Our heart breaks to share the difficult news that Jack Salinetti, a member of our 10U Travel Baseball team, recently relapsed and is battling AML leukemia for a second time. Jack is already back at Boston Children's Hospital and has started treatment. While he has another tough road ahead, we know "Jack the Warrior" will kick cancer's butt again!
Many have asked, how can we help? There are currently a couple of different fundraising initiatives that benefit the family directly.
Below is a link to the GoFundMe Me page, which also shares updates that his parents, Laura and Joe, provide.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jack-the-warrior-battle-aml-leukemia
In addition, stickers with "JS5" are being sold every weekend at the Rec Fields at 2682 Aqueduct Road, Schenectady on Saturday mornings from 9-11 a.m. You can also purchase the stickers at the Niskayuna Lacrosse Box at Blatnick Park on Friday, October 6 from 5-8 p.m. These stickers are $5 each and can be used on helmets, mugs, vehicles, etc. to show your support for Jack and his family.
Jack, a 4th grader at Birchwood Elementary, plays a variety of sports in Niskayuna including tackle football, lacrosse, and baseball.
Please keep Jack, his sister Emma, and his parents Joe and Laura in your thoughts while they navigate through AML Leukemia a second time.
Dear Volunteers,
Volunteers are the backbone of Babe Ruth League, Inc. and we at Headquarters recognize the hard work that is required to administer a successful program. Managing a Regional Organization, State Organization, District Organization, and local league programs can sometimes be daunting and stressful; from registering players, setting up teams, ordering equipment, fundraising, organizing District, State, and Regional Tournaments, and much more.
However, our volunteers dedicate countless hours to ensure the success of each local program. This past season presented some particular challenges, and we especially thank you for persevering and ultimately making a great experience for the players and all participants involved in Babe Ruth League.
On behalf of all of us at Babe Ruth League, Inc., we thank each volunteer for their hard work and dedication. Volunteers create a fun environment, and foster sportsmanship in our players and families. Because of volunteers, players can experience the excitement and joy of playing the games of baseball and softball while learning essential life lessons. We are thankful for the time, energy, and resources you have dedicated to our organization and to growing the great games of baseball and softball. Enjoy our 2023 World Series highlight video below!
Sincerely,
Steven M. Tellefsen
President/CEO
Babe Ruth League, Inc.
We are excited to share that our fall sandlot season will be back this year! This session is for children ages 6-10 and provides a great opportunity to get in some fun baseball practice/games before the winter weather begins.
Dates: Saturdays starting September 9, for 6 weeks. Depending on the weather, we might extend for an additional 1-2 weeks. The cost is $95 per player, which includes a shirt and hat.
Time: 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Blatnick Park Lower Fields
Schedule: Players will be led through various drills for 20-30 minutes and then play a sandlot game for the last 60 minutes.
Field 3: Ages 6 - 8
Field 4: Ages 8 (advanced) - 10
We are in need of a few coaches and volunteers. Please consider joining us. You can express interest when you submit the registration for your player(s). If you have any questions, please contact Dave Preston at davidpreston11@gmail.com or Jeff Schoonmaker at schooneee@gmail.com.
The Niskayuna 12U team competed at the Ripken Experience in Aberdeen, MD earlier this month. It was a special trip, as this is the last time they played together as a full team since forming at the 8U level. To say it was a memorable trip would be an understatement, as it was chocked full of individual and group memories.
This was the largest tournament they have competed (18 teams), and competition was the strongest they have ever seen. The boys performed well under pressure, particularly in bracket play winning their last two games to keep advancing.
It was a full trip, including Orioles and Ironbird games, a visit to inner harbor, whiffle ball, and pool time! We hope that future Nisky teams will venture to MD to enjoy the Experience.
Check out photos from our 2023 season!
Thank you to everyone who came out for our closing ceremonies - it was so fun to recognize all of our players, coaches, families, and sponsors! Check out the photos from the event below. It was a great season - see you all next year!
Thank you to everyone who came out to watch the Majors Division skills competition!
Here are the winners for 2023:
Around the Horn - Thunder: Bryce Creighton, Tyler Parisi, Liam Dieckman, Jude Beck, Joey Samaniuk, Andrew Parisi
Base Running Relay Race - Generals: Jake Lastarza, Ethan Stanco, Lucas Connolly, Aiden Poteski
Outfielder Accuracy- Lucas Connolly
Home Run Derby - Markus Ahrens
A BIG thank you to Tim Ahrens, the Niskayuna varsity team players, and the rest of the coaches who made this evening possible. We hope to see everyone again next year!
Niskayuna Baseball League is proud to announce its fourth annual Friends of Niskayuna Baseball Campaign. Niskayuna Baseball League is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We are 100% volunteer run and all funds go directly to providing programs, field maintenance, and field operation fees. Most of our operation expenses include the lease for our fields, utilities, equipment for our rec programs, and umpire fees. Read More Here
Thank you to all of the families who have generously donated to support the NBL Hardship Scholarship Fund:
The Hardship Scholarship Fund is used to offset up to 100% of player registrations due to financial need, or the additional cost associated with multi-sibling sign ups. The Board reviews scholarship requests and votes to allocate from the fund. You may donate to the fund while completing your registration for the upcoming season, or by contacting NBL.
For information on how to apply for hardship scholarship funds, please visit our Registration Page.
The objective of NISKAYUNA BASEBALL, LTD. shall be to implant firmly in the youth of the community the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage, and respect for authority, to aid them toward being well-adjusted, stronger children and to help them grow to be decent, healthy and trustworthy adults. This objective will be achieved by providing supervised, baseball games. The supervisors shall recognize that the attainment of exceptional athletic skills and the winning of games is secondary, and the molding of future adults is of primary importance.