The FFYBO Board met this morning and made some decisions with regard to the summer season. These decisions are all subject to change based on what is happening with COVID-19. One thing that we are requiring is for every player and parent/guardian to sign a COVID-19 waiver. This will need to be signed before the start of practices. We are not doing any fundraising this year. We will be operating on a very thin budget this year as a result but believe that we can make it through the season without fundraising.
Below are the plans for each level. We will be formulating guidelines for practices and games to ensure that we are following the appropriate guidelines.
If you would like to not have your son play this summer, please let me know right away.
If you need to register, please go to: https://www.ffybo.org.
As with anything that is happening right now, this is a fluid situation and we will modify and adjust as necessary. If something arises where we need to cancel the season at any point, the Board will meet and decide what will happen with any refunds.
10-12u
We have 48 players signed up for 10-12u. Registration is closed for this level. Our plan is to combine all the 10-12u players this summer and divide them fairly between 4 teams. We will do an in-house league The plan is to start practices around June 8 while complying with the various guidelines. Once we are able to start games, we would play one doubleheader per week one of the other 4 teams. The games will likely be on Tuesday nights at Delagoon. We haven’t decided on innings for the games yet, but will likely be 6 innings each. We have not decided on a length of the season and this will likely depend on when we can start.
We will set up the teams in the next 2 weeks and let you know which team your son is on. There will be no requesting coaches or requests to be on a certain team with other players. The only exception to this is that siblings will be on the same team (probably much to the chagrin of the older brothers).
We will set up rules for the games so that we are developing players at each age level. This summer, it will be more of a developmental league than what we have done in the past. Like we have played in the past, the entire roster will bat (not just when they are in the field). We need to allow the younger kids to pitch in the games and play the infield. We will set inning/pitch limits as to how much 12u players can throw in a game. For example, and this has not been decided yet, for a 6 inning game, 12u players can only pitch 2 innings, 11u players can only pitch 2 innings, and 10u players pitch 2 innings. We will need to be flexible because the 10 and 12u pitchers will be pitching from different distances. As of now, we are not planning to hold any end of the year tournament to have a champion. The reason for this is so that we need to develop all age levels and not just the older players.
The registration fee for 10u to 12u will be $153 this year. Jerseys would be extra and we are working on that piece and will keep you updated. You will be charged for registration on May 26.
13-15u
Registration closes on May 28, 2020. Please get your son registered. As of now, the Babe Ruth League that we play in is still planning to play. We will be playing in this league again. If for some reason, this league does not happen, we will reassess and determine the plan.
If we need tryouts for any of the age levels, we are planning to start the tryouts the week of June 1 while following the appropriate guidelines. Games will start when we are able to start. The coaches for each level will determine the appropriate number of players on each team. If there are tryouts and your son does not make the team, refunds will be issued.
The registration fee for 13-15u will be $173 this year. If you have already signed up, you will be charged on May 26, 2020. If you sign up after May 26, 2020, you will be charged when you sign up. Jerseys would be extra and we are working on that piece and will keep you updated.
16u and up (Jr. Legion and Legion)
Jr. Legion and Legion cancelled their season some time again. As a result, we are looking into various options. Right now, it appears that the best option is a Senior Babe Ruth affiliation. The teams are designated as Jr. Baseball and Sr. Baseball on the website. There is an option for a 16 year old team and a 16-18 year old team (anyone born after January 1, 2001 is eligible to play). From my understanding, the age chart for Senior Babe Ruth and Jr. Legion/Sr. Legion is the same.
The plan is to start practices/tryouts (if necessary) around June 1 while following the appropriate guidelines. Games will start when we are able to play.
Registration for this age level closes on May 28, 2020. We will not be collecting a fee up front for registration because we do not know the cost for registration but it will likely be around $203.00 (not including any jersey). If you have already paid and you want a refund now, please let me know. If I don’t hear from you, I will assume that you want your registreation fee applied to the registration fee. The reasons we don’t know the fee (and the reason it is more expensive than other levels) is that the cost for this age level is significnalty more than other levels and we are not receiving any funding from the Legion this year. We cannot use the Legion or Jr. Legion jerseys or hats this year. We do have hats that they will get once we start and we are looking into jersey options.
Chad Felstul
FFYBO President
Email