The Twins Community Fund has announced its 2008 Play Ball! Minnesota Youth Clinics schedule!

A total of 35 communities throughout the Upper Midwest will host free clinics in 2008. The Play Ball! Minnesota Youth Clinics program provides boys and girls from throughout the Upper Midwest with the opportunity to enhance their baseball and softball skills, while also hearing positive messages about staying in school and away from drugs and alcohol. Play Ball! Minnesota Youth Clinics are funded and administered by the Twins Community Fund.

The 2008 schedule is as follows:

The current clinic format, which focuses on throwing, hitting and base running, was developed by Twins Senior Advisor to the General Manager and former General Manager Terry Ryan and former Twins executive and current Arizona Diamondbacks Special Assistant to the General Manager Bob Gebhard.

The Play Ball! Minnesota Youth Clinics have always been, and will continue to be, available to participants and communities free of charge. Funding for the Play Ball! Minnesota Youth Clinics is provided by the Twins Community Fund and clinic sponsors.

Clinic Format
Play Ball! Minnesota Youth Clinics are designed to teach basic fundamentals including hitting, fielding and throwing, while also providing participants with positive messages about staying in school and away from drugs and alcohol.

No registration is required to participate in a clinic.

The clinics provide quality hands-on instruction for boys and girls ages 6-16. The format is broken down into two 1 ½ hour sessions. The first session is for youth ages 6-9 years old and the second session is for youth ages 10-16. Participants are divided into three groups and rotated between hitting, fielding and throwing stations.

Clinics are typically scheduled on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings during the months of April through August.

The Twins provide safe youth-friendly equipment. Youth participants are asked to bring their baseball or softball gloves.

Clinic Staff
The Play Ball! Minnesota Youth Clinics instructors have a combined 200+ years of baseball coaching/playing experience. The staff is comprised of former baseball players, coaches, scouts and/or teachers. Teams of 3 - 4 instructors will travel to and administer each clinic.

Clinic Host Responsibilities
The organization and/or community hosting a Play Ball! Minnesota Youth Clinic has a few responsibilities leading up to the day of the clinic:

Clinic Sites
The Twins Community Fund requires clinic hosts to secure an outdoor and indoor site for the clinic date. Given the number of Play Ball! Minnesota Youth Clinics held each season; it is difficult to reschedule a clinic due to inclement weather. If severe weather persists, a clinic will move to the indoor location.

Promotion
The Twins Community Fund expects that hosts will do everything within their means to promote a Play Ball! Minnesota Youth Clinic to the families of their community and surrounding communities.

To properly promote the clinic, clinic hosts should consider the following:

• Advertise and promote the clinic in local newspapers, community bulletin boards, local radio, the nearest Twins Radio Network station, local TV and cable access station (please note that most newspapers and television and radio stations will do public service announcements for free)

• Inform all youth baseball and softball programs about the clinic, and make sure that all coaches are given the information

• Incorporate the clinic into an already-scheduled league or civic event

• Speak to local reporters about covering the clinic

• Create and distribute promotional flyers

• Stress that parents are encouraged to attend and participate with their children

• Remind families that the clinics are FREE and require NO REGISTRATION

Twins Community Fund staff will help host communities promote their clinics by distributing press releases to statewide and local news outlets, providing hosts with images and logos for flyers and posters, and advertising in Twins publications, on in-stadium signage, and in Twins television and radio broadcasts.

Day of Clinic
Clinic hosts are asked to designate people to help clinicians set up and welcome/direct participants. If possible, please make arrangements for a facility for clinicians to shower and change.

Twins Contact Information
All questions, concerns or information regarding the clinics should be directed to the Twins Community Fund staff:

Josh Ortiz
Twins Community Fund
34 Kirby Puckett Place
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Phone: (612) 375-7510
Fax: (612) 375-7480
joshortiz@twinsbaseball.com