Spartan Youth Club

League games will be played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday beginning Friday April 4, 2008 and will be concluded Sunday June 15, 2008. Teams will play no more than 2 games per week during the 11 week season. League games will not be scheduled on Easter Sunday, Spring Break week, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day weekend, or July 4th. In the event of game cancellations, makeup games could be played Monday June 9, 2008 through Thursday June 12, 2008 at the discretion of the AYL Baseball Board. There will be no bye requests for the A & AA level.

At the conclusion of the 14 league games, ALL TEAMS will be seeded for the double elimination playoffs. Teams will play until they have lost two games. Playoff games will begin Wednesday June 18, 2008 with the World Series played July 11 – 13, 2008. No playoff games will be scheduled between Wednesday July 2, 2008 through Sunday July 6, 2008. The mandatory coaches meeting will be Monday June 16, 2008. The World Series will be a single game championship game. Therefore, the undefeated team representing the winners bracket in the World Series game does not need to lose twice to be eliminated.

The AYL will conduct a pre-season AYL Memorial tournament that will be played between Wednesday March 12, 2008 through Sunday March 16, 2008. The AYL Memorial tournament will be comprised of 3 exhibition games, there will be no trophies, results, standings or champion. The intent is to provide teams with the ability to assess their team in a structured, uncompetitive environment in advance of the regular season game play. The AYL Memorial tournament is optional to all teams. The AYL Memorial tournament entry fee is $200.

AAA & Majors SEASON

The AYL 2008 AAA & Majors season will consist of 18 games played over an 11 week season beginning Monday April 14, 2008 and will conclude on Thursday June 26, 2008. Games will be played Mondays through Thursdays. Teams participating in the AAA/MAJORS division may request up to four (4) bye requests for the season.

Teams must register and submit final payments by Friday February 22, 2008.

The MAJORS division will be limited to no more than eight (8) teams in each age. For ages 11 and above, the AAA division will be limited to no more than the next eight (8) to ten (10) teams in each age. The remaining teams in the age group will participate in the AA Continental division.

Teams will register to play in the AYL AAA/Majors division, however they will not indicate the level of play desired. At the discretion of the AYL Baseball Board, all registered teams will participate in a pre-season seeding tournament to determine the appropriate participation level of each team. This tournament will be played beginning Friday March 7, 2008 through Sunday March 16, 2008. For ages 11 and above, if a team abstains from the pre-season seeding tournament, they will be placed in the AA Continental division.

For the seeding tournament, teams will be seeded in the order of their finish from the previous season, with the Majors division first, the AAA division second, and new teams randomly seeded last. For example, if there are 6 returning Majors division teams from 2007, and 10 returning AAA division teams from 2007, the AAA teams will be seeded 7-16, new teams will then be seeded 17 and so forth. Pre-season seeding tournament games will be played until the MAJORS, AAA and AA Continental division teams are determined. There is no champion, nor are trophies awarded. The 8 AAA division will not be for seeding purposes as all registered teams participate in this age group.

At the conclusion of the regular season play, all teams will participate in a single elimination playoff. The playoffs will begin Monday June 30, 2008 and will conclude on Tuesday July 8, 2008, with the World Series on Tuesday July 8, 2008 and Wednesday July 9, 2008. Trophies will be awarded to the top 2 teams participating in the World Series game. There are no trophies for regular season finish.

Post season berths will be awarded to the qualifying teams in the MAJORS and AAA divisions as of the standing on Thursday June 12, 2008. There will be no post season berths for AA Continental divisions.

AAA/Majors REGISTRATION:

AAA/Majors Spartan registration fee will be $75.00. Players can only register for AAA/majors if they have a confirmed roster spot from the head coach.

SUBMIT REGISTRATION FORMS TO YOUR HEAD COACH ALONG WITH A COPY OF YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE.

AA Continental

The AA Continental division is designed for the competitive team that is not quite ready to play with the top MAJORS or AAA teams in the age group, however they want to play games Monday through Friday leaving the weekends open to tournaments or participation in other weekend sports.

The AA Continental division will be offered for the ages 11, 12 and 13 only. The AA Continental division will have a World Series champion, however no post season berths will be awarded at this level. There are no uniform restrictions for the AA Continental division teams.

Teams participating in the AA Continental division will play under the AYL AAA/MAJORS rules. The AA Continental World Series will be played on Thursday July 10, 2008.

Changes for Upcoming Season

A/AA
Spartans will no longer be furnishing team batting helmets. Each child will be required to provide an NOCSAE certified batting helmet. All helmets must be Yellow/Gold and have the Spartan logo. For Safety as well as hygiene we as a board feel it is in the best interest of all just as in every player has there own helmet. These helmets can be purchased at the Spartan Store or any sporting good store of your choice. You can expect to pay somewhere between $17.00 and $35.00 for a properly approved helmet. The Spartan Store will be selling the helemts for $20.00. The money that the Spartans will save on helmets will be used to provide all teams with other necessary practice equipment.

As most of you know Jim Miller and Bob Bonino completed their final year with the Spartans this past summer. We would like to thank Jim and Bob for their years of service with the club, they will truly be missed. We have added some new members to the baseball board this past fall. Dean Glau and Todd Reynolds will be helping Alex Narro and Ron Schroeder. The AAA/Majors divisions, will be run by Ron Schroeder and Dean Glau and the AA/A divisions, will be run by Alex Narro and Todd Reynolds. Please feel free to contact one of the Baseball Delegates if you have any questions or concerns.

AAA/Majors Spartan registration fee will be $75.00. Players can only register for AAA/majors if they have a confirmed roster spot from the head coach.

SUBMIT REGISTRATION FORMS TO YOUR HEAD COACH ALONG WITH A COPY OF YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE.

Age Cutoff Date for Baseball

Prior to the 2006 baseball season, AYL and Spartan Youth Club adopted the age cutoff change being implemented by most youth baseball organizations. The age cutoff date for AYL is May 1 (the old age cutoff date was August 1).

This change means that all players previously eligible for an age division will still be eligible plus players born in May, June, and July will now qualify for a "younger" age division than they did in the past. For example, to play in the 12u division in 2008, a player can not turn 13 before May 1, 2008.

MORE INFORMATION
A and AA League: Contact A and AA Baseball Coordinator: Alex Narro and Todd Reynolds
A/AA Baseball Coordinator

AAA and Majors: Contact AAA/Majors Baseball Coordinator: Ron Schroeder and Dean Glau

Majors/AAA Baseball Coordinator