South Colonie Youth Baseball / Girls Softball

West Albany Athletic Association is now:
South Colonie Youth Baseball - Cal Ripken

Our boundaries are open to any child living within the South Colonie School District. By converting our program, SCYB will be the only Cal Ripken program offered in the South Colonie School District.

What is Cal Ripken Baseball? It is basically a "brand" of baseball similar to the current Little League brand of baseball we have played for years at West Albany. The kids play by slightly different rules, mostly at the 8-12 years of age levels. The rules in which they play by are very helpful as they transition out of youth baseball at age 12 and onto Babe Ruth baseball and/or modified school baseball at age 13. This program offers the same experience for the kids as far as all-stars goes, with all-star tournaments from age 8U to 12U, beginning at a District level and continue right up through a World Series played in Aberdeen, Maryland.

In a nutshell, the Cal Ripken style of play allows the kids to experience a more "real baseball" style of play where leading, stealing and bunting are introduced at an earlier age. In what we now call our Majors division, the kids play on a slightly larger field which really has been proven in many other Cal Ripken programs in the area to be very beneficial in the transition to the Babe Ruth level and modified baseball in 7th & 8th grades.

While we respect and encourage the competitive nature of baseball, at SCYB we strive to maintain a family friendly environment that children of all playing abilities enjoy being part of as they grow as a player.

(Please understand that families currently playing at West Albany that reside in either the North Colonie or City of Albany school districts are NOT affected by this change, you will be grandfathered in and CAN continue playing at our park along with any siblings that have yet to start in our program.)