Northants Baseball Club is delighted to announce that it will be offering baseball sessions to youth players, completely free of charge, for 2021, in an effort to give back to the local community and help local children become more active after the challenging past 12 months.

The Club, which has both adults and youth teams, has been in existence since 2013 and made St Crispin’s Park its home since 2017. The adults' side currently competes in the East of England Baseball League, playing matches against sides based in Cambridge, Milton Keynes, Brentwood, and Norwich, as well as a development side from Bedford.

Despite difficulties with the Covid pandemic, both the adults (Centurions) and youths (Mini Centurions) managed a good summer of training every Tuesday, though unfortunately, circumstances meant there were few opportunities for the younger players to play matches. However, there were enjoyable sessions where both sides mixed to help the development of the younger players, which included progressing those on the cusp of the adult game to take part in some simulated game scenarios.

For 2021, the Club wants to provide opportunities for local youths, aged five to 16, of any gender or ability to come to sessions, get active, get fit, and fall in love with the game. Youngsters up to the age of 14 will play with the youth team, while 15- and 16-year-olds will participate with the adult side.

Equipment such as gloves, bats, balls, batting helmets, and so forth, will be provided – participants only need to wear suitable clothing and footwear for outside activity. All youth coaches are Baseball Softball UK qualified and have completed DBS checks.

In addition to the free youth sessions, the Club also welcomes new adult players, again of any gender, whether they have played before or want to try for the first time. In 2020 some nine new players, most of whom had no previous experience, made it into the side for competitive matches.

The Club anticipates being able to hold sessions soon after Easter, when sporting activity is able to begin and the field has been cleared and readied for action, but will confirm exact details closer to the dates, keeping a close eye on Government and sporting bodies’ guidance.

Please register here for further information.

Paul Rance, Northants Baseball Club President and Head Youth Coach

“2020 and the start of 2021 have been a real challenge for everyone, and we wanted to be able to give something back to the Northamptonshire community as we come out of these difficult times. Despite everything that was going on, we managed to run sessions for youth players throughout the summer and into Autumn, before the shortening days made midweek evening training too dark to run.

“There are no catches involved with our offer at all. We love baseball and both adults and children who come to play also find out why it is such a popular sport that continues to grow in the UK. We will run youth sessions alongside our adult training from April to October, every week, unless poor weather sends us home! We’d love to see lots of new faces and help children in the local community have fun, get outdoors, exercise, and make new friends in the process.”