Player Registration form 2010
 

1.Understand that a tryout is not a social event. You are there to take someone's job. 2. Dress like a ball player. Wear baseball pants, cleats, a hat and tuck in your shirt. You will get major deductions if you show up in baggy jeans and the latest skater dude apparel. Wearing your hat backward or sideways is a major no no. 3. When you arrive, place your equipment away from everyone else's. Run, preferably, by yourself, to get warm. Stretch away from everyone else in the outfield. Coaches will notice that this is a serious, disciplined, knowledgeable ball player. Also your equipment is less likely to grow legs. 4. Throw sufficiently to be completely warm. There may be a lengthy wait while waiting to perform at your position. Be sure to keep throwing if necessary to stay loose and warm. 5. Many think that hustling and trying to aggressively make plays is the way to impress coaches. Understand that it is early season and your game is not in midseason form. When it comes time to show your defensive skills you will be much better taking it slow and smooth, focusing on proper mechanics. Get your feet under you and focus on making an accurate throw. The odds are if you try too hard, rush it and throw it as hard as you can, you will boot it and throw it into the stands. 6. When hitting, take a pitch to get a feel for the timing of the pitch. Be selective and only swing at pitches that you can expect to hit with a high degree of success. Here again it is early season so your stroke is not in midseason form. Don't over swing but just swing smoothly and try to hit line drives and hard ground balls.

Player Registration form 2010
 

Northwest Independent Baseball League Tryout Dates 18 and over 28 and over Player Workout and Draft See what you need to be ready to do...and what Managers want to see. Let me list what positions need what attributes: Catcher- Needs to be a very loud, aware take charge guy; May be even the smartest and most baseball-knowledgeable player on your team. You can't have a slow catcher, he must be agile and quick. If not, sooner or later it will come back to haunt you. 1st baseman- Also can't be very slow or it will hurt you. He must be able to cover some ground as more infield errors occur from bad throws than missed balls! 2nd baseman- Quick hands and quick feet. Doesn't have to be very big so he needs to be able to make contact at the plate especially if he is small and doesn't bring too much pop with the bat. Shortstop- The leader of your infield and very quick and hopefully, fast. If he can't cover the whole left side of the infield, than he should be a 2nd baseman. Should be very athletic and maybe your leadoff or #2 hitter. 3rd baseman- Strong arm, doesn't have to be the quickest but should be able to cover the line because your shortstop will cover to his left if he can't reach it. The older the player, the more he is looked at as a power guy. Left Fielder- Should be able to charge in very well because he needs to play deeper than most of your outfielders due to so many right-handed pull hitters. Doesn't need the best arm but couldn't hurt. Center Fielder- Good to great arm, should be one of the best and quickest athletes on your team. If he can't cover much ground, don't pick him or put him in left or right if he has a superior arm. He gives the corner outfielders confidence. Remember. the game is won "Up the Middle"! Right Fielder- Big arm, needs to make the longest throws on the field. Again, the older the player, the more he is expected to hit for power. Doesn't need great speed, covers limited amount of ground. Our Tryouts Consist Of: Outfielders - Any player who thinks he might be an outfielder goes to right field. We hit them fly balls and they throw to 3rd base and then home. We measure velocity. We look for ability to judge fly balls, arm strength and accuracy. Infielders - Any player who thinks they are a 3B, SS or 2B goes to the shortstop position. We hit them a series of ground balls (at them, right, left and slow rollers) and they throw to first base. Again we measure velocity. We look for ability to field ground balls, athleticism, arm strength and accuracy. First Basemen - We do the same for these guys except they are stationed at first base and throw to third base Catchers - We put them behind the plate and get a glove to glove stopwatch time on throws to second base. We look for timing and accuracy. We put them behind the plate during the hitting tryouts and pitching tryouts to judge their ability to receive pitches. Pitchers - We are simply looking for arm motion, especially players who don't "shortarm" the ball. Obviously accuracy and velocity are a factor. Hitters - We watch swing mechanics. We don't care if they touch the ball or not. Do their swing mechanics show that they have the ability to be a potential hitter 2010 INFORMATION The NWIBL (Northwest Independent Baseball League) is a organization dedicated to playing the game of baseball on the best fields and with the best umpires available to us. We have been in existence since 2009 and are comprised of 16 teams from the Portland and Vancouver regions. Teams are made up of all levels of players including former high school, college and professional baseball players, 18 years of age or older. We believe in "giving something back" to the community and hold Fund raisers during season ($10 for each HR to JDRF and during the All-Star game dollars for hits and runs for MS) Our League is governed by the team managers and operated by the League Director. We also have Committees that handle Rules, Appeals, Disciplinary issues, and other issues on an ad hoc basis. NEW PLAYERS: If you are wondering "where do I fit in?"; we suggest that you check out our schedule and see some of our games. It COSTS you NOTHING to join our Free Agent (Pool) list, and by signing up your INFO will be available to ALL of our managers. Signing up for the Free Agent (Pool) list online is simple: just click 2010 Player Registration Form and fill out the form. If you get picked up by a team, great! If not, you will be posted on the Free Agent page and available to play for any team. (If you do play there is a $15 charge for Accident insurance). Monday Night Baseball: Because of the high number of Ball players that are not on teams we have established a Monday Night Open league game (we want everyone who wants to play to have a chance... fees... there is a $15.00 one time charge for Accident insurance and each game is $20.00 all you need is your glove. Player fees: New players First Year 2010 pay $370 this helps to defray the cost of advertising to assist in recruiting new players to the League which is why your fees will be lower your second year…and all years that follow. The funds the League collects by means of asking the new players to pay more pays for a small percentage of league costs and for the tryouts. Player fees existing players: Team managers, on behalf of the League collect each player's share of the Team Fee; usually dependant on roster size. The typical cost per player is roughly $275 for the season, which includes umpire fees, insurance, field fees, etc. Free Agent players typically pay a $20.00 fee...Plus a 1 time insurance fee of $15.00 They are also eligible to play in the Monday Night League. Season length is 20 games for regular season play. Playoffs are additional games for teams that qualify and no additional cost. Included are the Home Run Derby, All-Star Game, Playoffs, and Championship Games (for players/teams that qualify). Playoffs consist of the teams playing in a bracket elimination tournament. Both Divisions play Double Elimination. Players must play 25% of games to be qualified for playoffs. Top 3 Winning teams in each division receive the league championship Plaques. Top 4 Playoff teams receive equipment. We also have awards for Offensive Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Sportsman of the Year. Players qualify to play tournaments. Check out the Tournaments page for dates. Player registration ends June 29, 2010. Players in the Free Agent pool are still available to play but not qualified for playoffs. OPENING DAYS: Saturday, 4/24/10 & Sunday, 4/25/10. Tentative No games scheduled for Mothers Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July or Labor Day weekends. MINIMUM AGE: TO PLAY, YOU MUST HAVE REACHED AGE 18 BY 7/31/2010. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More Questions...Q & A How old do I have to be to play in the NWIBL? As long as you turn 18 years of age before July 31 of the current year you are eligible to play in the NWIBL. How long has the NWIBL been in existence? The Northwest Independent Baseball League started in 2009 with 10 teams. How many teams play in the NWIBL? The NWIBL is currently comprised of 14-16 teams from the Portland OR and Vancouver Wa area.. How do I join a team? There are several ways to join a team. The easiest way is to know a current player and, if you are good enough, tryout for their team. If you do not know any players in the league you can submit your information via the link titled "2010 New Player Registration Form" on the top of the home page. Submitting your information will send an email to all of the league Director who will contact you to learn more about your abilities. There is also a League Draft in which New Players may be added to teams in need of more players (we try to place everyone on a team but we do have the right to place you in the Monday night league if we feel that you need more practice, we do not want to place anyone in harms way and want all player to be able to protect themselves at all times while playing). Typically 50-70 players are added to teams each season using through this method. How often do you play and how long is the season? Games are usually played on weeknights after 6 PM and weekends starting at 10AM  The 2010 season begins April 24. The playoffs begin in August. Each team plays an 20 game regular season schedule including 3-4 double-headers. How much does it cost to play? Players Drafted will pay a League fee of $370. The returning player fees vary from team to team. Typically it is between $275-$400 dollars per year, per player. This fee covers costs like team bats, uniforms, other equipment, Umpires and certain league expenses like insurance. Some teams are able to obtain sponsors to help defray costs, some hold fundraisers. Some teams play approved extra road games outside the league. All teams request payment up front. All Player and Team fees must be paid by opening day. Teams who have not paid the team fees will be held out at the start of the season...no games until paid. Games missed will be forfeited. What do the uniforms look like? Most teams have uniforms similar to major league baseball teams. What do I need to play? All you need is a glove, a pair of spikes/cleats (metal preferred), a good attitude, and the desire to play baseball. We play with wooden bats only so if you have a favorite bat you need that too. If you need a bat you may want to considered an approved composite wood bat...The league is a dealer for Brett Brothers and team managers can get a Brett bat at a good discount for you ...see here How fast is the pitching? Most pitchers in the league have fastballs between 70-85 MPH however there are some pitchers that can top out in the high 80's in the upper division. Lower division pitchers throw between 60-75 MPH but every team has at least one pitcher who can bring it. What positions are most in demand? All positions are in demand however good pitchers and catchers are particularly hard to come by. What if I want to submit an entire team? If you are interested in starting your own team or already have a team and you would like to join the NWIBL please contact the league Duane Wangenheim League Director 503 208 2009 or Baseball@NWIBL.ORG Here is the process..... 1. A formal submission must be made in writing to the NWIBL April 1 of the year that a team would like to compete. The written submission shall provide the following information: a) Team Name b) Team Manager and Contact Information c) Initial Roster of 15 players must be submitted. Additional players can be recruited before the season. e) Background on team and manager i.e. played together in another league, newly formed team, etc. 2. A Team deposit of $500 must be submitted with your application. This deposit will be refunded if the team is not allowed into the league following a vote by the NWIBL Board. 3. Cost - The estimated team league cost is $4125. This cost includes insurance, 2 dozen baseballs, and certain league related administration costs (website, umpire  and field usage fees, etc.). This cost does not include: a) Uniforms c) Equipment d) Practice Baseballs (we will provide you with discounted options. 4. New managers and players must be familiar with the NWIBL By-Laws. 5. Once all of criteria are met the managers will vote for acceptance of new team at the February meeting where a majority vote will decide. Where are NWIBL games played? Games are played at Sckavone and Walker Stadiums here in SE Portland a few games may be played at local High School or College fields. What about playoffs? Playoffs begin in August and consist teams playing in a bracket elimination tournament. Double Elimination Format. Players must play 25% of league regular season games to be eligible to participate in the playoffs. How competitive is the league? The AA Division is HIGHLY COMPETITIVE. The A Division is experienced. Players in the NWIBL have baseball experience ranging from high school to a stint in the Major Leagues and every level in-between. The competition is solid but we all realize that we need to go to work the next day. Play Hard, Play to Win, Play for Fun and Be Safe. Use this handy form to send us your thoughts Feedback form