The Sellwood National League
A New Baseball Option for 2nd – 4th Grade Players
The Sellwood Junior Baseball (SJB) Board is very pleased to announce that SJB will be starting a new recreational “Midget” program this coming spring (2008) that we will call the Sellwood National League (SNL). The SNL will essentially be a “town league” that will involve NO TRAVEL and no participation within the Clackamas County Junior Baseball Association (“County travel league”). SNL will instead involve real (hardball) kid-pitch baseball, with umpires, schedules, and standings, but all within the SJB community (i.e., Sellwood/Moreland/Woodstock). This program, which was recently approved and adopted unanimously by the SJB Board, is a further development of the “transitional team” program we began last spring.
In 2008, all Midget National-level teams will no longer compete in the County league, but will compete in the Sellwood National League. In addition, SJB still intends to field at least two teams at the Midget American level in the County travel league for players with more experience, a willingness to travel, and the desire for a more competitive baseball experience.
This program does not affect our Junior (fifth- and sixth-grade) or our Senior (seventh- and eighth-grade) teams. All National teams at those levels will compete within the County baseball program.
The following JBO background and new Sellwood National League information should help you make an informed registration decision for 2008. We strongly recommend you read every section thoroughly in order to fully understand the goals of the program.
- SJB Philosophy and Goals
- Junior Baseball of Oregon, Clackamas County League and Levels of Play
- SJB Parent Feedback on Travel and Competitiveness of County Baseball
- Pilot Transitional Program Last Spring
- The NEW Sellwood National League (SNL)
SJB Philosophy and Goals
At SJB, our philosophy is “It’s All About Community,” and our goal is to continually improve our baseball/softball league to serve community families, with a focus on skill development of our youth, community building, and fun. To that end, and unlike other leagues, we are not a “win at all costs” organization, but rather, strive to provide a program that teaches life lessons. Further, unlike some of the suburban communities in Clackamas County league, where baseball reigns supreme, we have found that baseball often competes with many other sports and activities, including soccer, lacrosse and basketball, for the attention of the youth in our area. Further, SJB is a “no-cut” league, meaning that we don’t turn away any children who want to play baseball; everyone gets to play at the appropriate level. This is unlike other leagues where some children “try out” but don’t “make” (are not placed on) a team.
Top of pageJunior Baseball of Oregon, Clackamas County League and Levels of Play
Midget level is the first level of kid-pitch hardball by third- and fourth-graders (and occasionally some second-graders), and it is the next level up from coach-pitch “Farm” ball (with its softer baseball). Our Midget teams have traditionally played in the very competitive Clackamas County league, which is part of Junior Baseball of Oregon (JBO). JBO is a baseball program that differs somewhat from traditional “Little League” in some respects, such as player and team placements, lead-offs, stealing, and field size. Unlike Little League, JBO divides play into three competition skill/experience levels:
- National - entry-level, beginner, recreational play
- American - more advanced and competitive, and
- Federal - very advanced and very competitive
Midget Division:
| x Number of Teams | National | American | Federal |
| 1 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| 4 | 2 | 2 | |
| 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Junior/Senior Divisions:
| x Number of Teams | National | American | Federal |
| 1 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Unfortunately for SJB, the JBO “matrix” was developed to ensure that leagues with 500-800 participants would spread their talent to the appropriate level, based on their large pool of players. Statistically, it is more likely a league with 200 Midget players will have the talent and coach support to field a Federal team. However, even though we are considered a small league (70 Midget players) in comparison to many others, SJB has been forced at times to field competitive teams at the highest levels (i.e., Federal) in the County league based on having “just enough” players to push some of our kids to the Federal level—whether they are ready or not. The result has lead to a negative experience for some players and families based on the high level of competition and commitment—especially for families who are unprepared for such a competitive atmosphere.
SJB Parent Feedback on Travel and Competitiveness of County Baseball
Our feedback, and especially in the recent SJB website survey, tells us that many parents do not like the travel associated with playing in the County league, especially for beginner and recreational second-, third- and fourth-grade players. (If you have ever sat in traffic on I-5 trying to get to a 6 p.m. weekday game in Wilsonville or Lake Oswego or West Linn (or even points further south), at rush hour, you know what these parents are talking about.) There has also been some concern expressed that baseball at the County level may be too competitive for some of our younger or more recreational players.
Pilot Transitional Program Last Spring
For the sake of player development and retention, last spring SJB decided not to field a Federal-level Midget County team, even though the matrix dictated we had to. We determined that fielding a Federal team would have made it very difficult for the players and families at the Midget level last year, and it would have also adversely affected the American and National County teams, as the more experienced players would not have been available. Thus, to limit the number of JBO-registered Midget teams while still providing opportunities for all Midget-aged SJB players, SJB developed a new “Transitional/Recreational” program for players needing or wanting more time to develop, but without having to play in the County league (a.k.a. travel team/competitive level). In fact, many second-grade players wanting to stretch their skills, as well as a number of third- and fourth-graders, and their parents, had expressed interest in this program. Ultimately more than 20 second-, third-, and fourth-graders participated in the Transitional program last spring.
SJB had considerable success with the Transitional program, which fielded two teams; however there were two major problems: 1) the two teams were not equally balanced skill-wise, and 2) there were not enough teams of the same skill and experience level for the Transitional teams to play against. Therefore, both teams were forced to schedule “pick-up” games on an ad hoc basis, or to enter weekend tournaments, in order to play.
Nevertheless, we received much positive feedback about the Transitional/Recreational concept. We have also recently received many suggestions that we expand this program to a more developed “town league” program (including opening it up to more interested second-graders) where kids could continue to learn to play baseball in a less-competitive environment, while playing locally with and against friends and schoolmates, and without the far-flung travel associated with playing in the Clackamas County league.
The NEW Sellwood National League (SNL)
The SJB Board has recently developed the new Sellwood National League. The new SNL program will mean that SJB will take all of its National-level teams at the Midget-age level, form its own “town league” of at least four teams, and play all games locally (e.g., Duniway, Llewellyn, Westmoreland Park, Sellwood Park). This will be its own true baseball league, with regular County rules (with a few possible safety-based modifications), kids pitching, score-keeping, paid umpires, game schedules and standings. There will also be a pre-season jamboree and an end of the season tournament. Each team will also have its own name and distinct uniform (real jerseys - not t-shirts, and pants). In other words, this will be “real baseball,” but in our own backyard and competing with and against our own community kids. There could also be opportunities for optional weekend tournaments for interested players.
To make this work we will need a minimum of 4 SNL teams, but we do not anticipate this will be problem—we may even have more, especially if we get a number of interested second-graders who believe they are ready for this type of hardball. Also, in order to make the teams as competitively-balanced as possible, the Board decided that all players in the SNL must attend pre-season “skill assessments,” and all players will be assigned to teams based on a fair and skill-balanced “draft” basis. This will mean that not all players will be on the same team as their friends or former teammates, but the Board strongly believes in the importance of competitively-balanced teams. This is also part of the development of players for future County play, where assessment and coach selection is also the norm.
It goes without saying we will need parents to step up to volunteer to be coaches, and that to make this work, they will need to attend a few coach-training sessions that our more-experienced coaches have generously volunteered to put on.
We are very excited about this Sellwood National League program, and believe this is an avenue for further development and confidence-building in our younger Midget players. Of course, whether your child is best suited to play in the SNL or on a County (American-Federal level) team will be based on a variety of factors, including skill level, experience, age and maturity, interest level, safety, and player and parent desires. Parents will have an opportunity to indicate a preference for the SNL or County league on the SJB registration form. However, although parent feedback and desires will be carefully considered, we cannot guarantee your preference (such as a player wanting to play in the County league, but the coaches assessing that player being better suited for the SNL). We will, of course, be much better able to assess which level of play is most appropriate for each player after the skill assessments in late February.
In closing, we want to reiterate that it is SJB’s desire to see that every child who wants to play Midget ball will have an opportunity to do so, and that he or she will have a positive and rewarding experience at the level of play that best suits them. If you have any questions about this new Sellwood National League program, please feel free to contact Kevin or Kellie Walker (SJB President and SJB Administrator), or Alex Duarte (SNL Commissioner).