TRAVEL PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The mission of the travel program is to provide a competitive playing experience for the more advanced players in the league. Each team will consist of approximately 11-12 players. These players are selected following a try-out process described below. FRB will attempt to field one or more competitive teams at age groups 7U through 12U.  Older teams (13U-15U) are possible depending on interest.

Travel teams will play in tournaments or leagues primarily concentrated in Central New Jersey, but may also play beyond this area if, based on the coach’s discretion, this provides the most appropriate league and tournament opportunities.

SEASON TIMELINE AND COMMITMENT EXPECTATIONS:

The travel baseball season is defined as the period from the end of rec season through July 31st.  Playing on a travel team is a major commitment for the player and family.  Players should expect to commit to on average 2-4 practices or games per week during the travel baseball season.  All players are expected to attend all games and practices as scheduled by the team’s head coach. Vacation plans should be delayed until after the travel season has ended. For that reason, players who miss games due to non-bereavement or illness reasons, may only be allowed to play the mandatory minimum of 2 innings and 1 at-bat, for the number of games that child missed.  It is expected that the travel baseball team is each player’s priority and no other sport team commitments will conflict during the summer travel season.

Travel players are prohibited from playing in any other baseball program (e.g., independent teams, AAU, etc.) during this FRB Travel season. Playing for another team may result in dismissal from the FRB travel program. Please note that school teams are specifically exempted from this requirement.

In addition to the summer Travel Season described above, some teams/age groups may hold team activities during the fall, winter and/or spring seasons.  This may include, but is not limited to, indoor winter training, practices, and fall/spring leagues.  During the spring rec baseball season, the team travel activities must be limited to Sundays and Mondays.  FRB rec games remain a priority during this time period. These activities will be held at the discretion each team's head coach and are viewed as optional for the players.  There should not be playing time consequences for missed activities during these seasons and there is no mandate that the players cannot participate in other sports during the non-summer travel season.  The funding of these “off-season” activities, if applicable, will be the responsibility of the team and therefore potentially an additional cost to the travel dues for the participating players.

All fall, winter and spring activities require pre-approval from the FRB Board.  

PLAYING TIME:

As these are travel teams, the goal is to be competitive and as successful as possible on the field as well as in the development of all the travel players. While it is not a requirement to have completely equal playing time, every player should have a fair opportunity to play and show what he or she can do. Therefore, all players will have a minimum of 2 innings in the field and 1 at bat in tournament and league travel games. FRB teams must bat all players in tournaments that allow all rostered players to bat. In the District, State and Regional Cal Ripken tournaments, where only 9 players are in the lineup, every player must have at least 1 inning in the field or 1 at bat. It should be noted that these are not targets; these are the mandatory minimums per FRB policy. Each coach should strive to get all players as much playing time as possible, targeting a minimum of 50%.

COMMUNICATION:

It’s absolutely imperative that the head coach and assistant coaches are communicating with the parents and players of each team. One of the biggest complaints we get from parents is communication, that they are not sure about schedule, practice, games, playing time, etc. This is especially important for the 12 year old teams that are going to participate in out-of-state tournaments. Letting the parents know what’s going on and level setting expectations is very important. Whatever policies/team rules coaches put in place should be communicated with players' parents. When necessary, head coaches should delegate some of the other activities and duties to assistant coaches so that the head coach can talk with the players parents and let them know what’s going on.

REC SEASON POLICY:

Sundays and Mondays during Rec are designated as travel days. Travel teams should use these days during rec season for any practices or spring league/tournament games. If a Rec game gets rained out or postponed and must be re-scheduled for a Sunday or Monday, the travel team will have to accommodate and potentially adjust its schedule. Simply put, Rec comes first.

SCHEDULING:

Scheduling is managed by FRB Board Member, John Testa. All requests by travel teams to reserve fields for practices and/or travel games must be coordinated through John Testa. There are many competing priorities for the use of the fields and this formal scheduling process is in place to mitigate conflicts and confusion and enable coaches to plan appropriately. No team activities can be held on any field without utilizing this process.

The Scheduling Grid maintained by John Testa is publicly available for read-only access on FRB’s website under Fields and Faciliaties. 

PRACTICE FIELDS:

Due to the limited number of fields during the Rec season, fields are available for reservation on Sundays and Mondays. During the non-Rec seasons, the travel teams have the flexibility to schedule team activities throughout the week. Team activities should also not be held on non-FRB fields (e.g., Lenape).  We as an organization do not have permission to use these fields and unauthorized use is a bad representation of FRB and the FRB community.   If FRB announces that the fields are closed for weather or other reasons, this is done for a reason and it is expected all teams will respect that decision. To reserve a field please contact John Testa.   

TRAVEL TOURNAMENT AND LEAGUES:

It is the responsibility of the head coach to register for tournaments and/or leagues.  During the summer travel season, the 10U and older teams are allotted and funded the equivalent of 5 tournaments by FRB (note: USABL leagues are the equivalent of 2 tournaments). Teams planning on participating in additional tournaments/games requires FRB Board approval. The 8U and 9U teams will be allotted the equivalent of 4 tournaments during the summer travel season (USABL leagues are the equivalent of 2 tournaments). Additional tournaments and leagues during the non-summer travel season is at the discretion of each team/coach as described above and is deemed optional.

TRYOUTS:

Tryouts consist of evaluations in three key disciplines (infield, outfield & batting). Statistical results are produced for each discipline which are then averaged to create an overall score for each tryout participant. These evaluations are performed by independent individuals typically comprised of FRB board members.  Any coaches associated with a particular level or parents of kids trying out are prohibited from the evaluation process at that particular age group.   

Tryouts for 7-12 year olds (and older if sufficient interest) are normally held in late September or early October. Team selection for this age group affords the players time to practice as a team through formal (yet voluntary) winter workout sessions.

TEAM SELECTION PROCESS:

A travel committee (generally comprised of 6-7 Board members) is responsible for determining which players are invited to participate on the travel teams.  This determination considers the following criteria for consideration:

1. Tryout Results
2. Past Performance (most recent travel and recreation season)
3. Team Balance (such as pitching, catching, shortstop, to ensure team balance is met for maximum competitiveness)
4. Team Chemistry

The Travel Committee meets shortly after tryouts are held to evaluate the participants based on the criteria above. The Travel Committee is tasked with formulating team rosters for the coming season. Once complete, the committee’s roster recommendations are presented to the FRB Board for consideration and approval.  Approval is considered complete when the Board achieves a majority vote from Board members physically in attendance when a vote takes place.  Board members may also email their vote as long as their votes are received prior to the Board vote taking place. If the rosters are not approved by the Board, the Travel Committee must take the Board's recommendations into consideration and reformulate rosters for reconsideration by the Board. The process continues until a majority vote is reached by the Board.  

If you have any questions or concerns about travel baseball, please contact the travel coordinator  Chris Feinthal.