Questions people ask

Everyone uses the same registration form: youth, adult beginners and adult competitive. Pick the option that sounds like you. The form signs you up to the club on Spond, and we’ll contact you with the next session you can come to.

No. Adults who are new to the game start with Baseball4Beginners on Friday evenings. Children are placed by ability, so beginners play with other beginners.

Yes. We run open sessions through the year. Register on the form and we’ll be in touch with the next date.

Youth baseball is for ages 5 to 15, and a parent stays with the youngest groups. At 16, players move into the adult club. There’s no upper age limit.

You don’t have to work that out. Register as adult competitive and come to spring training (five weeks in March and April). Coaches from every level are there and will place you on the right team, anywhere from the Canal League to the National Baseball League.

Yes. London Mayhem has played in the federation’s women’s league since 2021, and we run Step Up To The Plate open sessions through the year. Register on the form and mention it, or email info@londonmets.org.

The summer season is spring training in March and April, then league games from April. Youth Saturdays run from mid-April to mid-July. Fall Ball adds six more weekends from mid-September to late October. There are winter programmes and summer camps too.

We’re all volunteers, so allow a few days. Check your spam for an email from Spond. If it’s been more than a week, email info@londonmets.org with the player’s name and the email address you registered with.

Spond is the free app the club uses to run teams. Sessions, games, availability, messages and some payments all go through it. You’ll need it on your phone once you’ve registered. The British Baseball Federation uses it too.

Download Spond from the App Store or Google Play. Tap Get started and create a profile in your own name, using the same email and mobile number you put on the registration form. It needs iOS 16+ or Android 7+. Without a smartphone, you can use spond.com/client in a browser.

Spond groups are private, so you can’t search for us. Once your registration has been processed, you’ll get an invite by email or text. In the app, go to Groups → See invitation → Accept. If a coach gives you a group code, go to Groups → Enter code.

No. Create the profile in your own name, choose I am a parent when you join, and add your child with their name and date of birth only. Leave the child’s email and phone blank. Don’t put your child’s name on your profile, or your details on theirs, or Spond merges the two and logins break. One parent profile can manage any number of children.

Yes, but each parent needs their own Spond profile with their own email and mobile. Email info@londonmets.org with the child’s name and the second parent’s details and we’ll add them as a guardian.

Open the event in Spond and tap Accept or Decline. Parents answer for each child. Please answer every invite, even if it’s a no. Coaches use the numbers to plan sessions and pick teams. To change your answer, open the event again (before any deadline).

Check notifications are allowed for Spond in your phone’s settings, and in the app under your profile picture → Push notifications. Stay logged in: when you’re logged out, Spond sends emails instead. You can also add events to your phone calendar from profile picture → Calendar settings.

Use Forgot password? on the login screen, and check the country code is +44 if you log in by phone. If you might have registered with a different email (a work address, say), try that before making a new account. Duplicate accounts are the most common reason an invite doesn’t turn up. If you’re still stuck, email info@londonmets.org.

For the summer season: youth £160 (ages 9 and up) or £110 (8 and under); Baseball4Beginners £150; adult league teams £180–200. Winter programmes, summer camps and Fall Ball are priced separately. There are no match fees on top.

Everyone who plays, coaches or umpires registers individually with the British Baseball Federation (£12.50 for youth players). It’s paid to the federation, not the club, and pays for insurance, safeguarding and umpire training.

Players rostered to a league team pay by GoCardless in three instalments: the first when rosters are announced in March, then early June and late July. Other programmes are paid through their event page or a Spond payment request.

The club runs a Sports Access Fund. Once you’ve been placed on a team, email treasurer@londonmets.org and a panel of three board members will consider it in confidence.

Email the treasurer at treasurer@londonmets.org.

Saturdays at Finsbury Park from mid-April to mid-July. Most weeks mix training with a game against another club, and a few are away days elsewhere in London. Times depend on the age group: see the age groups.

5–8 year olds start in Baseball4Beginners, with a parent staying for the session. 9–12 year olds play Machine Pitch or Player Pitch, depending on how they’re getting on rather than their birthday. 13–15 year olds play 15U. Coaches place children by ability, and some move up during the season.

A parent stays for the 5–8 Baseball4Beginners sessions. For older groups, check with the coach when you’re placed.

Machine Pitch hits off the club’s pitching machine, so there’s lots of action, and suits players still building the basics. In Player Pitch, players pitch to each other. It expects regular attendance and includes travel to clubs across the south-east.

There’s a youth summer camp in August, Fall Ball in the autumn, and winter training. Dates go out on Spond and on the youth page.

Every coach working with young players holds a current enhanced DBS check, and the club has a named Safeguarding and Wellbeing lead on the board. See Safeguarding.

An introduction to the game for adults, on Friday evenings at Finsbury Park from mid-May to August. Coaches from across the club take the sessions, and all equipment is provided. It costs £150 for the summer. More about B4B.

Most people move on to the Canal League: four club teams playing two games every Saturday through the summer, without the pressure. From there, players move up to Division 5 and beyond.

We field teams in every tier: the National Baseball League (London Mets), Division 2 (Metros), Division 3 (Meteors, Marauders), Division 4 (Minotaurs, Mercury), Division 5 (Mastodons, Mayhem, Mercenaries), plus the Canal League development teams. See the Mets pathway.

Short-season baseball after the summer: double-headers each weekend from mid-September to mid-October, playing either the Saturday or the Sunday. There’s a youth version on six Saturdays too. Registration opens in the summer.

League games are mostly at weekends from April, with some travel to away games. Ask at spring training how often your team trains and plays. It varies by level.

Not to start. Bats, balls, helmets and catching gear belong to the club. Bring trainers, water, clothes for the weather and a glove if you have one.

Ask a coach first. The right size and type depends on age and position, and they’re happy to advise before you spend money.

Baseball pants, a belt, socks and a club cap. These are in the club shop.

Game jerseys are ordered through your team manager once you’re on a roster, not through the shop.

Home is the London Mets Baseball and Softball Field, Finsbury Park, N4 1EE (Manor House on the Piccadilly line, Harringay Green Lanes on the Suffragette line, buses 29, 141, 341 and W5). The second ground is Enfield Playing Fields, Great Cambridge Road, EN1 3SD. Directions.

Fixtures, results and tables for every team are kept on the British Baseball Federation’s site. Fixtures & Results links to each team’s page.

Yes. Come down to Finsbury Park on a match day. Home games are also streamed on the club’s YouTube channel.

There’s pay-and-display parking on Endymion Road for Finsbury Park. Public transport is easier.

Vince House, the club’s Safeguarding and Wellbeing lead: safeguarding@londonmets.org. To speak to someone outside the club, contact the BaseballSoftballUK welfare team at welfare@bsuk.com. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999 first.

BSUK runs the check, and it’s free for volunteers. Our safeguarding officer sends you the form. You’ll need ID, your National Insurance number and five years of addresses. The full steps are on the Safeguarding page.

Yes. It covers players, coaches, parents and spectators: read the code of conduct (PDF).

Please do. Nobody at the club is paid. We always need help with coaching, field maintenance, social media and looking after equipment. Email info@londonmets.org.

Field sponsorship, backing the youth programme, or something else. It works through a CSR budget as well as your own business. See Support the Mets.

Yes, by PayPal from the Support page. Donations pay for fees, kit and travel for players whose families couldn’t otherwise afford them.