The Tides are the Ocean State's premier AAU baseball program... The Tides had a great run this past season and finished by going 3-3 in National competition, as the team advanced to Championship Pool, but were knocked out in that round. In previous years the Tides have won Silver, Bronze, and Copper Medals, as now MLB professionals Rocco Baldelli and Chris Iannetta competed in National competition as members of the Tides.

Update! Update! The tryout schedule for the Tides has been posted, please scroll down this page to find it.

Tides Alumni...

Program News... Former Tides players posed for a picture together at this year's RIBCA Annual All-Star Game, held at McCarthy Stadium in West Warwick, RI. From the left to right we have Kevin Dawber and Brent Hopkins of LaSalle Academy, Coach Idris Liasu from C.C.R.I. Coach Idris is also a former Tides player and coach, and can also be found helping out at our tryout camps, then we have Chris Famiglietti of Cranston West, Ryan Westmoreland and John Pedrotty of Portsmouth High School. Moses Brown catcher Garrett Horan and lefty pitcher David Palms from Bishop Hendricken. The Tides organization is proud of all the young men, keep up the great work!

Schedule of Events

Date	Event or Opponent
4/14	Cape Cod Riptides
4/15	South Shore Seadogs
4/21	New England Ruffnecks
4/22	Connecticut Bombers
4/28	New England Lightning
4/29	Athlete's Edge
5/5	Boston Baysox
5/6	New England Nationals
5/12	Connecticut Bombers
5/13	Ramblers Baseball Club
5/19	Dugout Dawgs
5/20	South Shore Spartans
5/26	Royals Baseball Club
5/27	Worcester Heat
6/2-3	NEAAU Playoffs
6/9	South Shore Seadogs
6/10	New England Nationals
6/16	New England Lightning
6/17	Athlete's Edge
6/23	Athlete's Edge
6/24	New England Lightning
6/29-7/1	Yale Invitational
7/6	Connecticut Bombers
7/7-8	Tides Invitational
7/12-21	AAU Nationals, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
All games listed are doubleheaders with the exception of tournaments or playoffs
12/29	13U and 14U Tryouts
12/30	12U and 14U Tryouts
1/5	13U and 12U Tryouts
1/6	12U and 14U Tryouts
1/12	13U and 14U Tryouts
1/13	12U and 13U Tryouts
"Tryouts" will be held on the dates listed above for players ages 12, 13, and 14. All tryout dates listed above will be held at the Bryant University MAC. See detailed tryout schedule to your right of this column.
More Tryout Info! Attention 14U Players, The Tides will be conducting tryouts this off-season to select a top of the line 14U team to compete against AAU competition and more, the teams coaching staff will be made up of either HS, College, and Pro experience, and this is what separates the Tides from the rest of the select and AAU teams in Southern New England. Are there some excellent parent coaches, yes, there are some, but all and all it is better for a player getting ready to compete at the HS level to play for someone whom they are not related too, as it just makes the experience all the more authentic and gives them a feel for what it will be like when they take the field at tryouts for their school team. In addition, to answer many questions, yes, the Tides will conduct tryouts for the 14U age group, we anticipate a quality core of players returning from our past season, however, there will be spots to fill as we are looking to better an already excellent team, we would anticipate anywhere from 6 to 7 new players being added to already excellent team, So, the outlook for our 14U team in 08 is very good, as the team is coming off an excellent season in which it finished New England play by going 20 and 2 over a stretch in which it played the top teams in New England and Connecticut, and then advanced to Championship Pool Play at teh AAU Nationals before being eliminated 1 game shy of the sweet 16, and finished with a tournament record of 3-3. In 08 the team is looking to add a few outstanding overall players and pitchers, as you never have enough quality arms. Also, I would recommend clicking on the "Team Plan" link above to get an overview of what is on the drawing board at this time for each age group come the new season, information on winter practice sessions, off-season conditioning, hitting sessions, practices, regular season schedule, playoff schedule, and the AAU Nationals. This is an excellent way to get a idea of what is planned for the 08 off-season and season, as the plan for each age group is slightly a little different due to our commitment to provide the best possible experience to our players.

Tryout Information

Local News... The Tides will be holding tryouts for 13U and 14U players at Extra Innings in Warwick, and Bryant University in Smithfield, RI in early January, after the team is selected they will begin their off-season program. Please refer to the schedule...

Tryout update:  If you have not registered for tryouts but plan to attend you need to get your tryout information into the Tides or at the very least contact us via email, so that you get the latest on when and where tryouts will be taking place. If you don't contact us prior to showing up we have no way to contact you.

Also, if you are already signed up for tryouts and know of a good player in your town ask him to come to tryouts, especially if you are confident in your ability as a good player, our goal is to put the most competitive team on the field possible, ideally we would like to field a team of 13 to 14 players at both the 13U and 14U level.

Pitchers are NEEDED! If you pitch and will be either Age 13 or 14, register for tryouts, the Tides are always seeking pitchers. Sometimes we even select a player or two to just pitch for us.

2008 Tryout Schedule
Day/Dates	Times	Age Groups	Site
Saturday - 1/12	9:00 AM to 10:30 AM	13U/14U	Extra Innings
Sunday - 1/13	9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon	13U/14U	Bryant University MAC
Saturday - 1/19	9:00 AM to 10:30 AM	13U/14U	Extra Innings
Saturday - 1/26	9:00 AM to 10:30 AM	13U/14U	Extra Innings

A few important notes to think about when deciding who to tryout for this year... As if you are checking out this web site you most likely have been approached about playing AAU baseball by either the Tides or for other organizations which try to compete against us. Well, think about this, none of the Tides teams will have parent coaches, all of the Tides coaching staffs are made up of individuals with either HS, College, and Pro experience, and this is what separates the Tides from the rest of the select and AAU teams in Southern New England.  In addition, the Tides have built a great reputation with high school and college coaches within the Ocean State and pro scouts in the New England Region. As for the coaching situations out there, well are there some excellent parent coaches, yes, there are some, but all and all it is better for a player getting ready to compete at the HS level to play for someone whom they are not related too, or to play for someone who doesn't have someone related to them on the team, can it work, yes, it can, but it is a much more just situation when you play for individuals who hold no vested interest as to who plays or performs well or who doesn't, well, it just makes the experience all the more authentic and gives them a feel for what it will be like when they take the field at tryouts for their school team, as there will be no parents hitting ground balls and fly balls to them there, when they take the field for that tryout they will be performing for someone who doesn't care who makes the team, as they are just looking for ballplayers to win for their school. It brings a different feel and element to the dugout and this is an intangible that the players experience when playing for the Tides, it is something real and something to consider seriously when making a decision as to whom to tryout for.

Also, there are always rumors thrown out there that the Tides are pre-picked and that it isn't worth tryout for our organization, well, that is nonsense, Why do these rumors persist? Well, it is hard to compete against us, as we have a solid organization with the priorities of producing excellent ballplayers and winning teams year in and year out, so the hope is that a player can be persuaded into not trying out as to protect their fragile ego, as it might get bruised if they don't make our program, it is really sad, but in the past people have bought into this nonsense being spread by our so-called competition and then the next year come to us wanting to tryout as they are looking for something better after playing for someone else, usually a team we competed against during that past season and ended up crushing on the field. The lesson to be learned in that is it is better to take a chance and tryout, what do you have to lose? If you are an excellent player at the age of 12, 13, or 14, why would you not want to play for us? 9 of our players which have come through the organization have been drafted, 2 start in the Pros, and countless others have gone on to play college ball. If you look in the Providence Journal at the end of each season when the All Division and All State selections are made a good percentage of those players are former Tides, that is not by accident, they took a shot and paid off for them and the Tides organization provided a great starting point for their development as a player, and they took a shot when competition for spots was at even higher clip, as back then we had anywhere from 75 to 90 players trying out annually, now we usually get anywhere from 35 to 45 players per age group, which puts your chances at making the program around 35% to 40%, that isn't bad, of course, most of those players are quality players, but isn't that the type of team you want to play for? Why play for a team in which you are unquestionably the best player? Do you need an ego boost? If you are the best player in your town you should want to play for the Tides because you will be just as good as the player next to you, and you will have to compete and excel to gain playing time and to become a better player, that is how you get good, not by being the hero on a bad team, any town superstar can do that, you should want to compete, and those are the players we want.

"For more information on the tryouts click on the tryout link above..."

Tides Smash Ramblers 25 to 5....  to complete a doubleheader sweep!

Local News... The Tides completed a doubleheader sweep of the Ramblers by winning the second game of the weekend contest 25 to 5, and in the first game the Tides also won big with a 14 to 3 victory over one of their inter-state rivals. The Tides were led by the excellent pitching of both Nick Panarello of Barrington who hurled the first game and Kyle Morvan of Smithfield who threw another gem in the second game, and to top it off Morvan also connected for a booming home run over the left field fence to jump start the Tides offensive attack.

Connecticut Invitational Champs!

Tides Post impressive victories against the  Athletes Edge and the Worcester Heat to take home the title.

Latest News... The Tides are champions of the Connecticut Invitational as the team defeated Athlete's Edge 17 to 4 in semi-final action and then posted an impressive 11 to 1 victory over the reigning New England champs, the Worcester Heat, at Hamden Hall School. The Tides bats exploded in game one, when in just the first inning shortstop Richard Bacon bombed a 2 run home run, capping a 3 run first inning explosion, then in the second the Tides kept coming putting up another big inning when catcher Billy Walker doubled in 3 runs, and the game was iced when second baseman Reed Gamache stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the top of the 5th and proceeded to rip a triple down the right field line to clear the bases and give the Tides a 13 run cushion. Lefty Tom Pannone started for the Tides and threw 4 1/3 innings keeping the Edge off-balance with an array of fastballs, changeups, and sweeping curves, Then in the championship game the Tides exploded early as leftfielder Ryan Slattery started up the Tides by singling in the first and then coming around on an RBI double by Walker. Kyle Morvan started for the Tides and left in the 4th with a 4 to 1 lead, After him Panarello threw an inning and 2/3 of scoreless relief and the team received a big lift from right Brendan McNaught as he entered a 4 to 1 game in the bottom of the fourth with 2 outs and the bases loaded, and was able to induce a harmless fly ball to center to end the inning and the Heat's chances of getting back into the game. After that the Tides kept up the attack and Johnston's Doug Jeffrey closed the game with 2 impressive innings of shutout baseball, recording 4 strikeouts along way. In addition, Jeffrey closed out the Edge in the semi-finals, by pitching 2/3 innings of relief and recording 1 strikeout.

Tryouts!

In 2008, the Tides plan on organizing 1 Elite 14U team to play against the top competition in the Northeast, not only will the Tides play against the best AAU competition, but they will also belong to an Elite League consisting of only handful of teams in the New England and the Connecticut Region, and the Tides will be the ONLY team in RI and Southern NE to participate in this league. The organization will also participate in "Perfect Game" as this will allow the Tides players to be rated against the other top 14 year old players in the country, YES! they actually start ranking players at those ages. In order to tryout for the Tides you must fill out a "2008 Tides Tryout Card" these cards are available now on our site, you may also run across various Tides scouts at Little League All Star games who will have these cards on them, and if you're good enough you will probably be issued one. That's your ticket to the top youth baseball program in Southern New England, take advantage of it and tryout! Also, see our tryout page for more details on the topic.

2007 Roster

Player	Town
Richard Bacon	Coventry
Francesco Dire	Barrington
Reed Gamache	Exeter
Reuben Horace	Warwick
Douglas Jeffrey	Johnston
Nicholas Loffredo	Johnston
Tyler McLaughlin	Warwick
Brenden McNaught	Barrington
Kyle Morvan	Smithfield
Nick Panarello	Barrington
Tom Pannone	Cranston
Jason Shushtari	Warwick
Ryan Slattery	Smithfield
Brendan Tracy	Rumford
Billy Walker	Smithfield

In just a couple of weeks the 2007 Tides will be heading to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to take on some of the best 13 year old players in the country! The Tides of had an excellent season finishing in the top 5 in New England, as they continue to produce quality players for the high school ranks and beyond...