Hello Knights Members and welcome to the 2021/22 season!
Not long now till the Hill Juniors Baseball and T-ball season is underway.
Opening Day dates are as follows:
- 17U Youth League (Div 1)– Friday 19th November
- T-Ball, Mod Ball & Live Ball (7U’s – 17/2’s) – 27th November
It wasn’t that long ago that we were all wondering if we would get a baseball season this year and now we are only a matter of weeks away. With all age groups having either started their training or about too, I thought it would be a good time to discuss a few things leading into the 2021/22 season. A couple of weeks ago we saw our 9U’s-17U’s complete their Grading sessions. I would like to thank all the parents for bringing their kids down to grading this year and abiding by our Covid Protocols. For those that are new to how we grade it would have been an experience for you and your child as well.
Registration – With the season coming up very quickly this is a reminder to make sure your child is registered. If your child isn’t registered yet please visit this page and register ASAP. We still have a couple of spots open. So if you know anyone that might be interested please either get them to get in contact with me on vpjuniors[at]astlehillbaseball.com.au or simply tell them to register through the website.
Try Tee Ball and Baseball Day – A couple of Sundays ago the club held its Annual Try T-ball & Baseball day which saw 45 kids come down to give the best sport in the Hills District a go! We welcome all our new players to the club especially for those that are starting their baseball careers in T-Ball. Hopefully in around 12-15 yrs time we will be reading about them and their multi million dollar contract they signed with an MLB organisation!! Check out some pics from the day:
Team Lists – Over the next couple of days team lists for your child’s team will be sent out to the coaches to start communicating with their families. Apologies if this has taken a bit longer than expected due to the uncertainty of some age groups and how competitions are going to be structured.
Uniform Shop – The Uniform Shop will be opened on Thursday 11th November from 530pm down at Castle Glen for those needing to prepare for the season ahead. There will be socks, playing shirts, training shirts, pants, shorts, caps and more on sale. You might be able to pick up a bargain with second hand equipment and apparel stock!!
Assistant Coaches/Team Managers/Scorer – to make life easier for your child’s coach, it is recommended to have an Assistant along side them. This will help you keep an eye on the kids during training but also to assist as a base coach during games on the weekend. As part of your coaching group, you will need to assign a Team Manager. The role of the Team Manager is to relay all communications from the club to the parents in your team eg: wet weather, photo day, BBQ roster etc. Most teams will need a scorer. Scoring can be daunting for the first 5 seconds but scoring T-Ball is very easy and you have the best view from right behind the plate. Don’t worry if you haven’t scored before as the club will be providing a “Learn to Score T-Ball” night before the season starts. All coaches, assistants, managers and scorers must also be double vaccinated.
Umpiring – For each home game, the club will ask one of our junior baseballers to umpire your game on the weekend. At times the club may be short of umpires, so you may be required to umpire your own game. Once again T-ball is very easy to umpire. If you are interested in umpiring, please contact our Umpiring Coordinator Andrew Clements on umpires[at]castlehillbaseball.com.au and he will be happy to show you the ropes.
Ground Set Up/Pack Up – If your team is playing an early game (830m start) at Castle Glen or Knights Field you will be required to help set up the diamonds. Setting up a baseball diamond is pretty simple and our Committee Members will be down there at the “crack of dawn” to help set up the day and assist with helping prepare the diamonds. If your child’s team is playing the late game (11am) you will be required to help pack up and rake the diamond once the game is completed. Once again our friendly Committee Members will be able to assist with this as well.
Canteen/BBQ – At one point of the season at Castle Glen or Knight Field your team may be called upon to assist on the canteen or BBQ for a couple of hours. A canteen roster will be set up and your teams manager will be notified a couple of weeks in advanced when your team in required. With COVID around there maybe protocols in place that the Canteen Coordinator will provide if need be.
The Draw – The draw will be finalised closer to the commencement of the season. Once the draw has been released it will be passed on to your childs coach and manager to distribute to the families.
Team App/Facebook– Please make sure you are all familiar with Team App. If not, below is the information they will need to load it onto the phone. Please make sure you have also liked the Castle Hill Baseball Clubs Facebook Page. These 2 platforms the club will use regularly to communicate information to our patrons in case of wet weather, ground closures or simply letting you know of any club events that may be coming up. Visit this page for instructions
Please remember we are there for the kids to have fun and learn. If for any reason you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.
We are only weeks away!!!! I am sure that you are looking forward to having an exciting and enjoyable season.
See you all on the diamond!
Dave Martyn
VP Juniors
Castle Hill Baseball Club