Category: U10

Herts Futures Tournament this Saturday.

Herts Futures Tournament this Saturday.

Ten teams will be in action at the 2023 Herts Futures Tournament (HFT) which will take place this Saturday, 30 September 2023. The number of entries is up from 7 last year so it is good to see British baseball gradually recovering after a difficult 2020 Covid year.

U15 Division

  • Essex Redbacks (U15)
  • Herts Falcons (U15)

U13 Division

  • Brighton Fireballs U13
  • Buccaneers  U13
  • Cambridge Lancers U13
  • Herts Hawks U13
  • Herts Raptors U13

U11 Division

  • Herts Londoners U11
  • Northants Centurions U11
  • Sheffield Cubs U11

The opening ceremony will take place at 10:30am. The first games begin at 11:15am.

To view the games schedule click here.

photo by Rob Jones

“Herts Baseball Club welcomes new players at any time of the year” said the club’s co-Director of Youth Baseball, Aspi Dimitrov. “Any children aged between 6 and 15 who are interested to give baseball a try can contact the club. It is not too late to play in these games, regardless of whether you are a complete beginner or an advanced player.”

The HFT was first held in 2008 and is now a permanent fixture in the British baseball calendar. It brings together youth teams 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.

One silver and two bronze medals for Herts in the National Youth Baseball Championships

One silver and two bronze medals for Herts in the National Youth Baseball Championships

LYBL continue to be the dominant force in British youth baseball as they finished in first place in all four age divisions of the BBF Youth National Baseball Championships. However, Herts Baseball Club is closing the gap.

U19

The Herts Falcons faced LYBL in the U19 national final. There were exceptionally talented players on both rosters with experience playing in the National Baseball League and for the Great Britain U15 and U18 National Teams. Those who were at the game saw very high level of baseball and a number of GB coaching staff were there too to assess British players.

Ten of the U19 players were members of the Herts Falcons NBL team this season –  seven of them were on the Falcons U19 roster and three were with LYBL U19 as this was the youth baseball programme which they came through. Unfortunately for Herts, Ben Sporleder, wasn’t able to recover from an injury in time for this game and Tasuku Ishihara also wasn’t available to play. This opened an opportunity for U19 players from the other Herts adult league teams to shine in this final. All seven Herts adult league teams were represented on the Herts Falcons U19 roster.

Dan Moran was the starting pitcher in the first game of this best-of-3 series and he had an excellent outing. The game went right down to the wire with LYBL U19 leading 4-3 going into the final inning, but they managed to drive in 4 more runs to win the game. 

Game Two became a must-win for the Falcons U19 and they had the best possible start taking a 2 -0 lead with starting pitcher Erik Gustafson keeping LYBL batters off balance and getting outs.  They had the opportunity to extend their lead when they loaded the bases with no one out in the later innings but LYBL U19 stayed calm under pressure to get out of that situation without allowing any runs to score. That was a missed opportunity and the momentum of the game changed. LYBL took the lead and didn’t look back as they won Game Two 9-3 winning the series and lifting the U19 national championship trophy.  GB U18 National Team manager, Erick Henson, chose Kaden Horwood as the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the series.

U16

photo by Richard Williams

The Herts U16 team also faced LYBL in the semi-final and their task was just as difficult. J.J. Sanders kept the Falcons U16 in the game with a commanding performance on the mound but LYBL found a way through the Herts defence to take a 4-1 lead.   They managed to extend that lead to 10-1 after J.J. Sanders reached his regulation pitch count limit which is in force in youth baseball.

photo by Marcus Grant

In the U16 Bronze Medal game the Falcons U16 came up against the Essex Redbacks U16s who took a 6-3 lead. Herts players needed to find a way back into the game and they produced a late comeback to win 11-7 and take the U16 bronze medal.

U13

photo by Marcus Grant

The luck of the draw also paired Herts with the favourites LYBL in the U13 division.  Chi Hong Wong and Hans Hartman combined on the mound for the Falcons. They and the defence behind them had to battle against a very competent opponent. Similar to the U16 semi-final, Herts kept pace in the first half of the game but LYBL took the game beyond them eventually. Final score 12-3.

photo by Marcus Grant

London Mets were the opponents in the Bronze medal game and they won it 7-3.

U11

The Falcons U11 team secured the second Bronze medal for Herts Baseball Club. They came up against a strong Mets U11 team in the semi-final but bounced back in the Bronze medal game with a win against Essex Redbacks U11.

photo by Marcus Grant

MLB Spy

There were over 200 players and many more fans at Farnham Park for the  2023 National Youth Baseball Championships and they may not have realised that among them was an MLB All Star.  Chase Utley (pictured above on the bench) is a World Series winner with the Philadelphia Phillies but on Saturday he was quietly following the next generation of British Baseball players as an ambassador for MLB in Europe. Will one of them go on to play in MLB in the future? We look forward to following the progress of these talented young players in the coming years.

This Saturday

There is one more event for boys and girls aged between 6 and 15 this Saturday in the Annual Herts Futures Tournament.  New players can still register to play in the tournament.  Contact Herts Baseball Club for more details.

4 Herts teams compete in the national youth baseball championships this Saturday

4 Herts teams compete in the national youth baseball championships this Saturday

Herts Baseball Club will be represented in all four divisions of the 2023 BBF Youth National Baseball Championships this Saturday, 23 September.

U19 Division

The Herts Falcons U19 team goes into the Final as the underdogs against LYBL U19. However, Herts U19 manager, Will Zucker, is not fazed by the fact that the odds are stacked against his team. His roster features young players from all seven Herts adult league teams so it will be interesting to see if Herts players from the NBL, Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A leagues will be able to combine and work together as a team with very little time to prepare since the end of the adult league season last week.

The Final is a best-of-3 series with all three games being played on the same day. Pitching depth and physical stamina will be critical.

The club’s best finish in this age group was as runner-up in 2013 national championship when they beat the London Mets 6-4 in the semi-final and lost 6-9 in the final to the Cobham Cougars. Will Zucker was 16 years old and was the starting pitcher for the Herts Harriers in the final so this year he will have another shot at the U19 national title, this time as team manager.

U16 Division

photo by Richard Williams

Herts Falcons U16 will also face LYBL U16 in one of the semi-finals. The two teams met three times during the BBF Yotuh Super League regular season and LYBL won all three games, so they have the upper hand this Saturday. Herts U16 manager Nick Sanders will need his team to be at their very best if they are to eliminate the favourites.  The winner will face the winner of the other semi-final between Essex Redbacks and LYBL’s second team.

U13 Division

photo by Richard Williams

The format in the U13 Division is the same as the U16s and Herts Falcons U13 will face LYBL U13 with an equally difficult task. Herts U13 manager, Stephen Wong, added 10 extra training sessions during the summer holidays and this Saturday is the ideal opportunity to see if his team will manage to close the gap on LYBL. In the other Semi-Final, LYBL’s second team clash with the London Mets. The winners of the two Semi-Finals will meet in the final.

U11 Division

The Herts U11 roster includes players from the club’s two branches in Hemel Hempstead and in London so manager Daniel Rose will have the difficult task of blendinU them together. They face Mets U11 in the second semi-final with the winner facing the winner of the other semi-final between LYBL U11 and Essex Redbacks U11.

12 years of hurt…

The last time a Herts youth baseball team won the national championships was in 2010 when the Herts U14 team beat the London Mets 2-1 in the final. The closest that a Herts youth team has come to lifting the national championship trophy since 2010 was in 2011 and 2013 when they finished as runners-up in the U14 and U17 divisions, respectively. Can they bring the silverware back home this weekend?

Hawks and Falcons are the 2023 Herts U15 and U11 League Champions.

Hawks and Falcons are the 2023 Herts U15 and U11 League Champions.

The Herts Hawks U15 and the Herts Falcons U11 are the 2023 Herts Youth Baseball League champions in their respective age divisions.

U15 Division

Going into Game Two the Hawks led the U15 Championship Series 1-0 against the Falcons.  Their dominance continued as they took a 9-1 lead.  The Falcons mounted a late comeback scoring 5 runs in the final inning but it was too little, too late.  The Hawks won it with a final score of 12-6 and lifted the U15 trophy.

U11 Division

In the U11 division, there was no room for error for the Herts Falcons who were trailing the series against the Londoners 0-1. They tied the series with a 12-6 win in Game Two so it went down to the third and final game of the series.

Despite home runs for Flynn Dunn and Alexis Marriaga, the Londoners found themselves 6-9 down going into the final inning. They drove two runs and put the tying and winning run on base but the Falcons kept their composure to get the final out and clinch the U11 title.

These last two weeks of Herts Youth Baseball League playoff action also featured contests including the Obstacle Relay Race, Power Pitcher and the Home Run Derby which finished in a tie between John Sanders with 2 home runs for the Hawks U15 and Alexis Marriaga also with 2 home runs for the Londoners U11.

The champagne cork seemed to surprise everyone.

There won’t be much time for this achievement to sink in as all eyes now turn to the climax of the 2023 youth baseball season as four Herts teams go into the 2023 BBF U19, U16, U13 and U11 national championships at Farnham Park, in Slough on Saturday, 23 September.

Herts Youth Baseball League champions to be decided over the next two weeks

Herts Youth Baseball League champions to be decided over the next two weeks

The 2023 Postseason Playoffs of the Herts Youth Baseball League start this Saturday.  The finals of both the Under-15 and Under-11 divisions will be decided in a best-of-3 series.

photo by Richard Williams

In the Under-15 Championship Series the Herts Falcons U15 will come up against their old rivals the Herts Hawks U15. Game One was originally planned to be played at Basing Hill Ballpark but it has now been moved to Grovehill Ballpark to make room for the senior teams in the Single-A League Wild Card game between the Herts Ravens and the Cambridge Royals. Games Two and Three move to Basing Hill in the following week on Saturday, 16 September.

photo by Richard Williams

In the Under-11 Championship Series it will be a battle between Herts Falcons U11 and the Herts Londoners U11. The Falcons are an all star team of Hemel Hempstead-based U11 players while the Herts Londoners are an all star team of players based at the club’s Basing Hill branch in London. All three of their games will be played at Basing Hill Ballpark on 9 and 16 September.

Apart from winning the HYBL championships, the Herts youth baseball team coaches will also be assessing players for the 2023 BBF national youth baseball championships which will be played on 23 September at Farnham Park in Slough, and the Herts Futures Tournament on 30 September.

Boys and girls, from complete beginners to advanced players, can still register to play in these games as the season reaches its climax. Contact us for more details.

British youth baseball teams have started entering the 2023 Herts Futures Tournament

British youth baseball teams have started entering the 2023 Herts Futures Tournament

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that the 2023 Herts Futures Tournament will take place on Saturday, September 30th.

The Herts Futures Tournament (HFT) was first held in 2008 and is now a permanent fixture in the British baseball calendar. The number of teams entering the tournament has been going up. The highest number of entries which we have managed to accommodate in previous years has been 21 teams. 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.

photo by Rob Jones

The event brings together youth teams of various 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 high profile events such as the National Baseball Championships and Great Britain National Team events.

During the Herts Futures Tournament additional diamonds are added to cater for the different age groups.

photo by Rob Jones

This year’s edition is expected to cover the Under-15, 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 to play in the HFT, visit the Herts Futures Tournament homepage or contact us.

Herts youth teams preparing for 2023 BBF National Championships. Will Zucker to manage the U18 team. New players can still join.

Herts youth teams preparing for 2023 BBF National Championships. Will Zucker to manage the U18 team. New players can still join.

The BBF U18, U15, U13 and U11 national baseball championships will be played on Saturday, 16 September, at Farnham Park.

U18 team

Will Zucker with the GB U18 national team in 2014

In addition to its U15, U13 and U11 teams, Herts will also be entering a team to compete in the U18 national championship. The club has confirmed that the Herts Falcons U18 team will be managed by Will Zucker.  In February 2021 he was elected as the club’s co-Director of Youth Baseball. Zucker is a product of the Herts youth baseball programme and went on to play for the club’s first team, the Herts Falcons, in the National Baseball League (NBL) and has also been selected by the Great Britain U18 and U23 national teams. He co-founded the Durham University Baseball programme and his work was recognised when he received the BSUK Young Coach of the Year Award in 2017.

The club’s best finish in the U18 national championships was as runner-up in 2013 when they beat the London Mets 6-4 in the semi-final and lost 6-9 in the final to the Cobham Cougars. Zucker was 16 years old and was the starting pitcher for the Herts Harriers in the final so this year he will have another shot at the U18 national title, this time as team manager.

Mike Cresswell in NBL action for the Herts Falcons (photo by Will Zucker)

His coaching staff will include Herts Falcons outfielder, Mike Cresswell, who will be familiar with many of the Herts U18 players, having coached them over the years and playing alongside a large number of U18 players this season with the Falcons in the National Baseball League.

Players who are aged 17 or under on 31 August 2023 who are interested to play for the Herts Falcons U18 team can contact the club for more details.

U15 and U13 teams

Herts U13 manager Stephen Wong on the mound for Herts Cardinals (photo by Tony Small)

The Herts U15 team will be managed by Nick Sanders who brings a wealth of experience from his time as a player and coach in Canada.

The U13 team will be managed by Stephen Wong who is also a pitcher with the Herts Cardinals and has experience of playing and coaching in Hong Kong and Japan.

The Herts youth coaching staff also includes Cory English, Daniel Rose, Joe Brown, John Kjorstad, Jordon Fox, Larry Peters, Martin Saluzzo, Mike Long, Philip Meyers and Aspi Dimitrov.

Starting this week, coach Stephen Wong will run a series of extra baseball sessions for the U15 and U13 teams as follows:

  • 15:00-18:00 – Wed, 26 July, Grovehill Ballpark
  • 10:00-13:00 – Sat, 29 July, Grovehill Ballpark
  • 15:00-18:00 – Wed, 2 August, Grovehill Ballpark
  • 10:00-13:00 – Sat, 5 August, Grovehill Ballpark
  • 15:00-18:00 – Wed, 9 August, Grovehill Ballpark
  • 10:00-13:00 – Sat, 12 August, Grovehill Ballpark
  • 15:00-18:00 – Wed, 16 August, Grovehill Ballpark
  • 10:00-13:00 – Sat, 19 August, Grovehill Ballpark
  • 10:00-13:00 – Sat, 26 August, Grovehill Ballpark
  • 15:00-18:00 – Wed, 30 August, Grovehill Ballpark

U11 team

The manager of the Herts U11 team will be confirmed in due course.

The Herts U11 players will take a few weeks break during the school summer holidays but they will back in training on Wednesday, 30 August (London branch) and Saturday, 2 September, (Hemel Hempstead branch).

HYBL Playoffs and Herts Futures Tournament

Herts youth players can also look forward to the Herts Youth Baseball League (HYBL) Playoffs  on 9 and/or 23 September and the Herts Futures Tournament on 30 September, as the 2023 youth baseball season reaches its climax.

New players can still join the Herts teams

The youth teams welcomes boys and girls aged 6 to 17, from complete beginners to advanced players, with ballparks in Hemel Hempstead and in London. Contact us for more information.

BBF Youth Super League starts this Saturday, 6 May

BBF Youth Super League starts this Saturday, 6 May

The BBF Youth Super League starts this Saturday, 6 May. It’s a new competition launched by the British Baseball Federation (BBF) this year covering the Under-15 and Under-11 age groups. It will feature teams from Herts, London Mets and LYBL.

The Youth Super League standings will determine the seeding for the National Youth Baseball Championships later in the year.

Each of the participating clubs is expected to host a game day which will adopt a round-robin game format.

BBF Youth Super League - Order of Play (Sat, 6 May)

DateHomeTime/ResultsAwayLeagueField

Herts Baseball Club will host the first round of games at Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead, this Saturday, 6 May.

Food and drinks will be on sale during the event including hot dogs, burgers, nachos and other ballpark favorites.

Players who haven’t registered to play with the Herts youth league teams this season, can still register in time to be added to the teams for the next round of Youth Super League games.

For more information, contact us.

Herts Baseball Club looking for volunteers and paid coaches to host MLB First Pitch school baseball event in Hemel Hempstead

Herts Baseball Club looking for volunteers and paid coaches to host MLB First Pitch school baseball event in Hemel Hempstead

As part of Major League Baseball’s investment in the UK and the London Series, a pilot programme in association with the Youth Sport Trust was introduced where a hub of around 15 schools is created in a number of regions to run the MLB First Pitch programme. One of these hubs is in Hemel Hempstead and the surrounding area. 

The programme culminates with an end-of-school-year baseball event bringing all the schools from the hub together.  Herts Baseball Club was approached to host the end of year baseball festival scheduled for the summer of 2021, however that event could not take place due to Covid restrictions in schools.

Grovehill Ballpark has previously hosted baseball and softball events as part of the Herts School Games

Steps are being taken now to stage this event this summer on Tuesday, July 4, at Grovehill Ballpark, the home of Herts Baseball Club in Hemel Hempstead. The event is likely to feature a skills session from 9:30 to 12:00 and games from 12:30 to 14:45. It is expected to cover students aged 9 to 11 – school years 5 and 6.

The club is inviting Herts club members or players and coaches from other clubs who would be interested and available to act as event staff volunteers and as paid coaches on that day. The fee for the coaches will range between £12.50 and £23.75, depending on the role and the level of the coach.  For more details and to express interest contact us.

Herts publishes Spring Training schedules for its adult and youth league teams

Herts publishes Spring Training schedules for its adult and youth league teams

The BBF has indicated that the Opening Weekend of the NBL season is expected to be 15-16 April 2023. For the other leagues the Opening Weekend is expected to be 22-23 April 2023, although some lower league teams may play their opening games on 15-16 April 2023. More will be known when the BBF league schedules are published.

This is later than in previous years and the Spring Training schedule of the Herts teams has been adjusted accordingly to reflect this.

The Herts youth league is expected to start slightly earlier than last year. 

Here are the key 2023 Spring Training dates for the Herts adult and youth league teams. Events are subject to change due to weather or other reasons.

National Baseball League

Players will report for Spring Training on Sunday, 26 February 2023. This includes players who have expressed interest in trying out for the NBL. The schedule will include four weeks of training and three weeks of Spring Training games.

Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A League

Players will report for Spring Training on Sunday, 5 February 2023. Double-A and Single-A players based in Hemel Hempstead will start with several training sessions indoors. The schedule will include eight weeks of training and three weeks of Spring Training games.

Herts Spring League

The Herts Spring League is scheduled to start on the weekend of 1-2 April by which point the team managers are expected to have announced their preliminary rosters. The HSL will run for three weeks for Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A teams and for two weeks for the NBL teams as their BBF league season starts a week earlier.

Teams are expected to announce their Opening Day rosters shortly after their final HSL games.

Herts U15, U13, U11 youth league teams

Herts youth players will report for Spring Training on Saturday, 25 February 2023. The first four weeks will take place indoors alternating between indoor venues in Hemel Hempstead and in NW London. This will be followed by five weeks of Spring Training at Grovehill Ballpark and Basing Hill Ballpark. The Opening Day of the various age groups of the Herts Youth Baseball League is expected to be on Saturday, 29 April, subject to confirmation.

Full schedule

Registered players can view the full list of 2023 Spring Training dates, times and venues by logging into the Clubhouse.