Travel Baseball Tournament Organizers and Tournaments in Virginia
Nations Baseball Virginia
Listing of baseballtournaments in VA.
Central Virginia USSSA Baseball
Several tournaments in the region are listed here.
Articles For Those New to Travel Baseball
What is Travel Baseball?
Clarkstown Baseball Association provides a cut and dry overview of what travel or elite baseball is and the differences between it and "Recreational" baseball.
Choosing a Youth Travel Baseball Team
This is a great introductory article for those new to the travel baseball scene that can help you narrow down what you are looking for.
Picking the Right Travel Baseball Team
By John Pinkman
Taking a look at Coaches, Mission, costs, size of team and much more.
Overuse Injuries in Youth Baseball
Pitchers aren't the only ones with overuse injuries in baseball. Check out the latest data and prevention tactics.
Pros and Cons of Parent Coaches and Being One Yourself
Parent coaches in travel baseball, good thing or bad thing? Is it a good fit for you?
Youth Sports: Maintaining Reasonable Expectations
What are the chances your kid will play college baseball or softball? Professional baseball or softball? You should read this article.
Where the Elite Kids Shouldn't Meet
By Tim Keown, ESPN Writer
A raw and honest look into Travel / Elite Baseball
Sites, Organizations and Articles We Like
American Legion Baseball
Teams from 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada. Regional tournaments, State tournaments and a World Series make this one of the most popular baseball organizations around.
Dixie Youth Baseball
They play great baseball and players have an opportunity to play in tournaments and a league World Series. Find a team or start a franchise.
Babe Ruth League Youth Baseball
Great organization and great baseball. This is another option for youth baseball players to continue developing their skills. Start or find a charter here.
Travel Ball Select
Travel Ball News, Forums, Scores, Travel Ball TV and other cool stuff.
Game Changer
Sign your team up, keep stats during the game, track other teams. It's great!
Little League News
College Baseball News
MLB News and Rumors from Yard Barker
MLB players David Wright and brothers BJ and Justin Upton are all from Norfolk, Virginia. Michael Cuddyer, Mat Latos, and Justin Verlander are also from the Old Dominion state. They are scarcely the only ones! They are just six of 24 MLB players who are currently active in the league (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Virginia).
David Wright was born in Norforlk in 1982. As a boy he was in Little League. He sometimes played against another future big leaguer, BJ Upton. Both he and Upton would join the Virginia Blasters, an AAU summer team.
Wright also played third baseman and shortstop at Hickory High School. His intent was to be an engineering major, but he was playing too well coming off his senior year. He was a late first round draft pick in 2001. He was just 18.
Wright played in the minors for the Capital City Bombers and St. Lucie Mets before progressing to the AAA Binghamton Mets.
Now of course he plays for the New Jersey Mets -- where he was named team captain in 2013. He has won the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards. He has also won the Sports Humanitarian of the Year award.
Wright started his own charitable organization, the Wright Foundation, in 2005 (http://mlb.mlb.com/players/david_wright/bio/index.jsp). His foundation has supported a variety of charities from the Make-a-Wish Foundation to Harlem Children's Zone. He also funds an engineering scholarship at Virginia Tech. (His brother attended the school at the time of the tragedy, but was not injured.)
BJ Upton was born in Norfolk in 1984. As a youth Little League and AAU player, his path crossed that of several other future pros. His younger brother would also make the big league -- and play on the very same team.
BJ Upton played ball for Greenbriar Christian Academy. At 17, he was a high first round draft pick, selected by Tampa Bay. He played in the minors on the AA Montgomery Biscuits. He made his major league debut in 2004, not yet 20.
BJ and his brother, Justin Upton, play for the Atlanta Braves.
Justin Verlander was born in 1983. He began pitching at the youth level at age nine.
Verlander later pitched for Goochland High School. Then it was on to Old Dominion University where he was Rookie of the Year for the Colonial Athletic Conference. He was on Team USA in 2003.
Twenty-one-year-old Verlander was a very high draft pick in 2004 – number two overall. In the minor leagues, he played for Class A Lakeland, then AA Erie.
He spent only a short time in the minors, making his major league debut in 2005. Verlander has been with the Detroit Tigers his entire MLB career. He is active in Tigers charities and helped launch Wins for Warriors.
Sports Illustrated has a photograph of David Wright and BJ Upton together on the Little League field in the 90’s (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/main/photos/1207/pro-athletes-in-little-league/39/).
Tomorrow’s ball players are most likely on Virginia youth baseball teams today. They are also working hard on the baseball field and in the classroom. They are learning sportsmanship as well as ball skills – just like Virginia's youth baseball alumni have done across their careers.
Says Wright in reference to long-time friend BJ Upton's recent baseball struggles, "You feel for him on one hand… On the other hand, he's in our division. So you want to see him do well. But you don't want to see him do that well to where he is single-handedly beating you like he can (http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140309)."
Verlander has said, “I want to show that I can pitch well and get along with the guys in the locker room (http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Verlander/Verlander_my-say.html).” Playing on a team is more than just what one player can do. It is about working togther. Team sports build strong character and help teach children skills they will use throughout their lives, not just in sports but in school and at work.
Teams are coming soon!
* required field.