Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
If your baseball playing/loving son/daughter hasn't reached age 12 yet and you haven't heard about it yet, please try to arrange getting on a team going to the Cooperstown Dreams Park for their 12U season. For those unfamiliar, the Cooperstown Dreams Park has run weekly tournaments from June through August since 1996 and is open to any team eligible to play 12U (born after May 1 of the calendar year). I can't do it justice in this thread, but my son's team participated 2 weeks ago and it was an amazing time for him and for me as well, and I wanted to share a little of that.
There was the full spectrum of playing ability on display there, from teams of hand-picked kids across multiple states and rumored to fly in extra kids just to pitch in one playoff game on down to undersized local/town teams from around the USA and Canada. After 3 days of doubleheaders (including at least 2 webcast games per team for all the folks at home), all 104 teams were seeded in a single-elimination tournament, wherein the teams with the better records received byes for up to the 5th round, and the teams with lesser records played each other (104 v. 103, etc.) in order to try to match similar records to promote parity early in the playoffs. Teams and their coaches are given barracks to stay in at the park, and meals are provided for the particpants. There were opening and closing ceremonies and skills competitions in which each team participated, and the park's staff and groundscrew not only provided first-rate service but also first-rate treatment for all.
The cost is a little pricey for non-FBG's, though not out of line with other travel baseball destinations, and if you get in now with a team headed there, you can start fundraising now. The cost of lodging is in line with other vacation spots, and there are plenty of places/ways there to each on the cheap. Cooperstown itself, while mostly a tourist spot, also has reasonably priced shops. For most of the tournament week, Cooperstown itself wasn't too crowded, and even though it's only 4-5 blocks long, if you're a baseball enthusiast, you won't get bored. The HOF inductions took place the day after we left, so it was interesting to see the increase in visitors toward the end of the week.
FWIW, my son's team got a favorable draw of teams and went 5-1 in pool play and lost in the playoff round to the team that beat them in pool play, both games being one-run affairs. If anyone else has been, please feel free to share your experience.
There was the full spectrum of playing ability on display there, from teams of hand-picked kids across multiple states and rumored to fly in extra kids just to pitch in one playoff game on down to undersized local/town teams from around the USA and Canada. After 3 days of doubleheaders (including at least 2 webcast games per team for all the folks at home), all 104 teams were seeded in a single-elimination tournament, wherein the teams with the better records received byes for up to the 5th round, and the teams with lesser records played each other (104 v. 103, etc.) in order to try to match similar records to promote parity early in the playoffs. Teams and their coaches are given barracks to stay in at the park, and meals are provided for the particpants. There were opening and closing ceremonies and skills competitions in which each team participated, and the park's staff and groundscrew not only provided first-rate service but also first-rate treatment for all.
The cost is a little pricey for non-FBG's, though not out of line with other travel baseball destinations, and if you get in now with a team headed there, you can start fundraising now. The cost of lodging is in line with other vacation spots, and there are plenty of places/ways there to each on the cheap. Cooperstown itself, while mostly a tourist spot, also has reasonably priced shops. For most of the tournament week, Cooperstown itself wasn't too crowded, and even though it's only 4-5 blocks long, if you're a baseball enthusiast, you won't get bored. The HOF inductions took place the day after we left, so it was interesting to see the increase in visitors toward the end of the week.
FWIW, my son's team got a favorable draw of teams and went 5-1 in pool play and lost in the playoff round to the team that beat them in pool play, both games being one-run affairs. If anyone else has been, please feel free to share your experience.
Does sound really cool. I may send it to our baseball board. Although we are a bit separated in softball. It really is 2 entities where we live opposed how it was all "one league" where I grew up.
roud:
). Shark move is to send the wife shopping in town (should have sent my daughter with her). We ate twice at Double Day Cafe. Good sandwiches and burgers (I recommend the Greek Burger). Some of our families had lunch at the Otsega Resort Hotel, which apparently is a gorgeous hotel on the lake where the HOF inductees stay. That was the one thing I didn't do that I wish I did (ran out of time).
