In 2007, two local West Bend, Wisconsin residents were looking to provide their sons and other youth's the opportunity to play in a select baseball league that would allow them to develop their skills, talents and abilities. Brad Burns and Jeff Rondorf reached out to the Wisconsin State Youth Baseball League (www.wsybl.com) to bring a team to West Bend in the U9 bracket, a first for the community. Tryouts were held in the Fall of 2007 to assemble the first West Bend Warriors 9 year old team ever. Tryouts are held every October for this age group and any child with a birthdate ranging from 9/1/98 to 9/1/99 is welcome to tryout any given year.
Our 2010 season was a huge success beamed, Coach Brad Burns. It was another outstanding year and we continue to push this group to new levels. The 2010 year we targeted some tournaments that would really challenge this group and I was very pleased with the results and the progress made. We saw some excellent teams in our tournaments and competed very favorably with various all-star travel teams. Being able to play against teams comprised of players from different states was an outstanding experience for the kids. The kids really stepped up and elevated their level of play and we need to continue to strive towards getting better in coming years. This is a work in progress but so far so good. This team has exceeded my expectations and the challenge for myself and the coaches will be to stay on these guys not to get complacent. 2011 will bring new challenges and we have to keep getting better. Our competition will be gunning for us which is great, our kids have earned that respect up to point. They will find that staying on top will not be easy. We will continue to work hard and perfect our fundamentals and try to get better every pitch, every day, every game. I'm very excited for the 2011 season, I think this group is really poised to have another outstanding season based on the quality of practices thus far. The winning mindset of this group collectively is what makes this team what it is. It has taken three years to build that winning attitude but now it has set in to where when they take the field they expect success and good things too happen.
Our 2009 season was a great building year, every kid in our program grew as a baseball player and person. Our season ended with a record of 34-6, but more important than the victories was the fact that this group of kids really came together as a team. During the course of the season we trailed in several games which we came back to win in late innings, that in itself shows a lot of poise, perseverance and resiliency. This group has really embraced the team concep and is beginning to understand what being a good teammate is about.
In addition, this group through the course of a long season showed amazing consistency. It's fun watching these kids play the game together and the excitement will only increase as we look to begin the 2010 season. All of our players from last year’s team will be returning and we will be playing at our newly renovated home field, Sunrise Rotary Field. If 2010 is anything like the previous two seasons, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.
The 2008 season was nothing but a complete success. The final record for 2008 was 29-5, 18-2 in league play and 11-3 in tournament play. The first defeat of the year was not until tournament play in August. The affinity for the sport, commitment of the players and the dedication of the coaches is clearly the recipe for victory for this group of talented young players.
"Each year brings new opportunities and new challenges," says Brad Burns, head coach of the Warriors. "Seeing the players grow their skills and learn from their mistakes is a major point of emphasis. We also want to make this baseball experience a very positive one for each kid and equip them with a solid baseball foundation to build for the future." Jeff Rondorf, who shares the coaching role with Burns states, "this team is really a talented group and our job as a coaching staff will be to keep pushing for improvement play to play, game to game and year to year. Fundamentals and playing the game the right way will always be a primary focus."