Tired of what they perceived as overpriced youth baseball tournaments, four men with longtime baseball ties to El Paso have taken matters into their own hands.

Two coaches, John Medrano and Raul Robles and two umpires, Sergio Beltran and Tury Velsquez, have joined forces to bring Xtreme Diamond Sports – a fastpitch softball and baseball national organization based in Moreno Valley, Calif. – to El Paso.

“We started Xtreme Diamond Sports in El Paso because we wanted to give teams options when it comes to tournaments,” said Medrano, who coaches the El Paso Scorpions 12U baseball team. “I was really frustrated with USSSA and the monopoly that exists for tournament baseball. The best thing for the kids, coaches and umpires is to have other options. I feel that’s the most important reason.”

USSSA, or United States Specialty Sports Association, has been the dominate national baseball governing body in El Paso and Southern New Mexico for close to two decades, with local, regional, state and national tournaments in various levels of play all over the nation.

“There are two big differences between us and USSSA,” Medrano added. “We cut the cost for tournaments. We’ll be charging $350 for 10s and 11s, and $375 for 12U, so that’s about $200 less per tournament. The other thing that makes us different is the length of time of the tournament games. We run an hour-and-forty-minute time limits for the 11s and 12s, whereas with USSSA tournaments, it’s an hour and 30 minutes from the coaches meeting at home plate. With us, we won’t start the clock until the first pitch is thrown.”

There are two baseball and two girls fastpitch softball Xtreme Diamond Sports tournaments scheduled in the area.

The Summer Sizzler baseball and softball tournaments will be July 30-31 at the El Paso County Sportspark and the Labor Day Blast will be Sept. 3-4 at the Bob Forrest Youth Sports Complex in Carlsbad, N.M.

Deadline for the Sizzler is July 26 and Aug. 26 for the Blast in Carlsbad.

The tournament format for Xtreme Diamond Sports is two pool play games with double elimination in bracket play.

“We want to give opportunities to every team in El Paso,” Medrano said. “We have guys from Bel Air Optimist coming in. We’ve had guys from Southwest Baseball asking about our tournaments. Matter of fact, for our next tournament, I have about five city teams.”

He said playing against teams from other leagues is always a benefit.

“It gives those teams the opportunity to play teams they’ve never seen before,” Medrano said. “City teams can play against Sportspark teams and test themselves and see how well they do. We are not pricing out any teams out of our tournaments. We want as many teams from as many leagues in El Paso and from Juárez to play in our tournaments. We are doing whatever we can to get different teams out here.”

Another benefit is once a team plays in an Xtreme Diamond Sports tournament,  it automatically qualifies for the organization’s national tournament in July.

“You don’t have to be an all-star team to play in Xtreme Diamond Sports,” Medrano said. “If you want to play baseball, this is the organization for you. Once you play in a tournament, you qualify for the national tournament in San Diego. You don’t have to spend time and money chasing a bid.”

Robles, the Xtreme Diamond Sports co-director in El Paso along with Medrano, said the organization is geared to a pleasurable tournament experience for players, coaches and parents.

“Everything we do is for the kids,” he said. “We want to make sure they have the best tournament experience they can. The kids and the coaches work hard all year, so we want to provide them with the best experience we can at an affordable price. The prices we have are friendly, so more teams can participate.”

Robles, who coaches the El Paso Rams 11U baseball team at the Sportspark, said he and Medrano attempted to bring Super Series Baseball of America tournaments to El Paso last year, but could not agree on entry fee prices.

“The coaches and parents seem to be happy with what we are doing,” he said. “We want to build positive relationships based on reputation and trust. Once you build your reputation, teams will follow. A lot of the teams have already played in our tournaments, so they know how we run things and how games go off on time and on schedule.”

Beltran and Velsquez are the umpires in charge at these tournaments.

“There are a lot of teams who don’t enter tournaments, not because they can’t afford it, but once they see the competition out there, they get a little bit intimidated,” said Velsquez, who has more than 40 years of umpiring experience. “We’re trying to even out the playing field.”

Beltran has been coaching and umpiring around the city for more than 20 years. He said he has felt the need for a change in tournament baseball for years.

“There was no option for teams, and the prices would just keep going up, while the quality of the umpires was going down,” he said. “John started looking for some other sanctioning organizations, so we can bring in inexpensive tournaments. But, more importantly, it’s about letting the kids play an entire ball game without having to worry about the time limit.”

Beltran said the bottom line is better tournaments at a reasonable price.

“With Xtreme Diamond, we’re going to offer cheaper tournaments with quality umpires who know the game, who know the rules and who are not going to cheat on the time,” he said. “Teams are going to get the time they paid for. El Paso has a lot of talent and it’s about getting them on the field to see how they stack up against teams from different leagues.”

Medrano, who has been coaching in the city leagues and the Sportspark for nine years, said he is looking forward to serving the youth baseball community.

“We’re really about respecting the game and not trying to push the clock,” he said. “Our main focus is the kids and baseball. We don’t want any of the coaches to feel like they are being cheated out of money on entry fees or time off the clock.”

Victor R. Martinez may be reached at 546-6128; vmartinez@elpasotimes.com; @vrmart on Twitter.

What’s next

Who:  Xtreme Diamond Sports is bringing two youth baseball and girls fastpitch softpitch tournaments to the area.

What: The Summer Sizzler baseball and softball tournaments and the Labor Day Blast. 

When: The Summer Sizzler will be July 30-31 at the El Paso County Sportspark, 1780 N. Zaragoza, and the Labor Day Blast on Sept. 3-4 at the Bob Forrest Youth Sports Complex in Carlsbad, N.M. Deadline for the Sizzler is July 26 and Aug. 26 for the Blast.

Cost:  For baseball: 6-7 T-ball, $325; 7U-8U coach-pitch, $350; 9U-10U, $375; 11U-12U, $400; 13U-14U, $415. For softball: 10U, $400; 12U, $425; 14U, $450; 16U, $475; 18U, $500.

Information: 539-2643; suncitybaseball.com.