Need some advice - Baseball Sponsorship

[Just Fish]

Ok guys I know many of you are business owners and I need to ask a question. What is the appropriate way to ask for sponsorship for my 17 year old son who will be playing baseball again this summer with Tallahassee Legends travel team. http://www.flalegends.com

I am not asking for sponsorships here from this forum as I think that would be inappropriate, so please do not think I am. I just have a few questions and I bet some of you know the right way to do this.

I recently sent out 10 letters to companies here in Crawfordville asking for sponsorship, and so far have not heard back from anyone. So a few questions....

Do businesses need some sort of documentation if they give sponsorships for tax purposes?
Should I be asking for a team sponsorship vs. an individual player sponsorship?
Legends has an advertising sponsorship but these businesses are in Crawfordville not Tallahassee so it wouldn't make sense to advertise. Also this is a traveling showcase team that travels all over the south east so the advertising isn't necessarily local. It really goes against everything I believe in to even ask for sponsorships at all but the travel expenses are insane.

Thanks for any advice you can give.
Moderator, if this is inappropriate just let me know and I will immediately remove it.

[Tom Keels]

Talk to folks face to face. Let folks know what they can expect from your son, the team and you. Let them know what they get in return. Sounds simple but with the economy in the toilet it may be a fact of life that no one has the extra coin to sponsor your son to play baseball. I would suspect going for a team sponsorship would be much easier.

[Chalk]

Best avenue to sponsorship is talking to someone you know personally that has a good business....That is how we obtained our sponsorship for fishing the IFA this year.

[Just Fish]

Thanks for the advice, Tom and Chalk. I guess my son and I need to put some legwork into this.

[Just Fish]

I know someone else has an opinion. After reading these forums for a while I know you'all have an opinion.

[Reel Cowboy]

I had an opinion but Tom and Chalk pretty well covered it.

1.) Face time is a must. Make appointments and keep them.
2.) Get your son/other team memebers invloved in the meetings. Let them talk about how the sponsorship will help them and their goals. It's easier to give to kid(s) when they take the time to sit down and talk with them.
3.) If you or your son has a personal relationship with a business owner or the like start there. I've found that friends or at least people you know are more willing to help.

These may or may not work for you but they've always been a good starting point and see how it goes.