Payment Links Active

In case you haven't noticed, the payment links are now active also.  If your boy is on a Tier-1 team the cost is $150, a Tier-2 team is $295.  Just like last year we are offering you the option of purchasing an extra pair of baseball pants for $15.  This is especially important for Tier-2 players as they will be playing in a lot of games and one pair may not cut it (especially for those kids that like to get dirty!) 

 

The process is very simple. Just follow the payment link on the website, and provide the primary email address you used when you signed up your boy.  Hit LOOKUP and it will tell you what you owe and give you the option for the extra pants.  There is "Pay by Check" button and a "Buy Now" button for Credit/debit cards via Google Checkout.  

 

If you opt to pay by check you will be presented with a remittance form and the name and address of our treasurer which is where you will mail it.  

 

If you opt to pay via credit or debit card, you will be handed off to Google Checkout where you can complete the transaction.  You don't have to create a Google account to use Credit/Debit.   When you complete the transaction we get an email notification that you paid.   There is a 2% fee to use this method to help cover the transaction fees we get charged.  

 

Here's the direct link also:  http://www.hjrb.org/?page=PaymentForm.asp 

 

Payments are due March 1.  

 

 

*** Also - don't forget about our  Five Dollar Wednesday Workouts, there's one tonight ***

 

 

Thanks,

Brian Kayser, President

Holt Jr. Rams Baseball

www.hjrb.org 

Welcome to the 2012 baseball season!

Welcome Holt Jr. Rams Baseball Parents,

 

We are pleased to welcome back 130 players from last year and about 65 new players for us this season.  Many of the new kids may be siblings of kids that have already played for Jr. Rams Baseball, but many are new and consequently there are many new families that are new to all of this!  A big welcome to all of you!! 

 

The teams have been formed and have now been posted on the www.hjrb.org website.  These are still somewhat preliminary as each year a few kids drop out and we sometimes need to adjust the numbers.  If a lot drop we may even need to eliminate a team and redistribute players.  We hope this doesn’t happen but has in the past. 

 

As we sit right now,

• We have four U14 teams (Three Tier-2 and one Tier-1.)  Two of these teams will play in a U13 division. 
• We will have five U12 teams (Three Tier-2 and two Tier-1 teams)  
• And we will have seven U10 teams again (one Tier-2 and six Tier-1 teams). 

 

Just to recap our process.  The HJRB Board of Directors met to assemble the teams. The evaluation scores were used to group the boys by skill level.  We play in the Mid-Michigan PONY League and there are various skill levels/divisions from A – G with Division A being the toughest.  In order to compete in these various divisions we need to assemble teams the same way.  We cannot group kids based on friend requests, the school they attend, or randomly.  We absolutely  can’t do a draft (or spread the talent) as that would result in all our teams having some kids that are exceptional, some that are middle of the road, and some that are still learning the basics.   We need to build our “A” teams, then “B” teams, etc., in order to compete in the respective PONY divisions.  This also matches the kids up with other kids of similar skill level so there isn’t a wide disparity of ability.  We want all the boys to have a chance to win some games, improve their skills, and have fun.  We try our best to assemble the teams for this purpose and try to get them in the appropriate division so they play against kids of equivalent skills.   We don’t want teams that get squashed every game, and on the flip side, we don’t want our teams to be in a division where they blowout all the other teams.  We want good quality match-ups and that is what we will try to accomplish; the goal is to have fun and continuously improve.

 

Tier-2 teams play in four tournaments, have indoor practice that starts in March, and usually practice a lot more.  These teams require a lot of time commitment from the kids and parents.  We build as many as we can as long as we feel they will be able to compete at a higher level.  Not all kids that wanted to play on a Tier-2 team were able to be placed on one.  In this case they were placed on a Tier-1 team that best matched their score. 

 

Player fees will be due March 1^st.  The website is ready yet for payment but will be by tomorrow and I will send an email when it is. 

 

A big thank-you to the Holt High School baseball coaches headed up by Nate Potts, varsity head coach, for their help in running the player evaluations.  The process they use is very similar to what your boy will see if he ends up trying out for high school ball. 

 

To checkout the teams, go to the website and go to the TEAMS tab.  For privacy purposes for our kids, a simple registration process may be required to prove you have a kid in our program.  

 

Thanks,

Brian Kayser, President

Holt Jr. Rams Baseball

www.hjrb.org 

Five Dollar Wednesday Workout - tonight

Parents,

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Evaluations this weekend.  We will announce teams next week.  Anyone that missed the evaluations should have received an email with information about our make-up session tonight.  If not, check out the home page of the website (www.hjrb.org).

 

And YES, we are still having the Five Dollar Wednesday Workouts from 7pm to 8:30pm at Capital City Baseball Kingdom.  We will continue until at least April or until interest fades.  Check out the website for more info.

 

 

Thanks,

 

Brian Kayser

President,

Holt Jr. Rams Baseball
 

HJRB Evaluation Information

Parents,

 

Holt Jr. Rams Baseball player evaluations are this weekend (Feb 11 & 12)

 

Have you registered your boy??

 

The sessions are limited to 50 kids and they are filling up.  In fact the 11am sessions on Saturday and Sunday are already full.  If you haven’t registered, do so soon!

 

If anyone would like to switch their evaluation time to the less crowded 1pm or 3pm time slots on Saturday and/or Sunday, let me know. 

 

The kids will be broken down into smaller groups and rotate around to five stations (similar to the bootcamp).  The group sizes will be from 4 - 14 kids with most of the groups around 8 - 10 kids; depending on which time slot your attending.  Make sure your boy gets a bib-number and a group assignment before leaving the checkout table. 

 

Parents will not be allowed inside the gym this year.  Mainly because it gets too crowded/chaotic and becomes a big distraction for the boys.

 

Remember:

 

• $10 is due at the door – this covers both days.  If you can only attend one day, it is still $10.
• Session start times each day are 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm.   Attend the sessions you selected.
• PLEASE arrive 15 minutes before your session’s start time to pay and get checked in!! They will be starting on time!

• Each player will be given a bib-number and safety pins that a parent will need to pin to the shirt. 
• Do not wear cleats!  Wear gym shoes  (better yet, wear boots or outdoor shoes and change into dry gym shoes at the school)
• Wear a cup and bring your ball mitt.
• If you have them, bring your bat, batting helmet, and batting gloves. There will be an area set aside to store bat bags.
• Please no food and no sunflower seeds!!
• These Evaluations are conducted completely by the Holt high school baseball coaching staff with assistance from many of the high school players. Only the adult coaching staff will be doing the actual visual evaluation and determination of the scoring.  
  

Also - after one of your evaluations, please stop by the uniform sizing table which will be down the hall by the cafeteria.  There your boy can try on jerseys, pants, and hats to find his exact size.  This will greatly help us ensure your boy is fitted with the proper sizes.  There should be someone there to help but it will be up to you to fill-in the sizes on the provided sheets.  

 

If you attended bootcamp and did not get your shirt, we will have them this weekend.

 

Thanks,

Brian Kayser, President

Holt Jr. Rams Baseball

www.hjrb.org

 

 

 

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HJRB and Freshman Baseball

Dear Parents of potential High School freshman baseball players,

 

This is an exciting and I'm sure  nervous time.  All the years of baseball, and now... will he make the freshman team??  Good luck to all of you! On behalf of the entire HJRB Board of Directors, we hope he does; that is a big reason of why we exist!!

 

However, they can only take so many players of course.  If your boy will still be 14 or younger by April 30th he can still play in U14 for HJRB.  So if you would like to rely on HJRB as a fallback, that is fine, but you must register and attend evaluations along with everyone else.  

 

As I understand it, it will be towards the end of March before you will know if your boy made the freshman team.  We will be forming our teams by the end of February.  So we will place your boy on a team and then if he makes the Freshman team that is great, we understand!  We will remove him from the HJRB team and fill in as necessary.  

 

If you opt for a  Tier-1 team we can work with you on withholding payment until you know for sure.  However, if you opt for a Tier-2 team and he is placed on a Tier-2 team, you must pay in full because indoor practice sessions start March 10th and he should participate and be fully committed.  If he makes the Freshman team, you will be refunded the player fees minus the number of indoor practice sessions he attended ($10 per weekend). 

 

Please note - come the end of March, if your boy does not make the freshman team and wants to play HJRB but you did not register or attend the player evaluations, he will NOT be placed on a team.  The only exception to this is if we are hurting for players and need a few extra to round out the teams, then we may make an exception if he has played with us in the past.  
 

So please don't feel bad about starting the process with us and then jumping to Freshman ball; this happens every year and we expect that and will be happy for him!  We prefer that vs trying to get on a team last minute!!!

 

Thanks,

Brian Kayser

HJRB - President. 

$5 Wednesday Workout

Just a reminder, 7pm - 8:30pm tonight.  Next Wednesday also (I may not send a reminder next week)... 

 

Brian Kayser

HJRB - President.