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Getting Started in Baseball
By Julia Cantone // usolympicteam.com // April 15, 2004
Getting Started in Baseball
To get started, children should become involved in a local youth baseball league beginning at the age of five or six, and continue to play locally through their teenage years. Youth Baseball Organizations that are part of USA Baseball include: Little League, Dixie Baseball, PONY Baseball, Babe Ruth Baseball, the American Amateur Baseball Congress, the Amateur Athletic Union and the National Amateur Baseball Federation.
The USA Junior Olympic Baseball Championships, an open competition for youth ages 16 and under, is the source for selection of players for the USA Baseball Youth National Team. At the Championships, a small number of athletes are invited to attend the Youth National Team trials. The Junior National Team is comprised of the nation’s top players ages 18 and under, and the National Team consists of the top collegiate players. Both teams are selected at invitation-only team trials.
Joining USA Baseball
USA Baseball does not have individual members. USA Baseball is responsible for selecting, training, and supporting the USA Baseball Olympic Team, the USA Baseball National Team (collegiate), the USA Baseball Junior National Team (18 and under), and the USA Baseball Youth National Team (16 and under), which participate in international competitions each year.
Becoming a U.S. Olympian
USA Baseball does not conduct trials to make the Olympic team. Baseball now utilizes professional players from Minor League teams on their Olympic squad. They hope to make a Dream Team baseball squad in the future, featuring Major League all-star players. There is not a set process to make the Olympics involving making a national team first. It all starts with the progression of playing high school ball, then moving on to college with hopes of getting drafted into a major league farm system. Ultimately, USA Baseball encourages youth to play in pee-wee leagues and progress to make a youth national team, which is selected by USA Baseball. This in turn will help the player advance and become a better baseball player, with hopes of making the Olympic team.
Contact Information
web: USA Baseball
email: info@usabaseball.com
phone: 919.474.8721
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