We are the San Diego Gaggle.
Above all else, our goal is that your player wants to return to baseball year after year, while building the skills that play at the next level.
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Why the Gaggle?
The Gaggle are not your ordinary travel baseball organization. Many youth clubs schedule tournaments nearly every weekend and play far too many games. The result is strain on developing athletes, increased cost, and reduced time for learning through meaningful practice. Informed by forward-thinking youth coaches across the country (e.g. YBE), the Gaggle take the approach that the correct practice to game ratio is, at minimum, 3:1.
The Gaggle derive much of their coaching philosophy from Driveline Academy which promotes teaching “skills that scale.” In this framework, youth players are trained to be athletes first with fun competition incorporated at every opportunity. Tournament game victories sometimes follow, but are not guaranteed and are not the top priority. Rather, it is of utmost importance that the players are genuinely enjoying the game, want to move to the next age/bracket level, and are athletically and mentally equipped to do so.
Coaching Staff
We have 3 primary coaches, though engagement from you as a united baseball family is always welcomed and encouraged!
Travis Gerke spent 8 seasons managing top-tier Pony and Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken affiliated youth teams in central Florida prior to joining the Fallbrook baseball community in 2022. By day, Travis is a Harvard-trained data scientist, and he brings those principles to youth team organization. The Gaggle are a data-forward team with the tools to record and provide players with constant feedback regarding throwing speeds, hit/swing velocities, running times, and other metrics.
Adam Lopez, a San Diego native, has coached 5 seasons of youth baseball ranging from t-ball to AAA and lives with his wife and two children in the Fallbrook community. He played high school baseball and keeps his love of playing intact baseball through continued participation in adult fast-pitch baseball. Adam has 6 years of experience working with children in after-school programs and has a passion for youth development and growth. By day, Adam is a cybersecurity leader focusing on scaling and growing startup organizations and brings his drive, motivation, and tenacity to the SD Gaggle.
Locations
All practices run at the brand new baseball facility at Willow Grove County Park. We primarily play the San Diego Baseball Alliance schedule, which hosts Sunday games across San Diego County. When applicable, we participate in a few tournaments that are local to southern California.
Costs and Cadence
Tryouts run at the beginning of each Fall and Spring season. We run Spring approximately February - mid-July and Fall August - November. We look for players that exhibit a high intent approach to the game (hitting hard, throwing hard, running hard) and have a positive, team-centric attitude.
Generally, we believe that players derive greater athletic growth from tightly organized, high repetition practices, rather than densely packed game and tournament schedules. Beyond the benefits of your player’s increased baseball experience through regular training (as opposed to 2 or 3 at-bat games with few defensive ball touches), we enjoy lower costs compared to traditional travel organizations that have a game-first approach. We aim for 10-15 games per season. This is slightly more than many recreational leagues offer but, again, fewer than the typical travel organization.
Practices occur 3 times weekly: Monday, Thursday, and Sunday (when there are no games, this is for situational game practice).
We like to be entirely transparent about the cost and fee structure. The Gaggle DO NOT turn a profit!! We’re doing this because we believe in it. Cost to join the team is $150 (or $75 for returning players who do not need a new uniform), then it is $35 per month thereafter. That’s it, no surprise costs and no extras for tournament registrations; that’s covered by the monthly fee. Your fees cover:
- Field time at Willow Grove County Park
- Uniform
- J-bands and wrist weights for throwing development
- Equipment (e.g. baseballs, plyos, nets, catcher’s gear, training tools, etc.)
- Tournament / SDBA registrations
- USSSA insurance and team registration
We typically run a slight shortfall in funds, which is fine, but we do actively seek out business sponsors or other donations – please let us know if you have any suggestions in this area!
Our Values
Growth Mindset: Progress over Perfection
Individuals with a growth mindset believe that even if they struggle with a certain skill, their abilities are not set in stone. They believe that they can improve their skills with hard work and effort. A growth mindset fosters a love of learning, resilience, and confidence. The Gaggle wants our players to strive for their personal best.
Healthy Competition & Sportsmanship
Unhealthy competition emphasizes the outcome over the experience. When the outcome becomes the sole focus, it can lead to unethical practices and poor sportsmanship. In contrast, a healthy competitive spirit stems from a growth mindset. Someone who partakes in healthy competition wants to succeed, but also derives joy from seeing others succeed. Our goal for the Gaggle is for healthy competition to embody the epitome of team spirit.
Best Practices Guided by Science
Our approach to youth baseball is grounded in evidence-based practice. So much of youth sports gets wrapped up in “how it’s always been done” or “the way I was taught as a kid.” While there is value in experience, The Gaggle pride ourselves on including the most cutting-edge, effective strategies for improvement. We believe in general athleticism and meaningful repetitions to achieve an optimal output, instead of strict mechanical instruction which is oftentimes age-inappropriate.