Some of the top young baseball players from throughout Central Florida will compete for the chance to play for a national championship this weekend, at Mike E. Sansone Park.
For the first time, the Amateur Athletic Union, in association with Sunshine State Travel Ball, will hold an AAU Super Regional Grand National Qualifier in Plant City.
A total of 30 teams from 10U, 11U and 12U will compete in three separate tournaments March 16 and 17, for a chance to qualify for the Grand Nationals, held annually at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex. The tournament will coincide with a Super Regional held in Leesburg for additional age groups.
According to John Ball, a director with Sunshine State Travel Ball, the tournament originally was scheduled for three days (Friday through Sunday) and was sanctioned to include 9U through 14U, but the format was later changed to the two-day, three age-group format.
“Teams from all over Central Florida and from around the West Coast will be competing in this tournament,” Ball said.
The tournament will will consist of pool play followed by bracket play, with a three-game minimum format. The tournament is sanctioned by the AAU, with all participants having a current AAU membership, and will follow current AAU baseball rules.
TOP TALENT
Even with the younger age groups, AAU travel ball features top talent you may not always find in local youth leagues. This is because teams can pull players from surrounding areas to form the best teams possible, similar to a Little League All-Star team.
“It’s usually much more competitive tournament-style play,” Ball said. “Teams are put together to form great teams, making the competition level very high.”
Teams can qualify for the grand nationals June 16-29, at Disney, by winning their age division in the Super Regional or by participating in all three Super Regionals in Florida. Doing so does not require participating in a district championship.
One team competing with local ties is the 11U Bullets, based in Dover. The Bullets, coached by Todd Marsh, have had success in the travel ball circuit, including taking first in the Tampa Bay Select Baseball Championship in 2009 as the 8U team and first in the USSSA Mizuno Challenge Tournament and the IBC Fall State Championship Tournament in 2010 as the 9U team. The Bullets have qualified for the Grand Nationals the past two years.
“We’re in this to hopefully qualify for grand nationals again,” Marsh said. “We’re basically looking for our team to play well and up to our capability and see where that gets us.”
HOME TURF
This is the first time AAU Baseball will host a Grand National qualifier in the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World.
According to Ball, the AAU generally operates Central Florida tournaments in the greater Orlando area, where the AAU has its headquarters on Disney property, but the national organization wanted to stretch closer into the Tampa Bay market.
“They have been looking at the Tampa area for a while, and Plant City seemed like a great fit, because it was centrally located and could pull teams from both the Tampa and Orlando areas, as well as teams up and down the West Coast,” he said.
Ball said it was “quite a process” to secure the fields at Sansone.
“We began in September to book the location and to find a weekend that fit,” he said. “We were surprised how far in advance we had to book it, but the fields there are great and should be a nice venue for the tournament.”
AAU SUPER REGIONAL
WHEN: March 16 and 17
WHERE: Mike E. Sansone Park Community Park; 1702 N. Park Road
FORMAT: Pool play followed by bracket tournament for three age groups: 10U, 11U and 12U. There will be 30 total teams competing.
REWARD: This will be a qualifier for the Grand Nationals, an AAU national championship tournament held annually at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex.
INFORMATION: aaubaseball.org