Saratoga Stars Youth Travel Baseball is an organization established & dedicated to offer Saratoga Springs Little League baseball players, ages 8-12, an opportunity to develop and improve their baseball abilities, teamwork & sportsmanship. The travel baseball program independently supplements the Saratoga Springs LL rec program to offer additional practice and gameplay against competitive travel teams in the area. Our team name celebrates the rich baseball heritage of this area & dates back to one of the original professional baseball teams in Saratoga Springs, NY in the 1800's.

The primary objective of the program is to develop each player and teach them the proper way to play baseball in both a fun & competitive environment. Development of players will be individually focused with a strong emphasis on team skills.

Teams will participate in the Empire State Baseball League (ESBL). ESBL provides travel baseball to community based programs and leagues allowing players and families to access more competitive baseball while at the same time supporting their community recreational programs. Home games are played at Saratoga Little League & away games are played locally within a 1 hour driving distance. Travel teams also have the option to pursue tournaments at an additional cost.

All players must try-out and be selected to join a team. Tryouts are generally held in October for the spring season and in August for the fall season. In the spring, players must participate in recreation ball to play travel. Age eligibility for the Spring 2024 (and Fall 2023) season is: 9U is all players born after August 31, 2014, 10U is all players born after August 31, 2013, 11U is all players born after August 31, 2012 and 12U is all players born after August 31, 2011.

The spring travel games begin in mid-April and run through early June. Fall travel games begin early September and run through late October. Games are held mostly on Sundays to avoid schedule conflicts with the recreation program in the spring and other fall sports in the fall. A few Saturday games & Sunday double-headers are possible. The number of games is dependent on player & coach availability. Expect 10-14 games with an additional tournament or two. Indoor winter practices will begin in January and be held once per week leading up to the start of the spring season. Once weather permits, practices will be held at a minimum of 1/week, prior to & during the season, with the goal of avoiding recreation practice conflicts.

The cost of participating in the spring season is roughly $200 & in the fall roughly $125. The actual cost is dependent of the number of games & rostered players on the teams. This fee covers the ESBL registration, insurance, umpires, baseballs & fields. New players will be required to purchase a uniform at an additional cost of roughly $90 + pants. Fees associated with indoor practices have not been included & will be charged separately. Tournaments are also not included but fundraising efforts will be made to help cover these costs.