Panther Travel Teams

2012 Summer Panther TRYOUT Details

Primary Tryout Dates (see age group birth years below)

8U:    Saturday, May 19 -- Registration 5:10, Tryouts 5:30 – 7:00 @ Emerson Field
10U:  Saturday, May 19 -- Registration 3:40, Tryouts 4:00 – 5:30 @ Emerson Field
12U:  Saturday, May 12 -- Registration 3:40, Tryouts 4:00 – 5:30 @ Emerson Field
14U:  Saturday, May 12 -- Registration 5:10, Tryouts 5:30 – 7:00 @ Emerson Field
18U:  TBD – Stay tuned, tryouts will be announced shortly.

Make-Up Dates for Those Unable to Attend the Primary Date

8U/10U:    Monday, May 21 – 6:00 – 7:15 @ Emerson Field
12U/14U:  Monday, May 14 – 6:00 – 7:15 @ Emerson Field

• Please arrive promptly to your registration time. We expect a high turnout and need the full 90 minutes to run fair tryouts.
• Players must try out with their appropriate age group.
• Email Doug Clott if you will be attending the tryouts
• Due to time constraint, uniform orders will happen a few days after the tryouts.

Mission Statement

The Newton Panthers organization strive to provide an environment in which girls with a passion for playing softball can further develop their softball, teamwork and leadership skills in a more competitive setting.

We have established a year-round program of clinics and playing opportunities to prepare our teams to successfully compete in the MiddleEssex League "A" division and “B/C” level tournaments during the late spring and summer months. Summer is the primary season for competitive softball in New England.

The Mass American Softball Association (ASA) organizes three levels of tournaments in Massachusetts - A, B, and C with A being the highest level. C teams are comprised of players from the same town and/or share a common high school. A and B teams are allowed to have players on their roster from multiple towns and are typically more competitive than C tournament teams.  Newton Panther teams are almost always exclusively filled by Newton residents which allows us to play in C-level tournaments, but doesn't preclude us from playing in B tournaments.

NOTE:  The terms A, B and C used by ASA for defining their summer tournament divisions do not mean the same thing as used by various leagues such as NEAAU, MiddleEssex, and the Charles River Softball League for defining their playing divisions. Each league uses terms relative to just them.

Both the spring and fall Panther teams are separate and "secondary" to the Summer Panther teams. To be fair to all, Spring Panther players will need to attend the summer team tryouts, typically mid-May, to be considered for a summer Panther team. Players who choose not to play spring Panther softball will not be "penalized" when trying out for a summer Panther team. Fall teams are typically more relaxed than spring and summer Panther teams, and are mostly though not exclusively comprised from summer team players.

Tryouts for the 2012summer teams will be held mid-May 2012. Detailed information will be posted as it is finalized and a league-wide email will be sent to all 2011 Rec League players and 2010 Panther team players.

The Newton Panthers hold various skills clinics during the fall and winter based upon instructor availability. We hold weekly hitting clinics beginning in mid-January, supplemented with a few indoor team practices in early spring. Panther players are encouraged to attend as many clinics as possible. Players who were not on a Panthers team during the previous summer can participate in these clinics as space is available. Contact Doug Clott to check space availability.

MiddleEssex Summer League
Most Summer Panther teams play in the MiddleEssex League. It is well run and the competitive level is suitable for our Newton Panther teams. Our preference is to field two teams (A level and B level) in the 10u, 12u & 14u age brackets (based upon player and coach interest) and an 18u A team. In 2011 we fielded teams in the following age brackets: 10u A, 10u B, 12u A, 14u A 14u B and 18u.

The MiddleEssex season typically begins on the last week in June and ends after the first or second week in August. two games are played each week, Monday - Thursday with a start time of 6:15 pm for most teams with occasional 7:45 pm start times for older teams.

Tournament Schedule
Panther teams are encouraged to play in one or more weekend tournaments based upon team interest. Tournament games are played all day Saturday and Sunday, with an occasional tournament beginning on Friday evening. Based upon how well the team does on Sunday, teams will typically play 4 - 6 games per tournament. Tournaments represent the best opportunity for each player to increase their number of innings played and within a fun and focused softball environment. Most tournaments are within a 45 - 60 minute drive from Newton.

Newton Girls Softball is excited to offer an 8u Panthers summer tournament team again this summer, and we would like for you to be a part of it! This will be our third year running the 8u Panther program and the girls have enjoyed the experience.

The 8u Panthers team is for girls who would like to continue playing softball through July, in a competitive playing environment. At the tryouts, girls will demonstrate how they can throw, catch and field balls.

The team will practice 1-2 weekday nights per week. The practices are a lot of fun, and are the core activity for developing the team. The 8u team will play a maximum of 5 weekend tournaments, all in Rhode Island within a 1 hour drive from Newton. The dates will likely be the last weekend in June and 4 weekends in July. We will play on Saturdays, with a few opportunities to return on Sunday if we place well in the tournament. Last year, we returned on Sunday to play again in two tournaments; the others we were finished on Saturday afternoon.

We understand that families have vacations planned. At the tryouts, you will be asked to indicate which weeks and weekends you are available/away, and from that information we will determine the final tournament schedule and team roster. We expect that not every girl will be able to attend every tournament, but we do expect each girl will attend at least three tournaments on the final schedule.

If you have any questions, please contact Lloyd MacLean.

While it is not a requirement, Panther players are encouraged to also play in the spring NGSoftball recreational league. Having Panther players participating in the spring rec league we believe serves the best interest of the Newton softball community.

Panther players are encouraged to be available for all weekday MiddleEssex games and weekend tournaments. However we know that summer is the time for many other important family activities so we have adopted the following guidelines for those families who are unable to plan their vacation, camp dates, etc. around our softball schedule.

• At the tryouts we will ask for and must receive your weekday and weekend-tournament availability ("known conflicts").
• Providing we know your "known conflicts" at the tryouts, we will do our best to accommodate up to 4 weekday game absences.
• Tournament attendance is even more critical to your team. Only if the numbers will allow, we will accommodate missing 2 days of tournaments (2 in one weekend or 1 in two tournaments).
• Players whose "known conflicts" exceed the limit will only be accepted as an "alternate-player". An alternate player attends practices as a regular player but will dress for as many games as the number of players on the team will allow. We will have a good idea as to the minimum number of games you will be able to attend before you are asked to commit to the program. Alternate players pay 75% of the regular registration fee.
• Any "regular" players who ends up missing more than 4 ME games and/or more than the acceptable number of tournaments days will become an alternate player and not receive a fee reimbursement.

additional comments on COMMITMENT LEVEL
Our goal is for as many Panther-like players to get the opportunity to play competitive summer softball as possible. There are many factors that come into play when developing a Panther team roster. Obviously skill  level tops the list but being a good team player comes a close second.
In developing teams we do our best to balance that the attending players have the possibility of playing an appropriate number of innings, while also ensuring that we don't find our team short of players for a game. Having to forfeit a game is terribly unfair to our available players and to the players on the opposing team.

Being a good team member includes such things as treating your teammates and coaches with respect, putting forth a strong effort at each practice/game, and fulfilling your team commitments, even at the expense of not doing something else that is also positive and fun. We believe that team sports provides a great opportunity to learn the value of this life lesson.

"Known conflicts" are much easier for us to plan around than unexpected conflicts. That is why we place such importance on knowing your schedule as you know it, at the time of the tryouts. We will make every effort to ensure that alternate players play in as many games as possible and will not lose game-day playing time because of it.

"Late breaking conflicts" create most of our problems. Some are absolutely unavoidable, but most tend to be the result of an individual making a choice of one event over another. Late breaking conflicts can and should result in the loss of game day playing time.

2012 Season birth date cut-offs as defined by ASA:

8u & under -  Born in calendar year 2003 or 2004
10u & under - Born in 2001 or 2002
12u & under - Born after 1999 or 2000
14u & under - Born in 1997 or 1998
18u & under - Born 1993 - 1996

example: this means if you turn 13 years old on or after January 1, 2011 you are 12u eligible for the entire 2011 calendar year.

12u SPRING Panther Team "NEAAU"

The NEAAU runs a spring league with two divisions (A and B) for ages 10u, 12u, and 14u. Their "A" division is geared towards A & B tournament teams and their "B" division is geared for competitive town-teams such as ours. The Newton Panthers will enter a 12u team to play in their B division with the expectation that most of the teams will be similar to us and teams we face in the summer MiddleEssex league A division.

Games will begin as soon as the fields are ready for play, typically mid-April, and the season will end June 12th. Most teams in our division are within a 45 minute drive from Newton.

Most teams schedule a doubleheader on Sunday, and typically we will face the same team twice on that Sunday. Occasionally we may face two different teams, but always at one location. We will do our best to schedule our home games on Sundays at 11:00 am & 1:00 pm and ensure that our Sunday away games will end no later than 4:00 pm. This will enable players to play both on the NEAAU team and a spring Rec League team.

The NEAAU operates with a "flexible" scheduling policy. Under this system no team is forced to play another team. If we are unable to find common ground with a team in our division due to a scheduling conflict, travel time, or competitive concerns we are not obligated to play them and can seek an alternative team to play. We do not have experience with such a system but accoridng tp the coaches who attended this year's introductory team meeting the system works well.

Practice Schedule
We will hold a few team practices during the winter. These practices will be optional but players are encouraged to attend and will be a factor in determining playing time for the first few games.

We will hold one practice per week during the spring playing season. Dates and times will be discussed at the tryouts after receiving input from the attending players. A second optional practice may be held on selected weeks based on player and coach availability.

In 2011 we fielded a 10uA, 10uB, 12uA, 14uA, 14uB and 18u Panther team in the MiddleEssex League.

Playing NEAAU and Spring Rec League
All Panther players are encouraged to play in our recreational league. We will do our best to schedule Panther games so players will be able to arrive on time for their 5:00 pm rec league Sunday game. Panther spring team practices will not be scheduled on Wednesdays which is when grade 5/6 Rec league teams play their weekday game but may conflict with you rec league practice.

Panther games and practices take precedence over Rec league games and practices. ll Rec league coaches will be notified of this and will not penalize a Panther player should a conflict occur. Of course your school team game or practice takes precedence over a Panther (or rec league) activity, and school work trumps all.

Tryouts are open to all age-appropriate Newton residents and will be held towards the end of January. You do not need previous Panther experience to tryout for a Panther team. As is our custom the tryouts will be judged by the team's coaches and various summer Panther coaches from other age groups, to best enable a fair selection process. Players will be selected based upon their ability, availability, and commitment to improving their skills.

John Fitzgerald and Jeanmarie Patriacca will be the co-head coaches with Paul Arpino assistant coach for the 2012 12u Spring Panther team.

Panthers FALL/WINTER Overview

The Panthers occasionally field a fall or winter team. This is determined on a team by team basis, based on player and coach interest. The teams are comprised of summer Panther players and supplemented with non-Panther players as the situation allows. Newton softball players interested in playing on a fall or winter Panther team should contact Doug Clott.

In 2011 the Panthers fielded a 10u, 12u, and 14u team in the Charles River Softball League. The CRSL plays doubleheaders on Sunday mornings from early September through the end of October. Additionally the 12u and 14u team each played in the Sharon Fall Tournament in late September.

For additional fall/winter playing opportunities click Fall & Winter Leagues.

We look forward to working with our players, parents and the Newton community to develop a softball program that is among the best in the area both developmentally and competitively.