It is never too early to start thinking about the snow melting, warm weather, and softball season!! It’s registration time for the 2023 Mount Horeb Vikings Youth Summer Softball Season!

Summer Registration deadline is March 14th.

SUMMER REGISTRATION FEES
Player registration for all ages / divisions = $125 per player

PARENT MEETING 
An informational meeting for parents will be held on:  March 7th at 6:00 p.m. at the Middle School Step Room for ALL U10 and under players, and first year players at any level.  

We will be covering all aspects of the softball club and answering all parents’ questions regarding equipment, expectations and timelines for games/practices.

Any parents of players ages 7-14 as of the end of 2022 (2nd through 9th grade) in the Mount Horeb school district wanting to participate are encouraged to attend, but only U10 and first year parents are required to attend. If we have a similar number of participants as last year, we anticipate the following breakdown at each level: U10 – 4 x teams, U12 – 3 x teams, U14 – 3 x teams.

TOURNAMENT TEAMS
At last August’s tournament team assessments we had a terrific turnout and we were able to form three teams at each level of U10, U12 and U14. Players on the tournament teams practice over the winter and will compete in weekend tournaments around the area.  If your player didn’t sign up for this opportunity this past August and is interested for next year, assessments for 2024 tournament teams will be occurring again the last week of July and/or first week of August (incoming second grade players are not eligible to play on a tournament team). 

PLAYER INTEGRATION
Second grade players will be placed on summer only teams.  At other grade levels, stand alone summer-only teams will be formed where practical and in other cases players will be added to existing tournament team rosters, but they will only compete during the week at summer league games.

LEAGUES
Our summer teams will play in either the Legion Softball League, South Central League, Sugar River League, or the Greater Dane League. More details will be available on league play once we get closer to Spring.
 
AGE LEVELS
Age divisions are determined based on age as of 12/31/2022, i,e. 10 years or younger as of 12/31/2022 will be in the U10 division. This is a policy of the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) that the Wisconsin South Central Softball League follows. Players may be permitted to play up a division if participant numbers and skill level allow, but cannot play down.

NON-TOURNAMENT TEAM SKILLS ASSESSMENT
This will take place on Tuesday, March 14th between 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the Early Learning Center (ELC).  Age group time slots will be sent out 1-2 weeks prior to March 14th based on the total number of players that will be participating at each level.  This will assist the softball board with forming teams that are skill appropriate for your daughter.  **ONLY players that were not placed on teams at the August Tournament Team assessment will attend this March 14th assessment.**
 
JERSEYS / APPAREL
For U10 & U12 players, the jerseys are the same as they were in 2022, so if your jersey fits and is in good condition, no need to order a new jersey in 2023 (keep in mind that your child will likely grow between registration time and summer). Sample jerseys are available at MarkIt (1260 Springdale St, Mt Horeb) if your player would like to try them on. They tend to run small, so we strongly encourage you to stop in at MarkIt before entering a size on the registration form. Cost for re-orders will be the responsibility of the players/parents. There is an option on the registration form to order two jerseys in case you’d like an extra on hand.

U14 players will see a jersey option on the registration form specifically for the U14 level. U14s have their own unique jersey design.

VOLUNTEER-IN-PROGRESS (VIP) PROGRAM 
The VIP Program will be utilized again this year to run the youth season and staff the Troll Tourney on June 23-25 in Mount Horeb.

• The VIP program fee is $100 per player, $200 max per family. At the end of the season, if you have fulfilled your volunteer requirements you will receive a refund.
• There is an option to opt out of volunteering, and payment will not be eligible for a refund.
• For more information, visit www.mohosoftballclub.com/volunteer.
• Players are NOT registered until payment for the VIP Program has been made / received.

NEW THIS YEAR
 In order to streamline the registration process, all payments for registration, jerseys, and VIP are required to be paid on-line at time of registration.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jeffwmester@gmail.com or 480.639.8638.

Jeff Mester
Mount Horeb Softball Club – Youth Coordinator

As we wrap up the 2022 youth summer season, we’d like to wish all the Coaches a huge thank you for all of their time and effort, and we hope all the players and families had a fun and competitive season! Great job by all!

Registration is open for the 2023 youth assessments! Click here to register! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4aaaa728a4f85-2023 2023 Assessment Dates/Times: Tuesday July 26th OR Thursday July 28th 500p-550p   10U    (Born after Jan 1, 2012) 600p-650p   12U    (DOB between Jan 1, 2010-Dec 31,2011) 700p-750p   14U    (DOB Jan 1,2008 – Dec 31, 2009) Location:  Varsity & JV Fields (between Middle School and IC on E. Garfield) Here are many of the questions that were received last year, hope this is helpful: Do I attend both nights? Each player will attend ONE of the assessment dates listed.   Who should attend the assessment? Any player that has an interest in being added to a team for the 2023 season and if you have interest in being a part of winter team workouts. My daughter is not an “A” level player, but wants to play in 2023, should she attend? If she has interest in being a part of winter workouts then YES, as this is a great opportunity to get extra practice before the season starts.  If she only has interest in joining a team in the spring of 2023, then she’ll be placed on a team that is formed in the spring of 2023. How are teams created? Teams are based on player skill level, not by grade.   Teams will be created in an A/B/C format with approx 10-11 players per team. What will the assessment consist of? Pitchers will pitch approx 15-20 pitches from full pitching distance for each age level to a catcher. Every player will get 10-15 balls of live pitching to them in the cage. Every player will get ground balls from various infield positions and fly balls from various outfield positions and players will need to be able to show the ability to throw to all bases. What if I can’t make either assessment date but still want to be considered for a 2023 team? You will still be considered for a team, you will be assessed by the coaches on your 2022 team and placed into the overall rankings of all players that go through the 2023 assessment.  Due to the total number of players that we are assessing, there will NOT be any individual assessments outside of these two dates.   How many teams are created for 2023 at each level? We will make as many teams at each level as possible “if” we have coaches for each team that will commit to coaching over the winter and through the 2023 season.   At the 2022 assessment at the end of last summer we were able to finalize six youth teams, two teams at age level.   We will do our best as a softball club to place as many players on rosters as we can, however it is possible that your daughter will not be placed on a team until after the 2023 spring assessment. How are players assessed? Three independent evaluators will assess pitching, hitting and defense and rate each player’s overall skill levels.   Also, each 2022 player will be assessed by their current coach which will be used in the players overall ranking. When will I find out what 2023 roster my daughter is on? September 1st When will my daughter start practicing with their new 2023 team? Anytime after November 1st

Here are the Game Times for Mount Horeb teams for the Troll Tourney this weekend. 

Come out and cheer on our Vikings!

**Saturday**

U14 – Ryan Clifton & Brooke Parker

-900a  Varsity Field Mt Horeb vs Oregon

-1200p Varsity Field  Mt Horeb vs Ripon

U14 – Jason Hanson & Eric Ellestad

-1200p JV Field Dodgeville vs Mt Horeb
-130p Varsity Field Mt Horeb vs Middleton
-300p Varsity Field Mt Horeb vs Verona

**Sunday**

U12 – Jeff Mester & Phil Geisler

-900a  Varsity Field Mt Horeb vs Columbus

-1200p Varsity Field  Mt Horeb vs Middleton

-130p  Varsity Field Mt Horeb vs Orangeville

U12 – Sarah Ryan & Matt Dresen

-900a   Sunrise Field 1 Waunakee vs Mt Horeb

-1030a Sunrise Field 2  Mt Horeb vs Wi Heights

-130p and/or 300p  Game 3  Mt Horeb vs TBD

Mount Horeb Youth Softball Players:

Please get the following dates on your calendar!  Similar to last year we will be having our 2023 assessment dates as close to the end of the summer season as possible as players should be at their highest skill level of the season. 

2023 Assessment Dates:

Tuesday July 26th

Thursday July 28th

530p-615p   10U    (Born after Jan 1, 2012)

615p-700p   12U    (DOB between Jan 1, 2010-Dec 31,2011)

700p-715p   14U    (DOB Jan 1,2008 – Dec 31, 2009)

Location:  Varsity & JV Fields

Here are many of the questions that were received last year, hope this is helpful:

Do I attend both nights?

Each player will attend ONE of the assessment dates listed.   

Who should attend the assessment?

Any player that has an interest in being added to a team for the 2023 season

and if you have interest in being a part of winter team workouts.

My daughter is not an “A” level player, but wants to play in 2023, should she attend?

If she has interest in being a part of winter workouts then YES, as this is a great opportunity to get extra practice before the season starts.  If she only has interest in joining a team in the spring of 2023, then she’ll be placed on a team that is formed in the spring of 2023.

How are teams created?

Teams are based on player skill level, not by grade.   Teams will be created in an A/B/C format with approx 10-11 players per team.

What will the assessment consist of?

Pitchers will pitch approx 15-20 pitches from full pitching distance for each age level to a catcher.

Every player will get 10-15 balls of live pitching to them in the cage

Every player will get ground balls from various infield positions and fly balls from various outfield positions and players will need to be able to show the ability to throw to all bases.

What if I can’t make either assessment date but still want to be considered for a 2023 team?

You will still be considered for a team, you will be assessed by the coaches on your 2022 team and placed into the overall rankings of all players that go through the 2023 assessment.  Due to the total number of players that we are assessing, there will NOT be any individual assessments outside of these two dates.  

How many teams are created for 2023 at each level?

We will make as many teams at each level as possible “if” we have coaches for each team that will commit to coaching over the winter and through the 2023 season.   At the 2022 assessment at the end of last summer we were able to finalize six youth teams, two teams at age level.   We will do our best as a softball club to place as many players on rosters as we can, however it is possible that your daughter will not be placed on a team until after the 2023 spring assessment.

How are players assessed?

Three independent evaluators will assess pitching, hitting and defense and rate each player’s overall skill levels.   Also, each 2022 player will be assessed by their current coach which will be used in the players overall ranking.

When will I find out what 2023 roster my daughter is on?

September 1st

When will my daughter start practicing with their new 2023 team?

Anytime after November 1st

If you have any questions, please reach out! 

Good luck with your season,

Jeff Mester

Mount Horeb Softball Club will be hosting an umpire training session at the Grundahl Park baseball diamond on Sunday May 15^th from 12:45-2:00.

This training is free.

Registration will be open through March 12th. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER VIA TEAMSNAP.

REGISTRATION FEES
Player registration for all ages / divisions = $115

PARENT MEETING
An informational meeting for parents will be held on two nights:

• March 1st at 7:00 p.m. at the Middle School Step Room: PARENTS OF U10 and all first year players at any level. We will be covering all aspects of the softball club and answering all parent questions regarding equipment, expectations, and timelines for games and practices. To keep numbers down, we ask that parents only attend this meeting.
• March 8th at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom Call for U12 & U14 parents and players. Zoom call information will be emailed out at a later date.

Parents of players ages 7-14 as of the end of 2021 (2nd through 9th grade) in the Mount Horeb school district wanting to participate should attend their designated night. If we have a similar number of participants as last year, we anticipate the following breakdown at each level: U10 – 4 x teams U12 – 3 x teams U14 – 2 x teams.

For more information visit: https://mohosoftballclub.com/youth-program/