Travel Program

Travel Rosters can be found here.

Please reach out to Travel Directors Ryan Blume (ryanblume33@hotmail.com) or Aaron Unseth (aaron@twhmn.org) with questions.

Thanks!

State tournament dates have been set for July for 9U-14U. This can be helpful to have for planning vacations later in the summer.

Tournament dates:

MYAS state tournament dates

MBT state tournament dates (PDF)

If you're unsure whether your team plays at AAA, AA, or A level, you can ask your coach. Here's a guide to levels of play:

Black - AAA or AA

Silver - AA or A

Red - A

The information included here applies to all travel levels from 9U-14U. If you have additional questions that aren't answered here, please contact our Travel Director, Ryan Blume, at ryanblume33@hotmail.com.

Weekly Commitment:

• In general, expect 3 days a week of baseball, with two weekday games and one Sunday afternoon or evening practice
• Roseville Black team typically plays most league games on T/Th, with some exceptions
• Roseville Silver team typically plays most league games on M/W, with some exceptions
• Weekday league schedule is comprised of 12-16 games. Half of these games are outside of Roseville (actual locations known after schedule is finalized in early April, but most away games are between 10 and 25 minutes from Roseville)

Tournaments:

• Travel teams play in a minimum of three tournaments in May and June
• One out of town/overnight tournament, usually 2-3 hours from Roseville
• Two local tournaments, usually within 30-45 minutes of Roseville
• 1 or 2 additional tournaments added in July if your team qualifies for one or both state tournament bids
• Each tournament has a minimum of three games played on Friday and Saturday, with additional games on Sunday depending on team qualification
• There is an upfront cost to RAYB for securing these tournaments in January, which is included in the cost of registration and is non-refundable
• It is expected that if you play on a travel team, you making the commitment to play in these tournaments
• If a team agrees to play in any additional tournaments during the season or in more than one state tournament, each team will pay for these additional tournament entry fees independently from RAYB, with each family expected to contribute their player's share of the fee

Season commitment/other sports:

• Travel team players are expected to make their RAYB travel baseball team their number one sports priority during the baseball season.
• Players and parents should consider the time commitment required for the RAYB travel team and whether there will be any conflicts with other sports that the player is participating. Each travel team member and family is counting on all players as a full team to participate in games and tournaments to make the baseball season enjoyable for all the team members and families.
• We understand that baseball may not be your child's number one sport, but please respect that if your child made a travel team, another child may not have made the team because of it. Please respect the team and be committed.

What should my child expect?

Your child should expect to play a lot of baseball. S/He should expect to meet new friends and have a lot of fun. S/He should expect to be challenged by her/his expectations and opposing pitchers. S/He should expect to receive instruction and drill on baseball fundamentals. S/He should expect to feel the pain of a tough loss and the exhilaration of a come from behind victory. S/He should expect to learn that baseball is a game, but a challenging one to learn. 

What should I expect?

You should expect that your child will learn and develop good baseball skills and will have fun doing so. You should expect that you will watch a lot of baseball over the season. You should expect to be relieved when its over, but that you will soon look back on the season, the people and the fun and want to do it again. 

What is covered in the cost of the registration fee?

• One uniform - jersey, hat, pants, belt
• Team equipment
• Umpires
• Registration for 3 tournaments
• Registration and gate fee for 1 automatic state tournament berth

Are metal cleats allowed?

Travel Leagues 9U through 12U must have rubber or plastic cleats. Leagues 13U and above may have metal cleats.

Are there additional costs that registration does not cover?

There may be additional costs (per player) added to the base registration fee, paid at the time of registration:

• $30 Out-of-district fee (if your player does not attend an ISD 623 school)
• $30 Registering after the posted deadline

Will I pay an additional assessment at the end of the year?

In the past the registration fee covered only 1 of the 3 regular season tournaments and none of the state tournament entry fees. To cover these costs, coaches and team managers paid the fees up front, assessed these expenses to the parents at the end of the year, and collected the payments directly. These assessments have ranged from $80 to $200 per player depending on the league and the team.

Beginning with the 2022 season, the registration fee has been increased to include the tryout fee, the 2 regular season tournaments that weren't previously covered, and 1 automatic state tournament entry fee.

Some teams may decide to incur additional costs during the season at their discretion and with the approval of their team's parents. These costs can include:

• Alternate jerseys
• Additional regular season or state tournaments
• Meals
• Paid coach (13U and 14U only)
• Any other shared expenses teams decide to incur

Can I get involved?

Yes - Please! There are many opportunities to volunteer throughout the year. Also, RAYB has unfilled board member positions; if interested, please attend the next board meeting (see the events listed on the home page), or contact any of the current board members.

My child does not attend public schools in Roseville. Is he/she still eligible to play for a travel team?

Students who attend a non-public school located within the ISD623 district boundaries are part of the RAYB association, same as ISD623 public school students. Students who live or attend a school (of any type) outside of the ISD623 boundaries are considered "out-of-district" players.

An out-of-district player is allowed to try out for a RAYB travel team if the out-of-district player has played in a RAYB recreational league for one previous year. The travel director may make an exception to this rule if the director determines that additional out-of-district players are necessary to fill out the roster of a RAYB travel team. After an out-of-district player is selected for a RAYB travel team, the out-of-district player is treated as an in-district player for all future travel tryouts.

How are travel teams selected?

All information on our travel tryout and team selection process can be found here.

Equal Playing Time

• Roseville Baseball expects that playing time should be distributed fairly among all players who consistently attend practices and games, demonstrate good sportsmanship, and make a strong effort to improve as a player.
• Coaches may use their discretion regarding playing time within individual games and tournaments, with an expectation that all players will be treated fairly as the season progresses.
• This is not a requirement of equally-divided playing time; coaches are expected to be fair, not perfect.

Defensive Rotations

• Coaches should use a rotation plan for playing time
• Coaches may use different strategies for league games vs. tournament games
• Coaches should not have a player sit two innings in a row
• Coaches will have the right to limit game time for individual players in cases of discipline, attitude, or attendance problems
• 9u-13u players should play a minimum of 4 defensive innings per 6-inning game. For games shortened by the 10-run rule, the following guidelines apply:
• 3.5-inning away games = 2 defensive innings
• All other games = 3 defensive innings

Infield/Outfield Positioning

• 9u-13u players should play an infield position for at least 1-2 innings in each game, knowing that players will become more specialized by position as they get older and play gets more competitive
• All players who want to pitch should be given an opportunity during the season, especially at 9u/10u level, understanding that head coaches will consider the safety and probable success of the player when choosing the situation. There will be players who pitch more than others and this should be demonstrated in practice.

Batting Order

• Players will improve more quickly if they get more opportunities to apply their hitting skills in games. Therefore, coaches are expected to rotate their batting orders during the league season to give all players different locations in the lineup.
• During tournaments, coaches are permitted to create fixed batting orders, even if this results in an uneven number of plate appearances between teammates.