We again are asking our entire MYBA family to come out to Mike McDonald Field at Westwood Park tomorrow at 11:00AM to cheer on the Varisty Potters take on conference rival East Peoria in the Regional Championship game!  Coach Crawford is asking everyone to wear RED and come cheer on the Potters, MYBA travel players make sure to wear your red jerseys tomorrow!  Let's get the largest crowd of the year out at the ballpark tonight to support the Varsity Potters!!!

We are asking our entire MYBA family to come out to Mike McDonald Field at Westwood Park tonight to cheer on the Varisty Potters take on Peoria Central in their first regional game at 4:30PM!  Wear your red and come cheer on the Potters, MYBA travel players wear your red jerseys tonight!  Let's get the largest crowd of the year out at the ballpark tonight to support the Varsity Potters!!!

We are asking our entire MYBA family to come out to Mike McDonald Field at Westwood Park tonight to cheer on the Varisty Potters take on Peirio Central in their first regional game at 4:30PM!  Wear your red and come cheer on the Potters, MYBA travel players wear your red jerseys tonight!  Let's get the largest crowd of the year out at the ballpark tonight to support the Varsity Potters!!!

It's that time again, the 19th Annual St. Jude Brad Wallin Memorial Tournament begins next Wednesday.   Morton Youth Baseball has been fortunate enough to be selected to as one of the eight host sites for this year's tournament.  Like all of our events, they only run as smooth at the volunteer help that we receive, and we are grateful for the amazing support we receive every year.

We have set up a Volunteer Sign-Up form on Sign-Up.com again this year.   We are asking all MYBA Board Members, and all coaches and assistant coaches from each team participating to take at least one volunteer spots.  Any MYBA families o that have time they can volunteer, please feel free to sign up as well.  This tournament is the largest in the area, and all proceeds go to St. Jude, any volunteer  help you can provide woudl be greatly appreciated.  The link is here

https://signup.com/go/veEoqXu

To our travel teams participating.  All 9U - 13U teams will have their 2 pool play games at home.  Unfortunately we do not have the capability to have any 8U games at Westwood based on the tournament design.   The final game schedule should be announced by Sunday.  Please do not wait for the schedule to sign up, you will have the ability trade spots if there is a conflict.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the Jason Vallar, Luke Parnham, Chad Bell or Chris Sharp. 

We are very much looking forward to another great tournament, while also doing our small part to help fight childhood cancer.

Thanks,

MYBA Board of Directors

Hi Morton Youth Baseball Association families,

We are fortunate to have many great sponsors supporting us this season and lowering the costs to our families.

Please take a few minutes and complete the short survey below to help support one of our valued sponsors: 

https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7210152/Spring-2023-Survey

Providing your feedback will increase Morton Youth Baseball Association's chances at sponsors returning for next season, and you could win a $100 gift card! Keep an eye out for other surveys this season, too.

The responses collected are for internal use only, and your information will not be used for marketing purposes unless you opt in.

We appreciate your support!

For all Morton High School age athletes, MYBA is again offering a Colt team registration.  This team is open for all high school players from Freshman through Senior, players do not have to live in Morton to play for our Colt team.  Paul Grethey will be coaching again this year, and he is looking for any interested assistant coaches as well.   The season will run June through mid-July, and involves playing teams from around the Peoria area.  

The registration fee is $150 ($165 for out of town players).  Registration is currently open on our website.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Paul Grethey (pgrethey25@yahoo.com) or an MYBA Board member.

We are asking our entire MYBA family to come out to Mike McDonald Field at Westwood Park tonight to cheer on the Varisty Potters take on conference rival Washington at 7:00PM!  Wear your red and come cheer on the Potters, MYBA travel players wear your baby blue jerseys tonight!  Let's get the largest crowd of the year out at the ballpark tonight to support the Varsity Potters!!!

Hey Morton Youth Baseball Association Families !

Parents with children who play sports know that sports injuries come with the territory.

There are no guarantees your child will have an injury-free sports career. But kids can minimize risk by following safety rules for their sport and warming up properly before every workout.

Food, water and technique

“Some things you should do to prevent injuries are the same in every sport,” said Bradley Yates, an athletic trainer with OSF HealthCare. “Eat right. Stay hydrated. And try your hardest to use the proper technique. If you’re not doing those three, you are setting yourself up for failure.”

Help prevent soft-tissue injuries by making sure your child eats a healthy, balanced diet with plenty of minerals, proteins and vitamins. Natural foods are best.

Drink plenty of water. The American Council on Exercise emphasizes the importance of hydrating before, during and after athletic activity.

Use proper equipment

Make sure your child is properly equipped for their sport. Helmets with facemasks for football, ice hockey, lacrosse basketball and softball. Shin guards for soccer. Some positions – baseball/softball catchers and ice hockey goalies, for example – require additional equipment.

Warm up before every workout

When it’s time to practice, always start with stretching exercises. It’s not a bad idea to finish your workout with a good stretch as well.

When to seek medical care

If your child does get injured, Bradley said, use the acronym “RICE” as a baseline guide:

R – Rest

I – Ice to limit swelling

C – Compression after the ice is removed

E – Elevate the injured body part above the heart

If the pain continues, or if the injury does not appear to be healing, seek medical attention. For more serious sports injuries, especially if a concussion is possible, seek medical help immediately.

For more information: How to limit your child’s risk for sports injuries - https://www.osfhealthcare.org/blog/limit-risk-for-sports-injuries/

Good luck this season! 

- OSF Children’s Hospital 

Hi Morton Youth Baseball Association families, 

Participating in sports can have many benefits for children and teens – both physically and psychologically.

But sports also come with increased risk of certain injuries, including concussion. While the risks are serious, parents, coaches and athletes can implement some simple, evidence-based best practices to protect young athletes.

“I think there’s no safer time than now to play sports due to increased awareness and regulation, but there is no risk-free activity or sport,” said Jenna Ford, APRN, who oversees the Concussion Clinic at OSF HealthCare Illinois Neurological Institute.

As a parent or coach, you can:

• Expect safe play. Be up front with young athletes about your expectations and make it clear that certain rules are in place for their own safety. Require helmets or protective head gear when appropriate, and never tolerate dangerous or dirty play.

• Develop a concussion action plan. This includes having a process in place for what to do if a concussion is suspected or confirmed. Ask your child’s coach or a league administrator to ensure they have a plan for recognizing possible concussions as well as safely allowing athletes to return to play.

• Encourage athletes to report symptoms. Baseline testing and concussion action plans are important tools, but in order to protect young athletes, they need to understand why these processes are in place. Estimates suggest that up to half of athletes don’t report their symptoms and continue to compete with a concussion, which can prolong recovery and increase the likelihood of another concussion. Have honest conversations with your child and explain why taking time to recover is so important.

• Enforce the rules. All of these tips can help prevent concussions and speed recovery time, but only if parents, coaches and players are committed to applying these rules consistently.

For more information: Preventing concussion in young athletes - https://www.osfhealthcare.org/blog/preventing-concussion-in-young-athletes/

If you suspect your child may have suffered a concussion, seek advice from your primary care provider, who may refer you to the OSF INI Concussion Clinic. You can also request an appointment in the Concussion Clinic by calling (877) 464-6670.

Goodluck this season! 

- OSF Children’s Hospital 

Hi Morton Youth Baseball Association families,

We are fortunate to have many great sponsors supporting us this season and lowering the costs to our families.

Please take a few minutes and complete the short survey below to help support one of our valued sponsors: 

https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7210152/Spring-2023-Survey

Providing your feedback will increase Morton Youth Baseball Association's chances at sponsors returning for next season, and you could win a $100 gift card! Keep an eye out for other surveys this season, too.

The responses collected are for internal use only, and your information will not be used for marketing purposes unless you opt in.

We appreciate your support!

NEED NEW BASEBALL GEAR???

As we get closer to baseball season, several players might be in need of new bats, gloves, or other baseball gear. Reminder that MYBA has partnerships with Axe Bat and the Wilson family of brands (Wilson, Louisville Slugger, Demarini, and others). This partnership offers 20-25% discounts on all baseball gear...bats, gloves, etc. In addition, Wilson provides a portion of each sale back to MYBA.  

Wilson gear store, 20% off all products (Wilson, Louisville Slugger, Demarini, Evoshield, ATEC) 

Invite code: CMAXNWLI

Link: https://www.team.shop/en-us/explore/join

Axe Bat, 25% off all products

Use Discount Code at checkout: MPBASEBALL

UPDATED WILSON TEAM STORE LINK

Our Wilson gear store was accidentally closed down by Wilson so they opened a new team store that is open year-round. You can access at the link below for 20% off bats, gloves, and other gear from the Wilson family of brands (Wilson, Louisville Slugger, Demarini, Evoshield, ATEC). 

Invite code: CMAXNWLI

Link: https://www.team.shop/en-us/explore/join

We are excited to announce a partnership between MYBA and Wilson that will benefit our players and program. MYBA has an official Wilson Team Store that allows year-round access to baseball gear products across Wilson brands (Wilson, Louisville Slugger, Demarini, Evo Shield, ATEC) at 20% off MSRP. In addition, there is a custom apparel store, open for a limited time, that sells custom MP Evo Shield apparel. 

The Game Day Gear store (bats, gloves, protective gear, and other items) is open year round and offers 20% off year round. The Team Gear store contains custom apparel and is open until December 7th. 

Wilson Team Shop benefits:

-20% off MSRP on all items
-Access to all Wilson, Demarini, Louisville Slugger, Evo Shield, and ATEC products at a discounted price 
-Customized fanwear
-Direct to consumer shipping
-Free shipping on orders of $50 or more
-The MYBA program receives a percentage of all sales

A mass email was sent to MYBA members that includes instructions on how to setup a Wilson Team Store account. Please reach out to any MYBA coach or board member if you have any questions.

Morton Youth Baseball Association is excited to announce our partnership with TORQ Fitness & Performance to create a training program specific for ALL of our youth baseball players involved with MYBA.

The owner & head trainer of TORQ, Kyle Piraino, has designed a Morton Youth Baseball Off-Season Training Program to help our players maximize their development.  Kyle has been a big supporter of Morton Youth Baseball Association and of Morton Athletics.  He has put together a program for our youth baseball players that will help them:

- Run FASTER

- Throw HARDER

- Hit FARTHER

- Increase Strength, Power, and Muscle Mass

- Improve Durability

- Improve range-of-motion

Please see the linked flyer for more details:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/18QbSrDOZyHjexswSHnK6D5uu-QVtrZJ6/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=101810126088720450933&rtpof=true&sd=true