Regards,

John Dillon, Academy Director

Frank Andrews, Development Coach

Overview

The overall aim of the Academy programme is to develop a National Team squad at all age levels. A group of up to 20 players per age group will be selected at the beginning of each season to benefit from up to 100 dedicated sessions of individual and group trainings, as well as games. Typically, the Academy will run over a period of 11 months, from November to September each year. Academy players are expected to participate in the majority of training sessions to be considered for National Team selection.

Timings

The 2022-23 Academy season will commence in October, 2022 for all age groups. The Academy will be run in a number of phases:

• Phase 1 (October, November) – open trials* and introduction
• Phase 2 (December, January, February) – early development work
• Phase 3 (March, April, May) – intensive development
• Phase 4 (June, July, August) – game practise and tournaments
• Phase 5 (September) – review and 2022-23 development planning

* The squad of 20 players per age group will selected by Frank Andrews, following trials.

Trial dates

• U10 – Saturday 29^th Oct, 10 to 12noon
• U12 – Saturday 29^th Oct, 12 to 2pm
• U15 – Wednesday 26^th & Friday 28^th Oct, 6 to 8pm
• U18 – Tuesday 25^th & Thursday 27^th Oct, 6 to 8pm
• U23 – Tuesday 25^th & Thursday 27^th Oct, 8 to 10pm
• Senior – Wednesday 26^th & Friday 28^th Oct, 8 to 10pm

Weekly time slots for each age group will be as follows:

• U10 – Sunday, 9.30 to 11am
• U12 – Saturday, 11 to 1pm
• U15 – Wednesday, 6 to 8pm & Saturday, 1 to 3pm
• U18 – Tuesday & Thursday, 6 to 8pm & Sunday, 11 to 1pm
• U23 – Tuesday & Thursday, 8 to 10pm & Sunday, 1 to 3pm
• Senior – Wednesday, 8 to 10pm & Saturday, 9 to 11am

Eligibility

For European and other tournaments each player must be aged 10, 12, 15, 18, 23 respectively, or under for the year of the tournament. Note: This is different requirement to previous years. The following age ranges apply for the 2022-23 Academy squads.*

• U10 – Birth year 2013, 2014 (i.e. turning 9 or 10 in 2023)
• U12 – Birth year 2011, 2012 (i.e. turning 11 or 12 in 2023)
• U15 – Birth year 2008, 2009, 2010 (i.e. turning 13, 14 or 15 in 2023)
• U18 – Birth year 2005, 2006, 2007 (i.e. turning 16, 17 or 18 in 2023)
• U23 – Birth year 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 (i.e. turning 19, 20, 21, 22 or 23 in 2023)

* In exceptional circumstances, a player younger than the age category may participate based on playing ability. The Development Coach will have final decision on player selection.

All players require an Irish passport to be considered for the National Team but not to participate in the Academy and Academy competitions.

Costs

Academy trials (commencing October 25th)

Cost for the trials is €10 per session

Academy programme (commencing November 7th)

Monthly cost for 10 month payment period

• U12 – €25
• U12 – €25
• U15 – €40
• U18 – €60*
• U23 – €60*
• Senior – €60*

* Includes access to gym and use of facility when no bookings

Note: Applications for funding support are available through the Baseball Ireland scholarship scheme. For more information, contact the Academy Director.