Category: Youth Leagues

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Baseball is coming to North West London ahead of New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox

In a press conference on 8 May 2018 London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, and MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred, announced that one of the most legendary rivalries in sport will come to London on 29 and 30 June next year when the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will play in a two-game regular-season series at the London Stadium, the centrepiece of the 2012 Olympic Games. This announcement has prompted Herts Baseball Club to accelerate the timetable for the creation of a baseball programme and venue in North West London. Over the years the club has had a lot of inquiries from this area from players keen to try the sport, but it’s been hard for them to get to Hertfordshire.

The games in London are part of MLB’s efforts to market Major League Baseball around the globe and to promote the development of baseball as a world and Olympic sport. They will present a unique opportunity to grow the game of baseball and softball in this country and London in particular, and Herts Baseball Club is determined to make the most of this occasion.

The Club has been based at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead since it was founded in 1996. In 2013 the club recognised that in order to accommodate the growing number of new players who want to play baseball, it needed to expand. “Around 30% of our members are based in North West London and our data also showed that we receive many enquiries from potential new members from that part of London, however many of them have not been able to start playing because the public transport connections from North West London to our ballpark in Hemel Hempstead are very poor” said Club President, Aspi Dimitrov. He added that “currently there is no other club located in the North West quadrant of London which offers adult and youth baseball so the natural progression for the club was to expand by establishing a baseball programme in this densely-populated area.”

In view of the impending arrival of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in 2019, the implementation of the project has been speeded up and the club has announced a series of events in North West London which will give the local community the opportunity to come and try baseball. Events have already commenced with open sessions for boys and girls, men and women of all ages at Hampstead Heath Extension. For details of upcoming sessions and how to take part click here. Those who enjoy these sessions and wish to play on a more regular basis will have the opportunity to join the Herts adult and youth teams playing in the various leagues of the British Baseball Federation.

 

Hampstead Heath is the picturesque setting for baseball in NW London this summer.

Baseball has been reinstated as an Olympic sport for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the news of MLB’s arrival in London next year is an opportunity which Herts Baseball Club is relishing.

For more information about the project, the club or playing baseball with Herts contact us.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Falcons, Hawks and Raptors go into 2018 with new managers. Club adds 5 new board members.

At its 21st Annual General Meeting, Herts Baseball Club announced the appointment of new managers for all three of its teams competing in the BBF senior leagues, as well as a large number of appointments in the youth baseball department.

HERTS FALCONS
Cris Hiche (pictured above) takes over from Lee Manning as the Manager of the club’s first team, the Herts Falcons, who play in the National Baseball League, which is Britain’s top baseball league tier. Hiche has been a key member of the team since 2012. In 2016 he spent a season playing in the Austrian Bundesliga, but came back to rejoin Herts in 2017. He has now set ambitious goals for the team to go back to challenging for the NBL title.

HERTS HAWKS
The club’s second team, the Herts Hawks, will also have a new manager. Michael Cresswell takes over from Andrew Slater and Greg Bochan. The team reached the playoffs in its first year back in Double-A last year so Cresswell will inherit a very capable squad. Cresswell previously managed the Herts Raptors. He took the team to the playoffs in 2016 eliminating the reigning Single-A Champions in the quarter-finals.

HERTS RAPTORS
Matt Jackson has had outstanding performances playing for the Herts Raptors since 2015 which was recognized with him being voted Most Valuable Player in 2016, an award he shared with Michael Cresswell. Jackson will now take the Raptors managerial seat in 2018 from Paul Barton. It is considered to be the most challenging team to manage as the role involves trying to find the balance between competing in an ever-improving Single-A League and at the same time creating the right environment to develop new players, some of whom are completely new to the sport of baseball. But for those who enjoy this type of challenge it can be the most rewarding managerial role at the club.

YOUTH BASEBALL TEAMS
Lee Manning makes the move from managing the Falcons to heading the club’s youth baseball programme. He will be working alongside the team managers of the club’s various youth age groups, who have also joined the board – Duane Badenhorst (Under-15), Dana Myzer (Under-13), Andrew Fulford (Under-11), John Kjorstad and Lee Manning as joint Under-8 Managers.

BOARD MEMBERS
In total the club has added 5 new board members and this is expected to bring new energy to the club’s front office. Two board positions are still vacant – Club Secretary and Facilities Manager. The club is also looking to fill the Softball Manager position which is a non-board position. Those interested in taking on these roles or to receive more information can contact the club.

2017 AWARDS
At the AGM the Club also announced the winners of the 2017 awards.

MVP, Herts Falcons – Tyler Badenhorst
MVP, Herts Hawks – Louis Hare
MVP, Herts Raptors – Tom Carson
MVP, Herts Red Kites U17 – Tyler Badenhorst
MVP, Herts U13 – Josh Badenhorst
MVP, Herts U11 – Ben Myzer
MVP, Herts U8 – Daniel Heal
Play of the Year – Robert Smith (for his stellar relief appearance in the playoffs)
Nob-Out Award – Aspi Dimitrov (for the walk-off that went wrong)

SPRING TRAINING – OPEN SESSIONS
With the club’s front office ready to go, attention now turns to Spring Training which commences this Sunday, 4 February, for the adult and youth baseball teams while softball Spring Training starts on 18 February. These are open sessions, making them an ideal opportunity for men and women, boys and girls of all ages to come and try baseball and softball.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Adult and youth players now registering for the 2018 Herts baseball and softball season

The wait is over. Player registration for the 2018 season has commenced.

SOFTBALL

In 2017 Herts Baseball Club launched its softball programme which has enabled the club to offer playing opportunities to a much wider audience and to women in particular. Slowpitch Softball is the more recreational version of the game, which is equally appealing to male and female players. Softball is a social and enjoyable game that’s easy to learn and play, even for people who are not “athletes” or don’t have much experience of team sports. The fact that men and women play together in the same team and on an equal level gives the sport a social buzz.

The first Spring Training session for the softball players is at 10am on Sunday, 18 February. The first few sessions will be held indoors at the modern sports facilities of John F Kennedy School in Hemel Hempstead. All equipment will be provided so anyone aged 14 and over can come and enjoy the day, meet new friends and try a new sport. For more details about the Herts Softball Programme click here. If you are interested to come and try softball at any of the upcoming open sessions contact us and we will provide you with full details and add you to our mailing list.

ADULT BASEBALL LEAGUES

Last season three Herts teams entered the BBF senior baseball leagues. The next two weeks will be critical to see how many players will register to play for Herts in 2018 and on the basis of this the club will decide how many teams to enter before the 16 January league entry deadline. The club was close to entering four teams last season. How many will they enter this year?

KEY DATES – ADULT TEAMS

4 February – Adult team players report for first Spring Training indoor session

4 March – Adult teams return to Grovehill Ballpark for the first time in 2018

17 March – Start of the 2018 Herts Spring League (subject to confirmation of the BBF League Opening Day)*

8 April* – BBF League Opening Day (subject to confirmation)

May – Start of Midweek Evening Baseball

August-September* – BBF Postseason Playoffs and National Championships

September-October – Hunlock Series

* – these are preliminary dates. The BBF will be making its official announcements in due course.

YOUTH BASEBALL LEAGUES

The British Baseball Federation launched the Super League in 2017. It enhanced the youth baseball regular season and it is expected to be even more exciting in 2018. Many of our youth players will be moving up to the next age group to face a different challenge in 2018. They will be joined by the new players who are joining the club every week. The Herts youth teams welcome boys and girls aged between 4 and 16 from complete beginners to experienced players.

KEY DATES – YOUTH TEAMS

4 February – U17, U15, U13 and U11 players report for first Spring Training indoor session

March – First session at Grovehill Ballpark for the youth teams

April – U8 players report for their first session

April – U17, U15, U13, U12, U8 Season Opening Day

June – Little League UK Qualifiers (U17, U15, U13, U11)

July-August – Little League Europe Qualifier (Poland or Italy) and World Series (USA) (subject to qualification)

September – National Youth Baseball Championships (U17, U15, U13, U11)

September – Herts Futures Tournament (U17, U15, U13, U11, U8)

HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE 2018 HERTS BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL SEASON

Herts Baseball Club has commenced the 2018 registration process for adult and youth members. For those who already have a Herts Online Club House account they will be prompted to register when they log on next time (click here to go to the Herts Online Club House and log on with your existing username and password). Those who are new to Herts and do not have an online account will be able to register as members by completing this form.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Falcons, Hawks and U13 teams begin search for new managers

With its annual general meeting approaching, Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that the managers of the Herts Falcons, Herts Hawks and Herts Under-13 teams will be stepping down. This will mark the end of an era for those teams and the start of the search for managers to lead these teams in 2018 and beyond.

Lee Manning has served as manager of the Herts Falcons since 2011. During that period he led the team to a NBL runner-up place in 2012 and 2013 just missing out on winning the NBL Championship against the Harlow Nationals in the Final on both occasions. This in fact was his second spell as manager of the club’s first team. His first spell was between 2004 and 2006 when he won promotion from the third tier of British Baseball to the second tier which at the time was referred to as the BBF Premier League, later renamed the BBF Triple-A League. Manning is hoping to continue his involvement in the club with focus on the youth baseball programme which he has been involved in since he founded it in 2007 together with Marty Cullen.

Andrew Slater and Greg Bochan have been the co-managers of the Herts Hawks, the club’s second team, since 2015. Bochan was first appointed as Hawks manager in 2009. In 2011 he was joined by Andy Cornish to share the role as co-managers until 2014. In the nine years since Bochan was first appointed, he and his co-managers Cornish and Slater managed to build fantastic camaraderie within the team, and it has given its members many moments which they will remember fondly. Regardless of whether the team had a winning average of .250 as was the case in 2011, or the 1.000 Single-A championship-winning season of 2016, the most important measure of success for the team has been the enjoyable, friendly atmosphere and sportsmanship on and off the field. At the recent end of year dinner (pictured above) the team expressed its gratitude to the three co-managers who built this team over the previous 9 seasons. The Hawks co-managers said that they would not be surprised if they return to managing the team in the future. They of course look forward to continuing to play for the club in 2018.

Mike Wakelam will be stepping down as Herts U13 Manager and Head of Youth Baseball. In 2009 he happened to be at the Northwick Park baseball centre when Herts were running an exhibition event there and he decided to join the club. He went on to play for the Herts Eagles in the Triple-A League and also for the Falcons in the NBL. In 2010 he became the manager of the Herts Under-11 team and later became the Under-13 manager. In 2017 Wakelam’s workload increased further as he joined the Board as the club’s Head of Youth Baseball. Over the last two years he was instrumental in restructuring the youth baseball regular season in an effort to increase the number of games played by the club’s youth teams which had been starved of games after the British Baseball Federation stopped running youth baseball leagues a few years ago. This has now been turned around and the BBF Super League was launched in 2017. Mike Wakelam is expected to remain involved in a playing capacity and he is likely to receive many calls from coaches after impressive displays in this year’s Hunlock Series.

Herts Baseball Club will shortly be announcing details of its Annual General Meeting which will include information for candidates which may be interested to put their names forward for these and other managerial and board positions which are being vacated.

by Rob Jones

The (Herts) Future is now

Seventeen baseball teams, comprising around 200 players and coaches, descended upon Grovehill ball park on Saturday for another fantastic day of baseball at the Herts Futures Tournament.

This is the biggest annual youth event in the sport in the UK, which has been staged every year since 2008.  Competing teams came from as far afield as Leicester and Brighton this year — with a good helping of Herts in there, too.

There were wins shared around in the four age categories, with Herts, Brighton, London Sports and the London Mets all getting a share of the spoils. Full results can be found on the Herts Futures pages of our website.

The day began in a warm but cloudy fashion, with Herts Under-13 and Under-17 teams playing the first games at 9:30 in the morning.

The Opening Ceremony then saw all of the players and coaches lining up to be introduced. London Sports sent their Thunder and Lightning and Storm; the London Mets were there; the Forest Glade Redbacks; the Leicester Blue Sox; and a combined Under-8 force of the London Capitals and Mets with Brighton, and even a sprinkling of Northants Centurions!

A queue of baseball talent stretched along the first base line, and there were high fives and fist bumps for everyone — including our excellent umpires Darrin Muller, Blake Taylor, Mike Wakelam and Rich Brown.

The Herts Red Kites had the best of it in the Under-17 category, capping an excellent year for them under their coach Andrew Fulford.  The Under-13 league was a tight contest with the Brighton Fireballs and London Mets coming out tied on top of the table — after tying their own game. Tie-breaking rules on runs conceded gave the title to the Mets, but both sides put on an excellent show.

In the younger age groups, London Sports showed their prowess, winning both pools of the Under-11 competition. The Thunder and Lightning then faced off in the final, won by the Thunder. This year’s Under-8 competition saw Herts and Leicester taking on a mix of the Mets, Capitals and Brighton. The teams — and the watching parents — had a great time and the three-way mash-up team won both their games to secure a win.

The sun shone by the afternoon, and Herts volunteers did great work serving cheesesteaks, chili-dogs and donuts to the hungry masses. Many people also took this last chance of the year to snap up baseball merchandise and equipment.

The Herts Futures Tournament has rounded off the 2017 British youth baseball season in style. Teams up and down the country will now have to somehow survive the winter months without baseball.

Thankfully Major League Baseball is about to enter its most exciting phase and we can follow the drama of the postseason on TV and online.

Players of all ages can contact Herts Baseball Club with a view to signing up for the 2018 season or giving baseball a try when the teams return to the ballpark in the new year.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

17 teams to compete for the HFT title this Saturday

17 teams will be in action at the 2017 Herts Futures Tournament (HFT) which will take place this Saturday, 23 September 2017.

UNDER-17

Three teams will play a league format facing each of their opponents. The team finishing top will be the U17 HFT champion.

U17 TEAMS
Forest Glade RedBacks (U17)
Herts Red Kites (U17)
London Mets (U17)

UNDER-13

Five U13 teams will play each of their opponents in a league format. The team finishing on top of the standings will be the 2017 U13 HFT Champion.

U13 TEAMS
Brighton (U13)
Herts (U13)
Leicester Blue Sox (U13)
London Mets (U13)
London Sports Storm (U13)

UNDER-11

The six U11 teams have been divided into two pools of three teams. They will play a game against each of their opponents in their pool. The teams which finish top of their pool will play in the Final for the U11 HFT Championship.

U11 (POOL A) TEAMS
Forest Glade RedBacks (U11)
Herts (U11)
London Sports Thunder (U11)

U11 (POOL B) TEAMS
Leicester Blue Sox (U11)
London Mets (U11)
London Sports Lightning (U11)

UNDER-8

The three U8 teams will play each of their opponents in a league format. The team finishing on top of the standings will be the 2017 U8 HFT Champion.

U8 TEAMS
Brighton/Mets/Capitals (U8)
Herts (U8)
Leicester Blue Sox (U8)

The opening ceremony will take place at 10:30am. The first games begin at 9:20am and continue into the early evening. To view the games schedule click here.

“Herts Baseball Club welcomes new players at any time of the year” said club president, Aspi Dimitrov. “Any children aged between 4 and 16 who are interested to give baseball a try should contact the club. It is not too late to take part in this event.”

Traditional Baseball snacks will be on offer including chilli dogs, maple syrup cheese-steaks, Krispy Kreme Donuts and more. Imported baseball merchandise will also be on sale at the Herts Baseball shop.

The HFT has been held every year since 2008 and is now a permanent fixture in the British baseball calendar. It brings together youth teams of all age groups from across the country for a day of baseball at one of the best baseball venues in the United Kingdom.

For more information about the event visit the Herts Futures Tournament homepage.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

British baseball teams have started entering the 2017 HFT

Herts Baseball Club has announced that the 2017 Herts Futures Tournament will take place on Saturday, 23 September 2017.

The Herts Futures Tournament (HFT) has been held every year since 2008 and is now a permanent fixture in the British baseball calendar. Last year was a record year for the HFT with 20 teams entering the competition, which makes it the largest youth baseball event in the United Kingdom. It will be interesting to see how many teams will enter this year. If the number continues to increase the club will have to consider ways of expanding the venue further.

The event brings together youth teams of all age groups from across the country for a day of baseball at one of the best baseball venues in the UK. Grovehill Ballpark is the home of Herts Baseball Club. Over the years the venue has been selected to host some of the biggest events in the British baseball calendar including the National Baseball Championships. During the Herts Futures Tournament additional diamonds are added to cater for all the age groups.

This year’s edition is expected to cover the Under-17, Under-13, Under-11 and Under-8 age groups.

For more information about the event, how to enter your team in the Tournament or how players can join the Herts teams in time for the HFT, visit the Herts Futures Tournament homepage or contact Herts Baseball Club.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

LondonSports, LYBL and Mets book a place in European qualifiers

BSUK hosted the 2017 edition of the UK Little League Qualifiers at a sun-drenched Farnham Park on the weekend of 17-18 June, with places in Europe/Africa Little League qualification tournaments at stake in the different age groups and the winners of Europe/Africa will go on to play in Little League World Series tournament later in the summer. As temperatures moved above 30 degrees, 17 teams from across the country gathered to compete across five different categories for the chance to be crowned as a UK Little League National Champion.

Here is a recap of the final scores, standings and confirmation of the winners qualifying for the Europe/Africa Qualification phase.

U17/SENIORS

Group Games
London Mets 7, LondonSports 6
LondonSports 24, Herts Red Kites 1
London Mets 9, Herts Red Kites 6

Group Standings
London Mets (2-0)
LondonSports (1-1)
Herts Red Kites (0-2)

Final
LondonSports 5, London Mets 3

U15/JUNIORS

Group Games
LondonSports 14, Brighton Fireballs 3
London Mets 12, Brighton Fireballs 2
London Mets 8, LondonSports 6

Group Standings
London Mets (2-0)
LondonSports (1-1)
Brighton Fireballs (0-2)

Final
London Mets 13, LondonSports 10

U13/MAJORS

Group Games
LondonSports 7, Herts Harriers 4
LYBL Bulldogs 11, London Mets 1
London Mets 6, LondonSports 5
LYBL Bulldogs 29, Herts Harriers 0
LYBL Bulldogs 19, LondonSports 3
London Mets 13, Herts Harriers 3

Group Standings
LYBL Bulldogs (3-0)
London Mets (2-1)
LondonSports (2:1)
Herts Harriers (0-3)

Final
LYBL Bulldogs 10, London Mets 0

U11/MINORS

Group Games
LYBL Bulldogs 12, LondonSports Two 2
LondonSports One 14, LYBL Bulldogs 4
LondonSports One 6, LondonSports Two 0

Group Standings
LondonSports One (2-0)
LYBL Bulldogs (1-1)
LondonSports Two (0-2)

Final
LYBL Bulldogs 8, LondonSports One 3

U11/COACH PITCH

Round-Robin
Leicester Blue Sox 8, Brighton 1
LondonSports 16, Brighton Fireballs 11
London Mets 14, Leicester Blue Sox 10
Leicester Blue Sox 5, LondonSports 5
Brighton Fireballs 25, London Mets 6
London Mets 11, LondonSports 11

Group Standings
LondonSports (1-0-2)
London Mets (1-1-1)
Leicester Blue Sox (1-1-1)
Brighton Fireballs (1-2)

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts U17 and U13 teams all set for UK Little League Qualifiers

This weekend teams from across the country will head to Farnham Park in Slough for the UK Little League qualifying games. This includes the Herts Under-17 and Under-13 teams. They go into the competition as outsiders but this season they have already shown that they are capable of beating any of the favourites.

The draw has not been kind on the Herts teams and they will be facing the big guns in the group stages.

Saturday, 17 June 2017

9am – London Mets v Herts Red Kites (U17)
12pm – Herts Red Kites v London Sports (U17
12pm – London Mets v Herts Harriers (U13)
6pm – Herts Harriers v LYBL (U13)

Sunday, 18 June 2017

12pm – Herts Harriers v London Sports (U13)
3pm – U17 Final and U13 Final

Games to be played at Farnham Park, Beaconsfield Rd, Slough SL2 3BP.

The winner in each age group will progress to the European qualifying stage where they will face the best European teams. The winner of the European phase will be on their way to the USA along with the best teams in the world to determine the Little League World Series Champions of 2017. The World Series games will be shown live on ESPN attracting millions of viewers across the globe.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Mike Wakelam joins Herts Baseball Board

Mike Wakelam has been appointed to the Herts Baseball Club executive board. He already manages the Herts Under-13 programme and now will also carry out the role of Youth Baseball Commissioner overseeing the whole Herts youth baseball programme which offers baseball to boys and girls from 4 to 16 years of age.

Mike Wakelam was born in Australia. His baseball background goes back a long way, from playing tee-ball as a 7-year-old in Melbourne at the well known Upwey Ferntree Gully Baseball Club. As a teenager he played for various teams and travelled to the USA as a 15-year-old to progress his career at the Mickey Owens Baseball School in Springfield, Missouri. 2 years later he returned to the USA on an exchange program to play high school baseball, where he finished the season with an All-Conference honourable mention. A knee injury meant that his playing days were limited. However, this didn’t deter him from continuing his involvement in baseball in a coaching capacity. He has been coaching little league teams since the age of 16. When he was 19 he coached the Under-16 All-Star team at Upwey Ferntree Gully baseball club, and went on to coach several players privately, two of whom travelled to the US and played and trained at the Playball Baseball Academy in Ft Lauderdale, Florida.

As a big Kansas City Royals fan Mike Wakelam made sure he was able to get to Kansas for the MLB All Star game in 2012.

In 2009 Mike Wakelam happened to be at the Northwick Park baseball and softball centre when Herts were running an exhibition event there and decided to join Herts Baseball Club. He went on to play for the Herts Eagles in the AAA League and also for the Falcons in the NBL establishing himself as one of the most feared sluggers. His career batting average in the NBL stands at an impressive .667. His persistent knee problems have kept him out of the game since 2010 but he has stayed involved in baseball contributing to the success of the Herts Baseball youth programme.

In the beginning of 2010 he was a candidate for the Coaches Commissioner role on the Board of the British Baseball Federation. He generously withdrew his candidacy to make way for Leicester’s Mark Meredith to run for that office. This has been a blessing for Herts as it has allowed him to give all of his expertise and time to the club and contribute to its success.