Kirkwood Legion Baseball

Hi and welcome to the Kirkwood American Legion organization team website!

Please join us THIS SUNDAY (May 7) from 1-3p for our final tryout for our 2023 Summer teams.  We will be evaluating players from 1-3p at Kirkwood High School.  We will be looking at players at all levels and are especially interested in Varsity players and 8th graders who are ready to compete against High School competition!

We also have our Summer 2023 kickoff meetings on Sunday May 7 at the Kirkwood American Legion Post Hall from 6-9p.  Varsity will go from 6-7:15p, JV 7:30-8p and Freshman 8-9p.  We will distribute jerseys and hats for this summer and provide an update to all about our Summer sessions!

Congratulations to our 97% of players who tried out for their high school teams making their teams.  It's great seeing our players all being major contributors to their respective team's successes as well!

We have kicked off our Spring Session for players who are not participating in their High School teams.  We have some great talent and are looking forward to a successful Spring '23 session as well! 

We just completed our 2023 Winter Session ... the players look great.  Best of luck to all players in their tryouts and High School baseball seasons!

Professional Pitching Coach Brent and St. Louis Baseball Hall of Fame Professional Hitting Coach Hacker are saying the players are listening well and are ready for their tryouts!

Our twice weekly team and individual indoor sessions with drills, video assessments, professional coaching and general team workouts are proving to once again have our players at the top of their game in time for high school team tryouts this spring! 

Missouri American Legion District 10 was again DOMINATED in 2022 by Kirkwood Legion Baseball!!!  

Summer League successes:

Congratulations goes out to our Freshman & our JV teams for winning their district leagues with:

• Freshman going 15-0 in Legion games
• JV going 11-1 finishing 2 full games ahead of the second place team

Congratulations goes out to our Freshman & our JV teams for winning their district leagues with:

• Freshman going 15-0 in Legion games
• JV going 11-1 finishing 2 full games ahead of the second place team

Congratulations to all of our players from Webster, Lindbergh, Kirkwood, SLUH, Vianney, etc. etc. etc. competing at the Varsity, Junior Varsity and Freshman team levels.

Our Fall teams will be competing at Ballwin Athletic Association and Ellisville Athletic Associations starting in August (start date TBD). 

We completed our indoor Winter Session with OVER 90% of our players who tried out for their High School teams made their teams ... including all of our Freshman players making their teams.  Congratulations players, you clearly have earned your roster spots!

The Kirkwood Legion Baseball organization is made up of select-level, high-school age baseball players living in the Kirkwood, Webster Groves, and Lindbergh school districts. Players can go to any school, but must live in these school districts.  

Based on high demand, we are again fielding 4 teams for Summer 2022 for District play and a 5th Developmental team (with mostly 8th graders):

• 18U/Varsity (Head Coach Stu Vincent)
• 18U/Varsity (Head Coach Wes Edwards)
• JV (Head Coach Brian Rappaport)
• Freshmen (Head Coach Chris Copeland)
• Developmental Team (8th Grade, Fresh & Sophomore levels)

When competing in the American Legion seasons, the Kirkwood Legion Baseball teams play a game and practice schedule consisting of:

• District 10 team games 
• ‘Out-of-District’ games
• Local tournaments
• American Legion District 10 All-Star game
• American Legion District 10 DOUBLE ELIMINATION Playoffs
• American Legion Zone Playoffs (winner and host of District 10 playoffs advance) and American Legion National Playoffs (if win Zone playoffs)

Strong competition

• High School skill level competition
• Annual District, Zone, and National playoff tournaments
• The Legion organization selects players to compete in District and State All-Star games
• Teams have the flexibility to compete in local tournaments and against other local clubs
• Competing with wood bats (Varsity and JV levels) helps hitting in high school and beyond

• Less overhead and no mandatory participation results in lower per player fees 
• No ‘out-of-town’ or overnight travel … if offered, it won’t ever be required
• Partnerships with professional hitting, pitching, and defensive coaches

Excellent 'Baseball-to-Life' balance

• Players are not required to play every season … but year-round programs are available
• Teams generally target 3 to 4 weekly baseball events (games, practices, cages, etc.)
• Roster sizes allow for other player activities (work, family vacation, a weekend off, etc.)
• Baseball activities are targeted for weekdays with occasional weekend tournaments/games

• Kirkwood Legion Baseball organization partnerships with Kirkwood, Lindbergh, and Webster Groves Athletic Directors and Baseball Coaching staffs provide visibility for Legion players with their future High School Coaches
• The Legion organization is committed to helping connect Seniors with their preferred college coaches  

The Kirkwood Legion Baseball organization competes in the Missouri State American Legion District 10.  The District 10 American Legion Posts include:

1. Kirkwood Post 156 (made up of players from Kirkwood, Webster Groves & Lindbergh schools)
2. Ballwin Post 611 
3. Chesterfield Post 556  
4. Eureka Post 177  
5. Lemay Post 162 
6. Manchester Post 208
7. Maryland Heights Post 213
8. Thoman Boothe Post 338

I'd like to thank our hitting coach Steve Hacker and Pitching Coaches from our Southwestern Illinois Baseball coaching staff partners like Head Coach Dave Garcia as we continue to partner with them for our Winter and Fall workouts preparing our players for their High School seasons!  Also thanks to Fitness instructor Dale Huff and Evan Kuhl with our Strengthening partners at Nutriformance!