Cooperstown Dreams Park

Baseball fans the world over know that Cooperstown, New York is the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. But, the historic village of Cooperstown in the central New York region also has a tournament facility for young baseball players with aspirations of one day being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is the Cooperstown Dreams Park. Thus Cooperstown baseball not only enshrines the greats of the game like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, and Hank Aaron, but gives baseball players under the age of 12 a chance to play America’s pastime while practicing, learning about baseball, and competing against other teams from across the country.

And, if you are a parent, Cooperstown has a quaint historic district that harkens back to the days of James Fennimore Cooper (author of Last of the Mohicans) whose father founded the village in 1786. It was in Cooperstown that Abner Doubleday invented the game which had its first competition on a sleepy afternoon in 1839! You can visit and watch baseball games at Doubleday field where games are still played on the original site albeit with modern facilities. The Cooperstown area is a gorgeous area and worth a few days visit both before and after to see the non-baseball sites. Fortunately, excellent accommodations are available.

Cooperstown Baseball Tournament

The Cooperstown Dreams Park complex has twenty-two separate baseball diamonds. It is capable of hosting tournaments with as many as 104 teams over a week. A Cooperstown baseball tournament is not limited to the games. Young baseball players get to practice in this historic baseball setting, learn more about the game, hone their skills, and then play against the same young players whom they could one day face in a major league ball park! This is such a unique experience that many coaches choose to return year after year with their current team of ten to twelve-year-old players.

Established in 1996, Cooperstown Dreams Park hosts ten to twelve-year-olds and their coaches from the beginning of June to the end of August for a 13-week “season.” The “all inclusive” price for playing Cooperstown baseball includes 7 games (weather permitting), food, lodging, tickets to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and more. Parents will be pleased to know that games are recorded in video which are available on demand online. Likewise, team photos and other ways to cherish memories of this special week are available.

Learning to Play Better Baseball at Cooperstown Dreams Park

When young players and their coaches come to the beautiful central New York region they expect to compete against teams from all regions of the United States. But, there is more at Cooperstown Dreams Park than the immediate competition. There are baseball training and learning skills that will last a player a lifetime and set these young players on the path to great success than they could ever have hoped for. As an example, Mike Trout learned and played at Cooperstown Dreams Park and when he was called up from the minors to the Los Angeles Angels proceeded to bat .326, hit 30 home runs, have 83 RBIs, steal 49 bases, and score 129 runs. He was named Rookie of the Year in 2012!

Learning to Play Your Position and Other Specific Skills at Cooperstown Dreams Park

Many coaches find the trip to Cooperstown Dreams Park very useful in filling out the skill sets of their young players. While there are general skills that every aspiring baseball player needs to learn there are also unique skills. Pitchers need to learn things that outfielders don’t. Likewise, catchers have specific skills that they need to acquire and hone in order to progress in their position. Base running and stealing bases are skills that can be separately taught and improved upon. The reason there are batting coaches is obviously because there are specific skills needed to bat over .300 that can be learned and improved upon. The problem for any coach is that they may be a lot better with pitchers and catchers than with runners and batters, or vice versa. This can be remedied with a week at Cooperstown Dreams Park where high-level coaching in all necessary baseball skills is available.

Learning the History of Baseball and the USA in Cooperstown

Simply visiting the National Baseball Hall of Fame is an awe-inspiring experience for a young baseball player. And, for that matter, many youngsters who come to Cooperstown Dreams Park to play baseball will be as intrigued as their parents with the many historic sites in one of the oldest settlements on what was in the 1700s the frontier of the United States and original thirteen colonies. When James Fennimore Cooper wrote The Last of the Mohicans, he lived in the village of Cooperstown on the American frontier when the events in his stories were still part of living memories.

Baseball is only 50 years younger than the USA being invented in 1839 in Cooperstown. What better setting could there be to learn about the history of the game at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, practice and learn at Cooperstown Dreams Park, and compete against other talented players. This is not only a week that creates memories but a week that can change the baseball skills and prospects of young players for a lifetime.

Accommodations in the Cooperstown Area

Although board and room is part of the package for players and coaches at Cooperstown Dreams Park, parents will need a place to stay if they come to watch their aspiring young professionals hone their skills. Because the Cooperstown area is so central to this historic region of New York State, you may wish to stay a bit longer and use Cooperstown as your home base from which to travel to sites like Niagara Falls or the Fennimore Art Museum right in Cooperstown. The historic district itself features excellent shops, restaurants, and places to stroll and lose yourself in America’s historic past. A trip around scenic Lake Otsego and a stop for a picnic is a day trip all in itself. If you are planning to stay awhile, there are excellent luxury vacation rentals in Cooperstown and the surrounding area. For more information follow the link or call 607-437-5634.

Signing Up for 2020 at Cooperstown Dreams Park

If you are a coach who is interested in having your team practice, learn, and play against talented teams from all over the USA, now is the time to sign up for the 2020 season. Click here for the Registration Page for 2020 or 2021. You can also register for the umpire program at Cooperstown Dreams Park. Because some coaches come back with their teams every year, registration actually begins as soon as the current season ends!

Choose Your Preferred Week for the Cooperstown Dreams Park 2020 Season

The 2020 season starts June 6 and runs through June 12. Without any “off days” the season continues with seven-day slots of each group of teams. To start the ball rolling, fill out the registration for the week you prefer. Obviously, teams that sign up first are most likely to get the week that they prefer.

Requirements include having proof of up to date vaccinations and all teams and coaches are expected to abide by park and accommodation rules.

Teams must have at least 11 players and well as their coaches to compete.

Dreams Park TV

Cooperstown Dreams Park records all of the games and can be accessed both for past games and live games. You can sign up for “on demand” access to all of their video content and relive important Cooperstown baseball games.

American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame

All ten to twelve-year-old players, who compete at Cooperstown Dreams Park, regardless of outcome, are inducted into the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame, receive a ring, and have the photo taken along with their team. All sorts of important memorabilia such as homerun balls and balls thrown in no-hitters are also collected and preserved.

Your Trip to the Cooperstown Area

Although some families are only able to come to Cooperstown for the length of their child’s practice and competition at the park, others are able to allot time for more activities in Cooperstown itself and throughout the region. We encourage those who are able to stay for a bit and experience this essential part of both Colonial America and the beginnings of the United States. This region was for generations the frontier where English-American colonists lived side by side with established nations like the Iroquois, Oneida, and Mohicans. It was a unique life and remnants of those historic days still exist in both the Cooperstown Historic District and surrounding area and including the adjacent glacially-formed Finger Lakes and nearby Lake Oneida commonly referred to as the “thumb” of the Finger Lakes!

To make the most of your visit, we suggest that you set up a home base from which to operate. For the best experience, there are many luxury vacation rentals in the Cooperstown area within easy reach of the local sites such as Cooperstown Dreams Park, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and excellent browsing and shopping in Cooperstown Historic District.