Background
The Olentangy Stix is the largest and longest-running travel baseball organization in the Olentangy Local School District. Our organization is built on the premise of providing a fun and rewarding experience while developing players for high school baseball. As the travel baseball arm of the O.Y.A.A., we pride ourselves on being a true community-based organization that supports all four of our community's high schools.
Our Mission
Our program provides an opportunity for kids to develop the mental and physical attributes necessary to be competitive athletes at the high school level and beyond. We want to field competitive travel teams at each age group and skill level; and we focus on doing it a reasonable cost to our families. Our approach is grounded in values that support our kids reaching their full potential; both on and off the field. We believe in building character, rewarding hard work, demanding accountability, and promoting a competitive environment.
What Is Development?
The word "Development" gets used a lot in travel sports but what does it mean to Stix Baseball?
- Every athlete starts at a different point. It's our job to meet them where they are and help them achieve their goals
- Development doesn't have to be ambiguous. It's not measured by tournament wins and trophies, rather how far an athlete has gone from point A to point B
- New for 2023: Player development will be measured by coaches and the organization
- All players will receive baseline testing on key metrics at the beginning of the year
- We will continue to measure and test those metrics throughout the year to ensure our training techniques are meeting the developmental needs of our athletes
- Observations and metrics will be shared with parents and players throughout the year via the SKILLSHARK app
- Although we provide our athletes many resources throughout the season, we understand that some are looking for more. We will provide multiple off-season training opportunities including:
- Speed and agility training
- Off-season arm care, velo, and on-ramping training
- Stix only player camps
- Exclusive training resources
- Development isn't just for the kids but the coaches too!
- All coaches will have access to high school coaching resources
- All coaches will have the ability to receive certification from Driveline Baseball
- Our coach network supports each other. We are a baseball community, and our coaches support each other from the tryout process to the end of the season.
Why choose Stix Travel Baseball?
Our program is built to develop kids at multiple skill levels and to support kids throughout the development process.
- Each age group has multiple teams based upon current skill level and age. We balance the needs of a 7U player, 14U player and all the ages in between.
- All of our teams have access to the same training and clinics. We give all of our teams the same opportunity for development; including winter workouts that are included with registration fees.
- We form as many competitive teams as we can per age group. Each year this depends on how many athletes try out and how many qualified coaches we have. Typically, the number of teams range from 2-4 per age group.
We believe in supporting our community and building the baseball players, athletes and leaders of the future.
- We do not align our program to a specific high school.
- We do not assemble teams by the geography of a neighborhood or single high school. We take neighborhood politics out of the equation.
- Limited roster spots are available for players outside of the Olentangy school district for 11U and above.
- We take pride in being a community-based program, but also expect to compete against teams throughout Columbus and the state of Ohio.
We believe that a successful youth baseball program provides a rewarding experience and leaves lasting memories for our players and our families.
- Our 12U teams are strongly encouraged to go to Cooperstown. This is a great experience, and we encourage teams to participate in this once in a lifetime event.
- Our travel Council also reviews coaches' performance and conduct after each season. We expect our coaches to provide a great experience for our kids - both on and off the field.