Dubbed the “Greek God of Walks” for his disciplined approach to hitting during a decade-long Major League Baseball career, Rancho Santa Fe resident Kevin Youkilis is launching a 13-and-under travel team and training program in Encinitas for students entering seventh grade in the fall.
“Our main goal is not how many rings we collect [at tournaments],” Youkilis told The Coast News. “It’s how these kids progress and get better.”
A father of two boys, ages 12 and 10, Youkilis — two-time World Series champion, three-time All-Star and 2007 Gold Glove winner — was driven to speak out by what he sees as deep flaws in youth sports amid the rise of name, image and likeness (NIL) deals.
“I want to build a program that I can start with my 13-year-old son,” Youkilis said. “Let me create this myself because I want to be hands on to make sure that it’s the right way to do things.”
Youkilis says youth baseball is headed in the wrong direction, dominated by year-round structured competition, constant team-hopping, early sports specialization, and unrealistic expectations from parents, all at the expense of pickup-style play.
“The past three years with NIL have been drastic, where parents are chasing the money,” Youkilis said. “I think the biggest problem right now is parents are trying to keep up with the Joneses, but the Joneses aren’t part of the equation. The only equation that I know that works is that the child has to love the sport.”
Youkilis also noted financial strain for parents and burnout for kids.
“It’s a hard balance because parents are trying to do the best for their kids, they just don’t know what that is,” Youkilis said. “They’re caught up in this rat race of people telling them that their kids need to do something more, but more is not always best. Some parents invest heavily in travel programs, hoping for a return. Others think spending more will automatically make their kids better — but it doesn’t always work that way.”
In response, Youkilis launched Team Warstic San Diego 13U, named after the bat manufacturer and apparel company. The program will focus on developing well-rounded athletes through high-intensity practices and strong fundamentals, teaching leadership and character traits, and promoting athleticism, proper arm care and recovery.
According to Youkilis, players will be challenged through top-tier competition, taught multiple positions, and encouraged to adopt a student-athlete mindset, creating high-character young men who will pass on the game to the next generation.
Youkilis said the program also aims to alleviate the financial burden for families saddled with the ever-increasing costs of athletic participation. Team Warstic will provide jerseys, bats, and batting gloves at a discount to both the program and parents, with New Balance offering the same discount on cleats.
“Parents are always buying more and more stuff, and this is a way to try to keep costs down,” Youkilis said. “When you keep the travel ball cost down, you minimize stress for parents. And for me, that’s a big deal.”
Joining Youkilis on the Team Warstic coaching staff are former Major Leaguer Danny Putnam and Josh Jaramillo, former head baseball coach at San Marcos High School.
“The opportunity to have two coaches that played at the highest level doesn’t mean anything other than having a good direction of what we are trying to do, Youkilis said. “We want to build these kids up physically, mentally, to get through a tough sport. We are trying to make sure these kids love baseball.”
Over the two-day tryout scheduled for late May, Youkilis hopes to narrow down a 25-player group to about 12 players, with room for alternates.
“We are looking for high character kids that just love the game,” he said. “We might not always take the most talented kid if they don’t have that drive and attitude. It’s more about kids that want to grow and learn the game.”
The program will run for six months, starting in January of 2026 and running through July 4.
“We are trying to get the best out of these kids at 13,” Youkilis said. “The focus is on the now and how we get one percent better daily. It’s an intensive program mimicking a baseball season. We are practicing more than we play. Let’s say you’re playing third base, you might get two balls [in a game]. That doesn’t make you better at third base because you’re not getting the reps in.”
A proponent of kids playing multiple sports, Youkilis, however, doesn’t want his players on more than one baseball team throughout the season.
“There is something special about a group of parents and kids playing together for a year,” Youkilis said. “Hopping around to different teams has become a thing, and I just disagree with it.”
The field and training space are still a work in progress, but Youkilis expects that to be solidified in the coming days.
For more information or to register for tryouts, visit https://www.warsticsd.com/
