TRAVEL TEAM POLICY

I. INTRODUCTION

The Baseball Club of Chatham, N.J., Inc. (“BBC”) offers Spring and Summer Travel Baseball Programs for serious players who desire a higher level of baseball competition.  To be eligible, a player MUST participate in the BCC Spring Youth League. A player may elect to tryout for either a Spring Travel Team or Summer Travel Team or both.

II. TEAMS & TRYOUTS

Teams will be formed at the following levels: U7, U8, U9, U10, U11, U12, U13, and U14. 

A. Age and Grade Eligibility

In 2021, Chatham’s teams will be determined by age. For U13 – U14, returning players will have the option of trying out for the team that corresponds with their grade. Newcomers to the program will be placed or their age appropriate team.

A player cannot play at a certain age level if the player’s “baseball age”— i.e., the player’s age as of April 30, — is greater than the age required for that level.

A player’s “baseball age” for the season is defined as his age as of April 30. For example, a 5th grade player who turns 11 on 4/30, will be considered a U11 and cannot be considered a U10. A returning player who turns 11 on 5/1 is considered a U10 but if the player is in 5th grade, he may elect to try out for the U11 level (mostly 5th graders). The election must be made prior to tryouts for that level; no player can rescind the election to play at a certain level after tryouts have begun. Please email  with any questions regarding age eligibility.

B. Tryouts

Notice of time and place will be posted on the website and disseminated by email to all BCC Youth League participants. Registration will take place through BCC’s website, which can be accessed through the following link: www.chathambaseball.com.

Players will be evaluated and scored in three primary skill areas: throwing, fielding, and hitting. Hitting will be evaluated using batting cages Voluntary, organized workouts may be held prior to tryouts.

The coaching staff from Drew University’s Baseball team will administer the tryouts and evaluate each participant. Players will be assigned a random number to wear for the tryout. The player will be called by that number rather than his name, and none of the evaluators at the try-out will have the names of the tryout participants.

Withdrawal from Tryout Consideration. A player may withdraw from tryout consideration within 24 hours of the final tryout session. After that 24-hour period, all players are considered to be committed to play on a Travel Team, if selected. Accordingly, if a player withdraws from program consideration outside of that 24-hour period (even if teams have not yet been announced), that player will become ineligible (subject to a BCC review) to try out for either Spring Travel or Summer Travel the following year.

C. Selection & Team Formation

Players will be ranked by skill level based on tryout scores, past performance for prior Spring and/or Summer Travel Teams (if applicable), and coach feedback including attendance record.

There will be a Spring Travel Team Ranking List and a Summer Travel Team Ranking List to account for those players who elect to participate in only one Travel season.

Travel Team rosters typically do not exceed 12 players. 

For each level, an “White” Travel Team will be formed. Depending on numbers, talent level, commitment, and coaches’ availability, the BCC may, in its discretion, form a “Blue” Travel Team or a “Red” Travel Team at a certain level or levels. Those determinations will be made after tryouts conclude.

Withdrawal from a Travel Team. If a player withdraws after he/she is named to a Travel Team, that player will become ineligible (subject to a BCC review) to try out for either the Spring Travel Program or the Summer Travel Program the following year.

III. COMMITMENT

A. Spring Travel Program

To participate on a Spring Travel Team, IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that a player not play in more than one other Spring sport (not including BCC Youth League Baseball).

The Spring Travel Program generally requires a once-a-week practice commitment.

Games are ordinarily played on Saturday afternoons and Sundays in April and May. We attempt to avoid conflicts with all BCC Youth League Baseball games.

B. Summer Travel Program

To participate on a Summer Travel Team, the player must have fulfilled his BCC Youth League team commitment.

When a player tries out for a Summer Travel Team, the player acknowledges and agrees to be available for all practices and games starting in early May prior to school closing and continuing through the end of July. BCC recognizes that a player may miss a practice or a game due to unique personal or family circumstances, and in such unique circumstances, the absence will not be considered a breach of the player’s commitment.

After the last day of school, a player should be available EVERY DAY for practices and/or games. The schedule will fluctuate almost daily, and any given week will generally have 4-5 baseball “events” (sometimes more when games get rained out, etc.).  Generally, weekday practices and games will not begin before late afternoon (usually 6:00-7:30 pm) due to coaches’ work schedules. A Summer Travel Team generally will play between 15 to 30 games in a season depending on the team, age group, and league.

A player’s family members may be asked to volunteer for tournament hosting (if applicable), concessions, and fundraising and field preparation work as needed.

Given the commitment stated above, family vacations should be put on hold until August.

Failure to Fulfill Commitment. If a player cannot fulfill this commitment to the Summer Travel Program, the player should not try out for a Summer Travel Team. If a player assigned to a Summer Travel Team does not fulfill this commitment, the player may be subject to limited playing time and could become ineligible for Travel Baseball the following season.