The GCAA will be holding travel baseball tryouts for any child between 8 and 12 years old. Remember, to determine which team your child is eligible to play on, use the Little League birth date, which is your child's age as of April 30, 2008. Note: A child must be a minimum 8 years of age and/or entering third grade at the time of the tryout.

12-year-old teams - any child who will be 12 or younger April 30, 2008 (born between 5/1/95 and 4/30/96);

11-year-old teams - any child who will be 11 or younger on April 30, 2008 (born between 5/1/96 and 4/30/97);

10-year-old teams - any child who will be 10 or younger on April 30, 2008 (born between 5/1/97 and 4/30/98);

9-year-old teams - any child who will be 9 or younger on April 30, 2008 (born between 5/1/98 and 4/30/99); and

8/9-year-old team - the child must be a minimum of 8 years of age on or before the tryout date and/or entering third grade in the fall. No exceptions for younger players.

An eligible travel player must live or attend school in Garden City. He must play on a team in the Garden City Little League in the spring. No exceptions. An eligible player may choose to try out for a team one age group higher than his. However, that player must also try out for his age appropriate team. This will ensure that if the player does not make the older team, he can be properly considered for his age appropriate team. No exceptions. While the GCAA does not discourage this practice, it has been its experience that boys playing with their same age friends enjoy the experience more. And, as they move from the 10s and 11s to the 12s, skill levels balance out, resulting in highly talented and competitive, age appropriate teams.

Tryouts require that you e-mail or call to pre-register. Tryout dates, times and contacts follow. These tryouts are intended for children who are committed to playing and practicing baseball during the fall, spring and summer. The level of play is highly competitive and the commitment to these teams should not be taken lightly. Scheduling conflicts with other 'in-season' sports should be avoided.

U12 on Monday, Aug. 20 (two teams: Grays and Nighthawks) Contact either John Donachie at donachie4@optonline.net or Tom Bruno at 746-5115 or tbruno197@netzero.com;

U11 on Tuesday, Aug. 21 (two teams: Cyclones and Sting) Contact either Tom Granville at granvill@whitneycap.com or John Lori at john@jdlpartnerslp.com;

U10 on Wednesday, Aug. 22 (two teams: Destroyers and Slammers) Contact either Scott Kiley at scottkiley@plazaequities.com or John Sorensen at gcbaseball@optonline.net;

U9 Thursday, Aug. 23 (two teams: Panthers and Pythons) Contact either Robert DeSimone at 516-746-6998 or robert827@optonline.net or Peter Sceusa at 516-294-2601 or peter@sceusalaw.com; or

U8/9 (new team) Thursday, Aug. 23, Contact Scott Kiley at scottkiley@plazaequities.com.

Time/Location: All tryouts will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on their respective dates. The tryout location will be provided at the time of pre-registration.

You must e-mail or call the respective manager to pre-register. No walk-up tryouts will be permitted. If you will be away on the date of your appropriate tryout, please email or call the respective manager to discuss participation in an alternative tryout. There will be only one alternate tryout date - no exceptions.

The boys GCAA soccer registration deadline for the fall program was June 30. Registrations are now being accepted based on space and availability and is subject to a $25 late fee.

Players in Grades K-6 who attend school or live in Garden City are eligible to participate. The season will run on Saturday afternoons from Sept. 8 to early November.

Applications can be found at gc-aa.com, St. Paul's and the Garden City Recreation Department. Soccer email contact information can also be found at GCAA's website.

Soccer referees are needed for the fall season. Refs are paid $20 for grades 3-6 games and $15 for grade 2 games. All applicants must be in grade 6 or older, be well versed in the rules of soccer and be available on Saturday afternoons. If interested, email the respective coordinator below and explain how you are qualified:

Grade 2 games for grade 6-7 refs: Tom Jessop, cjessop@optonline.net

Grades 4-6 games for grade 8-9 refs: Joe Crafa, jrcrafa@optonline.net

Grade 3 games for grade 10-12 refs: Chris Thompson, cthompson13@optonline.net