13U Ruffnecks 2025

13U Ruffnecks Learn During First Season

TEAM ROSTER | TEAM SCHEDULE

Each year a new class of 13u Ruffnecks assembles and prepares for the first step in the journey of a New England Ruffnecks player.  As usual, our roster hails from a range of towns.  As we enter our 22nd year, the Ruffnecks program continues to consider what approach to take with 13 year-olds as they navigate and learn on the big diamond.  We do some events other programs do, and we decline to do others.  For instance, we do NOT play in a spring league.  We have found that there is plenty to teach without week-to-week league constraints.  We have found that League play at 13u, especially during the spring, is inconsistent and distracts from our mission of development. We divide the 13u year into a “tale of two seasons.”  The spring is at a time when weather conditions, experience, and new concepts require a focus on measured, yet competitive, opportunities to practice and play.  Our March, April, and early May schedule features a combination of weekend doubleheaders and single 9 inning games.  There are opportunities for our 13u players to join in combined rosters with the 14u players to play against prep JV squads.  Once Memorial Day Weekend arrives, we shift to a tournament focus for the remainder of the summer.  We prepare our 13u players with off season work that begins in November with team hitting sessions (weekends only).  13u players are taught hitting routines that they can use on their own, with teammates, and with older players from within the program.  Unrestricted access to “The Facility” provides virtually unlimited use of batting tunnels in a clubhouse atmosphere at no additional expense to players or families.  Players hit on their own and bond together in a culture that is energizing and beneficial to their development.

Roster Composition & Selection

Our 13u team is comprised of solid, committed, players.  This does not mean that we select the most “talented” players.  We look for committed players and Baseball IQ. We find success in attracting players who know about us, seek the Ruffnecks, and are willing to let the process play itself out.  We do not conduct tryouts or personal evaluations, though we use Fall Baseball as an opportunity to experience how we teach and to experience our staff.  We will meet with families and players who are interested in the Ruffnecks program prior to Fall Baseball to answer questions and to see how things work in our systematic and programmatic approach to Club Baseball.  Occasional “Open House” events help provide information to prospective families.  We attract players who want to be here.  We assemble our new 13u class slowly and deliberately.  Our goal is to serve young Ruffnecks who aspire to reach the high school level successfully.  Beyond that, collegiate careers beckon for those who make the appropriate commitment.  Practices play an important role in the 13U year.  We encourage players to be multi-sport athletes, and during the winter months we expect players to honor their commitments to their “in season” sports and teams.

The 13U Ruffnecks 2024 roster remains posted.  The roster is populated by players from a wide range of communities.  The Ruffnecks are NOT a “local” team.  The 2024 roster featured players from 7 different communities throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire.  We keep room on the roster to consider late additions.  More detailed information and our perspective are provided on this website on the tab titled “Selection Process.”

2024 Schedule & Time Commitment

Following the completion of Fall Baseball, the 13u “Off Season” officially begins in November.  From November to March we conduct NO Mid-Week team activity.  Again, The Facility is always open for players to work on their own (and they do!).  Team hitting sessions during the November to early March period are defined by station work and classroom work at the Facility.   These sessions are conducted exclusively on weekends (Saturdays and Sundays).  None are mandatory.  We understand conflicts.  Once March begins, we consider ourselves “in-season,” with outdoor practices (usually Thursday nights) and team hitting sessions taking on greater importance.  Indeed, we prepare for our opening games, which are usually scheduled in mid-March.

The 13U game schedule challenges  players through a mixture of competitive  opportunities.  We do NOT play in many 13u events.  We do not believe it is beneficial to play with the excessively lively metal bats sold to 13u players.  We use wood or -3 BBcor bats.  In terms of volume (number of games), we believe the cumulative “wear and tear” affects players at this age.  It is, quite simply, not advisable to play the massive schedules many players experienced at the 12U level.  Accordingly, while the schedule is built to address the capacity of what a 13U player can withstand, we design it in a responsible manner.  “More” is not always more!  Especially when players are vulnerable to overuse injuries.  During late March through May, the schedule features weekend series and several tournaments.  It also includes opportunities for 13U players to play on combined rosters (with 14U Ruffnecks) in mid-week games against high school JV and Frosh opponents.  Mid-week rosters are built around availability, pitching, and positional needs.  We insist on short, measured, outings for pitchers.  Accordingly we do NOT often play 4 game weekends in the spring.  While this may surprise some, we have found it a successful, healthy, developmental approach.  Most of our tournament play is actually in 14u events.  We find it more productive.

Season Highlights

The 13U Ruffnecks season traditionally opens with a 14U tournament in late March in New Jersey.  We enjoy getting on the road right away.  It is a great opportunity to learn about each other.  By May, the team participates in some tournament play.  From Memorial Day Weekend to the end of July, the 13U season shifts almost exclusively to tournament baseball.  We play in many 14U events.  Much of the activity is at the NEBC and in the New England region.  The Ruffnecks’ founders and directors built the New England Baseball Complex, which provides a “home” of sorts for tournaments and practice (Fall Baseball).  The Ruffnecks indoor “Facility” in Needham, Massachusetts provides an indoor hitting home exclusively for Ruffnecks.  The 13U Ruffnecks program provides a thoughtful and purposeful approach to baseball for players this age and level of development.  We are competitive, but the primary objective is experience and development.

Schedule Updated December 7, 2024 at 3:00 pm
2024 Season Schedule Remains posted for reference.

13U Ruffnecks Schedule 2024