Clarence Travel Baseball

Welcome to Clarence Baseball’s Travel Team program! For those of you new to travel baseball or new to our baseball program, please find below, information to help you learn about our competitive summer baseball program. 

Eligibility: All travel team players through 12u must be residents of the Town of Clarence or the Clarence Central School District and, be registered TCBA House League players. National and Senior League age travel players do not have to play on House League teams, but are responsible for the appropriate fees. 13u and above travel teams are now accepting a minimal number of non-Clarence residents. 

No travel player may play for a team above his appropriate age level, until he is age eligible for the 13u team. For example: A player age eligible to play for the 9u team, may not play for any older team until he is age eligible to play on the 13u team. That player may then try out for the 13u, 14u, 15u, or 16u teams.

Coaches: The travel coaches are recommended by the travel director and voted on by the TCBA board. At the end of each year, coaches will sit down with the travel director and evaluate the past season, including reviewing comments from parents’ surveys. 

Team Formation: At the 8u level, the team is formed during the house league season. At 9u and above, players are evaluated at tryouts in August/September for next years’ team. The philosophy of Clarence Travel Baseball is to choose the best 11 or 12 players and name them the “A” team. If after the “A” team is chosen there is enough interest/talent and a coaching candidate is identified, the next tier of 11 or 12 players will be named to the “B” team. In most years the teams from 8u-12u have had 2 teams and the older teams usually have one team. 

Tryouts: Players should plan to participate on all scheduled tryout days for their age group. If a player cannot make all days, you must contact the coach for your age group in advance to let them know why. In travel baseball, not all players will make the team, some players will be cut. Players will be evaluated in hitting, pitching, fielding, throwing and base running. Rosters will be selected by the head coach based on the players’ skill assessment ratings along with specific needs of the team. There will be a team of 3-4 board members or past board members who will oversee try-outs at all levels. 

Commitment: The travel program is competitive-level baseball, which requires a commitment from both the player and the player’s family. Tryouts are usually held in August/September. Practices start in late fall/early winter for most teams. (depending on the coach) Most travel teams will begin their summer season in late April/early May. Tournaments usually begin at the conclusion of the school year, and generally conclude the first week of August. (Again, this is based on individual teams and age groups) From early May through early August, players and families should expect to practice and or play games multiple times during the week and multiple games on the weekend. We try to be flexible and work with other spring activities, but Spring/Summer baseball should be the primary emphasis (e.g. - not soccer, hockey, etc.) 

While vacations are not out of the question, absences are discouraged, and the team and players depend on each other to be there through multiple tournaments and practices. Please remember that our travel season usually ends in early August. Rosters are kept to a minimum, to maximize playing time during every game. If a player and their family are not willing to make a full-time commitment to the program, they should probably consider just playing on the TCBA house leagues. 

If you do plan on playing travel baseball and also taking vacations during the travel season, your child could be taking a roster spot away from a player who is willing to make a 100% commitment to the program. Missing games due to vacation or other activities could result in less playing time. The intensity of the program depends on the coach and the collective intentions of the team’s parents. You should expect the “A” team to be highly competitive and stricter in its approach to the commitment. You should also expect lesser intensity as you move to a “B” team. 

Expenses of Travel Baseball: Expect to spend $300-400 per player ($75-100 per new player for uniforms, as needed, and $100-200 per player for league/tournament play) 

Tournaments: Clarence Travel Baseball teams will participate in our own Clarence tournaments along with several other tournaments throughout the summer. It is not uncommon to travel out of town for a tournament during the summer, planned at the coaches discretion. Most ”tournaments” play a minimum of 3 games before the playoff/championship rounds, and it is very possible that multiple games will be scheduled in a single day. 

Cooperstown Tournament: At the 12u age level, the “A” travel team participates in a weeklong 50/70 tournament in Cooperstown, NY. It is a fantastic trip and represents the culmination and reward for a lot of hard work and commitment by the players (and parents). It is a truly memorable experience for them. The participation and preparation for this trip includes fundraising activities. It costs approximately $15,000 per team. The team fundraises to cover the cost. If not, the parents must pay or make up the difference from the fundraised amounts. In most years the majority, if not all of the dollars are fundraised.