The weather cooperated and we held our first baseball skills clinic on Saturday at Shoreline Athletic Fields. Approx 50 young players attended the first session and the older 30 attended the second session. It was great seeing everyone come out to enjoy the no-rain day.

We have 3 more baseball skills clinics scheduled for the first 3 Saturdays in February. The next 2 weekends in January are devoted to holding player evaluations for the Majors and Minors player drafts.

An email announcement was sent on Wednesday afternoon, containing the schedule of activities and a weather forecast. There were 2 sessions (note the times and age groupings):

• 10 to 11 AM, 4 to 8 YO. Throwing and defensive skills.
• 11:30 to 1 PM, 9 to 12 YO. Throwing and defensive skills.
• WHERE: Shoreline Athletic Fields, 2450 Garcia Ave, MV, 94043
• WHEN: Saturday, January 13, 2024
• COST: FREE!

8 year-olds wanting to play up to the Minor Division should attend the 9-12 YO session. Prospective players who have not yet signed up are welcome to attend. This a free activity for everyone who attends.

The Junior Division will start their practices starting the following week, on Saturday, Jan 20 at Shoreline. In February, the Juniors will change to Sunday afternoon practices.

Our first clinic will focus exclusively on defensive skills – proper techniques for fielding ground balls and fly balls, defensive positioning, etc. As is our standard for skills clinics, each age-group will engage in age- and skill-appropriate drills and will be instructed by current and former MVLL coaches and alumni MVLL players.

In order for the players to receive maximum benefit from the clinic, we ask your player arrive 5 minutes prior to the start of their session and be ready to have fun, equipped with the following:
• Baseball glove that can be closed easily by the player
• Baseball pants or sweat pants (no jeans or shorts, please)
• Baseball cap
• Protective cup for the boys
• Athletic shoes, baseball cleats (no metal cleats). No sandals or open-toed shoes, please. Shoreline is an all-weather artificial turf field.
• Waterproof outerwear or change of outerwear when done with the clinic in the event of light rain. Have a dry towel or 2 on hand.
• Water bottle or personal hydration gear. (No food is allowed on the field and dugouts. Water only. No sports drinks or sodas.)

If your player is not feeling well before or during the clinic, we ask your player self-withdraw from participating.

As this clinic will focus on defense only, bats are not necessary. Batting helmets will not be needed, however there will be a catching drill using tennis balls and some players may be more comfortable wearing a helmet if they are not experienced in catching fly falls.

PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT ANY EQUIPMENT/GEAR/CLOTHING BROUGHT BY YOUR PLAYER IS LABELED CLEARLY WITH THEIR NAME. We will have a small number of gloves available for players to use during the clinic so don’t rush out and purchase a glove just to attend the clinic. We will also have helmets available to use during the tennis ball drill.

We have been closely watching the Saturday weather forecasts.

• We anticipate light rains throughout Saturday, starting in the early AM. In total, less than 0.05 inches are expected to fall in the 4-hour period starting at 10 AM — which means sporadic sprinkles possible throughout the clinic times. However, not all of the weather models are in agreement as to precipitation amounts per hour. Some are heavier at 10 AM, others are very light. Temperatures are expected to start out in the low 50s at 10 AM with light winds, gusting up to 20 mph throughout the day. Cloud cover is expected to be in the 90% range.
• NWS Weather Table for Shoreline
• What does 0.05 inches of rain look like?

We will have a Registration Information Table available at 10 AM to answer questions about Spring Baseball. We will be available to examine new player documentation (proof of player’s birth date, residency address in Mountain View, or proof of attendance at a Mtn View school). Registration for Spring Baseball is done online at mvll.info. There are no paper forms to fill out. We can accept in-person payments in cash or check. Online payments are done at https://mvll.info/Registration_Payment.html