Teaching the sport is not enough for Ripken Baseball. The amateur baseball division of the company announced Monday that they would be forming a 11-and-under travel team to take part in tournaments held at the Ripken Baseball complexes in Aberdeen and Myrtle Beach, S.C.
“Managing a youth baseball team provides the perfect platform for us to teach, coach and encourage young people to play baseball ?The Ripken Way,?” Bill Ripken said in a release Monday.
Ripken Baseball and the youth academy staff had been toying with the idea of starting a youth travel team for some time, but it was only solidified in the last week.
Ripken Baseball spokesman Jay Moskowitz said that the team will be a showcase of the instruction that the Ripken Youth Academy provides. The tryouts for the team, which will consist of about 12 players, will be held at the Aberdeen Complex Sept. 25-27.
Adam Christ, an instructor at the Aberdeen Youth Baseball Complex, will be the head manager and coach for the team.
“I definitely miss coaching, and the youth level is where I like to see kids develop and become better overall athletes,” Christ said.
A shortstop for Iowa State University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Christ had coached for two years at Minnesota State University.
“We are not so much tied into the win-loss, but just to see the kids and their skill development [improve],” Christ said. “It is a great way to show these young athletes, parents and fans around, what kind of things Ripken Baseball does.”
Plans for the travel team?s first year will be to play about 25 games in six tournaments at the Aberdeen complex and another tournament at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach. Playing in tournaments outside the Ripken Baseball complexes won?t happen this year, but depending on the team?s results, they might in the future. Christ said that the success of the team could also lead to Ripken Baseball branching out with a travel softball team.
One of the biggest perks of the team is that Ripken Baseball will provide professional instruction.
“We will have help from professional and college players with all the instructing,” Christ said. “Bill Ripken will be around. He is always around, and he is a very instrumental part in the teaching of camps and the teaching of ?The Ripken Way.?”
