Who are the San Antonio Homeschool Wolverines?

We are a middle school and varsity level baseball program that believes homeschools should enjoy the benefits for playing baseball at a competitive level.  We also believe homeschool players should have the same exposure to college and professional opportunities as public/private school students.  As such we strive to create a competitive baseball program that is on par with other public/private schools.

Who is eligible to play baseball for for Wolverines?

To play on the high school teams, a player must meet the following criteria:

1.  Be participating in homeschool as of Jan 1 of the year we are playing.
2.  Be at least 13 years of age as of the beginning of the school calendar year (Sept 1)
3.  Be listed as an 8th grader by the parents/guardians of the homeschool student.
4.  Be listed as being in good standing academically by the parents.

To play on the middle school team, a player must meet the following criteria:

1.  Be participating in homeschool as of Jan 1 of the year we are playing.
2.  Be at least 11 yrs of age as of the beginning of the school calendar year (Sept 1)
3.  Be listed as a 6th grader by the parents/guardians of the homeschool student.
4.  Be listed as being in good standing academically by the parents.

How are teams formed?

We always hope that we will have enough players to form a middle school team, a JV and a varsity.  If this is in fact the case the teams will be divided as follows.

The 12-15 best players from 9-12 grades will be placed on the varsity.
The next 12-15 players of high school age will be placed on the JV.  If we need 8th graders to fill out the JV team we will do so, but only after fully discussing the playing time implications with the parents.
All remaining 6th through 8th graders will be placed on the middle school team.

Understand this is an ideal situation.  There may be times in which the coaches, in consultation with the parents feel it is best to move a player "up" or "down" to maximize their opportunity at playing.  For recruiting purposes, the Jr year is the most important, with the Sr year being next.  Therefor priority will be given to Jrs and Srs over other age groups.

It is also possible a player may play several games on the JV, be asked to play a few on the varsity, then play a few more on the JV.  This again will be to maximize playing time and player development.

Is this a competitive team?

Yes.  The varsity team needs to be looked at just like a varsity team at a high school.  While our goal is to win games, we also have goals of player development.  However, we will not guarantee that a player has a certain amount of play time.  There may be game(s) that the player never sees the field.  We will work with the player during practice time to improve their skills to try to get them to a point of increasing their play time.  Competition is a part of life in our society, learning to deal with "winning" a position or doing what is best for the team is an important life skill.

The JV and middle school teams will see more player rotations.  Here we are trying to develop players and prepare them for the varsity.  This may be why it is better for a player to be on the JV rather than play "up" on the varsity.  Again we will not guarantee play time, but coaches will be encourage to make sure players develop both in practice and on the field.

When/Where/How often do you practice?

This is a difficult question to answer.  We currently do not have a permanent home field.  Therefore, many times practices are based upon field availability.  Ideally we would practice 3 days per week early in the season and move to 2 games and 2 practices once games start.  Some practices may be hitting only in a batting cage facility.  Our practices tend to be intense, meaning expect 2-3 hrs worth of work.  We have to accomplish in 3 practices per week what public and private school accomplish in 5-6 practices per week.  There will also be expectations that the players does work on his own outside of regular schedule practice time.

When/Where/Who do you play in games?

We travel a lot.  Since we don't have a home field, we play many games away.  We are trying to limit the amount of travel, but to play the teams we are most competitive against means that we often have to leave San Antonio.  The schedule is set up to play Mon or Tue evening and Fri or Sat evenings.  The Mon or Tue games tend to start at 6-7 PM and are with an 1 to 1.5 hrs drive from downtown San Antonio.  The Fri or Sat games can be further away.  We tend to play doubleheaders on Sat.  The expectation is that the player will be at every game.  We will provide transportation, in the form of car pooling, for players that need rides to games.

We do play 3-4 tournaments per year.  Two of these are usually local tournament, 1 is the Texas State Homeschool Tournament in Conroe, TX, and the last is the Homeschool World Series in Florida.  All of the tournaments, except for the World Series, are Thur through Sat.  The World Series tournament is a week long (Mon through Sat) tournament.

How much do you charge?

This is also a difficult question to answer.  We try to keep expenses to a minimum.  We will charge for uniform, insurance and tournament registration fees.  The total amount will depend upon the total number of players, the number and fees for the tournaments and if the player needs a new uniform.  Our goal is to keep the expense under $500 per year. 

The parents will still be responsible for travel expense.  We will work to obtain group rates for hotels and try to reduce the travel costs as much as possible.

We may also try to have fund raiser through out the year and ask some parents in helping us collect donation and/or sponsorships for the team.  This money will go directly back to the team to help defray any costs.  Ideally, we would generate enough funds to help offset the cost of the Florida trip.

Who do I contact if I have more questions?

If you have more questions contact:  jmunoz@sahomeschoolbaseball.org