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Thank you for your interest in having your son play on a “AA” baseball team sanctioned by FMYSA. Should you choose to try out, the commitment should not be taken lightly. This is a considerable commitment of time, energy, and money for the AA players/parents. AA Baseball will be a one season commitment. The Fall and Spring seasons will be addressed separately. The AA teams will play a game schedule that is roughly half away and half home games. Although returning NTI coaches are not required to hold tryouts, most do. It is up to the parents of the players interested in playing in NTI to investigate the potential opportunities for their son(s). Although FMYSA will work to ensure all NTI tryouts are fair and objective, the players are not always selected on their overall score alone. The coaches may have specific positional requirements, or other team needs to fill that drive their player selections. The number of teams FMYSA places into the NTI AA league will be based on a number of things to include the following: 1) quality and history of the coaches that apply AA baseball is NOT an equal play program. It is a place for those who choose to play a higher level of baseball. For the most part, the best players will consume the majority of the repetitions. That being said, we do encourage all coaches to provide a memorable experience and attempt to “service” each player with quality game time experience. Should you have further interest, please contact your respective age group coaches for times and locations for their tryouts. Act now, as these tryouts will come fast and furious! |
| 1. What is “AA” Baseball and how does it differ from current recreational or select leagues? | |
| FMYSA and many neighboring
communities recognize and utilize the USSSA Baseball, Incorporated
Team Classification System. The primary focus of USSSA Baseball is
the development of programs that allow teams of all skill levels to
compete against one another. USSSA believes the overall development
of all players can be enhanced by the experience and fun of national
tournament play. Until now the majority of players were denied this
opportunity because of their skill level. USSSA Baseball offers programs
for four levels of play. Major and AAA programs are national programs
that culminate in a World Series. The AA program is a regional program
run by participating states that culminates at a National tournament.
The A level is for recreational teams and is at a state level only. Classification Guidelines- State Directors determine actual classification. Major Division- The top competitive teams in the country. AAA Division- Middle of the pack competitive teams. AA Division- Teams that have restricted rosters, drafted players, or play at the rec level. A Division- Recreational League teams only. Currently, youth baseball in the D/FW area is strongly represented in the “A” and “AAA” levels. By developing the “AA” format, NTI now provides the opportunity for better recreational teams to play in a “select” environment against similar teams from neighboring communities. Back To Top |
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| 2. Why isn't their more information on AA ball? | |
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Because it's very new in our area!
As time allows, our volunteers will be adding more documentation
to our web-site. This FAQ section is an attempt to get more information
out quickly. The AA league is new this season. Many hours, many meetings, many emails, and many phone calls, have taken place to get this program organized for play this fall. Being so new, there have been many questions regarding this program. I'm sure it will not be perfect this fall. Be assured that NTI will make any necessary adjustments, as time allows, to this AA program to continue to improve the offering for the player and their families. Back To Top |
| 3. Do I register for the FMYSA recreation league? | |
| Yes, you need to register as you would if NTI AA baseball didn't exist. If your player makes a AA team, there will be additional costs for uniforms and maybe tournaments if your teams elects to play past the regular season. Back To Top | |
| 4. What additional costs will a AA player incur? | |
| Other than the FMYSA player registration fee, AA teams have to pay for their own uniforms. AA teams will play a few more games than the recreational league and the umpires for AA games cost a fair amount more than the recreational league umpires. There is also a small per team fee for AA teams that play in NTI, so the cost this fall season is the same for AA players as recreational players. The additional costs for the AA umpires and games will be covered by the fact a recreational uniform will not be provided by FMYSA to the team. The AA coaches will have to manage the additional costs for team uniforms and any AA tournaments the team may join. In summary, the parents of AA players should expect additional costs after normal FMYSA player registration fees are paid. These costs will vary depending upon the uniform selected by the team/coach. Back To Top | |
| 5. What uniforms can be selected? | |
| Each FMYSA “AA” sanctioned
head coach will choose the team name, uniform, and colors. We will
advise the coaches to be responsible with the uniform costs since the
AA teams are formed each season. There is no guarantee that a player
on a fall AA team will be asked back in the spring. Once a coach is selected by the AA coach selection committee, they will need to take care of their team's uniforms. Back To Top |
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| 6. When and how will coaches be selected? | |
| Coaches must submit an application to the Select Director which is then given to a Selection Committee. Each of the committee members has considerable coaching and administrative experience in recreational and select baseball. Once this committee interviews via phone or in-person the coaching applicants, they will recommend the coach selections to the FMYSA board. Once the FMYSA Board of Directors approves the committee's recommendations, the selected coaches will be notified by telephone. Their name will also be posted on the FMYSA web-site. Back To Top | |
| 7. How do I tryout for a AA team(s) and when will I know if my player made the AA team? | |
| All newly formed select teams will have an open tryout for all the age appropriate players that would like to tryout for that team. A few days after the coaches are selected; those coaches will be assigned a field and time to have their tryout. Those tryout times and locations will be posted on the FMYSA web-site. Coaches will select players sometime after their tryout but before the recreational teams are formed. This will allow potential recreational players whose parent may coach a recreational team, if their player is not selected, an opportunity to turn in a protected roster. Back To Top | |
| 8. How many teams will there be in each age group? | |
| The FMYSA Board of Directors provided the “AA” Selection Committee with a suggested number of teams per age group. The Board's recommendation is two “AA” teams for ages 9U through 11U and one team for ages 12U through 14U. After interviewing the coaching applicants, the selection committee may recommend changes in the actual number of teams per age group. Back To Top | |
| 9. Will there for sure be AA teams in all age groups? | |
| Not necessarily. The plan is to have teams at all age groups sponsored by NTI. Those age groups are all age pure and consist of 9U, 10U, 11U, 12U, 13U, and 14U. If there isn't enough coach or player interest throughout the NTI member associations, some age groups may not make. At this time, NTI believes all age groups will play during Fall 2004. Back To Top | |
| 10. Will there be new tryouts for Spring teams? Also, how many days a week will there be practice and games? | |
| There is a strong possibility that additional
teams will be added for some age groups in the Spring. Existing
teams
may also need additional players due to players moving away, players
moving up to AAA or major level teams, etc. The days of the week/ # of practices each week will be determined by the coach. AA teams will more than likely have a 16 game schedule this fall. . Back To Top |
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