Palatine (IL) Travelers
Age 11-14

Manager: Marshall Erickson is president of the Palatine Travelers Baseball Club in Chicago, where he also runs the Palatine Travel League. Since he started coaching in 1982, Erickson has coached 6-year-olds through high school players, but now he sticks with 13- and 14-year-olds.

Some years the Travelers also organize traveling teams of 11- and 12-year-olds. There is no team of 11-year-olds this year, but there is a team of 12-year-olds, which, as in the past 15 years, is coached by Tom Matsie.

Organization: In 1988, Erickson founded the first team of 14-year-olds in Palatine. Some 3,500 kids play ball there each summer, many on "select" or traveling teams starting with the age of 8. Erickson, along with coaches from six other communities, also established the Palatine Travel League for 13-year-olds that same year.

In 1989, he formed a league for traveling teams of 14-year-olds. Today there are 38 teams of 13-year-olds and 24 teams of 14-year-olds from around the Chicago area in the league.

Tryouts are held each September for the teams of 13- and 14-year olds. Players and rosters are set by mid-October. A casual practice season begins in November, although players are encouraged to play other sports. Scheduled indoor practices begin the first Saturday in January and continue through March. During the winter months, Erickson places a heavy emphasis on pitching and arm conditioning by having players throw twice weekly. Hitting is taught once a week. Most players also take individual pitching and hitting lessons.

Since 1988, the Travelers have played against teams from 28 states, Canada, and Mexico. Each season the team of 14-year-olds takes and extended trip playing exhibition games or local tournaments and visiting different parts of the U.S. This July 3-14, the team is taking a tournament tour to Knoxville, Tenn.; Cincinnati; Fort Wayne, Inc.; and Battle Creek, Mich.

The team with 16 players on the roster will play 110-plus games this year.

Philosophy: Erickson says the mission of the Travelers is to emphasize baseball skills, leadership development, sportsmanship, and teamwork.

"I stress building character," says Erickson. "I don't believe in excuses. Bad calls, for example, are just another hurdle to overcome. And it's hard work that makes you competitive."

His teams are noted for pitching, individual and team defensive skills, base running, and bunting.

Finances: The budget in 1996 for three Travelers teams is about $50,000. Player fees are $500.

Measures of success: The team of 14-year-olds has compiled a record of 567-117. Approximately 95 percent of Traveler players go on to play four years of high school baseball. A number of them have gone on to play college ball at, among other schools, Creighton, Iowa, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, and Xavier.