Wisconsin Rivercats

It was this article that inspired me to start a blog to help promote Wisconsin baseball.  Greg Reinhard of the Wisconsin RiverCats was kind enough to do this interview with me.

BAW:   What kind of time commitment is required to be a RiverCat? 

Greg:  Each of our levels poses a different time commitment.  We have teams from 10U all the way through 18U, so obviously there has to be a difference.  At 10U, our players will play 5 tournaments, plus a few games here and there.  11U is 6 tournaments, 12U is 7 tournaments, 13U is 8 tournaments, 14U is the same.  Our older division, which is named the GRB Rays, is where all of our high school players are at.  They play 5 showcases at major universities.  They have to start a little later due to high school baseball running into June.  The showcase also need a little more travel and last longer.

What we do which is a little different than everyone else, is we prefer our players in the RiverCat system (9U to 14U) play inside their home town during the week, and then with us on the weekends.  We understand how important it is to be present in your hometown for your future.  Everyone has to play high school baseball there, and it is necessary to be a part of the home town program.  On the weekends, we expect our players to give the first priority to the RiverCats.  Also, since we draw kids from such a vast area due to the talent level we require to be a part of our program, the mid week stuff is not really feasible.

BAW:   What do you consider the biggest accomplishment of the RiverCats so far?

Greg:  We have had some pretty neat success early in our organization's development.  One accomplishment outside of the ballpark, is we are really the only organization in Wisconsin that runs from 10U to 18U.  Everyone usually is one one side or the other.  We believe that development is the number one goal, and that we have some of the best coaches for kids to learn from, regardless if they are 10U or 18U.  That being the case, why not teach them right from the beginning and develop them as they grow in the game of baseball.

On field, our 18U took 3rd place at the Pastime National Championship last July.  Our 14U recently won the prestigious Las Vegas Desert Classic, making us the first team from the Midwest to ever win that tournament I believe.  We have won or placed in several events, but those two seem to come to mind as of recent.

BAW:  What players are ones to keep an eye on in the future?

Greg:  Well, we have players at all age levels that we are super excited about.  I can honestly say that I think our organization has the most talented, baseball loving players, who are serious about the game.  I have, before running the RiverCats, worked with other organizations with practicing and other things.  None of them compare to this collective group of kids, from top to bottom.  

I will say one player, who is now headed to college.  Jordan Jess from Ripon was both a RiverCat and a Ray from a young age until the end of his high school career.  He is headed to the University of Minnesota next year to play for the Gophers, and with him being a lefty with as much velocity and room to improve in the upcoming years, he has a chance to be a very special college and hopefully professional player.  Who knows, he probably will be a name called out on draft day this year.

BAW:  Have any RiverCats alumni been drafted yet?

Greg:  No alums drafted yet, however, this is our first class ever this year getting to the high school graduating level.  I think we will see a few drafted this June.  This really is the first shot we have had as all of the guys who were here at the beginning are finally seniors.  I have to believe in the next 2 to 5 years we will have some kids get the opportunity.

BAW:  Do you have a tip for helping kids stay sharp over a Wisconsin winter?

Greg:  I think players in Wisconsin are naturally at a disadvantage.  Some days I shake my head that I somehow got drafted out of the state and have played 6 years professionally due to the weather and lack of playing time available.  

Players in Wisconsin who really want to excel need to understand the hard work involved, and recognize the disadvantage.  They can't just pick up the bat or glove come March.  It just doesn't work that way anymore.

BAW:  Anything else you want people to know about the Rivercats?

Greg:  Outside of our coaching, we have a winter program that keeps our guys playing year round. It is not necessary for our summer players to play in the winter program because we love kids who are 2 and 3 sport athletes, but many of our summer guys find a way to play year round.

Finally, we have a fall league that we run in southern Wisconsin, along with some really great camps.  We have a facility in the works for next year, and we can not wait for that point of our program.  It really is all about giving players the opportunities.  Everyone who loves the game of baseball as everyone in our program does, should find a way to grow and advance the game so it continues to offer to the youth and future of the sport.

We give the players who are serious about the game everything they need to be successful in their baseball futures.