TO: Returning and New MembersThe ENYTB website is now open (NOV 11) and we are accepting club/team activations for the 2010 summer baseball season, the 15th consecutive year of travel baseball ENYTB-style!!! NOTE: ENYTB's Annual Kick-Off Meeting will be held on the last weekend of January, and the individual age division meetings will follow soon t... read more

Upstate Thoroughbreds 12U - A premier travel baseball team consisting of the top players from Ballston Spa and surrounding communities is holding its first public tryout for the upcoming 2010 season on:DATE: Sunday, November 1stTIME: 1 to 4pm.PLACE:Doubleday Fields in Ballston Spa(Go to Inside The League > Field Directory for directions http://www.... read more

But I have been sick since I got back so I haven't gotten back to my baseball chores as yet. There are lots of emails re: fall ball but I have only received a few completed registration forms (see article here re: fall ball registration). I hope to get everything organized next week and begin scheduling immediately thereafter. Soooo, if you want to... read more

->ENYTB Fall team E-Z Registration Form CLICK HERE.->Answer ALL questions on form. ->Mail me your completed form along with your check (fees shown on EZ Form and below). ->When your information and check arrives, I will enter your info to the website and you will be notified of your new password by email.->I will contact you if I have any questions. The ENYTB fall program is very similar to the regular season summer program but is far more informal i.e., there are no national eligibility requirements to be complied with because, unlike summer ball, the games don't qualify teams for sanctioned tournament play. ENYTB player rights also do not apply to fall ball so teams are free to use players from other summer teams provided the team is not participating in the ENYTB fall baseball program.Last year we had approximately 60 teams participate in all ages from 10U through 18U and this year we hope to top that. QUICKIE SUMMARY OF ENYTB PROGRAM-> Open to all teams, members and non-members alike.->Paperwork requirements = None except proof of insurance is required for ENYTB non-members.->Roster restrictions = none.->Player eligibility restrictions = none.->Local Play Only Option = YES->Customized Scheduling = YES ->FREE = No ($100/team plus deposit)->Lots of Canceled Games = NO->League Guarantee of Ump Fees on No-Shows = YES-> NEED A HOME FIELD = NO->PLAY MOST OF YOUR GAMES AT HOME = POSSIBLENOTE re: YOUNGER TEAMS - Prior to 2008, teams at 12U and younger hadn't expressed any significant interest in fall ball but last year that changed and there was considerable interest by the younger teams and we had a good size contingent at 9U-12U. If you are a younger team and are interested in registering with ENYTB for fall ball, I suggest you do it as early as possible as the more teams that sign-up early in these age divisions, and get posted on the website, the more likely it is that we will have a wide diversity of teams available for scheduling i.e., it will encourage others to jump in the pool so to speak.The rest of this email will provide a more detailed description of the 2009 ENYTB Fall Ball Program. The Fall ball team E-Z registration form can be found by clicking here. This E-Z form is used to collect the information that I need from you to register and schedule your team(s). YOU MUST ANSWER ALL OF THE QUESTIONS ON THAT FORM TO REGISTER A TEAM.NOTE: Fall Teams v Summer Teams - Keep in mind that even if you view your fall team as the exact same team you had in the summer, the website views it as an entirely different team. Your fall team can have the save name, coaches and players as your summer team, but the coach/player passwords etc. will be different because the website views it as a different team.GENERAL INFORMATION re: ENYTB 2009 Fall Ball Program(1) OPEN PROGRAM - You do NOT have to be an ENYTB member to participate in the ENYTB fall-ball program. Fees are same for members and non-members alike.(2) 2010 player ages in effect. (3) Regular Season Playing Rules In Effect - Ages 16U and up are required to use wood bats. 15U teams must use wood bats when playing 16U teams. (4) PAPERWORK: None - but non-members must show proof of team insurance. NOTE: Team insurance policies purchased for the summer season are usually good for the calendar year as long as the team name is the same and at least half of the original roster is still on the team.(5) ROSTERS - Each team must enter at least 12 registered players on its fall team's online roster to start the season (ENYTB summer team rosters can be copied to fall team with a single click). No roster forms or player/parent signatures required. Age of oldest player (2010 summer) defines team age.(6) SCHEDULING(A) An Option For Local Play Only - YESTeams may elect to play locally only. Teams from the outskirts of our franchise area may come here and play local teams, but teams selecting this option will not be scheduled farther than about 30 mins travel time.(B) Customized Scheduling For All - YESTeams will be provided customized schedules based onteam availability, field availability and competitive balance, to the extent possible. NOTE: We allow teams to play in an adjacent age division if the match-up is believed to be competitive e.g., weak teams may play down in age and strong teams may play up in age.Also, because of the fewer teams that participate in fall ball compared to summer ball, schedules aren't always as competitively balanced as in summer ball and the number of team availability restrictions we can accommodate is more limited. (a) Teams will be grouped according to consideration of age and ability level. Individual teams may span multiple ages but that needs to be made clear ahead of time. For example a 16+ team is a team that has mostly 16s but some 17s. (b) Play is limited to weekends only. (c) Team Availability Patterns - Teams may elect to play SAT, SUN or BOTH. They can also choose from SG, DH or a mix (3 games per weekend)(d) Block-outs - Teams can block out any dates they wish.(e) Time-Of-Day Restrictions - Start times will be dictated largely by home field availability. (i) Time of day restrictions on team availability in fall ball are discouraged but will be accepted if absolutely necessary. (ii) If a team has no field availability, it will have to play when its opponent is able to or risk not playing that day if there is no match. (f) SeasonPlay can begin on Labor Day Weekend (usually teams wait til following weekend) or any time thereafter. I can schedule games as late into the fall as you wish, provided I have an appropriate opponent to schedule you with. Teams usually knock off in mid-October.(C) Early Sign-ups - will get scheduling preferences i.e., be scheduled first and have first shot at new teams as they sign up on any weekend dates that they have open. (7) FEES:$100/team - service fee (regardless of age); plus,$200/team - refundable deposit (schedule reliability)NOTE: Clubs with two or more teams shall pay a maximum deposit of $400.Each team is required to submit a $200 deposit that is fully refundable UNLESS your team cancels games. Canceled games will cost forfeiting team $50/game - to be deducted from deposit. See item #7 below for fuller explanation.make registration checks payable to ENYTB mail to: Ed Frye5227 Bridle PathwaySchenectady, NY 12303(8) FORFEIT PENALTIES:The deposit is to ensure that teams honor their schedule and not leave their fellow teams high and dry. Teams register with us to play baseball. They are very disappointed when teams cancel out on them. Since the season is so short, even one or two cancellations is a serious disappointment for many teams. And often there is no time to reschedule games even if you wanted to. (A) $50/forfeit (if you forfeit a DH = 2 forfeits). This fine will be deducted from the $200 team deposit.(B) The $200 team deposit also will be used to insure against umpire fee as well as field rental defaults on no-shows and late cancellations. NOTE: When a team's deposit is burned up it must be replenished for the team to continue playing. SCHEDULE RELIABILITY.....It is hoped that by providing teams a financial incentive to be responsible in playing their schedule, we will minimize cancellations i.e., they will have some skin in the game. Thus, when an opponent cancels games with you it is important that you insist that he enter a forfeit on the website (website doesn't allow teams to forfeit on behalf of another team). If your opponent cancels a game with you and does not do so on teh website within 72 hours of informing you that he is not playing the game, you need to inform me. If you don't, and the game becomes passed, or if you give him a no harm/no foul cancellation, then you are saying it is OK for your opponents to stand you up and you don't want them penalized for it. That's your choice but if teams don't self-police each other, it will lead to more and more cancellations. This system worked quite well last year and there were very few forfeit cancellations. Let's keep it that way.(9) EXTRA PLAYERS - It is perfectly OK for teams to borrow players from each other, including from that day's opponent, to avoid forfeiting games in fall ball. Just clear it with each other ahead of time. (10) Weather Postponemnts = no penalty and they do NOT have to be made up (up to the two teams involved). Most teams will be fully scheduled and have no time available for make-ups.(11) Fall Tournaments: None - although if anyone wants to host their own tournament e.g., Columbus Day Weekend tournament, I would support that effort via use of Tournament Manager for online registration and brackets. Also, ENYTB sponsor Extra Innings might be interested in supporting such an effort. ->To obtain ENYTB Fall Ball REGISTRATION FORM form click here.->Print form->Answer ALL questions on form. ->Mail me your completed form along with your check. ->When your information and check arrives, I will enter your info to the website and you will be notified of your new password. ->I will contact you if I have any questions. I will be on vacation until August 15th. I will begin scheduling shortly thereafter. Remember, early bird registrants will be scheduled first. Teams registering late will be at a disadvantage obtaining a high quality schedule.To contact me after the 15th:518 356-9089 (h)518-542-8498 (cell)fryes@nycap.rr.com. Ed Frye5227 Bridle PathwaySchenectady, NY12303

And Packering.....Til Aug 15See all you fall ballers when I get back.....and the rest of you, have a great rest of the summer and year and I'll see you the next time around....

Except for the AABC14 Association tournament, won by the Greenfield Yellowjackets (reported in a previous article) and the AABC tournaments at 9U, 10U, 11U and 12U, all hosted by and won by ENYTB teams, I received no written reports on the tournament results at the older ages but I will report on the things I've been told, both good and bad.13U - T... read more

The Rotterdam Rangers 15U team, managed by Mike Saccocio and assisted by Bill Welch, Mark Little and Jason Curcio have accomplished what no other ENYTB team ever has - it has won a ZONE Championship in the PONY National Championship Series. The ZONE is the last level before the World Series. However, since the 15U tournament series was brand new th... read more

At 4-0, Spring was rolling over teams by big scores, including the eventual tournament winner 17-4. However, the flaw in most pool play tournaments is that pool play is followed by single elimination, meaning one loss and you are on your way home. Teams that make it to the final four of a World Series deserve better i.e., double elimination in the ... read more

AUG 03Northville, MIThe DevilCats organization made a great run at a 2nd World Series title in three years, before losing by a single run to the top team from the opposite pool in the first round of the championship phase of the NABF 16U World Series in Northville, MI.After returning home with his DevilCats 16 team, Manager Matt Terry expressed his... read more

I just received this great email from team manager, Mike Saccocio and I wanted to share it with all of you, unedited, because it states clearly and simply his belief of how participation in ENYTB has helped his team achieve great success beyond ENYTB and it echos many of the notes I've been getting from team managers this month on their return from... read more