The Lombard Lightning is Lombard’s Full Time Travel League and the highest level of competition Lombard Baseball has to offer.  The league focuses on fundamentals, team play, and character development.  Lightning teams play in travel leagues in the Chicagoland area as well as local and out of state tournaments. Lightning teams will consist of a minimum of 70% players from Lombard and Villa Park. We are a local organization that will develop local players as they prepare for High School. 

Teams are formed from tryouts that occur in July for the following Spring season.  Tryouts and roster selections will be determined by third-party independent evaluators from the Chicago White Sox Baseball Academy for ages 9U-12U.  Rosters will be 11-12 players for the younger teams and rosters will be determined by the manager and Program Director for the high school aged teams.  There will be 1 team per age level, but if there is an abundance of talent at an age level the Lombard Baseball League Executive Board will determine if a second team can be approved.  Additional teams at an age level will be evaluated on a year-to-year basis. Teams will be managed by volunteers that are approved by the Program Director and the Lombard Baseball League Executive Board.

The following tryouts will be held on Tuesday, July 2nd. There are no make-up dates- you must attend the tryout date or conduct an approved private tryout. 

Madison Meadow field 17 

• 14U:

  • Tuesday, July 2

  • 5:30-7:00pm

  • Questions about this tryout? Contact Jason Frano 630.699.4126 jefrano@gmail.com

The following tryouts will be held on Wednesday, July 10th. There are no make-up dates- you must attend the tryout date or conduct an approved private tryout. 

Sunset Knoll Park fields 25 & 26

• 9U & 10U:  5:30-7:15pm

• 11U & 12U: 7:30-9:30pm

• Questions about this tryout? Contact Dan Coulter 630 917-4810 or dan.coulter16@gmail.com

The following tryouts will be held on Thursday, July 11th. There are no make-up dates- you must attend the tryout date or conduct an approved private tryout. 

Madison Meadow field 17 

• 13U:  5:30-7:00pm

  • Questions about this tryout? Contact Dan Coulter 630 917-4810 or dan.coulter16@gmail.com

Tryouts for 15U-18U are TBD based on coach/roster availability. If your player is registering for one of these age groups, a coach will contact you if there are roster openings for a private or semi-private tryout. 

Please note, players will be trying out for the grade they will be entering in the fall of 2024, unless they have been a part of the program previously and are grandfathered in. 

3rd graders in 2024-2025 will try out for 9U

4th graders in 2024-2025 will try out for 10U

5th graders in 2024-2025 will try out for 11U

6th graders in 2024-2025 will try out for 12U... and so on. 

*All players attending tryouts must be registered - NO WALK UPS WILL BE ACCEPTED*

Registration fees (for 9U-12U) are used to help cover the cost of independent evaluators and are therefore non-refundable and will not be applied to player fees if invited to join a team.

$10: Registration May until June 18th

$25: Registration June 19 - July 10

$50: Registration after July 10

Players will be trying out for the next season's age group (e.g., if the player was in 11U this Spring, he will be trying out for 12U).

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE 2025 LIGHTNING TRYOUTS. 

Once teams are formed in July, teams may play fall ball that starts in August and goes through October. Participation in the fall league is at the coach’s discretion. Teams will then partake in a variety of off season workouts, typically 2 days per week December - March.  The Lightning program typically rents the following facilities: Connect 44, Glenbard East, Earned Run, DBAT,  and other local training facilities.  All off-season training is determined by each individual manager. We understand that our Lightning players could have potential conflicts with other sports during the baseball off season and we encourage our players to play other sports during the baseball off season.  Coaches will do their best to work with those commitments.  We just please ask that you communicate with the coaching staff on your availability for every practice.  However, there is no discount in fees if a player is unable to attend off season practices. Lightning games will begin in early April and go through the end of July, playing in roughly 40-60 games.  Most age groups will travel out of town for at least one tournament (note that transportation and lodging for out of town tournaments is not included in your Lightning fees).  Each age level manager plans the location of their out of town tournament and decides how many tournaments they will play in. That being said, 

• 9U & 10U usually play in 4-6 tournaments per season

• 11U & older usually play in 5-10 tournaments per season 

• The out of state tournaments are usually in the midwest region. Some recent locations have been:

  • Rantoul, IL

  • Milwaukee, WI

  • Indianapolis, IN

  • Davenport, IA

  • Peoria, IL

  • Pigeon Forge, TN

  • Lake of the Ozarks, MO

  • Branson, MO

  • Field of Dreams, IA

  • Sandusky, OH

• The 12U team traditionally plays in a week-long tournament in Cooperstown, NY.  That is also at the head coach’s and LBL Executive Board discretion if there is more than one (1) 12U team.

• Local tournaments are usually within an hour drive around the Chicagoland area.

• Each tournament has its own unique schedule.  Tournament schedules aren’t released until the week of that particular tournament.

  • Most tournaments for younger ages play Thursday - Sunday.

  • Most tournaments guarantee you play at least three (3) games.

    • Two (2) pool play games.

      • Pool play record determines your seeding for bracket play.

    • At least one (1) single elimination bracket play game.

    • In order to win a tournament, a team would most likely play 5-6 games over the weekend.

  • For tournament weekends, plan on most of your weekend being spent at the field and to be flexible with scheduling.

Each Lightning player will have an approximate base fee of $1300 plus uniform package for residents of Lombard/Villa Park. Players from outside the Lombard/Villa Park area will have a base fee of $1500. There is also a PITCHER ONLY (PO) option of $750 on some rosters.  Teams traveling out of state can expect to incur more costs. The Lombard Baseball League Executive Board can increase player fees prior to the start of a new season. 

Thank you for your interest in playing in a Lightning tournament in Lombard. All tournaments are  listed on TourneyMachine.com, search Lombard.