Summer Instruction at MPTLL

Myers Park Trinity is excited to offer a variety of instructional baseball and softball opportunities for the upcoming summer. This is a chance for your kids to work on improving their game in a familiar and convenient setting.

MPTLL's own Baseball Fever camp, under the direction of league coach Jason Wishnefsky, is returning for another summer. Baseball Fever has scheduled four 5-day camps for 2012.

HQ4 Baseball will also be holding camps this summer, and will have two 4-day All Skills camps, plus pitching & catching and hitting camps.  For more information on both camps, visit the MPTLL Summer Camps page on the league website.

For individual or group instruction in a smaller setting, check out the Hitting and Pitching Lessons page at my own Hardball Mechanics blog. I will continue to schedule lessons at our park throughout the year, using video analysis to pinpoint mechanical flaws and customized drills to fix them. Special summer pricing has just been announced. As always, 10% of the proceeds goes to Myers Park Trinity to help pay for capital improvements like our newest batting cages. Contact me for more information or to schedule lessons. I work with kids of all ages and skill levels, including players from our American League, National League, Major League, Junior League and Softball divisions, as well as area high school players.

Whether your player is preparing for next season, learning a new skill or getting extra practice in for all-stars, summer is a great time to do it.

Bryant Supply Clinches Majors Title

Congratulations to Bryant Supply for clinching its first MPTLL Major League championship with a 7-3 win over 2nd place Al Browne on Wednesday night. 11-2 Bryant is up three games in the standings with one to go. The eight Major League teams will play a post-season tournament beginning Wednesday.

MPTLL Alumnus Is a Carolina Panther

Congratulations to Myers Park Trinity alumnus, Brenton Bersin, who has agreed to sign with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted rookie free agent. Bersin was a wide receiver at Charlotte Latin School and Wofford College, the alma mater of Panthers owner Jerry Richardson. Wofford is also the team's training camp home.

Bersin played his Little League ball for Zan Copeland's Trinity team in 2001 and 2002. He is one of four former players from the 2001 MPTLL major league draft to have played college football, the others being Tate Bloomer (W&L), Davis Austin (Cornell) and Cody Keith (East Carolina). Best of luck to Bersin as he begins his pro career.

60th Anniversary Ceremonies on Saturday

MPTLL's opening ceremonies, which were postponed due to rain back in March, will take place this Saturday, April 21st at 11:30 am on Wade Field. All teams are asked to assemble in uniform by 11:15. Click here for the revised game schedule.

This year's ceremony is a special one because it marks our league's 60th anniversary. We have come a long way since the early summer days of 1952 when four teams joined together as the Myers Park Civitan League to compete on the Myers Park Grammar School playground. Our original charter shows how the league was organized and approved by Williamsport. Various Charlotte Observer articles provide accounts of how the action played out on the diamond.

1952 was a different time. Average annual wages were $3,800. A gallon of gas cost 20 cents and a new house cost $9,000. Kentucky Fried Chicken, the Today Show, Queen Elizabeth II, Holiday Inn and the passenger jet all made their debuts. Harry S. Truman was our President and the nation was at war in Korea.

After 60 years, Myers Park Trinity is thriving. We have grown from four teams to over 50, from one field to 11. We have a large group of dedicated volunteer coaches, grounds crew, concessions staff, Board of Directors and most importantly, devoted parents and players. We have much to celebrate.

So come on out to Randolph Park on Saturday and join us for opening ceremonies at 11:30 and try to catch a game or two. There's nothing quite like a Saturday at the fields. For more information on the story of our league, click on the History tab below.

Picture Day - Saturday, April 14

MPTLL Picture Day is this Saturday, April 14. Each team has been assigned a time slot to meet with the photographers at the picture location near the main batting cages at the upper fields. The schedule is HERE. Please have your team assembled in uniform and ready to begin prior to your scheduled time.

Things to know:

The league will provide every player with an 8x10 team picture at no additional charge. No order form or check is needed if you only want a team picture. Those will be distributed to each team in May.

Parents wishing to purchase individual photos of their child may purchase those during their team's picture time. The coaches have been instructed to collect order forms from the 3rd storage container at the center of the park and distribute them to their players before Saturday. If you do not get an order form, the photographers will have a few extras on site. Parents wanting individual pictures can make their selections on the order envelope and enclose a check to Classic Photography. Individual pictures will be sent to each family's home address.

Teams needing a makeup picture may do so prior to their weekday game, Mon-Thurs, April 16-19. Makeup times must be reserved through me - see the picture schedule for contact info. April 19 is the last possible day for makeup reservations. Please consider which players or coaches might be absent, as well as potential weather cancellations, before planning on a makeup picture.

Opening "Day" 2012 In the Books

There were no ceremonies (yet), but after three days of juggling schedules, our opening weekend of play is complete. Big thanks to our grounds crew - Tony McNay, Boyd Correll, Paxton Hollar and others - for the hard work they put in to get our fields not only playable, but in great shape for our teams. After all the rain, the picture of Wade Field on the left shows what a tremendous job they have done - all on a voluntary basis.

Winners in the Major League were Al Browne, Bryant Supply, Carolina Pad and Regions Bank. Click on the Standings tab above for all the results. Week 1 continues with National League games on Tuesday, Major League games on Wednesday and American League games throughout the week. Check back here during the season for announcements and updates.

Sunday (3/25) Games Delayed

The fields sustained additional rain last night but luckily they were in good shape after windy conditions helped dry them out yesterday.  However they are not going to be ready at 1pm and thus we have once again had to revise the schedule.  

Major League, National League, and American League games that were scheduled for 1pm, 3pm, and 5pm have all been pushed back 1 hour and now will be played at 2pm, 4pm, and 6pm. 

All Softball games are cancelled since Kiser-Chapman field is too wet and we will not be able to get it ready today.

T-Ball games scheduled on fields 1 and 2 are cancelled.  T-Ball field 3 (newest field, all grass) is open and teams scheduled to play on those fields may play as previously communicated.

Please continue to check your email and the league website since the radar does not look great for the rest of the day.  Honestly we are hoping the radar proves to be incorrect, similar to yesterday.  The grounds crew is currently at the fields and working hard to try and get baseball games in today.  If anyone has availability they would certainly appreciate the help.  

Also, the CC vs. RB game scheduled for 5pm tonight has been moved to Monday at 7pm on New Field.  As a result the NL11 vs. NL12 game that was scheduled for 5pm on GH2 tonight has been moved to New field at 6pm tonight. 

A revised schedule with all the changes mentioned above is available at the following hyperlink:
2012 MPTLL Revised Game & Practice Schedule

Opening Day Postponed to Sunday

Opening Day for MPTLL was delayed due to overnight rain. The games have been rescheduled for Sunday afternoon with no opening ceremonies. The updated schedule can be found HERE. Hopefully the weather will be drier tonight.

60th Anniversary Opening Ceremonies This Weekend

Opening Day for Myers Park Trinity Little League is this Saturday, March 24.  It will mark our league's 60^th anniversary. We remain the oldest continuously running Little League in Charlotte.

The day begins early with NL and softball games at 9:00 before Opening Ceremonies. Then all teams will parade onto the field before for the ceremonial first pitch.  During the ceremonies we will honor our winning all-star teams from last year and display championship banners from each team.

Assuming no heavy rains, the games will continue at 12:00, 2:00 and 4:00. If weather does impact the games or Opening Ceremonies, the League will send an email and post an announcement on the website. If nothing is posted, and an email does not go out, then the Ceremonies are on schedule and we are playing ball.

Coaches and players are asked to arrive for Opening Ceremonies at Wade field in uniform at 10:15. Major league and National League players should line up on the outside of the fence on the 3^rd base side and Tee-Ball, American league, and Softball teams should line up on the outside of the fence on the first base side. Opening Ceremonies will begin at 10:45 and the teams will be announced and will parade in together starting at 10:30.

Please park in either our main upper lot on Billingsley Road, the large overflow lot at the Department of Social Services next door, or down at the Grier Heights Fields. Do not park across Billingsley Road in the Annuvia lot, next to the new field at the county gas pumps or drive through area, immediately next to our main lot in the county fleet lot, or on any grassy areas. We have seen cars ticketed for parking in these unauthorized areas. 


After the games make sure to support our sponsors. We have a number of restaurants within a couple miles who have signed up as team sponsors and every Saturday they are all offering unique promotions for MPTLL families. Mama Fu's (Cotswold), The Pizza Peel (Cotswold), and the Flying Biscuit (Park Road) are offering 10% off the entire bill at any of these restaurants for players wearing an MPTLL jersey. The discount applies to dine in or take out. In addition, Nothing but Noodles (on Elizabeth Avenue across the street from Presbyterian Hospital) is offering a free kids meal to any player wearing their jersey on Saturdays during the season.

We hope to see everyone on Opening Day.

The Challenge of Being a Challenge Parent

In case you missed it in Sunday's Charlotte Observer, MPTLL parent Tracy Curtis weighs the joys and sorrows of being a challenge baseball parent. Very funny (and honest) stuff. And certainly the first ever reference to "GH1" in the Observer. Enjoy.