2019 Season Updates
Tryouts for 2019 10u-14u will be held March 16th and March 17th at Forest Lake Area Middle School. 15U tryouts will take place on April 2nd, also at the Middle School.
Please review the 2019 bat standards below as MYAS has decided to stick with USSSA bats for next season.
2019 Bat Standards
We wanted to provide a quick update on the bat standards for the 2019 season. As many have seen at stores there is a new bat standard, the USA Standard, that is out on the market and some leagues are switching to use this new standard.
On October 10th the Gopher State Baseball League Advisory meeting was held and a vote was taken to maintain the current bat standards that have been in place the last several seasons.
What does the mean for our player? This means that the current bat you are using is still legal for play next season in Gopher State League play. If you wish to use the new USA Standard, this bat is allowed as well.
Will Gopher State be switching in the future? The vote was to maintain the standard going forward with no plans to switch. This could change but the current plan is to make no changes to the bat rules.
What is the difference between the bat standards? The new USA Standard is designed to be more like a wood bat, with less 'pop' and exit velocity of the baseball off the bat.
If buying a new bat, what should I buy? This is going to be a personal decision as both bats are going to be legal in league play, but again the newer USA Standard bat is going to play more like a wood bat.
What bats will be allowed in tournaments? This will be up to the individual tournament hosts to make a decision on what bat they will allow. The other major league in the metro area, Metro Baseball League has voted to only allow USA Baseball bats this season in their qualifying tournaments. Given this recent change the FLBA board is currently discussing how this will impact the tournaments we will register teams in for the 2018 season.
If you have any questions or comments please reach out to our Travel Director Jim Fallon at jfallon1@gmail.com
Fall Baseball Training Program
The Forest Lake High School staff is excited to be offering some small group lessons this fall that will focus on the core fundamentals of baseball. Please see the flyer below for all the details and start getting your group together as training starts in September.
Gravelle Baseball Fall Specials
Looking to keep your swing in shape or get in some throws this fall, check out the specials from Gravelle Baseball on renting out the cages.
How are we doing?
The season is getting close to completion and we would like to know how we are doing.
Please make sure to fill out both program and coach evaluations, every evaluation is read and reviewed to help enhance your experiences within FLBA.
FLBA in extremely excited to have invested in and committed to the Trusted Coaches program!
We are excited to be fostering the Double-Goal Coaching philosophy:
- Model and teach your players to Honor the Game
- Help players Redefine what it means to be a "Winner" in terms of Mastery, not just the Scoreboard
- Fill your players' Emotional Tanks
- Have Conversations during Team meetings with your players at every practice and every game
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