Cedar Park Youth League

Cedar Park Youth League

President’s Corner

Happy 40^th Birthday!   Many of have heard it recently and many more of you will soon.  CPYL is no different.  2012 marks the 40^th year that the league has been serving the surrounding communities.  My quick math estimates that since our inception we have had over 50,000 players and almost 1,000,000 visitors to our little old park on Cypress Creek Road.  There is no doubt that we are now serving many 2^nd generation and possibly some 3^rd generation players.   I encourage you old timers to share stories of back in the old days when we played when there were barbed wire fences, etc.

On that note, you will notice this spring that the fields have undergone a major renovation.   All of the fences have been upgraded, dugout roofs repaired, and all of the infields worked on.   Another major change was to convert Ebbet’s into a multi-purpose field which will continue to add flexibility to multiple ages for years to come.  The fields have never looked better and we ask that you leave the field maintenance to those that have been properly trained.  Without a doubt, there are many more projects that need to be done (bleachers, dugout benches, parking lots, sidewalks, etc.), but we are currently placing them on hold until our spring fundraisers are complete to determine the next projects to be funded.

Most of you know that we have tweaked the baseball structure to allow a more balanced league and meet the needs of those who desire to play tournaments.   This structure will be posted online in the near future.   For most, there will not be a difference, but we would appreciate any constructive feedback.

Many of you have inquired about the change in structure for softball.  We have added four select teams which will be playing out of CPYL.  They will all play under the name “Stealth”.  We will have two teams at 10U and one each at 12 and 14U.  While many of the young ladies playing for these teams came from our recreation teams, we are still expecting a very competitive and complementary recreation league at all age groups and we expect to grow over time. This addition is good for our league, and will help to keep many of our players here at CPYL.

Another change is the bat rules that have been adopted for baseball.   Last fall CPYL, adopted Super Series rules regarding bats knowing the rules were not going to be published until this January.   For those of you who follow it closely, you know the rule generally states that all bats need to have a BBF 1.15 stamp on it.   I offer this to you in this format since, there are going to be many great sales on some normally otherwise great bats ($300 bats for $50), but these are no longer legal at CPYL, Super Series, and likely CENTEX levels.   Please keep this in mind when shopping, since if they are not illegal now they will be soon.  Please review the bat rules article on the website for additional information about the specifications.

Finally, registration is currently open.   Regular registration ends this month and then late registration begins.   Please register as soon as you can so we can start to gauge the number of teams we need to plan for this year, in addition you will save a few bucks along the way.

Key upcoming dates:

• February 8 – Regular Registration Ends/Late Registration Begins
• February 18 – Skills Assessment
• February 27 – Opening Day
• March 4 – Spring Pre-Season Tournament (pay to play)
• March 25 – Spring Fling/Pictures
• March 31 – April Fools Tournament (pay to play)
• April 14 – Round Express Night (Pending)
• TBD – Parents Meeting

On behalf of the Board, thank you for allowing all of us to serve you and work towards creating a positive environment for the upcoming year and years to come.

Yours in Service,

Scott J. Foster

CPYL President