Cooperstown Packing List and Other Insider Information

Transcription

1 Cooperstown Packing List and Other Insider Information NAME OR NUMBER ON EVERYTHING YOU BRING! Bat Bag packed with everything you will need for game day: (clean everything else out before you go.) All of your Mitts (outfield, infield, 1st base, catchers) Bats (check grips) (no wooden bats allowed during games) Catchers pack ALL your equipment. (Mask, chest guard, shin guards, cup ) White Baseball Pants 2 pair with elastic hem, no stripe, required to be worn pulled above calves. Sliding Pants 1 blue belt, 1 red belt Batting Helmet Batting Gloves (check condition) Cup Tennis Shoes/Turf Shoes Cleats (no metal cleats) o If you are getting new cleats make sure that they are worn in, you don t need blistered feet, so pack old ones with your clothes Provided by Cooperstown (Game gear) 1 Game Hat 1 Red Jersey, 1 Blue Jersey (Numbers Smaller numbers are smaller jerseys, etc.) 1 pair blue socks, 1 pair red socks (if you want to bring your own socks or have extras - no logos visible on sides) Other misc items that vary from year-to-year have included a non-game hat, pullover and under jersey gear. Pack and bring with you in a soft sided bag: Required by Cooperstown: (players and coaches) o Sandals for the shower - keep athlete s foot away, and no cut feet on the way to the shower (required) o Bathing Suit for the shower. (Required to wear bathing suit in shower. Can buy a really quick dry cheap suit and cut out the mesh liner.) Undergear short and long sleeve. (Shirts are polyester, early games and late games can be cold, mid day games can be hot.) Game Jersey from your team (to wear running around the park) Team Hat (not for games just for team spirit) Sweatshirt Sneakers (for when we aren't playing baseball) Shampoo, Liquid Soap, Toothpaste, Toothbrush (in a case), DEODORANT, vitamins, allergy medicine, Fast Actin Tinactin, drinking cup, Gold Bond Powder, Band-Aids, hand sanitizer (preventative and if someone gets sick). A baggie or small mesh bag to carry your stuff to the bathroom Sun Screen Extra glasses or contacts and extra saline solution 2 Bath Towels & Washcloths Sleeping Bag or Sheets & Blanket (or both) C town provides 1 fitted sheet / bed Pillow

2 Sleeping clothes (No heat/air conditioning gets cold at night.) Walking around clothes (shorts, T-shirt, socks, underwear, etc.) Something to keep their pins in. Zip lock bag with a golf towel or hand towel. Some players take a list and mark off the teams. Coaches bring a flashlight for emergencies in the middle of the night. OPTIONAL: Rain poncho (put in bat bag) Rain is common in Cooperstown and it is a long walk for players. Whiffle ball bat and balls. Hundreds of pickup games played during downtime with other teams. Extra Baseball pants Extra Socks (no logos on sides) Extra shoelaces Money for the concession stand inside the Village Quarters for the Arcade Game Boy/iPod and Extra Batteries (or similar) Something to read Sweat Pants & Sweat Shirt Kodak one-use camera (and hope for some good pictures) Please Remember: As of 2010 there is no Sports Authority in Cooperstown. There is a storage foot locker for each player...bring SMALL COMBINATION LOCK IF YOU WANT IT LOCKED Packing Hint Don t over pack! Don t over pack! Don t over pack! Players tend to wear the same clothes every day. The coaches send them out to be washed; the players put them back in the top of their foot locker and put them back on the next day. All the clean clothes at the bottom of the footlocker will still be there when you put them back in the suitcase. Uniforms Home team wears red and visiting team wears blue, socks must match jersey. All players are supposed to look the same so there is no bling, logos, etc. allowed as part of the uniform. (They do not enforce this rule with the H on Underarmour under gear collars). Finding your player in the common areas is nearly impossible. Jerseys are 1-15 and all players must wear their pants pulled up below their knees. Clothes Washing Coaches put all wash in a bag and send it to the laundry at night and it comes back ready for the next day. If you want your player s laundry to be washed the coaches can include it in this laundry bag. Put your name or #s on pants, mark socks, etc. Your player will probably wear what comes back from the laundry over and over so don t over pack. Dropping Your Player Off When you arrive at Cooperstown Dream Park to check-in you will be given the number of your team s barrack. You will then pull your car into the appropriate line to wait to drive into the barracks. When you drive in you have FIVE minutes to unload your vehicle and immediately move it to a parking lot. You will need to unload suitcases into the players storage locker and take the suitcases with you. This is no joke. Kids will be trading pens and parents will be unloading. After you unload you can park your car in a lot and walk back in to help make up beds. This will be the only time you are allowed in the baseball village until time to go home. If you want to walk your stuff into the village you can park in lot C and drag it all in. Check-in Friday 6:00pm 11:00pm. Early check-in Friday (Two coaches need to be present for the night.) Saturday 8:30am 11:00am. Final check-in time. Parents must exit the baseball village by 11:00am.

3 Check-out Friday NO LATER than 9:00am. For real! If you are there at 8:30 you will be one of the last one s leaving the park. Make sure you know when your coaches want to be gone if they have to catch a plane, etc. a coach must remain until all players are gone and the barracks are cleaned up. Ceremonies Saturday 4:30pm Family Orientation, Opening Ceremonies Field #3 Parents wanting to sit together need to arrive early. It does fill up. Many teams plan ahead to bring signs, dress in team colors and to win the spirit award. Some parents are chosen to participate in the pre-event activities. Grandparents are honored and given special shirts and sit together in a special section. Bring your camera s, videos, some of your player s pins if you want to trade and maybe a drink or two in your bag. The ceremonies are fun they just take a long time. Teams gather at 5:00 and parade in with their banner. They will all be dressed in their red or blue Cooperstown jerseys and lined up alphabetically A-Z. At the end of the group ceremonies the groups participating in the skills competition will go to the appropriate field for their event. All the skills contests occur at the same time. Know where you participating player will compete so you can go there quickly. The final rounds of the team around-the-horn competition will take place on the main field and event winners will be recognized. Thursday 6:00pm Closing Ceremonies Everyone gathers as they did during opening ceremonies but Z-A. There are a few formalities and then the players are introduced individually by a coach and they run out and received their ring. (They can exchange their ring after the ceremonies if it is the wrong size.) They are inducted into the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame. Fireworks follow the ceremony at dusk. Championship game is played after the fireworks. Parents are authorized to take their kids will them after closing ceremonies. Do not be surprised if many of your kids really want to watch the championship game and spend that last night in the barrack. (Work this out with your coaches before you go to Cooperstown so you won t be caught off guard if all the coaches plan to leave early and your player has to stay with you the last night.) You will need to check them out very early the next morning. Note: Many teams do not take the time before going to Cooperstown to discuss their plans for the final days and closing ceremonies. Many coaches who have not been to closing ceremonies before do not plan to stay for them or do not make plans and wait to see how their team does. The whole team does not have to stay to participate in closing ceremonies, however, a coach must be present to call out the names of those who do so they can go onto the field and receive their rings. Even if your team does not stay players and families can attend the ceremonies. Those of us who have been to Cooperstown more than once recommend you consider staying for the closing ceremonies and you will probably find your players would like to spend the last night in the barracks without the pressure of a game the next day. Many teams who loose early go home so the ceremonies are much shorter and the championship game is fun for the boys. If this is your teams last tournament of the season take the time to end it with a positive experience. A coach must stay with the players if they stay overnight so this must be a coach decision in the end. Game Schedule (weather permitting) Rain can mean you play anytime of the day or night until done. (1:00 a.m., etc ) Tournament Pool Play (Sunday Tuesday) Six pool play games are scheduled at random. Teams play 2 games a day (weather permitting.) Teams play scheduled games daily (weather permitting). Final Championship Tournament Seedings are posted approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of the last 7:00 p.m. game. The single-elimination Championship Tournament begins Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.

4 Single Elimination Championship Tournament: Wednesday playoff game schedule: 10:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, 3:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Thursday playoffs continue at 8:30 a.m. Chicken barbecue dinners for parents and family members are available for a nominal fee in the Parents Pavilion on Thursday afternoon (11:30 a.m. 6:00 p.m.). The single elimination championship tournament is the start of a marathon. Bracket play is intended to weed out weak teams quickly. The top 30 teams get two to three byes. Play starts with team 96 playing team 95, 94 playing 93 and so on. Team #30 waits to really start the serious tournament. Once started, teams will be scheduled to play every 2 hours until eliminated. This is where team ranking is crucial and ranking is dependant on wins and runs allowed. Other Schedule Notes Players Saturday Fri./Sat. Meals/Week Players are busy with team park activities all day on Saturday. Teams report to the baseball village for 2:00pm orientation and must eat as a team for the meal starting at 3:00. Opening ceremonies line-up begins at 5:00. Big days for the players meeting other players and trading pins. Official meals for players and coaches do not start until noon on Saturday. A minimal fee is charged for Saturday morning cereal/bagels meal at the parent s pavilion. Players Meals 6:30-9:30 a.m. Breakfast; 11:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Lunch; 5:00-8:30 p.m. Dinner; *Thursday Dinner 4:00-5:30 p.m. Sun-Tues Sunday Tuesday teams play scheduled games daily 8:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 1:45 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 8:00-10:30 Pin trading, movies, etc. 10:30 p.m. Lights Out Parents Saturday - 11:30am to 4:30pm. A very good chicken barbeque dinner for parents and family members is available for a nominal cost in the Parent s Pavilion (in the center of the baseball park). Coaches with Players Inside the village a player cannot be without a coach at anytime. Players must stay in groups and at least two coaches must be in the village at all times. A coach must be in the barracks if a player is there and players must be escorted to the restrooms, etc. Parents need to keep this in mind before and after games. Signing Players Out There are two little security booths at the players village where you must meet a coach to sign a player out. Players can not go anywhere without a coach. If a lot of players are checking out after a game, make arrangements for everyone to be at the security booth at the same time so only one coach has to manage the sign outs. Players must also be signed in when returning so be sure to have coaches cell phone numbers so they can meet you. Don t expect to be checking your players out very often. The schedule dictates your opportunities and the kids are there to play and hang out with their team. They must attend meals on time or they don t eat. When you get your schedule try to find a time when the team can meet at the hall of fame, it is well worth it. MISCELLANEOUS Pins Team pin trading is a really big thing at Cooperstown. Teams usually bring enough pins for the number of teams playing during their tournament. Pin trading starts in the car line waiting to enter the barracks for drop-off and ends in

5 the stands at closing ceremonies. Be prepared by handing out pins to players before leaving for Cooperstown, including a team list for checking off is useful. Towels for pins are great but zip lock bags are a necessity. Umpires and other park staff have specialty pins which are big talk if you happen to get one. Pin trading is not limited to the players. Parents, siblings, etc will be trading pins all day everyday so you may want to have a few of your players pins in your bag if you don t want to go home with a bunch of your own. Travel Work out how your team plans to get bat bags and bedding to Cooperstown early in the season. If you are flying carry on your glove, it is the one thing that can t be replaced if lost. Be familiar with the luggage charges and rules regarding bats and carry on, most airlines will not allow bats carried on the plane. A rolling golf bag carrier is great for loading with a bat bag and allows room to stuff with towels, etc. Check with your airline to see if it qualifies as a regular piece of luggage. Eating in Cooperstown Cooperstown is a small community. There are good restaurants in town with fun atmosphere and good food. Ask around about where not to eat because of tourist prices, some of the restaurants nearer the park fit in this category. T.J. s in town serves great breakfast and other meals and huge servings. Sal s pizzeria in town is good for large groups very casual. Be careful with refills, there are a few places that charge you for each one without warning. Dreams Park Food concession is really good and very reasonable. They have breakfast stuff, burgers, sandwiches, etc. Concession stands are open no matter what time your game is. They are very busy between games so if you need drinks for your players between games plan ahead. There is a grocery store not far from the park. Downtown Cooperstown Don t miss the town of Cooperstown; it is only a few miles past the park. It s great fun to walk around. Downtown Cooperstown has a variety of rental apartments and homes in walking distance. Some very good Bed and Breakfasts are available in walking distance of downtown for parents looking for a very leisurely visit. If you stay outside of the town of Cooperstown don t miss visiting main street for a walk and baseball shopping Try to find time to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame it really is worth it for parents, grandparents and players. Doubleday Baseball Park in downtown Cooperstown hosts games throughout the summer and special events and concerts are scheduled throughout the year ( Entering and Exiting the Park You must drive in and out of the park. You cannot enter or exit on foot for security purposes. You cannot walk across the street for ice cream. Chairs The park provides chairs at each field. There are no bleachers. They have the large plastic chairs that you just set anywhere within the parents area. Seating is along the side line and opens to the field behind a knee wall. Lots of Walking Be prepared to walk a long way. The parking is at the front of the park and there are at least three sets of fields that are one after the other. It s a nice walk but you don t want to carry anything you don t have to. Grandparents can get a ride on the volunteer golf carts. There are pick up at the benches throughout the park. Weather Weather in Cooperstown is unpredictable. According to weather.com the average high is 74 and the average low is 52 for June. However, the record high is 91 and the record low is 38. June has the most rain. It can rain without warning. Come prepared with an umbrella and maybe even a poncho. There are very few covered areas and you can be very wet by the time you get there. They watch the radar and have it down to a science. They will know when it is going to rain and if it is going to quit and they will play any moment they can. It can be very warm and then suddenly be very cold one night. Bring something warm just in case.

6 Photos They take great photos. The team photo and the funny team photo are worth the purchase. You should check often to see if you want to order any. To save money have them shipped with someone else s pictures otherwise they charge to ship each order. If you like to take pictures bring your camera. There is no fence between you and the game just a short wall. Watching Games on Web Cam Many of the fields have a web cam and those left at home can watch games on-line. Especially the bracket play. You can find them on the website Cell Phones Cell phone coverage is good for some and terrible for others. Let those back home know your phone may not work, or may work occasionally. Don t forget your charger. If you allow players to bring their phones you will get less calls from their parents. Pitching Rules There are no pitching limits at Cooperstown. Team/Park Rules Cooperstown is strict on everything. As an example, players are told that they must wear their uniform properly. Getting caught with shirt tail out or wearing one s cap backwards is grounds for a game suspension. Teams must stay together as a unit in the baseball village. Coaches must be in visual and verbal contact at all times. Coach and Parent Conduct Cooperstown is all about the love and fun of baseball. It s about kids playing the game of baseball with their coaches, not about parents. No inappropriate or abusive behavior is tolerated by parents or coaches. Umpires are essentially volunteers and are instructed to keep things enjoyable. Anyone behaving inappropriately or rudely will be asked to leave, coaches included. Take your vacation attitude to the field and enjoy some great baseball. The coach s packet with more information and the rules Have a great time! 2011