Junior Babe Ruth (aka Babe Ruth 13-16) was created for ballplayers ages 13-16 who wish to continue their baseball playing experience beyond the age of 12 and the Cal Ripken program. For some players, this is a natural extension of their spring middle/high school baseball program. For others, this is where their baseball cleats get muddy for the first time on standard 90-foot diamonds.

After a few years off, the Kingswood Junior Babe Ruth program restarted in 2021. In 2023, our tournament team won the New Hampshire Babe Ruth 13-15 State Championship and participated in the Babe Ruth 13-15 Regional Tournament in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in late July. 

Kingswood Junior Babe Ruth participates in a travel ball “league” with other area Babe Ruth 13-16 programs, such as Lakes Region, Plymouth, Belmont, Littleton, Berlin-Gorham, Gilford, and more. The travel ball season begins in early June and ends in early/mid July. The “league” is competitive but does not culminate with playoffs or a tournament, as many of the programs use this developmentally and/or to prepare their players for the state tournament in July, as we do. 

Generally, our Kingswood team rosters roughly 16-18 players from the following towns that make up our league boundary: Alton, Alton Bay, Brookfield, Effingham, Middleton, New Durham, Ossipee, Tuftonboro, Wolfeboro. 

The season begins once the KRMS/KRHS season has finished. Sometimes, we try to fit a couple practices in before then, but it depends on the number of players on the team who are not playing school ball. We practice on the high school practice field when the school teams are still active. Once the school season is over, we use the varsity field. 

The game schedule typically consists of 10-16 games, with the first game around June 6. Practices are scheduled among the game schedule. Weeknight games are usually at 6 p.m. We often schedule doubleheaders for Saturdays, particularly when travel is at its greatest, such as versus Berlin-Gorham and Littleton. The full schedule gets announced near the end of May, but when dates are confirmed we share with the players and their families for planning. 

Regular season summer ball is a bit more "relaxed" than school ball.  We understand that the players will have other things going on (camp, vacation, work, etc) that may conflict with games. That said, we plan on having no more than 10-13 players at each game.  As soon as you know your athlete will not be attending a scheduled game, please contact the head coach as soon as possible so he can plan accordingly.

With the 2024 change from ages 13-15 to ages 13-16, we understand that there can be a wide range of skill level from 7th graders to, potentially, HS juniors. With this in mind, as we have previously, we will seek games within our schedule that are skewed toward the younger aged players on our team. Some of the programs we play against in this summer league field multiple teams, such as one consisting solely of 13 year olds.

Toward the middle to end of June, 12-13 of our players will be selected to be on the State (and hopefully Regional) tournament roster. The State tournament dates are tentatively July 6-8 and 13-15 - location TBD.  The Regional tournament is tentatively July 19-23 - location TBD.

Throughout the season, each player should be prepared to bring their own:

1) Glove

2) Helmet

3) Bat (must be BBCOR certified) 

4) White pants

5) Full water bottle/jug

If financial assistance is needed for equipment, let the head coach know. KCRBL provides hat, jersey, green belt, and green socks. 

Once the roster is formed and confirmed, most communication will be through the SportsEngine (SE) app.  The app will have the roster, schedule, and weekly reminders of the upcoming schedule and specific roster for the games. 

2024 Coaches:
Bill Huffman
Dicky Arthur
TBA