WPPA Travel Baseball

Each spring/summer season, Welles Park Parents Association (WPPA) will endeavor to host at least two (2), but no more than three (3),  travel teams at every level from 8U through 14U. Training begins during the winter (Winter Training) with the actual season kicking off in April.  

Leagues

WPPA teams play in either the Lake Shore Feeder Baseball League (LSFBL) or Mid-Suburban Baseball League (MSBL), or comparable, and will generally participate in several tournaments (April - July).  While most tournaments will occur in the Chicagoland area, “away” tournaments are considered.  With the exception of our 12U teams’ Cooperstown trip, the spring/summer season usually ends in mid-to-late July. 

Teams

WPPA offers multiple travel teams (Black, Red, and Gray) across all age groups. The 8U to 12U ages are part-time “All-Star” programs where travel players are required to participate in the WPPA house league, in addition to the “All-Star” program.  The 13U and 14U programs, however, will be “Full-time” programs and players are not required to participate in the house league. Participation in house, however, is encouraged and allowed at these age levels.

Coaching

Black teams will be coached by one (1) professional Chicago Baseball Consortium (CBC) coach with two (2) parent Assistant Coaches and a one (1) parent Team Manager. The Assistant Coaches and Team Manager will be parents of the team, selected by the Head Coach and Travel Coordinator.

Red and Gray teams will be run by one (1) parent Head Coach, two (2) parent Assistant Coaches, and one (1) Team Manager to be selected by the Head Coach and the Travel Coordinator. The parent coaches will be chosen after the team is selected and will change year-to-year based on the final roster. Other than the Assistant Coaches and Team Manager, there will be no other parent involvement (e.g. training, practices, games, scheduling, etc.).  

All 13U/14U teams will be professionally head coached by CBC with one (1) team parent Assistant Coach and one  (1) team parent Team Manager. The Assistant Coach and a Team Manager will be selected by the Head Coach and Travel Coordinator.

Evaluation & Roster

Players will be evaluated, trained, and coached by CBC, WPPA’s professional coaching and development partner, which includes independent evaluators, trainers and coaches. Up to 36 players will be invited to participate in the WPPA travel program at each age level (with the exception of 8U, 13U, 14U). Offers will be based on tryout evaluations, which will consist of hitting, throwing, and fielding evaluations. Players that accept an invitation to the program will workout together at each level as a travel “Program” throughout Winter Training, where they will continue to be evaluated by CBC. During Winter Training, players will establish baseline metrics that will be measured throughout the duration of Winter Training in order to measure development throughout the winter session. These metrics will be reviewed with the families periodically during Winter training to ensure that families and players understand areas of strength and areas for further development.

Final team composition will be decided by CBC, with oversight from the Travel Coordinator, taking into account:

• Primary: Tryout evaluations
• Secondary: Winter Training evaluations
• Tertiary: Prior year Travel Coach evaluations
• Finally: Prior year house evaluations. 

Training and programming for each level will be developed by CBC in collaboration with the Travel Coordinator. 

A non-refundable $250 deposit is required upon acceptance of a roster spot by all travel players ($750 for 13U and 14U). This deposit will be applied towards the team budget for the season. 

Age Groups

Incoming players to the program, slot based on grade level and a May 1st cutoff.

• 8U is 2nd grade
• 9U is 3rd grade
• 10U is 4th grade
• 11U is 5th grade
• 12U is 6nd grade
• 13U is 7th grade
• 14U is 8th grade

Parent Cooperation

WPPA Travel Baseball Parent Code of Conduct can be found here. Every WPPA parent is required to follow the Code of Conduct. Violations will be strictly enforced.