As you know, Jack Salinetti is the 2024 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s "Honored Hero" at the Light the Night Walk, which will be held on Saturday, October 19 at Siena College at 5:30 p.m.

Jack will have an Honored Hero tent with his family and friends and will be on stage during the ceremony in front of 2500 people! It’s a very emotional and encouraging way for the community to celebrate, honor, and remember those who are touched by blood cancer. This year is special - not only are we honoring Jack, but we are also honoring another Niskayuna graduate, Vince Speenburgh, who is our adult Honored Hero, who currently resides in the Burnt Hills area but is originally from Niskayuna.

We would like to extend an invite to all Niskayuna Youth Sports to join Jack (and Vince) at their team tents and walk with them! Jack, Vince, and their families will be leading the way, and we are asking all Niskayuna Youth Athletes, especially the cheerleaders, to stand at the starting line to line up and cheer on all of our walkers.

This is a family friendly event. We will have food truck, a beer truck, a kids zone with basketball hoops, rock wall and other activities. We open the activities for the night at 5:30 p.m. The ceremony will begin at 6:45 p.m. and the walk itself will conclude by 7:30 p.m. (the start line will form roughly at 7 p.m.). 

Here is Jack’s fundraising page if you want to register to walk (you are not obligated to register, but registration is free, and you and your family will get a lantern to light up!)

If anyone is interested in fundraising for a t-shirt, the fundraising minimum to earn a t-shirt is $100 and I am happy to answer any questions for anyone interested.

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, it would be awesome to have a huge group of Nisky support!

Thanks,

FRANCESCA PARDI | Campaign Development Director
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – Connecticut – Albany – Eastern NY
315.525.8330 | Francesca.Pardi@LLS.org

Please send any correspondence and donations to:
Connecticut–Hudson Valley – LLS Northeast Connecticut-Hudson Valley

PO Box 22470, New York, NY 10087

The NBL Board will be hosting its annual open board meeting on Wednesday, October 23 at 7:00 p.m. in the high school's old cafeteria. If you'd like to share your thoughts on a specific topic or ideas you have for the league, we look forward to hearing from you. Alternatively, you may submit your feedback to our email niskybaseballleague@gmail.com.

Also, the Board has openings for the upcoming season and welcomes new members. If you are interested in joining us, please take the time to complete this brief survey.

As a volunteer organization its important to add new people and their ideas to keep the league moving forward. We hope to hear from you!

Many of us know the Licht Family through lacrosse or other sports. David has been on the waiting list for a heart transplant. At the last doctor’s appointment, his team of doctors decided it is best to have Dave move down to NYU hospital to keep a close eye on him. This will move him up on the transplant list, however, he will be living at the hospital until a heart becomes available. This could be days, weeks or months. Once he has surgery the team of doctors anticipate his recovery in the hospital will be about 2 weeks. After discharge, Dave needs to live no more than 1 hour away from NYU for 2-3 months. As you all can imagine, things are going to get expensive and tiring for the family. His wife, Alexis, and the kids will be traveling to see him every weekend and when Dave finally has surgery, they will need to rent an AirBNB for about 3 months in the NYC area. Any donations to help the Licht family during this time of need are greatly appreciated.

Support the Licht Family GoFundMe

We are excited to share that Fall Sandlot is back for another year. Sandlot is for players ages 6-10 and provides a great opportunity to have some baseball fun before winter sets in.

Sandlot is once a week, for 1.5 hours, where players will be led through various drills for 20-30 minutes and then play an organized sandlot game for the last hour with other like-skilled players.

Sandlot will take place every Saturday starting September 7, for 6 weeks. The season may extend beyond six weeks if the weather holds out and/or makeup days are needed.

• Cost: $95 per player
• Time: 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
• Location: Blatnick Park Lower Fields, divided into two groups based on age.
  • Field 3: Ages 6 - 8
  • Field 4: Ages 8 (advanced) - 10

Register Here: https://niskybaseball.sportngin.com/register/form/148503674

Volunteers Needed: This is a volunteer run event and a great opportunity for you to coach your child and their friends, please consider joining us. You can express interest when registering or email niskybaseballleague@gmail.com and schooneee@gmail.com.

We look forward to seeing you on the diamond!

Niskayuna Baseball League is seeking volunteers to join its Board of Directors for the 2025 season by completing the survey found at this link:

https://forms.gle/Riiv1pnnCyLqabgv7

NBL is responsible for coordinating both the rec and travel baseball programs and is only as successful as the efforts put in by our volunteers. To ensure NBL continues its tradition of delivering a quality experience for the kids, please considering sharing your time as a Board Member.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Specials thanks to Price Chopper/Market 32 for their generous donation to the Niskayuna Baseball League from profits from their opening weekend! We will put this money to good use to enhance the experience for the young children of Niskayuna.  Check out more on their blog!

This year, Niskayuna Baseball is supporting one of our very own community heroes, Jack Salinetti. Jack is being honored as this year’s Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Light the Night Honored Hero and we would like to support him by raising money for blood cancer patients like him. Jack plays on Niskayuna Travel 10U Red Team and also for the Hickory Crawdads AAA Team.

Jack's  Story - Video

RUNS FOR JACK COMPETITION FUNDRAISER
June 1 is also the kickoff for Runs for Jack. In honor of Jack Salinetti, we’re raising money for LLS (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society). It is going to be a team competition and the team that raises the most money will win an ice cream and pizza party.
There are a few ways that you can donate during this campaign depending on the level of baseball that your child plays:

AA, AAA, Majors, and Babe Ruth teams:

• Double A and above teams will be a donation based on team runs.
• The first two games after June 1 will be the games that count.
• Pass around this Google form (coming soon) to have your friends and family pledge a specific dollar amount per team run scored (note, the average runs per team per game is about 7).
• These will be the set options that people can choose from:
  • $1/run with a $15 max donation
  • $2/run with a $30 max donation
  • $5/run with a $70 max donation
  • $10/run with a $100 max donation
  • Other / Flat Donation

Single A / T-Ball: Because Single A and T-Ball can have such high scores, we are doing a flat donation option for these teams.

4/25/24

The 2024 Niskayuna Baseball season is off to a fine start. It was great to see families and players participating and cheering all our athletes.

With the season in full swing, I wanted to remind everyone of upcoming dates on the schedule:

May 18: Niska-Day Parade - players will have the opportunity to march!

June 1: Skills Competition: NBL will be hosting a skills competition for ALL ages. Details to follow.

June 22: Championship Saturday and Closing Ceremonies

Lastly, a message to our families and coaches:

As we embark on another exciting season of baseball, it is crucial to remind ourselves, as parents and coaches, of the profound impact we have on the young athletes we guide. Our role extends far beyond teaching skills and strategies; we are the exemplars of good sportsmanship, integrity, and respect. Every interaction, whether on or off the field, shapes the values and character of these young athletes. Let us lead by example, showing them how to win graciously, lose with dignity, and always prioritize fair play and camaraderie. Our commitment to fostering a positive and supportive environment not only enhances the players’ experiences but also lays the foundation for lifelong lessons they will carry beyond the diamond. Together let us make this season memorable for all the right reasons.

A huge thank you to all our volunteers and parents who make this league possible every year.

Sincerely,

Brendan Ketcham, NBL President

In order to make the upcoming season a success, we need your help! Please click the link below to sign up to help with the concession stand.

Concession Stand Volunteer Sign-Up

The expectation is that each family signs up for two time slots.

Now that the schedules are loaded into SportsEngine, this allows you to sign up for time slots that you choose - you may choose to sign up while your child is playing, or just before/after so you don't miss the game (the lower field concession stand has a great view of Field 3!).  

With 40+ teams and an average of 8-10 players per team, taking two shifts will ensure that we have adequate coverage at both concession stands this season. The money generated from concessions goes directly back to the league to help offset the cost of registration, equipment, field maintenance, and supplies.

For those new to Niskayuna Baseball, the lower concession stand is used for games for TBall, A, AA, and AAA. The upper concession stand is used for Majors and Babe Ruth.

Common items in the concession stand include Gatorade, water, soda, chips, candy, sunflower seeds, and freeze pops.  Hot dogs and hamburgers are typically cooked on weekends or if we have multiple games going at a time on the lower field concession stand.

April 2024 update: On March 20, Jack Salinetti hit day +100 post-stem cell transplant - and in the stem cell transplant world, this is a very significant day. Since his progress continues to be positive, Jack has been cleared to play baseball! While most kids do not go back to playing sports for a year post transplant, his doctors recognize the importance of sports for Jack, and based on the low contact level for baseball, and how he is doing and his blood counts, they have given him the green light. We are so excited to see Jack back on the field this spring! More on Jack's Story

You child's team has been loaded into SportsEngine, the league's official communication tool for our teams. If you are new to the league, the app can be downloaded in Google Play or the Apple App Store and it will show your team's roster and schedule along with a chat feature used by the manager and parents to communicate throughout the season.

While the parent/guardian who registered your player(s) will have default access to the SportsEngine account for your player (and should have received an email invite to accept), additional parents/guardians/family members may be added so they can access the schedule.  To do this in the app, click on your child's name on the roster, and then add a guardian (at the bottom). Please note that if you have multiple players, each new guardian/family member will have to be added for each player. 

Thank you to one of our sponsors, Dick's Sporting Goods, for providing coupons for our league and community! Visit our Coupons page for current DSG coupons. 

2/7/24

Dear Niskayuna Baseball Community,

As we gear up for an exciting year ahead, I'm thrilled to share some updates and opportunities with you all.

First, registration for our Rec Season is now open, and it's shaping up to be a record year for registrations! We're looking forward to welcoming new players and families to our league. But to make this season a success, we need dedicated managers and coaches to help lead our teams. If you're passionate about baseball and want to make a difference in young players' lives, please consider volunteering your time. If you see Kameron Fazel, be sure to thank him for his hard work making registration seamless.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the 2024 season. If your business is interested, please reach out to our Head of Sponsorships, Pete McHenry.

In other news, repairs to the Babe Ruth Concession stand (upper fields) have kicked off this week, ensuring our facilities are in top shape for the upcoming season. Special thanks to Tim Ahrens and Jeff Parisi for spearheading this project.

Our Travel Teams have hit the ground running with preseason workouts, setting the stage for a fun and fantastic season ahead.

I'm thrilled to announce that Niskayuna Baseball will be hosting the 11U All Stars District Tournament at the end of June. Stay tuned for more information as we get closer to the event. We'll need volunteers to help make this tournament a success, and we're also on the lookout for sponsors to support our efforts.

Additionally, mark your calendars for the Niskayuna Baseball Invitational tournament for 10U teams in the area, tentatively scheduled for the week of July 13th. It promises to be a week filled with friendly competition and community spirit.

Hosting these tournaments is a significant milestone in realizing the shared vision our Board has for the Niskayuna Baseball League. Your support and involvement are crucial to our success, and we'd be incredibly grateful for your participation in any capacity.

Let's make the 2024 baseball season one to remember!

Warm regards,
Brendan Ketcham
President, Niskayuna Baseball League

Niskayuna Baseball League is proud to announce its fifth 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 fees include the lease for our fields, utilities, equipment for our rec programs, and umpire fees. 

Sponsorship Form

Sponsorship Levels (printable)

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.