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
