Greendale Jr Panthers Baseball – Parent Information Guide
2024-2025 Season
Purpose – The Greendale Jr Panthers Baseball program (Program) supports competitive baseball in Greendale for boys in grades 3-8. The Program is run and teams are coached by parent volunteers. We offer a competitive baseball experience with an emphasis on teaching fundamentals and having fun. The intent of the Program is to prepare Greendale boys for participation in the Greendale High School baseball program.
Eligibility – Baseball leagues and tournaments are set up based on the age of the player and the birthday cutoff date is typically May 1st. However, the Program prefers to keep kids together by grade level. Players are allowed to tryout and play on teams an age level up, but not down. For example, an incoming 2nd grader can tryout for and play on the U9/3rd grade team. Also, an incoming 7th grader can tryout out for and play on either the U13/7th grade team or the U14/8th grade team, but cannot tryout out and play for the U12/6th grade team. The purpose of the Program is to provide select baseball experiences for Greendale players, however the baseball league and tournaments do not have residency requirements for teams to participate, so our program is open to players from neighboring communities. Ultimately it is up to the individual team coaches to decide on the number of non-resident players, if any, allowed on a particular team.
Tryout Information – Tryouts are held each year in late July or early August for the following season’s teams. Times for the tryout will be posted to our Facebook group page: Greendale Jr Panthers Baseball. Please like and share our site on Facebook for more info. The tryouts for the U10-U14 return teams are led by the current team coaches. The new U9 team tryouts are led by other coaches and assistants to run various stations (infield, outfield, pitching, and hitting etc) and evaluate the player’s baseball abilities. In addition, coaches will evaluate players on attitude and potential for improvement. Coaches will also take into consideration the needs of the particular team. The participating evaluation coaches will meet to select the 10-12 best players for each team. A list of alternates will also be selected in the event that a player makes a roster but chooses not to play.
The current 2024-2025 tryout dates are as follows:
U9 (3rd Grade or lower)-
U10 (4th Grade)-
U11 (5th Grade)-
U12 (6th Grade)-
U13 (7th Grade)-
U14 (8th Grade)-
Players are encouraged, but not required, to participate in both tryout dates. In the event of inclement weather, the 2nd date will be the only tryout date.
Tryout Registration - In order to allow for our coaches to properly prepare for tryouts, please complete the TeamSnap registration form using the following link:
If a tryout needs to be canceled (weather cancellations will be communicated by 3 pm) or moved for any other reason, please watch for an update on our Facebook page (Greendale Jr Panthers Baseball), website (www.greendalejrpanthersbaseball.com), or the email address provided in the tryout registration. If you are unable to attend these tryout dates, please email the club at: greendalejrpantherbaseball@gmail.com and we’ll put you in contact with the coach running the tryout.
Players should bring gloves, bats, helmets, baseball pants, protective cups, and baseball cleats like they would for a normal game. It is also helpful if the player wears a t-shirt or anon-Jr. Panther jersey with a number to help our coaches keep all the kids straight.
Volunteer Coaches – All of the Program’s teams are led by volunteer coaches. The roster for the U9 team will be selected and the Program will seek volunteer parent coach/coaches from the initial roster.
League Play – The Program’s teams currently play in the Major YBL baseball league (www.majorybl.com). Major YBL offers competitive baseball leagues at various levels with other teams from all over southeastern WI. All coaches complete a team resume and league coaches vote on how to divide up the teams among the various levels. The league season runs from mid-April through late July and includes between 14-18 league games and a postseason tournament.
Tournaments – The Program’s teams also participate in several weekend tournaments throughout the season. The location and number of tournaments is decided by each coach/team.
Costs – The total player fee for the Program is between $400-$600. Player fees will be invoiced through TeamSnap and $400 is due on November 1st and any balance is due on April 1st. The final amount due will be determined once any team or Program fundraising is completed and adjustments will be made on a team by team bases for participation in tournaments and other practices etc.
The player fees include:
-Major YBL league fees (includes year-end league tournament)
-League game umpire fees
-Team Snap scheduling/communication tool
-Administrative expenses (covers insurance, district fees, field rentals/preparation etc)
-Budget for coaches to select weekend tournament (typically 4-5 tournaments)
-Indoor Practice Facility Rental-The Greendale Jr Panthers rent space at a local indoor practice facility which would allow for each team to practice at a minimum of every other week from January-March in preparation for the season.
The team fees do not cover the team jerseys. If needed, each player will purchase a white jersey, a green jersey, team pants, and team hat (approx. $115) through our annual spirit wear store with Burghardt Sporting Goods.
If you have any questions regarding our program or individual teams, please contact Scott Van Lith at 414-581-2489, scott_van_lith@hotmail.com, or greendalejrpantherbaseball@gmail.com.