Matt Backert believes his Maryland Baseball Club offers an experience aspiring players and their families are seeking. The Rising Sun High graduate began the program last summer and is ramping up plans for a bigger and better 2019 season. The club had six teams in its rookie campaign. "It was very difficult to get started," Backert acknowledged. He was able to attract players from other programs since he had worked with them in other organizations. It was something of a leap of faith. "Here we go," Backert said he thought at the time. "Let's see what happens." Next year, Maryland Baseball Club will have teams for players from the ages of 9 to 16.
Tryouts, which are free, will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 9 and Sunday, August 12, at the Ripken Complex in Aberdeen. On August 9, the program will conduct tryouts for the 9U, 12U, 13U, and 15U squads. The 10U, 11U, 14U, and 16-17 tryouts are scheduled for that Sunday. Each team will carry about 12 or 13 players on its roster, Backert said. "That's the difficult part but it's what separates a travel team from a rec league team," he said. "We want to field the most competitive team but also provide a good baseball experience to as many people as possible. It's about finding a good balance." There could be individual tryouts during the fall and winter to fill out the teams, if necessary. Backert encourages players to attend other tryouts. "At the end of the day, they're going to choose a program they are most comfortable with and they think best suits what they are looking for," he said. Although the next travel ball season doesn't begin until spring, there is instruction available during the offseason. There will be a one-week camp in October, which is free for kids in the program. The Maryland Baseball Club offers additional offseason training programs at a cost, including strength and conditioning and position-specific clinics. Club players are not required to take part. "We want to give participants every resource possible for a player to succeed and achieve his goals," said Backert. Many of the program's coaches are former or current high school coaches, and some played collegiately. None of the teams are coached by a parent of a player on the roster. "They are neutral evaluators and good baseball guys," Backert said. "I think that's what a lot of people are looking for, and that's what we provide." Official practices start in January at local indoor facilities. Outdoor practices, which begin in March, are held at the Ripken Complex. "The complex offers so much flexibility," Backert said. "You can't ask for a better facility. There is no better place." Maryland Baseball Club teams will play eight tournaments during the 2019 season with a few games against local competition sprinkled in," Backert said. The younger teams will play in tournaments in Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. Older teams travel a little farther so they can participate in college showcases. The cost of joining the Maryland Baseball Club ranges from $1,400 to $2,200, depending on the age group. The $2,200 cost is for high school age players and with the program designed to enhance the chance the player will be scouted and possibly recruited by college coaches. Last season, teams were comprised of a 50-50 split between players from Harford and Cecil counties, a source of pride for Backert. "Sports in that area are so important," said Backert, who graduated from Rising Sun High in 2002. "Although I live in Harford County now, it's nice to be able to provide a positive experience to kids where I grew up." Backert played baseball, soccer, and basketball at Rising Sun. He also played baseball and soccer at Neumann University in suburban Philadelphia, where he graduated in 2006 with a degree in sport management. "I knew I wanted to get into the sports business," Backert said. "I didn't know it was going to lead to what I'm doing now." After college, Backert joined the Ripken Baseball organization where he oversaw operations including camps, coaching clinics, and the Cal Ripken World Series. Following seven years with Ripken Baseball, Backert began working in the fitness industry. He currently operates Core Boot Camp Fitness Studio in Bel Air. Backert remained active in youth baseball organizations, working with the Arena Stars and Diamond Pros, and also served as a JV baseball coach at John Carroll High School. Disillusioned with some of what he witnessed with youth baseball programs, locally, and in groups that played in Ripken tournaments, Backert decided to venture out on his own and form the Maryland Baseball Club. "Part of the reason is I felt like there were problems with some travel baseball programs and I wanted to have a program that moved in a more positive direction," Backert said. He said there was a "true lack of player development". "[People] had put together teams and programs that were not geared toward players getting better," he said. "They were concerned about financial benefits. The experience was causing some kids to not want to play baseball. I wanted to start a program where kids wanted to play because of the experience, not the opposite. The goal is to get kids to have the desire to continue playing and they get better." Visit the club’s website marylandbaseballclub.com for more information. Comments are closed.
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