Age-date eligibility

There has been a flurry of activity over the proposed change in age groups and age eligibility date.

It was started by the Major League committee which was concerned with a loss of players in its Under 18 Competition. I do not share their concern but it started the ball rolling along a road we were prepared to follow. The Major League Committee was most hostile in their opposition and moved a motion that Baseball NSW revert to the ‘old’ age groups of Under 12, 14 and 16.

Along the way there was a letter sent by Bruce Pickett, (General Manager Baseball & National Game Development of the ABF) which indicates that the proposed age groups are ‘dead in the water’. I believe the ABF wants the competition to be an Under 12 competition. It makes sense – a National Competition at Under 12, 14, 16 and 18. No one seems to believe that there will be a change in the ages of International competition.

The JLSC reversed its own early decision to conduct an Under 13 LL competition and reverted to the ‘old’ concept of Under 12, 14 and 16 with the birth date remaining as at 31 December. You would think that was the end of that debate – but along with at least with some other people I recognize that the final decision rests with the Board of Baseball NSW - such is the structure of administration of the sport in NSW. The decision will probably be made for it by the ABF at its meeting in June or July.

I think that the ABF is being unfairly accused as to its role in what turned out to be the age date fiasco. I am convinced my mail about the age groups is 1000% correct - I understand the ABF contacted the States ages ago and requested that no announcement be made re the age change. This was before Baseball NSW announced the changes to the age groups. But they did so regardless. During the debate there was no one acting too sensibly.

Little League want Australia's name on the World Championship and Australian money in their pocket. Give them that and (in important areas at least) meet their qualifications for the World Championship team and they won't care. .... well at least not out loud. The ABF want to have a vehicle to promote as something that they 'offer' their members. They want their Australian teams to be strong so they want strong State development.

I don’t know what BNSW wants or why. They can get the best of all worlds by allowing Associations to conduct a LL competition which meets minimum compliance rules (about age, number of games) and a State level competition (after Christmas?) in which they play double elimination or two pools over the LL distances at State level. We have put that proposal up twice now and been soundly defeated both times.

At this stage there is no need to alter the age groups - Under 12, 14 and 17. The birth date eligibility remains unchanged - under the age as at 31 December. Club's recruitment processes should reflect that.

Next Season

The 2008/09 Season will commence on 13 September. The Under 10 competitions will start that day as well.

Team nominations are due by 26 August, 2008.

We will offer a live ball comp for Under 11. Also offer both T ball and Mod Ball competitions for Under 10. I must admit I believe clubs leave T Ball far too early and before the skills of the game are learned and the playing standard suffers. It may be time to re introduce a first division Under 9 competition.

We will continue to offer a T Ball competition for 12 year olds as a means of improving the playing standard in the low divisions. Last year's Under 12 South and East Conferences did absolutely nothing for improving the playing standard – games became a walkathon.

We will offer a Little League competition, a competition under a different name. The competition will be played in School Holidays starting in October and resuming again in January. It would not impact on the club competition. The benefit is to simply play more games in a season.

Rep Season

Now we know what the representative season will be we are working through the trial situation.

The rep season starts earlier this year- thought to be 31 August.. so we may cease the Development earlier than expected and use Tuesday night as a rep trial night - probably starting with Under 12.

Development

We are giving some thought to conducting a ' try Baseball Day/s' during July School holidays. There may be some advantage to it - although it may become a 'child minding exercise' and too far away from the start of the season.. the timing is not bad for Club's registration days.

Development activities are underway . In some ways clubs have wasted our development resources.

Most of the LL players have withdrawn from the late session on Tuesday night. These players have now been replaced by other (younger players) that we have 'come across' in other development activities - it was either that or waste what resources we have available on that night. We would be averaging 24 or 25 players in the late session.

The early session on Tuesday was up to 18 players on Tuesday night. Most of these are 1998 birthdates. That squad is dominated by Castle Hill players but only it plus Winston Hills, Carlingford and Schofields nominated players.

Sunday morning Development ( Castle Glen 9 am -11am) has commenced after two wash outs. It is open to any players preferably 1997 and 1998 birthdates. We are happy with the standard of players attending that program. The most players we have had attend is nine.

With what we know and what we have seen in Development we would not be strong in Little League, nor do we have two Under 12 teams but we will have one very handy Under 12 team.

This year I think there needs be a compulsory meeting of coaches - where we will go through the rule book and explain the intent of the Hills rules. It is not a job for Umpires.

Winter

The Winter Competition has commenced. There are areas of concern. The dispensation process has been ignored. The question is why?

We have Under 16 players playing and pitching in Under 14. It’s the same situation in Under 14 competition with 11 year olds pitching and catching. There are 13 year old players playing in an Under 16 competition.

I refused permission for the older Blacktown players to pitch or catch. There have been no other requests received. As you are aware we really believe that overage players should be limited to play in the outfield only. Certainly not pitching or catching under any circumstances.

We included the Hills North LL team in the Under 14 competition to gain match practice. They will not be eligible to continue in the competition beyond June.

The Under 16 competition is reasonable. Schofields are clearly overmatched and have been offered to move back to the Under 14 competition with a team being found for its better three older players.

The Under 12 competition is anything but good – with the possible exception of the Quakers Hill team. The players in this competition would be better off at Development.

Administration

The Hills Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 8th July. Nominations for Executive positions close at the conclusion of the June meeting.

There has been a lot of changes in the composition of Club Executives. Sadly for Hills we have ‘lost’ the services of a number of people. Probably the most notable is John Hook who did not seek re election as Winston Hills’ President. It was about four years ago that Winston Hills was facing extinction. Thanks to a robust recruitment program the club was the third strongest club in Hills. Also bad news for Winston Hills was that Wendy Sloggett did not seek re election – she will however continue to be Hills’ Recorder.

Others to leave the Club Administration scene are Stan Tossell ( Schofields), Lee Barone ( Rouse Hill) and Kevin Ryan ( Castle Hill). We sincerely thank John, Wendy, Stan, Lee and Kevin for their efforts on behalf of the sport within Hills. Their loss will be difficult to replace.

High-level reps

Hills has had three players selected in the team to compete in the Cal Ripken tournament. The players are Hayden Bray, Tim Wakefield and Zachary Shepherd. To assist the players fundraising Hills is prepared, subject to Castle Hill’s agreement to allow them to operate a ‘canteen’ at Knights on Friday night.

We have received sponsorship for the Little League team. The cost of the walk out shirts, tracksuit pants and bags will be deducted from that amount and the balance will be distributed equally among the parents. The distribution is expected to be more than $250 per player. Our thanks are extended to Dave Frew, Peter Whatson and Anne Hennessy for organising this.

Newcastle is the Country Representative in the National LL Championships. My reports were that Newcastle hit very well – although, like Victoria, the players were allowed to use 2 5/8” dia. bats. Yeah – ‘we are committed to LL principles’, well at least some of them…. if it suits us!

Resources

The Australian Sports Commission has developed online courses for Australian beginner coaches and officials. Training is free and courses can be completed on the web at a time that suits you.
See:  http://www.dsr.nsw.gov.au/training/coach.asp

They are theory courses for practical assistance. We will organize a training course for T Ball and mod ball coaches - it will take about three hours. The date will be Sunday 31st August. Venue to be confirmed

٠ For coaches of Live Ball who want to expand their knowledge of coaching I suggest that you look at the Athlete Development Programs of Queensland Baseball. The programs are for Under 14, 16 and 18. They can be downloaded from:-
 http://www.qldcoaches.baseball.com.au/?MenuID=Athlete_Development_Program/C14633/0

Sundry

٠ Traditionally Hills has always nominated the Executive for NSWJBL. This year it is the Executive’s recommendation Hills nominate:
Mrs. C. Barnier as President: Mr. Farrell (Vice President): P. Royce (Treasurer) and J. Yard (Secretary).

٠ We are examining alternatives to the current Hills training shirt. The colour is the problem as with cotton the colour fades to a ‘dirty’ blue when exposed to detergent and sun.

٠ With the introduction of breakaway bases being compulsory next summer season, there is some sense in considering altering the playing distances of Brian Cashmore Leagues. The change to increase the base paths to 90ft., reflects what realistically is happening anyway – clubs are ignoring the 85ft base path, distance opting for 90ft.

The Secretary’s report was accepted.

• The move to revert back to the previous age eligibility date was initiated by the Major League Committee.
• It was recognised as obvious that the proposed changed age matrix was pushed through too quickly. It is reported that no other State is adopting the dates proposed by Baseball NSW.
• The meeting rescinded its decision of the previous month and voted for the representative competitions to be Under 12, 14 and 16 with an age eligibility of 31st December.
• There is a Policy setting meeting on Friday 23 May, with the Board of Baseball NSW

• Statement of Financial Position was presented.
• Payments were approved.
• Debtors and liabilities were disclosed.

Sponsorship: Mr. Frew advised of an additional sponsorship for the Little League team.

Playing Distances: It was agreed to change the playing distances for Brian Cashmore Leagues to 58’ x 90’. Clubs were requested to play Peter Street League off 50’ x 80‘ in lieu of 50’ x 75’.

Umpires Course: Mrs. Douglas reported that the Umpires course has had good attendance with 34 people attending, the large majority being from Hills. It is hoped that this will transpose into more umpires.

Annual General Meetings:

• Mrs. Fox advised that Baulkham Hills has held its AGM. There are no major changes other than she did not seek re election as delegate to Hills. The delegate will be Neil Wright.
• Mr. Bailey advised that Oakville has also held its Annual General Meeting. D. Frew is the new delegate to Hills.
• Mr. Blundell advised that Kings Langley’s AGM will be held on 25 May, 2008.

Breakaway Bases: Mr. Niemi sought clarification re the introduction of breakaway bases, especially where clubs do not have them. Mr. Yard replied that all clubs have purchased breakaway bases, in fact most already have them in operation. The suggested changes in playing distances were as a result of the introduction of breakaway bases, and to overcome the need for multiple anchor points. In relation to Under 8 competition, it is envisaged that these games will be played using the breakaway base as a ‘floating base’. They are heavy and robust enough to be used without danger.

Competitions being offered: Mrs. Fox asked that the League to consider introducing a conference for Mod Ball in Under 12. Mr. Yard advised that the Phil Leonard South or East Conference will be a competition other than live ball. He personally preferred T Ball because of the fact that it is:-

(a) a faster game and
(b) offers far better development for players. There should be a play every time there is a batter.

There appeared to be support for the suggested Under 9 T Ball competition as a ‘first division’ competition.