MSBL offers a Travel program for youth in grades 1-8.  Our Travel program is offered to players who wish to compete at a higher level than our Recreation Leagues offer. Players possess the desire to more actively hone their skills with like-minded peers.

  1. How Travel is different from Recreation?
    • Commitment:  Players, parents and coaches make a substantial commitment and investment to the team and the game as a whole. They are expected to practice outside of the scheduled team practice.  Some invest in private lessons on a regular basis (not required), and they make baseball/softball a priority. 

    • Competitiveness. Rec ball and travel teams are meant to introduce competitiveness. They’re meant to help develop our natural human instinct to be competitive. The differentiator for travel ball is how that’s done.  Our Rec program guarantees ALL registrants will be rostered on a team.  Our Travel program may limit the number of players on a given team, and thus there may be tryouts and/or player evaluations.  Take a look at the Rostering section for details.

    • Age Ranges:
      • Softball: Travel Program teams are organized according to the rules set forth by the League(s) that we enter into.  For example in USA Softball NJ, the league age of the player is determined by the player's age on September 1st each year.  Refer to the USA Softball Age Cut-off Chart. It's important for parents to know this because their child may move to the next division earlier or later than their peers, and some adjustments may need to be made once League decision is made. Our goal - based on registration outcomes - is to do our best to place every registered child on a team. 
      • Baseball: Eligibility by age range is set forth by the League(s) in which we enter therefore our travel teams will also be organized by age. Players can play up in age level but are not eligible to play down. Please use the link below for the age range guidelines that our Travel league teams will follow: Baseball Age Chart
  2. Registration:
    1. Eligibility:
      1. Players are eligible to play Summer/Fall Travel only if they played in the Rec league during the Spring Season.
      2. Manager Selection: Managers/Coaches are only eligible to coach Travel if they coached in the Rec league during the Spring Season. This will be considered on a year-to-year basis as per the board’s discretion.
      3. The Board will discuss and vote on volunteers to manage and coach Travel teams.
    2. Registration Periods:
      1. Spring Travel - January
      2. Summer Travel - May
      3. Fall Travel - July
    3. Registration links are made available on our Registration page leading up to and throughout the registration period.
  3. Fees:  Fees for our Travel Programs are set by the Board of Directors prior to the registration period.  Fees are communicated in registration announcements and in the registration form.
  4. Rostering:  Following registration is when rosters are formed, which may require tryouts or player evaluations.  Details are in the Rostering section.
  5. Leagues Entered
    • All decisions concerning the specific leagues and/or tournaments in which our Travel teams will be entered is decided by the commissioners, Board of Directors and team Managers. Travel managers are not allowed to enter leagues or tournaments, or schedule games, for Travel teams without a Board approval.
    • Baseball Leagues Entered:  We usually participate in USABL in spring and fall; and New Providence League or USABL in the summer
    • Softball Leagues Entered:
      • Spring:  We typically play in USA Softball NJ District 2, Long Hill, or Berkeley Heights league.
      • Summer / Fall:  USA Softball NJ District 2 or Long Hill
      • NOTE: For Fall Season, teams generally play in the division they will be playing in the upcoming Spring. This is not mandatory, but we do encourage Fall to be a play-up season, as do the leagues we enter. For example, if an existing 8U player will be playing 10U in the coming Spring, we encourage them to be playing on a 10U team the prior Fall season.
    • Playing time and Field Positioning is determined by merit at the manager's discretion (safety, performance, attendance, and effort). The league will provide guidelines to managers and coaches at the beginning of each season. We encourage managers to set expectations with players and parents before each season begins.
    • League Rating:  MSBL must rate the teams that we submit to the Travel Leagues we enter so that our travel teams are evenly matched with competing towns.  The MSBL Travel Director will collaborate with the team Manager and agree on the league rating we'll submit.  If an agreement isn't reached, the MSBL program commissioner and MSBL President/Vice President will arbitrate.  If arbitration is unsuccessful, the MSBL President will determine the rating we'll submit for the given team(s). 
  6. Practices & Games:
    1. The Travel Leagues we enter create the game schedule, which varies by subdivision/age group and season.  
    2. In the Spring, our travel program games are typically on weekends so as to not conflict with our Rec season games which are held on weekdays.
    3. The practice schedule is determined by the coach based on field availability, their own schedule and when a majority of the team is able to practice.  Coaches endeavor to schedule practices at a convenient time for all.
  7. Travel Leagues typically have a Regular season followed by Playoffs where all teams compete to determine the league champion.
  8. Some Travel Leagues that we participate in feature an All-Stars game and invite teams to submit their stars to participate in this fun event. 

Be sure to check out the other tabs on this page to learn more about Rostering, equipment needed, our safety policies, rules, and our participation in All Star games.  Pictures & video submitted by parents from our Travel Program can be found on our Photos & Videos page.

 

Rostering for our Travel Program endeavors to strike a difficult balance between building a competitive team whilst providing a program for players to thrive at the appropriate skill level.  This section describes the methodology we use to build team rosters following Registration.

These are the general guidelines we intend to follow and more specific information will be provided via communications during the given registration period. 

  • Team Formation will depend on registration outcomes, therefore the process may vary per season. The goal is to form teams at each age level once a year, if possible, to allow for players to play and grow together over multiple seasons.
  • Coach and player tryout evaluations will be used when necessary.

When tryouts are necessary, Tryout Format, Evaluation Criteria, and Timing will be provided in advance. This will be after spring registration closes and registration deadlines will be enforced. 

The MSBL board will take the following steps to ensure the evaluation process is as fair and independent as possible through the following actions:

  • Try-out evaluations will be conducted by independent, unbiased resources. These individuals cannot have a child currently eligible to play in the travel program.  

  • Parents will not be permitted to observe the try-out. 

  • Coaches will be named after the try-out results have been completed and rosters have been selected.

  • In addition to the try-out results, the MSBL Board may apply their discretion in finalizing the try-out results to the extent they believe it is warranted (e.g. post- season evaluation input, player who is injured and unable to attend try-outs, but will be healthy for the season, etc.). 

  • By no means will individual scoring be shared with any individual, including the parents of their own child.

  • You must be registered for Spring Rec and Travel in order to try-out. If you are not registered, you will not be able to participate in the tryout. Goal is to try to have only one tryout per year, so teams are set to play and grow together for spring, summer, and fall.  

  • Try-out Results, Roster Size and Cuts: Our goal is to place every registered child on a team. However, not every try-out participant is guaranteed to make a team which will be based on factors including but not limited to the ultimate number of players who try-out, the individual skill set of the player, and their relative performance as compared to the other players. The optimal roster size will be 11-12 players. When possible, multiple teams per Level will be formed in the effort to provide all players an opportune home and not have to make any cuts. 

 

For players needing travel jerseys, parents must order them directly with our uniform vendor.  There is a short window for parents to do this during our registration period so that uniforms are delivered prior to the start of the season. The link to the uniform vendor store is provided in the emails and News articles announcing open registration.  Parents are able to order the following from the vendor:

  • Jersey 
  • Belt
  • Socks
  • Cap (Baseball) and Visor (Softball)
Additional Equipment, Parents must provide the following:

Coaching and Managing Requirements for MSBL Volunteers

To ensure a safe and supportive environment for our players, MSBL has established several requirements for volunteers involved in coaching and managing teams. The Director of Safety & Equipment oversees compliance with these standards and will provide guidance to volunteers on how to meet each requirement. Below are the details that all volunteers must adhere to:

Background Check and Abuse Prevention Training
MSBL, in alignment with Babe Ruth League, Inc., mandates that all managers, coaches, board members, and any other volunteers who have regular and direct contact with players during league-sanctioned activities complete a National Verified Background Check and Abuse Prevention Training every two years. Babe Ruth League, Inc. requires the use of Sports Engine for all background checks and training. Once volunteers are confirmed through registration, an MSBL Board Member will provide the necessary links for completing the background check and Abuse Prevention Training.

Rutgers SAFETY Clinic Certification
All first-time managers and coaches are required to complete certification through the Rutgers SAFETY Clinic. The clinic, officially known as "Sports Awareness for Educating Today’s Youth™," is a three-hour program that fulfills New Jersey's “Minimum Standards for Volunteer Coaches Safety Orientation and Training Skills Programs” (N.J.A.C. 5:52) and offers partial civil immunity to volunteer coaches under the “Little League Law” (2A:62A-6 et. seq.).

Following registration, the MSBL Director of Safety & Equipment will collaborate with the Mountainside Recreation Department to organize a Rutgers SAFETY Clinic session. Information regarding the session will be communicated to all first-time managers and coaches. Historically, these sessions have been offered free of charge through the Mountainside Recreation Department, but any future fees will be the responsibility of the volunteers. If a volunteer is unable to attend the scheduled Mountainside session, they may attend a clinic in another town, covering any associated costs themselves.

Babe Ruth League Coaching Certification
In addition to the above requirements, Babe Ruth League-affiliated baseball and softball coaches must complete the Babe Ruth League Coaching Certification Program. This certification involves taking the following online courses, delivered by Human Kinetics Coach Education:

  • Coaching Youth Baseball the Babe Ruth League Way
  • Coaching Youth Softball the Babe Ruth League Way

These courses are exclusively endorsed by Babe Ruth League, Inc., and a certification earned is valid for the coach’s entire tenure with the league.

MSBL Rules vs. Travel League Rules

To the extent practicable, travel league rules will not supersede any MSBL rules.  Regardless of travel league rules concerning pitching, MSBL’s pitching restrictions apply to all leagues and teams, both recreation and Travel. The pitching restrictions are collective and apply to all games in a given week. If a Travel manager believes it is not possible to comply with a particular MSBL rule, the manager should bring this concern to the attention of the MSBL President or other Board member for resolution. The ultimate decision concerning applicability of rules belongs to the Board, not the manager. The team is not the manager’s team, it is MSBL’s team.

 

Babe Ruth League Baseball Rules

 

USA Softball District 2 

MSBL Softball participates in an All Star Game that is organized by USA Softball District 2. 

MSBL Travel Baseball does not currently participate in an All Star Game, however our Rec Baseball team does.  Please refer to the Rec Program page for details.

The purpose of the All-Star games are to provide an incentive to players during the regular season to work hard and to practice to be one of the selected players from their team.  The All-Star game is a method of recognizing the hard work of these players throughout the season in a fun and exciting way.  MSBL is typically invited to submit a few players per division to the all stars game.  The exact number is set by the Travel League, not MSBL.

This section describes the eligibility criteria and selection methodology for players MSBL submits to all star games.

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