FROM THE DESK OF ED SKOVRON
AAU Baseball National Chairperson

With winter fading to spring and the smell of fresh-cut grass, baseball season is here! AAU has been busy preparing the ultimate in youth baseball events for teams throughout the country and for all age divisions.

For 2009, at the national level AAU offers four major event types: 1) AAU Baseball National League; 2) 14U and 15U Super Showcases; 3) AAU National Championships; and 4) Major Youth Baseball Alliance "Champions of Champions" National Youth Baseball Championship.

The AAU Baseball National League (AAUBNL) is a new concept for 2009. For a full explanation of the AAUBNL, see the feature article in this issue of Baseball - The Magazine. The AAUBNL provides a means to rank each team by district to determine the team's competitiveness. The season begins January 1 and ends June 10. Those teams with the highest number of points in each district will be invited to the AAU Baseball National League World Series. The World Series will be held in the Memphis, Tennessee, area at the Game Day Baseball Complex July 10 - July 16.  Teams having earned enough points to participate will not be charged an entry fee and will receive four free hotel rooms for five nights. Free hotel rooms are practically unheard of in elite baseball, as is a national event with the entry fee waived!

Also new for 2009, AAU is debuting its 14U and 15U National Super Showcases. Participation in these showcases is by invitation only. The Super Showcases will highlight the most promising AAU talent in the country. Twelve teams in each the 14U and the 15U age divisions will be invited. The entry fee is only $375 and once again, teams will receive four hotel rooms for five nights at no charge. The events will be held at the incomparable Disney's Wide World of Sports® Complex, the Spring Training home of the Atlanta Braves. In addition, teams will receive 12 half-day tickets to Disney's Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach water parks. The event will feature a skills segment where scouts will provide each club with individual athlete evaluations for their participants at the end of the Showcase. Over 200 Major League scouts will be invited. Teams wishing to be considered for invitation should visit www.aaubaseball.org and click on Super Showcase. This is a one-of-a-kind experience for any serious-minded baseball player with an eye on his future.

One of the highlights of every baseball season for teams interested in top competition is the AAU Baseball National Championships. The National Championships are held in every age group including 8U Player Pitch, 9U 60' Closed Base, 10U 65' Open Base, 11U, 12U, 13U, 14U, 15U, 16U, 17U, and 18/19U. In all the age groups 11U and older, National Championships are offered to both Division I and Division II teams. Division I is for those teams that are the most experienced looking to play against the most competitive talent in the country. Teams that have played fewer games during the season, are more recreation based, have just started playing together, etc. may choose to enter Division II to play other teams with a similar level of experience. All of the National Championships are played at the finest venues, including Disney's Wide World of Sports® in Orlando, FL; Ed Smith Stadium, Spring Training home of the Cincinnati Reds in Sarasota, FL; Space Coast Stadium and Training Center, Spring Training home of the Washington Nationals in Viera, FL (near Cocoa Beach); and Terry Park and the City of Palms Stadium, Spring Training home of the Boston Red Sox in Ft. Myers, FL. Dates and venues for the National Championships are listed at the end of this column. Teams wishing to participate in an AAU National Championship must participate in an AAU qualifier or have an automatic bid from the prior season. If there are no qualifiers held in a club's area, the team may apply for an At-Large bid at www.aaubaseball.org. Specific information such as general schedules, hotel accommodations, entry fees, and contact information can also be found on the National Championships tab at this website.

The National Championship for the 10U age group and the 12U Division I hold a special significance. These two events will serve as the qualifier for AAU's representative 10U and 12U team in the Major Youth Baseball Alliance's "Champion of Champions" chase for the national youth baseball crown. Every national youth baseball organization knows it has tremendous talent among its membership, but each year, which national entity has the best team? This tournament is the only one of its kind that pits each national youth group's representative team against seven other teams playing on behalf of their individual organization for a true national championship title. Eight teams will participate, one each from: the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC), Babe Ruth League, Dixie Baseball, National Amateur Baseball Federation, Pony Baseball, Super Series Baseball of America, and the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA). These eight teams will represent over 600,000 teams across the United States.

The winning team in the AAU National 10U Championship and National 12U Championship will represent AAU at this distinctive tournament. There is no entry fee for the Champion of Champions tournament, and most - if not all - the teams' expenses will be defrayed. In 2008, AAU Baseball finished second in the 10U division of this tournament, and the AAU 12U team was the champion! The AAU 12U was truly the best team in the country among all eight national programs. We are looking to repeat that feat in 2009.

The AAU continually strives to present new and stimulating new programs for all the athletes playing youth baseball. Despite the fact that AAU is the oldest youth baseball program in the country, the experiences it creates for its membership are always fresh! We hope to see your team at one of our upcoming phenomenal events.