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Letter to Parents

PARENTS
Our ball club is designed to accommodate 20 players, not 12. In the past you may have
participated on teams that have promised your son a tremendous amount of playing time
involving many games and much exciting travel. You may have concerns as to why we chose to
carry this number of players. As you read, please begin to recall that experience.
We created this team as a quality alternative to open enrollment leagues. The term quality is
important. We believe that quality is vital to our mission. We will make four promises to you;
1. We will never lie to you
2. Your son will play
3. Your child will leave this program a better player that when he arrived
4. If you have any concerns we will immediately address them directly in a meeting with
you and your son together, in a location other than the field
If you total that all up it defines fun. Fun is not failing, succeeding is not always winning. It is
not fun to fail, irrespective of the game's outcome.
We believe that quality has nothing to do with playing every inning of every game. A quality
competitive experience exposes a player to equal or superior talent, in which the player can
compete at his chosen position with consistent enthusiasm, effort and skill. He will receive
training based on recent scientifically proven information. We will give him an opportunity to
lead and motivate others. As such he must be mentally and physical prepared to accept that role
every day. If your son elects to compete to play in high school or college, recruiters will look for
a consistent demonstration of superior skill. Playing 6 games in one week will expose anything
but consistent skill. Scrapping together 9 to 11 players to play a game will not demonstrate
anything but mental and physical fatigue.
As you have sought, we are a developmental program. No one can develop by merely repeating
last season's skills. There is little chance of improvement by merely playing games. You may
recall this statement from your personal training in your own business career; Improvement
requires change. It is impossible to improve or develop by repeating last year's skill set. This is
most misunderstood in baseball.
For us to complete our promises to you we must engage teaching coaches who can educate your
son athletically to become a student athlete. Our coaches need to direct his motivation to
incorporate his innate intelligence into his athletic experience. We also must design a schedule
that accommodates practices. In a developmental program, practice workouts are as important
and in many ways MORE important than actual games. You are not alone in thinking traditional
baseball practices are boring. There are good reasons for players not wanting to attend. We have
invested in continued baseball education and coach training to assure you that that boredom will
not be your experience with this organization. We will provide practices that are fun as well as
instructive. Our practices will reflect issues that have occurred in previous games and include
input and leadership from players as to their specific ideas and personal needs.
We believe that playing time is more related to total immersion in the game, than merely
occupying a position on the field. This is why we carry a sufficient number of players to be
competitive in every inning of every game and to conduct meaningful practices. Why choose
an independent team experience with accompanied financial and time commitment strains and
receive a house league experience?
We realize that you still may not be convinced of the merits of our policy to roster more players.
You may recall being in this situation. Beginning in July, a team of 12 to 14 will routinely see 9
to 10 players attending games and (if there are any) practices.... maybe 5 attend, severely
limiting the process. The following are, by most everyone's standards, reasonable and
acceptable absences for not attending recreation commitments. They have all been
SUBMITTED BY PARENTS.
The TOP 10 Reasons
1. Family vacation
2. Family emergency
3. Religious conflict
4. Educational tutoring
5. Injury
6. Illness
7. Colleges visits and exposure camps
8. Single parent business travel and child care
9. Transportation
10. Financial strain - one that is never said, but often present
All legitimate personal reasons. But remember this; the team is still left with 9 players and
occasionally forced to recruit a player from the opponent. By weeks end the skilled pitchers are
fatigued, sore and are logically out of healthy innings to pitch. Others, who are not pitchers, if
you will, pitch in, to pitch. The rest of the team, who has played 4 to 6 games that or the previous
week, are at best lethargic. Most recreational players lack the proper conditioning and nutrition
for the ordeal. The game is miserable. Is this the fun you all sought? Is this a familiar
experience? Please remember: in the beginning of the season, the parents sought a team that
carried a limit of 12 players so their child could play more.
Our program chooses quality over quantity.
We would rather have players play 4 to 5 innings a game, motivated, alert at 100%; focused and
competitive every moment, than field a tired fatigue shell of a body, occupying a position that he
does not know or cares little to learn. We understand that our players will legitimately miss a few
games; others will stand in his place, equal to the task. We will be formidable, competitive and
provide the best baseball education to child has experienced to date.