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Lenape Valley Youth Baseball and Softball

Lenape Valley Youth Baseball and Softball

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In order to see the programs available for selection, please create an account and login. From there, you can enter all guardian and player(s) information. If you have a situation where more than one guardian should be notified of league emails and correspondence, you can add a secondary email associated with the account in your settings.

Registration fees differentiate between baseball, softball, and different components of each, including levels and are based upon each operational expenses. For the most part, the fee schedule is usually incremental, meaning it will be less expensive for 6 year old's than 14 year old's, etc. Fees for baseball and softball are different, because there are some slightly different expenses. Comparing baseball to softball insofar as operation and fees is not recommended, as they're two separate programs, that although share many commonalities, operate differently. They're both currently under the "umbrella" of Lenape Valley Youth Baseball and Softball, to support and manage the common aspects: field usage, facilities, sponsors, registration portal, certain joint events (not all), such as opening day, and other things, but again, just because you can see them both under one parent organization, the two entities operate differently.

Baseball is affiliated with Little League, Incorporated, which means we operate under their boundaries, among other things. In order to register for Little League your child must meet the school enrollment and/or residency requirements within our 07821 boundaries. Visit the Little League website for more detailed information regarding requirements on boundaries, age ranges on levels, and other information. Softball currently (2023) does not have any boundary requirements, but is an affiliate of USA Softball. Again, apples and oranges under the same umbrella sharing some of the same resources but operating differently overall.

Note: social media and/or external commentary and the unofficial social media pages bearing baseball/ softball's name is not official information and often can be misinterpreted, or certain aspects miscommunicated. Use this website for official information, as well as the informational emails that are generated from this webpage. Create a login in order to receive information/ updates, etc.

Spring Regular Registrations are apx 1/1 to 3/1,  (for softball regular registration ends around 2/15ish) thereafter considered late, but still usually accepted until around 4/1. That's because softball programs start earlier.

Note: "late" registrations will result in an additional fee, delay of the players' uniforms, additional shipments of items (costs), exclusion from pre-season activities or information disseminated in bulk, and other event(s)/ activities. We urge all players to be registered between Jan 1 and Mar 1 (again a bit earlier for Softball - around 2/15 ending date) for full inclusion and to assist our volunteer staff in getting things accomplished and prepared efficiently.

*** The easiest way to avoid a late fee is by registering in January for Spring Ball and in June/July for Fall Ball! ***

Indoor preseason usually starts late Feb for Softball and mid to late March for baseball, these are traditionally group practices without a specifically assigned coach. These could include basic instruction, practice, evals, or other activities. For the younger levels, we usually try to use a school gym with "squishy-balls" to keep down league costs on batting cages, facilities, because there's no reason to rent a batting cage facility for kids hitting off a tee, or at the coach pitch levels. The cost of these extracurriculars are built into the registration fee schedule and also financially supplemented by our gracious sponsors.

Teams, coaches, and roster assignments for Spring Ball are usually configured and finalized in the last week of March. This is when you’ll start to hear from specific coaches instead of generic league wide info. Team placements in varying instances are contingent upon enrollment numbers, evaluations, and drafts. Many coaches use team snap, or other "apps' '. Some use text chains, some use emails. We are currently in the process of purchasing a league wide administrative account for Teamsnap, so that all coaches can use the same thing. Hopefully this will be navigated by Spring of 2024. Until then, the method of communication is at your assigned coach's discretion. 

We endeavor to keep the teams as fair and as fun as possible and unfortunately cannot accommodate every instance of a placement request on a specific team, with a specific coach, or with a group of specific friends. But, making new friends and getting used to new settings is part of the youth sports experiences and helps build character. 

Note: Drafts, practices, and the operation of a team is contingent upon the coach capability, schedule, game schedule, and other factors. We cannot provide specific days of the week that your games and/or practices will occur until registration is closed, coaches are selected, drafts are conducted, and game/practice schedules are built. Typically, the standard expectation is one or two weeknight practice OR games, and one weekend practice OR game.

In the Spring, we typically start using fields around 4/1 - 4/7 pending Township approval and weather. The town owns and manages the fields. They help keep the fields groomed as much as possible, but we also rely on our volunteer coaches and parents to help rake, drag, line, set up, and clean up the fields. Ask us about how you can help!

Opening day is usually a joint effort between Baseball and Softball, although Softball might have a couple games prior to the official "opening day ceremony".

Season/ Program Schedules: Spring ball usually runs end of March through June, then Baseball All Stars in summer (mid June for all levels except 9U which is early July), there could be Summer Softball "18U" which has only been 18U based upon enrollment demand, then Fall Ball (registration usually June through August) with first games usually starting the weekend after labor day and Fall Ball usually ending around the end of October.

We try to reserve the fields for both baseball and softball from the date they are deemed "open" by the town (early April) until 1 November. In some minor instances a game or two might go beyond that, if make ups are required, etc.

Then immediate planning and registration set up begins all over again. Administratively, it's an all year thing. For players, it's March through October depending on which programs/seasons you sign up for.

Note: Little League is not considered a competitive baseball entity; it is recreational. Of course anything with winning or losing associated could be considered competitive; however, in terms of Little League, it is not. If you are looking for higher level competitive play; there are a multitude of "club/ travel/ competitive/ try out" types of entities out there. There are also entities that provide private instruction if you are not able to provide your child additional training/ practice at home. The coaches will of course do their best to help develop the children in which they're assigned. But remember: we are an all-volunteer, non-paid, moms and dads, the umpires are not "professionals" and sometimes can make mistakes, just like players and coaches. There are not going to be major league scouts in the stands. Try to have fun. Being able to win, lose, fail, succeed, and put in the hard work and courage it takes to step onto the field (with decorum) is part of the character building experience of youth recreational sports, and it carries more important life-lessons than technical baseball applications.

Team game schedules are not available up front (prior to the close of registration) because of the variety of factors involved (number of teams, locations available, opponents available, coaches available, fields, weather, blackout dates, and a variety of other factors). When you sign up, please know that the schedule for the most part is what it is and cannot be tailored and adjusted to accommodate everyone's schedule, as it would be virtually impossible to do so. 

Once you're in your account/ profile, you should see the programs available for your child become visible based upon the age ranges established for each level/ program. You'll also see the cost set for that program/ level and hopefully some preliminary information, if it was entered in the programs settings informational section of the registration menu template (e.g. this program is xxx, the ages are xxx, and the season runs from x to x). If you are NOT seeing a level and/or program that you think your child should be eligible for, please reach out, as with anything sometimes registration settings can be entered incorrectly by mistake, or the website can have glitches. Email: [email protected]

Fall registration dynamics are similar to spring except there may be none and/or less evaluations, drafts, and/or preseason type events. In the fall, some programs may have to travel slightly further to play opposing teams due to declining enrollment levels among surrounding/ local leagues as the fall is usually not the primary season for this sport, and many other children are enrolled in other sports (i.e. football).


Note: In the fall, it is best to try and place your child in the level/ division of play in which they would be playing in the Spring. The reason for this is that the short period of fall will give your player an introduction of what's to come, as well as for parents, and give everyone an idea of what to work on during the off-season in anticipation of the Spring, if so desired. For Baseball, there may be "district" rules in place that you cannot find on the Little League site (In spring, summer, all-stars, and fall); however, in the Fall, the district DOES NOT want to see a player who is the maximum age of their division pitching. For instance, the "Minors" are typically 9-10 year old players. If the player is 10 in Fall Ball, and in the spring will only be eligible for Majors (11-12 year old's), the player is not authorized to pitch in Fall Ball. The reason behind this is stated in the aforementioned; in that younger players are getting a taste of their new level in the Spring. Having a dominant ace pitcher striking out all of the kids playing "up" would not be conducive for anything; including giving that pitcher a false sense of reality being that, come spring time, they may no longer be that ace pitcher in the next level up. Because the registration age parameters are configured based upon the current calendar year, you may not see the next level up as an option when going into register your child (example: eligible for last year of minors play in fall, but you'd like them in majors). In this instance, reach out and we will manually transfer the player up to the next level, if the registration system is not allowing you to do it from your account profile/ registration selection process.

Contact

Lenape Valley Youth Baseball and Softball League
 
Byram Township, New Jersey  

Email: [email protected]

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