be remembered as the longest in league history - almost 7 hours for the two days combined! We got started a little late on Saturday, about 1:15PM and the room was still close to full at 5:00PM. On Sunday we started on time and finished at 4:00PM.For more than 50% of the attendees on both days, this was their first ever ENYTB meeting. It is good that we continue to attract new participants to the program and that the new people are making the extra effort to learn about the program. Of course, each year we also lose some familiar faces as their son ages out of the program. Many after 5, 6 or 7 years in the program. And we also thank Bill Kelts for once again arranging to have that great meeting room for our Kick-Off Meetings.This year's handout was 16 legal sized pages with lots of charts and color etc. We focused on financial transparency, our plans for increasing league visibility, our new priorities for the upcoming season, and our major website upgrades. The most time was spent on our new post-season program, including shifts in sanctioned tournament hosting and a new exciting Championship Tournament format with more than $5,000 in prizes for ages 13-14-15-16. We also had guest speakers both days from Extra Innings Saratoga. On Saturday owner/operator Joe Fairley described his new 35' high, state-of-the-art training facility and the various services and products available, including his hassle-free uniform voucher program. On Sunday, Extra Innings Director of Baseball Operations, Mike Hubbs stopped by to describe their services and products. All ENYTB members present were given a coupon for a 25% discount at Extra Innings.I was accompanied by three Board Members on each day who contributed various and sundry program information throughout. Bill Kelts also provided members, old and new alike, with sage advice about re-scheduling, player restrictions and how to avoid tampering. The audience was extremely attentive, asked many questions and made several keen observations that will be implemented in 2008.With the Kick-Off Meetings behind us and the program laid out before us, all that's left to do is to make it all happen. Today I activated the last of our returning members. Drum roll please, our new total number of activated teams is 171, four less than our all-time record, set in 2005. With two months left before registration closes, we are well positioned to have record-breaking year in terms of team membership. Also, most importantly, the feedback we received from those in attendance suggested that you are quite pleased with the program changes for 2008 as well as the overall program. That is most important because you are our reason for being.Thanks again for everyone's support and I hope to be back tomorrow with our schedule of age division meetings. The age division meetings is where the rubber meets the road. While the league program is somewhat similar across age levels, each has its own peculiarities, particularly in terms of registration options and post-season tournaments. We attempt to cover everything from soup to nuts in each age division program. Prior to your age division meeting each of you should log in to the website (click "Forgot my password" on the login page if you forgot/lost) and go to Team Registration > Registration and read your team's customized registration page. Bring any questions you may have to the age division meetings. All returning teams also should get their team roster initialized (place a check in the box next to each player you are keeping and click "Initialize My Roster"). To do this, go to Team Registration > Roster. (If you have trouble navigating the website go to Help > Navigation.)If you are ready to order your team insurance, go to Team Registration > Insurance and apply online. Remember, AABC requires that you buy their insurance to go to their tournaments. Also, if you are not going to register AABC, you do not qualify for AABC insurance. All ENYTB teams are registered with NABF so all are eligible for NABF insurance. PONY does not require you to be PONY registered to purchase their insurance but there may be an extra $20 fee.Lastly, fill out your coaching roster as soon as possible by going to Team Registration > Coach Info. You will need the email adress for each coach. If the person has coached in the league before, you will be able to select him from a list and link him to your team in the appropriate capacity. If the person os new to our league, you will need to click ADD and ADD NEW PERSON and enter his info and then link him to your team in the appropriate capacity. Once that is done, the website will auto-email the coach his password. Anyone can retrieve their password from the website by clicking Forgot My Password on the login screen. That's enough homework for from now to then. Of course, if you get bored, Main > Getting Started, FAQ, and Program Info should satisfy your appetite for more.

See previous news article for full details.I'm looking forward to discussing with you what we have in store for this year. 2008 is shaping up to be another banner year in terms of both program improvements and membership growth.MEMBERSHIP GROWTHThe club reps have done a terrific job getting their club and teams activated for the 2008 season. We alr... read more

Former Yankee Visits Area To Host Coaching Clinic this Saturday at Sand Creek Middle School Gymnasium ...Colonie, NY -- Gary Cathcart- a New York Yankee draft pick in 1984 and the Toronto Blue Jays 2007 Instructor of the Year- will be hosting an instructional baseball coaching clinic on Saturday, January 19th in the gymnasium at Sand Creek Middle ... read more

On January 5, 2008, the Board of Directors of Eastern NY Travel Baseball League (the "League" or “ENYTB”) approved and adopted a statement of priorities and programmatic plan for the upcoming season. 2008 will mark the League's 13th consecutive year of operation. *******************************************************ENYTB - Organizational Stru... read more

Last year, after the season began, we received an unusual amount of member feedback about the League's playing rules. A number of folks were clamoring for a mercy rule and for adoption of the NCAA force play slide rule. The League's Executive Board voted unanimously to adopt both rules.It also was time to enumerate specific penalties for ejections... read more

Congratulations to Mark Sidoti, son of Doug Sidoti, manager of the Waterford team in our College Division for winning an NABF Scholarship for the 2007 academic year. ENYTB contributes to the NABF Scholarship fund each year and Mark is our first ever winner.I met up with Mark over the Thanksgiving holiday, along with his dad and a special friend, to... read more

This is a brand new World Series site for NABF 17U and I had the opportunity to sit with the people that made the successful bid at the recent national NABF meeting in Louisville, KY. Trust me on this one, this promises to be one of the finest events ever held for this age division and a memorable experience for all.The playing sites will be City S... read more

After a one year hiatus, the NABF College Division (22U) World Series returns to Toledo, OH, sponsored by the City Of Toledo and the Toledo Amateur Baseball Federation. This 16 team event includes various Regional Champions, direct teams, and host teams and, is planned to take place at various local college facilities, including: University of Tol... read more

Official dates for the NABF National Championship Tournament Series (Regionals and World Series) have been announced and can be found on our Tournaments menu as well as on each team's online registration page.As usual, ENYTB will be hosting four NABF Regionals this year:NABF 14U beginning July 10;NABF 16U beginning July 17;NABF 18U beginning July 1... read more

LINEUP CARDS - The website will include a new feature in 2008 that will allow teams to quickly prepare and print their team lineup cards online. Teams will select their starting players from a list that includes all players on their active ENYTB roster. Teams also will be asked to indicate each player's fielding position and where they will appear ... read more