Travel Baseball teams- Are they all disorganized?

[mollysdad]

I agree with the sentiment about development. Is your player growing as a player? Are they getting reps in the positions they want to develop at? It's all a bit complicated and there's no straightforward answer, but development, work ethic, team culture, and joy should be driving factors.

[Anonymous]

OP, what makes you think your child will be able to play in college? No, Snark intended but your post Just leaves a lot of questions…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1
Travel coach should be a partner in recruiting. Third party agencies are a money grab. Dad coaches don’t know the college coaches. There are plenty of local programs with a strong track record for placing athletes and relationships with college coaches. At this age I’d go with team over convenience. Most of the summer is playing tournaments, not local practice. And I don’t understand why no HS ball. There’s a homeschool team that plays high schools if that is the issue. Where does he train? Maybe they can advise a good fit.

They are only a money grab if what they provide isn’t worth it to you. My son is playing on a HS team that doesn’t send many kids to play in college, and his travel team is dad coached so the coaches have never done the college connection thing. But we save $1500/year by not paying elite travel team fees, and we’ve spent that instead on the recruiting service to fill the gap.

I’m not saying others should do what we are doing, as our circumstances aren’t most people’s. But OP’s question was whether they NEED one of these elite travel teams, and they don’t if they are willing to cobble together the training, competition, and connections they’ll need in other ways.

I truly hope it works out for your son. Overall, these people are not well regarded, but of course there are some who could be helpful.

For OP’s son, if he isn’t on a team attending bigger tournaments, and he isn’t playing high school ball, I don’t know how he would even face decent pitching, much less showcase it for college coaches. Even if it isn’t a big name team, I’d look for a team playing a challenging schedule and at least one of the big recruiting tournaments by 16u summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A little confused. Why would he not want to join his high school team but would like to play in college? Does he do another spring sport to keep him occupied during HS baseball season? Something doesn’t make sense.

At least in the softball world, most college recruiting occurs at the club level. High school ball is largely ignored by recruiters since it’s usually several steps below the quality of play. I assume baseball is similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1
Travel coach should be a partner in recruiting. Third party agencies are a money grab. Dad coaches don’t know the college coaches. There are plenty of local programs with a strong track record for placing athletes and relationships with college coaches. At this age I’d go with team over convenience. Most of the summer is playing tournaments, not local practice. And I don’t understand why no HS ball. There’s a homeschool team that plays high schools if that is the issue. Where does he train? Maybe they can advise a good fit.

They are only a money grab if what they provide isn’t worth it to you. My son is playing on a HS team that doesn’t send many kids to play in college, and his travel team is dad coached so the coaches have never done the college connection thing. But we save $1500/year by not paying elite travel team fees, and we’ve spent that instead on the recruiting service to fill the gap.

I’m not saying others should do what we are doing, as our circumstances aren’t most people’s. But OP’s question was whether they NEED one of these elite travel teams, and they don’t if they are willing to cobble together the training, competition, and connections they’ll need in other ways.

I truly hope it works out for your son. Overall, these people are not well regarded, but of course there are some who could be helpful.

For OP’s son, if he isn’t on a team attending bigger tournaments, and he isn’t playing high school ball, I don’t know how he would even face decent pitching, much less showcase it for college coaches. Even if it isn’t a big name team, I’d look for a team playing a challenging schedule and at least one of the big recruiting tournaments by 16u summer.

You do know that coaches are really going to showcases as much as reviewing videos that come to them, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A little confused. Why would he not want to join his high school team but would like to play in college? Does he do another spring sport to keep him occupied during HS baseball season? Something doesn’t make sense.

At least in the softball world, most college recruiting occurs at the club level. High school ball is largely ignored by recruiters since it’s usually several steps below the quality of play. I assume baseball is similar.

It’s becoming that way especially on the very edges of northern Virginia. That and self promotion — sending vids to coaches and colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1
Travel coach should be a partner in recruiting. Third party agencies are a money grab. Dad coaches don’t know the college coaches. There are plenty of local programs with a strong track record for placing athletes and relationships with college coaches. At this age I’d go with team over convenience. Most of the summer is playing tournaments, not local practice. And I don’t understand why no HS ball. There’s a homeschool team that plays high schools if that is the issue. Where does he train? Maybe they can advise a good fit.

They are only a money grab if what they provide isn’t worth it to you. My son is playing on a HS team that doesn’t send many kids to play in college, and his travel team is dad coached so the coaches have never done the college connection thing. But we save $1500/year by not paying elite travel team fees, and we’ve spent that instead on the recruiting service to fill the gap.

I’m not saying others should do what we are doing, as our circumstances aren’t most people’s. But OP’s question was whether they NEED one of these elite travel teams, and they don’t if they are willing to cobble together the training, competition, and connections they’ll need in other ways.

I truly hope it works out for your son. Overall, these people are not well regarded, but of course there are some who could be helpful.

For OP’s son, if he isn’t on a team attending bigger tournaments, and he isn’t playing high school ball, I don’t know how he would even face decent pitching, much less showcase it for college coaches. Even if it isn’t a big name team, I’d look for a team playing a challenging schedule and at least one of the big recruiting tournaments by 16u summer.

You do know that coaches are really going to showcases as much as reviewing videos that come to them, right?

^not really going

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A little confused. Why would he not want to join his high school team but would like to play in college? Does he do another spring sport to keep him occupied during HS baseball season? Something doesn’t make sense.

At least in the softball world, most college recruiting occurs at the club level. High school ball is largely ignored by recruiters since it’s usually several steps below the quality of play. I assume baseball is similar.

It’s becoming that way especially on the very edges of northern Virginia. That and self promotion — sending vids to coaches and colleges.

+1 My DS didn't have a good experience on his high school team and wasn't a fan of the coach. But has played on a travel team since 8u and plays on a summer tournament team. He's considering not playing on the high school team next year and just focusing on playing a travel team next year, where the coaching and competition are, frankly, better than what he experienced on his high school team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1
Travel coach should be a partner in recruiting. Third party agencies are a money grab. Dad coaches don’t know the college coaches. There are plenty of local programs with a strong track record for placing athletes and relationships with college coaches. At this age I’d go with team over convenience. Most of the summer is playing tournaments, not local practice. And I don’t understand why no HS ball. There’s a homeschool team that plays high schools if that is the issue. Where does he train? Maybe they can advise a good fit.

They are only a money grab if what they provide isn’t worth it to you. My son is playing on a HS team that doesn’t send many kids to play in college, and his travel team is dad coached so the coaches have never done the college connection thing. But we save $1500/year by not paying elite travel team fees, and we’ve spent that instead on the recruiting service to fill the gap.

I’m not saying others should do what we are doing, as our circumstances aren’t most people’s. But OP’s question was whether they NEED one of these elite travel teams, and they don’t if they are willing to cobble together the training, competition, and connections they’ll need in other ways.

I truly hope it works out for your son. Overall, these people are not well regarded, but of course there are some who could be helpful.

For OP’s son, if he isn’t on a team attending bigger tournaments, and he isn’t playing high school ball, I don’t know how he would even face decent pitching, much less showcase it for college coaches. Even if it isn’t a big name team, I’d look for a team playing a challenging schedule and at least one of the big recruiting tournaments by 16u summer.

You do know that coaches are really going to showcases as much as reviewing videos that come to them, right?

I’m very familiar with the process. I did not say showcase events, I said the big tournaments. Obviously, the coaches are deciding who to watch at the tournaments based on previous outreach on the part of the athlete, including video, social media, school camp performance, and their playing schedule. But schools 100% have people all over the place in Sanford, wwba, lakepoint, and they are actively recruiting and assessing the recruits they’ve already signed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1
Travel coach should be a partner in recruiting. Third party agencies are a money grab. Dad coaches don’t know the college coaches. There are plenty of local programs with a strong track record for placing athletes and relationships with college coaches. At this age I’d go with team over convenience. Most of the summer is playing tournaments, not local practice. And I don’t understand why no HS ball. There’s a homeschool team that plays high schools if that is the issue. Where does he train? Maybe they can advise a good fit.

They are only a money grab if what they provide isn’t worth it to you. My son is playing on a HS team that doesn’t send many kids to play in college, and his travel team is dad coached so the coaches have never done the college connection thing. But we save $1500/year by not paying elite travel team fees, and we’ve spent that instead on the recruiting service to fill the gap.

I’m not saying others should do what we are doing, as our circumstances aren’t most people’s. But OP’s question was whether they NEED one of these elite travel teams, and they don’t if they are willing to cobble together the training, competition, and connections they’ll need in other ways.

I truly hope it works out for your son. Overall, these people are not well regarded, but of course there are some who could be helpful.

For OP’s son, if he isn’t on a team attending bigger tournaments, and he isn’t playing high school ball, I don’t know how he would even face decent pitching, much less showcase it for college coaches. Even if it isn’t a big name team, I’d look for a team playing a challenging schedule and at least one of the big recruiting tournaments by 16u summer.

You do know that coaches are really going to showcases as much as reviewing videos that come to them, right?

I’m very familiar with the process. I did not say showcase events, I said the big tournaments. Obviously, the coaches are deciding who to watch at the tournaments based on previous outreach on the part of the athlete, including video, social media, school camp performance, and their playing schedule. But schools 100% have people all over the place in Sanford, wwba, lakepoint, and they are actively recruiting and assessing the recruits they’ve already signed.

From what I understand that is true for D1, but not most D3 schools. If OP’s kid just wants to be able to keep playing in college, because playing brings him joy, and he is a good player, he can do the video/coach contact route without going to the showcases etc. especially if he won’t stand out there. Not every D3 baseball team is full of studs recruited and signed in their junior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1
Travel coach should be a partner in recruiting. Third party agencies are a money grab. Dad coaches don’t know the college coaches. There are plenty of local programs with a strong track record for placing athletes and relationships with college coaches. At this age I’d go with team over convenience. Most of the summer is playing tournaments, not local practice. And I don’t understand why no HS ball. There’s a homeschool team that plays high schools if that is the issue. Where does he train? Maybe they can advise a good fit.

They are only a money grab if what they provide isn’t worth it to you. My son is playing on a HS team that doesn’t send many kids to play in college, and his travel team is dad coached so the coaches have never done the college connection thing. But we save $1500/year by not paying elite travel team fees, and we’ve spent that instead on the recruiting service to fill the gap.

I’m not saying others should do what we are doing, as our circumstances aren’t most people’s. But OP’s question was whether they NEED one of these elite travel teams, and they don’t if they are willing to cobble together the training, competition, and connections they’ll need in other ways.

I truly hope it works out for your son. Overall, these people are not well regarded, but of course there are some who could be helpful.

For OP’s son, if he isn’t on a team attending bigger tournaments, and he isn’t playing high school ball, I don’t know how he would even face decent pitching, much less showcase it for college coaches. Even if it isn’t a big name team, I’d look for a team playing a challenging schedule and at least one of the big recruiting tournaments by 16u summer.

You do know that coaches are really going to showcases as much as reviewing videos that come to them, right?

I’m very familiar with the process. I did not say showcase events, I said the big tournaments. Obviously, the coaches are deciding who to watch at the tournaments based on previous outreach on the part of the athlete, including video, social media, school camp performance, and their playing schedule. But schools 100% have people all over the place in Sanford, wwba, lakepoint, and they are actively recruiting and assessing the recruits they’ve already signed.

From what I understand that is true for D1, but not most D3 schools. If OP’s kid just wants to be able to keep playing in college, because playing brings him joy, and he is a good player, he can do the video/coach contact route without going to the showcases etc. especially if he won’t stand out there. Not every D3 baseball team is full of studs recruited and signed in their junior year.

Many of the D3s rely on Showball and Headfirst to see the kids in action (especially the strong academic schools that lots of dcum kids are hoping to attend).

For OP, my primary point is that without a high school team (where he would routinely face committed pitchers), it is important to play on a club team that provides a strong schedule. If he was on a high school team in this area, I would find that less pressing. Wanting to play in college while missing the spring season for four years of hs is a really tough path, imo, and combining it with an eh local team is a lot to overcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1
Travel coach should be a partner in recruiting. Third party agencies are a money grab. Dad coaches don’t know the college coaches. There are plenty of local programs with a strong track record for placing athletes and relationships with college coaches. At this age I’d go with team over convenience. Most of the summer is playing tournaments, not local practice. And I don’t understand why no HS ball. There’s a homeschool team that plays high schools if that is the issue. Where does he train? Maybe they can advise a good fit.

They are only a money grab if what they provide isn’t worth it to you. My son is playing on a HS team that doesn’t send many kids to play in college, and his travel team is dad coached so the coaches have never done the college connection thing. But we save $1500/year by not paying elite travel team fees, and we’ve spent that instead on the recruiting service to fill the gap.

I’m not saying others should do what we are doing, as our circumstances aren’t most people’s. But OP’s question was whether they NEED one of these elite travel teams, and they don’t if they are willing to cobble together the training, competition, and connections they’ll need in other ways.

I truly hope it works out for your son. Overall, these people are not well regarded, but of course there are some who could be helpful.

For OP’s son, if he isn’t on a team attending bigger tournaments, and he isn’t playing high school ball, I don’t know how he would even face decent pitching, much less showcase it for college coaches. Even if it isn’t a big name team, I’d look for a team playing a challenging schedule and at least one of the big recruiting tournaments by 16u summer.

You do know that coaches are really going to showcases as much as reviewing videos that come to them, right?

I’m very familiar with the process. I did not say showcase events, I said the big tournaments. Obviously, the coaches are deciding who to watch at the tournaments based on previous outreach on the part of the athlete, including video, social media, school camp performance, and their playing schedule. But schools 100% have people all over the place in Sanford, wwba, lakepoint, and they are actively recruiting and assessing the recruits they’ve already signed.

From what I understand that is true for D1, but not most D3 schools. If OP’s kid just wants to be able to keep playing in college, because playing brings him joy, and he is a good player, he can do the video/coach contact route without going to the showcases etc. especially if he won’t stand out there. Not every D3 baseball team is full of studs recruited and signed in their junior year.

Many of the D3s rely on Showball and Headfirst to see the kids in action (especially the strong academic schools that lots of dcum kids are hoping to attend).

For OP, my primary point is that without a high school team (where he would routinely face committed pitchers), it is important to play on a club team that provides a strong schedule. If he was on a high school team in this area, I would find that less pressing. Wanting to play in college while missing the spring season for four years of hs is a really tough path, imo, and combining it with an eh local team is a lot to overcome.

I’m PP, and I fully agree - to play at the college level, kid needs to play now in the spring.

[Anonymous]

From 13-15 play for local travel team where your kid can get consistent reps. Take the hours, sanity, and $ you would have wasted on “elite” travel team and get some sessions with trainer and hammer the weight room. At 16 your phone will ring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A little confused. Why would he not want to join his high school team but would like to play in college? Does he do another spring sport to keep him occupied during HS baseball season? Something doesn’t make sense.

At least in the softball world, most college recruiting occurs at the club level. High school ball is largely ignored by recruiters since it’s usually several steps below the quality of play. I assume baseball is similar.

This depends on the HS. Some high schools have a high focus on athletics and a history of talented athletes who play at the next level. Some athletes choose the school because of this. For example, if your high school baseball team has repeatedly won the state title, odds are that recruiters are looking at the team members because they know the history of the program.

[Anonymous]

College coaches scout during the Summer/fall showcase ball seasons. Better competition and the college season is over. While player should play hard during the high school season, it has little impact on recruiting.