Travel baseball -- how intense in MoCo?
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Anonymous
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My 12 year old was selected for a fairly high-level travel baseball team and we're trying to decide whether to join. He already does travel soccer in NCSL, but enjoys baseball as well. He would not go to far-flung tournaments but would be in the MCBA league locally. Still, there are two practices, plus batting practice, plus 1-2 games every week. Plus winter clinics, plus maybe something in the summer that I'm not sure I get. Plus a lot of uniforms, practice jerseys, extra batting helmets, warmup jacket and gear bag that I'm not sure is necessary at this age.
It seems a bit much to me, but I didn't play ball growing up and neither did my DH. My son is a good player and a little bored in rec. But this is a big commitment for a middle schooler, and really the whole family! Are there other baseball options that aren't so hyper-intensive? Maybe BCC? I'd love advice from other parents. Thanks. |
Anonymous
| In the summer BCC turns into a travel team. The best players are selected and formed into just a few all-star teams that travel the state and metro area playing the best of the best. If anything you will get a taste of the back roads of Maryland the quaint towns that make up the state. |
Anonymous
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I can't comment on travel baseball as my kids don't play; however, based on the time commitment you describe, it seems physically impossible to do travel baseball plus another travel sport unless you are skipping practices/games for one or the other, which seems counter to the idea of a travel sport.
I'd suggest looking into BCC's Select program - it is a step above rec but nowhere near the commitment (or ability level) of travel- it is possible your son may still be bored if he really wants higher level play, though. |
Anonymous
Not exactly. BCC runs a very selective one team an age group travel team year round. The summer team you are referencing is from the Select Team program and isn't nearly as competitive on a local or regional level. Great program, just not the same, so that the original poster is informed. OP which team? There is a huge variance in the MOCO travel teams, some are basically the same as the BCC Select some are extremely good. |
Anonymous
| OP You cannot do real travel baseball and another travel sport. My son plays travel baseball and it's nearly 100 games a year. |
Anonymous
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We have had kids in travel soccer and kids in travel baseball (through high school). You can't do both. Aside from the practices you listed, Baseball games usually run 2 hours and most clubs have you arrive an hour before some longer. Double headers get very long. What you listed is typical practice level although some clubs let you do batting practice on own rather than team - which is more efficient The time in practice doesn't always reflect intensity of team - just fairly standard Most clubs do tournaments at some point and those are more of a commitment over a weekend than soccer
There are not a lot of select options, which is very unfortunate as think a lot of kids get in this situation and get forced to travel or essentially quit . BCC select - which I believe still has 2 games a week and other posters can commen or search threads . KOA - which is lower level than BCC, pricey, and mixeD reviews but time commitment very manageable through 12u. Not sure on 13u |
Anonymous
| My son played travel soccer, basketball, and baseball for two years. Baseball, by far, was the most time-intensive and demanding sport of the three. You really have to be committed to basically doing almost nothing else as a family aside from baseball. Is it worth it? What's the end goal? |
Anonymous
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I wouldn't do KOA. Not well regarded at all. BCC select is not super competitive but it's an option. BCC travel is very competitive and there's only one team per age group. As far as other MOCO true travel teams here's the breakdown
Olney Pirates - extremely competitive. Mid year cuts etc Dig in - A team extremely good. A lot of players go to St. John's from here. B team new and not so hot Olney Bucs - very decent team it's the B team in a very competitive program Rockville Rockets- not very competitive yet Clarksburg- much stronger in recent years good coaches Hope that helps |
Anonymous
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Forgot two
Burtonsville- not very competitive Diamond Skills- mixed not super strong |
Anonymous
Not the OP, but wanted to thank you for this information. Very helpful! |
Anonymous
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good breakdown PP, thanks.
Go to the RBBA tournament this weekend if you're around, you can see a lot of the travel teams mentioned above. Also some of the other MD/DC/VA teams The pirates/bucs also do summer camps that are open to the public, if you want to do a week to see what it feels like. Travel baseball is crazy intense time commitment. Sunday doubleheaders pretty much rule out soccer - NCSL is a Sunday league? |
Anonymous
| baseball in this area isn't as strong as it is down south or out west. |
Anonymous
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OP here, thanks for all the feedback.
NCSL soccer is mostly Sunday, though there are some Saturday games. Travel for that league is in the DMV region, basically from Stafford to Gaithersburg to Annapolis. To answer a PP's question about whether this is "real travel," the baseball team DS is invited to is *not* one that's going to Pennsylvania, NJ, etc., though it is affiliated with one of those teams and he could be elevated (NOT our goal). It's affiliated with the Bayhawks and would play in the MCBA league in Montgomery County. So not too far for games, but a load of practices and oh-so-many uniforms, practice uniforms, gearbag, etc., that are required. It makes me sad for families that can't pay the extra hundreds for those things basically so the team can look spiffy. However, the coach seems good and committed, so that's not a question. Thanks for the feedback on BCC. We may go the Select route although I understand you don't get to pick your teams, and it might be just as pricey. Or we may just do rec ball for another year until he gets older. I'm convinced it won't hurt his MLB chances! 
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Anonymous
| My son plays travel sports and I can only handle one at a time..... too much commitment and there are also extras = like team dinners and the like and it's just too crazy to do it more than once. |
Anonymous
| If he loves baseball do baseball if he loves soccer do soccer travel but only one travel team. He likely will need to be playing something at a higher level then rec to make highschoool for baseball unless he's a very developed, natural athlete. |