At a pizza place in Palatine (on a Saturday night two weeks later), an unnamed travel team was born. I laid out the plan to play at Harper College and a team roster of 14 boys who I felt were a good fit. There were no tryouts the first year; we would play the “chosen ones”, if their parents accepted. Those boys included Danny and Mike Bradfield (Rolling Meadows), Scott Nelson (Palatine), Joe Lazzerini (Palatine), Tim Manning (Barrington), Nate Mau (Lake Zurich), Kirk Smiley (Palatine), Louie Grupe (Barrington), Danny Grybash (Palatine), Kyle Derrickson (Barrington), Mason Jobin (Hoffman Estates), Ryan Sherwood (Barrington), Paul Meyer (Cary) and Jeff Pederson (Hoffman Estates).

In a November meeting at our house, all the parents listened and agreed. The team was set. As the dads discussed the ball club and the logistics, the moms discussed the look. With a little help from the dads, the decision was made. There was to be 2 sets of uniforms, the home uniform was to be blue pinstripes, while the away uniform would be navy blue with gold. Both jerseys would have the NWT logo on the front and names and numbers on the back. The jackets would be blue with the logo on the back and the boys name and number in gold on the front.

The next steps were to get the softball field at Harper College, come up with a name and obtain insurance. Getting to use the field of Harper College was not that difficult, having known the baseball coach at Harper for many years. I contacted him and asked him how I could get to use the softball diamond. He put me in contact with the right people and we soon had an agreement in place to use the softball diamond for the season. We would be allowed to use the diamond after May 1 and through the month of June. We figured this was a good arrangement because we were going to be playing in tournaments through July and August and there would be no problem using the diamond for practice during those months. Our name was decided quickly during a conversation with the insurance company when the first thing they asked - what was the organization’s name.  As we were from the northwest suburbs, the name was only natural.

The goal for the first year was to play in a total of 50 to 55 ballgames. Knowing that I planned for 35 games with a league from Saint Charles, I planned the rest for tournaments. Our first year ended up being 28 and 25 and we knew we had a good thing.

The second year was much easier than the first as we added a second team and made our program stronger as our reputation grew. One of the highlights of our sophomore year is when our twelve year old team, coached by Bruce Bradfield, beat the Palatine Travelers in Rockford for the first time. Our two teams started winning tournaments and received and accepted an invitation to play in a national tournament in Omaha, Nebraska. Our twelve year old team took a first in that tournament and our thirteen year old team placed second. From that time on, we never had to concern ourselves about the quality of tournaments we would play in or the quality of players that would play in our program.

The third year brought changes.  We would grow to have three teams; twelve, thirteen, and fourteen-year old players. Harper College proposed we build a new diamond located on the plot of land where the diamond is currently located. The investment in both money and time was a tough decision at that time, but it was worth it. As the new diamond was being constructed, anticipation throughout the program was really phenomenal. As many other local teams watched the construction, there was a lot of pleading from those teams to have the opportunity to play on our diamond. Harper stood fast with Northwest and soon all travel teams were looking forward to playing us on our most prized field.

As the years went by, many things would happen to form the program and make it better. There would be many parents, players, and sponsors, as well as people behind the scenes that would help to make the program become what it is today.  Many people who brought their boys to play, soon realized Northwest was more than just a travel baseball program; it became a family, a place where young boys learn about life.

The determination to make our program the leader in the northwest suburbs would bring us to visiting with pro-baseball players, college coaches and high school coaches in an attempt to assemble a well-rounded program – not only to provide training in the sport of baseball, but to teach life-lessons for conduct both on and off the field. Throughout the years, I firmly believe that this outline has made our program what it is today.

What started as an idea and a dream has resulted in the best place in northern Illinois for a young man to learn to play and enjoy the sport of baseball.

The original goal was simple; we wanted a program that focused on the players - to build a program that would give the players a chance to prepare themselves to play ball through high school and beyond.  I think we have reached and surpassed that goal.

Throughout the years, many NWT players have played high school ball and college ball. One of our original players was drafted in 2003 by the Milwaukee Brewers as a pitcher.  We all should be proud of Danny Grybash.