Cooperstown Tips

I would suggest going to the website - you can see game standings etc. Our week there were a few teams 7-0 and a few 0-7. Obviously the 7-0, 6-1 teams were in the finals. No matter where you end up, the kids have a blast. We ended up playing two teams in the top 10 and were 1-1. So that was something. Some do take it very seriously, and will fly up fresh arms on Wednesday. imho, the child loses the entire experience. it happens though.

Some teams really practiced the 'round the horn, golden arm, speed racer thing and homerun derby. They were lots of fun too.

Focus on the entire experience. The folks are nice up there, and there are things to do off site.

We went as 10U, played up as 11U (against 12U), an played as 12U. We found that there were 10 very good teams, 20 pretty ad teams and 60 mediocre teams.

As 12U, it isn't real baseball. 200' flyballs beat good baseball teams.

We are going for the first time the week of July 20th-27th. I cannot belive that they let 12 year olds use fat bats on a 200 foot fence. What's the personal record? 5 homeruns a game? 6?

You might as well play the center fielder like a midfielder. Anything over his head is either a homerun or a single off the fence.

Might as well defend against the bloops.

We went to Cooperstown 2 years ago this summer. Great Experience! Hall of Fame is cool.
At that point there were about 60 teams that went each week. We play in Georgia (East Cobb area) and see some pretty good competition locally. The teams we saw in Cooperstown varied in ability. Some were more "all star" level and some were very "Elite" travel level and most were somewhere in between.

If you go to the Coopertown website they have a webcam and you can see some of the games.....I agree with another response...SHORT FIELDS...lots of home runs....

quote:

Originally posted by Doughnutman:
We are going for the first time the week of July 20th-27th. I cannot belive that they let 12 year olds use fat bats on a 200 foot fence. What's the personal record? 5 homeruns a game? 6?

You might as well play the center fielder like a midfielder. Anything over his head is either a homerun or a single off the fence.

Might as well defend against the bloops.

We played our OF shallow because they run pretty well and anything over their heads was either a single or HR.

At 10U, my CF threw out 7 or 8 kids at 1B for the week...a record.

DMAN
If you check the website all the records are there. Every record you could think of they keep. Great experience.

We also went two years ago in 05, I personally think most teams head to Cooperstown for the experience of the tournament and with no high expectations of going home as that weeks champion. We ended up seeded 43rd and won a playoff game. Unless your son plays for a Major Elite Team just enjoy the week, he will never forget it.

Baseballmom03 – What team does your son play for, we will be playing in the USSSA Major State Tournament in June at East Cobb.

quote:

Originally posted by bb1:
DMAN
If you check the website all the records are there. Every record you could think of they keep. Great experience.

Thanks for the info. I will check it out.

Calahan - What week are you guys heading out? My son is playing on a team heading out week # 9 (8/4 - 8/9). We are a team of Cal ripken players throughout the city put together just to go to Cooperstown. All the kids play all-Stars for their respective leagues. Needless to say the 70' bases and leading will be somewhat new to them. The team that went out last year was seeded 25th for their week so "upper middle" is where I'd place the caliber of our team.

I don't know why the 200' fence is such a big deal as that is what they play on normally for Cal Ripken baseball (atleast up here in New england). Now if the issue is the big barrel bats on such a short field I understand the issue..lol.

We are looking forward to the experience for sure!!

quote:

Originally posted by redsox8191:
I don't know why the 200' fence is such a big deal as that is what they play on normally for Cal Ripken baseball (atleast up here in New england). Now if the issue is the big barrel bats on such a short field I understand the issue..lol.

Most of the travel teams haven't played on 200' fences since 10 years old.

We are also going the same week as you redsox8191. We are from RI. Our kids all play LL All-Stars too, but in addition, they're playing a Spring AAU season - Sunday (and a couple Sat.) doubleheaders only. That will stop June 15th and we'll resume practices after All-Stars, maybe even a tournament the end of July. At least that way, our kids s/b used to the leading off and stealing, etc..

We're really looking forward to it. Feel free to PM me and we can exchange particulars (team names, emails, etc.) so that maybe we can check each other while we're there together.

Regards,
Sandman

Sandman,

Thats cool that we will be going out the same week. There is another person on here (who's name escapes me) from california that will be there that week too. We are the "NH Dirt Devils" and the Tazmanian Devil in a baseball uniform is our logo. We got our pins and they are sweet looking!! I am helping coach so I get to bunk up with the boys..lucky me!

We have two 12U AAU teams in the area (who will also head out there but different weeks then us) so we are going to scrimmage against them a couple of weekends in July before heading out there. Plus some of our Cal ripken leagues in NH have converted to the 70' bases with leading..so we will try to set up some scrimages with them as well. Hopefully the boys All-Stars won't interfere too much with our cooperstown preparation.

Redbird,

well that would make sense. But don't these kids still play LL or Cal Ripken too? Or do they just play on travel teams?

Sandman,

Rollerman is the other person going to Cooperstown our week. His son plays for the Fresno Blue Devils.

That makes 3 of us so far! Lets pray for good weather!!

quote:

Originally posted by redsox8191:
Redbird,

well that would make sense. But don't these kids still play LL or Cal Ripken too? Or do they just play on travel teams?

My team is 13U. My kids haven't played rec league since they were 8 years old. We play 75 games per year. There are a LOT of teams like this.

I don't think we have too many teams like that up here in New England as our season is just too short. Although there are more and more AAU teams popping up as more indoor facilities are opening up. Heck our season is barely 75 days long...lol

Right...but usually there is only 1 team per week from New England. 3-4 each from FL, VA, GA and CA

Quick cooperstown question for the old timers that have been to Cooperstown a few times.

We go on the 27th of July and my son was just invited to fill in a roster spot of another AZ team that is going week before(for free!).

We know the team and he is going to play 13U with those guys in the fall(our team only coaches 12U).

What are your opinions on the amopunt of games played? Too much for a 12 year old? He will probably pitch about 6 inning per week and play shortstop the rest of the time.

Just looking for some opinions.

quote:

Originally posted by redsox8191:
Sandman,

Rollerman is the other person going to Cooperstown our week. His son plays for the Fresno Blue Devils.

That makes 3 of us so far! Lets pray for good weather!!

We're the Ramblers (logo is a Ram) (http://www.ramblerbaseball.org/site/index.html) I printed this thread and put it in my CTown folder. I'll look for you there. Good luck!

Red Sox -

200' for the 12 year olds we have played against is a very short fence. My son's team typically plays on fences that are 275 feet plus. I've seen kids clear those distances but not too often. There are monsters out there however. Our boys were in a tourney a few weeks ago and I saw several kids clear 300 feet. That's not the norm but it can happen.

We'll be in Cooperstown in mid-July.

Doughnutman...

Baseball is pretty serious in Texas, probably because the weather (although very extreme) lets the kids practice and play games so much. I like the fact that they can play so much because that many games means the kids have chances to pull out of slumps and not dwell on past personal failures or losses. Yeah, you can feel bad about your slump or last night's tough loss but you better get ready for the next game. The more games you have, the more chances for success or wins you have.

Our teams typically play 60 games in the Spring and 20-30 in the Fall. We start training in January and games start in March. The season will end in Cooperstown. In the Fall & Winter, baseball takes a backseat to football and basketball but once March 1 hits, our boys are playing baseball. We practice a couple of times a week plus most of the parents invest in some kind of private lessons. Three out of four weekends we are scheduled for tourneys. You can do it if you have enough quality pitching depth. Our team <knocking on lots of wood> has been very fortunate in not suffering any major arm injuries but we have lots of pitching and the coaches watch it closely.

Our son was exhausted by the end of the week. (so were we, but you didn't ask about that ) I would say that IF you want to do this, have him sleep at your place at least two nights before play begins to help him rest up. Some of the fun may be gone by the second week and the newness will definitely be gone. If your regular team is depending on him to be his sharpest... you may want to consider that as well. Hard to turn down a free trip though. Good Luck.

quote:

Originally posted by Doughnutman:
Quick cooperstown question for the old timers that have been to Cooperstown a few times.

We go on the 27th of July and my son was just invited to fill in a roster spot of another AZ team that is going week before(for free!).

We know the team and he is going to play 13U with those guys in the fall(our team only coaches 12U).

What are your opinions on the amopunt of games played? Too much for a 12 year old? He will probably pitch about 6 inning per week and play shortstop the rest of the time.

Just looking for some opinions.

Doughnutman,

He should be fine. You usually get tired at the end of the week if you are going deep in the tourney (playing 3-4 games Wed and 3-4 Thurs). But...if he gets to sleep and eats well during the week, he will be fine.

Redsox and Sandman,
Should be a fun week in August!
As far as 200' fences are concerned, they seem to work for rec leagues just fine. The local league has had maybe 5-6 HR's the whole season .
When my son practices on that field he hits about half the pitches over, some with enough carry to go 260-280' .
Travel ball seems to concentrate the talent such that 200ft is short.
Next year on the big diamond most of the long flies will be routine outs! Start hitting line drives now !
Rollerman

I would let him go for both weeks. Cooperstown will be the best time he has ever had! Perfect weather,atmosphere,setting and fields.All of the family, fans and umpires are so relaxed and having so much fun it was a great time.The players were tight at the beginning of the week but were loose after a few games.Our team sounds about as talented as yours and we played our best ball. Ended up the #1 seed out of 80 I think & finished in 3rd place! Va. Xtreme July of 2004.We,as a family, have yet to top that week!The advice I would give : Save your arms. Don't warm up as long, especially early in the week when the kids are ready to go.We had to tie them down(lol) or just don't get to your field too early.Send a "scout" to the field to make sure the game ahead of you is on time.Also have parents check out the teams you are playing to gauge talent.When we got our schedule I had a blast running around trying to see who had what,hit what threw what,etc..Not sure how much I helped the coach,but had a lot of fun! Then you can save your best arms for when they are needed.The week we were there there were aprox.10 elite teams ,20 very bad teams and the rest of us.Enjoy yourselves and be sure to take it all in as they grow up fast.

1st week started this weekend!

My son is going week 5 which is July 7-13. I actually followed the 1st weeks games as I knew several different teams that participated. Final game was between two powerhouse teams...Tamiami Rangers and Tampa Heat. Actually 3 of the final 4 were from Florida with the other from Utah. I enjoyed watching the game cams throughout the week and especially the championship game which included play by play and a better feed for viewing. Both my son and I are anxious for the time to get here. He has played at the Major level since he was 8, participating in World Series in Kansas City, Las Vegas, St Louis and Orlando but I don't think he has ever been as fired up about a trip as this one. I am sure it will be all we expect it to be. Can't wait

Sdawg...

I do believe that a team from Houston called the Proway Colt 45's is going to be in Cooperstown the week of July 7-13 and beware, they are pretty darn good.

Lots of power, good pitching, excellent fielding and also seasoned by a lot of tough competition in Texas.

I have no idea about the rest of the competition but I would have to believe they are one of the top 10 teams going into that particular week at Cooperstown.

Good luck and tell everybody how it goes afterwards.

Will do Calahan and thanks for the heads up.

We are going to be there the week of July 20th to the 27th.

Any other competitors going to be there?

We are the AZ Knights.

swdawg24


What is the name of your son's team so we can follow them?

To the mom that was offered to go the week before for free....DON'T DO IT!!!! You son will not be able to play for your regular team as he will be exhausted. If he pitches and plays shortstop he will need several days to recover after the first week. Just enjoy the trip with his regular team. Of course this is just my opinion.

It was however the greatest baseball experience. We made it to the championship and it was AWESOME! We did not win it but it was great being in the game. Good luck to everyone attending this year.

WA Dad


Were you there for week 4? If so I watched your Championship game online. (I'm heading out week 9 so wanted to watch...lol) That was a tough one. Up 3-2 only to lose 4-3 on two solo homeruns in the top of the 6th. Especially after just missing a grand slam in the bottom of the 5th! It was a well played game by both teams.

Congrats to the Hawaii Sluggers.

I was trumpeting the Proway Colts as being a potential champ but didn't realize the Mac & Seitz crew (which is a midwestern team that can play with anybody in Texas & Oklahoma) were also in the tourney...and then Hawaii put the hammer on them.

We fly to NY tomorrow and get to Cooperstown late in the day. Hopefully the rain stays in Texas.

Redsox8191, sorry I did not get this til today. My son went with the Boys of Baseball National Travel Team ( www.boysofbaseball.com )and we finished in the final 32. We were actually matched against the Hawaii Sluggers and Turn 2 Baseball during pool play and on the same day no less. Both teams were in the Final 4 with the Sluggers taking the overall crown against Mac n Seitz. With our past experiences in USSSA baseball, I knew both Turn 2 and Mac n Seitz would be contenders, but had no idea Hawaii would be as good as they were. Very disciplined and fundamentally sound team. They had a girl, yes a girl, who played 3rd and batted clean up. She also tossed a complete game shut out against Turn 2 in the semi finals. Her name is Misha and I expect to hear things from her on the softball circuit in years to come.

Tournament was very well run, the best my son has been to. The only exception was that the umpires were not as good as I thought they would be. They did a fine job, don't get me wrong, but I just expected top of the line umpires and honestly, some weren't. The majority were very qualified.

We experienced quite a few rain delays and I commend the grounds crew with getting the kids back on the field in a timely matter. All of Cooperstown Dreams Park is a very well oiled machine.

The meals were very edible, which was another surprise. Different breakfast choices every morning, choices of ham, turkey, roast beef, and tuna sandwiches for lunch, and then different choices for supper. If the player is a big eater, they can go back for 2nds.

swdawg24

Glad to hear you had a great time. I watched a few of the games on the internet and was impressed by the girl 3rd baseman for Hawaii. The East Cobb team from GA played in quite a few of them but they too ran into the buzzsaw that was Hawaii. I guess if you are going to travel that far you best be a good team! Plus they must have good solid programs out there as teams from Hawaii won both the Little League and Cal Ripken League World Series last year (12U).

I'm looking forward to our week (week 9) out there. Hopefully all the rain will be done by the time we get out there..lol. glad you had a great time!!

quote:

Tournament was very well run, the best my son has been to. The only exception was that the umpires were not as good as I thought they would be. They did a fine job, don't get me wrong, but I just expected top of the line umpires and honestly, some weren't. The majority were very qualified.

"Top of the line" umpires usually do not work for free.....CDP gets exactly the quality of umpiring it pays for....which is nothing....I know plenty of guys who went in years past but now refuse to return to donate services to a "for profit" organization.

I support umpires who volunteer for non-profit (LL) but as for me, I do not umpire for free.....

I did know that their time was donated. I appreciate the work that competent umpires put in. As I have said many times that I would not want to do their job. Before going, I was under the impression that each team was responsible for sponsoring an umpire, so I ASSumed that teams would select quality guys. Anyway, there were no calls which won or lost our ballgames, even though I did scratch my head on a few. I agree, they should be compensated some kind of way!!!!!!!!!

PIAA has it part way right. Teams are supposed to bring a guest umpire. Some do, some don't. These guests are suplemented by local "for pay" umpires.

One more week till we head out to Cooperstown for Week # 9. Our team is the New Hampshire Diamond Devils.

Sandman - you guys getting geared up to go? I know you are from RI but what is the name of your team?

Rollerman - You getting psyched too? (Fresno Blue Devils right??) You guys fly into Albany when you come? We are close enough to drive out there, about 4-5 hours from NH.

I'm looking forward to a fun week!!

I hope we have great weather!!!