Emeralds is the travel softball program offered by the Elmhurst Baseball & Softball League (EBSL) and is designed for select, competitive players who have the skills, work ethic, maturity and understanding of the sport required to compete at a high level.

Players are challenged to maintain the time commitment of the travel program and a healthy respect of the game required to further develop skills and competitively face a higher level of skill than typically seen in the in-house league. Coaches are committed to encouraging our athletes to be team players while building character, confidence and improving softball fundamentals.

The Emeralds' mission is to provide a healthy and competitive opportunity for young players to achieve their highest potential both on and off the field. The Emeralds program fields teams across the various levels of competition within the travel softball landscape. Some teams compete at the C-level, while others compete at the B and A levels. The lower-level teams are more likely to enter tournaments that are run by local organizations, while higher level teams compete in tournaments and showcases sanctioned by national organizations including USSSA, NAFA, PGF, and USA, among others.

Participation in the Emeralds program is dependent upon being selected after participating in tryouts. The Emeralds travel softball program starts at the 9U level (9 years old and under) and continues to 18U.

New for the 2025 tryout season, the Emeralds are adopting the August 31st age cutoff which will align the Emeralds with all major national governing bodies of travel softball. A player’s “softball age” is their age at the end of the day on August 31st, 2025. The player’s age on this date will determine at which age level they will be eligible to play for the following season. This change to the player’s eligibility date more closely aligns players with their grade. Please see attached chart and locate your player’s birth month and year for their appropriate age group:

Emeralds Travel Season

Generally, our Emeralds Softball program spans 9 months. Teams participate in a fall season starting in late August with practices 1-2 times a week (left to manager discretion). The fall season also consists of anywhere from 15-30 games, broken out between league games, "friendlies" and/or tournaments (left to manager discretion).

Emeralds teams hold winter practices January through March. (High school aged teams practice December through February). These winter practices are usually twice per week and consist of one indoor practice at the Bo Dome in Bensenville and an additional indoor batting/pitching practice at another location. One of the practices is usually held on a weekend and the other held during the week.

In the spring, many of our Emeralds teams play in a local spring league. A full schedule of games will run from April until late June/early July. Additionally, Emeralds teams also participate in multiple (approximately 4-10) tournaments and/or round robins. Emeralds teams may travel out of town for a regional or national tournament (left to manager discretion). The season concludes by mid-July (high school players will play Emeralds games beginning in June running through July in accordance with IHSA rules).

Selection for Emeralds is based on tryouts, held in July. If selected, each player must pay a Player Participation Fee, a fee to Bo Jackson Elite Sports, and a Uniform Fee. We anticipate the Player Participation Fee to range from $800-$1,000 per player for the full season (depending on the age level and number of tournaments played), the Bo Jackson Elite Sports fee to be roughly $850, and Uniform Fees to be $250-$400. Any out-of-town travel expenses are in addition to these fees. Any modifications from what is outlined above may increase or decrease these fees. Based on these fees listed above, the total commitment, before fundraising, is generally $1900 - $2250 for the entire year.

Emeralds Fees and Payment Structure

1. EBSL Initial Payment: An initial fee of $500 will be charged by EBSL. This fee must be paid within 48-hours of acceptance of your roster spot and acts as a down payment on the total fees for the year. Players will be ineligible to practice or play games until payment is made. This fee covers umpires, league fees, insurance, light fees, park district fees, tournament registrations, facility usage (not including the Bo Jackson dome), and team equipment. This fee is non-refundable.

2. Bo Jackson’s Elite Sports (BJES): Emeralds teams practice at least one time per week at the Bo Jackson Dome in Bensenville during the winter season. The Emeralds have an exclusive relationship powered by Bo Jackson’s Elite Sports. This relationship includes extensive access to their indoor facility as well as professional instruction to augment our own highly qualified coaches. Each manager will make the decision as to the level of commitment his or her team will be making to the facility and their instructors, which determine the exact amount each player will owe. Payments will be made directly to Bo Jackson’s Elite Sports. The initial down payment will be due on October 1, and monthly installments may be required in the months thereafter. Players who are not up to date with payments will not be allowed to participate in practices or games. This fee covers indoor team practices and professional instruction at the Bo Jackson Dome​ in Bensenville and includes free credits for personal instruction or BJES camps. BJES fees were $845 this past season. Fees may be higher should a team decide to use BJES for more than the typical number of sessions.

3. Late Season Payment: Near the conclusion of the season, any outstanding balance will be charged to your account. This fee covers umpires, league fees, insurance, light fees, park district fees, tournament registrations, facility usage (not including the Bo Jackson dome), and team equipment.​

4. Uniforms: The Emeralds uniform provider is Marucci, who also offer our programs significant discounts on all Marucci gear and equipment (generally 20-30% off). Uniforms will be ordered directly though the Marucci Locker Room website after team selection in August and is separate from the payment to EBSL. Our uniform design cycle is every two years and will be new for this coming 2025 fall season. Uniform fees for new players generally range from $250 - $400.

5. Fundraising: Each team can raise funds to defray costs. Managers will work with families to create their own team-specific fundraising opportunities, and there may be program-wide fundraisers where profits are allocated across teams. All money raised is applied directly to team costs and will reduce the overall cost per player. In some seasons, these fundraisers have produced significant reductions in overall player costs.

Emeralds Part-Time Travel Softball

For certain age groups (varies by year), Emeralds also offer a part-time travel softball program. Emeralds part-time travel teams allow athletes to gain exposure to the competitive level of travel softball at a lighter level of commitment. This program is in addition to and complements the EBSL in-house league. You must register and participate in the EBSL in-house league in order to participate in the Emeralds part-time travel program.

The Emeralds part-time travel teams will participate in practices and potentially play games against other part-time travel softball programs on Sundays in May and June. The part-time activities will not interfere with the EBSL in-house schedule. In July, part-time travel teams generally practice 1-2 times per week (left to manager discretion) and play in 2-3 tournaments (dependent on appropriate level tournament availability). The season will not go beyond the month of July.

If selected to play on a part-time team, each player will pay a Player Participation Fee and a Uniform Fee. We anticipate the Player Participation Fee to range from $200-$400 per player and Uniform Fees to be $150-$300.

Sue Bieterman
EBSL President
630-421-0664
suebaseball@comcast.net

David Bucolo
Emeralds Softball Commissioner
dbucolo@yahoo.com