The YAO Baseball Bermuda (YAO) announced their 2012 Cal Ripken All Stars. The Cal Ripken Division is made up of over 50 boys and girls between the ages of 10-12. The recent affiliation with Babe Ruth Inc. in the United States has afforded the YAO the opportunity to join the New England Region of Babe Ruth Inc. This gives Bermuda players an opportunity and easy access to play teams in the Greater New England area as well as the possibility of playing in the New England Championships. We look forward to continuing to build our relationship with Babe Ruth Inc. in hopes to continue to send teams overseas to test their skills against other players in this region and to give them more exposure to world of baseball.
In the summer of 2011 the YAO team participated in the New England Championships. The team had such a wonderful experience and made such a positive impression, the YAO has been fortunate enough to establish a special relationship with the Babe Ruth chapter in Marlborough. Having established this relationship, YAO was invited back to play some games against all-star teams in the surrounding towns. Marlborough has also generously offered the use of their fields for the team to practice. Marlborough has one of the top baseball facilities in Central Massachusetts. The timing for this year’s Tour will be from July 7 to 13.
This year’s team while staying in Marlborough will be playing a series of games against All-Star teams from Central Massachusetts, including Fitchburg, Townsend and Marlborough.
The team will practice each morning and play their games in the evening. There will be down time as well. The organizers and coaches were fortunate enough, through the help of Bermuda Tourism, to secure tickets to a Red Sox/Yankees game at Fenway Park on Sunday night July 8th. Again, this was due to the outstanding relationship between and Bermuda Tourism and the Boston Red Sox. The game is scheduled to be on ESPN and look for the kids and congratulations to the team on the centerfield score board.
The Bermuda Team will also travel to Manchester NH and have the special opportunity to see a game with the with the Minor league team for the Toronto Blue Jays, as well as meet the players.
The YAO Cal Ripken All-stars for 2012 are led by Head Coach Mike Daly, Assistant Coaches Pat Neal and Mikey Daly. Players: Josh Allen, Ian Anderson, Andrew Daly, Kip Malpas, Billy Montgomery, Owen Neal, Chris Ricca, Mateo Rodriguez, Dylan Somerville and Robbie Turnball. Bat boy will be Connor Somerville.
Special thanks have to go to Head Coach Mike Daly and Team managers Dina Allen and Jodi Rodriguez. They have spent endless hours the past two months organizing the trip. Mike Daly explains, “Allen and Rodriguez have worked tirelessly to ensure they have found the best hotel and airline rates to keep the costs down. They took care of everything from washing the team jerseys, arranging meals, ensuring players are properly hydrated and lathered with sun bloc. They have handled all aspects of transporting the players to and from practice, while keeping all the parents who are traveling involved and well informed. The Coaches and Managers have created a system to be sure that all the players are well rested for each day, which is an important aspect of traveling with a group of young players. All of the boys are taking this opportunity very seriously. They all understand how lucky they are to be given this chance to represent Bermuda on an International basis.” Coach Neal also added that, “While the players have played on different teams throughout this baseball season they are truly bonding as one team now. They are very supportive of each other and are enjoying their time together. The boys also understand the responsibility of wearing a jersey with Bermuda across the front."
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