Tryouts for the new 9-U BPV Bombers — Bettendorf-Pleasant Valley Youth Baseball’s new 9-and-under tournament team — is Tuesday, July 18 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Crow Creek Park 4-Plex (diamond No. 11).

These tryouts are for the 2024 USSSA season. This team will be playing BPV games during the week and 1-2 USSSA weekend tournaments per month.

Players with birth dates of 5/1/2014 and younger are eligible to try out and play for the 9-U BPV Bombers.

All families are eligible for these BPV weekend tournament teams, but these opportunities are separate from the BBC (Bettendorf Baseball Club) partnership between BPV and the Bettendorf High School baseball program.

If you plan to attend the tryout, please email bpvbombers@gmail.com with parent name, player name, player birthdate and mobile number so we can ensure the tryout is able to accommodate those interested.

Please contact Bob Jurkowski at bpvbombers@gmail.com, for more information or alternative tryout times.

If interested in weekend tournament teams at other age groups next season, please send an email to Steve Tappa at tappasteve@gmail.com.

Families struggling with medical bills from a serious illness. Single mothers dealing with a job loss. Even cases of homelessness with victims fleeing an abusive situation.

These and other hardships are heartbreaking stories to hear each year.

Bettendorf-Pleasant Valley Youth Baseball helps supply part of the solution to those problems, with parents simply wanting to ensure their kids have a chance to feel “normal” amid the chaos by growing up playing baseball with their friends.

So, our all-volunteer, non-profit organization raises funds annually to help cover the registration fees of those most in need of help in our community.

To help, consider making a $20 or more tax-deductible donation for the BPV to the Birdies for Charity program.

The donation link is: https://birdiesforcharity.com/donate

Just make sure to enter the BPV’s Birdies for Charity number — 1834 (Bettendorf-Pleasant Valley Youth Baseball).

ABOUT BIRDIES FOR CHARITY

Birdies for Charity is the benevolent fundraising program of the John Deere Classic, the annual PGA Tour stop in our community.

With Birdies for Charity setting the standard on the PGA Tour, the John Deere Classic has delivered over $159 million to local charities since 1971. Included was a record $13.9 million last year.

Deere & Co. covers all administration costs for the Birdies for Charity program, so 100-percent of the pledges collected are devoted to the charity of choice for those donors.

A matching grant from Deere & Co. also ensures a 5-10 percent bonus to each charity. A 7-percent bonus was received last year by the nearly 500 charities participating.

As part of the Birdies for Charity program, donors are asked to make a guess on how many birdies will be scored during the tournament, July 5-9.

Guesses closest to the correct number of birdies are eligible for prizes, including John Deere Classic tickets and memorabilia, and the Grand Prize of a two-year lease on a new Lexus. Last year’s winning birdies total was 2,041.

Pledges are due Friday, June 16 for prize-eligible guesses. Donations still can be made to Birdies for Charity until Friday, July 7.

NOTE: The minimum online donation is $20. Please be sure to complete each section of the donation form. Quad Cities Golf Classic Charitable Foundation is a 501©3 not-for-profit organization, EIN #93-1332421, doing business as John Deere Classic & Birdies for Charity. If you have any questions or experience difficulties with the online donation form, please contact info@jdclassic.com.

Bettendorf-Pleasant Valley Youth Baseball offers a concession stand specifically for high school students who need service learning/volunteer hours to meet school or civic requirements:

The concession stand at Saldivar Field at Devils Glen Park is normally open six nights per week over the summer hosting doubleheaders in BPV’s Seniors Division for high school and college aged players — Monday to Friday and Sunday.

With games starting at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., the stand can operate from 5:30 to as late as 10:30 p.m. each night (although most opt to close by 9:30).

The potential of receiving 4-5 hours of volunteer credit each night allows students to quickly meet their requirements (and work ahead) before getting busy with classes and other school activities when another school year starts in August.

Two friends are welcome to work together — which makes the already easy work super fun! Besides cold drinks, candy and ice cream treats, the stand’s menu includes hot dogs, pizza and popcorn for students to easily prepare.

The benefits of volunteering for BPV include having a ready job reference when applying for paid work at a local business, as well as a recommendation for college scholarships. Volunteers also have a nice line to add to their resumes or college applications.

Volunteers working a full shift are also invited to eat a meal or snack and enjoy a drink.

Any proceeds from the stand help the BPV fulfill its mission to provide baseball to our community regardless of financial need — and there are many that rely on our non-profit organization to afford playing. The BPV also funds the baseball facility improvements in our city parks, as well as providing a college scholarship annually to our best high school graduates.

If you know of any students interested in volunteering in the concession stand, the schedule/sign-up sheet is available at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uAPLvwiIUlLVx9aGOa-pADNDqG7qK9Tk/edit#gid=61444981

Or please contact Steve Tappa at tappasteve@gmail.com to reserve a spot.

For any questions, please email or call/text Tappa at 563-676-8111.

NOTE: For those unfamiliar with Devils Glen Park, the address for the park entrance is 1171 Devils Glen Road. The entrance is marked by a bridge over Duck Creek. To reach the baseball diamond, follow the park’s access road, which runs alongside Duck Creek & the recreation trail before taking you up the hill past picnic shelters. The park exit is on State Street at Weindruch Drive (across from Duck Creek Pancake House), with the baseball diamond just up the hill past the houses and trailer park.

Here is a Google link to the park map: https://www.google.com/maps/place/41%C2%B032'07.8%22N+90%C2%B028'38.5%22W/@41.5354665,-90.4840167,927m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d41.535495!4d-90.477361

Bettendorf-Pleasant Valley Youth Baseball’s 14-U BBC claimed the championship of the 14-U Lancers Slugfest over Mother’s Day Weekend (May 13-14).

The team is pictured wearing their special Mother’s Day uniforms and showing off the engraved souvenir bats they won as trophies.

The 14-U BBC rallied to win the title from an 0-2 pool-play record Saturday.

The squad was seeded sixth to start Sunday’s action, but in order beat the Nos. 3, 2, and 1 seeds.

In the championship game, the 14-U BBC scored 16 runs in the first three innings while only allowing two runs to claim their first championship.

Time to grab your friends and form your own baseball team for the summer!

Games are scheduled to start after Memorial Day in the Seniors Division of Bettendorf-Pleasant Valley Youth Baseball.

So, the time to get signed up is now, with the deadline for special registration requests on Monday, May 15.

Registration remains open. However, after that date, room on existing teams will be at a premium.

The sign-up link: https://active.leagueone.com/Olr/Pages/Welcome.aspx?ClubId=14196

BPV’s Seniors Division is for ages 15-20 — as well as those 14-year-olds or eighth graders preparing to play high school baseball. The league features age & skill divisions for a season which stretches into the first few days of August with a postseason tournament and all-star game.

Players on high school teams are eligible to compete, though the best pairing is with freshman team games and practices during the day to avoid conflicts with BPV games at night. Players must be 20 or younger as of May 1.

The Seniors Division’s “Frequently Asked Questions” is attached to help answer many of the most popular questions for those unfamiliar with the league.

There are no tryouts or draft. Ideally, friends & classmates are grouped together in the Seniors. So make sure to list the players/coaches you are planning to play with in the special request section of your registration.

If you only have one best friend you’d like to play with? Please list that.

If you only have 3-4 friends and don’t have a “full” team? That’s OK!

All registered players will be placed on a team and groups can be consolidated to make a team.

NOTE: Each team needs an adult coach/manager and sponsor to help cover uniform costs to form a team — but let us know if you need help with either (we have several generous sponsors already lined up this year).

For prospective coaches: This is a “players league,” where the players are old enough to do many tasks themselves! Coaches are there to help guide their teams — and should not be expected to do everything themselves as was the case when players were younger. The Seniors Division follows the Spiderman mantra in terms of players making this league great for themselves: “With great power comes great responsibility.”

If interested in volunteering to coach/manage, please contact Steve Tappa at tappasteve@gmail.com.

NOTE: A players and coaches meeting is planned Sunday, May 21 at 5 p.m. at Saldivar Field at Devils Glen Park to review rules and expectations.

The overall purpose of the meeting is to set expectations, discuss details of the season and cover other important information about the division & the way we will operate. It’s also a good time to address all questions.

For more information not covered in the attached Seniors FAQ document, please contact Steve Tappa at tappasteve@gmail.com.