The Junior Phoenix baseball program exists to provide opportunities for the youth of the Menomonee Falls School District to develop their baseball skills in a competitive environment. We are a feeder program for the Menomonee Falls High School team. Our players and families appreciate the support provided by the local community and actively participate in a variety of community events.
Teams are selected after tryouts that occur in mid to late July. Please see our Tryouts page for more information.
Our goal is to form 2 teams per season at the following divisions: 9U/3rd grade, 10U/4th grade, 11U/5th grade, 12U/6th grade, 13U/7th grade, 14U/8th grade. We aim to have at least one team at the 8U/2nd grade and 7U/1st grade levels each year.
Our league now allows teams to have players from outside their town and school district. As a feeder program to Menomonee Falls High School, we are focused on providing opportunities for residents and students of local schools. A player may tryout from another area, but our preference is to provide roster spots to players from the community. If additional qualified players are needed to complete a roster, a nonresident would be eligible.
Age divisions are determined as follows:
Players in a division must either be in the specified grade or age eligible as of May 1st of the upcoming season. For example, a player in the 10U/4th grade division must either be in 4th grade OR cannot turn 11 before May 1st prior to the season.
As a select baseball program, we expect players to fully commit to their team and to the season. The season runs from April through mid to late July. It is expected that families take any vacations either prior to the start of the season or after the season to ensure each team has their full roster for each game. Additionally, it is expected that when the baseball season is underway, baseball games and practices take priority over other sports.
League Games
Our teams participate in one of two local leagues. The Wisconsin State Youth Baseball League is comprised of teams throughout Southeastern Wisconsin ranging from Port Washington to Fort Atkinson. The MAJOR Youth Baseball League has teams located from Kenosha to Watertown. League games occur mainly on weeknights but also on some weekend dates. The season starts typically in mid-April and runs until mid to late July. Teams typically play 16-18 league games a season. Home games are played at one of our four fields in Menomonee Falls.
Tournaments
Most teams participate in 3-5 tournaments per year. Most tournaments are within our local area. Some teams choose to travel outside of the area (Madison, Green Bay, Chicago areas) for 1 or 2 tournaments a year. Tournament selection is determined by the head coaches and will vary from year to year.
Destination Tournaments
Historically, our 12U (6th grade) teams participate in a near week long travel tournament during the summer of their 6th grade season. Past teams have travelled to Myrtle Beach, Pigeon Forge, Elizabethtown, Cooperstown and multiple other destinations. The costs of these tournaments are covered through extra fundraising by each team in the years prior to these trips.
All of our coaches are volunteers who have a passion for working with youth athletes and teaching the game of baseball. Each team has one Head Coach and 2-3 assistant coaches. Head coaching decisions are reviewed yearly by the Board of Directors.
Tim Gotzler, Head Baseball coach at Menomonee Falls High School, serves as the VP of Player Development for our organization. Coach Gotzler is very involved in helping prepare our coaches for the upcoming seasons. Coach Gotzler and the baseball coaching staff at Menomonee Falls High School are available to our coaches and teams during winter and spring training to help in our player and team development.
Fall season: Some teams will hold a few practices in the fall while the weather allows for it. Some teams also choose to play in Fall Ball leagues or set up fall scrimmages. In November, many teams begin once a week indoor training sessions at our indoor training facility.
Winter season: All teams begin indoor workouts in late January or early February. Most teams will practice twice per week until outdoor practices can begin. It is understood by the coaches and players that ināseason sports activities take priority over winter baseball practices.
Spring/Summer season: Once the season starts, most teams maintain at least 3 contact days per week, which includes games and practices.
2023 9U Burgundy
Through community sponsorships, fundraising and our volunteers, we aim to keep our program fees at an affordable level for everyone interested in playing on our teams. Fees are set so that we may continue to offer high quality facilities, fields and opportunities for our players.
Player fees for the 2025 season are $800 for ages 8U-14U. For the 7U age group, the total fee is $500. On acceptance of a roster spot on one of our teams, half of the player fee is due. There is also an option to pay in full at the time you accept your roster spot.
Player fees cover the cost of our organization's base player fee, 2 passes to our annual beer tasting fundraiser event and a $100 fundraising fee. Please note there will be additional fundraising options for those that wish to offset their player fees.
As a part of registration, all players receive the following every year:
New Uniform Hat, New Uniform Pants, New Uniform Game Socks (2 pair)
Fees are used to cover the following:
Operational costs such as field and facility rental and maintenance, baseballs and training equipment
Umpire fees
League fees
Insurance
Season to season player hats, socks and pants
Tournament fees are covered by each age group individually. To raise money to cover these costs, every player is asked to find a local community sponsor. Sponsorship opportunities range from $150-$1,000. Learn more about these opportunities on our Sponsors page.