The state title-winning Pleasant Valley High School baseball program is offering two youth baseball camps Saturday and a free coaches clinic Sunday all at the PV Junior High gymnasium.

The youth baseball camps are for ages 10 to current 8th graders. Cost is $50 per session.

A defensive camp for infielders and outfielders is 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. A hitters camp follows from 1-4 p.m. Saturday. The defensive camp is limited to the first 40 registered participants.

Both skill-specific camps will focus on detailed fundamentals with instruction provided by the PVHS coaching staff as well as current and former Spartans players. Campers will be grouped by age — and in the defensive camp, by position, though participants will receive instruction on playing both infield and outfield defense.

All campers should wear a t-shirt, tennis shoes and shorts, sweatpants or baseball pants. Please bring a glove for the defensive camp, and a batting helmet and bat for the hitting session. Catchers may bring catching equipment to the defensive camp.

Walk-up registration is available prior to each camp session — from 8:15-8:50 a.m. for the defensive camp and from 12:30-12:50 p.m. for the hitting camp.

The online registration deadline is Friday. PV Community School parents must sign up using their student’s infinite campus portal at https://pleasvalia.infinitecampus.org/campus/portal/parents/pleasantvalley.jsp

For players from schools outside of the PV district, parents must fill out the attached registration form and bring that along with payment to PVHS athletic secretary Kim Meyer to the school by the end of the school day on Friday — or take advantage of walk-up registration Saturday. (Paper registrations can not be accepted from PV students; online is the only option).

In case of bad weather such as snow or freezing rain, registered participants will be notified via email about the camp moving to an alternate date.

For any questions, please email PVHS head coach Derek Stecklein at steckleinderek@pleasval.org — or for registration questions contact Kim Meyer at 563-332-5151 or meyerkim@pleasval.org.

— NOTE: Mark your calendars for Saturday, Jan. 7 for PV’s annual Winter Youth Baseball Camp. The general clinic will address all facets of the game for players ages 7 to 13. The camp is limited to the first 80 registered participants. The camp is 9 a.m. to noon at the PV Junior High School Gym.

A registration form for non-PV Schools students is attached to this news item.

COACHING CLINIC DETAILS: A FREE coaches clinic for all youth baseball coaches in our community is Sunday, Dec. 11 from 1-4 p.m. at the PV Junior High gym. Please enter the building at the east entrance.

Please RSVP for the clinic by filling out this linked Google form: https://onlinereg.leagueone.com/admin/GnL1LoadFrames.htm

This clinic was well-attended and well-received last year. Please share with anybody planning to work with youngsters on a baseball diamond.

For more information, contact PVHS head coach Derek Stecklein at steckleinderek@pleasval.org.

Bettendorf High School’s baseball program is hosting a Wiffleball Tournament on Dec. 28 at Bettendorf Middle School.

This annual fundraiser offers separate divisions for 3rd & 4th graders, 5th & 6th graders, 7th & 8th graders and Adults.

The cost of registration is $100 for a five-play team. To register your team, email BettendorfBaseballClub@gmail.com.

The event flyer is attached to this email. For more information, please direct any questions to BettendorfBaseballClub@gmail.com.

Tryouts for the BPV Thunder — a new 11-under “tournament team” for Bettendorf-Pleasant Valley Youth Baseball — are Sept. 14-15 (Wednesday or Thursday) from 5:30-7 p.m.

All of the tryout opportunities are at the Crow Creek Park 4-Plex (diamond number 8). Participants can be from any school and need only attend one of the tryout sessions — whichever best fits their family schedule.

The tryouts are in advance of the 2023 USSSA season. The 11-U BPV Thunder will be playing BPV games during the week next summer and 1-2 USSSA weekend tournaments per month starting in late March or early April depending on the weather.

Regardless of grade in school, players 11 years old and younger are eligible to play on this team. Players turning 12 years old prior to May 1, 2023 are only eligible to play if they are currently in the fifth grade. Players who turn 13 before Aug. 1, 2023 are not eligible for 11-U USSSA baseball tournaments.

This opportunity is 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 send an email to lttlewelch@gmail.com with parent name, player name and mobile number so we can ensure the tryout is able to accommodate those interested.

For more information or alternative tryout times, please contact Patrick Welch at lttlewelch@gmail.com.

The Bettendorf Baseball Club (BBC) is working to expand its mixture of weekend tournaments with weeknight league games in 2023 to teams of all ages, 8-14.

Final tryouts for these 2023 teams are Sunday, Sept. 18 at the Crow Creek Park 4-Plex (diamonds number 8 and/or 9).

This tryout session is planned for 12:30 p.m. to approximately 2 p.m. — with check-in beginning at noon underneath the picnic shelter at the center of the 4-Plex.

For those interested, please fill out the BBC questionnaire at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScsaNXK7mU0K2i5YjZEZ2wMDeBR_S--AM5QUxlpvkCWtfZ8UA/viewform

For those that already have tried out for the BBC teams in August, there is no need to attend another session. Decisions about each team/age level will follow this tryout.

To qualify for any of the BBC teams, players must be students of the Bettendorf Community School District (or future Bettendorf Bulldogs).

For each age level, players cannot be older than the age listed as of May 1, 2023.

For more information, including volunteer coaching positions, please contact Steve Tappa (tappasteve@gmail.com) or Dan Escontrias (danesco33@gmail.com).

ABOUT THE BBC:

The brainchild of BHS head baseball coach Blake Hanna, the BBC is a partnership between Bettendorf-Pleasant Valley Youth Baseball (BPV) and Bettendorf High School’s baseball program to offer a mixture of BPV league play with extra baseball in weekend tournaments in the area.

The BHS baseball coaches run the tryouts and make roster decisions for the teams. Volunteer coaches are selected by the BBC Board (a mixture of BHS Baseball coaches and BPV officers) after the rosters are decided.

The BBC program launched a successful “beta” team in the fall of 2020 that competed together this summer as a 13-U club in BPV’s Juniors Division and USSSA events in the region.

The goal of the BBC is to strengthen the youth feeder system to BHS baseball by helping create versatile, well-rounded, multi-positional baseball players, as well as great student-athletes and even better citizens and future community leaders.

The BBC teams play both at their current age level in weekend USSSA tournaments as well as “play up” in weeknight BPV games. BBC players are eligible for both regular BPV activities (games, practices, etc.) as well as unique BBC events (learning from BHS coaches and players at camps and clinics).
BBC teams wear uniforms reflective of the styles worn by BHS baseball.

While travel baseball normally includes significant costs, the BBC is committed to offering opportunities affordable to players from a broad range of economic backgrounds. Part of the annual mission for the non-profit BPV is providing baseball regardless of financial need. For financial assistance from BPV, please contact Steve Tappa (tappasteve@gmail.com).

ABOUT THE 4-PLEX:

For those unfamiliar with the Crow Creek Park 4-Plex, the street address for Crow Creek Park is 4711 Devils Glen Road, Bettendorf — or more precisely for the 4-Plex, 4140 Tanglewood Road, though that closer entrance has been unavailable because of road construction this summer.

The best way to reach the 4-Plex right now is to enter the main park entrance (marked by a streetlight on Devils Glen Road). Once in the park, turn right at the stop sign and drive downhill on the park access road past the DEK hockey rinks and two ball diamonds on the left, and then travel uphill past the soccer fields on the left and at the end of a large parking lot is a cluster of diamonds called the Howard Peterson Youth Complex (aka the 4-Plex).

A map is located here:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/41%C2%B033'51.7%22N+90%C2%B028'37.5%22W/@41.5643611,-90.4770833,583m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x47e660913d15e7d2!8m2!3d41.564371!4d-90.477081

Online registration is now open for Bettendorf-Pleasant Valley Youth Baseball’s fall ball program.

Please visit: https://active.leagueone.com/Olr/pages/welcome.aspx?clubid=14196

The fall baseball program features seven weekends of scheduled games from Saturday, Aug. 20-Sunday, Oct. 9.

Games are on Saturdays for the three youngest divisions at the Crow Creek Park 4-Plex, as well as nearby as needed at CC#6 and Tyler Hurd Field at Scheck Park. (Game dates: Aug. 20 & 27; Sept. 10, 17 & 24; Oct. 1 & 8).

Games for the o*ldest division (ages 14 and over) are Sundays* at Devils Glen Park and Smitty Field at Crow Creek #5 (and if necessary at Castro Field at Paul Norton School/Kiwanis Park). Game dates: Aug. 21 & 28; Sept. 11, 18 & 25; Oct. 2 & 9).

There are no scheduled games the weekend of Sept. 3-5 because of the long Labor Day holiday weekend.

The weekend of Oct. 15-16 is set aside as a possible rain date in case weather impacts too many weekends of game play. Otherwise, the program is designed to simply play (and practice) as much baseball as possible around school commitments.

NOTE: The game/site schedule is determined by the number of teams/participants, but the usual time format used on Saturdays has featured game starts at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Normal Sunday game starts are noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and (if necessary) 8 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 23 is the first day of the 2022-23 school term for both the Bettendorf and Pleasant Valley School Districts.

Before school and the fall games start, practice time is available to the individual teams. After school starts, practice time remains up to the individual teams and the preferences/schedules of their families.

For the youngest divisions, it is suggested teams try and practice at least one night each week once the fall games/school year begins, but other sports and extracurricular activities may impact plans (and should take precedence) as BPV hopes to help grow well-rounded student-athletes for the future.

Games also can be scheduled during the week on a team-by-team basis because of rainouts or special request.

SPECIAL FALL DIVISIONS:

— Rookie: Ages 5-8 as of Sept. 15, or grades K-3 suggested. Coach Pitch rules are followed. This is a great place to start and build experience for next season! NOTE: A recommendation (but not a requirement) for all players is to have already played a season of tee ball.

— Single-A: Ages 8-10 or Grades 3-5. A chance for Coach Pitch and Kid Pitch players/teams to get used to the next-level rules in the Minors division. NOTE: If your son or daughter has played in our Intro to Kid Pitch division — or is considering to do so next season as an Advanced Coach Pitch player — it is recommended to play Single-A in the fall to preview the next level. COACHES: If your team wants to play doubleheader each week (or more weeks), please advise the program director.

— Double-A: Ages 11-13 or Grades 5-7. A chance for Minors players/teams to preview the Majors division style of play with Majors rules followed. NOTE: Teams intended to play doubleheaders for extra game action as the schedule allows. COACHES: If your team wants only to play once-per-week, please advise the program director.

— Triple-A: Ages 14-17 or Grades 8-12. A smash up for our Juniors and Seniors division to allow Juniors players/teams a chance to look ahead to the future on a full-sized diamond, and Seniors division players to remain active and work on baseball and leadership skills. NOTE: Teams intended to play doubleheaders for extra game action as the schedule allows. COACHES: If your team wants only to play once-per-week, please advise the program director.

NOTE: AAA-plus division is possible if enough players ages 18-20 are interested, otherwise those participants again will be incorporated into the entire Triple-A division to provide leadership for the overall program.

PROGRAM DETAILS:

Registration is $75. (NOTE: There also is a nominal $3 online registration fee paid by each registrant for our shared use of the registration management system).

Registration by Monday, Aug. 8 helps in getting teams formed and able to practice.

The registration deadline is midnight Sunday, Aug. 14. For late registration, please contact tappasteve@gmail.com to assure roster space remains. (Participants have registered as late as Labor Day weekend).

Financial assistance is available by filling out an application located at BPVBaseball.com. Or request a financial aid form from tappasteve@gmail.com.

Summer BPV teams are encouraged, but not required, to stay together. For instance, if there are 2-3 or more kids/coaches wishing to play together, please let us know on your registration and send a follow up email to tappasteve@gmail.com. Teams can be grouped together to play in the fall.

If planning on rejoining a spring/summer team, or perhaps jumping in with friends/neighbors/classmates to create a special fall squad, please note this request on your registration, too. There is a prompt asking if you have any special requests.

All interested coaches, especially those with full or near-full teams, should contact Steve Tappa as soon as possible at tappasteve@gmail.com.

All registrants are placed on a team. Every effort is made to fulfill requests or group players by school. However, this is not a promise for registrations after Aug. 8.

Those wishing to sponsor a fall team to provide new uniforms for their team should contact the program director prior to Aug. 1. Otherwise, existing team jerseys are worn to provide additional exposure for spring/summer sponsors (new players on those teams are asked to wear a similarly colored hat & t-shirt/baseball sleeves).

Game balls and umpires provided. Team catching equipment and batting helmets also are available upon request.

For questions, please contact Steve Tappa at tappasteve@gmail.com or 563-676-8111.

PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY:

Fall Ball is intended to be a great bridge to the next level next season! The emphasis is not on winning, but rather developing skills and experience by playing (and practicing) as much extra baseball as possible.

Besides batting the entire lineup, as all divisions in BPV follow during the spring/summer season, special rules also are used:

— TIME LIMITS: 1-hour & 45-minute cut offs (10-run rule enforced after 4 innings; 5-run limit each inning; The intention is to play as many innings as the time limit affords).

— PITCHERS: Limited to 2 innings pitched per game & 3 innings per day if doubleheaders are played (goal: use multiple pitchers & develop more hurlers with mound time). Coaches, DO NOT pull pitchers midway through an inning unless in the case of injury. (Otherwise, this needlessly wastes game time for all and wastes the experience/coaching opportunity with the pitcher).

— EACH PLAYER: Should play the infield each game (goal: develop multiple positions).

— SPEED UP: Courtesy runners for catchers & pitchers; replacements ready for catchers making the 3rd out as a hitter (goal: maximize the time allowed).

— SUBS: May borrow other BPV Fall League players to avoid a forfeit, but they should bat last and should not pitch unless the other coach agrees to allow this (goal: play as much as possible; forfeits do no one any good).