Frequent Questions
Subscribe to our NewsletterFrequent Questions
If you have not personally been involved with the Champaign Dream Youth Baseball Organization, you may have questions about what Dream baseball is all about. To provide additional information about the Champaign Dream, we have listed several questions that are frequently asked by prospective parents and players. Click on each of the links to read our responses.
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Do the Champaign Dream teams really travel all over the country? | |||||
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Once the season starts, does the Champaign Dream continue to practice or do you choose only to play in games? | |||||
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How many games do the Champaign Dream teams play in a season? | |||||
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How much does it cost to play for the Champaign Dream? | |||||
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What type of time commitment should I expect as a member of the Champaign Dream? | |||||
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As a member of the Champaign Dream are you allowed to play other sports? | |||||
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What type of player and family is the Champaign Dream looking for? | |||||
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Other than baseball, what can the Champaign Dream offer? | |||||
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| Do the Champaign Dream teams really travel all over the country? | ||||||
| The Champaign Dream is fortunate enough to play in a competitive baseball region. With Chicago just a short drive way, many teams are able to schedule good competition within a few hours. However, some of our teams will choose to identify one “fun” tournament outside the Midwest. Often times these tournaments are packaged with amusement parks or holiday resorts so kids can play baseball and families can spend time together doing other activities. | ||||||
| Once the season starts, does the Champaign Dream continue to practice or do you choose only | ||||||
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| The Champaign Dream has made a commitment to the players on our teams to instruct them in proper hitting, pitching, and fielding mechanics. Our season begins in October with five months of indoor training (not mandatory) were we focus on player mechanics. Each of our players receives individual instruction from high school, college, and semi-pro players and instructors. As we are able to move outdoors, our focus switches from the individual to the team as we design practices and drills that develop knowledge of baseball strategy. Once the season starts we monitor the progress of our teams and adjust our practices to focus on weaknesses identified during games. Teams will typically schedule at least on practice per week to work on team and individual fundamentals. | ||||||
| How many games do the Champaign Dream teams play in a season? | ||||||
| The Champaign Dream teams will schedule between 30-65 games a season depending on the age of the team. Our younger teams will play in fewer games while the older teams will play in the most. These games are a combination of double headers, leagues, and anywhere from 6-9 weekend tournaments. | ||||||
| Due to the success of the Dream organization, our teams consistently advance into the championship rounds resulting in 4-5 games per weekend tournament. A team’s success in weekend tournaments could add up to 20 games to a team’s schedule. | ||||||
| How much does it cost to play for the Champaign Dream? | ||||||
| Each member of the Champaign Dream is expected to pay a player fee and to participate in fund raising. Player fees vary by team based on the number of tournaments they play in. This past year the range was $300 to $650. The Dream Organization holds at least one fund raising activity per year. This has been a raffle for the last several years. Additionally, players and families can raise money to offset their player fees by obtaining sponsorship from local businesses and friends. | ||||||
| What type of time commitment should I expect as a member of the Champaign Dream? | ||||||
| Having a child on a competitive traveling team is not the same as participating in a local municipal league. The level of commitment required to ensure your player makes it to all the practices on time or is transported to out of town tournaments is much higher than what you may have experienced in a municipal league. As a member of the Champaign Dream you may also be asked to help assist with team and organizational functions such as making hotel reservations, fitting players for uniforms, or organizing charity events. | ||||||
| As a member of the Champaign Dream are you allowed to play other sports? | ||||||
| The Champaign Dream does not discourage our players from participating in other sports and actually feels the experience playing a sport other than baseball will provide our young players with many advantages. | ||||||
| Different muscle groups as well as different muscle combinations are utilized while playing a sport other than baseball. This change in body movement will ultimately help strengthen the body and provide a stronger foundation when they return to baseball at the start of spring training. We also feel, that along with the physical benefits, a players mind is also given an opportunity to relax and refresh in preparation for a new baseball season. | ||||||
| What type of player and family is the Champaign Dream looking for? | ||||||
| The Champaign Dream is looking for a player who loves the game of baseball and is ready for a level of play that is more advanced than the normal recreational or little league. We look for a player to have a competitive nature, who is eager and ready to learn, and improve on his already existing skills and knowledge of the game. We look for kids who are coachable, who are good teammates, who are respectful of others as well as himself, and conduct himself on and off the field as a good citizen with good character. | ||||||
| If the player has all of the traits listed above, we know the family unit is a solid one. From the parents' standpoint, we expect commitment, encouragement, support for all of the players and especially the coaches. All of our coaches are volunteers and having the support of the parents is crucial to our success. | ||||||
| Other than baseball, what can the Champaign Dream offer? | ||||||
| Aside from baseball, the Champaign Dream has done in the past and continues to promote and engage in many fun and rewarding adventures for the players and their families. In the past, teams have gone on bus trips to St. Louis Cardinal games, Fright Fest at Six Flags, haunted house tours, and held an Illini Dream tailgate. The Champaign Dream, however, is most proud of their community charitable contributions and involvement. These include raising money for the Champaign Crisis Nursery through a golf outing, raising money for the Cunningham Children's home, raking leaves for residents of Champaign, and walking and raising money in the Relay for Life Cancer Walk. | ||||||
| We strongly believe in paying forward and learning life lessons through community involvement. This is a huge element of being part of the Champaign Dream youth baseball program. We tell the players to "Dream Big" in all things, baseball and life. | ||||||
