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Bismarck Sparks 14U-18U

Bismarck Sparks Travel Teams offers opportunities for players in the 14U-18U divisions.

TRYOUTS

2024 Bismarck Sparks Travel Team Tryouts will be held on February 11, 2024 at the Fore Seasons Center from 9:00am-1:00pm for the 14U-18U divisions.

Registration will close on February 9, 2023 at 10:00pm.

Please arrive 15 minutes early to warm up. The girls are encouraged to bring their own equipment: glove, facemask, bats, etc. We will have helmets and bats on hand for the girls to use if needed.

If you are interested in trying out but are unable to make the tryout date, please contact us at bismarckyouthfastpitch@gmail.com. You still need to register prior to February 9th.

Team Formation

Participants will sign up for tryout/evaluations. Evaluations are scheduled for four hours in order for the coach and travel committee to properly evaluate each participant.

Travel Team Director, coaching staff and travel committee will work together to form the best team possible for the program.

Our goal is to field at least one team per age division to represent BYFSA in tournaments.

Coaching

Head coach will have prior coaching experience as where the assistant coach may not have prior coaching experience but should have playing experience or a higher level knowledge of the sport. An assistant coach may be a college level player/student majoring in a relevant field of study.

Coaching staff will have the directive to lead the team as they see fit based on the guidelines and agreements in place between BYFSA, Travel Team Director and coaching staff. The goal is to have open communication between coaching staff and the travel committee to ensure the program stays aligned with the program philosophy.

Training & Practices

Training and practices can start once high school seasons have ended.

IN-SEASON

Teams will practice a minimum of two times per week. One of those practices will be a Sanford POWER training session with Lane Hanzel. Additional practices will be at the discretion of the coaching staff.

Pitching practices will be scheduled throughout the season to continue to develop pitchers.

Catching practices will be scheduled throughout the season to continue to develop catchers.

OFF-SEASON

Sanford POWER Off-Season Player Development starts in November and runs for 7 weeks. This training is not included in the player fee and is optional.

Tournaments

The teams will participate in a minimum of 5 tournaments. Any additional tournaments are the responsibility of the team. For the full tournament listing, visit the tournaments page.

A parent or responsible replacement will be asked to volunteer two hours at our annual Bismarck Blast tournament in June and the State Junior Olympic Tournament in July. If you have multiple children participating in the travel program, the requirement is 2 hours per family per tournament. 

Uniforms

Two uniform tops will be provided by BYFSA. These tops are customized and are to be kept by the player at the end of the season.

One uniform pant, belt, and one pair of socks will be provided by BYFSA. Pants and belt are to be returned to BYFSA at the end of the season.

Player Benefits

Hitting, pitching and catching practices will be scheduled throughout the season to continue to develop these skills.

Game statistics for each player will be taken so they may be shared in the recruiting process if the player wishes to play at the college level.

BYFSA is a partner with Sanford POWER. BYFSA intends to work with Sanford POWER to gather player metrics in order to evaluate player current potential and where the player needs to be according to their goals.

Player Fee

The player fee is $700. $250 non-refundable tryout deposit is due at time of tryout registration. The tryout deposit is applied to player fee and refunded only if a position is not offered to player. The player fee will only be charged if your child is offered and accepts a position on the team.

FUNDRAISING

Fundraising efforts will begin on March 11 to assist rostered players with offsetting player fees. More information is forthcoming.