For any Travel Baseball comments or feedback (positive or negative) at any time throughout the year, please contact the Travel Director at jasonherzog@yahoo.com. All feedback is kept confidential.

*New for 2024*

The travel field schedule has been moved to Google Sheets. The scheduling sheet will be shared with all Travel Head Coaches, Head Coaches will be the only ones with access to this sheet. Click on the link below to access the schedule. 

If you are interested in becoming a travel coach - please fill out the following coach application, and email it to the Travel Director, Jason Herzog: jasonherzog@yahoo.com

Travel coaches will be interviewed in February and March.   

Head coach decisions will be made the week before tryouts and/or after tryouts once the teams are decided.

Elk River Youth Baseball will select head coaches that are able to fully commit to their travel team from April - June.   Those with other commitments during these months will only be eligible to be an assistant coach when possible.

All Travel Coach applications must be submitted prior to FEBRUARY 1st.

Click here to see the MYAS Travel Bat Standards

Each level will be pre registered for 3 tournaments.   Once the season starts, the coach may elect to add a 4th tournament.   The below tournaments are the initial choices for each potential age group.  These dates and tournaments are subject to change.

9AA:   May 10-12 (Sartell),  June 7-9 (Big Lake), June 14-16 (Zimmerman)

9AAA:   May 10-12 (Sartell),  May 17-19 (Waite Park), June 14-16 (Brainerd)

10A:   May 3-5 (Sartell), May 31 - June 2 (East Bethel), June 14-16 (Delano)

10AAA:  May 3-5 (Elk River),   May 31-June 2 (Brainerd), June 21-23 (Becker)

11A:   May 17-19 (Delano),  June 14-16 (Zimmerman), June 28-30 (Spring Lake Park)

11AA:   May 3-5 (Elk River),   June 7-9 (Brainerd), June 21-23 (Sartell)

11AAA:   May 3-5 (Elk River),  May 17-19 (Brooklyn Park), June 7-9 (Brainerd), June 21-23 (MYAS - TBD)

12A:   May 3-5 (Ham Lake), June 7-9 (Minnetonka), June 14-16 (Zimmerman)

12AA:   May 3-5 (Elk River),   June 7-9 (Rochester), June 21-23 (Becker)

12AAA:   May 3-5 (Elk River),   June 21-23 (Rochester), June 28-30 (Spring Lake Park)

13AA:   May 10-12 (Buffalo), May 17-19 (Blaine), June 7-9 (Woodbury), June 20-22 (Omaha)

13AAA:  May 10-12 (Buffalo), June 7-9 (Mahtomedi), June 14-16 (Big Lake), June 20-22 (Omaha)

14AA: TBD

14AAA:  May 3-5 (Elk River),   May 17-19 (Forest Lake), June 21-23 (Rochester)

15AA:   June 21-23 (Spring Lake Park)

The Elk River Traveling Baseball program provides intensive skill development and a high level of competition. The program offers opportunities to develop confidence and teamwork while competing with teams representing other area communities. 

For the age groups of 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 year olds, there will be at least one Elk River travel team.  Most age groups will have a second and possibly a third travel team, depending on the amount of kids registered and the ability of the kids registered.

The typical season runs from April through the middle of July.   Elk River Travel Baseball plays in the Gopher State League (MYAS) for its 9U – 15U age groups.  Information on rules, equipment requirements, league schedules, and standings can be found on the MYAS web site (www.myas.org).  Travel leagues typically consist of 16 regular season games played during the week with playoffs at the end of the year.  Travel teams will typically play in 3 to 4 weekend tournaments, with 1-2 practices per week.

Registration is open from mid January through mid March, with tryouts in mid to late March. 

Parents can expect to pay an additional amount in addition to the regular registration fees once your player is placed on a travel team. This amount, approximately $200.00, covers such items as Team fees, Tournament fees and Team expenses. 

Traveling players will also be required to purchase a travel uniform.   Jerseys are required and are approximately $50.   Pants are needed and cost around $25-50.    Hats are included with registration.

Tryouts are conducted in March.  A non-refundable tryout fee of $50 will be collected during registration.  This fee covers the cost of bringing in professional evaluators who are not associated with Elk River Baseball, up to 5 pre-tryout training sessions at the Elk River Training Facility, and rental of the Elk River Multipurpose Facility.

Team selection is on a competitive basis, as players are evaluated in comparison with others in their age group. Eligibility is based on the participant’s current school grade.  Tryout evaluations measure performance in hitting, infield, outfield, and pitching skills.  Please see our tryouts page for more detailed information regarding our tryout process.

Players not making a travel team will automatically be placed in our very competitive house league.

For more information on these leagues, please contact our travel director.

All travel players will be assed a tryout fee during registration.  This fee covers the following costs:

• Up to 5 hours of pre tryout sessions in our Youth Baseball Facility to prepare for tryouts
• Cost associated with renting the new Multi Purpose Facility for tryouts.
• Costs associated with securing Profession Evaluators for tryouts.
• Tryout equipment (Baseballs...etc)

The developmental stage is ages 9-11.   This is where coaches are encouraged to have players play many positions.  It benefits the players to know how to play different positions and that knowledge is key to learning the game.  Coaches at this stage are discouraged from players playing specific positions since their skills and bodies develop at different rates.  The focus is on developing the players' skills over wins and losses and playing many positions accelerates that process.

The instructional stage is ages 12-13.  This is where coaches should begin narrowing the number of positions a player plays to 2-3.  At this stage, development and skills are becoming more evident and players' positions should be narrowed accordingly.  It is still strongly encouraged that players receive exposure to all positions in practices.  At this stage, the skills have been developed and now we are instructing them in how play the game and how to play more specific positions.  Emphasis is more towards instruction on how to play baseball than on wins and losses.
 
The competitive stage is ages 14-15.  This is where players have become players at 2 specific postions and baseball is being taught the way it will be played in high school and beyond.  This level assumes the players have received development and instruction and we now shift to a more competitive level of play where winning games takes on a greater importance than at the previous levels.  Here the players must learn to compete along with the development and instruction that they've received in previous seasons.

Travel teams for kids in 2nd-4th grade will be as follows.

All 3rd & 4th graders are eligible to try out for Traveling Baseball.  We encourage all 3rd graders to consider trying out for travel baseball, as they will be placed in an entry level travel league.

2nd graders must request permission from the traveling director.

ALL traveling teams will compete in the MYAS leagues.

2nd - 4th grade teams are dependent entirely upon how many players are trying out, as well as ability.

Our goal is to have the following travel teams at this level:

• 9AAA – This team will be made up of the top 3rd graders who are trying out.  2nd graders must finish in the top 5 to be "considered" for this team.
• 9AA – This team will be made up the remaining 2nd and 3rd graders.

• 10AAA – This team will be made up of the top 4th graders who are trying out

• 10A – This team will be the remaining 4th graders.

Note that the above is our goal, but talent. age and number of kids trying out will factor into how these teams are ultimately formed.

Anyone not making one of these teams will be placed in our National or American League kid pitch House league.

15U Travel Baseball and 9th Grade School baseball are INDEPENDENT of each other.

9th Grade School baseball is run through the High School, and runs from March - May.

15U Travel baseball is run through the Youth Baseball Association, and runs after the 9th grade season ends to July.

The High School program likes all 9th graders to play both school baseball and summer baseball.....

1.  You must sign your sign up for 9th grade school baseball and 15U baseball separately.
2.  15U tryouts will be held during our normal Travel Tryout weekend.
3.  You need to sign up on our website prior to travel tryouts.

If you have any further questions, please contact the travel director.