What is Challenge Baseball?
Challenge Baseball is set up to provide an alternative to "travel baseball" by providing tournament experience to teams made up of players that play at the local area associations. MARA will be fielding teams for several age groups (7U and 8U will be machine pitch, while 9U-12U will be kid pitch). The age is determined by the player's age as of 4/30/2024. There will be a tryout and players will have the opportunity to be selected to play on the appropriate team based on performance at tryouts and/or the coach's prior knowledge of the player's skills. Please note that the number of players that tryout at each level will directly impact the team selection process.
Practices - Practices are typically held on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons that the teams are not playing in a tournament.
Tournaments - Tournaments typically consist of Sunday Only tournaments (2 games per team), but there is also an opportunity for teams to participate in full weekend tournaments as well (4 games minimum per team on Sat/Sun). Over the course of the Challenge Season, the team will participate in a minimum of 3 tournaments. It is also possible for teams to participate in additional tournaments based on availability, cost and interest from parents.
Cost - The cost for Challenge Baseball varies based on the number of tournaments played, and organizations that your team plays tournaments with. Generally this cost can range is between $180 and $350 dollars. The cost covers uniforms (hat and jersey only) and a minimum of 3 tournaments including registration fees associated with the tournaments. Also, guaranteed field time at MARA for practices and games. The teams are responsible for admission fees that are charged either per person, or per team by the Host Park location. This is not a MARA fee, but a Park fee, like other local parks charge. Typical $5 to $10 per person depending on age (child/adult/senior).
Tryouts - Tryouts are
mandatory* for most age groups and will take place prior to the start of the Spring and Fall season. Location/Dates/Times will be announced on the website.
Fall Challenge Tryouts and Contacts:
*If an interested player is unable to make the scheduled tryout, they must contact the coach for their age group to arrange a one on one assessment.