Blue Jays Baseball
Powered by Wilson, DeMarini, EvoShield, Louisville Slugger
Ninth Inning is excited to announce the fifth annual tryouts for our Blue Jays program! Our Blue Jays program is an extension of our Ninth Inning brand based out of the Kennesaw area. This is a travel program with one thing in mind: Development! Whether you desire to take your skills to the next level or just enhance your fundamentals at the youth level, we have the coaching staff to help you reach those goals.
The Ninth Inning program has been built by one of the best coaching staffs in the country, putting over 175 kids in college since our first graduating class in 2016. Whether it’s learning the basic fundamentals and foundations of the game or providing individuals with a college advisement and recruiting plan, we’ve got you covered! Our main focus has always been and will forever remain… DEVELOPMENT!
Scroll down for Blue Jays program FAQ!
2023-2024 Tryouts
Age cut off: May 1, 2024 (your age group for the 2023-2024 season is your age on April 30th, 2024).
Blue Jays Program FAQ
Why choose the Ninth Inning Blue Jays?
There are four main areas that make Ninth Inning who we are: coaching, community, facilities, and success.
All coaches are paid professional coaches. Decisions remain objective and unbiased, which leads to a more productive and healthy learning environment for everyone involved.
We consider everyone who walks in the door part of our baseball family! Learning the game of baseball becomes more fun and players show more passion for the game when everyone feels like they are in it together. Mixed practices and our additional programs help foster this concept.
We have a best-in-class indoor facility where all of our athletes train. Having a six-cage facility at our disposal means no more rain outs!
Over the course of the past 13 years, Ninth Inning has built a positive reputation among the baseball community and has lead a countless number of athletes to the next level through our player development process.
We can’t attend tryouts on the regularly scheduled dates. What are our options?
Please contact our staff at kennesaw@ninthinningbaseball.com to set up your make up tryout. We prefer to get make up tryouts done prior to the regularly scheduled tryout. All make up tryouts will be held at our indoor facility.
What is included in the team fees?
Professional instruction. All Ninth Inning coaches understand that our main goal is player development. It is our ultimate goal to make your athlete a better ball player. We will always put player growth above wins and losses.
Unlimited free access to our indoor facility for them to work on their skill set as often as they want.
Extra practices on a regular basis for more reps outdoors. Teams will have two practices outside for a good portion of the season prior to tournament play.
Individualized performance plans. This keeps players on track in their development.
Driveline-based swing speed hitting program for all Blue Jays players in the fall.
Hitting and pitching metrics tracked throughout the year.
Discounts to additional sessions of our two most popular programs during the season: Arm Care Program and Sub 2 Catchers Program.
Discounts on items purchased through the Wilson Team Shop all season long.
The monthly team fees also cover tournament costs, insurance policies, umpires, field rental, facility upkeep, cage time, program resources, team equipment, and coaches’ salaries.
What is the cost?
The yearly team fees cover all of the above and are split into nine equal monthly installments. They are as follows:
8u-10u: $3000
11u-12u: $3375
13u-14u: $3600
15u-16u: $3960
PO Pricing (Pitchers-only): $1800
How many tournaments will we play? How many practices will we have?
Depending on the age group, we will play 3-4 tournaments in the fall and 8-10 tournaments in the spring/summer. Each team will have 2-3 practices per week throughout the entire season with the exception of 15U/16U who will slow down during January-April for their High School season (High school aged teams will have a back-loaded summer schedule to accommodate the school baseball schedule). For a good portion of the fall and spring seasons, we will hold multiple outdoor practices per week.
When does our season start/stop?
All teams will start practices the last week of August. The fall season will run until late December and pick back up in early January. 8u-12u tournaments will be from early March through mid June, 13u-14u tournaments will be late March/early April through early July, and 15u/16u tournaments run from May until end of July.
Where do you practice?
Our 8u-12u teams will practice at All Tournament Players Park and Cobb County Parks with the exception of one of our 12u teams based out of Canton who practices out of Sequoyah Park. 13u-15u will practice at surrounding Cobb County Parks, as well as Kennesaw Mountain High School and Lakepoint. All indoor practices are held at our facility in Kennesaw.
How far will we have to travel? Where are tournaments located?
Most tournaments are held within an hour’s drive of our Kennesaw facility. A majority of our teams will participate in tournaments held by Training Legends, 17Baseball, Grand Slam, RBI Tournaments, and Perfect Game. Many of the AAA/Major level tournaments are in the local Marietta/East Cobb area. The only planned destination tournament is the 12U Cooperstown All Star Village tournament at the end of the season.
Can my child play other sports?
Absolutely! In fact, we encourage it. We believe in the overall development of the all around athlete so participating in other sports will help foster this growth. We only ask that when spring/summer season arrives, you make baseball at Ninth Inning your priority.
How are uniforms handled?
Our uniforms are provided by our sponsor Wilson. Fittings and orders will take place in August and are the responsibility of each family. They are a separate cost as each player will require different gear and apparel based on their preference and needs. Ninth Inning families will also receive discounts when purchasing items throughout the year with Wilson, Evoshield, DeMarini, and Louisville Slugger.
“NI coaches have become like family to us. We have had two boys go through the program and have seen both of them progress in their baseball IQ and skills over the years. We had a coach recognize a skill set in one of our son’s that we had not previously explored and as it turns out that he is excelling in that role. Had we not had a coach take a personal interest in his full player potential he might have missed out on this opportunity. Most importantly, both boys continue to have a LOVE of baseball all of these years later and that would not exist in this ‘failure sport’ without the caring coaches at NI that have supported them at every turn.”
-Allison Jabaley
Informational Packet
Culture and Philosophy
Ninth Inning Baseball™ was founded on the principles of providing baseball athletes an innovative and comfortable environment to learn and develop their skills. Within this organization every aspiring baseball player is welcome to learn, grow and assimilate into our baseball culture. As an owner or staff member, the philosophy of Ninth Inning is to make sure our students and families come first. Clients are not a number they are family and a core value here. Make each kid feel like one of the guys/girls and part of our clubhouse. High five, have fun and never forget why we love this game. This is not a job but a way of life!
Mission Statement
To empower, inspire and motivate athletes professionally through baseball education and its culture.
Vision Statement
To become the national leader in professional baseball instruction and competitive travel teams franchises.
Ninth Inning Baseball has founded, grown, and maintained our travel program on the premise of injecting all-encompassing instruction into the playing careers of our athletes. We believe wholeheartedly that growth and development does not come from the number of games that are played, but by the time spent by both the player and our staff concentrating on their individual game. As Professionals and teachers of the game, we are passionate about investing time in our players individually to ensure that they have the tools necessary to play at any level they desire. This passion to teach incorporates all phases of the growth and development process: skill instruction, mental approach, health and wellness, and strength, speed, and agility training.
Coaching Staff
Blue Jays (Kennesaw) Coaching Staff Includes:
“Every coach my son has worked with has consistently developed areas of his game both physically and mentally. Our son has a goal to play at the college level and so we appreciate the emphasis of arm care and the long term development of our son. Each season has brought growth, development, and opportunity.”
-Robyn Tibbetts
About the Program
The Ninth Inning Blue Jays program consists of four pillars we believe lead to growth, development, and success.
Instruction
Strength/Health
Game Play
College Recruitment/Advisement
Instruction is the backbone of Ninth Inning baseball and we encourage all of our kids to invest their time in getting individual instruction with one of our staff members. If we grow as individuals, we grow as a team, and grow as an organization. Additionally, practices are designed to help hone the skills of individual players while working towards an understanding of the TEAM game and each player’s role within that team. In order to accomplish this, Ninth Inning Baseball is looking for COMMITTED players and families that share the same desire for growth and development. If you cannot commit to this team and this process, this program is not for you.
As we have continued to grow as one of the top training facilities in the southeast, this year we have expanded our TEAM camps/clinics for the players in our organization. While private instruction is very important, we believe that offering position specific camps/clinics to our team members will continue to enhance our player development and ensure our kids are being taught the fundamentals early on and are able to build upon that foundation as they age up through the organization.
With the number of arm injuries increasing each year, the health of our players is a major concern and is not taken lightly. Proper preparation, maintenance, and knowledge of a player’s body, proper technique, and discipline are an integral part to the maturation process of each player that desires to play at a higher level. With our wealth of knowledge in regards to properly preparing the body for on-field performance at the highest level, we are able to continually keep player’s healthy and aware of how to take care of their bodies on an ongoing basis.
While not as important as instruction and staying healthy, game play is certainly an important piece to the puzzle for our player’s to take what they’ve learned and apply it in action. Our program is a full year centered on player development and high-level game play experience, and each player will participate in both a FALL tournament schedule as well as a SPRING/SUMMER schedule.
“We are a deeply committed baseball family and over the years we've been around a ton of other parks/travel organizations. Without question NI has been the most comprehensive, developmental forward program we've ever been a part of. They use some of the most innovative tools on the market to help chart progress with Rapsodo and HitTrax. If you are looking to take your player to the next tier of athletics, and most importantly be taught the game of baseball the right way, take 5 minutes and call Coach Wes at the Kennesaw facility. NI Kennesaw is without question the best kept secret in this area and this program is just getting started!”
-Jason Walts