SELECT > 2017 TP Select Team Tryout Session Schedule for October 20


THURSDAY EVENING SESSIONS AT CHRISTIE PITS ONLY FOR INTERESTED PLAYERS WHO WERE UNABLE TO ATTEND THE FIRST TWO OUTDOOR SELECT TEAM TRYOUT SESSIONS

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UPDATED on October 20, 2016

The Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball Committee has announced the cancellation of all TP Select Team Tryout Sessions scheduled for today (Thursday, October 20) at Christie Pits.

Continuing rain and wet field conditions have scuttled plans to hold any Select sessions at Christie Pits Diamond 2 this evening.

The Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball Committee has scheduled an evening outdoor TP Select Team Tryout session for Thursday, October 20.  

Parents and Players are advised that these respective sessions on deck for Thursday are intended specifically for players who have not made it out to either of the two sessions we’ve already held. The Committee would like to be able to more fully assess the number of interested players we have and to be able to connect some faces to names for those players who are new to Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball program.

So, if you haven’t been out to either of the previous outdoor tryout sessions, please try to make it Thursday evening. If you have been out to one or both of the previous sessions, please hold off on coming this Thursday…we’ll be putting two age groups together for each session to get everyone in under the lights, so it would become difficult to manage with a very large group for each age cohort.

Remember, it won’t set you back or hurt your chances to not be at this session if we’ve already seen you out….nobody is going to be “cut” from the team during these fall sessions.

The outdoor tryout sessions for all age groups will take place at Christie Pits Diamond 2.

The times/age groups for the sessions on Thursday, October 20 are as follows:

·    ROOKIE BALL [2008 and 2009] > 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

·    MOSQUITO [2006 and 2007] > 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

·    PEEWEE [2004 and 2005] > 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

On days of questionable weather, Parents and Players participating in the sessions are strongly advised to check the our Twitter feed [@TPbaseballnews], the Hotline [(416) 392-1914], or website [www.torontoplaygrounds.ca] for updates on the status of their outdoor tryout session. Updates will be posted 45-60 minutes prior to the start time of the tryout session.

The Select teams that Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball has fielded in the past and will be fielding next season spring directly from our Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball program. House League is open to all interested players (until a division is full)….Select teams have to be tried out for. Players do not have to attend any Select tryouts in order to register for our house league in 2017.

Select teams are organized by age groups as are our house league divisions…there can be Rookie Ball Select teams, Mosquito Select teams, Peewee Select teams, Bantam Select teams, and Midget Select teams. Different associations will tend to offer certain age groups but not others, and sometimes the specific teams offered will change from one year to the next based upon number of eligible and interested players. Players must be registered in our House League and try out for a Select team…decisions will be made through the tryout process as to which players have made the team. 

The Select teams play once a week (always on the same day) in a Select “loop” against the Select teams from other associations. For the past number of years (and for next year), Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball has participated in the Toronto West Loop, which is coordinated by people from the Etobicoke Baseball Association (EBA) and includes associations such as Royal York, Bloordale, and Martingrove…York Baseball, Weston Baseball and Annette Baseball also participate in the Toronto West Loop. 

The Select teams also practice together each week as a Select team…the game and practice each week are in addition to a player’s participation in House League, not in place of itPlayers taking part on a Select team must also be fully participating in House League…the Select program is designed as an opportunity for some players to play more baseball while still participating in their House League. We know that this may not be adhered to in the case of all of the other associations participating in select, but it is totally the “way of life” here in Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball. 

Another important feature of the Select program is that it requires that all players actually play…everyone in the line-up must play at least two of the first four defensive innings and everyone in the line-up goes up for a regular turn at bat. This is not the case with Rep baseball. Again, we want our Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball Select teams to be “pushing the envelope” of everyone playing as far as possible, in keeping with our House League philosophy of full and equal participation. 

Now, two of the “nicer” features of the Select program (for busy parents) are that the Select games are always on the same night each week, and the distance you have to travel to get to the “away” games is relatively short. Some weeks our Select teams play at home, so there isn’t even any extra travel in those cases. Our Select teams usually play in from one or three weekend tournaments over the summer as well, and travel is obviously involved at those times. The registration fee for Select, which is in addition to the House League registration fee, depends partly upon the number of tournaments a team will be entering.

The Committee is currently organizing outdoor Select sessions for players who will be in Rookie Ball, Mosquito, Peewee, or Bantam next season…these sessions are the start of the tryout process and are also an opportunity for us to get a handle on the levels of interest in Select at the various age groups so that we can properly prepare for next season in terms of the numbers of coaches and managers required. If the numbers of players and coaches in a division warrants two teams within that division, the teams will be organized on a major/minor basis (by year of birth).

Nobody will be “cut” during these outdoor fall sessions, and if a player misses a couple of sessions it won’t mean that they have lost the chance to tryout. The tryouts will pick up again in the winter with indoor sessions and continue through until early spring when the teams will be formally chosen.

The outdoor fall sessions are also an opportunity for players to get additional workout time and for parents to find out more about our league and program.

If you have any questions concerning the Select tryouts sessions, please contact us at tpbaseball@gmail.com.