WINTER BASEBALL WORKOUTS & TRAVEL TEAM TRYOUTS 2018 WINTER WORKOUTS FOR ALL: Below is the schedule for EBSA s winter baseball workouts for 2018, better known as Shake Off the Rust clinics. At each age group there are opportunities to participate in offseason clinics for your fielding, throwing or hitting. These sessions will be conducted by Joe Knudsen (EBSA s Coordinator of Player and Coach Development) and/or his staff. There is no charge for any of these workouts. These clinics are for ANY level player whether you are new to the game, only play house league, or have been on a travel team. All interested players are encouraged to attend! All clinics and tryouts will take place at ETHS in either the 2 nd floor gyms or in the Fieldhouse. TRAVEL TEAM TRYOUTS: The Schedule for Travel Tryouts is also listed below. It is expected that players attend both tryout sessions. If this is not possible, arrangements should be made directly with Joe Knudsen. More information regarding the travel teams is at the bottom of this memo. Please note that the Cooperstown week for the 12U travel teams is June 16 th through the 21 st. LSFBL Championship Sunday in 2018 is July 22 nd. Travel team tryouts for each age group are for the following without exception: 14U = Current 8 th graders 13U = Current 7 th graders 12U = Current 6 th graders 11U = Current 5 th graders 10U = Current 4 th graders 9U = Current 3 rd graders
2018 Sunday, January 14 th (MLK Weekend) 13U /14U Shake Off the Rust: 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ETHS Fieldhouse Sunday, January 21at 13U Tryout #1: 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Upstairs Gym 14U Tryout #1: 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Fieldhouse Sunday, January 28 th 12U Shake Off the Rust 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Upstairs gym G230 13U Tryout #2 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Fieldhouse 14U Tryout #2 4 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Upstairs gym G220 Sunday, February 4th 12U Tryout #1 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. G230 13U Practice 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Fieldhouse 14U Practice 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Fieldhouse Sunday, February 11 th 12U Tryout #2 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Fieldhouse 13U Practice 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. G230 14U Practice 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. G230 Sunday, February 18 th (President s Day Weekend) 13U Practice 6:16 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. G230 / Fieldhouse Sunday, February 25th 11U Shake Off the Rust 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. G230 13U Practice 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Fieldhouse / G230 Sunday, March 4 th 10U Shake Off the Rust 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. Upstairs gym / G230 13U Practice 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. G230 / Fieldhouse
Sunday, March 11 th 10U Tryout #1 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Upstairs gym G230 11U Tryout #1 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Fieldhouse 13U Practice 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. G220 14U Practice 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. G220 Sunday, March 18 th 9U Shake Off the Rust 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. Upstairs gym G220 10U Tryout #2 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. ETHS Fieldhouse 11U Tryout #2 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Upstairs gym G230 13U Practice 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Upstairs gym G220 14U Practice 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Upstairs gym G230 Sunday, March 25 th First Weekend of Spring Break Umpire Training 12 to 2 p.m. G160 13U Practice 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Fieldhouse / G230 Sunday, April 1 st EASTER Sunday, April 8 th 9U Tryout #1 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ETHS Fieldhouse Sunday, April 15 th 9U Tryout #2 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ETHS Fieldhouse
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON EBSA TRAVEL BASEBALL For current 3 rd graders through 6 th graders, the travel team is an additional season of baseball following the house league. (7 th and 8 th graders, please see separate information below). To be eligible to play travel baseball at any level, a player must: 1. live in School District 65 and/or be eligible to attend ETHS by living in School District 202. Players who live outside these districts but who have played travel in the previous year, remain eligible to compete; 2. not miss more than a week during the travel season, basically from Memorial Day forward. For example, a week at Camp Echo is acceptable. However, two week Camp Echo trips or other longer family vacations, etc. mean that a player should not tryout. Violation of this rule will effect team placement for the following year; 3. be present for the LSFBL playoff week ending July 22 nd. 4. play in the EBSA house league (for third through sixth graders only); Players who do not qualify in any one of the above four requirements are not eligible to tryout. Team Formation: At the tryouts, players are evaluated in several categories including: hitting; infield fielding; infield and outfield throws; pitching; sprinting speed; as well as performance in the previous travel season, if applicable. Thereafter, as many teams will be formed as the talent and numbers prescribe. At least one team is generally considered the A team and the other(s) the B team. These teams will play in different divisions of the Lake Shore Feeder Baseball League. Lake Shore Feeder Baseball League: The LSFBL is a league that includes teams from Evanston, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Glencoe, Lake Forest, Glenview, Northbrook, Park Ridge and Lake Bluff. It is a competitive league where wins and losses are tracked and a playoff tournament that ends on Championship Sunday, July 22 nd. Season: Depending on the age level, the teams will play a 14 to 16 game season starting from mid-june through the third week of July. That equates to roughly 2 games per week. In addition, EBSA enters the teams in two other tournaments. Each team will have a tournament over the Memorial Day weekend (house league does not have games over this weekend). A second tournament is often scheduled around the 4 th of July holiday. The 12U teams travel to Cooperstown, NY for a week long tournament in June. The LSFBL playoffs are a single elimination tournament that runs through the final Sunday in July. This year Championship Sunday is JULY 22, 2018. The actual LSFBL regular season schedule for each team will not be known until mid-may. Practices: It is expected that the teams will practice at least once if not twice per week during the regular season (usually at James Park) and will most likely practice once a week after the teams are chosen but before the season starts. Practices should not conflict
with the house league season. House league takes precedent over any travel activities until that season is done. The 9U to 11U travel teams will not start practice until early May. Cost: The travel fee for the 2017 season is yet to be determined. Last year the fee for 9U through 12U was $600 (not including the Cooperstown 12U fee). Fees for 13U and 14U were $925. The bottom line is that the travel teams play at a high level of competition and require a strong commitment from both player and their family. Basically, your summer through the end of July will consist of many trips to James Park and surrounding suburbs... and a lot of baseball. The games are fun and exciting. For those looking to continue playing baseball at a higher level beyond house league, then this may be an option. In addition, EBSA runs a July Ball league which is competitive baseball in a more relaxed environment. EBSA will form as many July Ball teams as there are interested players and coaches. These teams play each other as well as teams from Kenilworth, Winnetka and Wilmette. There are no tryouts for July Ball. More information on this league will be provided toward the close of the spring house league. Please note that unlike many surrounding communities, we do NOT form an 8U travel team. We believe that the appropriate year to begin a travel baseball experience is the summer following third grade. We do NOT allow younger players than those finishing third grade to tryout for the 9U team. 12U COOPERSTOWN TOURNAMENT 2018 We will send teams to Cooperstown for the tournament week starting Saturday, June 16 TH, 2018. The tournament runs through the following Thursday, June 21 ST. EBSA will send travel teams this year to the two tournament locations in the Cooperstown area. The fee for Cooperstown trip (in addition to the regular travel fee) is yet to be determined. Dave Haracz dolanharacz@sbcglobal.net Steve Brown stevebrownmail@gmail.com Drew Stover drewstover1@gmail.com Joe Knudsen jknudsenbaseball8@gmail.com