Parents,

Colts Neck Travel Baseball Tryouts will be held Saturday November 18, 2023, at Ghost Lab, an indoor facility located at 749 Hope Road, Eatontown, NJ 07724. Cost for each participant to tryout will be $15, paid to Ghost Lab, to cover the cost of holding the tryouts indoors this year with independent coaches and evaluators to “run” the tryout (please bring $15 on the day of the tryout). 

Please use the link below to sign up for tryouts:

Colts Neck Travel Baseball Tryout Signup

We are holding tryouts for the following age groups for the 2024 Season
(please arrive 20 to 30 minutes before the tryout time to sign-in and warmup):

·       7U (born after May 1, 2016); Tryout is 3pm – 5pm

·       8U (born between May 1, 2015 and April 30, 2016); Tryout is 3pm – 5pm

·       9U (born between May 1, 2014 and April 30, 2015); Tryout is 3pm – 5pm

·       10U (born between May 1, 2013 and April 30, 2014); Tryout is 5pm – 7pm

·       11U (born between May 1, 2012 and April 30, 2013); Tryout is 5pm – 7pm

·       12U (born between May 1, 2011 and April 30, 2012); Tryout is 5pm – 7pm

A makeup date for tryouts will be determined if needed.  Please alert me if you want to tryout but can’t make Saturday 11/18.

Cost for the Spring Season will be approximately $150 per player, plus cost of uniforms and any practices at training facilities during the Winter.  Cost for any Summer or Fall Season would be separate.

Opponents to be played depend on the divisional bracket as determined by USABL, however, they traditionally group teams in a division that are within no more than 30 minutes from Colts Neck.

We ask that each player come prepared in baseball attire (sneakers/turfs, baseball pants, athletic top, hat is optional) and that each player bring their equipment (glove, batting gloves, bat, helmet; you can borrow a bat and helmet if needed, and you don’t mind sharing).  Please do not wear Colts Neck Baseball uniforms or Colts Neck practice gear.

The tryout will consist of throwing, catching, hitting, and fielding.  We will have three independent evaluators and one Colts Neck Coach scoring players in those categories.  The top five players in each age group as scored by the independent evaluators will be invited to join the team.  The remaining invites are the Head Coach’s decision, as are the number of total players chosen for the team.  The Head Coach may choose to invite “practice players”, who will be invited to practice with the team but will not necessarily be invited to take part in games. 

Parents are welcome to watch tryouts but will not be allowed on the field.

The Colts Neck Travel Baseball Program is run as a meritocracy, meaning those that currently demonstrate more ability in the eyes of the evaluators and Coaches will be invited to join the team and unfortunately that means that some players that tryout may not make the team.

Players who are younger than a certain age division, can try out for an older age division, if the player demonstrates ability to play at that level, the player will be invited to play in that division.  If the player is not invited to “play up” an age division, but still demonstrates ability to play at their natural age level, the player will be invited to play at their natural age level division.

The Colts Neck Travel Baseball Program is also open to players who live outside of Colts Neck.

Players who live in Colts Neck who play on the team are required to play Recreational Baseball as well.

We currently have legacy Coaches for the 7U, 8U, 9U, 10U, 11U, and 12U teams.  If you’d like to volunteer for coaching (Head or Assistant Coach) please let me know by reaching out to me (text/call/email).  If you’d like to be a Head Coach, which would replace a legacy Head Coach, I will first try to mediate to find a solution, if a solution is not agreed upon, an independent panel of at least three Colts Neck Sports Foundation members will interview the candidates and select the Head Coach, their decision will be final. Please let me know your intention to coach by 10/29, so that interviews and selection can be completed before 11/18. Coaches, please be in attendance to watch the age group you are Coaching so you can be prepared for the Coach’s selection of players who fall outside the top five as scored by the independent evaluators and Colts Neck Coaches. 

Team rosters for Spring 2023 are anticipated to be announced in the first week of December, ultimately dependent of making sure anyone who needs a makeup tryout has had a chance to schedule.

If you are invited to play the Spring 2024 season, you will have right of first refusal to join any Summer or Fall team that your age division team may be involved with in 2024, but you are not guaranteed a roster spot for 2025, that will be determined based on tryouts in 2024.

This year we have also started a partnership with PRD to tap into their amenities for facility space at the Ghost Lab and their tournament teams.  PRD as an organization fields Tournament Baseball Teams throughout the year.  Their Ghost Lab evaluators will also be identifying players that may be invited to participate on Ghost Tournament Teams. Those who are invited to play with Ghost would be doing so IN ADDITION to playing on the Colts Neck Travel Team.  The Tournament schedule would be known well in advance and Colts Neck Coaches can plan accordingly. This partnership will not cannibalize the Colts Neck Travel Program, but rather provide an outlet for select players to play Tournament Level Baseball.  All costs associated with being invited to play with Ghost are separate and apart from Colts Neck.

We look forward to seeing you at tryouts and continuing to build on the successes of the 2023 travel baseball teams!