user, Author at Tacoma Select Baseball

Message sent 1/3/25

Quick Message:

I apologize for any schedules moving, missed communications, etc. There are a lot of moving parts, and keeping everything organized isn’t always an easy task. I am the first to admit I do, on occasion, drop the ball on things. I know if I am not 100% perfect it can cause issues for players and parents.

I understand the chat boards can get messy with information and not everything we put out is read. So I do try to keep important information on the website under “Team Board” and schedules under the “Schedule” section of the website. Please always check there for information.

Being under the microscope of 150-plus families isn’t always fun. When I do make a mistake, please message me in private before you take it to the public chat boards. As many of you know, I will always talk to you one-on-one and try to figure things out.

******************************

Additional Fees & Fundraising

Before this current season started, at tryouts, and during the season I put information out about additional fees being invoiced Oct 24 and Feb 25. Those fees are to be used to cover additional expenses (ie tournaments and league fees).

Yes, the last 2 seasons, we did cover those out of dues and our operating budget, but because of the sheer increase in cost, that would not have been possible at the current rate of dues.

We had 2 choices at the begin of the season. Raise dues to cover those costs, not knowing what those costs were going to be; that number would have been a high estimate, costing you more. The second choice was to not include those fees in the dues and bill everyone once we knew the exact cost. We chose the latter.

The original dates were set back in July but those dates had to be moved to Feb 2025 and April 2025. There were two main factors: the nonprofit not being ready and not knowing league fees. Our nonprofit did not have tax-exempt status until Nov 2024, and this precluded us from fundraising prior to that. League Fees were not released to us until this past weekend.

Fundraising:

Fundraising funds explanation was sent out in Nov you can find detailed information here.

Here is a quick explainer that we sent out in Nov:

If the total fee is $600 per player

Example 1: Player A raises $500 dollars from their individual fundraising efforts. Player A’s total owed will be $100 ($600 – $500). The invoice being sent this month would be for $100.

Example 2: Player A raises $900 dollars from their individual efforts. Totaled owed will be $0. The remaining balance raised will be available for Player A to use as needed for approved purposes: Gear, Uniform, Dues, Travel etc.

Those invoices will be going out this week.

Funds from the 100x fundraiser will not be included. Once we get those I will either add it to your invoice in April or find a way to pay it out. Please remember this is coming from the nonprofit arm, and I can’t just hand out cash.

Sorry for the long message.

Sincerely,
Thomas Griffin
Tacoma Select | Owner – Director of Operations
Facebook | Instagram

Marucci Prospects Merger

We want to share some exciting news! Starting August 1, 2025, Tacoma Select will merge with Marucci Baseball and become Marucci Prospects. This does not have any affect on current teams this season. This will not affect ownership or management structure.

From the conception of Tacoma Select, our mission has been to build a baseball program that prepares players for High School and College ball. Partnering with Marucci continues that mission but accelerates the development of some crucial aspects that would have taken us years to create and implement. This merger gives us access to a program and network that consistently churns out countless players of all collegiate levels (D1 to JUCO) and high-level high school athletes.

Coach Gabe and his trainers will receive additional support and training from Marucci. This will vary from access to training plans, in-person training sessions with Marucci staff, and access to a network of high-level coaches and trainers nationwide.

For those players aspiring to play college ball, we will have access to some of the largest scouting events in the country. This year, we will be sending a class of 2028 Marucci Prospects Scout Team to the Marucci World Series. In 2026 we have invites to send more teams 14U to 17U. For individual players interested, you will have the ability to showcase your talent in Marucci-hosted scouting events hosted at various Marucci facility throughout the country.

The program for our younger players will also have some changes. The core philosophy of development first will remain the same. However, for those players seeking additional competition, we will be adding a Marucci Prospects National Teams (various age groups) that will showcase their talents at PG’s and tournaments outside of Washington. In addition to our training, all players will have the option to participate in an extensive year-round remote training program with Marucci.

Those who have been with us from the start know how much we have put into building this program and brand. While not an easy decision, it is the correct move to enhance our program for our current and future athletes. By merging with Marucci, we are giving players the resources to go as far as they can in their baseball journey.

I want to thank everyone for their support with this upcoming transition. I know there will be lots of questions and I will answer those in time.

Please Follow On Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/people/Marucci-Prospects-Washington/61572537330227/

Sincerely,
Thomas Griffin
Tacoma Select | Owner – Director of Operations

100xFundraiserSteps

100x Fundraiser

!!!You can share this with friends and family to help!!!
A single person can only do up to 75 surveys.
Recommended to do 10 a day. Speeding through the survey will not count.
Survey can only be completed by those 18 AND OLDER ONLY.
This will end as soon as the survey quota is meet so act fast.
Each Qualified Survey is worth $1

Steps to get started:

1. Text the word “PLAY” to

90412

2. Click link sent to you and complete the Sign up form

For “Which Organization are you supporting?” Select

NORTHWEST YOUTH SPORTS FOUNDATIONS

For “The player I am supporting (Last, First)” will be players name.

IMPORTANT: For First Name and Last Name fields this MUST BE THE NAME OF THE PERSON FILLING OUT THE SURVEY. See Example Below

Once you complete the form you will be taken to the next page:

Enter a business or search from the “Shop All Categories”

Rinse and Repeat

Complete the Survey. Every qualified survey will raise $1.

A person can only do up to 75 surveys.

This will end as soon as the survey quote is met so act fast.

Schedule & Updates

Holiday Schedule 2024

***No Weekday Strength and Conditioning During the Break 12/23, 12/25, 12/30, 01/01

January & February Practice Schedule

Practice Starts back up the week of January 6th.

Monday: Hitting and Bullpen by age groups – More info and signups to follow

Tuesday:
4pm 10U
545pm 13U
0730pm 16U

Wednesday:
430pm 9U & 12U
0630 Softball

Thursday:
4pm 14U
0545pm 11U
0730pm 15U

Friday: 4pm Hitting and Bullpen by age groups – More info and signups to follow

0630pm Softball

Saturday: Scrimmages – Exact times to follow

We are going to try and scrimmage every Saturday in January and February. For those months we have Hunt Middle School Fields reserved Saturdays 8am to 0300pm. With the exception of February 8th, Little League has the fields for their tryouts. For that weekend we have Sunday 2/9. This is Super bowl day and we will limit teams who play for that weekend.

Coaches are working on finalizing times and I will get that out as soon as it is complete.

Sunday:

845am 9U | 10U | 11U S&C
1000am 12U & 13U S&C
1115am 14U & Up S&C
1230pm Softball & Up S&C

Fundraising Updates

Roundtable Pizza Take Over Raised (Organization): $900

Christmas Ornament Sale (Organization): $380

DoubleGood Popcorn (Individual) $13072

Gotsneakers Donation: We’ve had 6 bags of sneakers donated. We are still waiting for the results.

Organization – fundraising goes into a pool of money that will be used to pay for tournaments.

Individual – Fundraising goest towards that individual players tournament cost. Any access funds the player can use for approved purposes: equipment, dues, uniform, etc.

Upcoming Fundraising Events

Hundred X Fundraiser (Individual): January 2025

Pinks Out Sale (Organization): Will open up in February 2025

First Annual Tacoma Select Fundraising Tournament

We are working on our first annual Tacoma Select Fundraising Tournament. Right now, this is in the planning stages, but we have Top Tier Sports on board to help with logistics and planning. We are currently aiming for August 15th -17th. More information is coming soon.

Lessons with Coaches

I’ve had several parents ask about lessons with coaches. Their availability is on the app; if, for some reason, those times don’t work for you, please feel free to reach out to them and arrange times.

Fundraiser Updates

Fundraiser Updates 2024

Nonprofit and Fundraising Information:

With the nonprofit in place we will start fundraising activities this week. Our objectives is two fold: Individual and Organizational.

Individual: Raise money to help pay tournament fees and other expenses for individual players. This will be from money raised based on individual efforts. ie, popcorn or item sales, etc.
Organizational: Raise money for travel or other expenses for teams. This will be from money raised via donations, or organizational fundraising efforts. ie, donations.

Tournament Fees:

This year’s tournament fees will be around $120,000 for all teams. This roughly breaks down to $800/per player. (We will have an exact figure in February. We are still waiting for league fees to be announced. We will also take tournament fees already paid into account).

Our first invoice of half the amount will be sent out Feb 1st and the second one on April 1st. Those invoices will be minus your funds raised.

Example 1: Player A raises $600 dollars from their individual efforts. Player A’s total owed will be $200 ($800 – $600). The invoice sent on Feb 1st would be for $100.

Example 2: Player A raises $900 dollars from their idividual efforts. Totaled owed will be $0. The remaining balance raised will be available for Player A to use as needed for approved purposes: Gear, Uniform, Dues, Travel etc.

Money raised at an Organizational level will be available around March.

Here are a few updates on our upcoming fundraiser events. Thank you, everyone, for all the great suggestions and help in setting these events up.

1. HundredX fundraiser January 2025 (Individual)
-A few parents have had great success with this. We believe a bulk of our fundraising can come from this. See the attached video for details.

2. Roundtable Pizza restaurant takeover Dec 6th (Organization).
-Still waiting for confirmation on the date. Once it is confirmed we will get out the details.

3. Gotsneakers event (Organization)
-We will have a donation box to drop off used sneakers and rubber cleats at the facility.
https://gotsneakers.com/

4. Double Good Popcorn (Individual).
-We are going to run this several times between December and March next year.

5. Brownbear Carwash Fundraiser (Individual)

6. Pinks Out Sale (Organization)
-Items used for the pinkout tournament will be sold through the nonprofit starting in January.

7. Thunderbirds Grant.
-We missed the 50/50 fundraiser for this year, but can apply for the grant instead. We are working on the grant application for this.

Note: A few parents have suggested doing a raffle. The nonprofit is not eligible to hold a raffle until after July 2025.

Nonprofit:

The nonprofit is a separate entity from Tacoma Select.

Northwest Youth Sports Foundation
501(c)(3)
Tax ID: 994269516
website: https://nwysf.org
email: [email protected]

HundredX Fundraiser

Halloween Practice Oct 26th

Oct 26th we will be having a Halloween “Scrimmage” for the boys. I use the word Scrimmage lightly.

Halloween scrimmage rules and times
1. Boys can wear costumes! No inappropriate costumes please.
2. Player must be able to see visually (player can put on mask for pictures, but must have vision during the game)
3. Players must leave electronics in bags during practice time
4. Players must have proper hitting and fielding equipment
5. Parents may bring snacks and treats for the boys if interested. If so, all treats will be handed out after practice

Location & Times:
Ft. Steilacoom
9am – 9u vs 10u
1030am-11u vs 12u
12pm-13u vs 14u
130pm – 15u vs 16u

Team Updates 10/03/2024

Team Updates October 2024

2025 Tournament Schedule

A preliminary tournament schedule can be found here:
https://tacomaselect.com/schedule/

Pending on league schedule and budget we may make some adjustments to tournaments in June and July.

TopTier vs GSL

GSL Tournaments is owned by EL1 Sports. At the end of the 2024 Season the three main coordinators at GSL left and started TopTier Sports. Their community connections allowed them to secure a majority of the local tournaments. They hope separating from EL1 will allow them to improve the events and overall tournament experience. Currently, we plan to do a majority of the TopTier Sports Tournaments.

Final Team Rosters

Coaches are still in the process of creating rosters and we hope to have that out this month.

Arizona Tournament

We will have a head count for how many extra players we can invite to the AZ trip next week. Please stand by for details.

NonProfit and Fundraising

The nonprofit arm is almost complete. We are only waiting for the Tax-exempt status to be approved. Once that is approved, we will start fundraising.

Total Tournament and League cost for next year will be just over $120,000. This turns out to be about $700 to $900 per family.

Practice

In November, we will stop weekend outdoor practices. Weekend practices will then be held indoors.

Catchers’ practice will start in mid-October. We are currently working on the schedule.

Uniform Store

Jayden will be reopening the uniform store this month (October) for those who weren’t able to purchase.

Custom items, including uniforms, take about 4 to 6 weeks to complete.

Hats and Practice Shirts should be here end of October or November.

Bat Questions

We’ve been getting a lot of questions about bats. We wrote up a post on the website to help explain the difference and tournament rules. That can be found here:

https://tacomaselect.com/baseball-bat-rules-and-explainer/

Holiday Schedule 2024

Thanksgiving 2024

11/23 to 12/1 – No Practice

Facility Closed: Thanksgiving Day 11/28

Open Facility times during break will vay

Winter Break 2024

12/21 to 1/6 – No Practice

Facility Closed: 12/24, 12/25, 12/31, 01/01

Open Facility times during break will vary

Coach Update

Coach CJ is back from Ottawa! He will be training with us until mid-February. If you haven’t already heard, he received a spring training invite and another offer to play in Japan next season. This is exciting news, and we couldn’t be happier for him.

Baseball Bat Rules and Explainer

Rules:

Bat Certificaitons

Tournament Host – Top Tier Sports

**A MAJORITY OF OUR TOURNAMENTS WILL BE TOP TIER**

13U and Under USSSA 1.15BPF, USA, BBCOR, Wood bats Allowed at all events.
(No Drop Restrictions at this time)

14U and Above BBCOR or Wood only.

Tournament Host: GSL and WCP

**AZ TOURNAMENT IS HOSTED BY WCP**

Pending Rules for 2025 season. Historically bats rules have been mixed.

Puyallup Rec League:
Pending Rules for the 2025 season. Historically has not allowed USSSA 1.15BPF bats.

BBCOR: Used in High School and Middle School ball. These bats have a 0.5 BPF, normally only come in Drop -3 weights, and will be slightly heavier than USA and USSSA bats.

Wood: Has the lowestpop of all bats and can be used in any game. Composite wood bats like Baum bats are considered legal.

USA: Has a wood like performance rating with slightly more pop. These bats are legal for almost all tournaments and little league games. Some school baseball teams may not allow them.

USSSA 1.15 BPF: Has the most pop of all the bat certifications with a 1.15 BPF. Only legal in certain tournaments. USSSA 1.15 BPF bats cannot be used in Little League or School Ball.

Bat Drop:

A bat’s drop is the difference between the length of the bat in inches and its weight in ounces. It’s also known as the length-to-weight ratio. The drop is always shown as a negative number.

For example:

A 30-inch bat with a -10 drop weighs 20 ounces (30oz – 10 = 20oz).

A 30-inch bat with a -5 drop weighs 25 ounces (30oz – 5 = 25oz).

Drop weight and player size

Larger, stronger players tend to prefer bats with a lower drop weight, which can increase power. Smaller players can benefit from bats with a higher drop weight, which can help with bat speed.

Material:

Ash (Wood)
A porous, lightweight wood with a unique grain structure that provides flexibility. Ash bats are known for their forgiving nature and “trampoline effect” when struck.

Maple (Wood)
A dense wood with a tight grain structure that gives maple bats their stiffness and “pop”. Maple bats are a popular choice among MLB players and are known for their durability.

Birch (Wood)
A soft but durable wood with a tight grain structure that’s similar to maple. Birch bats are lighter and more flexible than maple, but harder and more powerful than ash.

Alloy (Metal)
Have a heavier, stiffer feel than composite
Very Durable
No break-in time needed

Composite
Generally have a lighter swing weight
More forgiving than alloy
Large sweet spot
Limited Durability
Needs to be broken in.

Construction 1-piece and 2-piece bats:

One-piece bats are made from a single piece of material, while two-piece bats are made from two separate pieces that are fused together. One-piece bats tend to be more durable.

Performance
One-piece bats are stiffer and transfer more energy to the ball, while two-piece bats flex more and increase bat speed.

Feel
One-piece bats provide more direct feedback, while two-piece bats feel less stingy and have less vibration.