From 2008 Website: - Mounds View Public Schools



January 15, 2021

MVHS Baseball Parents,

The purpose of this letter is to outline the summer baseball opportunities for MVHS high school students. I know people are beginning to look at their summer plans, and organizations’ planning for summer baseball is underway.

First, I strongly encourage baseball players to play baseball in the summer; this is a critical time for continued development of personal and team skills. Most high school players play baseball in the summer. That said, we evaluate players in the spring for the high school season based upon what they can do on the baseball field, regardless of whether they played summer baseball the previous summer or not.

The following should help provide some perspective for those who want it, as well as some contacts at the bottom who can be contacted for further information.

If you already have a good understanding of summer baseball for high school age players, read no further!…

Prior to the high school years, SAYB has been the primary source of summer baseball opportunities. Now in high school, there is SAYB, VFW, and the Tri-City Red Legion program.

In recent years, Club Baseball has become an option for players in the summer in addition to the fall and winter. While my first choice is that Mounds View players play with other Mounds View players in the summer with SAYB, VFW and Tri-City Red Legion, I understand the interest in Club Baseball for some players, and we support that. Again, the bottom line is that we think it is very beneficial to play baseball in the summer; wherever that may be best for each player.

My intent here is NOT to speak for the SAYB and Tri-City Red Legion programs, but simply to help provide some perspective on how these organizations all fit during the high school years. I can speak for VFW as I personally help run this program.

I know that I DO speak for SAYB and Tri-City Red Legion when I say that the MVHS Baseball program, SAYB, VFW and Tri-City Red Legion are all committed to working together as much as possible; for the most part it’s the same players, and we all have the same high level goal of providing positive baseball playing experiences for the players.

Here is my attempt to explain it all…

The short answer is that most players play SAYB through 15’s, VFW as a 16 year-old, and then Tri-City Red Legion. It’s generally that straightforward, but if you want more specifics, read on:

SAYB sponsors teams for 14 and 15 year-olds (MV Freshmen). Since most of you are very familiar with SAYB, you know as much or more than me. The age cutoff is April 30. Registration for the SAYB “Big League” (13-15) is open and is done online at .

Beginning with 16 year-olds, things get a little different…

VFW:

o Students attending Mounds View High School “who are 16 and have not turned 17 by June 1, 2021 are eligible to participate.” So, it’s age as of May 31. Note that the May 31 cutoff for VFW is different than the April 30 cutoff for SAYB 15’s.

• A student who is 15 is allowed to participate if they are currently a sophomore at Mounds View High School in the current school year.

• Students home schooled and living within the Mounds View High School boundaries are also eligible.

• I oversee the VFW program. Mike Odom is the Head Coach. Scott Oberg and I are Assistant Coaches. We coach in the summer because we believe it is a critical time for the high school coaches to coach the baseball players in the summer given the short high school season and sometimes poor weather conditions.

• The VFW organization requires affiliation with a VFW Post to participate. The Kraus-Hartig VFW Post in Spring Lake Park agrees to provide that affiliation for us each summer but does not supply any funding for the program. The costs for the VFW program are totally covered by the registration fees.

• Information about registration and tryouts will be provided in March. There will be a tryout on a weekend in May if needed.

American Legion Baseball:

• For Mounds View students, one American Legion Baseball team is sponsored by the Tri-City American Legion. The team’s web page is: .

• The Tri-City Red Legion team has MVHS as its home base school – meaning it is open to Mounds View High School students and students who live within the Mounds View High School boundaries but do not attend Mounds View High School (they attend a private school, for example). There are also numerous rules pertaining to players who want to tryout with, or transfer to, a team that is not based at their "home base" school of attendance. In addition, there are regulations covering players who attend a school at which no Legion team is based. If you want more information on these rules, see the contact information below. The bottom line is that American Legion individual team eligibility rules can be very complex. If interested in learning more about team eligibility rules feel free to contact the Tri City representatives for additional information.

• With the age-cutoff being 19, some players who have completed their freshman year of college are eligible to play legion baseball.

• Information about registration and tryouts will be provided in March. There will be a tryout on a weekend in May.

• Tri-City Red Legion is coached by Head Coach Nik Anderson (MVHS Alum).

In Closing

The bottom line is that if you live within the Mounds View High School boundaries, and your son does NOT have a May birthday, it’s pretty straightforward. If you live outside the Mounds View High School boundaries and/or your son’s birthday is in May, then it can get more confusing, and you may want to contact one of the people below to insure you have a clear understanding.

Again, I think it’s important for players that want to improve to play summer baseball. The high school season is extremely short (slightly more than half the time as compared to sports like basketball and hockey for example), so the summer baseball experience is important. SAYB, VFW and Tri-City Red Legion work hard within all the regulations to place players on teams that afford them with the most competitive opportunity to play summer baseball.

Hopefully, I’ve helped provide some perspective versus created more confusion. I am more than happy to help; please feel free to contact me. I am also not the expert on all the specific regulations - Please also feel free to contact the SAYB and Tri-City Red Legion contacts below to answer any specific questions you may have.

Regards,

Mark Downey

VFW: No Web Site

Mike Odom Scott Oberg

mikerobtodom@ scott.oberg@

(612) 810-4055 612-310-3482

Mark Downey

mark.downey@

(612) 716-1088

Tri-City Red American Legion:

Nik Anderson, Head Coach

nia39828@bethel.edu

(651) 497-7222

Gail Kalata, Tri-City Legion Manager and District 4 Director

info@

(651) 592-4279

SAYB:

Chris Henrich, SAYB, VP Big League

chrishenrich@

(651) 587-7050

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