Ponies & Pianos - Fundraising Event @ The Roxy

Rochester Raptors Baseball /Little League vs joining a true travel baseball team…. a decision that can be quite stressful for us parents! Knowing we wake up every day to try and do what’s best for our kids, there is no right or wrong option as every kid and their needs are so different!  

One of the most common concerns I’ve heard from parents after our tryout process is the fear of their kid not making their high school team (even at 8/9 years old). This fear heats up with so many “travel" options in our area (I have counted over 15 programs in our area alone!). Parents feel that, "If you don’t commit to a team/organization at 8u, they'll never make a travel team and then won’t have a chance to make a High School team!". That is one of the drivers of committing to “travel” baseball teams at a young age, even if it doesn’t truly feel like the right fit. We as parents ALL want what’s best for our kids, and we as a baseball community share that with our players/families, we sincerely want what’s best for the player…ensuring we help instill the work ethic needed to make a future team of their dreams (whatever level that may be!).  

We believe here in focusing on foundational building blocks for baseball skills, a healthy mindset that creates playing the game freely, truly supporting multiple sport athletes, while keeping kids in their community playing the game they love with their classmates. Our goal is for our players to learn how to lead a team that may not be surrounded by equally skilled players or brand-new players in a Little League regular season paired with joining their Raptor teammates on the weekend competing at a higher level in tournaments. This multilayered approach is what we believe creates a well-rounded baseball player. We lean into a parent coaching these teams that may not have played college or pro ball, but have high integrity with a deep passion for developing successful human beings as they grow, while sharing a love of this game challenging each player to get better each time they step on the diamond!  This is why we have partnered with Moose Athletics to develop our players and consult our coaches, to ensure our players are receiving some of the best training in our area. 

With the fear of being connected to Little League Baseball and how that may not be serious enough compared to true travel baseball, at a young age, it’s fun to see Little League alumni and where they end up! In the 2023 MLB draft, 25 of the top 75 players drafted played in their local Little League for a certain period of time! Many of these players established a love of the game first, better preparing them for high end travel baseball as they got older, then dominating High School and then College baseball! 

This simple philosophy is what motivated us to create a baseball program that is designed to fuel young baseball players passion for the beautiful game of baseball. 

As some of our players develop their skills and knowledge of the game above and beyond they begin to require a more advanced program. At this point they have the ability to tryout for our Select division, beginning at 11u-15u we offer a full travel baseball experience. 

Our goal is to provide balance that allows kids to develop into the ball player they want without creating burnout in the teenage years having gone too serious, too quick. We want this to be THEIR journey and story, providing them all of the tools necessary to reach the goals they set out for themselves! 

Ben Wright 

Founder of Raptors Baseball