Category: School League

25 February 201510 June 2015 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Baseball is coming to North West London

Herts Baseball Club has been awarded a £10,000 grant from Sport England to launch the club’s branch in North West London and give the local community an opportunity to play baseball.

Herts Baseball Club has been based at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead since it was founded in 1996. It has grown into one of the biggest baseball clubs in the UK with eight teams playing in the various adult and youth leagues of the British Baseball Federation. In 2013 the club recognised that in order to accommodate the growing number of new players who want to play baseball, the club needed to expand.

“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 cub 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 branch in this densely-populated area.”

This project would not be possible without the £10,000 grant awarded by Sport England as part of its National Lottery-funded Small Grants programme. The funds will be invested in launching the new branch with various open events for the local community to try baseball and start to play regularly in the youth and adult leagues at regional, national and even international level. The grant will also fund taster sessions and other activities in local schools to promote the new baseball programme among students.

With support from the London Borough of Barnet the club’s new diamond in North West London will be located at West Hendon Playing Fields. Dr. Matthew Offord, Member of Parliament for Hendon, welcomed the news and said “Sport England has made a tremendous bequest to our area by making this award. Baseball is not a traditional game of the UK but there is not only a great appetite for different type of sports but it also presents an opportunity for people of different backgrounds to come together and be united in the games. I look forward to visiting the diamond and perhaps swinging a bat myself.”

The venue has good bus, train and London Underground connections. It is also in the M1 corridor just a 25-minute drive from the club’s other ballpark in Hemel Hempstead which opens up the opportunity for interaction between the two branches.

Events will begin this month with open sessions for youth and adult players at the fantastic sports facilities of Middlesex University (click here for more details on how to take part in upcoming open sessions). The adult and youth baseball leagues will then commence in April and May when we will see the first baseball games played at the club’s new ballpark in West Hendon.

“We are very excited to be bringing baseball to North West London and we hope to repeat the success of our existing programme in Hemel Hempstead which would mean that boys and girls, men and women of all ages, from beginners to elite players, will be able to play this fantastic sport, stay fit and healthy and become part of the Herts Baseball family and the wider British Baseball community” said Aspi Dimitrov.

With the prospect of Major League Baseball coming to London in 2016 to create a similar extravaganza as the NFL international series at Wembley Stadium, Herts Baseball Club hopes that this project will help increase the size of the club by fifty per cent in time for the arrival of MLB in London.

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

2 May 201410 June 2015 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Baseball Club and Astley Cooper School establish a new baseball programme

Herts Baseball Club has teamed up with Astley Cooper School for the launch of a satellite baseball club. It will open up an opportunity for boys and girls aged 10 to 16 to play baseball. Events will be taking place on Tuesdays after school. The club commences on Tuesday, 6 May, and the weekly baseball events will continue right up until the final Tuesday of the school year on 15 July. Coaches from Herts Baseball Club will introduce students to the game of baseball.

Apart from Astley Cooper School’s 500 pupils, students from other schools are also welcome to take part in this club.

This programme is funded by Herts Sports Partnership with the goal of increasing participation in sport among youngsters.

Students don’t have to wait for Tuesday to play baseball. Herts Baseball Club is one of the leading clubs in the UK and is located just five minutes away from Astley Cooper School. They can sign up to play with the Herts youth teams covering ages from 6 to 16 and with the adult teams for those over the age of 16. The Herts teams compete in regional leagues, the national championships and internationally with Little League Inc. along with 2.6 million other participants in 75 countries.

Herts Baseball Club President, Aspi Dimitrov, was keen to emphasise the importance of this project. “Over the last 10 years we have been growing at an average rate of 27% per annum and this programme is expected to boost growth further” said Dimitrov. He added that “as it develops, the hope is that this can expand into a baseball league involving teams representing different schools from around the region”.

OPEN DAY – 10 MAY 2014

In addition to the launch of the baseball programme in Astley Cooper School, Herts Baseball Club will stage an Open Day on Saturday, 10 May 2014. Boys and girls from 6 to 18 will have the opportunity to enjoy a day packed with baseball activities alongside existing members of the club’s youth league teams.

For details about the Open Day or how to try baseball for free on Tuesdays at Astley Cooper School or on Saturdays at Grovehill Ballpark contact Herts Baseball Club.

4 July 201310 June 2015 by Herts Baseball News Editor

John Warner School put on a show in the Herts School Games at Grovehill Ballpark

The John Warner School based in Hoddesdon dominated the 2013 Herts School Softball games from start to finish and collected the championship trophy.

They set the tone for the day with a 16-0 win over Stanborough School which included 3 homeruns launched over the leftfield wall. In their second game they faced the Sir John Lawes School who picked up a win earlier in the day against the boys and girls of the Chancellor’s School from Harpenden. John Warner School were held right to the end but in the final inning they moved up a gear and took a 5-0 lead which they kept to the end.

Chancellor’s School were the final obstacle for John Warner School and they once again proved too strong winning 4-0. Their outstanding defence did not allow any runs all day long and their bats were too hot to handle.

SCOREBOARD
VISITING TEAM		HOME TEAM
Sir John Lawes School (JLS)	2	Chancellor’s School (CHS)	0
The John Warner School (JWS)	16	Stanborough School (STS)	0
The John Warner School (JWS)	5	Sir John Lawes School (JLS)	0
Stanborough School (STS)	6	Chancellor’s School (CHS)	5
Sir John Lawes School (JLS)	5	Stanborough School (STS)	4
Chancellor’s School (CHS)	0	The John Warner School (JWS)	4

STANDINGS

TEAM	W	L	%	RUN DIFF.	GB	STREAK
The John Warner School	3	0	1.000	25	0	W3
Sir John Lawes School	2	1	0.667	-2	1	W1
Stanborough School	1	2	0.333	-16	2	L1
Chancellor’s School	0	3	0.000	-7	3	L3

Scouts from Herts Baseball Club were following the games closely and they saw a lot of potential amongst the boys and the girls of all four teams. Most of these players are aged between 13 and 15 and with a little fine-tuning they would be able to compete in the BBF Under-14 and even the Under-17 leagues.

The teams received a lot of encouragement from the coaches of Herts Baseball Club who hosted this event in association with BaseballSoftballUK. The event is part of the Herts School Games sponsored by Sainsbury’s.

Students from the four schools as well as other schools in and around the county will have the opportunity to continue playing baseball and softball after the event by joining the Herts youth league teams. They can join at any time of the year. For more information contact us.

3 July 201310 June 2015 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts schools heading to Grovehill Ballpark to determine 2013 champions

Herts Baseball Club is preparing to host the 2013 Hertfordshire School Games this Thursday, 4 July. Four schools will battle it out at Grovehill Ballpark for the Herts School Softball Championship.

The competition opens at 1:30pm with games between Sir John Lawes School and Chancellor’s School on diamond 1, while The John Warner School and Stanborough School will meet on diamond 2. These opening games will be followed by 4 more games which will see all 4 teams face their opponents in a league format. The team with most wins will be declared the 2013 School Softball Champion.

GAMES SCHEDULE

TIME	VENUE	VISITING TEAM	HOME TEAM	FORMAT
13:30	Diamond 1	Sir John Lawes School	Chancellor’s School	3 Innings
13:30	Diamond 2	The John Warner School	Stanborough School	3 Innings
14:20	Diamond 1	The John Warner School	Sir John Lawes School	3 Innings
14:20	Diamond 2	Stanborough School	Chancellor’s School	3 Innings
15:10	Diamond 2	Sir John Lawes School	Stanborough School	3 Innings
15:10	Diamond 1	Chancellor’s School	The John Warner School	3 Innings

The event is organised in association with BaseballSoftballUK with coaches, umpires and event staff provided by Herts Baseball Club. It will take place at Grovehill Ballpark, the home of Herts Baseball Club, which is one of the best baseball venues in the United Kingdom and the preferred ballpark for the British Baseball National Championships over the last 3 years. Click here for address and directions to Grovehill Ballpark.