The Tallahassee Titans traveling baseball team was formed five years ago to give a select group of local baseball players the opportunity to develop their skills, play at a competitive level and have some fun along the way. This team was very successful - we won championships, learned some life lessons and experienced things that most young baseball players can only dream about. The team finished third in the Triple Crown Summer Nationals, after losing in an extra inning tie-breaker to the tournament champion.

Our plan is to prepare middle school-aged baseball players for high school programs. The public schools do not have baseball teams and the other local programs don’t satisfy the needs of the more skilled players, who are looking to play on a high school- styled travel team. The Tallahassee Titans 14U intends to fill this niche and create a first class experience.

Our mission is simple – provide a way for 14-15 year old baseball players to:

• Develop their skills and get ready for the high school level;
• Compete on a National level against similar teams; teams
• Learn about being the best they can be by hard work, commitment, dedication and teamwork;
• Have some fun and win some games.

Our vision for this team is based on a two year program. The first year we had a short season, playing approximately 30 games while developing the skills and intensity necessary to play on a big field. Seventy-five per cent of the games were in regional tournaments (within a 300 mile radius of Tallahassee) and the other half were in games against competition from neighboring communities. This year we’ll expand our focus to include more competition at a higher level and play a similar schedule of regional tournaments and local games. The Titans have already been accepted in Triple Crown’s prestigious College World Series tournament in Omaha, NE. We will continue to have a high school style try-out and everyone will compete for a spot on the team. Games and tournaments will be scheduled after the team is selected.

The funding for the Titans comes from three sources – a player fee of $200 per player, sponsor contributions and the revenue generated from the FSU football game day parking. The player fees will help off-set some of the player expenses, practice equipment and insurance. The sponsor fees will cover uniforms, tournament fees and a portion of the player and travel expenses.

The Titans return three coaches from the 2005 season. Craig Finley will remain as the team manager; Steve Givens as head coach, and Randy Huntley as coach. For the 2007 season Hector Morales will join the staff and serve as the bench coach. Coach Givens has coaching experience at the college and professional levels, Coach Huntley is a high school coach, and Coach Finley has coached youth baseball for many years. Coach Morales is working on his Ph.D. in Sports Psychology at FSU and is the head coach of the US Armed Forces Judo Team. All of the Titans coaches have several years of experience coaching competitive youth baseball.