Welcome back to our website!

The Bettendorf-Pleasant Valley Youth Baseball registration website is now open for the 2020 spring/summer season!

To sign up, visit:
https://active.leagueone.com/Olr/Pages/Welcome.aspx?ClubId=14196

Among the key contacts for our various age divisions:
— Coach Pitch (Grades 1-3): Tyler Driever (tdriever@mchsi.com )
— Intro to Kid Pitch (3rd Grade/Advanced): Ron Johns (JohnsRonaldO@johndeere.com or 706-220-7286)
— Minors (Grades 4-5): Matt Wood (mcw1205@aol.com or 563-340-5917)
— Majors (Grades 6-7): Dan Escontrias (danesco33@gmail.com or 563-210-3489)
— Juniors (Grades 8-9): Tyler Driever (tdriever@mchsi.com)
— Seniors (Ages 15-20): Steve Tappa (tappasteve@gmail.com or 563-676-8111)

===

DIVISIONAL BREAKDOWN

The divisions offered this year are the same as last season (in all divisions, all players bat in order and participation rules are followed):

— Coach Pitch: A beginning program for Grades 1-3. Younger players can request to play, however a season of tee-ball is suggested, with the separate city program an appropriate starting point for all players. In some instances, 3rd graders are allowed. Coaches pitch to batters. Players run the bases with some restrictions. Three outs or a run limit (whichever comes first) defines the inning. Games run six innings, with teams playing typically twice a week, and practice time on the weekend once games start. April is set aside for practices. Games run May to around July 4. The season ends with a postseason tournament and All-Star games, where all of the league’s participants receive an award. Fields used are at Hoover School, the diamonds nearest to Splash Landing at Middle Park (called Lowry Field & 23rd St. Field) and LeClaire’s Veterans Memorial Complex. Most teams grouped by school or special request. Also: LeClaire-only teams are a registration option on a first-come, first-serve basis. Those interested in coaching are encouraged to contact the division director, Tyler Driever at tdriever@mchsi.com.

— Intro to Kid Pitch: Geared for 3rd graders and any advanced/veteran coach pitchers ready for a new challenge. Kids pitch to hitters with restrictions. A mixture of rules are used from the Coach Pitch and Minors Divisions to prepare players for the next level. Six-inning games, with teams playing typically twice a week, and practice time on the weekend once games start. April is set aside for practices. Games run May to around July 4. The season ends with a postseason tournament and All-Star game, where all of the league’s participants receive an award. Field used: Crow Creek #6 (by the soccer fields). LeClaire-only teams are a registration option on a first-come, first-serve basis. Most teams grouped by school or special request. Those interested in coaching are encouraged to contact the division director, Ron Johns at johnsronald@johndeere.com.

— Minors: For Grades 4-5. Full kid pitch with base-running restrictions. Regulation games are six innings, with teams playing typically twice a week, and practice time on the weekend once games start. April is set aside for practices. Games run May to mid-July, with All-Star games and a postseason tournament capping the season. Fields used: Scheck Park and Crow Creek #10 & #11 at the 4-Plex. Teams formed by a draft following evaluations. LeClaire-only teams are a registration option on a first-come, first-serve basis. Those interested in coaching are encouraged to contact the division director, Matt Wood at mcw1205@aol.com.

— Majors: For Grades 6-7: Full base running rules. Regulation games now seven innings, with teams playing typically twice a week, and practice time on the weekend once games start. April is set aside for practices. Games run May to mid-July, with All-Star games and a postseason tournament capping the season. Fields used: Crow Creek #8 & #9 at the 4-Plex. Teams formed by a draft following evaluations. Also: A LeClaire-only team is a registration option on a first-come, first-serve basis. Those interested in coaching are encouraged to contact the division director, Dan Escontrias at danesco33@gmail.com.

— Juniors: For Grades 8-9. Teams formed by a draft following evaluations. Full baseball rules (except dropped third strike) on smaller-than-regulation fields (54-foot mound, 80-foot bases). Games are seven innings, with teams playing typically three times per week, and practice time on the weekend once games start. April is set aside for practices. Games run May to mid-July, with an All-Star game and a postseason tournament capping the season. Fields used: Crow Creek #5 and Castro Field at Kiwanis Park/Paul Norton School. Some games also at out-of-town destinations such as Eldridge, Long Grove and Donahue, versus teams from the North Scott and Wapsi Little Leagues. Bettendorf fields have lights, so night games are normal. Note: If pairing BPV with high school baseball, play in Seniors on a full-sized diamond against older competition. Those interested in coaching are encouraged to contact the division director, Tyler Driever at tdriever@mchsi.com.

— Seniors: Ages 15-20. Grab your friends and create a team (adult coach needed). All registrants are placed on a team. Full baseball on a regulation diamond (60-foot, 6-inch mound, 90-foot bases). Games are seven innings or limited by time limit. Teams play typically three times per week, with practice time available on the weekend. Games start in mid-May and run through late July, with a postseason tournament and All-Star game capping the season. Fields used: Devils Glen Park and McCausland City Field. Schedule includes doubleheaders (5:30 and 8 p.m. starts) on lighted fields, mainly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Those interested in coaching or forming a team are encouraged to contact the division director,, Steve Tappa at tappasteve@gmail.com.

===

ABOUT THE BPV

The calendar: Late March is when the season kicks off with evaluations in the Minors and Majors. Coaches meetings also are held at this time in all but the Seniors division, with Coach Pitch, Kid Pitch and Juniors teams forming (exact dates will be announced soon). For all divisions except Seniors (which mirrors the high school season), April is set aside for practices. Games begin in May. Seasons end with a division tournament and All-Star Games planned around the July 4 holiday. Depending on weather, all seasons should wrap up by mid-July (Note: Coach Pitch/Kid Pitch finishes by July 4; Seniors start later with games in mid-May and running until the end of July). BPV also offers Fall Ball on weekends starting in mid-August and running through the end of September.

Games: Expect to play a couple of games each week. Once games start, practice time is mostly available on the weekends, decided on by a team-by-team, first-come basis. (The two oldest divisions usually play 3 games per week).

Awards: All participants receive an award in the Coach Pitch and Intro to Kid Pitch divisions, with an awards jamboree at the All-Star Games. The top teams in the regular season and tournament also earn trophies in each division. Additionally, the All-Star Game participants receive a keepsake for playing.

Equipment: All players receive a jersey, hat and baseball socks for their uniform. Baseball pants and shoes, as well as gloves are the responsibility of the participant. (Some also provide their own helmets and bats, but BPV also provides those, along with catchers gear, in a set of team equipment).

Fees: Cost for the season is $100 ($120 for Seniors to partially cover additional insurance costs) plus part of an online service fee. However, BPV does not exclude participation due to financial hardship. Contact Steve Tappa (tappasteve@gmail.com or 563-676-8111).

Volunteers: Helping keep our costs so low is the volunteerism we enjoy at all levels! Behind-the-scenes help running the all-volunteer organization always is necessary. Please consider volunteering by contacting Steve Tappa (tappasteve@gmail.com or 563-676-8111).

Sponsorship: Our generous sponsors also help to make youth baseball an affordable treasure in our community. For sponsorship information, please contact Dan Escontrias (danesco33@gmail.com or 563-210-3489) or Tyler Driever (tdriever@mchsi.com).

Help wanted: Umpires are also needed and compensated for their work; contact Steve Tappa at tappasteve@gmail.com or 563-676-8111.

Coaches also are needed in all divisions! (Contact any of those listed).

===

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Consider helping with the behind-the-scenes work necessary to help ensure a low-cost activity for more than 1,100 kids annually in our community, and raise funds for college scholarships and improvements to our city’s diamonds and this program. Please contact Steve Tappa at tappasteve@gmail.com.

Besides volunteer coaches, the BPV Board of Directors is actively seeking additions! Baseball knowledge is not necessary; but candidates must have a passion for kids’ activities and supporting community efforts. Help make the next season happen and plan the future of baseball in Bettendorf! Interested candidates please send a note or ask for more information from Steve Tappa (tappasteve@gmail.com).

Among the positions open:

- A volunteers chairperson to help coordinate volunteers, including the Service Learning students at Pleasant Valley, as well as recruit new members and coordinate efforts with other volunteer/service organizations. Will work closely with the concession chair for concession stand staffing.

- A fundraising chair (and or committee, with a volunteer representing each division) to work on outside, off-field projects such as Birdies for Charity (donation pledge cards tied to the John Deere Classic, with the program providing the incentives/prizes, and 100-percent of the proceeds coming back to us) and a BPV River Bandits Night at the Ballpark (each team buys/sells tickets, Bandits offer the prizes/incentives and game night entertainment, we get half of the ticket money generated from our sales, with the other half defraying the discounted admission prices – needed are people to oversee this program, taking/filling the orders and distributing the tickets).

- An equipment manager to help retire unusable equipment, fixing what can be fixed, ordering replacement hard goods as needed, and stocking team equipment bags check in/out, and managing that process, as well.

- The Concession Stand at the 4-Plex is a big project. We always can use help. The stand provides a much-needed amenity for the fans and families at the 4-Plex while also raising money for many of the BPV’s good works. The Juniors diamonds do not yet have concession stands, but we are looking to add those in the near future. Devils Glen does offer a concession stand for the seniors; however, another charity runs that for their only fundraiser and we allow them to do this as part of our good works/community outreach. The other diamonds (coach pitch and kid pitch and Scheck Park) do not have plans for a concession stand at this time.

- A Fall Ball chairperson to help head up the effort, which included offering fall baseball games on six weekends, August to October, to more than 400 kids, from Coach Pitch to the Seniors age division.

- We also need general volunteers to help with game-day operations (scoreboards during games) and the special events (like the All-Star Games & tournament championship games from handing out awards and programs; operating Public Address sound systems; serving on grounds crews).

- There also are several other details (picture nights, trophy ordering/distribution, tryouts and
evaluations) where people can help.

===

GOOD WORKS

Bettendorf-Pleasant Valley Youth Baseball annually offers more than 1,100 youngsters, ages 6-20, the chance to play affordable, city-based baseball regardless of financial need. The all-volunteer, non-profit organization also works with our city’s parks department to maintain, develop and improve the baseball facilities in Bettendorf. The BPV’s fundraising efforts also provide an annual scholarship for a graduating senior at both Bettendorf and Pleasant Valley high schools, as well as a wild-card winner from all of the area high schools.

Our volunteer work is responsible for several community projects, improvements and amenities you might take for granted at our city’s baseball fields. From scoreboards to batting cages, to lights at Devils Glen, Paul Norton School and Crow Creek No. 5, the BPV continues to make baseball better in our community. Among the most-recent good works:

- The BPV offers a college scholarship annually to a graduating senior at both Bettendorf and Pleasant Valley High Schools, as well as a wild-card candidate from all area schools. Candidates must have good academic credentials. Community involvement is a plus. Winners must also have played at least six seasons in the BPV. If you know of a graduating senior, urge them to apply for the scholarship this coming school year. For an application, ask your school guidance counselor or visit https://teampages.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/499808/2020_BPV_Scholarship_application.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA3I4H7LHCQRRP4PXA%2F20200214%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20200214T144913Z&X-Amz-Expires=21600&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=62fb7426a19fb8b3f4bb0e97fd616694af0415c5b5c5014d8bc0fd649f86aa7c.

— The BPV annually offers batting cages for public use at the Crow Creek Park 4-Plex, Crow Creek Park No. 5 (Smitty Field), Kiwanis Park (Castro Field) and at Devils Glen Park (Saldivar Field). Please note: BPV teams do have priority use.

— A new pitching mound and home plate at Saldivar Field, purchased and installed by BPV, in a partnership with our DiamondKings travel program, ready for the 2019 season. http://bpv.teampages.com/photo_albums/147166-2-18-Devils-Glen-makeover-photo-album/album_photos

— New fence caps at the Crow Creek Park 4-Plex, purchased and installed by BPV, ready for the 2019 season!

— A new equipment shed at Castro Field, purchased and installed for BPV for the 2018 season by one of our generous sponsors, ABC Supply Co.

— The dugout roofs at the 4-Plex also were repaired before the 2018 season by ABC Supply Co.

— A new scoreboard at Saldivar Field at Devils Glen Park. New batting cage nets also were installed prior to the 2017 season at Crow Creek No. 5 (Smitty Field) and Castro Field at Kiwanis Park (Paul Norton School).

— A new batting cage at Devils Glen, prior to the start of the 2016 season, in a partnership with our affiliated Diamond Kings 13-14 year-old travel program. Andrew Dresselhaus, the oldest son of Diamond Kings 14-under coach John Dresselhaus, completely overhauled and refurbished that part of the facility as his Boys’ Scout Eagle Project. Pictures of the work and completed project are on the News & Pictures section of our website. http://bpv.teampages.com/organizations/21438/announcements/1567065-New-batting-cage-at-Devils-Glen

— New batting cage nets at the Crow Creek Park 4-Plex ahead of the start of the 2016 season. The BPV also hangs, stores and maintains those nets, along with the batting cages at Devils Glen, CC#5 and Paul Norton School/Kiwanis Park/Castro Field. When not in use by BPV teams, the batting cages are for the entire community’s benefit. Pictures of the annual project are available on the News & Pictures section of our website. http://bpv.teampages.com/organizations/21438/announcements/1567083-New-batting-cages-at-the-Crow-Creek-Park-4-Plex

— The concession stand at the 4-Plex is once again a going concern. Part amenity for the families attending games there, part fundraiser for the many good works of BPV. Please consider volunteering your time to help offer a concession stand!

— The concession stand at Devils Glen is run by volunteers from Bettendorf’s New Choices, Inc. The proceeds from the stand benefit the organization’s charitable mission to allow local individuals with disabilities to live as independently as possible.

— G and R Integration Services generously donated in 2015 a defibrillator to the 4-Plex Concession Stand for emergencies. Defibrillation saves lives. The technology is a common treatment for life-threatening cardiac dysrhythmias and ventricular fibrillation. Defibrillation consists of delivering a therapeutic dose of electrical energy to the heart with a device called a defibrillator.

— A new scoreboard was installed after the 2014 season at Castro Field at Kiwanis Park (Paul Norton School). As you can see in the News & Pictures section of our website, our fundraising efforts allowed BPV to add to scoreboards at the 4-Plex, and at Diamonds No. 5 and 6 at Crow Creek Park. http://bpv.teampages.com/organizations/21438/announcements/1557029-Castro-scoreboard-installation

— BPV partnered with the City of Bettendorf in 2013 to replace the 30-year-old lights at Castro.

— A long-range fundraising project we continue working toward — LIGHTS AT THE 4-PLEX.

===

COACHING QUALIFICATIONS

The BPV requires all coaches to seek AAU membership annually, which has background checks built into the online approval process.

Applying for AAU membership is as easy as visiting the website (http://www.aausports.org), taking a few minutes to fill out the necessary form and sending a $16 annual fee. The BPV refunds this fee upon proof of membership and the Board approval necessary to be a BPV coach.

Proof of membership is as easy as sending the coach’s BPV division rep an email with a photo attached of the coach’s membership card. This information is then kept on file for that year by the BPV. Each head coach and assistant coach (two in most divisions) are required to have AAU membership.

Credit is applicable for having previous AAU membership, and a refund will be granted for AAU coaches in other sports, so long as the AAU membership applies to the current baseball season. The Bettendorf Youth Basketball Association is among the many organizations also requiring AAU membership. Most weekend travel tournaments run by the USSSA also require AAU membership.

AAU membership also offers: 1) $50,000 of sports accident insurance coverage when participating in AAU licensed events; 2) Covers 30 sports and all AAU-licensed events in those activities; 3) Provides for free a Mandatory Positive Coaching Alliance coaching course and other online coaching videos; 4) Athlete & club/organization membership available & necessary for participation in AAU events.

Additionally, the BPV is requiring attendance at one of the coaching clinics offered by the BPV (or completion of the AAU’s online coaching class) to earn coaching approval from the board. Proof of clinic/class completion is required.

For more information, contact Dan Escontrias at danesco33@gmail.com.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Q: I have a background check done through my job, club, or Governing Body every year. Can you use that information?
A: No. Federal Law does not allow organizations to share background screening information. We cannot use any other source or data for our background screening process.
Q: If my AAU membership is not approved what happens?
A: You can contact the AAU Compliance Department at 407-934-7200 for further instructions.
Q: Who sees my information and is my private information secure?
A: First Advantage has been contracted by the AAU to perform the background screenings. Please visit their website at FADV.com to learn about the company handling our background screens and your private information.
Q: When are the coaches clinics to attend? When are their meetings for the coaches in a respective division?
A: The dates, times and sites for clinics or meetings will be circulated closer to the season. However, most divisions meet before the tryouts/evaluations or practices begin. Coaching clinics also are offered by Bettendorf High School or the Pleasant Valley High School staffs or Legends Baseball Academy.

===