2009 SW Yankees After a successful trip to the Cooperstown summer tournament and winning their league championships in both the summer and the fall of 2009, the SW Yankees are preparing for the 2010 season and looking to players.

The SW Yankees is an independent select travel baseball team with a winning history and tradition. We play three seasons each year (spring, summer and fall) and tournaments throughout the year.

The Yankees play in The National Junior Baseball League (NJBL). Long Island’s premier travel baseball league, the NJBL has served the community with quality competition during the spring, summer and fall since 1990. Every year teams from Nassau, Suffolk, Queens and Brooklyn compete with the goals of providing the community with a well organized baseball league.

Scheduling is flexible. The spring season starts in the beginning of April. Indoor practices and training will begin in March. All teams play doubleheaders on weekends with a practice during the week. Scheduling is flexible. The level of play is competitive.

Marc Arboleda waits for a pitch TEAM MISSION

SW Yankees mission is to ensure there is an organization where kids can play competitive baseball, learn life lessons, and have fun in an age appropriate supportive environment.

TEAM PHILOSOPHY

While it is nice to win (we do often) and we do our best to be competitive, winning is not the way we judge the success of our season. It is our intention that the kids have a great experience, improve from the beginning of the season to the end of the season, learn team work, and learn how to think for themselves. The focus will be on doing our best. The boys are thirteen years old and are treated as such.

Dom Caputo at bat We expect that each player will learn two positions well. Those positions are based on where we think the kids will help the team the most and to a lesser degree, where the kids want to play. That said, we will also make an effort to get each of the kids some playing time at positions of their choice. We tell the kids that we will make that effort as long as they show us they are learning the positions they are playing and do what we ask.

Parents and players are required to embrace and adhere to our philosophy. There are no exceptions and zero tolerance.

TEAM OPERATIONS

We rarely correct any of the kids on the spot during a game (in the heat of the moment) or in public. The fact is all of these kids are smart and know baseball. When they make a mistake or an error, they know what they did wrong and are not feeling good about it. Correcting them at that point just makes them feel worse. We generally wait until the inning is over and pull them aside privately to make sure they understood what they did wrong so they learn from it. We believe it is in the best interest of the team (and the kids) that everyone follows this approach. Remarkably enough, when a child plays an instrument in band and hits a wrong note, no one yells at him or interrupts the concert to correct the mistake yet on the baseball field people have no qualms with yelling at a 13 year old in the middle of the game (in front of everyone else no less). That behavior is unacceptable on the SW Yankees.

Jason Beck safe at home Winter Training

Justin Lee delivers a pitch Little League International recommends that kids our age get at least three months off after the season before throwing again. In an effort to give the boys maximum time off in the winter to rest their arms (and participate in other sports), we decided not to start our training until after the February break. At that point the training will be concentrated in a four week period to prepare those boys who are trying out for their school teams and get us ready for the spring season.

We have professional training for the team at a facility in Farmingdale by college and professional players. All the boys receive hitting, strength, agility and throwing training. The pitchers are trained by a separate trainer who works on mechanics and velocity. The catchers get separate attention too. The goal here is to help the individuals and the team grow using professional age appropriate techniques.

Eligibility and Tryouts

The Yankees have players from all over Long Island; there are no residence requirements. To be eligible the player must have been born after April 30, 1996, must play competitive baseball, and must have families who recognize the commitment but understand the priorities.

Our tryouts are held at team mini practices in an attempt to evaluate the kids in a non pressurized setting. The purposes of these practices are to spend a little more time focused on the individual needs, and to give the kids some individual attention. We also spend a little time discussing with the kids positions and where they might fit on the team. Baseball skill and attitude are equally important to us and are given equal weight in the decision making process.

Prior to our trying out we like to have an informational meeting or phone meeting with the parents of the player to ensure everyone is on the same page. To register for tryouts, please email: tryouts@SWYankeesBaseball.com

How to Tryout

The SW Yankees are always interested in meeting potential players. To register for tryouts, please email: tryouts@SWYankeesBaseball.com. Tryouts are held periodically throughout the year. Baseball skill and attitude are given equal weight in the decision making process. For more information, please email info@SWYankeesBaseball.com.