Spring Registration Continues Though February 15th

Online registration for Spring Baseball, Softball and T-Ball is open at www.mptll.org and will continue through February 15th. Walk-up registration will take place at the Randolph Park Concession Stand on Saturday, January 31st from 10:00-2:00. Our Grier Heights sign-up events begin the same day.

MPTLL Families - please show your support for the league by sharing this registration flyer with friends, family, social media contacts, school or church groups, etc. There are many exciting things happening at MP - from the creation of our own instructional academy, to the rapid growth of our softball program, to our all-star baseball state championships - Myers Park Trinity is better than ever. So help us get the word out.

Thanks so much for doing your part. See you at the fields!

MP Leaf Days 2014

The leaves have fallen. It's time to pitch in and help keep our park beautiful. Saturdays, December 6th and 13th are our annual MPTLL Leaf Cleanup Days at the fields at Randolph Park. The fun will begin each day at 9:00 a.m. and continue into the afternoon. This event calls for any and all Myers Park Trinity supporters - moms, dads, coaches, players, siblings, board members - anyone who can work a rake, gas blower, tarp, etc. The more the merrier. We encourage anyone who has enjoyed our great park to give some time back to help maintain it. This will be a great opportunity for students or service clubs wanting to log volunteer hours, or parents and kids who just want to show their appreciation for all that our hard-working volunteer grounds crew does throughout the year.

The work we accomplish on these Saturdays will pay dividends down the road and free up time for other projects. Please plan to attend and bring the whole family. Don't forget to bring any rakes or other tools that may be helpful. We will especially need as many gas powered blowers as possible. Make sure to mark your name on anything you bring.

If you would like to volunteer to help clean up the park on the 6th and/or 13th, please CLICK HERE and select the times that work for you. Thanks!

Mike Hennessey To Serve As Director of MP Academy

Myers Park Trinity is excited to announce that Mike Hennessey has accepted the position of Program Director for MP Academy (MPA), the league's new instructional group and competitive division for age 13-and-over baseball.

Hennessey is the current Head Varsity Baseball Coach and Program Director at Charlotte Country Day School, where he has served for 10 years. He was named the 2006 and 2011 South Charlotte Weekly Coach of the Year.

Mike began his coaching career at the Canterbury School in New Milford, CT. He has served as an evaluator and coach for the Mid Atlantic region's USA Baseball National Team Identification Series, and has coached at the United States Naval Academy in their summer leadership camp. He is an executive board member of Baseball For Life, a Charlotte service organization dedicated to helping young men develop important life skills through baseball.

In addition to his position as Program Director of MP Academy, Mike will also serve as Head Coach for MPA's 14U team. Mike is an excellent instructor and passionate teacher of the game. He is well respected in the Charlotte baseball community. We are fortunate to have Mike on board to lead us into the next phase of the continued improvement our league.

MPA is now preparing for its Winter Academy, to be led by Hennessey and our own certified strength and conditioning coach, Josh Thomas. This will be an offseason skills development program with a strength, speed and agility component. 

Tryouts for the 13U, 14U and 15U teams will take place on Saturday, November 15th, at Covenant Day School. The teams will be led by Covenant Day Varsity Coach David Houseton (13U), Hennessey (14U) and Scott Ahlum (15U). Interested families should contact MP Academy at mpacademy@mptll.org.

Stay tuned for more information in the near future regarding both the team tryouts and the Winter Academy.

Wednesday Softball Pitching Instruction

Queens University Softball Head Coach Melanie Helterbran is offering group pitching instruction at Myers Park Trinity on Wednesday nights this fall season. The series begins tonight, September 10th, and runs through October 8th.

Each session will cost $5.00 per player. They will be conducted at both 5:30-6:00 and 6:00-6:30. Parents are encouraged to attend and catch their pitcher, as well as listen in on the instruction being given. Players should arrive a few minutes early and meet in the grassy area next to Kiser-Chapman Field. The group may move down to the area beyond Founders Field if additional space is needed.

The sessions are for all age groups and skill levels. Girls with any interest in pitching are encouraged to attend. No experience is necessary.

Thanks to Coach Helterbran. MP Softball is grateful for its partnership with Queens University.

Fall Coaches Clinics at MPTLL

Myers Park Trinity Little League has partnered with area high school and middle school coaches and private instructors to offer clinics specifically designed for our youth baseball coaches.  These experienced coaches will discuss practice plans, proper throwing, pitching, fielding and hitting techniques, and most importantly, effective ways to instruct the kids in our age groups.  These clinics are free, and will be offered several times over the next couple of weeks.  The League is strongly encouraging its fall baseball coaches to attend at least one clinic, hopefully more.  The impact our coaches can have on the players of MPTLL will be dramatically improved if our fall coaches can learn and implement a few tips from these coaches.

Coaches participating:

·         Mike Hennessey – Varsity Head Coach – Charlotte Country Day School

·         David Houseton – Varsity Head Coach – Covenant Day School

·         Mark Mensheha – Head Coach – A.G. Middle School

·         Josh Thomas – Head Coach – Charlotte Country Day Middle School (and MPTLL Major League Coach – Trinity)

·         Brandon Merchant – Youth Hitting and Pitching Instructor (and MPTLL Major League Head Coach – Al Browne)

·         Scott Ahlum – Head Coach Charlotte Stampede 15U (former MPTLL coach)

Dates:

·         Saturday, September 6^th – 8:30am to 9:30am

·         Monday, September 8^th – 7:00pm to 8:00pm

·         Tuesday, September 9^th – 7:00pm to 8:00pm

·         Saturday, September 20^th  - 8:30am to 9:30am

Don't miss this opportunity to improve your coaching knowledge, skills and practice plans. See you at the fields.

Fall Baseball, Softball and T-Ball Registration

T-Ball / Machine Pitch / Player Pitch / Softball
Online registration remains open until August 23rd for the 2014 Fall Season at Myers Park Trinity. This season we will have T-Ball for 5-6 year old boys and girls, Machine Pitch baseball for 7-8 year old boys, Player Pitch baseball for 9-10 year old and 11-12 year old boys, and Softball for 8U, 10U, 12U and 16U girls. Click to register for the Fall Season or to learn more out the program.  We are seeking coaches in our T-Ball and player pitch leagues.  Please send an email to admin@mptll.org if you have interest in coaching a team.

MP Challenge Registration (8-12 Year old Baseball / Softball)
The Myers Park Trinity Challenge Baseball and Softball Program is designed for players who want to experience extra baseball or softball in a competitive “tournament” environment. The Challenge Program addresses the needs of those athletes who possess above average baseball or softball skills, and provides an opportunity for them to play at the highest level for their age group.  If you are interested in having your child considered for one of the Myers Park Trinity baseball or softball challenge teams, please send an email to challenge@mptll.org. Challenge tryout dates and times have not been set at this time, but they will be communicated as soon as they become available.  Parents that express an interest will receive an email approximately one week before tryouts with date, time, and field information for their specific age group’s tryout.  Click here to learn more about the Myers Park Trinity Baseball and Softball Challenge Program.

Click here to learn about our 13 & over baseball programs.

MP Academy

Myers Park Trinity is proud to announce the launch of MP Academy, which will serve as an umbrella program for a combination of player and coaches clinics, private lesson opportunities, strength and conditioning programs, and the overall instructional foundation for our baseball and softball players.  The League is partnering with area high school and middle school coaches to provide additional instruction and coaching being offered by the Academy.  

As part of this launch, we are announcing tryout dates for our inaugural 13U and 14U teams.  Parents of players that have an interest in playing for one of these teams should contact the appropriate coach listed below for specific details:

14U – Players aged 14 as of April 30, 2015
Head Coach:  Josh Thomas - Middle School Head Coach at Charlotte Country Day School.
Tryouts will be held this weekend - August 9-10 – email joshthomas@me.com for additional details.
Location: Independence Park (Elizabeth Traditional School)

13U – Players age 13 as of April 30, 2015
Head Coach:  David Houseton - Varsity Head Coach at Covenant Day School.
Assistant Coach:  Mark Mensheha - Head Coach at AG Middle School.
Tryouts will be held August 23-24 - email mmensheha@yahoo.com for additional details.
Location: Independence Park (Elizabeth Traditional School)

In addition to the two tournament focused teams listed above, MP Academy also hopes to field a combined 13/14 Babe Ruth team.  Our coaches listed above will be able to provide all the details about each of these teams so please reach out and we hope to see you at the fields.

Myers Park 10's Head to Regionals

The Myers Park Trinity Little League 10-year-old All-Star Team has won the North Carolina State Tournament and is heading to the Southeast Regional Tournament of State Champs (TOSC) in Greenville, NC. The 10's, managed by Mark Crowther, won both the NC District 3 and State Tournaments with an undefeated record, going 8-0 overall.

They will travel to the TOSC in Greenville and play at Stallings Stadium at Elm Street Park, one of the finest youth baseball venues in the country. The MP 12's played this year's State Tournament and last year's 11-year-old TOSC at the same site.

The regional tournament format is pool play, beginning on Saturday, July 26, with the top teams advancing to the medal round, beginning, Tuesday, July 29. Myers Park's pool play schedule and opponents are:

Saturday, July 26, 10:00:  NC vs. Tennessee / Goodlettsville National.
Sunday, July 27, 6:15:  NC  vs Virginia / Vienna American LL.
Monday, July 28, 12:45:  NC vs South Carolina / Northwood LL.

The tournament website is HERE. Games will be shown live on UStream HERE. Or follow the action on MP Twitter @mplittleleague.

And finally - the MP 10's are having a Bake Sale Fundraiser this Wednesday, July 23, from 6pm-8pm at the MPTLL main parking lot to raise funds to help offset travel expenses. Please support the 10's on Wednesday. Donations of any amount will be accepted.

State Tournament Schedules

Myers Park Trinity has earned trips to three 2014 NC State Tournaments. The action begins this Saturday.  The MP 10's, 11's and 12's are all representing District 3 in state double-elimination tournaments, with Southeast Regional Tournament births on the line. Here are the schedules and locations:

9-10-year-old State Tournament:  July 12-18.  Catawba Meadows Park, Morganton Little League, 220 Catawba Meadows Dr., Morganton, NC.

10-11-year-old State Tournament:  July 12-18.  Swaim Complex, Kernersville Little League, 9217 County Line Rd., Kernersville, NC.

11-12-year-old State Tournament:  July 17-23.  Elm Street Park, Greenville Little Leagues, 1055 S. Elm St., Greenville, NC.  Games will be shown live on UStream.

Hit the road and support our boys, or follow along on Twitter: @mplittleleague. Good luck to our tournament teams.

MP Wins Three District Titles

Myers Park Trinity's All-Star baseball teams have won three 2014 NC District 3 Little League Tournament Championships. Building on the success of our two state titles in 2013, this is the first time the league has won 3 championship banners at the district level in the same year.

The 9-10-year-old, 10-11-year-old and 11-12-year-old All-Star teams all won District 3 Tournaments and have earned a spot in the NC State Tournament for each age group. The winner of each State Tournament will advance to its respective Southeast Regional Tournament. Last year MP sent teams to both the 10-11-year-old Regional Tournament in Greenville, NC, and the 11-12-year-old Major League Tournament in Warner Robins, GA. The winner of the tournament in Warner Robins goes to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA.

The NC State Tournaments are scheduled as follows. Stay tuned for game schedules to be posted in the coming days.

9-10-year-old State Tournament:  July 12-18.  Morganton, NC.
10-11-year-old State Tournament:  July 12-18.  Kernersville, NC.
11-12-year-old State Tournament:  July 17-23.  Greenville, NC.

Congrats to our MP teams on their District success and good luck at States. As usual, fans back home can follow all the action on Twitter at @mplittleleague.