Welcome to Aledo Athletics!
WE ARE STAYING PUT WITH THE 5/1 AGE CUT OFF FOR BASEBALL.
FOR FALL, PLEASE REGISTER YOUR BASEBALL PLAYER WITH THEIR AGE AS OF 5/1/18. PLEASE REGISTER YOUR SOFTBALL PLAYER WITH THEIR AGE AS OF 5/1/18.
FALL IS ALWAYS A PRE-CURSOR OR WARM-UP FOR SPRING. THUS WE USE THE SPRING AGE DATE FOR THE FALL, SO THE PLAYERS CAN GET READY FOR THE NEXT SPRING SEASON.
PREVIOUS LEAGUE AGE UPDATE:
Dear Members.
USA Baseball is instituting
a new birthday cutoff for the 2018 season and the foreseeable future. This change will affect certain youth
baseball leagues such as Pony, Little League, Dixie, Texas Teenage Baseball, etc.
Softball will not be affected by
this rule implementation.
As it stands for 2017, most
baseball organizations, including Aledo Athletics Inc., follow the April 30 birthday
cutoff for baseball. This means
that whatever age your child is as of April 30 would determine their "baseball
age" for the season. However, beginning
in 2018, this USA Baseball directive will change the age cutoff date to August
31.
This means that ALL players
born in the months of May, June, July and August will skip a "baseball
year" next season. For
example, a player born in May 2010 would be considered a six-year-old player in
2017 (because he/she would have been six years old as of April 30, 2017). Under the new age cutoff for 2018 and
beyond, this same player would be considered an eight-year-old player (because
he/she would be eight years old as of August 31, 2018). For players born in the months outside of
May-August, there will be no change in age calculations.
Why the change? USA baseball's goal for this national age
change was simply to ensure players played their entire season in an age-pure
manner (meaning they would be the same age during the spring and summer and not
turn a year older right in the middle of the season.) But there was no way to institute this without impacting
players born from May to August.
Yes, this change would be a
major adjustment for all leagues next season. Some players would be moving up a baseball level beyond where
parents expected them to be, causing some concern for safety and development. Unluckily, some players would even "age
out" and lose their final season of baseball. It's a lot to absorb.
Change is difficult, and this change would be a challenging one for sure.
That said, the board of
directors at Aledo Athletics Inc. has decided NOT to implement this age change
just yet. We ran the numbers and
determined that this would affect 35% of our spring 2017 players. In addition, our league is in the
middle of interviewing several baseball organizations to determine which is the
best fit for our community moving forward. Depending on which route we go, there may be no need to
change the date at all. Certain
organizations such as USSSA, American Amateur Baseball Congress, Babe Ruth,
etc. are NOT changing to the August date.
Thus, at this time, there feels no need to change that cutoff date until
we reach a final decision on which group we want to affiliate with. Thus, for Fall Ball 2017, we will be
using the April 30 cutoff.
If we do eventually change to the August date and your player is affected for 2018, let me try to ease some of your concerns. EVERY youth baseball league in the country is in the same boat. We think it's safe to say that 1/3 of every league will "skip" a baseball year. That would undoubtedly be an adjustment year for everyone, but I do feel strongly that because of our community, AAI has the foresight to minimize our adjustment period more efficiently than anyone else. But let's cross that bridge if we get there. Ultimately, we completely get it if you feel frustrated that this rule change could potentially have a negative impact on your player. This is why we are taking extra steps to make sure Aledo Athletics is associated with the right institution. These meetings will be completed by mid-August and we will update everyone as soon as possible.
If you have suggestions to
help our league adjust to this change, feel free to email me. If you have
questions about the change and how it might affect your player, please email
me, as well.
Thank you for playing
baseball and softball at Aledo Athletics, Inc.
Cory Bergen
Aledo Athletics, Inc.
info@aledoathletics.com
2017 is our 41st year in operation and we thank you all for your support.
FALL 2017
Dates:
- Online Registration - July 20 - August 20
- In person registration TBD
- No Tryouts in the Fall
- Opening Day Saturday September 9
- Closing Day Saturday October 28
- Games on Saturdays, with practice on week days (coaches' discretion)
Leagues:
