Frequently Answered Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: WHAT IS the SIEGE…Shelton’s Travel Baseball Program?
Siege was created by parents from Shelton Little League and high school advisors to provide an enhanced baseball program for Shelton athletes. Siege believes in giving a fun environment and an advanced training format in a more competitive situation. The Program strives to create opportunities for all kids to increase their baseball skills. Siege partners with Little League and Babe Ruth to maintain a stable baseball foundation while enhancing the competitive environment by playing in The East Shore League.
Q2: WHAT IS A TYPICAL SEASON LIKE FOR A SIEGE BASEBALL PLAYER?
Mid Jan to Mid March
Winter clinics are offered to help get players ready for the upcoming spring baseball season (for travel or recreational little league). Practices are twice a week on Friday evenings and Sunday morning at D-Bat in Trumbull. For the players who have other activities going on they can choose to attend half of the sessions as their schedule see fit.
Early April – Early June
Practices are held at local Shelton fields 1 night per week.
14-16 regular season games are played during this period of time in the East Shore Travel League. Games are held on the weekends to not interfere with the Little League schedule.
Typically, we have 1 doubleheader a weekend.
In addition to 16 regular season games, top teams usually are chosen for a post season playoff tournament. This is usually held over the course of one weekend.
Travel games end just in time for district All-Stars practice and games to start up.
Q3: What are some of the things we should be looking for when choosing a travel program?
There are certain things that some families consider more important in the decision than others. Some of the factors include geographic location of practice and game facilities, number of games, level of competition, cost to participate, quality of coaching etc. Make sure you identify the most important reasons you are playing and do your homework.
Q4: Why should we consider SIEGE as the program for us?
Siege is exclusively offered for Shelton kids. The goal is to keep Shelton athletes playing together and enhance the Little League. We consider the skill and character development of the player as the primary focus. Although winning games provides some excitement, and can be the primary focus of some programs, our program judges our success on how much better the player develops.
Q5: What leagues does Siege play in and where is the home field?
Our teams are members of the East Shore Travel League.
Games are mostly held at East Village Park in Shelton. We usually try to have more than half of our games played here. The remainder are held either at East Shore fields in New Haven or other locations within a 30 minute distance to Shelton.
Q6: How do you choose the Coaches for the Siege Teams?
Being a developmental program, we consider this process the foundation of our success. We prefer to identify “Non-Parent” coaches to lead our teams. Most of our coaches are educators, former college players, high school or college coaches and are very knowledgeable not just of the game, but how to teach it. All of our coaches are paid. All independent head coaches make the decisions for their teams. This is done to restrict the “daddy-ball” aspect that sometimes occurs with team environments. In some cases, a parent will be asked to participate as an assistant coach or handle the game stats for our games. We pay close attention to this and require that in addition to being a qualified coach, he is able to make decisions in the best interest of the entire team and program. If anyone is interested in becoming a coach please contact Josh Orosz.
Q7: How much does it cost to play for Siege and what does that include?
Pricing varies for each team from 8u to 13u. As a nonprofit Siege tries to make the cost as affordable as possible. These fees cover the cost of coaches, umpires, The East Shore Team fees, player/team insurance thru AAU, uniforms, indoor practice, etc. It is important that when evaluating programs, you look at the VALUE of what you get, and with our program it is tough to beat.
Q8: Do you have teams at every level each year?
That is the goal, but not always the case. Siege strives to have at least 1 team and each level from 8U to 13U. Being a developmental program, putting emphasis on the "progressive" approach to teaching the game. For example, as a 10u player they are in need of learning certain aspects of the game on the 46/70 diamond, and that is the focus, to get them acquainted with the changes in the game (leading/stealing/holding runners). At every level there is only so far you can take them without over coaching, as they need to build the foundation before anything else. So, having said that, Siege looks to bring players along in a system. The program avoids just putting teams together for the sake of just having a team, and some years we are without a level simply because that is the way the numbers shake out.
Q9: Is SIEGE Travel Baseball a profit making venture?
Shelton Travel Baseball is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization with a volunteer board of directors. Any donations made to STB are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. If you know of an individual or company interested in making a donation or becoming a sponsor, please let us know. Email us at carlrizzo@outlook.com or call Carl Rizzo at 203-500-7451.
Q10: Does Siege allow players to “play up”?
Siege believes each player should play in his/her respective age group and this is what we practice. However, it is the discretion of the coaching staff to make the determination that the player should move up. At the travel level, moving players up reduces the competitive strength of the team losing the player, and puts that team at a competitive disadvantage. Siege will allow players who are one year too young (e.g. age 8) to tryout for the 9U team. If the player makes that team, he/she will be allowed to “play up” for one year. After one year, this player will be required to tryout for his/her own age group.
Q11: Why are Siege players required to play both travel and little league during the Spring Season?
In working with the Little League, and Babe Ruth, Siege makes a good faith effort to minimize conflicts during their regular spring season and post-season tournament play that leads to their programs' "World Series." Siege requires participation in a Shelton recreational youth baseball league during the spring season.
In early mid-June, Siege will cease activity to permit participation in the Shelton Little League and post-season league, district and state tournaments. Our program requires our players to participate in both, only during the spring, so we do not strip the best players out of those leagues. We hope that Siege players will help to elevate the level of play for the recreational players and lead by example.
Siege players are not required to play SLL during the fall season.
Q12: How do travel players resolve conflicts with practices and games?
Our goal is to minimize conflicts between Siege and Shelton Little League practices and games. We will work with the players’ leagues and their coaches in an effort to achieve this goal. Our Program also wants to stress the importance of open and frequent communication between parents and their player’s Siege/SLL coaches to ensure a successful baseball experience. In this regard, Siege coaches and managers will obtain from parents any information about how often players are pitching and catching in ALL practices and games to avoid overuse of arms.
Siege will be cognizant of the amount of games the kids are playing between both leagues and will work to minimize overuse of the players.
Siege will continue to minimize conflicts by scheduling one night a week practices and Saturday or Sunday doubleheader games. We will have no more than 2 travel games in a weekend. Siege will monitor all player activities so that each player is eligible for recreation all stars. The travel spring season will end immediately following the first week in June so that the players will be available for all regular season playoff games and all star games, if selected. Siege will resume at end of August. That said, our program is careful to avoid scheduling tournaments or other events during periods of heavy activity in the spring leagues.
Q13: How many players on a Siege team?
Teams assignments will generally be 12 players.
Q14: Who determines who makes a Siege team during the tryouts?
Siege promotes a fair and objective team building process. The decision to extend a team assignment to a player will be made by the Siege selection committee. The selection committee will consist of an head coach, the Director of Player Development and an independent evaluator. Players will be evaluated based on their skills, ability and desire to play.
Q15: Can my child play on a Siege team and play flag football or another rec sport in the fall?
Siege encourages players to remain engaged in other sports. Players must try to commit to make baseball as their primary sport. The commitment Siege seeks will likely make participation with other travel or elite youth sports organizations difficult. For safety reasons along with commitment and scheduling conflicts players will not be permitted to play on another travel baseball team.
Q16: What size diamonds does Siege use for games?
It is expected that 8U & 9U players will play games on a 46/60 diamond (same as Little League), the 10U players will play games on 46/70. The 11 and 12U players will play games on a 50/70 diamond. Practices may be conducted on varying size diamonds or at other practice facilities, based on Shelton Parks & Recreation availability.
Q17: Will players be rotated through the positions during the season or will they be assigned certain positions?
Players will play more than one position during the season. The primary goal of Siege is to develop overall baseball skills. Players will have an opportunity to work on their skills at any position they would like to learn.