Mounts Hardball Academy

Focus: Instructional training on hitting, position specific, and in-game situational training. This year, we are planning to have instructional training on Tuesdays and Thursdays, along with friendly scrimmages and additional instruction on Saturdays.

Instruction: Experienced coaches with over 100+ years of coaching will lead the academy sessions. This is also a great time for those interested in coaching and are looking to learn before taking the head coach role.   

Season Cancellation:  If Ephrata schools close to in-person attendance or if PIAA cancels the falls sports season, the Hardball Academy will be cancelled as well. 

Covid Questionnaire: A very brief questionnaire will be completed by parent prior to each practice/game. This is to minimize the risk of exposure for all players and coaches.

Proof of Health Insurance is required – Insurance waiver will need to be signed by parent.

Details:

• Age as of 4/30/2020:  10U (8-10), 12U (11-12), and 14U (13-14) 
• Programs for under 8 will resume in the spring.

• Practices on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
• Games/Scrimmages on Saturdays starting October 3^rd (tentative date).

• Cost: $75 for the season (non-refundable) or $5 per player per session (Must be paid the day of instruction, $75 cap for the season, no refunds)
• Schedule:  Beginning Tuesday, 9/8 and ending Saturday 10/31. 
• Tuesdays & Thursdays: 5:30-7 (Pitching, Positional Training and Batting Practice)
• Saturdays 10am-12pm (Instruction and Scrimmages)
• Location:
• Snyder Park 
• 10U - Snyder Park (Field 2)
• 12U - Snyder Park (Field 3)
• 14U - Snyder Park (Field 1) 

Check-in and Payment will be at the Snyder Park Pavilion (Near Fields 2/3) starting at 5pm Tuesday and Thursdays, and 9:30am on Saturdays.  

Please email any questions to: info@ephratabaseball.org

The EBA is looking to fill a few volunteer positions. Below is a quick description of the position and responsibilites. Please reach out to the EBA President, Jeremy Jones, for additional information or to express interest in a position. All EBA Coordinators and Board of Directors are required to have clearances and background checks.

1. Sponsorship Coordinator

The Sponsorship Coordinator is responsible for working with the community to get sponsers to help suppor the various activities that the EBA provides and participates in. This position is a non-voting position.

2. Fundraising Coordinator

The Fundraising Coordinator is responsible for putting together the yearly EBA fundraisers, working with teams and coaches to provide materials and reporting back to the EBA Board of Directors with any idea or concerns. This position is a non-voting position.

We are in need of umpires for this season for the in-house 8-10 year olds age level.  All games are in the Ephrata school district and this is a paid position.  $40/game and we will have a training session.  You can bring your own equipment but we also have some to share. 

Ages can be 14 and up.  

Interested?  Questions?  Please email Jeremy Jones at jeremy@elaengineers.com

Need to start in the next few weeks so email Jeremy soon.

http://ephratabaseball.org/umpires

Thank you.

On Sunday Feb. 23rd, 2020 from 2 to 3PM at the EBA Facility you can come to register for the Spring 2020 Baseball Season.

We will also have several helmets to try on for those who ordered helmets to get the correct sizing.

On March 7th, the PCA and EBA will hold it's first Coaches Workshop.

Starts at 9AM to 10:30AM. This is required for all EBA Coaches.

The Ephrata Youth Baseball Fall Spirit Wear Sale is OPEN and items available to purchase using the following link:

https://tbsonlinestore.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=62_101_180

The Spirit Wear Sale will remain open until November 10^th, 2019 and delivery is expected to be in early December and will be communicated as soon as those dates are known.

There are also several Ephrata Baseball 60" Umbrellas still available that would make great Christmas Gifts. Please see the attached flyer for information and send orders to Karen Buckwalter at Kjbuck7@icloud.com.

 
Thank you!

A few updates and a request for volunteers for 2 positions:

First, to help us prepare for the 2019 season we need 2 people to fill key positions.  We really could use your help so thank you for considering:

• Volunteer Coordinator helps do background clearances, communicates with coaches about the process, facilities updating our volunteer list, and helps reach out to people to fill open positions. This person usually interacts with coaches, volunteers, and other board members and usually has 5-7 hours per month from late January-early April.
• Kid Pitch Team Coordinator helps coordinate coaches, field assignments, prepare coaches for season, and help with the coaches or parents with questions through the spring season.  Usually a few hours per week from Feb- Early June (end of school).  A full job description (although it says more than Kid Pitch but its the same for all levels) is available at https://ephratabaseball.stonealley.com/files/Ephrata/EBA%20TBall%20and%20Coach%20Pitch%20JD%202017.pdf 
• Please email Jeremy Jones, EBA President, at jeremy@elaengineers.com or myself at info@ephratabaseball.org  with questions or interest.  

Other Important News:

• Little League Charter: The EBA Board voted to cease our Little League charter effective immediately at the meeting on November 4, 2018.  Although we still have youth baseball for ages 5-10 we have the infrastructure and experience to provide it in an "in-house" format without the administrative responsibilities that comes with the Little League(R) charter.  The quality baseball instruction and fun learning atmosphere will continue for Ephrata youth.
• Age Cut Off Change:  The age cut-off date that determines what age group your player is assigned has changed to April 30th. We will use this for all age groups from 5-14 year olds and its effective for the Spring 2019 season. Last year it was August 31st but before that it was April 30th so they are just reverting back. The organization (LCYBL) we are affiliated with for 9-14 year olds voted to revert back to 4/30 so we are applying it to all age groups for simplicity sake. For example, if you were born 5/1/2006 - 8/31/2006, the player would play in 12U now instead of moving up to 14U.  We estimate this will affect 15-20 players from last spring.  When you register, it will give you the assigned age group based on the birthdate you've entered in your account.
• Spring Registration will open in mid-November.  I'm estimating 11/18/2018.  For 10U and 12U players wishing to play on the travel teams, evaluations will be December 8th and 15th at either 9, 10, 11 am.  Those players will need to register by 12/7/18 and choose one date & time during registration.  All others have more time to register and those deadlines will be posted on the website when registration opens. More on registration soon...

Thank you.

On behalf of the EBA,

Brad Murphy

As we start our new year we wanted to share some changes and thank the members for their service!

• Paul Gockley has resigned as EBA President after more than 5 years of serving in this capacity.  Paul's leadership has guided us through many changes and led our sponsorship efforts.  Thank you Paul for your long-lasting contributions to Ephrata baseball!

• Although we don't want to lose Paul, we are excited to announce that Jeremy Jones was elected as our new EBA President effective 10/1/2018.  Jeremy has been our Ephrata Little League President for several years and also volunteers in several other youth sports organizations in Ephrata.  Thank you Jeremy for your years of service and for your willingness to continue to serve in this new role.  

• There are some new faces to our team in the past several months. Thank you for being willing to invest your time and energy for the benefit of our baseball community!

• Bobby Miller - Sponsorship & Annual Gold Tournament Coordinator

• Jaime Ochs - Fundraiser & Picture Day Coordinator

• Darrin Lytle - Parent Member

Open Positions: We do have several positions open. Thank you for considering how you can get involved!

• EBA Little League President

• (varying hours from Jan-June; Monthly meetings required as position as voting responsibilities)

• AA Kid Pitch Coordinator 

• (2 hours per week from Feb-June; Monthly meetings not required but recommended in Jan-April)

• Volunteer Coordinator

• (2 hours per week from Jan-April; Monthly meetings not required but recommended in Jan-April; Aug and Sept)

Please visit http://www.ephratabaseball.org/eba-board for job descriptions or contact Jeremy Jones or Brad Murphy.

Thanks again to all of our volunteers from coaches, team mom's, and board members!

On behalf of the EBA,

Brad Murphy

PR Director

All information & forms are at http://www.ephratabaseball.org/mountshardball-golf-tournament