Travel Baseball
The winter practice season runs from January 1 through April 1 with approximately two practices per week. These are held at the Dawg Pound (BYB's indoor training facility) and historically at the Batavia High School Fieldhouse. Due to the current COVID situation, this has yet to be determined. The regular season runs from April 1 through the 4th of July, with league playoffs generally held the following weekend. BYB travel teams can play in the KCBL or WSBL league. Teams play an 18-game league schedule, mix in a handful of pre-season and exhibition games, host a home tournament, participate in a number of weekend tournaments in the Chicagoland area, and play in an additional road tournament in the Midwest (e.g., St. Louis, Indianapolis, Grand Rapids).
BYB generally offers tryouts for the following season before the current season ends. The early to mid-July tryout dates are announced in the spring and posted on the BYB website. For an overview of how players are evaluated and how teams are formed, read the Travel Operating Procedures file.
Batavia Youth Baseball is Batavia's largest and oldest baseball program. BYB has been providing baseball programs for the youth of Batavia for more than 60 years. BYB’s travel program has been in existence for more than 25 years and is one of the oldest and most experienced programs in the Fox Valley area. BYB is a volunteer-driven non-profit organization. To play on a BYB team, players must reside within BYB's service boundaries.
The following summarizes BYB’s Travel Programs Features and Benefits:
- BYB is governed by a 22 person Board of Directors. Included on the Board are five dedicated positions managing the BYB Travel Program.
- BYB is a major feeder program to the Batavia High School baseball program. As Batavia’s ONLY travel program formed exclusively with Batavia players, BYB works with BHS coaches. Many BYB travel players have gone on to play college baseball in Division I, IAA & III programs.
- BYB’s travel program practices at the Dawg Pound in the winter. The Dawg Pound is a BYB indoor facility with turf and three batting cages, which provides an opportunity to work on fundamentals during the off season. The Dawg Pound is available exclusively, at no extra cost or fees, to BYB teams.
- BYB’s travel program tryouts are open to all Batavia players. No invitation necessary! Evaluators include independent, baseball-experienced individuals (i.e., former coaches & players) with no ties to tryout participants--to provide a fair tryout process.
- BYB coaches are selected based on a thorough interview & evaluation process.
- BYB coaches are reviewed annually for coaching performance. BYB coaches also undergo a criminal background check.
- BYB’s travel program plays all home games and practices on one of our nine BYB dedicated, Batavia fields.
Ages
BYB fields travel teams from 8u through 14u with the opportunity for multiple teams at each level depending on tryout numbers/results.
When
Tryouts are typically in mid-July and winter practices start up in the beginning of January.
Where
Tryouts are held at the Batavia High School field house and winter practices are held at the Dawg Pound training facility.
Practices
There are typically 2 practices a week during the winter training. Practice cadence varies from team to team once the season starts (based on team's schedule / availability)
Games
Teams can expect to play 25-45 games in a season depending on how many leagues and tournaments the team signs up for.
Jerseys
All the necessary jersey components (i.e. Jersey, pants, hat, belt, socks) are included.
Extra Costs
Teams may fund-raise at their discretion to cover additional costs (i.e. team helmets, bags, outings, etc...).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to participate in the BYB travel program?
Since BYB is a community-based program only those that live within the the Batavia Youth Baseball Boundary (see below linked map), or attend a school in Batavia (public or private) are eligible to participate.
You can view our participation and boundary map here.
Check Back Later...
We are not currently accepting registrations for this program.