Team Formation:   Generally, we have two teams at each age group, many age groups have grown to three teams.  At the 8u level, the talent is split evenly between teams (e.g. - American and National).  At 9u and above, players are evaluated at tryouts and the top 11 or 12 are placed on the “A” team.  The next tier of 11 or 12 players will play on the “B” team, and the next tier of 11 or 12 will play on the “C” team.  The number of teams at every age level will be determined by the total number of players who tryout, with the consideration that there needs to be enough pitching talent to support all the teams.  Last year, 8u had 2 teams, 9u-11u had 3 teams, 12u-14u had 2 teams, and 15u had 1 team.

Tryouts:  Players should plan to participate on both scheduled tryout days for each age group.  If a player cannot make both days you must contact the coordinator for the age group to let them know why in advance.  Players who are age eligible to play at two different levels may tryout for both of those levels, but must attend tryouts for both age groups.  Should that player make a team at both levels though, they may only play on one team, and they will need to make the decision immediately once notified about team placement.  In tournament baseball, not all players will make the team, some players will be cut.   Players will be rated objectively at the tryouts by a team of assessors from another age level in our league.

Players are selected to a team based on the assessors evaluation of the players during the tryouts.  There are two days for players to tryout.  This is for the players to demonstrate their skills and for assessors to get a full evaluation of the players.  Players can come back the second day and show their real skills after having an off first day.  Players are grouped together by skill level against players with similar skills to refine the selection process for a team.  The top 9 players selected by the evaluators are placed on the 'A' team.  The evaluators provide a small list of players (typically 4 to 6 players) to the manager to select the next 2 players.  The process continues in this manner to select the 'B' team.  Again, the top 9 players are selected by the evaluators then the manager select the next 2 players. This process continues until all players are determined where they should be placed.   Bridgewater does not like to cut any player as the goal is for all players to play at some level.  Instead of cutting players, a team could be formed by the manager recruiting players to fill out the team.  Beyond the 'C' team, when there are enough players for 2 teams, the talent will typically be divided equally so each team has enough pitching to compete in tournament baseball.  If it does come down to cutting a player, the next option would be to play summer recreation baseball to improve their skills.

Grouping the players by skills typically takes looking at each player on the first day of tryouts. The second day is used to refine the selections to determine which team a player might be placed. Players who standout in a group can be moved to a different group.  Bridgewater has a very large turnout for some age groups. There may be tryouts where the players are grouped by skill level the first day.  This is not something that will happen at the younger age groups (8U, 9U and 10U). It is not very often but it can happen that a player moves more than 1 level up or down from one year to the next.

Commitment:  The tournament program is competitive-level baseball which requires a commitment from both the player and the player’s family.  Tryouts are always held at the end of April/beginning of May.  Practices start in May.  Practice (depending on the coach) is once a week during the Spring Recreation season and then 1-2 times per week depending on the game schedule during the summer season.   Most tournament teams will begin their summer season with the Cerbo/Bridgewater Baseball Memorial Blast tournament held over Memorial Day weekend at our complex.  Other tournaments begin at the conclusion of the school year, and generally conclude by the end of July. From mid-May through the end of July, players and families should expect to practice and or play games multiple times during the week and multiple games on the weekend.   We try to be flexible and work with other Spring activities, but Spring/Summer baseball should be the primary emphasis (e.g. - not soccer, roller hockey, etc.).

While vacations are not out of the question, absences are discouraged, and the team and players depend on each other to be there through multiple tournaments and practices. Please remember that our tournament game season lasts for only seven weeks.  Rosters are kept to a minimum, to maximize playing time during every game. If a player and their family are not willing to make a full-time commitment to the program, they should probably consider the summer recreation league as an alternative.  

Remember, if you do plan on playing tournament and also taking vacations during the tournament season, your child could be taking a roster spot away from a player who is willing to make a 100% commitment to the program.  Missing games due to vacation or other activities could result in less playing time.  The intensity of the program depends on the coach and the collective intentions of the team’s parents.  You should expect the “A” team to be a highly competitive and stricter in it’s approach to the commitment.   You should also expect lesser intensity as you move to a “B” team and so on for a “C” team.

Tournaments:  Bridgewater Baseball tournament teams will participate in our own tournaments (the Bridgewater Memorial Weekend Tournament and the Bridgewater Summer Invitational Tournament in July) and in 2-3 other tournaments or summer leagues at the manager’s discretion.  In addition, many of our more competitive teams will also participate in the Cal Ripken District tournament (A & B teams only) – a progressive competition which could lead to States and Regional level tournaments. Most tournaments play 4-5 games before the playoff/championship rounds, and it is very possible that multiple games will be scheduled in a single day and also sometimes to accommodate multiple tournaments.  In a typical tournament season, most teams will play between 20 and 30 games during the seven week period from mid-June through the end of July.

At 8u, the teams play in 3-4 tournaments.  At 9u-12u teams will start to play in 4-5 tournaments.  Generally, the “A” teams will also play in the District tournament.  In addition, the “C” teams won’t play in as many tournaments, but they will play in a 10-15 game league.

Sample Summer Tournament Schedule

Geography:  In addition to our “home” tournaments at our complex, teams will travel only as far as surrounding counties (Somerset, Hunterdon, Union and Middlesex), unless they qualify for the Cal Ripken State or Regional tournaments, which could require a little more travel.

Cooperstown Tournament:  At the 12u age level, the tournament teams travel and participate in a week long 50/70 tournament in Cooperstown, NY.  It is a fantastic trip and represents the culmination and reward for a lot of hard work and commitment by the players (and parents).  It is a truly memorable experience for them.  The participation and preparation for this trip includes fundraising activities.  It costs approximately $15,000 per team.  The team fundraises to cover the cost.  If not, the parents must pay or make up the difference from the fundraised amounts.

In order to be eligible to tryout at 12u and participate in the Cooperstown trip, players must have at least tried out or played at 11u in the Bridgewater program. Players who move into the Bridgewater-Raritan area are eligible to try out for 12u but must have played 11u from the town they moved from and play in the Spring Recreation program. In addition, if at 11u you are selected for a team, you must play if you want to play at 12u.  You cannot try out, make the team, and then not accept the invitation (you will be ineligible for 12u).  If you try out and do not make the team, you will still be able to try out for 12u (and obviously play if you make it at 12u).  We do not want to reward someone who has not supported the program and just comes out to go on the Cooperstown trip versus players and parents that have participated and supported the program for multiple years. 

You may only play one year at the 12u level (you cannot participate in the Cooperstown trip twice).