1.  What is Rose City Baseball Club? 
RCBC is a “homegrown” non-profit organization in NE Portland that was started in 2014 by Andy Brown, Kenny Dirk, Jeff Bard, and Mark Hills. We felt that there was a need for an organization that could provide high level instruction and training for youth athletes that wanted to better develop the skills needed to have success at the great game of baseball. We are not interested in just showcasing what the players can do now, but rather what the player can become with hard work and good coaching. 

2. What are Rose City Baseball Club Elite Teams?
The RCBC Elite Teams are 14U-18U competitive teams that are managed, coached, and trained by RCBC coaching staff. Our staff is made up of highly trained coaches who are motivated to develop the committed player on a team of like-minded and dedicated individuals. The teams are established through a combination of invitational and tryout processes. The squads start with a fall baseball season in September and October, followed by winter workouts in December-February. They begin their season in May after the HS season and play through the 2nd week of August. The independent schedule is made up of scheduled games against other clubs from the NW, tournaments, and league play in one of the Portland-Vancouver area elite baseball leagues.

3.  What RCBC is not?
RCBC is not an outlet for families or players that are unhappy or disgruntled with their local little leagues, JBO teams, or other academies. We are an organization that expects and demands hard work, mental toughness, leadership, sportsmanship, and teamwork. We do not tolerate any behavior on or off the field that would embarrass Rose City Baseball Club, its players, or its families. Anything less than your best effort will not be accepted.

4. What is “Travel” or “Select” Baseball?  
Over the last several years many little league organizations have formed teams outside of little league to play additional baseball. This type of baseball is commonly referred to as “travel ball” or “tournament baseball” .. or even sometimes people misuse the term “JBO” as a reference to this type of baseball.

JBO is actually an alternate league than Little League and was formed in Oregon in 1948. http://www.juniorbaseballorg.com/ .  The reason that so many people commonly refer to travel baseball as JBO is that most independent baseball teams or travel/tournament teams play by JBO rules.

JBO baseball rules are essentially highschool rules, JBO is typically for kids from age 9 to age 14. There are many differences from little league but the main differences are how teams are formed and how the game is played.. namely kids can “lead off” and steal while the pitcher has the ball in his hand or is in his delivery whereas little league you need to wait until the ball has been delivered and crosses the plate in order to steal and instead of blending all of your players together regardless of skill JBO separates kids by skill level.  Federal, National and American.

In Northeast Portland there is currently not a JBO baseball program/charter other than the newly formed GYB (grant youth baseball program) that is for kids ages 13-15.

5.  Will be there be expectations and a Code of Conduct? 
Absolutely!!! Players will be held accountable for their behavior and effort at all times while at practice, at games, or at any team functions. Poor sportsmanship, poor behavior, or lack of effort will not be tolerated. Repeat infractions will be grounds for removal from the team.

6.  My player participates in other sports that will conflict with the schedule. Can they still play if selected?

Absolutely. We encourage our players to play in other sports as it provides better conditioning and balance for their growing bodies.  Absences from workouts to attend other sports are tolerated until March 1st at which time we expect baseball to become the priority. The other sports can take their turn in the backseat.

7.  If my player does not make an RCBC team, then how can they improve so that they may be considered for the team the next year?
Mastering the skills to have success in the game of baseball is a constant journey. Each player progresses at a different pace and developing any of the skill sets, let alone all of them, requires dedication, discipline, and practice. It constantly amazes us that a player can be remedial one year and then with hard work, growth, and maturity they become a very successful player the following seasons. We strongly recommend that players continue to play at their highest level of competition while continuing to practice and refine their skills. This may be through their local little league, JBO, or developmental club team. We also recommend that they attend camps and seek private or semi-private lessons if resources allow.  Please do not failure define you. Work hard and keep coming back stronger. 

8. To which schools or leagues is RCBC affiliated?
RCBC is an independent organization. We are not directly affiliated with any school or league. We are dedicated to the individual baseball players in our communities, not to the schools they attend or the leagues in which they play. We do have a working relationship with Concordia University to use their facilities and some of their coaches and many of their former players now coach for our club.