Friday, July 25, 2014

JH Baseball Practices and Tryouts - Sept 15 - Oct 4

NOAH Jr High Competitive Baseball Tryouts for Spring 2015 Season:
·         Mandatory Practices: September 15-October 3, 2014
·         Teams - Incoming 12U, 13U, JH, (7th & 8th Grade)         
·         Tryout Date:  October 4, 2014 
·         Location:  TBD
·         Contact Randie Grantham, rgranthammo@gmail.com to be added to mailing list or see NOAH website www.noahjags.org

Tryout/Practices: 
This fall we are planning a series of practices over a three week period of time culminating in a tryout.   Practices will extend from September 15th – October 3rd.  NOAH Competitive Baseball tryouts will be held on October 4th.  The exact days, times and locations will be forthcoming, so please mark your calendars and be looking for future e-mails. 

Fall Ball:
As an organization, we do not plan to play in a Fall Ball league this year.  If there is a dad desiring to coach such a team please contact me and I can get you our player lists.  Broken Arrows Fall Baseball begins in August and ends in October.  If you are interested, rosters and fees are due by mid-August.

New to NOAH or NOAH Competitive Baseball? 
For those of you that are new to NOAH or competitive NOAH baseball, the above tryouts and practices are mandatory for Spring 2015 participation.  The boys will be graded on baseball skills, attitude, and commitment to the schedule.  Our Junior High Program is important because it transitions our boys from recreational baseball to competitive baseball.  Our goal is for our 14U boys to be prepared to step into the competitive world of high school baseball when they finish junior high.  To facilitate this, we encourage our 12U+ teams to play competitive baseball.  This means playing in competitive leagues and occasional weekend tournaments.  In some past years, there have been enough boys to field Rec. teams in addition to our competitive teams.  That has not been the case the last few years and is not likely this year.  Therefore, if your son wants to continue playing baseball with NOAH, he should plan to come to the fall workouts and tryout.  As a part of the competitive program, you can expect to commit to at least 4 days a week to baseball (practices and games).  Indoor team workouts will begin after the first of the year.  Our 12U and 13U teams generally play from April-June.  Our 14U team will play a “School Ball” schedule that is similar to our high school team.  They will play a home and away schedule against other Junior High Baseball programs from public and private schools in the area. Games will be played in the late afternoon during the week.  Their season will begin March 1 and end in May.  NOAH recognizes that sport seasons do overlap.  NOAH will always encourage the families to “finish-what-you-start” and never penalize or discriminate against a player/family staying committed to a sport through the end of the season when the next, upcoming season overlaps. We do, however, expect them to make every effort to attend the tryout. 

Age Requirements:
There are different age considerations for eligibility.  The 12U and 13U teams will play USSSA baseball.  Their birthday cutoff is 4/30.  As an example, if your son is 13, born Jan. 15, he must play 13U or older baseball because his birthday is prior to the deadline.  If your son is 13, born July 1st, he could play 12U baseball by USSA rule, because he falls into the next year for USSSA.  School ball has a different cutoff.  The cutoff is September 1st.  The cutoff is 14 unless you designate your son as an 8th grader at 15.  This provision will be discussed in more detail in the future.

NOAH is a wonderful organization with great boys and loving Christian families.  It has been our joy to be a part of this organization for the past 8 years.  While the increased commitment is a load for many of you, this is the natural progression that must occur to prepare the boys for playing at higher levels.  We have been blessed as a family by the close friendships that we have formed through the program.

We look forward to seeing you in September.
Take care,
Randie L. Grantham
NOAH Jr High Baseball Coordinator

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