July 14, 2016
SAY/ South Orlando Babe Ruth baseball and softball registration now open as it celebrates its 34th year.
The SAY/South Orlando Babe Ruth baseball and softball league is now accepting registrations for the Fall 2016 season. Players can be registered on line at our web site Http://www.SouthOrlandoBabeRuth.com.
Age groups start at 3-4 year old T-ball and go up to our 16-18 year old.
The South Orlando Babe Ruth league plays its games at the Southport baseball and softball complex located at 8432 Daetwyler Ave. Orlando 32837 which is located just south of McCoy Rd. and Jetport Dr.
The league serves over 500 players and fills up quickly so register soon as it has had a waiting list for the past several seasons.
The league has enjoyed much success this past Spring 2016:
- T-Ball - 2016 District Champions Division A- Team: Lightning
- T-Ball - 1st Place Eagle Lake Division A- Team: Lightning
- T-Ball - 1st Place Lakeland Highlands Division A- Team: Lightning
- T-Ball - 1st Place Lakeland Highlands Division B- Team: Warriors
- T-Ball - COBRA Runner-Up
- 8U Softball 5th Place State
- Rookie - 2016 District Champions Division A - Team: Xtreme
- Rookie - 2016 District Champions Division B - Team: Warriors
- Rookie - 1st Place Lakeland Highlands Division A - Team: Xtreme
- Rookie - 1st Place Lakeland Highlands Division B - Team: Warriors
- Rookie - 2nd Place Lakeland Highlands Division B - Team: Fury
- Rookie - 1st Place Empire Strikes Out - Team: Warriors
- Rookie - 1st Place Diamonds for Mom - Team: Xtreme
- 9U - COBRA Champions
- 11U - 5th Place Diamonds for Mom
- 13U - 2016 District Runner-up
- 15U - COBRA Champions
SAY/South Orlando Babe Ruth league games are officiated by paid umpires. Our Snack Shack is run by a vendor so we do not require parents to work shifts. We hope to have you all join our Baseball and Softball Family this Fall.
Please visit our web site at http://www.SouthOrlandoBabeRuth.com and register today.
Remember to sign up early to avoid being placed on a waiting list.
(Questions: Email:
/ Call: 407-487-2969)
Sincerely,
The South Orlando Babe Ruth Board of Directors
November 30, 2014
A message from the South Orlando Babe Ruth Board of Directors;
The Board is pleased to announce that we will open online registration for the Spring 2015 baseball and softball season on December 1. Our league continues to grow and we expect to exceed the over 500 participants we had in the Spring of 2014. We urge you to sign up quickly as we will exceed the number of players we can accommodate based on field availability, practice schedules and qualified coaches.
The following limits will be places on the spring season:
- T ball/Coach pitch – 10 teams with 13 players per team
- Rookie – 8 teams with 12 players per team
- Minors – 8 teams with 11 players per team
- Majors – 8 teams with 11 players per team
- 13-15y.o. – 8 teams with 12 players per team
- 16+ - 4 teams (unlimited registration after high school tryouts and the end of the high school season) with 12 players per team
- Softball – 2 teams per age division (6U, 8U, 10U and 12U and seniors) 12 players per team. Softball teams play games against other area Babe Ruth softball teams.
Registration can be done quickly and securely at our web site www.SouthOrlandoBabeRuth.com .
When you are on the web site click on the registration button. If you are registering a returning player and already have an account you can just sign in and then select the correct registration group (age division). You can then verify your information and make corrections if needed.
If you are new to the South Orlando Babe Ruth league you will need to create an account in order to continue registration.
Our league will sell out so please don’t delay in registering your player(s).
Important spring dates:
- December 1 registration opens
- Week of January 26th – player evaluations and draft
- February 2 practices begin
- February 14 Opening Day Ceremonies and pictures
- February 20 season begins
- May 18-23 Final week of season
- June - Date TBD – All-star District Tournament
Sincerely,
The South Orlando Babe Ruth Board of Directors
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July 14, 2014
Dear Parents,
We’ve have finished an incredible 2014 Spring season and couldn’t be more excited about this past year. To start we had amazing growth and support maxing out many of our baseball divisions this season as well as growing every softball division. This couldn’t be done without the coaches, board, and parents who sacrifice their time to give these athletes and outstanding youth sports experience. Thank you to all who have given generously to be apart of the SOBR experience.
I also couldn’t be more excited on how well SOBR’s All-Star teams have performed in post-season play. This is a direct reflection of the hard work and growth of this league and we are very proud of these accomplishments. Here is a summary of our many successes.
Baseball:
-T-Ball-
- District Champions and State Champions
-Rookies-
- 8A District Champions
- 8B District Champions
-Minors-
- 10 A- District Runner up
- 10 B- 4th in State
-Majors-
- 11u- District Runner up, Southeast Regional Host Team
- 12- District Champion, 3rd in State
Softball:
-10u-
- District Runner up, Runner Up in State
-14u-
As you can see from the above accomplishments SOBR is very competitive at both the local and state levels and we are still getting better. Congratulations to all for a super post season.
Many of you may not have heard but Dave Boisvert has resigned as our leagues’ President. Dave had worked hard over the last two years to help grow and improve our league with his leadership. I want to thank him for his commitment and leadership to all of our children during this time.
Finally, Fall Registration is now open and we are looking for volunteers to fill the coaching ranks to help continue to mold our players. We hope to see many of you back this fall as apart of the SOBR family. Here is a quick glance at the calendar for this upcoming season.
August 23rd- evaluations
September 2nd- Practice begins
September 19th- Game 1
November 22nd- Season Closes
*all dates subject to change
** Due to Softball interleague play dates may vary
Please go to our website at www.southorlandobaberuth.com or Like us on Facebook to keep up to date with what is happening at SOBR.
We are looking forward to the Fall Season and look forward to seeing everyone. Have a great end of summer.
Mike Barry-Smith
President
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April 7, 2014
Dear Parents,
We’ve reached the half way point of our Regular Season. So far, we’ve had a great season. It’s going to get warmer quickly now so I encourage all of you to make sure you bring plenty of water for your athletes and make sure they are getting enough to drink. Any mention of a headache is a pretty good indication of dehydration, so tell the coach, get them some water, and cool them off right away.
Most of you are aware that we had our John Deere Gator stolen a few weeks ago. The Gator was the green, 4 wheel, supersized golf cart you often saw picking up trash, hauling clay, hauling seed, etc etc. We used it constantly. We’ve offered a reward of $500 for the return of the Gator and another $500 for a conviction of the thieves, but no luck yet. In addition, the Board has approved additional security measures to be implemented soon to make it more difficult for thieves to steal from us. We’ve had a few donations after people heard our story on the news, and we’re searching for a replacement Gator we can afford.
While we’re on the subject of security, we had 2 cars broken into this past weekend, one at the Deuce and one at the Quad. The windows were smashed and valuables were taken from the cars, specifically purses. Take every precaution you can to secure your valuables or bring them with you. Be on the lookout for any suspicious activity in the parking lots. These thefts were in the afternoon with games and practices being conducted. Witnesses believe a small white Nissan car pulled into a parking spot, broke a window, grabbed valuables and drove off, so be on guard.
Finally, the mid-point of our Spring Season is also the launch of the All Star selection process. The District Tournaments will begin on June 4th, so we have less than 2 months to select our teams and coaches, order uniforms, complete fundraisers, and practice before the tournament begins. We’ll be publishing the complete All Star selection process on our website in the next week, but I wanted to provide you a brief overview of what’s about to occur:
- League Coaches will submit All Star Player nominations to our Tournament Director
- League Coaches/Board members will submit applications to be the All Star Managers
- Commitment invitation letters outlining costs, schedules, and expectations will be sent to parents of nominated players. Parents can accept or decline the invitations to participate.
- League Coaches will vote from the accepted invitations list and the top players will be ranked according to points earned.
- All Star Managers will be selected by the Board of Directors
- The All Star Manager will fill out the majority of his/her roster from the points list and will have discretion to complete his/her roster from remaining candidates with the Tournament Directors approval.
- All Star teams will be announced on Saturday, May 3rd for all Divisions below 15U and practices will begin immediately.
Despite the best efforts of the Board Members and Coaches, this process always creates hurt feelings and upset parents when a child is not selected for All Stars. This is an unfortunate consequence of the transition from “Recreational Baseball” to “Competitive/All Star” baseball and softball, and we apologize in advance for the hurt feelings. All of the League Coaches have input in the nomination and voting process, and the All Star Manager has to get approval from the Tournament Director to fill out his/her remaining roster spots. There is no perfect process. If there was a perfect process, every league would do it. We feel our process is fair and we’re trying to field competitive teams that have a chance to play well in the District Tournaments and advance beyond that. Our league has historically been very competitive throughout Districts and States, with a few teams competing on a National level.
Thank you for being a part of SOBR, and we look forward to a great second half of the season.
David Boisvert
President
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March 5th, 2014
Dear Parents,
The 2014 Spring Season of South Orlando Babe Ruth baseball and softball is underway. There’s lots of positive energy and fun all over the ballpark, however we have some housekeeping to discuss in terms of safety. As I stated in my President’s letter, it is the intent of the Board of Directors to keep the ballpark a fun and enjoyable place for kids and families. In addition to being fun and enjoyable, the ballpark needs to be a safe place to enjoy a few hours of recreation.
For this reason, it is imperative that you keep an eye on your kids and their siblings when you’re at the ballpark. We want everyone to have fun, but we’re starting to see kids on scooters, bikes, and skateboards zooming around the park. This has already created one accident and we have no desire for more. Please leave the “wheeled” devices at home. There are too many young kids walking around to have children cruising around on wheels.
The batting cages are not playgrounds. They are $2,000 nets, purchased with League money, installed by volunteers, and they are for baseball and softball improvement. Children should not be climbing on the nets, hurling themselves into the nets, or running around inside of them playing dodge ball. Batting cages are only designed to contain baseballs in a small area; they are not designed or built to support the weight of children, and children can easily be hurt playing in these areas.
Please caution your children about swinging bats in the proper place and under proper supervision. There should only be 1 or 2 kids on every team swinging a bat at any time, and this should only be done under the supervision of an adult or coach. If there aren’t any adults or coaches directly watching your child swing a bat, it needs to be put down on the ground, hung in the dugout, or put away in a bat bag. Kids should always look around before taking any swings to make sure no one is around them.
Finally, kids need to make sure their throwing partner is looking at them before a ball is thrown.
We’re two weekends into the season and we’ve already had 3 kids visit the emergency room. We ALL need to be more vigilant in our supervision and stay on guard to keep everyone safe. The coaches will reinforce this with the kids, but we also need parents to step up and pay attention for the benefit of all the families in the league.
Thanks for being a part of SOBR.
David Boisvert
President
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Febuary 21, 201
A note from the SOBR President:
Dear Parents,
Tonight we’ll open the 2014 Spring Season of South Orlando Babe Ruth baseball and softball. We look forward to another great season. SOBR is a 501c3, Not for Profit Corporation, run by volunteers who donate their time and often their money for the community. The experience of playing baseball and softball in our program is a product of the efforts of the parents, coaches, board members and sponsors doing the best they can, nothing more and nothing less. The kids get out of it whatever we put into it.
Our league is growing and getting better every season. On the diamond, two of our softball teams and our 8U A Baseball team advanced to the State Championships. Our 9U and 10U teams swept the Minors District 12 tournaments winning both titles with thrilling wins. Our juggernaut 16 team won the State Championship for the third consecutive year. Our travel teams are up and running, and demonstrating competitiveness amongst other recreational baseball programs and against travel programs, with many tournament championships and runner up trophies to our credit.
In the past year, we’ve made the following improvements to our league:
- Implemented our new website to streamline registration, paperwork, communication, schedules and shirt orders
- We’re completing the installation of the overhead safety netting at the quad
- We’re purchasing picnic tables for the Quad.
- We’ve been applying Rye Grass, Fertilizer and Pesticides to our games fields and our practice fields to create better playing surfaces
- We’re going to install higher quality clay on our pitchers mounds and home plates in the next two months
- We’ve fenced in our practice areas, fixed the overhead lights, purchased more equipment, and had opening day ceremonies for the first time in many years
All of the improvements listed above and all of the future improvements are funded by those local business and individuals who sponsor our program. Please take the time to thank them when you stop at their business. A kind word to a server or a “thanks for sponsoring South Orlando Babe Ruth” at the register goes a long way with many of these businesses. Without them, our program survives, but would struggle to make ongoing improvements and enhancements.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to remind everybody of a few key items for the upcoming season. First and foremost, this is a recreational baseball and softball league in South Orlando. It’s not the World Series, professional baseball, college baseball or anything that ESPN or Sports Illustrated is going to cover any time soon. I’ll ruin your day right now and tell you that you’re going to have some missed calls by umpires during the season. It will happen…it always does…and even the guys who do it for a living at the professional level miss calls. Please don’t chirp at the umpires about balls and strikes. Please don’t chirp at the umpires about a call that didn’t go your way. Many of them are working by themselves and I assure you they are doing the best they can. The ballpark is supposed to be a fun and enjoyable place for kids and families, and it is the goal of the President and the Board to keep it this way at all times. I would appreciate it very much if you’d share this information for those fans who come out to watch your son or daughter play, but may not have seen this letter.
Besides teaching these kids baseball and softball, we want to teach respect, sportsmanship, and class. Let the players play, let the coaches coach, and let the umpires umpire. For a few hours every week, you have an opportunity to sit back and enjoy kids playing a great game. When the game is over, make sure they had fun and tell them you’re proud of the effort they made.
One day when you’re bored, please conduct an internet search on the Mike Matheny letter (http://getbettertoday.com/mike-mathenys-letter-to-the-parents-of-young-athletes/ ). As many of you know, Mike Matheny is the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, who lost to the Red Sox in the world series last year. Before he became a big league manager, he was a coach of a youth baseball team, and he wrote a poignant letter to his parents when the season began. It is a fascinating read from the perspective of a very knowledgeable baseball man, and I think almost everybody can get something from the letter, regardless of the age of your children in our league. I like to read the letter every year before I start our season.
Thanks for being a part of SOBR, and let’s go have a great season!
David Boisvert
President
