General Information

The following is general information about Audubon Recreation Association’s spring and fall baseball and softball programs. We highly recommend that you periodically check our web site at www.ARASports.org for more information about our programs, etc. All registrations for ARA sports programs must be completed on-line using this on-line registration system. The link to our on-line registration system is:http://www.sportssignup.com/arabaseball.start. Please note that you must complete the registration in its entirety, including making payment by credit card at the end in order, for the registration to be valid. The system will discard all registration information entered after 48 hours if payment is not made and this will require you to re-enter all information.

For the spring season, all players (except those noted below) are expected to attend evaluations in early March (see below for more details). Teams are selected by the coaches shortly after evaluations and practices typically begin in mid-to late March. Opening Day is usually the first or second weekend in April and playoffs (for ages 8 and up) are usually wrapped up by mid June when school is done for the year.

For the fall season, there are no player evaluations and it usually starts the weekend after Labor Day and runs until mid to late October. Until the registration process is complete, we will not know how many teams there will be or what the schedule looks like for both spring and fall. The spring schedule will not be available until late March/early April and early September for the fall schedule. Because of typical late registrations for the fall season, we usually release the schedule for the first two weeks the week of the Labor Day week. The remainder of the schedule will be released by about the 2^nd week of September. You will be notified by a coach about team assignments and schedule, so please do not email us about the schedule.

For the fall programs, the number of divisions depend upon how many players sign up for a given age group. We usually have to combine age groups in order to get the requisite amount of teams in a given division. For example, we may combine six and seven year old players into the same baseball division because we would not have enough players for a six year old division only. We may combine players who are eight with players who are nine and possibly some ten year olds depending on our numbers. The same goes for our softball program. For the fall program only, children are permitted to register for the league they will be playing in during the spring of the following year. In addition, in the fall, players who have completed their ARA career in the spring season are permitted to play in the fall season. For example, a 12 year old boy who played his last season in the National League in the spring season is permitted to play in the fall league the following fall even if he turned 13 prior to the start of the fall season. The fall programs are more laid back than the spring programs and the emphasis is on skill development.

See below for more specific information about the spring and fall programs.

The typical divisions for our fall ball program are noted below after the information about our spring programs.

Game Locations

Most games are at the ARA fields, however, some divisions may play teams from other leagues at other fields. In 2012 we began inter-league play with Methacton for our softball teams and those games were close by at Red Tail field and Eskie Field both of which are in Lower Providence Township, a short distance from our main field complex. There is a higher likelihood of playing at fields other than ARA’s in the fall program because of the limited number of teams in the fall season. In the spring, the boys National league may play one or two games away at other fields against another local Cal Ripken league. Also, in the spring, the girls Senior division may also play a number of their games away at other fields against other local townships. This is usually dependant on how many teams we are able to field in that division.

Game Days/Times

There are NO set days for games in each league. In the spring, games for all divisions are played Tuesdays through Fridays at 6PM and on Saturdays starting at 9AM with the last game at 5PM and on Sundays usually with a Noon start and the last game typically at 4PM. Later in the season, when we have more daylight, we could have a 6PM Sunday game. A schedule will not be available until late March or early April for the spring and early September for the fall season so please do not email us asking about the schedule. Your coach will distribute the schedule when it is available. We usually don’t start earlier than Noon on Sundays unless we have a lot of make up games we need to fit in. In the fall, games are only on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. (sorry Eagles fans - but you can bring a radio and listen to Merrill Reese).

Uniforms

In the spring, all players receive a shirt (jersey), hat and pants for the boys and the girls receive a shirt (jersey), shorts, visor and socks. In the fall, the players will get a shirt and a hat/visor and most boys just wear their baseball pants from the spring.

Equipment

Parents are responsible for providing gloves and rubber cleats (if needed) and bats for the players. The organization does provide helmets. However, the trend in recent years has been for many families to buy their own helmets. If you are buying a helmet for your child, please be sure you purchase one that has a faceguard on it, as that is a requirement for all our leagues. The organization also does provide catcher's equipment. ARA families can get a 10% discount on equipment from our vendor Schuylkill Valley Sports located in Audubon Shopping Center in Audubon.

Carpooling

We will try to accommodate car pooling requests for the younger ages only (e.g. for our Tball and Instructional leagues) but even this is not guaranteed. As you would imagine, this is a nightmare for the folks having to put together the teams trying to make them as equitable as possible.

Practice

There are NO set days for practices in each league. Practices are at the discretion of the coach. Most teams practice no more than once or twice a week depending on field and batting cage availability. Practices may occur at locations other than ARA fields but are usually in the township. Practices are very limited during fall ball.

Coaching a Team

Volunteers wishing to be a Head or Assistant coach can indicate their desire when they sign up their players on-line. The baseball and softball commissioners, in consultation with the ARA Board of Directors, makes a determination as to the selection of the coaches. All coaches are required to have a current criminal background check on file with ARA that is less than two years old. A link to our required criminal background check process can be found on our web site. Please note that all head and assistant coaches must complete our specific background check process. We do not accept background checks from other organizations.

Player Evaluations

In the spring, player evaluations are held for our older baseball and softball divisions. For baseball, this applies to Rookie league and above, and for softball, this applies to Minors and above. There are no evaluations for our T-ball, Instructional, or Rookie (softball) leagues. Player evaluations for baseball and softball usually occur around the first or second week in March and are held locally usually at an indoor location. There are no player evaluations for fall ball. Please check our web site periodically for more details on the exact date and time for player evaluations.

Payment Terms

Registration fees must be paid via credit card at the time you register on-line. Due to the significant burden of having to manage accounts receivables, we do not permit payment by any other method. Please see information about privacy and security on the front page of the on-line registration web page.

Playing Up

As a general rule, Audubon Recreation does not permit players to play outside of their designated age groups. Failure to provide accurate date of birth information during the registration process can lead to forfeiture of playing privileges. If you have any questions, please contact the baseball or softball commissioner.

Baseball Divisions and Fees:

The various divisions for both spring baseball and softball are listed below along with age requirements and fees.

Spring Divisions & Fees (2014) (all fees already include the raffle fee amount)

Spring Baseball Divisions and Fees – Players are assigned to a division based on their age on April 30^th.

Bambino (no charge) – Ages 5 to 20. This is challenger league for special needs children from the ages of 5-20 yrs old. The season runs from Mother's day to Father's day every Sunday. All games start at either 12:00 or 1:00pm. There is some travel involved.

Tee Ball ($85) – Age 5. This is our entry level league. (Note: We now have an instructional league for girls ages 5 & 6 who would rather go directly into our softball program – please see below)

Instructional Coach Pitch ($95) – Age 6. This league is the next league after Tee Ball and focuses on fundamentals of the game. These games are usually about 3 innings or so with all players batting each inning. The coaches do the pitching in this league. As the season progresses, the three out concept is introduced and bases are cleared after the 3^rd out but all players continue to bat each inning.

Instructional ($95) – Age 7. This league is an instructional league that focuses on fundamentals but at a higher level. This league introduces the use of pitching machine. In the beginning of the season, the three out concept is used and bases are cleared after the 3^rd out but all players continue to bat each inning. As the season progresses, regular baseball rules will apply with teams changing from batting and playing the field after three outs.

Rookie ($120) – Age 8. This league uses a combination of the pitching machine (4 innings) and player pitch (2 innings). This league is almost exclusively an 8 year old league. Some 7 year olds may be permitted to play in this league depending on our numbers. Seven year old players are not permitted to register for this league but rather must tryout in order to be considered. Only the approximate top 10% of seven year olds should consider trying out and decisions on who is able to play up is based on our numbers and all coach evaluations. Paid umpires are provided for this league and all higher level leagues.

Minors ($120) – Age 9. This league is a full player pitch league. This is the first league using full baseball rules.

American ($120) – Ages 10 & 11. This league is exclusively player pitch and is one of our two top leagues for the older players. The league follows a 46/60 format.

National ($120) – Age 12. This league is our most competitive league and is primarily a 12 year old league playing in a 50/70 format. Some 11 year olds will be permitted to play in this league depending on our numbers. In the past, this has been limited to the top 12 to 20 11 year old players based on ability as evaluated by the coaches. 11 year old players are not permitted to register for this league but rather must tryout in order to be considered.

Spring Softball Divisions and Fees – Players are assigned to a division based on their age on January 1^st.

Instructional ($85) – Ages 5 & 6. This league is focuses on the fundamentals of softball and basic knowledge of the rules of softball. All pitching in this league is done by the coaches. All players will bat as well as play in the field in each inning.

Rookie ($95) – Ages 7 & 8. This league, while still instructional in nature, introduces the girls to playing real softball as the season progresses. In the beginning of the season, all players will bat but bases are cleared after the 3^rd out but all players continue to bat each inning. As the season progresses, regular softball rules will apply with teams changing from batting and playing the field after three outs. The league uses a pitching machine and a player pitch format.

Minors ($120)– Ages 9 & 10. This league is considered a competitive softball league. Games typically consist of 3 innings player pitch and 3 innings of machine pitch however we may permit additional player pitch innings. Players are introduced to base running, stealing and bunting.

Majors ($120)– Ages 11 & 12. This league is a full player pitch competitive softball league.

Senior Fast Pitch ($120) – Ages 13 to 16. This league is a full player pitch competitive softball league.

Fall Divisions & Fees (2015)

The fee for Fall Baseball and Softball is (TBD). Please also refer to the information provided above in the General Information section.

Fall Baseball

Instructional Coach Pitch - Ages 5 & 6. This league is for players who typically participated in our T-Ball in the spring of the same year.

Rookie - Ages 7 & 8. This league is for players who played in our 6YO coach pitch league or our 7YO machine pitch league in the spring. This league uses a pitching machine.

American - Ages 9 & 10. This league is for players who played in our Rookie league or our Minors league in the spring.

National - Ages 11 & 12. This league is for players who played in our American league or National league in the spring.

If the player did not play in our leagues in the spring and you have a question about proper placement, please email us at ARASports@yahoo.com.

Fall Softball

Instructional - Ages 5 & 6. This league is focuses on the fundamentals of softball and basic knowledge of the rules of softball. All pitching in this league is done by the coaches

Minors - Ages 7 to 9. This league is for players who were 8YO while playing in our 8U spring Instructional league and all players who played in our Minors division in the spring. The league uses a combination of the pitching machine and player pitch formats.

Majors - Ages 10 to 12. This league is for players who played in our Majors division in the spring as well as more advanced players who were 10YO in the spring playing in our Minors division. This is a full player pitch competitive softball league.

Seniors – Ages 12 to 16. This league is for players who were 12YO and played in our Majors division in the spring and players who played in our seniors division in the spring. This is a full player pitch competitive softball league.