The LJB 11U Blue team is looking for a few more players and the 9U Red team is looking for two more players. If you are a quality player with a desire to work hard and received excellent training, please contact the following people with questions or to arrange a tryout:

9u Red -Larry Hess This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

11U Blue -Brad Andrews This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ,

WHY PLAY LANCASTER JUNIOR BARNSTORMERS TRAVEL BASEBALL?

The letter below was sent to one of our LJB's teams at the end of the season by the head coach, and it gives a brief analysis of why the LJB's philosophy is a success....PRACTICE and TEACHING!

What a GREAT value the Dugout Baseball & Softball Academy was for team practices (this doesn't include the individual practices that add even more value).
37 Dugout Academy Team Practices equals $.88 per practice per player for this team + individual workouts.  Less than a buck per practice is unbeatable.  Congratulations to this team for making it all happen for these young players.

THE LETTER:

Wow, what a season! The boys had another good weekend (although one more win
would have been nice...). The post-game speech emphasized that we win as a
team and lose as a team, and we do them both with class and dignity. We also
praised the boys for their hard work all year.

The LJB program emphasizes player development. We are not here to just play
games - our goal is to teach each boy about the game of baseball and to help
each player improve. I won't list each boys individual accomplishments,
because I'm sure you can name your own son's (and many other boys') areas of
improvement. Instead, I'll give you some team numbers:

1. Spring/Summer record - 21 wins, 7 losses (two 1st place, one 2nd place,
two 3rd place finishes)
2. Team batting average: .403
3. Team on base percentage: .484
4. Indoor practices (since August) - 37
5. Outdoor practices (since August) - 26

My opinion is that item #4 on the list was directly responsible for items #2
and #3. Additionally, I saw many of you taking advantage of using The Dugout
in your spare time...that extra practice was quite noticeable on the field!

In January, we introduced the concept of "Give 100%", and in the last couple
months we put extra emphasis on TEAM. I was very pleased with the way the
boys responded to those concepts - their attitudes and efforts continued to
improve throughout the entire season. It was a pleasure working with the
boys - each one has his own unique personality, and they all came together
very nicely.

Don't forget to register for the 2011-2012 tryouts at the LJB website
(http://lancasterjuniorbarnstormers.com) - the first tryout date is
Thursday, August 11th.

Keep practicing and we'll see you on Sunday at the team picnic!

Do you have what it takes to be a Stormer?

The 2012 11U team played in the 2nd Annual Danielle DeLarso Community Benefit on October 22nd. This wonderful community event is sponsored by the Pequea Valley Youth Baseball Association, and this year the tournament benefited Luke Carney and his family (http://www.pequeavalleybaseball.com). The day was filled with barbecued chicken, fresh cut fries, milk shakes, baked goods, auctions, and good times! The entire Carney family from multiple states was there to take it all in...what a great day! The 11U team was a little shorthanded partially due to some players playing with other teams in the tournament, but it was great to see team members helping a great cause no matter what uniform they were wearing. Approximately $7,000 was raised for the Carney family!

p.s. For those of you interested in stats and standings....LJB went 3-0 to win the tournament.

The 10u boys are staying hot in the month of June! The New Era Cap Classic in Pittsburgh featured 12 10u teams from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. The LJB boys went 4-0 in pool play, then went on to "mercy rule" their opponents to win the semi-final game (B2B Bombers, 14-6) and championship game (Revolution, 9-0). The boys put together a combination that could not be beat: hustle, great focus, solid defense, excellent pitching (2 complete games including a 1 hit shutout), and lots of hitting (.422 avg)!

The boys focus on the TEAM in practice and warm-ups, and it definitely carried onto the field. Due to crazy schedules at this time of year, there were a total of 11 players throughout the tournament, but at times, there were only 9 players available! Each player stepped up to do his job and pick up his teammates when needed.

The coaches are extremely proud of the outstanding work these boys did on the field as well as the way they represented Lancaster off the field!

Congratulations to the 10u team for celebrating Father's Day with their first tournament championship! The boys went 4-1 for the weekend and continued their assault on opposing pitchers. The five games were filled with accomplishments from all team members: outstanding catches in the outfield, amazing stops in the infield, consistent pitching (including a no-hitter), and more solid hitting. The championship game came down to good defense, good pitching, and timely hitting which resulted in a 2-1 victory. Congratulations boys!

Congratulations to the LJB 9U team! This is the first year for a 9U team, and they won their first tournament this past weekend - the Future Stars 9U - Touch Them All. A brand new team winning their first one in mid-June....what a great start for this young team!

Saturday was a great day in the young history of the Mid Atlantic Canes and Lancaster Junior Barnstormer's organizations. Nearly (80) 13U Mid Atlantic Canes players (see the attached photos) met in Lancaster at Clipper Stadium for an organizational meeting. Counting everyone, over 160 people jammed the room to hear all the details about the new 13U PA Statewide Developmental League that will begin play June 4th in State College. 

The six teams that make up the league are the Altoona Curve Juniors (Green), Altoona Curve Juniors (Orange), Philadelphia, Mid-State Mavericks (Harrisburg), Chambersburg Titans and the Lancaster Junior Barnstormers. There will be five weekend's this summer when all 6 teams will play each other at a host city. However, unlike most tournaments, the focus of the league is on player development. Each game will be scouted by trained scouts and players and parents will be given access to this information. The purpose is to help young players understand how they are being scouted. Players with this valuable information can truly work on specific areas of their game. All teams will wear Canes uniforms and play Canes style baseball, which is all out hustle and respect for the game. Each team will play two games on Saturday and two games on Sunday. A special guest speaker will speak to the parents and players each Saturday evening on topics relevant to their development as players and people. The first speaker of the series will be Penn State University recruiting coordinator, Eric Folmar.

Coach Helsel was pleased with the kickoff event in Lancaster. "This is just incredible. Just look at all these young players, eager to learn this great game of baseball. The coaches and organizations who have joined us in this endeavor are special people. They love baseball, they love kids and they are open-minded to new ways to help their players develop and get exposure. To my knowledge, nothing like this has ever been done before. These organizations are truly working together for a common goal and that is to help more kids. When I see (80) 13 year olds’s coming together like this it gives me chills". 

Coaches of each team will select players from the league to form the Canes 14U National team for this fall and next summer (2012). The long-term plan is to add an age group each year so that in 4 years the league will be comprised of 13U-17U teams. 10-12 teams will be in each age group. Helsel added, "It's a very ambitious goal, but I truly believe we will accomplish it. If the way the 13U league came together is any indication, I think we have tiger by the tail. There seem to be a lot of people who believe this is an idea whose time has come".

PANine "All State" Team
PANine Baseball Release Pre Season All State Teams
PANine  Baseball is in its third season of promoting Pennsylvania baseball and  its young players.  They hold events around the state in order to find  the best players and bring them to our signature showcase at Blair  County Ballpark in Altoona, the AA home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The  Lancaster Junior Barnstormers and Mid Atlantic Canes will be hosting a  tryout evaluation on July 14th for all soon to be Freshman, Sophomores,  Junior and Seniors. To register for the tryout, visit https://www.paninebaseball.com

The  all state teams were compiled with information from our events,  professional scouts and media accounts. For more information and to see last year's First Team, Second Team, and Honorable Mention listings go to https://www.paninebaseball.com