WAA Travel Baseball Frequently Asked Questions

Who can play?: WAA accepts all residents of Woodbury and will accept other community players provided the proper waiver procedures are completed. Woodbury residents will take precedent over others. WAA Travel Baseball is committed to allowing as many kids play Travel Baseball as possible. Field restrictions and number of players typically are the major reason for players being cut from tryouts.

What age does travel baseball start?  Most players start travel baseball after their third grade baseball season however parents have the option of allowing players tryout after their 2nd grade season.  We generally recommend that players complete their 3rd grade kid pitch season before trying out.  WE WILL NOT ALLOW players to tryout who have not completed the 2nd grade season of in-house or are not going into 3rd grade or higher.

What are the levels of play? WAA fields teams at the AAA (A), AA (B) and A ( C) levels of play.

How much does Travel Baseball Cost? WAA Travel Baseball will vary in cost by team. Each team will have a set of fixed costs and some variable costs. The typical fee falls somewhere between $400 and $525 per player.

Why does Travel Baseball Cost so much? The typical team for WAA Travel Baseball will play in 3 to 5 tournaments in a season each tournament costs about $300, Each player will be provided a traveling baseball quality uniform that includes pants, two uniforms, two pair of socks, belt and a fitted personalized hat. WAA players also get 7hrs of preseason team dome time at the Bielenberg dome along with "priority" status for the Batting cages in the dome. WAA Travel Baseball provides each team with a case high quality baseballs and a team budget for new equipment. WAA Travel Baseball also offers all WAA Travel baseball teams the opportunity to play in a home tournament. The other costs include league fees, umpire fees, and coordinator fees. All team fees are added up and divided by the number of families on the team.

Do I have to volunteer? WAA Travel Baseball only charges each team to break even on each teams individual expenses. In order to cover any overhead operating costs we use the funds generated from our tournament to cover other expenses. These expenses include but are not limited to city fees for maintenance, field improvements, portable mounds, extended dome times, and developmental programs. We simply ask for each family to volunteer for approximately 4hrs during one of our three tournaments. Most people find this to be a pleasant experience.

Why are tryouts in the fall? WAA Travel Baseball holds fall tryouts primarily due to the number of kids that tryout would make an indoor tryout very difficult and potentially expensive to conduct at the Bielenberg Dome. Fall tryouts allow us to see kids on the baseball field and they are still relatively fresh from summer ball. Fall Tryouts also allow us more time to prepare for uniforms, submit tournament requests, and allows teams to prepare for the season as early as they like.

Where does the Tryout Fee go? The $250 tryout fee/ downpayment for the 2009 season is applied to the overall fee for each player. If a player does not make a team the fee is refunded. If a player choses to tryout and is assigned to a team THEN choses to leave the fee will NOT be refunded. No refunds will be granted prior to team announcements.

What if my son is sick or injured during tryouts / why is there a "spring" tryout? Each coach has an option of leaving one roster spot open for the selection of a player in the spring tryout. The spring tryout is open to all players who missed the fall tryout or players who wish to compete for any open spot on a roster. IF a player is assigned to a roster and decides to tryout in the spring that player will forfeit his roster position and the coach may select someone else to fill that position.  The Baseball board can also "waive" the player to a team provided there is a clear case that the player has successfully competed at the level of play that he will be waive to play.  Waivers will only be granted to Injured players who provide a doctors note.


Are teams pre-selected ? No. WAA uses a tryout procedure and ranks players based on their performance in the tryout. Once the tryout is completed the board and coaches select teams based on the results. AAA team(s) are selected first then AA and A teams. AAA teams can only be selected from a pool of the top 18 players from the tryout. The top six are automatically invited to be on the AAA team then the coach must select the next six player from the next 18 players in the pool.   The AA teams will be selected in a similar fashion.

Are requests granted? Yes, WAA will allow families to request the coach of their choice PROVIDED that the coach is in the same level of play as the player OR lower. We will not grant a request for a player to play "up" a level.

How are teams formed? After the tryouts are completed the board will designate a AAA coach. This coach will be named based on the interview process AND where his / her player falls in the rankings. AAA coaches MUST have their player fall within the top 24. Once the coach is selected they are assigned the top six players from the tryout. They must then chose up to six more from the next highest 18 players. The board AND the other nominated coaches will be present to provide assistance in player history for players that the AAA coach does not know or has seen play. Once the AAA team is selected the AA coaches will select players. A coin will be flipped and each coach will take turns selecting a player from the remaining pool of players until each team has up to twelve players. The remaining players are then divided equally into the A ( C ) teams based on their tryout score. At all times the board and coaches at the specific age levels are present to monitor the draft of teams.

What is the commitment level for Travel Baseball? Each team will have a different commitment level based on the level of play AND the group of families and the coaches goals for the team. GENERALLY each team will play two week day games from May 10 to the end of June and participate in roughly four tournaments in that span of time. There will most likely be one OR possibly two practices during the week.

Who can coach? Anyone. WAA Travel Baseball is always looking for coaches. The board will take applications and ask all coaching candidates to attend an interview. Based on the interview and the application the board will attempt to select the best fit for each team.

If you are selected to coach are you automatically going to coach in the future? No. Each coach must re-apply and be selected based on his own merits. Also each coach must be evaluated by the parents each year. If the board receives to many negative comments OR the board receives other information in the course of the season that is negative the board will select a new coach.