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Aug, 2023
The Cheshire Reds is the travel baseball program within Cheshire Youth Baseball and Softball (CYB&S) open only to residents of Cheshire or students attending school within Cheshire. The shared objectives among Reds coaches, players and parents in conjunction with CYB are:
- Provide a fun experience for all
- Develop and advance players’ baseball skills and knowledge of the game
- Play competitive baseball in the greater New Haven area and beyond
- Positively represent the Town of Cheshire and CYB wherever Reds teams play
For the 2024 spring season (yes, we're already planning for NEXT year!), the Reds organization will field the following teams:
8U – Jeff Farrell
9U – Brian Calhoun
10U – John Melillo
11U – Jeff Sutherland
12U – Matt Clarke
13U / 14U – Jim Gidicsin - We are looking to field one team in the early spring for players who are not on the freshman high school roster, then a summer team combining those freshman players with others from the spring team.
Reds teams play in the East Shore Travel League, based in New Haven. Most of our league games are against teams from south central CT, and we play a fair share of games at our home fields at MacNamara Fields on Weise Road. While we typically play in competitive divisions within these leagues, players and parents should understand that we won’t always play in the most competitive division. Each manager will decide before each season which division to play in, depending on the make-up of us his roster, depth of pitching and anticipated schedule.
Players are selected through tryouts announced to the broader CYB&S community through postings on this website. Tryouts usually start after Labor Day, with 3 or 4 tryouts scheduled in total for each team, though some teams may hold fewer. Once roster decisions are made, parents of players selected to a Reds roster will be required to sign a player contract and pay a non-refundable $200 fee which will be credited to the full player fees when those are fully known and published.
In general each team’s season will run from early April through late June to early/mid July. Post-season tournaments will often take a team through to the middle of July. There are typically one or two games during the week and at least that many on weekends. Additionally, teams will try to practice at least once a week, with most holding another if a field is available. Teams also have the option of playing in at least one non-league tournament and often more, depending on interest and cost. Over the years, teams have competed in tournaments in NY, NJ, DE, MA, MD, and elsewhere. Considering regular season, post-season and non-league tournaments, each team should expect to play 25-40 games. While managers try hard to provide equal playing time for each player, there is no guarantee that playing time will be equitable.
Reds teams begin working out indoors in January, often using school gymnasiums in Cheshire as well as local, privately-owned facilities. Since teams cannot conduct batting practice in our school gyms, we utilize these private facilities to practice hitting. These winter workouts usually conclude when the weather permits outdoor practice, right about the start of the season.
Some Reds players also choose to play CYB, though it is not a requirement to do so. The decision to play Reds and CYB is one each family should make considering the cost and time commitment associated with playing on two teams with very different schedules.
The Reds organization is governed by the Reds Committee, which consists of the VP of Reds and each of the Reds managers. The VP of Reds is also part of the CYB Executive Committee to ensure clear communication and coordination between CYB and Reds, and vice-versa.
For questions about the Reds, please feel free to contact Jim Gidicsin, VP of Reds, at [email protected].