CAA Baseball Travel Team Selection Handbook...The pitching distance will be the distance established for their travel age. • Each player will get a series of warmup pitches and then

CAA BB/SB Mission - To develop players and fuel their passion for the game

CAABaseballTravelTeam

SelectionHandbook

LastUpdated:02March2018

CAA BB/SB Mission - To develop players and fuel their passion for the game

TableofContents1) PhilosophyandGoals

2) TeamsandLevelsbyAge

3) TeamSelectionWeighting

4) PriorSeasonCoachEvaluations

5) TryoutProcessandWeightings

6) TeamSelectionProcess

7) CommunicationofTeamSelection

8) Appendix–i) VisualsonCalculationsii) SampleTryoutandSelection

CAA BB/SB Mission - To develop players and fuel their passion for the game

1) PhilosophyandGoalsa) TheChanhassenbaseballtravelphilosophyfocusesonthegoalsofplayer

development,teamcompetitiveness,playerretentionandfun.Thedecisionsaroundhowmanyteamsandwhichlevelstheyplay,aswellashowweselecttheplayerforeachteamarefundamentaltoachievingthesegoals.

2) Teamsandlevelsbyagea) Webelievewehaveastrongprogramthatattemptstoachieveourgoalsby

fieldingasmanyteamsaswehaveplayersregisteredtoplay.Inalignmentwithourgoals,ourlevelswillbedeterminedbythedepthandqualityoftheplayersateachage.Ourgoalsaretofieldcompetitiveteams,andtomaximizethenumberofplayersoneachteamwhocancompetesuccessfullyatthelevel–attheplateandinthefield.

b) Ourgeneralapproachandassumptionhasbeentofieldi) 9s-3equalteamsplayingin3tournaments.Alsorequiredtoplaywithinin-

housebaseballleague.ii) 10s/15s-teamswith1-AAA,1-AA,andasmanyAteamsaswecanfield.iii) Signuplevelsanddepthoftalentateachagewillbeconsideredas

variancesfromthisapproacheachyear,basedprimarilyonfeedbackfromprioryearcoaches.Note:The12UlevelselectsteamsinthefallasthatleveltypicallyparticipatesinanoutoftowntournamentinNewYorkorNebraska.

3) Teamselectionweightinga) Webelieveanindependenttryoutprocessisanessentialcomponentto

providinganadditionalperspectiveofourplayers,aswellastoaccountfortheoffseasontimeofplayerdevelopmentandphysicalandmentalgrowth

CAA BB/SB Mission - To develop players and fuel their passion for the game

childrendoeachyear.Atthesametime,acoupleofhoursofgymtimeandacoupleofdozenswingsdon’treplacethevalueofapriorseasonofhundredsofhoursanddozensofgamesandopportunities.i) Therefore,webalanceourteamselectionbyequallyweightingpriorseason

coachevaluationswiththecurrentyeartryoutscores.Seerationaleandmethodologyforeachofthesecomponentsbelow.Thisappliestoallageswiththeexceptionofage9,asnoprioryearevaluationexists.

4) Priorseasoncoachevaluationsa) Asmentioned,ourplayersspendhundredsofhoursover4months

demonstratingtheirbaseballskillandIQ,teamworkandcoach-abilityinpracticeandgamesituations.i) Webelievethesefactorsareimportantconsiderationsintoachievingour

goalsofplayerdevelopmentandaligningtherightplayerstotheappropriatecompetitivelevel.

ii) Werequire3coachestosubmitplayerevaluationsandvalidatethecoachevaluationsagainsteachotheraswellastheseason’sbasichittingandpitchingstatisticstoensureobjectivity.Thiscompilationandassessmentisaprimaryaccountabilityoftheplayeragent.

b) Coachesevaluatetheirplayersonhitting,pitching,fielding(infield,outfieldandcatching),baserunningandintangibles(baseballIQ,sportsmanship,goodteammate,coach-ability),withplayersgenerallygroupedintothirds(top,middle,bottom)ateachskill–whichareasaretheytheleadersoftheirteam,whichareasaretheysolidperformers,andwhichareasmaytheyneedimprovementateachskillfortheircurrentlevelofplay.

c) PlayersthatdoNOThaveacomparablepriorseasoncoachevaluation(eithernewtotheassociation,orplayedin-house)willbehandledonanexception

CAA BB/SB Mission - To develop players and fuel their passion for the game

basisbygatheringpriorseasondatawhenavailable,withtheplayeragentandtheagedirectorestablishingaproperbaselineforcomparison.

5) Tryoutprocessandweightingsa) Webelieveanindependenttryoutprocessisanopportunityforourchildren

todemonstratetheirabilities,andtovalidatetheirskillsorshowprogressfromthepriorseason.Thisisalsoanimportantinputbothintotheteamselectionandtheplayerdevelopment–theplayeragentneedstohelpthecoacheswhoselectplayerstorealizetherelativestrengthsandopportunitiesofeachplayer,toallowcoachestoworkwiththeirteamsandtheindividualplayer’sneeds.

b) Forthetryouts,ourindependentevaluatorsareassessinghitting,pitching,fieldingandspeed.Webelieveall4skillareasareimportantforourplayerstodevelopandtoensureteamcompetitivenessatalllevelsofplay.Weweighthitting,pitchingandfielding30%each,withspeedat10%.Seetheappendixfortheevaluationformusedandthescoringsystemforeachskill.

i) Hitting(30%weight)–weevaluatelivehitting(withapitchingmachine)andfronttossdrillstoassessqualityofcontactandform.• Eachplayerwillreceive2warmuppitchesandthen10swingsineachof

the2drills.Eachswingwillbeindividuallyworthupto5points,makingeachdrillworth50points.Formandmechanicswillbeevaluatedwithanoverallscorefrom1-10,thereforeworth17%(10/60)ofeachdrill.Thepitchingmachinewillgenerallybesetatthefollowingspeeds:

CAA BB/SB Mission - To develop players and fuel their passion for the game

ii) Pitching(30%weight)–wearelookingforvelocity,control(location),abilitytothrowoff-speedpitches(especiallyattheolderlevels),andform.Playerswillpitchfromamoundtoavolunteercatcherasapreference.Thepitchingdistancewillbethedistanceestablishedfortheirtravelage.• Eachplayerwillgetaseriesofwarmuppitchesandthenbeevaluatedon

8pitches,witheachpitchworthupto5points,makingthedrillworth40points.Formwillbeevaluatedasanoverallscoreof1-10,thereforeworth20%(10/50)ofthecategory.

iii) Fielding(30%weight)–wewillevaluateallkidsoninfieldandoutfield,withcatchingasanoptionalcategory.Wewillincludeaplayers’top2outofthe3fieldingskillareas(infield,outfieldandcatching).Ifaplayerisnotacatcherthatdoesn’thurttheirscores,butifaplayer’sprimarypositioniscatchertheywillbeabletobenefitfromhavingthisskill.Playersneedtobeversatile,andbeingsolidat2ofthe3levelsisimportanttoaplayer’sdevelopmentandateam’sabilitytofieldateamwithavarietyofoptions.Catchingisapremiumatalllevelsandweneeddepthonallteams.• Infield,wearelookingfortheplayer’sabilitytousegoodform,makea

cleanplay,andmakeastrongandaccuratethrowacrossthediamond.(a) Eachplayerwillreceive6grounders,andeachgrounderwillbe

individuallyscoredat5points.Formwillbeevaluatedasanoverallscoreof1-10,thereforeworth25%(10/40)ofthecategory.

Age Speed9s/10s 40-45MPH11s 45-50MPH12s 50-55MPH13s 55-60MPH

14s/15s 60-65MPH

CAA BB/SB Mission - To develop players and fuel their passion for the game

• Outfield,wearelookingfortheplayer’sabilitytocatchontheruninalldirections(a) Playerswillreceive4opportunitiestocompleterunningcatchesin

multipledirections.Eachopportunitywillbeworth5points.Formwillbeevaluatedasanoverallscoreof1-5,thereforeworth20%(5/25)ofthecategory.

• Catching(optional)–wewillassessabilitytoframepitches,blockballsandthrowto2nd.(a) Eachplayerwillreceive3opportunitiesforeachdrill,witheach

opportunityworth5points.Formiseffectivelymeasuredineachdrill,thereforenotaseparateweightingforcatching.

iv) Speed(10%weight)–eachplayerwillcomplete2drills–scoringfrom2ndtohomefromapitcher’sfirstmovement,andashuttlerunsimilartotheonecompletedinschools.Eachplayerwillget2attemptsateachdrillwiththefastestoftheirtimescounting.Scoringwillbeestablishedbasedonthefastestscoreforeachage,receivinga10pointscore,withazeroscoresetat2xtheclockedtimeofthefastestkid.

(a) Forexample,ifthefastestkidfinishesin6.0seconds,thisplayerwillreceive10points.Ifanyplayerfinishesat12.0secondsorworse,theywillgetzeropoints.Allothertimesareonalinearplaneofthefastesttimeandthe2xtimewithpointsfrom0-10setaccordingly=6.6secondswouldreceivea9,7.2secondswouldreceivean8,etc.

6) Teamselectionprocess

CAA BB/SB Mission - To develop players and fuel their passion for the game

a) HeadCoachselectionprocessi) CoachesareselectedbytheAgeDirector,inconjunctionwiththePlayer

AgentandVPofBaseballii) ProspectiveCoachesareaskedtoregistermuchliketheplayersregister,

usingtheon-linesystem.Coacheswillbeaskedtoconductabackgroundcheckandcompleteconcussiontraining(everythreeyears).

iii) Successfullyregisteredheadcoachapplicantswillbeinterviewedbyaboard-selectedpanelanddeemedqualifiedbasedonacombinationofinterviewfeedbackandprioryearparent/coachesevaluations.

iv) Aheadcoachwillbeselectedfromthepooloflockedplayersunlessamajorityofthethree(theagedirector,playeragent,andVPofbaseball)deemnocoachfromthelockedpoolasqualified,inwhichcase,theyreservetherighttoexpandthepoolofprospectivecoaches.

b) SelectionofAssistantCoachesi) TheselectionofAssistantCoachesisconductedbytheHeadCoach.Thisis

atthediscretionoftheHeadCoachonly.c) Asmentioned,thenumberofteamsandlevelswillbedeterminedbythe

numberofplayerstryingoutandtheirrelativeskilllevelsateachage.Wewillrelyonourphilosophyandgoalsofplayerdevelopmentandteamcompetivenesstodeterminelevels.i) Webelievekidswillhavemorefunandbemorelikelytostaywithbaseball

iftheyhavesustainedandrelativesuccess,andtheirteamisrelativelycompetitive.Havingkidsover-matchedorunder-matchedisdoingadisservicetoourkidsandourprogram.Placingkidsatlevelsthatmatchtheirskills,andmakingsurewegettherightkidsontherightlevelsisourprimarymission.

ii) Bybalancingpriorseasonsuccesswithcurrentseasontryoutscores,webelievethisprovidesusmultipleperspectivesanddatapointstomake

CAA BB/SB Mission - To develop players and fuel their passion for the game

thesedecisions.Noformulaisperfectorguaranteesresults,andjustasparentsandcoacheswillallhavedifferentperspectivesonwhoisthe3rdvs.4thbestplayerinanyseasonorduringanygame,ouroverallteamselectionhasthesamemarginoferror.

iii) Weestablishpool-eligibilityateachlevel(startingatAAAandcascadingtoAAandAteamselections)bytakingtheprioryearAAAteam,plusthetop4-6playersatAA(determinedbytheblendedweightofall3coachevaluationsandvalidatedbythebasichittingandpitchingstatistics).• Wealsoallowfor2“wild-cardselections”tojointhepool,forthosekids

a)whodidn’tparticipateinourtravelteamsorassociationorb)werecoach-ratedbelowtop-AA(usingtheAAApoolasexample).Thisallowsforamarginoferrorintheblendedevaluationsoftheplayers.These2selectionswillhavethehighesttryoutscoresofthekidsoutsideofthatspecificpool.Thetotalpoolwillthereforegenerallybe6-8kidslargerthanthenumberofplayersfortheteamsbeingselected.

• Basedontheblendedrankingoftryoutsandpriorseasoncoachevaluations,we‘lock’inthetop8playersforeachlevel.Theselectedcoachrecommendstotheplayeragenttheirproposed4slotstofilltheteam.Theplayeragentisresponsibletoensurethe4slotsarefilledmostjudiciouslybasedonourtryoutandteamselectionprocess,lookingattheremainingplayersinthateligiblepool,lookingattryoutscores,priorseasoncoachevaluationsandbasichitting/pitchingstats,aswellasunderstandingtheirdepthatkeypositions(pitchingandcatching).Playersintheeligiblepoolmaybeveryequalorinterchangeableinscoresandrankings,andsoitistheprimaryresponsibilityoftheplayeragenttolookoutforthebestinterestofthePLAYERSandfollowthespiritofthePROCESS.

CAA BB/SB Mission - To develop players and fuel their passion for the game

• Oncethefirstteamisselected,thenthenextlevelofplayerswillbesimilarlyassignedbytheplayeragent,whoworkswiththeselectedcoachtofillthisteam’srosterspots,cascadingallthewaythroughtheavailableplayersthathavetriedout.

7) Communicationofteamsselectionresults• Beforeteamsarecommunicated,theplayeragentwillsummarizethe

teamselectionsandreviewwiththebaseballdirectorateachagetoprovideextrasetsofeyestothecalculationsandtheoutcomes.

• Beforeteamsareposted,theheadcoachesshallNOTcommunicatetoanyoftheplayers,parentsorotherpotentialassistantcoachestokeepourprocessefficientandinthebestinterestofourplayers.

• Oncethisiscomplete,theplayeragentwillposttherostersontheCAAwebsiteandcommunicatetothecoachesonceitisappropriatetocommunicatewiththeplayersontheirroster.Ourgoalistoensureaccuracyofourteamrostersaswellassimultaneouscommunicationoftherosterstoallplayersandparents.

• TheBOCreviewsthefinaloutcomesofteamselectionsatitsnextscheduledmeetingafterteamsareformedtoreviewplayeragentsummariesofoverallsequenceofplayerselectionsbyteamandanyproposedchangestoprocess.

Anyotherexceptionsordisputeswillbehandledwiththeplayeragent,thebaseballdirectorofthatagegroup,andtheVPofBaseball.Questionsshouldbedirectedtotheapplicableplayeragentfortheagelevel.

CAA BB/SB Mission - To develop players and fuel their passion for the game

8) Appendix

IndependentTryouts

50%50%

TeamSelectionWeighting

PriorYrCoachEvals

IndependentTryouts

30%

30%

30%

10%

IndependentTryoutSkillsWeighting

Hitting

Pitching

Fielding

Speed

CAA BB/SB Mission - To develop players and fuel their passion for the game

Average Tryout Tryout Blended DraftPlayer Tryout# PYTeam CoachRank Score Rank Rank Status Hit Pitch IF OF Catch SpeedAAA1 53 AAA 3 94.9 1 2.0 LOCK 96 93 96 96 - 95AAA2 47 AAA 2 69.8 13 7.5 LOCK 81 53 60 72 78 70AAA3 29 AAA 1 69.2 15 8.0 LOCK 68 80 53 56 - 85AAA4 11 AAA 5 79.8 4 4.5 LOCK 86 76 73 68 80 85AAA5 77 AAA 4 71.7 8 6.0 LOCK 62 78 69 76 60 80AAA6 64 AAA 6 70.8 11 8.5 LOCK 81 60 62 72 78 60AAA7 18 AAA 8 48.2 19 13.5 43 49 47 40 - 75AAA8 41 AAA 7 70.7 12 9.5 CoachPick1 89 56 64 56 91 40AAA9 82 AAA 10 68.5 16 13.0 CoachPick3AAA10 12 AAA 12 47.0 20 16.0AAA11 14 AAA 11 87.0 2 6.5 LOCKAAA12 16 AAA 9 67.4 18 13.5AA1 76 AA 16 71.0 9 12.5 CoachPick2AA2 68 AA 15 83.0 3 9.0 LOCKAA3 44 AA 14 75.4 7 10.5 CoachPick4AA4 18 AA 13 69.8 13 13.0AA5 22 AA 17 68.3 17 17.0AA6 97 AA 18 71.0 9 13.5AA11 85 AA 19 77.7 5 12.0NA2 5 Austin** 24 76.0 6 15.0

**PrioryearplayedequivalentofhighA,LowAAperparentanddiscussionwithcoach.Teamplaced3rdinTXstatetournament.***SAMPLEDATAFROMFIRSTTRYOUTGROUP**RESTOFPLAYERSWOULDALSOHAVEDATAPROVIDED

TryoutData-100ScaleforEachSkill***

TeamSelections-AAAExample

CAA BB/SB Mission - To develop players and fuel their passion for the game

5 Hardlinedrive Strongvelocity,greatlocation CleanField,Strongandaccuratethrow Smoothandfluid,catch4 Qualityflyball,hardgrounder Strongvelocity,strikezone Cleanfield,strongbutslightlyofftarget Smoothandfluid,gloved3 Mediumcontact Averagevelocity,strikezone Bobbled,strongbutslightlyofftarget Solidform,catch2 Weakgrounderorpopup Belowavgvelocityorlocation Bobbled,averagethrow Solidform,miss1 Marginalcontact-tick,foul Belowavgvelocity&location Botched,weakorwildthrow Belowaverageform,gloved0 Nocontact Wildmissorweakvelocity Missedgrounder,weak&wildornothrowBelowaverageform,miss

Pinnie#

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm5 5 4 5 5 5 4 3 4 5 5 5 5 3 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 4 5 5 5 4 3 5 5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 Frm F1 F2 F3 B1 B2 B3 T1 T2 T3 1 2 1 25 5 5 5 5 5 3 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 8.2 8.0 6.0 7.9

Pinnie#

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm3 4 4 3 4 5 4 3 3 3 4 5 5 5 4 4 5 4 3 2 2 3 2 1 3 3 4 3 4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 Frm F1 F2 F3 B1 B2 B3 T1 T2 T3 1 2 1 23 3 3 3 3 2 4 3 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 3 5 3 2 8.8 9.0 7.2 9.0

Pinnie#

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm5 5 4 4 5 5 4 2 3 3 4 5 5 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 4 2 2 4 4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 Frm F1 F2 F3 B1 B2 B3 T1 T2 T3 1 2 1 22 3 3 3 2 4 3 3 4 2 2 2 4 3 3 2 9.8 9.6 6.0 11.0

Pinnie#

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm5 5 4 4 5 5 4 3 3 3 4 5 5 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 4 3 3 4 4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 Frm F1 F2 F3 B1 B2 B3 T1 T2 T3 1 2 1 24 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 2 3 5 4 3 3 3 4 5 3 4 4 5 3 3 3 2 10.0 9.6 6.6 9.0

Pinnie#

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm4 4 3 4 2 5 2 4 3 2 2 4 3 2 2 3 5 2 4 4 4 5 4 3 4 3 3 3 4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 Frm F1 F2 F3 B1 B2 B3 T1 T2 T3 1 2 1 24 4 3 4 4 3 2 3 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 10.4 10.5 7.2 9.0

Pinnie#

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm3 4 4 3 4 5 4 5 3 3 4 5 5 5 4 4 5 4 3 2 2 3 3 3 4 2 3 3 4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 Frm F1 F2 F3 B1 B2 B3 T1 T2 T3 1 2 1 23 3 3 4 3 2 4 4 5 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 3 3 3 2 8.8 8.9 7.8 9.9

Pinnie#

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm2 1 2 3 3 4 3 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 3 2 2 3 3 3 2 3 2 1 2 2 2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 Frm F1 F2 F3 B1 B2 B3 T1 T2 T3 1 2 1 22 2 3 2 2 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 1 2 8.8 8.9 6.6 9.4

Pinnie#

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frm 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm5 5 4 5 4 4 5 4 4 3 4 5 5 4 4 5 5 4 2 2 3 4 3 3 4 3 2 2 2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frm 1 2 3 4 Frm F1 F2 F3 B1 B2 B3 T1 T2 T3 1 2 1 24 3 2 3 3 2 4 3 4 3 5 4 3 2 3 2 5 4 5 4 5 5 4 3 2 9.6 9.9 8.4 9.5

Catching(optional) Shuttle

Catching(optional) Shuttle

Hitting Pitching Infield Outfield

41

Hitting-Live(Machine) Infield Pitching

Hitting-(FrontToss) Outfield Speed

18

Hitting-Live(Machine) Infield Pitching

Hitting-(FrontToss) Outfield Speed

Catching(optional) Shuttle

Catching(optional) Shuttle64

Hitting-Live(Machine) Infield Pitching

Hitting-(FrontToss) Outfield Speed

TryoutEvaluationForm

77

Hitting-Live(Machine) Infield Pitching

Hitting-(FrontToss) Outfield Speed

11

Hitting-Live(Machine) Infield Pitching

Hitting-(FrontToss) Outfield Speed

29

Hitting-Live(Machine) Infield Pitching

Hitting-(FrontToss) Outfield SpeedCatching(optional) Shuttle

Catching(optional) Shuttle

53

47

Hitting-Live(Machine) Infield Pitching

Hitting-(FrontToss) Outfield Speed

SpeedCatching(optional)

Catching(optional) Shuttle

Hitting-Live(Machine) Infield Pitching

Hitting-(FrontToss) Outfield Shuttle