"Twinsburg represents community baseball at its best. Their teams are consistently strong fundamentally and more importantly they play the game the right way; with respect."

Former Cleveland Indians & Current Toronto Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro

2020 REGISTRATION

Instructional, Coach Pitch, Juniors, and Minors (Pre-K - 6th Grade)

Majors (7th - 8th Grade)

Seniors (High School)

MAY 19th UPDATE

Good morning TBL family,

The TBL Board of Directors continues to work hard to provide a safe & fun option for kids this summer. The group has spent many hours on Zoom calls figuring this all out. Here's the latest ...

TBL's "League of Legends"

TBL will run a special league this summer/fall for kids of all ages called "The TBL League of Legends". We're going to open registration back up this coming Tuesday, May 26th and it will remain open through Friday, June 5th. If you've already registered, you need to do nothing. If you haven't, we'll email everyone when registration opens. If you're unsure, email us at twinsburgbaseball@gmail.com. 

This will be a special league for 2020 that would essentially combine our spring/summer and fall leagues for play in six different age divisions that span from kids entering kindergarten in the fall to kids entering 12th grade in the fall (still thinking through the Instructional Division).

Registration will re-open Tuesday, May 26 and stay open through Friday, June 5th. Wed aim to start practices in mid-June and to start playing games on or around Monday, July 6th. The season would go all the way through around October 10!

Game times would be scheduled around regular game times for the other fall sports to avoid conflict and to allow kids to play multiple sports.

The league would feature several fun, new options for the kids and parents in all divisions except instructional (if we can offer that division):

• An early season single elimination bracket tournament that is part of the regular season standings
• Home run derby contests by division
• Expanded all-star teams and all-star team tournaments
• Season ending double elimination bracket tournaments to determine champions 

Things Still To Come...

We need to figure out Instructional (tee-ball), as there are additional safety concerns given the age of the kids. Many leagues still trying to figure out how to return to play have already cancelled tee-ball. We want to make it work. Instructional parents that have already registered, look for an email from TBL Instructional Commissioner Kevin Bachman this week with some follow up questions.

We're also still trying to figure out the rec tournament teams that have already been formed and have practiced together this winter.

Our tryouts for our 2021 travel baseball teams are likely to be moved from late July to late August, more to come there. Our travel teams will begin practicing when able on May 26 under the new safety guidelines. The Stars & Stripes Travel Baseball Tournament is a go for July 2-5.
 

One last note - we are always looking for new board members. It is a fun and rewarding way to give back to the community. The size of our board ensures no burden is too heavy on any individual member. Shoot me an email if you're interested in simply listening in to one of our upcoming meetings.

Thanks again for your continued understanding and support. Don't hesitate to reach out to me directly with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Rich Swerbinsky
President - TBL
richswerb@gmail.com
440-552-0691

FINANCIAL MATTERS

Early projections are that TBL will operate this league at somewhere between a $10,000-$15,000 loss due to the need to purchase items needed to comply with the state of Ohio's safety requirements, the consolidation of registration fee hit from hosting one league instead of two (spring & fall ball normally separate seasons), a 50% reduction in sponsor dollars, and our unwillingness to pass this hit along in registration fee price to people at a time when many have experienced employment disruptions. Fortunately, TBL has enough in our reserves to absorb this hit to be able to provide this option for kids of the community. That said, its a big one, and we're asking people with the means to consider ...

Sponsoring a team - which is such a great way to give back to the community while also providing great bang for the buck promotion of your business with your name on kids jerseys. Contact Paul Baird for more info.

Making a financial donation to TBL - TBL is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and donations are tax deductible. Donation dollars are 100% plugged into the program to the benefit of the kids on the fields. No donation is too small. Contact Chris Hojdar for more info.

Donate old equipment to TBL - We've set up seven different drop-off locations around town at board members houses. There are bins in these driveways. Simply drop off your (ideally sanitized) equipment donations at any of these locations at any time. We'll take anything and put it to great use as opposed to having it sit in your garage. Contact TBL for more informaiton.  

SURVEY RESULTS

In the spirit of transparency, here are the results of the survey that well over 300 of you completed:

1. 78% of you said you would feel comfortable attending a baseball game by July 1 (projecting League of Legends games to start July 6)

• 97% of you said your kids owns a helmet or you'd be fine buying one, 87% of you said your kid owns their own bat

1. 40% of parents said wearing a mask to games would make them feel more comfortable, 43% would say they would wear one only if they had to, 17% were opposed to wearing a mask

• 59% said their child would wear their own mask, 41% said they would prefer a TBL issued mask

1. The main concerns you cited were "proximity to other players", communal use of equipment", and "time in dugouts" ... all areas TBL will address 

DRILLS AT HOME

Basic Throwing of the Baseball:

Coaching Beginner Baseball: How to Throw - link (equipment: glove, ball)

Throwing from the Outfield – link (equipment: glove, ball)

Fielding:

Series of Excellent Fielding Drills – link (equipment: glove, 3 balls)

Fielding Mechanics (indoor / outdoor) – link  (equipment: glove, 3 balls)

Fielding Drills (indoor / outdoor) –  Link  (Drills 1 and 2)

Outfield Drills:

Drop Step (outdoor) – link (equipment: glove, ball) 
(focus on first 3:30 of video)  

Hitting Drills:

Basic of Load, Stride and Swing (indoor / outdoor) – Link (equipment: bat, balls, tee)

Pitching Videos:

Basic Mechanics of Pitching (indoor / outdoor) – link (equipment: ball, glove)

BECOME A TBL UMPIRE

Looking to earn some extra money this summer while being a part of the game you love?  Consider becoming a TBL Umpire! 

TBL Welcomes new and experienced umpires to become an important part of the Twinsburg Recreation youth baseball experience for local ball players participating in the Spring/Summer and Fall sessions.

Umpires interested in becoming a part of the TBL experience need to complete registration.  Competitive pay.  Minimum age is 12 yrs old.

Registration is now open!  Closes March 15, 2020.

Questions?  Send all inquiries to email below.

6TH ANNUAL WORLD SERIES OF WIFFLE BALL ONCE AGAIN DELIVERS

Twinsburg, Ohio - Wiffle Ball capital of America? I think you can now make the case.

86 teams from five states participated in 2019 in five different age divisions (7-9, 10-12, 13-15, 16-29, 30+) this past September. 

Head over the event website linked below for additional details! We'll be posting the dates for the 7th Annual 2020 event in the coming weeks.

www.worldseriesofwiffleball.com

TRYOUT DATES SET FOR OUR 2021 TRAVEL BASEBALL TEAMS - JULY 19 & JULY 26, 2020

Shortly after the conclusion of the 2020 season, we'll conduct our tryouts for our 2021 travel baseball teams. Twinsburg fields one travel baseball team annually in seven different age divisions: 8U, 9U, 10U, 11U, 12U, 13U and 14U. 

The tryouts for the 2021 travel teams are scheduled to take place on Sunday July 19, 2020 and Sunday July 26, 2020 at Liberty Park in Twinsburg.

For much more information on our travel baseball program and the differences between travel and rec baseball, click HERE.

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL STARS & STRIPES TOURNAMENT IN THE BOOKS!

42 teams in six age divisions came out to Twinsburg the weekend of July 4-7 to participate in our annual Stars & Stripes Travel Baseball Tournament!

Final results for all age divisions can be FOUND HERE on our Stars & Stripes home page. 

CONGRATS TO OUR 2020 REC TOURNAMENT TEAMS!

TBL conducted tryouts for rec tournament teams for the 8U-12U age divisions. These teams are not "travel baseball teams", but all-star teams comprised of kids that play in TBL's spring/summer recreational league.

Tryouts were held on Saturday, January 11 & 18 at The Edge indoor facility in Twinsburg and approximately 80 kids attended the tryouts. There were a total of six teams formed (two 8U teams), and for the first time in recent history, we have an 11U and 12U rec tournament team! This also is the most players on rec tournament teams to date.  Congrats to all of the players and good luck during tournaments!

Click here for more information on our rec tournament teams.

ADULT BASEBALL!!!!!

The TBL Adult Wood Bat league is back for 2020!

"League" may be a strong word though. We have an email list of about 100 people. We pick dates throughout the summer and fall (typically Friday nights at Glen Meadow Park), email the list, and put together pick up games. They've been fun! Players of all skill levels are welcome.

To be added to the adult baseball email list, shoot us a note at tblwoodbat@gmail.com. 

LESS KIDS PLAYING BASEBALL? NOT IN TWINSBURG!

We're putting the finishing touches on what was a record setting year for TBL, with more kids out on the baseball diamonds in our city than ever before! Remarkably, TBL enjoyed all-time high levels of participation in 2019 for every single league and event we facilitate:

~ 67 teams participated in our spring recreational league.

~ 49 teams participated in 7 age divisions (8U-14U) in the Stars & Stripes Travel Baseball Tournament. 

~ 91 teams played in the 6th Annual Twinsburg World Series of Wiffle Ball, which is now America's largest Wiffle Ball tournament.

~ 38 teams participated in our Fall Ball league.

~ And the state of the TBL travel baseball program is strong, with TBL offering teams at 7 different age divisions (8U through 14U). The travel baseball program is coming off its best collective season yet, with last year's teams combining to win an astounding 22 tournament championships despite being a true community program competing against largely club teams that are comprised of kids from large areas or multiple communities.

TBL 2020 FIELD SCHEDULE 

Below is the link to the real time updated TBL master field schedule.  Coaches, please schedule practices and rained out game makeups through your league commissioner. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE TBL MASTER FIELD SCHEDULE

THANK YOU TO OUR TBL SPONSORS!

RAIN OUT ALERT UPDATES

Click here to sign up!

A reminder to all of our coaches, players and parents ...

1. These are kids
2. This is a game
3. Our coaches volunteer
4. The umpires are human
5. This is not professional baseball

 We are always looking for new TBL board members.  TBL is an all volunteer, non city affiliated entity that manages the many different aspects that go along with providing a positive youth baseball experience for well over 1,000 children each year.  Our board is a great group of people that meets roughly once a month, and we'd love to add a few new good people to the board this winter.  Email us at twinsburgbaseball@gmail.com if you have any questions or potential interest. 

TBL mandates that our volunteer head coaches take an online training course to become registered members of the National Youth Sports Coaching Association and also that they take an online concussion awareness training course.  Both courses are also highly recommended for our assistant coaches and any other parents that help out with their children's teams.