This message from Medfield Youth Baseball (MYBS) is to everyone who has had a child play baseball or softball in a Medfield Youth Baseball/Softball (MYB/S) program this past year.  As many of you know, overall class sizes have been decreasing from their peak in 2008.  This has impacted the number of children playing various sports in Medfield, including baseball and softball. 

Over 600 boys and girls played in a spring, summer, fall or winter MYB/S program during 2012, but for some age groups, we have seen significant drops in total participants.

We wanted to let you know the deadline for registering without a late fee for the spring season is February 1^st.  We are asking parents who are interested in having their children play baseball/softball this spring to help us by registering by Feb. 1.

With smaller class sizes, we are faced with a number of important decisions impacting the spring season including the number of teams for each age group, the number of players per team, uniforms and equipment, budgets, scheduling, coaches—as well as the possibility of having to combine some grades to have enough teams to make a competitive league. 

Making good decisions (and communicating with you as early as we can to ensure the best experience for your child) requires having a fairly accurate headcount as early as possible.  

While we will accept registrations after Feb. 1, there will be a $35 late fee per child/program and we will not be able to waive the fee under any circumstance. Please help us by registering by February 1^st.

Click here to go to registration.

We also wanted to take this opportunity to update you on a few other items we're focused on for the spring:   

• New Mandatory Coaches Clinics to help ensure a consistent, focused approach to teaching our kids—both skills and values—from grades 1 through 9.
• ​Code of conduct for coaches, parents, and players.  Medfield will be instituting a 'zero tolerance" policy for any type of poor sportsmanship.  We understand the lessons on how to compete will, in many cases, be the lessons your children carry with them when their playing days are done and we are 100% committed to teaching the right way to treat teammates, opponents, and umpires.
• Post-season surveys.  We will be sending all parents a link to an online survey after each season to gather your feedback on what's working and what we can do better.
• Cooperation with other sports in-town.  MYB/S feels strongly your children should have the opportunity to play other sports, especially when they're younger.  We are committed to working with lacrosse and soccer to try and put less pressure on your kids to have to choose a sport based on scheduling inflexibility.

Thanks for your support and we look forward to seeing you in the spring!

For more information, visit www.medfiledybs.org