News

If you missed the popular OYO Shopping Day at Dick’s Sporting Goods in early March, no worries! We’ve partnered with Dick’s Sporting Goods to identify even more savings for you and your ballplayer.

Download this coupon sheet to take advantage of great discounts on footwear, apparel and equipment. These coupons are good for the remainder of the 2025 calendar year. And, if you are in need of what equipment your ballplayer needs, check out our helpful guide online.

Go shopping today for your needs, and take the field tomorrow ready to play! As always, thank you for choosing OYO as your place for baseball and softball — and thank you for supporting Dick’s Sporting Goods, too!

CLICK HERE FOR ALL-STAR BOMBERS   |    CLICK HERE FOR ALL-STAR RED STORM

All 11 all-star teams now have a great coach secured and are making plans for their rec travel season. We hope your ballplayer will join us for this competitive all-star season in 2025!

We offer two all-star programs — Bombers for baseball, Red Storm for softball — which provide a more competitive experience for interested ballplayers seeking additional game opportunities on Sundays and after the rec league season ends.

These teams are formed in March and early April based on player participation at tryouts hosted at OYO. So, discover the coach for your child’s age group — and ages are based on the player’s age as of January 1, 2025 (for softball) and April 30, 2025 (for baseball).

With the spring season underway, so is our all-star program in earnest. If you have a ballplayer between the ages of 6-12 in baseball or 6-14 in softball who might be seeking even a more competitive experience in 2025, then the all-star program is right for you.

Bomber Up! Go Storm!

ABOUT REC TRAVEL PROGRAM

At OYO, we offer a wide range of programs to help players of all levels of skill, interest and passion experience more baseball and softball.  As a registered family, you’re already intended to participate in our primary and most popular program — Spring Ball recreational league.  However, we also offer an all-star program for all our rec league baseball and softball players who are seeking even more baseball and softball development and competitive game opportunities against teams from across Central Indiana. From experience, we know the “all star” term can generate a wide range of misconceptions. We’d like to set the record straight on our all-star program before you and your ballplayer miss out on a tremendous opportunity this spring and summer.

BACKGROUND

Our baseball travel program is named the Oaklandon Bombers. Our softball travel program is named the Oaklandon Red Storm. And we offer two different levels — full-time travel (FTT) and all-stars. The full-time travel teams were selected last August and are all set for the 2025 season.

Our All Star squads are comprised of players from our rec league only, just as other youth program across Central Indiana do to form their teams. These teams practice or play games on Sundays during the recreational league season before coming together to play in local tournaments against similar clubs from other regional youth baseball and softball programs in June and July. A typical All Star Bombers/Red Storm regular season runs from April through July in which the team will participate in four or five tournaments (again, all in Central Indiana). To participate on an all-star team, families are required to pay an additional fee, which varies from team to team.

TRAVEL TRYOUT PROCESS

Here is how OYO will manage the All Star team tryouts for age groups we’re able to support this season:

• Only players who were registered at OYO, are eligible to tryout for a Bombers or Red Storm all star team.
• Players must attend a tryout to be eligible for a team. If a player cannot attend the scheduled date(s) and time(s), then they may request an alternate tryout date within two weeks of the posted tryouts for the respective age group.
• OYO will seek to accommodate multiple teams in any age group where the interest from players is supported by qualified and eligible coaching candidates.
• No fees are required to participate in any tryout session.

BOMBERS TRYOUT OVERVIEW | BASEBALL

To be eligible for an All Star age group in Bombers, the player must not be older than the team’s age as of April 30 2025. Attendance is mandatory, unless other arrangements have been made with the team’s coach prior to the tryout to schedule an alternate time.

Players should arrive 15 minutes prior to the scheduled tryout time and should not wear any hats or uniform apparel affiliating them with any past travel team involvement (at OYO or elsewhere). However, a team-branded batting helmet is acceptable.

For a comprehensive overview of the All-Star Bombers program, including coaches, tryout schedules in March, team schedule overview for April-July and projected fees, visit the All-Star Bombers page on our website.

RED STORM TRYOUT OVERVIEW | SOFTBALL

To be eligible for an All Star age group in Red Storm, the player must not be older than the team’s age as of January 1, 2025. Attendance is mandatory, unless other arrangements have been made with the team’s coach prior to the tryout to schedule an alternate time.

Players should arrive 15 minutes prior to the scheduled tryout time and should not wear any hats or uniform apparel affiliating them with any past travel team involvement (at OYO or elsewhere). However, a team-branded batting helmet is acceptable.

For a comprehensive overview of the All-Star Red Storm program, including coaches, tryout schedules in March, team schedule overview for April-July and projected fees, visit the All-Star Red Storm page on our website.

Come take the field at OYO this spring — and encourage your friends to do the same! We have room for more ballplayers! So, be sure you are registered and then tell your friends there’s still space for them for the 2025 Spring Season.

All future registrations will be handled on a first come, first serve basis. Once we reach maximum capacity, we will initiate a waiting list process (where players can register and be added to the wait list at no charge). That said, based on experience, we know we will receive a flurry of registrations as the practice season commences. Don’t delay or you may find your ballplayer left off the ballfield this spring.

REGISTER TODAY! RECRUIT YOUR FRIENDS TODAY, TOO!
Let your friends, classmates, neighbors and relatives know they can still join us for our spring season. Review our online overview for the 2025 Spring Season! Once gone, there will be no additional openings available, just wait lists unfortunately. Act now!

As registrations continue to flow in daily, we now one opening per team on most teams in each of our divisions. With registrations outpacing last year’s trends by more than 5 percent, we are quickly approaching maximum capacity and the openings remaining are all we have left to offer to interested families. So, act now!

Don’t Delay! Register Today!

OYO Board Members recently conducted our exclusive Coaches’ Meeting and Orientation for our softball and baseball coaches in preparation of our upcoming season of baseball and softball.

This meeting helps ensure all our coach volunteers are aligned in how they will leverage our organization’s resources and collaborate frequently to maximize the development of all our ballplayers across the league. What’s more, they are prepared to demonstrate great teamwork in providing our young softball and baseball players a memorable on-field experience this spring.

We hope the information attached provides our coaches with the details needed to execute a quality experience for all our ballplayers and their families. If you have any questions about the upcoming season, please contact an OYO Board Member.

As always, thank you for choosing OYO as your place for baseball and softball this spring. And, we truly appreciate you sharing your talents and volunteering to be a coach this season. Play Ball!

Link to Coaches Meeting Orientation:

• Meeting Presentation
• Meeting Takeaways Summary
• Field Care Guide
• Must-See Video for Proper Field Maintenance Techniques

Links to Helpful BASEBALL Coaching Resources:

• Rules
• Player Development Progression Framework | Baseball

Links to Helpful SOFTBALL Coaching Resources:

• Rules
• Player Development Progression Framework | Softball

We look forward to an exciting Spring Season of baseball and softball at Veterans Memorial Park, the home of OYO.

To help kick off the season, several OYO Board Members recently conducted an important meeting for new OYO Families. This meeting provided an introduction to OYO’s operations and helped set expectations for the upcoming season. Our families discovered The OYO Way and how it will be carried out throughout the season to maximize the experience our ballplayers and families will enjoy as part of the OYO Family.

We’re now making available two important takeaways from the meeting:

• PRESENTATION | The attached presentation provides all the details necessary to make plans for all the excitement the season will bring
• HANDOUT | A reference handout for the 2025 Spring Season

If you have any questions about the upcoming season, please contact an OYO Board Member today.

As always, thank you for choosing OYO as your place for baseball and softball this spring!

The OYO Spring Season is now officially underway. Thanks to your trust in OYO — and your patience the past 24 hours — as our volunteer board members worked tirelessly to make this the most memorable year yet. Rest assured, while March Madness starts early each year at OYO, I can assure you OYO is ready for 2025! So, here’s our own Top Ten summary to kickoff our Spring Season!

1. THANK YOU TO OUR VOLUNTEERS!
Thanks to the remarkable work of our many dedicated, caring and committed volunteer board members, OYO is ready for 2025. Before sharing details about the season ahead, kudos must be shared in honor of those who make this season possible:

• Compassionate baseball and softball vice presidents and division commissioners have secured all our coaches and analyzed detailed player evaluations to ensure balanced rosters
• Focused scheduling committee members have finalized and scheduled nearly 1000 practice assignments for all rec league and travel teams
• Tireless sponsorship committee members have pursued every lead to secure as many sponsorships as possible for our record number of teams this spring
• Dedicated grounds crew members have put in the work to improve our fields to make them safer and better for all our players and teams
• Many more board members have gone the extra mile behind the scenes to make sure all parts of the season ahead are well planned, coordinated and organized

2. OUR WHY BEGINS WITH THE OYO WAY
We will all do our part to create a fun, positive learning environment for our ballplayers. We will all pitch in to keep our beloved park looking its best. And, we will all keep The OYO Way at the forefront of our kids’ baseball and softball experience. That’s what makes OYO THE place for baseball and softball in our community!

3. TEAM ASSIGNMENTS, PRACTICE SCHEDULE NOW AVAILABLE
Almost all team and coach assignments have now been published in LeagueApps.

From a web browser via your laptop or desktop, simply login to your dashboard via our website powered by LeagueApps. When you check out your assignments online, you will find your ballplayer’s team name, coach information and practice times. Game schedules are forthcoming in late March. Also, please understand, our commissioners did their very best to meet as many requests as possible, so long as team balance was not compromised. Our coaches have been carefully selected and assigned. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your coach or commissioner with questions.

Also, if you believe you are in the right place but the roster or practices schedules are not showing, then we likely overlooked one of the publish checkboxes. Simply email us and we’ll turn it on for your division or team.

4. COACHES WILL TOUCH BASE SOON
By Friday, all head coaches should have connected with their teams to make a preliminary introduction and set expectations. In the event you have not heard from your coach by the end of the week, then you’re encouraged to email your coach directly with any questions you may have about the upcoming season! You can find the coach’s contact info via your team page in LeagueApps.

5. PRACTICES START WEEK OF MARCH 10
All practice times for weeknight practice times (thru week of April 28) and Saturday practice times (through April 12), can be found in LeagueApps, too. Unless the OYO Board makes a leaguewide announcement, all practice decisions are left to the discretion of the the team’s coach when the weather is in doubt.

6. 14U/16U SOFTBALL AND JUNIOR BASEBALL STARTS LATER
The 14U/16U Softball and Junior Baseball seasons begin later than all our 12 and Under divisions. Early registration ends on March 18 for these two divisions, rosters are released in late April, practices begin May 3 and games begin May 19. The later start is designed to allow players to focus on their middle school or high school teams and then take the field with their OYO friends as those seasons wind down.

7. THE OYO WEATHERLINE IS FOR GAME DAYS ONLY, NOT PRACTICES
The OYO Weatherline (317.767.5170) is reserved exclusively for game day communications so please check with your coach about practices this fall. Please note, Opening Day for games is Saturday, April 19 (and weeknight games start Monday, May 5).

8. YOU KNOW YOUR TEAM…NOW GO TELL YOUR FRIENDS THERE’S STILL ROOM THIS SPRING!
Most teams still have 1-2 openings left for the 2025 Spring Season. We purposely construct rosters that allow for an additional player or two to be added. For more than 20 years, registration patterns show we always receive approximately 200+ player registrations between March 5 and Opening Day. (A year ago, we added 194 players alone.) Spread the word about the remaining 2025 Spring Season openings to your friends and encourage them to come and play at OYO (but please note we cannot guarantee same-team placement). Don’t let them miss out on the fun this season!

9. HALF OF ALL TEAMS STILL NEED SPONSORSHIPS
We want to make sure every team has the support of a team sponsor this spring. At this time, we’re still a little short of that goal. If your team does not currently have a sponsor, you will receive an email on Wednesday morning. This is not unprecedented as each year we notify a handful of teams we still need team sponsors for their squad. It is just more pronounced in 2025 due to our growth. If you discover your team is in need of a sponsor, we hope you will contact a business you know or even your employer about being a Single or Double Play sponsor this year!

10. DON’T FORGET! SAVE BIG THIS WEEKEND AT DICK’S SPORTING GOOD IN CASTLETON
The annual shopping period, where you can save 20% off your entire purchase, runs Friday, March 7 thru Monday, March 10 at Dick’s Sporting Goods at Castleton Square. Learn more and download the coupon here!

THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING OYO AS YOUR PLACE FOR BASEBALL & SOFTBALL
Once again, we truly appreciate your understanding and patience as we completed the team assignment process this spring. Most importantly, thank you for choosing OYO as your family’s place for baseball and softball. We appreciate your continued interest and support!

As we prepare for the start of the 2025 Spring Season, we’re encouraging all head coaches and assistant coaches to make the necessary investment for the season ahead. Various OYO committees and leaders are going the extra mile to coordinate value-add sessions and seamless processes to maximize your experience and be respectful of your time. Below are four important events involving all head coaches (and in two instances, the assistant coaches, too).

COACH INCENTIVE IS ESTABLISHED FOR 2025 SPRING SEASON

A coach is eligible to receive one-fifth of the league’s registration fee for completing each one of the following five milestones — contingent on the successful return of the team equipment provided at the start of the season. So, if all five requirements are completed (and the equipment bag is returned), then the coach receives 100%. Payment will be issued in the form of a player registration credit to be used within the next 12 months for Fall 2025, Winter Workouts 2026 or Spring 2026. The criteria in 2025 is as follows:

1. Attend Coaches’ Meeting on Thursday March 6
2. Attend Coaches’ Clinic on Sunday, March 9
3. Participate in Park Prep Day on Saturday, April 5
4. Attend Tournament Coaches’ Meeting on Tuesday, June 3 (date subject to change)
5. Complete Player Evaluations in LeagueApps by Tuesday, June 3 (dates subject to change

TEAM INTRODUCTION | CONTACT TEAMS WITHIN 48 HOURS OF ROSTERS BEING RELEASED

At this time, we hope to release all rosters by end of day on Tuesday, March 4. The roster release also will include each team’s weeknight and Saturday practice time and field assignment. Within two days of the rosters being released, all coaches should send an introductory email to the families on their roster and answer any questions your team’s families may have.

COACHES’ MEETING | THURSDAY, MARCH 6 | 7-8:45 P.M. | JENN PARK

All head coaches and assistant coaches are encouraged to attend. We are committed to maximizing player development and creating a memorable experience for all our ballplayers. So, we strive to create alignment between all our amazing volunteer coaches at OYO. This meeting provides timely content that can have a positive impact on your team this spring — and creates clear and consistent expectations. What’s more, there are some very important new guidelines and protocols for coaches to follow and participation is requested of all head coaches. In addition, all assistant coaches are encouraged to attend and participate this annual coaches meeting, which will be held at Jenn Park (located at 10450 East 63rd Street, Indianapolis, 46236).

TEAM EQUIPMENT PICK-UP  | SUNDAY, MARCH 9 | TIMES VARY | OYO

Coaches will be able to pick up its team’s equipment on Sunday, March 9 at OYO at the three-garage barn before attending the Coaches’ Clinic. We encourage coaches to pick up the team equipment in the window provided below and allow 15 minutes to complete the process. You will depart the premises with your team equipment for the season. We recommend the head coach pick up the equipment, but an assistant coach can do it if necessary. Proposed times are as follows:

• Tee Ball | Between 1-1:45 p.m. (including Challenger)
• Coach Pitch | Between 2-3 p.m. (Junior Rookie, Rookie, 08U Softball)
• Kid Pitch | Between 3:15-4:15 p.m. (Minor, Super Major, 10U Softball, 12U Softball)

COACHES’ CLINIC | SUNDAY, MARCH 9 | TIMES VARY | BELZER MIDDLE SCHOOL

All head coaches and assistant coaches are encouraged to attend. OYO is preparing for our preseason Coaches’ Clinic to help all our coaches kick off the 2025 Spring Season. These clinics are designed to provide insight on the skills, fundamentals and drills for teams to use at every level. This season, OYO will host three separate clinics — at Belzer Middle School, located at 7555 East 56th Street — as follows:

• Tee Ball | 2-3 p.m.
• Coach Pitch | 3:15-4:15 p.m. (Junior Rookie, Rookie, 08U Softball)
• Kid Pitch | 4:30-5:30 p.m. (Minor, Super Major, 10U Softball, 12U Softball)

These sessions will be customized to each group and facilitated by Mike Klopfenstein, OYO’s Training Chairperson who also is a veteran high school baseball coach. As always, thank you for sharing your time and talent with our young ballplayers. All coaches attending should enter the facility from the only entry point off Richardt Street.

PRACTICES BEGIN | WEEK OF MARCH 10 | DAYS AND TIMES VARY | OYO

Weather-permitting, all teams will begin their practice season the week of March 10. All practice decisions are left to the coach. However, there are occasional rare instances where fields are not usable due to weather — and in those instances we will notify the league via email during the practice season only. As a quick refresher, each team will receive one weeknight assignment and one Saturday assignment during the practice season. In 2025, one thing that is new in 2025 involves the length allotted for each team’s practice.

• Challenger, Tee Ball | 60 minutes | Two teams share fields during each practice slot
• Junior Rookie | 90 minutes | Two teams share fields during each practice slot
• Rookie, 08U Softball | 90 minutes | In Rookie only, a few teams will be scheduled to share field space for a weeknight practice
• Minor, Super Major, 10U Softball, 12U Softball | 2 hours

Oaklandon Youth Organization (OYO) is an all-volunteer youth baseball and softball organization providing recreational leagues for children, regardless of ability, in a “fair play” atmosphere.  And, the OYO Board of Directors believes every child with a desire to learn and play baseball and softball should be provided with an opportunity to play.

On that note, we offer three compelling offerings for families based on your needs. Payment plans are embedded in the registration process and are available for any family to use. A new scholarship program subsidized by Dick’s Sporting Goods is available to families who qualify. And, for those families who don’t meet the Every Kid Sports program by Dick’s Sporting Goods, our traditional scholarship program is available. Learn more about these programs via OYO’s website.

If you need assistance for the 2025 Spring Season, then select the program that best meets your needs and let’s secure your ballplayer’s participation in our rec program this spring!

Despite record-setting participation to date, to accommodate the league’s growth the OYO Sponsorship Program is still in need of nearly 40 additional team sponsors to help support our teams. However, we understand with so many newcomers to OYO in 2025, the importance of the OYO Sponsorship Program may not be as familiar to everyone.

In short, OYO relies on the support and generosity of our local business community to help keep fees affordable for all our ballplayers. For example, with all expenses tallied, the cost to operate each division is approximately $30 more than what we charge each individual player. We’ve been fortunate to keep these fees low and affordable (and mostly flat over the past 10 years) courtesy of some amazing business support over the years. With this new generation of players in 2025, we welcome new sponsors who can support OYO in a wide range of ways, including team sponsorships starting at $375 for a Spring Team or $525 for Spring and Fall combo.

As we face a key deadline on Monday, March 10, to submit our sponsor line-up to our uniform vendor, time is of the essence.

Can you recommend a business that might be willing to sponsor your Tee Ball team this spring? Learn more about our sponsorship program today.

By division, below is a list of teams without a dedicated sponsor assigned at this time. If you know a business who can sponsor a team, send an email to the OYO Sponsorship Committee ASAP!

We truly appreciate your timely consideration of this request — and thank you for choosing OYO as your place for baseball and softball this spring. Let’s Play Ball!

For weeks, we’ve been communicating about player registration and lately about coach registration. The response has been phenomenal. Thank you!

Now, we need your help in one more way that will improve the overall experience for your ballplayer this season! Our remarkable Ways and Means Committee has been forming valuable connections and partnerships to boost our sponsorship program. Their hard work is paying dividends, but there’s still a long way to go.

First, did you know the registration fee does not cover the entire cost of playing at OYO?
Each year, we keep our fees affordable through the generous support from local businesses to offset the $20+ difference –- and that’s at least $360 shortfall per team. So, enter our team sponsorships. These enable us to offset most of the additional expenses surrounding the team’s on-field experience. At this time, 59 teams do not have a sponsor dedicated to a player on the roster this Spring. The full breakdown by division appears below!

Will you be a sponsor — or can you identify a sponsor — for your ballplayer’s team? 

So, how can you help?
Easy! Can you reach out to a business you know or work for to be a team sponsor in 2025? The Single Sponsorship (Spring season only) is only $375 per team. The Double Play Sponsorship (Spring and Fall seasons) is $525 per sponsorship.

Learn more or register to be a sponsor online today. What’s more, there’s still time to connect a team sponsorship to your favorite ballplayer’s Spring Season squad, too! You just need to act soon!

What’s the Deadline?
It’s almost gone! Our uniform orders are due to our uniform partner no later than Friday, March 7, and we need to submit our sponsorship lineup by the same time. We need to secure all sponsorships by Thursday, March 6.

Got Questions?
If you need something more, less or different, then simply email the OYO Sponsorship Committee at oyosponsors@gmail.com or reply to this email!

Thank You!
We appreciate your consideration of this timely request for help finding more sponsors in 2025! As always, thank you for choosing OYO as your place for baseball and softball! We look forward to celebrating this memorable season with you and your ballplayer.