The term, COBRA, is actually an acronym (Coalition of Babe Ruth Athletes), and is why you normally see it in all caps (COBRA instead of cobra or Cobra). The major intention of the program is RETENTION - to keep players and coaches in our leagues by offering competitive ball games among players who wish to remain attached to their community league, while allowing coaches to select players (within their league's guidelines) and teach advanced skills to those who have the ability and interest.
At the initial meeting of league presidents in the summer of 2013, a few goals were set forth. They included:
While competitive play was exciting, it was generally accepted that these were scrimmages... they would not count in any way shape or form in the team's local league's standings, that even if one team was obviously stronger than the other, they still wanted to work the defensive side of the ball, etc. A true cooperative was born and created a genuinely player-based development vehicle... 2 scrimmages every other Sunday again higher-caliber players with the goal of everyone developing and growing. This is what we call “Sunday Play.”