Travel Baseball Program

The Township of Washington Travel Program is designed for a more competitive atmosphere.  We start training at 6U straight out of Tee Ball and have teams from 7U all the way up to 14U or higher if there is interest.

Teams compete in the Bergen County area Travel Leagues, NJ Suburban Baseball League (NJSBL aka Suburban), North East Bergen All Star League (NEBAS), or occasionally in USABL leagues and or tournaments.

Travel players typically also get private training, sometimes year round at local Baseball Training Facilities for Pitching, Hitting, Fielding and Catching.  Baseball is taken seriously in Bergen County and this type of training is not unusual and necessary to be competitive.

Spring Travel information summarized:

• Must be a resident of Washington Township or on a joint Westwood Regional District team (unless numbers are low there we can accept approved free agents from other towns) 

• Available to any child who also plays in our recreational program

• A formal tryout is held to make the team (held in the Fall prior to Spring for planning and winter training assignments)

• The tryout process is improved every year.  The challenge is that only 12 kids can be on each team and there are typically ~15 or more kids worthy of being on the best team.  It's a difficult process.  When both numbers and competitive skill sets are high, we may have multiple teams per age group and place in a League and flight where they can be competitive.

• 1 games per week in the Spring (7 - 8 games with Playoffs if applicable)

• 1-2 practices during the week or weekend in addition to the recreation practices and games

• The Spring season begins in mid/late March and ends early June, approximately 8-10 weeks

• All costs for travel uniform, travel league fees and umpire fees are the responsibility of the parents (Travel fees are not part of recreation registration fees)

• Winter Training is also provided for an extra fee for Travel Players and is coordinated by the Travel Coordinator on the Board in partnership with their team managers and coaches

Summer Travel information summarized:

• Must be a resident of Washington Township or on a joint Westwood Regional District team

• Available to any child who plays in our recreational program during the prior Spring

• Players must meet the Little League min game requirements during the Spring to be eligible to play and make the Summer Travel Team.

• Spring Recreation Managers in conjunction with the VP of Travel Baseball meet to pick the Summer Travel Roster(s).  This is based on Spring Recreation performance and spring travel team roster spots are not guaranteed for the Summer or Fall seasons.

• Players are selected based on their skill level and performance in the prior seasons.

• Expect to play 2-4 games weekly

• All divisions may practice 2 or more times during the week or weekend

• The season begins in mid/late June and ends late July, approximately 6-7 weeks (including Playoffs)

• All costs for travel uniform, travel league fees and umpire fees are the responsibility of the parents and split across each player (not part of recreation registration fees)

• The Summer season is the biggest event each year in Travel baseball.  Fall and Spring are used for preparation for the Summer season.  The town intends to put their best players at each age group into the Little League tournament to compete in the LL District 4 tournament, and potential to go beyond into LL Sectionals, Regionals and Nationals.  This starts at 8U and a team will be entered up until 14U.

Fall Travel information summarized:

• Must be a resident of Washington Township or on a joint Westwood Regional District team

• Fall is the less formal Travel Baseball season and area usually a continuation of Spring and Summer players to get some repetitions in the September through November months.

• Managers of Summer teams get to choose their rosters and leagues in the Fall

• Practice is once a week if at all, due to conflicts with Fall sports (Soccer, Football and Ice Hockey).  Spring and Summer Baseball is are the primary baseball seasons and we highly encourage players to play other sports in the Fall.