Travel Team

Submitting sports notices The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. Monday. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Baseball The AYRA baseball program is holding tryouts for its 10-U Sunday-only travel team for the Spring 2012 season. Tryouts will be held on Nov. 19 and 20 at 2 p.m. at the baseball fields at Hammond Middle School. This travel team will play in the Mid-Atlantic Baseball Association league and participated in two or three local tournaments.

Submitting sports notices The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. Monday. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Softball Howard County Officials are looking for new umpires. Training on rules, positioning and interpretations as they relate to ASA Softball, both slow and fast pitch, begins Feb. 9. Upon completion of the classes, there will be an opportunity to work games in Howard County for both youth and adults.

Three of Bel Air's fall travel baseball teams scored wins last weekend in the Greater Northeast travel league.The Bel Air 13-14 team (7-2) defeated Forest Hill, 8-3, at the Churchville Recreation Complex.The two teams were tied 2-2 after four innings, until Bel Air's Kim Oteyza led off the fifth inning with a walk and then stole second and third base, scoring on a wild pitch to put Bel Air up, 3-2.In the sixth, Bel Air scored five runs. Jonathan Smith singled in Ryan Gump for the first run.Shaun Cullen and Keith Pfaff then walked to load the bases.

Submitting sports notices The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. Monday. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Baseball The AYRA baseball program is holding tryouts for its 10-U Sunday-only travel team for the Spring 2012 season. Tryouts will be held on Nov. 19 and 20 at 2 p.m. at the baseball fields at Hammond Middle School. This travel team will play in the Mid-Atlantic Baseball Association league and participated in two or three local tournaments.

THE TRAVEL-team baseball season for kids has closed. The other day as I relived the memories of this summer season, I found myself exclaiming: "We were robbed! Our guy was safe at third!"I was the third-base coach for a travel team, and I was recalling a disagreement I had had with an umpire who called one of our kids out at third. The kid was safe. The third baseman missed the tag. I know because I saw the entire play while standing in the third-base coaching box. At least I was standing there until the umpire invited me to leave the field.

Recently, I paced the sidelines of a baseball field in Lansdowne, waiting for one more 10-year-old wearing a Roland Park Travel Team uniform to appear on the horizon. If a player did not show up quickly, Roland Park, my son's team, would not have nine players. It would forfeit the game to a team from Towsontowne, and would be eliminated from the Lansdowne Riverview Recreation Council Tournament.The coach of Roland Park, Brent Hoffman, pulled out the team roster as Susan Corden, a mother of a player already at the field, punched a cellular phone trying to summon one more player to Lansdowne.

THE COLUMBIA Clippers are engaged in one of the more ambitious fund-raising efforts you'll see associated with a youth group. It is an effort that will help offset expenses for an experience that gives new meaning to the term "travel team." The youth swimming club affiliated with the Columbia Park and Recreation Association is using all sorts of fund-raising techniques - among them the usual car washes and sales of cookie dough, pizzas, coffees, and kitchen niceties - to pay for a trip next spring half way around the world.

DEAR CAL -- Over the past five years, elite travel clubs have taken a foothold on youth sports. Years ago these kids were playing in Little Leagues across the county. What do you tell parents who are confused about what program to put their kids into? Dennis Felix, Oakley, Calif. DEAR DENNIS -- My advice to parents is to educate yourselves on the pros and cons of travel baseball - really look into what travel baseball means in terms of the commitment and the time for practices and games.

Patterson soccer star Bash Kamara, originally from the African nation of Sierra Leone, is proud to say he has an 89 in the Spanish I course he's taking this semester. Along with giving his grade-point average a boost, it's helping him score more goals. Teammate Adrian Boodoo, a native of Trinidad & Tobago who moved here four years ago, recently enjoyed his first gyro when one of the team's newest members, Greek midfielder Dimitris Kyteas, brought a sample to school for lunch one day. Boodoo was quick to reciprocate, sharing his country's favorite street food -"doubles," a flatbread sandwich filled with curried chickpeas.

My 12-year-old son is a very gifted baseball player who has played against high-level competition since he was 8. Unfortunately, this year's 12-year-old travel team disbanded. One of the options for him was to play for the town team, where he can do some pitching, but will face weak competition until All Stars begins. The other option was to try out for the 13-year-old travel team. He decided to try out for the 13-year-old team, and he did great, going head to head with 20 other kids who are older than him. The coach called after the tryout and said he could see why my son excelled on his 12-year-old travel team.

Submitting sports notices The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. Monday. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Soccer The Thunder Soccer Club is holding supplemental tryouts for our current U-7 and U-8 boys teams. Email corbett433@gmail.com for more information.   Thunder Soccer Club's U-9 boys Spurs team (born after Aug. 1, 2002) is holding supplemental tryouts every Tuesday and Friday in October from 6-7 p.m. at Hawthorn Park.

Submitting sports notices The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. Monday. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Football The Columbia Ravens Football program will hold its homecoming activities Sat., Oct. 22 at Cedar Lane Park West. All present and former Ravens players and families are encouraged to come out for a day of football, friends and fun. Former players are encouraged to wear their current high school jerseys or former Ravens jerseys.

Submitting sports notices The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. Monday. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Baseball The HCYP Raiders 16-U tournament team is looking to fill the final two slots on its roster. The team will be participating in high-level tournaments throughout the mid-Atlantic area between Memorial Day and the middle of July. Eligible candidates should have travel baseball and high school baseball experience as a catcher or outfielder and cannot turn 17 before May 1, 2012.

Submitting sports notices The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. Monday. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Basketball The HCYP Sharks travel teams are holding tryouts as follows. Contact the listed coach or go to hcyp.org for more information. 9-U girls (fourth grade): Sept. 12-13, 5:30-7 p.m., at Veterans Elementary School. D_mcniff2009@comcast.net or 443-763-0390. 9-U boys (fourth grade)

The Savage U-8 travel baseball team is holding practices for players interested in trying out for the 2012 squad. Practices are Tuesdays, from 5:45 to 7:45 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 to 11 a.m. at Savage Park field 4. Contact Andrew Perlin at andrewjperlin@gmail.com prior to attending practice.

Tryouts for a fall U-10 and spring/summer 2012 U-11 Savage travel baseball team will be held Saturday, Aug. 6 and Sundays, Aug. 14 and 21. All tryouts are 4 p.m. at Savage Park. The team plans to play in MABA spring league and multiple tournaments, including one or more Ripken tournaments (potentially Myrtle Beach for the second year). Limited fall league and tournament play is also planned. Contact coach Neil Johnson, neilj28@gmail.com or 301-252-3490.

The Maryland Marlins All-Stars will hold cheerleading tryouts July 18 from 6 to 7 p.m. Eleven teams are available for ages 4-18, ranging from the nontravel/short season team to the nationally ranked travel team. Private tryouts are also available. For location and other information, contact Maryland Marlins All-Stars at 410-796-2244, supersquads@hughes.net or marylandmarlins.com.

Submitting sports notices The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. Monday. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Football/cheerleading The CCC Warriors football and cheerleading program is registering for the fall season. Practice starts July 27. The Warriors are for ages 5-14. Go to http://www.cccwarriors.com or call 410-637-5999.   Football   Registration for the Columbia Ravens Football is open for ages 5-14.  Go to http://www.columbiaravens.com . In addition, the organization seeks qualified, committed individuals to coach, especially at the Pit Bull (ages 5-6)

Submitting sports notices The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. Monday. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Soccer The SAC Extreme (U-18 girls) is looking for additional players for 2011-12. The team will participate in college showcase tournaments and WAGS spring play. Interested players should email mraffael731@yahoo.com or call 301-957-8809.   Softball   The Maryland Stars girls fastpitch program will hold tryouts Aug. 7, 14 and 21 at Mayeski Park in Sykesville.

Submitting sports notices The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. Monday. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Football/cheerleading The CCC Warriors football and cheerleading program is registering for the fall season. Practice starts July 27. The Warriors are for ages 5-14. Go to http://www.cccwarriors.com or call 410-637-5999.   Football   Registration for the Columbia Ravens Football is open for ages 5-14.  Go to http://www.columbiaravens.com . In addition, the organization seeks qualified, committed individuals to coach, especially at the Pit Bull (ages 5-6)