Welcome to Stewards of the Game Baseball! Below is some general information about our baseball program.
Practices
Depending on the age division, teams will practice 2-3 times per week in the pre-season, shifting to 1-2 practices a week once games begin. Each practice will be 1 ½ - 2 hours long. (Fewer/shorter practices for the 5/6 year-old T-ball & Coach Pitch players).
Cal Ripken Baseball for ages 4-12
In the Spring, Stewards of the Game participates with Cal Ripken Baseball for ages 4-12 in Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson. After evaluating all the major youth baseball affiliations in the area, we selected Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth Baseball for our 4-12 year olds as we feel it most closely embodies the philosophies and values on which Stewards of the Game was founded. Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth Baseball has developed a solid reputation for youth baseball centered on fun, sound fundamental instruction and good old-fashioned hard work. Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth Baseball has over 886,500 players on some 45,200 teams in more than 7,315 leagues across the world.
Babe Ruth Baseball for ages 13-18
For our older divisions ages (13-15 and 16-18) Stewards of the Game participates with Babe Ruth Baseball. We typically interlock with other Babe Ruth leagues from Davidson, Huntersville, Mallard Creek, and East Lincoln.
Regular Season Games
Regular season games for ages 4-17 will consist mainly of inter-league play between Stewards of the Game teams and possibly some interlock play with neighboring Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth leagues in the area for our older age divisions. Home games will be played on local town fields in Huntersville. Some away games may involve some travel to surrounding towns.
Travel/Challenge/Advanced Play Baseball
Travel/Challenge teams for various age groups will be assembled early in the season after skills week to provide the more advanced players with the opportunity to compete against other select teams in the CCBL, Top Gun Baseball, and USSSA tournaments. Challenge players below age 12 will continue to participate on their regular season recreational teams to reinforce their responsibility in life to lift others up; while having the opportunity to refine their skills against stiffer competition through periodic participation in area tournaments. Advanced Play players 12 and above will practice and play together as a unit all season and are not required to play recreational baseball; competing against other Advanced Play teams in various travel tournaments throughout the year. Parents need to understand that there will be additional costs involved in playing on a travel/challenge team (tournament player fees, uniforms, gate fees), as well as additional time commitments and possible play on Sundays from time to time.
All-Star Play
Our Stewards of the Game All-Star teams (7U, 8U, 9U, 10U, 11U, 12U and possibly 13U & 14U) are selected at the end of the spring season and may compete in a Cal Ripken-Babe Ruth Area tournament. The winners of these tournaments will advance to state and possibly, regional tournaments; culminating in the Cal Ripken World Series…some of which will be televised live on the MLB Network.
Annual Cooperstown Trip
The prestigious Cooperstown Dreams Park Tournament in Cooperstown, NY is an exciting opportunity for young players to experience, unlike anwhere else in baseball. Stewards of the Game annually sends a team to participate in this tournament each summer. For 13 straight weeks during the summer, 104 teams from all over the country come to Cooperstown for a dream week of youth baseball. Many parents, siblings and grandparents accompany the team for a most memorable family vacation. Our inaugural 12 & Under team participated in this tournament in the Summer of 2001 and had the time of their lives. Go to www.cooperstowndreamspark.com for more information.
Playing Up/Down
As a general rule, Stewards of the Game does not allow players to "play-up" or “play down” in an age division above or below their actual age. The only exception to “playing up” will be those rare instances where a player's skill level is so advanced that they would clearly dominate the game at their age level or put their peers in harm's way on the field. The only exception for “playing down” will be instances where there is a high probability of a player being severely injured or embarrassed if they were to play with kids their own age. Any exception to this rule must be approved by the Age Level Coordinator (ALC) for their age division, the ALC for the age division they wish to play in and the Managing Director for Stewards of the Game. Parents who wish to apply for an exception please fill out this form and return to the current level ALC at skills week.
Click here for
Registration Information and pass this information on to a friend. The #1 reason kids play youth sports is to "hang-out" with their friends. So…sign-up their friends! Thanks for your support...and make it a great day! Please contact Casey Fitzsimons at 704-763-0301 or email
[email protected] with any questions on Stewards of the Game baseball.