Ashland Youth Baseball & Softball (AYBS)  



AYBS held its annual meeting last night to review the accomplishments of the 2011 season and to elect the board members for the 2012 season. Before discussing the past season and reviewing our plans for next year, we wanted to take a moment to thank all of our volunteers for their service in 2011. There is no question that without all of you who offered your time this past season – from Board membership to spending a game within the confines of a snack shack – AYBS could not offer the playing opportunities it continues to offer the girls and boys in Ashland. As noted below, those playing opportunities extended this year from spring through the fall, and we hope to continue to expand those opportunities in 2012. 

While all of our volunteers deserve recognition, we believe it is important to single out one particular group – the coaches – because we view that group as critical to the program’s success, and we recognize the commitment coaching a baseball or softball team requires of those dedicated individuals. The board believes it is worth briefly recounting the work our coaches do each season because much of it occurs behind the scenes, and we want to be sure all of our members understand the work that goes in to coaching a baseball or softball team. As you may imagine, the commitment to coaching a team involves much more than running practices and managing the team during the course of a game. It also involves coming down to the fields early in the spring to help get them ready, attending training sessions, coordinating schedules, communicating with parents, planning meaningful practices, spending late night hours working on line ups, arranging for rides, preparing the field before a game, and countless other day-to-day tasks that may often go unnoticed. We want our coaches to know that all of that work does not go unnoticed, and that the AYBS Board recognizes the following: WE COULD NOT DO IT WITHOUT YOU, AND FOR THAT, WE THANK YOU.

As for the 2011 season, our coaches and volunteers helped us accomplish, among many other things, the following: (i) successful spring, summer and – for the first time in recent history this year – fall baseball and softball, with approximately 600 children participating in our programs and including the running of our own, highly-successful multi-town Sparkler Tournament; (ii) a strong fundraising program with donations and sponsorships up over previous years; and (iii) continued capital improvements to our fields, including new infields and dugouts at Warren, a new infield on the large diamond at Stone, and new batting cages at Gryncel. In looking back at 2011, the Board considers it to have been a success, but we believe there is room for improvement, and so as we look forward to 2012, we want our membership to be aware of the following initiatives for 2012: 

1.      Improving baseball and softball skills. Baseball is a skill sport that requires training and repetition. The Board in 2012 is dedicated to improving skills at all levels through increased training opportunities, increased practicing opportunities, and additional training for coaches. 

2.      Improving communication with our membership. While we believe we have made strides in communicating with our membership, the Board intends to improve significantly on that this year on a number of fronts, from the opening of registration to the selection of tournament teams.

3.       Increased member participation. As noted above, we cannot run a successful program without dedicated volunteers. We have many members who volunteer countless hours, but we need more and are therefore asking you, our members, to help us meet this goal by coming forward to volunteer your time in whatever capacity fits your skills, from fundraising to coaching to safety to field maintenance. Please let us know of your talents and interests and we will put them to work. 

We are looking forward to seeing you on the fields in 2012 (and hopefully before that as we prepare for 2012). 

AYBS Board of Directors 

AYBS Around Town

Thank You Ashland!!!!

At May Town Meeting, Ashland Voted to Approve the High School Field Complex, Walker Field Turf Project and Water Ban Waiver for Fields

Stay tuned for updates on the progress of these projects and future improvements to our fields.

UPDATE

Middle School's Walker Field is online

The new AFMG (Ashland Field Management Group) is in front of Selectmen for committee formation vote.

High School Field Project bids are in. Selectmen and Fields Committee voted to go forward with Base Bid (land work, multi-use field, practice fields and Softball field) as well as the Baseball Field and Utility Building

Maintenance Field Use Policy has been approved by Selectmen and is in process of being approved by School Committee. Go to http://ashlandmassfields.com for more info.

AYBS in the News

Capital Improvement Projects

The AYBS board has approved expenditures for several major capital projects including

COMPLETED!!

• Replaced the infield on the large baseball diamond at Stone Park (Sr. Baseball)
• Replaced the softball infields on field #1 and #2 behind the Warren School (Softball)
• Added 4 Dugouts at Warren Fields 1 & 2 (Softball)
• Added 2 Batting Cages at Gryncel Minors Field (Little League)

• Adding Storage Shed at Gryncel Minors Field (Little League)
• Adding Storage Shed at the large Baseball Diamond (Sr. Baseball)

TO BE VOTED!!

• Adding 4 bullpens at Gryncel Majors & Minors field (Little League)

Little League International Imposes Composite Bats Moratorium Effective Immediately