Baseball

Recreational and travel baseball serve as crucial components in the development of young athletes, fostering both personal and athletic growth in the sport of baseball.

 

Recreational Baseball
Recreational baseball is designed for players of all skill levels and aims to create an inclusive and enjoyable environment. It contributes to a child’s development in the following ways:

1. Fundamental Skill Development: Recreational baseball emphasizes the fundamentals of the game, focusing on teaching players the basic skills such as throwing, catching, hitting, and base running.
2. Team Building and Social Skills: Playing in a recreational league allows children to interact with peers and learn the importance of teamwork, communication, and sportsmanship, which are valuable skills both on and off the field.
3. Introduction to Competition: While the emphasis is on fun and learning, recreational baseball introduces players to the concept of friendly competition. This helps build a healthy attitude towards winning and losing, fostering resilience and a positive mindset
4. Physical Fitness and Health: Participation in recreational baseball contributes to overall physical fitness.

Recreational baseball is open to Montvale children in 1st grade through 8th grade. It is broken down into the following grade groups:

• Grade 1 – Coach Pitch: the kids will be on evenly divided teams and volunteer parents will pitch to the children. The focus here is the fundamentals of batting, base running and defense.
• Grade 2 – Kid Pitch: building on what was learned in coach pitch with the added complexity of kids now pitching in games.
• Grades 3/4 - Minors: Understanding of the rules of the game, including the concept of innings, strikes, balls, and outs. Basic motor skills required for playing baseball. Players should be able to throw a baseball with some accuracy and strength. They should be able to catch a thrown ball using both hands. Understands the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship.
• Grades 5/6 - Majors: Building on what was learned in Minors.
• Grades 7/8 - Seniors: Building on what was learned in Majors.

 

Travel Baseball
Travel baseball, on the other hand, is a more competitive and advanced level of play. It is often characterized by a higher level of commitment and increased competitiveness. Here's how travel baseball aids in a student's athletic growth:

1. Advanced Skill Development: Travel baseball is for players who want to take their skills to the next level. The competition is more intense, leading to faster skill development as players face stronger opponents and refine their techniques.
2. Exposure to High-Level Competition: Travel teams often compete in leagues whose teams are geographically further away and are more skilled than recreational teams. This exposure to higher-caliber competition challenges players to elevate their game, providing valuable experience for more competitive play.
3. Commitment and Discipline: Travel baseball requires a higher level of commitment in terms of time and effort. This instills discipline in players as they balance academics, training, and games, teaching them the importance of time management.

In summary, recreational baseball sets the foundation, focusing on enjoyment and skill development, while travel baseball offers a more competitive environment for advanced players seeking to excel in the sport. Together, they contribute to a well-rounded and growth-oriented baseball experience for young athletes.

Any player that plays in the travel baseball program for the MAL must play in our recreational program.

There is no guaranteed playtime for any travel player and coaches will determine positions to put forth their most competitive team. Tryouts may be required for certain grade levels depending on the amount of interest at that particular age group. A travel baseball team will carry between 10-12 full-time players, which will be determined at the coaches' discretion.

The selection process for travel baseball teams is as follows:

1. An interest form gets sent out via TeamSnap and parents interested in travel baseball are required to indicate interest before the form closes. Once the form closes, there will be no exceptions for interest past the stated deadline as there are significant logistics that go into forming these travel teams.
2. The commissioner will look at the number of kids interested per grade and evaluate if there needs to be a tryout for that grade. Typically, that would mean that there are more children interested in travel baseball for a grade than there are roster spots on the team, and there are not enough players to support two full teams at that grade level. 
3. The commissioner will set up tryout dates for the grade levels that require it and communicate those dates to the registered children. If a tryout is required, all players interested in joining the team must attend the tryout. If they do not attend the tryout, they will not be eligible for a full-time roster spot.
4. Tryouts are held via 'closed-door session' by an independent third party and results are provided to the commissioner. No parents or team coaches are permitted in the tryout area during this time. The commissioner and travel coordinator will be on-site to ensure player safety and a smooth process.
5. At that point, the teams are solidified and a registration link through TeamSnap is sent out to all children who will be on a travel team. There are a number of different ways that the MAL has handled travel teams to try our hardest not to cut kids, especially at the younger age groups. Those include:
   • Practice players: for those younger age groups (1st-3rd grade), a player who does not make the full-time roster may be offered the opportunity to practice with the team on a regular basis.  This is encouraged, as the team will be working on higher-level skills and this is a great opportunity for the player to continue to develop.  These players are not expected to attend games, unless otherwise communicated by the head coach. Practice players may have the opportunity to attend games, at the coaches' discretion.
   • Hybrid-Town Teams: In the instance that there is enough interest to form a full-time team from the players who didn't make the roster, the MAL has reached out to surrounding towns (Woodcliff Lake, Park Ridge) to see if there are enough players at that same age to form a full travel team.

 

MAL Recreation and Travel Baseball Schedules

Recreational

• Starts with opening day mid-April and completes early June
• All levels – Saturday games, 2^nd grade and high could have mid-week game vs. neighboring towns like Park Ridge or Woodcliff Lake

Travel

• Starts early April and completes mid-June depending on playoff schedule
• 1 game per week (as per league requirements) plus 1-2 practices per week at coach's discretion
• Playoff games for eligible teams based on final league standings during the regular season
• Travel distance for away games can vary to up to 35-45 minutes within North Jersey