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!

Does your child want to take their baseball skills to the next level? They should consider trying out for one of the Niskayuna Baseball League travel teams. For those who love baseball, this is an opportunity for greater access to coaching and to play more games.

Niskayuna Baseball League will be hosting open tryouts for the following age groups: 7u, 8u, 9u, 10u, 11u, 12u and over 13-16. The player's division is based on their age before May 1, 2025. The tryout schedule is below, however please continue to monitor our website and socials for updates.

• 7u - July 25, 6 p.m. - Blatnick Field 3
• 8u - July, 23, 6 p.m. - Blatnick Field 3 ***Rescheduled Date***
• 8u - August 1, 6 p.m. - Blatnick Field 3 ***Second Date***
• 9u - July 22, 6 p.m. - Blatnick Field 3 ***Rescheduled Date***
• 10u - July 23, 6 p.m. - Blatnick Field 4
• 11u - July 23, 6 p.m. - Blatnick Majors
• 12u - July 24, 6 p.m. - Blatnick Majors
• 13u & 14U - August, 2, 5 p.m. - Babe Ruth Field ***New Date***
• 15U - August, 8, 5:30 p.m. - Babe Ruth Field

All makeups will occur on Saturday, August 3 at 10 a.m.; 7-10U at lower fields, 11U and up at upper fields. 

NBL carries at least one team from every age group and in some cases two based on the number of athletes who tryout and available coaching. If you are interested in helping NBL to increase the depth of its travel division, we would like to hear if you are interested in managing or coaching one of the age groups. Please reach out to the league directly via email: niskybaseballleague@gmail.com after registering your child.

Registration is open using the link below and will close for each age group two (2) days prior to the specific try out date.

SIGN UP HERE: https://niskybaseball.sportngin.com/register/form/041242509

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.