Ridge Beverly Flex Baseball
Ridge Beverly Little League (RB) Flex baseball is designed to allow players to gain experience playing against other “in house” baseball leagues while continuing with the Ridge Beverly Little League season. “In house” leagues are leagues in which players compete against other players living within the predetermined boundaries set forth with Little League Baseball*. RB will be playing in the Chicagoland Sunday Baseball League (CSBL) this spring and early summer. Information related to this league can be found on their website (www.clsunball.com).
Flex baseball is also known as part-time travel baseball. The teams in the CSBL are leagues similar in size, experience and locale as RB. Teams are composed of registered RB players that are assigned to teams and play on RB teams only. Players that are competing with other leagues or travel teams will not be allowed to compete for an RB Flex team. The level of competition in the CSBL will be greater than the RB teams. It is recommended that a player be of average ability to register for a FLEX team but any player may register.
The Flex teams’ games and practices will be scheduled in addition to the regularly scheduled RB games and practices. Whenever a conflict arises between a FLEX and RB event, the player is to commit to the RB event in all cases. This league is a supplemental event to RB baseball and in no cases should FLEX baseball supersede RB. Should an RB manager, coach, parent or other community member raise an issue of conflict to the RB Board, the player could be subject to removal from the FLEX team.
RB would like all parents to understand that FLEX Baseball is not All-Stars. The All-Star selection process as listed in the league By-Laws (see under the tab ‘About Us’ on the RB website). RB is committed to get as many teams in the CSBL as we can. It is our belief that if a player is willing to dedicate the time and effort required for FLEX baseball in addition to the in-house commitment, we should honor this player’s and the family’s desire. Should there be more players than managers for a given age group, tryouts and cuts may have to take place.
Each year the number of interested players can change. With this in mind the 2021 is to be viewed as a work in process. The RB Board is committed to this endeavor and we hope to have everything run smoothly. Any questions or concerns can be sent to [email protected] and will be addressed as soon as possible.
*Certain players living outside of the boundaries of Ridge Beverly Little League should contact the League to discuss the possibility of petitioning Little League Baseball for a residency waiver.
COST
The cost for FLEX baseball for this upcoming season will be fluctuate from team to team. Costs are different as different teams play a different number of games and in different tournaments. RB will not be financially supporting these teams in any manner. These teams will play under RB’s insurance and will play in the CSBL as Ridge Beverly and the players need to be registered with RB. The equipment, uniforms and cost of playing will need to be supported by the players and teams themselves.
Levels
We are hoping to have Flex teams for all Little League levels of baseball (ages 7 through 14).
The players’ ages are the same as the RB classifications. These can be seen on the Age Chart listed under the tab “About Us” on the RB website.
Teams
FLEX teams will be determined at the conclusion of our winter tryout . The ideal number of players RB would like to place on a FLEX team is between 10 and 14 players. Should the interest of players exceed the number of coaches or managers the Board would determine the structure of the team at that level. Again, RB is committed to field as many teams as we can for each level. The commitment needs to be there by the players and families as well. Players are expected to attend all FLEX practices and games as well as all RB games and practices. A family should not commit to a FLEX team if they feel the FLEX and RB burden will be too great. The total time commitment for RB and FLEX during the season will be between 3 and 6 days a week.
If there is not a minimum of 10 players registered for a FLEX team, RB will look to move those players to a higher level if possible (i.e. 10U kids would play with a secondary or primary 11U team in order to field all players wishing to play).
RB is committed to field all players wishing to play FLEX baseball but in certain instances this may not be possible.
Schedule
2021 Schedule is TBD.
Managers
7U Manager: TBD
8U Manager: Mike Spadoni
9U Manager: Brian Cotter (Green) & Joe Goldrick (Gold)
10U Manager: Jason Erwinski (Green) & Mike Gruszeczki (Gold)
11U Manager: Mike Spadoni (Green) & Brian Ade (Gold)
12U Manager: TBD
13U Manager: Sully
14U Manager: Mike Perry
Registration
2021 Registration for FLEX Baseball will be handled by the team managers after the team is selected.
Other Information
As noted above please see the CSBL website for more detailed information on how the league is run.
The CSBL is an opportunity for players to gain more experience. A player will get out of this what they put in.
The FLEX teams will play games both at home and on the road. Should a league wish to host RB with RB as a home team at their field the manager will be encouraged to do so.
The CSBL allows for the teams at the 9U and above level to be placed in an A and AA level. RB teams will all be placed in the level determined by the team's manager.
The CSBL is comprised of in house baseball leagues from mostly the southern part of the Chicagoland area. The league will attempt to schedule games geographically but league level is first taken into account. A listing of teams can be pulled from the CSBL website.
The CSBL follows modified Little League rules which can be viewed on their website. Managers are allowed to further modify the playing rules each game if they are in agreement.
The CSBL is an ancillary baseball opportunity for players. The game results are listed on the CSBL website but there are no playoffs or championships. The records and performances of the RB FLEX teams will not be tracked by RB nor will the performance of the CSBL players be shared with RB managers in the selection of All-Stars. This is why the desire of RB is to keep the FLEX and All-Star selections as independent of one another as possible.
All-Star selection is independent of FLEX participation. All players will be chosen via the League By-laws for All-Stars. Players on FLEX will not be given priority treatment for All-Stars. FLEX baseball is simply an opportunity given to those players looking for more opportunity than that which is afforded currently by RB.
Please contact the RB mailbox with any questions, suggestions or concerns.