About STORM BASEBALL
Storm Baseball is a nationally competitive youth baseball organization for players ages 8-12. Players are selected from the Arlington Cal Ripken Babe Ruth League which draws players from the Arlington, Mason District, Falls Church and McLean areas.
Learn more about us below:
Learn more about us below:
- The Storm Baseball Advantage
- Arlington Storm Baseball and Arm Safety
- Coaching & Training
- Selection Process
- Levels of Storm Play & Cooperstown Dreams Park
The Storm Baseball Advantage
Storm Baseball offers the most baseball opportunities in our area, period. Affiliated with Arlington Babe Ruth, Storm Baseball is able to provide seamless, competitive travel baseball along with regular season play from Arlington Babe Ruth. Storm Baseball's spring schedule is coordinated with ABR, which allows for Storm Baseball to practice and play competitive travel baseball schedules during the spring/summer house baseball season. Storm Baseball teams participate in the Cal Ripken all-star tournaments and regularly advance into the Virginia State and Southeast Regional Tournaments.
Hard work, focus and fun pay-off. Here are just a few of our season highlights:
Hard work, focus and fun pay-off. Here are just a few of our season highlights:
- 2019 - 11YO Storm Black, 10YO Storm Black, & 9YO Storm Black are repeat District 7 champions! 11YO Storm Black, 10YO Storm Black, & 9YO Storm Black compete in the VA State Tournament. 9YO Storm Black has a 9-8 walk-off win to become VA State Champions and moves on to complete in the Southeast Regional Tournament. 11YO Storm Red held on for a nearly 4-hour battle (including a lightning delay) for their 10-9 championship win in Essex, MD. 11YO Storm Black win three games in a row and all on one day to bring home a trophy from Hershey, PA. 8YO Storm Black, 10YO Storm Black, 11YO Storm Black and 12YO Storm Black all win The Doc Tournament here at home in Arlington, VA, in their respective age levels.
- 2018 – Storm Black sweeps (all age groups) historic Showdown in the Valley Tournament in Winchester, VA; 10YO Storm Red win Essex Father’s Day Tournament; 12YO Storm Gray finish Runner-Up in Gloucester, NJ All-American Tournament; 8YO Storm Black win Virginia State Tournament and represent Virginia in Southeast Regional Tournament in Orlando, FL.
- 2017 - 12YO Storm Black team host the Virginia State Tournament at Barcroft Park and finish #17 out of 104 at the Cooperstown Dreams Park tournament; 10YO Storm Black team finishes Virginia State Runner-Up and competes in the Southeast Regional Tournament. Storm Baseball wins every age bracket for which it participates (10YO Storm Black was in Regional – see above) in the Annual Doc B Tournament hosted in Arlington.
- 2016 - 12YO Storm Black win the Virginia State Championship; 11YO and 10YO Storm finished runner-up in the State Tournament. Both the 12YO and 11YO teams continued to the highly competitive Southeast Regional Tournament to face championship teams from all over the Southeastern United States.
Arlington Storm Baseball and Arm Safety
As a development program, we place great emphasis on arm care and safety throughout the calendar year. Its difficult for a program to develop a player if they are injured, and even tougher for a player to have fun if they cannot play. By adhering closely to Smart Pitch and USA Baseball guidelines, we have fielded successful, championship-caliber teams without jeopardizing the health of our young players. This emphasis on arm care differentiates us from many travel programs in the region.
General Principles of Arm Safety Applied Throughout the Baseball Year
General Principles of Arm Safety Applied Throughout the Baseball Year
- Do not exceed 80 combined innings pitched in any 12-month period
- Take at least 3.5-4 months off from throwing every year, with at least 2-3 of those months being continuous (August/Nov/Dec/Jan)
- Make sure to properly warm up before pitching.
- Play other sports during the year
- Monitor for signs of fatigue
- Avoid throwing pitches other than fastballs and changeups*
- Set and follow pitch-count limits and required rest periods*
Link to Cal trail tournament pitching limits.
Approach to Off-Speed Pitches
Studies show that an unfatigued youth pitcher using proper mechanics places no more pressure on his/her arm throwing a curve than when throwing a fastball. With this in mind, we still error on the side of caution and only teach and allow our pitchers to throw curveballs when all the following requirements are met.
Approach to Off-Speed Pitches
Studies show that an unfatigued youth pitcher using proper mechanics places no more pressure on his/her arm throwing a curve than when throwing a fastball. With this in mind, we still error on the side of caution and only teach and allow our pitchers to throw curveballs when all the following requirements are met.
- Player is 11 or 12
- Player’s parents have given approval
- Player already throws his/her fastball at a 55+ percent strike rate
- Player already has an effective changeup
Coaching & Training
Storm Baseball is about player development and competitive play. Our baseball and coaching programs are carefully coordinated with our professional development partners with the goal of ensuring our players and coaches have the latest, but most meaningful, training program available. All of our players participate in a winter development program run by some of the most experienced coaches in the Metro DC Area, many of whom are current high school and college level coaches. In addition to workouts at Primetime Baseball, Storm Baseball offers programs in fielding, catching, and fitness training during the winter months to keep players in game shape. Our coaches also work and train closely with the Primetime staff and local high school coaches to maintain and deliver the highest level baseball coaching in our area.
Plain and simple — Storm Baseball is second to none when it comes to coaching competency, player development, and competitive opportunity.
Plain and simple — Storm Baseball is second to none when it comes to coaching competency, player development, and competitive opportunity.
Selection Process
Selection for Storm Baseball is on an open and rolling basis. Although the majority of players are selected by an open try out in the fall,
our program is open for newcomers and other players who were not able to participate in the fall tryouts. If you are new to the DC Area and are interested in Storm Baseball, please contact us to schedule a workout. Our teams are formed in the fall and practice throughout the winter. Following winter workouts players are placed on either our Storm Black or Storm Red teams at each age group based on coaches evaluations.
our program is open for newcomers and other players who were not able to participate in the fall tryouts. If you are new to the DC Area and are interested in Storm Baseball, please contact us to schedule a workout. Our teams are formed in the fall and practice throughout the winter. Following winter workouts players are placed on either our Storm Black or Storm Red teams at each age group based on coaches evaluations.
Levels of Storm Play
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The Storm Black program is the top level of competition in Storm Baseball. During the spring, Storm Black teams compete in Sunday double headers at the Metro Elite level in the NVTBL league. During the summer, all Storm Black teams are eligible to participate in the Cal Ripken Babe Ruth Trail, which could include participation in the Virginia Cal Ripken Babe Ruth District 13 Championship, the Virginia Cal Ripken Babe Ruth State Championship, the Cal Ripken Babe Ruth Southeast Regional and the World Series. Storm Black also participates in other highly competitive tournaments, some of which will require travel. The 11 and 12 year old Storm Black teams play on a 50/70 field with full baseball rules. The 9 and 10 year olds play on a 46/60 field. The 8 year olds play in machine pitch tournaments. During the spring, players are expected to participate in Sunday practices or games. During June and July, Storm black players could practice up to five days per week, including weekend tournaments. In the fall season, which runs from September through late-October/early-November, players are encouraged to participate in other sports. However, teams will continue to practice once per week, will typically play in two weekend tournaments, and compete in Sunday double headers. Players are expected to balance their attendance at Storm with other sports/activities.
The Storm Red program also offers a competitive level of play. Storm Red are expected to play a season of local travel competition, in addition to tournament play (when available) from Memorial Day through the end of July. In addition, the 12 year old Storm Red teams will participate in the 46/60 Virginia Cal Ripken Babe Ruth State Championships with a chance to advance to the Cal Ripken Babe Ruth Southeast Regional and the World Series. Players will be expected to be available for practice and games up to four days per week, including weekend tournaments, from June through July. Based on preference and need, certain Storm Red players may be selected to play with Storm Black in certain tournaments. In the fall season, which runs from September through late-October/early-November, players are encouraged to participate in other sports. However, teams will continue to practice once per week, will typically play in two weekend tournaments, and compete in Sunday double headers. Players are expected to balance their attendance at Storm with other sports/activities.
The Storm Gray program provides players an opportunity to focus on developing specific skills, combined with a genuine opportunity for a travel baseball experience. Players are expected to be available for practice and games up to three days per week from June through July. Storm Gray teams play non-tournaments games against area opponents and participate in a select number of travel tournaments throughout the summer. Storm Gray players may be requested to play with the Storm Red during Summer and/or Fall. In the fall season, which runs from September through late-October/early-November, players are encouraged to participate in other sports. However, teams will continue to practice once per week, will typically play in two weekend tournaments, and compete in Sunday double headers. Players are expected to balance their attendance at Storm with other sports/activities.
In addition, Storm Baseball sends both its 12y/o Black and Red teams to beautiful Cooperstown, New York, to compete in the prestigious week-long tournament at Dreams Park against top-level competition from across the country. These players participate in a minimum of 7 games, but could play more based on the team’s performance. During their week at Cooperstown, the group will stay in barracks on the Dreams Park campus, competing against other teams and forging friendships with talented players from other regions of the United States. The Cooperstown costs will be in addition to the costs of participation in the Storm Baseball Travel Program. For more information on Cooperstown Dreams Park experience please visit cooperstowndreamspark.com. Please note that all players and parents will need to be fully committed to the Cooperstown experience. This includes practices and potential fundraising throughout the summer, and the actual tournament during early August. Please be sure that this commitment level fits into your summer schedule when considering whether to participate. The full cost of the tournament will be covered by the families of the players, not Storm Baseball. The cost requirement while at Cooperstown will be approximately $1,500 per player. This will cover the Dreams Park player fee, and miscellaneous. Additional funds may be required for player travel costs and spending money during the week.
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