Overview of the Cooperstown Baseball Tournament
When your team earns an invitation to a Cooperstown baseball tournament, it’s often a bit overwhelming, especially if it’s your first time. It’s a big national tournament, with a lot of moving parts. Not only do we think it’s among the best baseball tournaments in the country, but we try to make the whole week a blast for everyone!
Here’s everything you need to know to make your week unforgettable.
Cooperstown Dreams Park Baseball Tournaments
Cooperstown Dreams Park stands out as one of the most well-known and best baseball tournaments in the nation.
Our facility welcomes 104 teams each week throughout the summer, creating an electric atmosphere where 12U players from coast to coast compete on our 22 expertly-kept fields. Unlike typical weekend tournaments, the weeklong event at Cooperstown is meant to be bigger and more thrilling than the usual affair. In fact, we aim to make this special week one of the defining moments of many a young athlete’s baseball journey.
Part of what makes Cooperstown such a unique experience is the on-site housing where teams live together in their own clubhouses, often being one of the first times the kids are sleeping multiple nights in a row without their parents. This experience can foster bonds that last far beyond just the week of baseball games.
The Tournament Itinerary: Weekly Guide
Day 1: Arrival and Check-In
- Expected Arrival Times: Between 2:30 PM and 8:00 PM
- Check in
- Drop off gear in your clubhouse
- Line up for team photos
Coaches attend the rules meeting in the evening for critical info on substitutions, bat rules, pitch counts, and field protocols.
Day 2: Opening Ceremony & Skills Competitions
- Breakfast: 6:00am — 9:30am
- Quick safety drill
- Opening Ceremony: 9:30am — Noon
- Skills Events:
- King of Swat (HR derby)
- Golden Arm (throws from center to home)
- Road Runner (home-to-home sprint)
- Around the Horn Plus (team relay)
- Game Times: 3:30 pm, 5:30 pm, 7:30 pm
Days 3–4: Pool Play
- Breakfast: 6:00am — 9:30am
- Lunch: 11:00 am — 2:30 pm
- Game Times: 3:30 pm, 5:30 pm, 7:30 pm
- Dinner: 5:00 pm — 8:30 pm
This is also a great opportunity to use the time between games to hydrate, eat, stretch, trade pins, and take the time to check out town. Win or lose, every player learns and grows.
Day 5–6: Single-Elimination Bracket and Championship
Breakfast: 6:30 am — 9:30 am
Single Elimination Tournament Game Times: 9:00 am, 11:30 am, 2:00 pm, 4:30 pm & 7:00 pm
Lunch: 11:00 am — 2:30 pm
Dinner: 5:00 pm — 8:30 pm
Day 5 is focused on the first single-elimination games, while Day 6 moves into the finals, which most people should be around to cheer on and see!
Even if you bow out early, there are still lots of fun activities to do in town or with teammates, so don’t get discouraged.
Day 7: Check-Out and Farewell
Time to pack up, take your last clubhouse photos, do final pin swaps, and hit the road!
Making the Most of Your Baseball Hall of Fame Cooperstown Visit
No Cooperstown baseball tournament experience is complete without visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame. Located just minutes from Dreams Park, it’s the perfect antidote to a high-energy, noisy week.
One standard option is to schedule their museum visit during a pool play-off-day or after early elimination from championship rounds. The museum usually takes about 3 hours for a thorough visit, though it all depends on the kids themselves!
Essential Hall of Fame Highlights
Start your Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame journey in the Plaque Gallery, where bronze tributes to the game’s best players create a legendary atmosphere.
But it’s the museum’s interactive exhibits that seem to particularly captivate the youth. The Sandlot Kids’ Clubhouse lets them test their broadcasting skills, while the Records Room has lots of statistics spanning the games’ long history. Finally, don’t miss the Today’s Game exhibit, where the museum houses some artifacts from current powerhouses of the game, to help kids connect baseball’s past with today’s idols.
The Baseball Hall of Fame Cooperstown experience is a must for first-time visitors. Don’t forget to take a team photo while you’re there!
Tournament Week Essentials
Packing for Success
A Cooperstown baseball tournament requires a bit more thoughtful packing than a weekend tournament. Players should bring multiple uniforms since laundry facilities have limited availability.
List of essential items to bring:
- 3 sets of:
- Pants
- Socks
- Belts
- Short and long-sleeve options (upstate New York weather can shift fast)
- Rain gear
For families to bring:
- Sunscreen
- Water
- Snacks
- Pins and pin trading accessories (lanyards, binders, etc.)
For the coach to bring:
- Power strips for the clubhouse charging stations
- Small fans for cooling
- Flip flops for shower facilities
- Some team decor to personalize the clubhouse for the week!
Pin Trading Culture
After baseball itself, one could probably say that Cooperstown’s next most famous pastime is pin trading! What visitors tend to look forward to is custom baseball pin trading!
During the summer tournament season, teams coming to Cooperstown have a custom team pin designed just to bring to the tournament. A typical order will be a few dozen or more for each player on the team. The kids can then trade their team pins for the other teams’ pins once they arrive. It’s a lot of fun, and over the years, teams have been coming up with more and more wacky, creative, exciting designs.
Maximizing the Baseball Tournament Experience
While teams are in Cooperstown, there’s a decent amount of downtime between games and after each day’s events. Cooperstown Dreams Park offers many amenities itself, including an arcade and outdoor batting cages. But, there are also many exciting activities to do in town and in the beautiful surrounding area.
But, there’s also the more routine stuff to consider. Teams thrive best when they set down some routines and regulations to keep things orderly. Designate specific players for equipment duties, create hydration schedules for hot days, and plan team meals that keep everyone fueled up, happy, and healthy.
On your way out of the park, check out the retail store that stocks exclusive park merch. Lots of players still wear their Dreams Park hoodies years later as a reminder of how awesome it was.
What Do Parents Ask Most?
How many games does each team play?
All teams are guaranteed a few games in pool play on days 2-4, weather permitting. Plan for at least 6 games, with potentially more depending on one’s success in single-elimination play.
What’s the daily schedule like?
The tournament itinerary gives a good idea of the schedule. There are planned breakfasts, lunches, and dinners daily, with games scheduled throughout the afternoons and evenings.
What about safety and supervision?
Coaches are expected to supervise their players in the clubhouses and on trips to the village. We have medical and guest services on-site if anything happens or someone has a question.
Do we need to bring everything?
Much of what you need is available on site or in the village, but there are some essentials to bring. See the “Tournament Week Essentials” section above for details.
Why Cooperstown Dreams Park?
The annual summer of Cooperstown baseball tournaments has become something of a rite of passage for many a 12U player that marks the transition out of little league.
We have worked hard to provide the best possible experience for the young athletes through our world-class facilities, the excitement of baseball merch and pin trading, the Baseball Hall of Fame Cooperstown right in town, and plenty of opportunities for teams and families to have fun throughout the week.
We hope your trip creates memories that last for years to come.
