We've been happy with Koa. They have BABL (tryout but not travel), and they also have travel. DS is 10.

I would avoid DC Dynasty unless you're looking for a win at all costs environment with a lot of yelling. Would second the positive comments on Win Within and BCC Big Train.

If you’re in bethesda do BCC Big Train. If in DC, dynasty or win within. If you’re close to NoVa lots more choices. But it’s nice with baseball to get your kid into whatever team is in the pathway that goes into whatever school pattern you’re considering later on. It’s a big individual development sport as kids age so if you stick with it you’ll probably want to do lessons and camps by age 12. A few of the top kids at age 10 are still the top on DS now high school age team but the abilities, size, work at it intensity, and interests vary a lot as kids go from 10-14.

Anonymous wrote:Kids don’t become real baseball players until about 14. In the younger years they are just getting their baseball IQ and muscle memory. In 10s-13s let your kid play on the travel team with his friends, it doesn’t matter as long as he is playing. High school is a different story.

Parent of a D1 recruited player

+1
Let him have fun wherever he has friends, likes the coach, and will get to play. Bonus if practices are close to your house.

Anonymous wrote:My kid’s team has played DC Dynasty teams at various ages, and I’ve thought the coaches seemed to set a very nice tone for their teams. Good priorities, good sportsmanship, emphasis on competitive but fair play. From an outsider looking in, they seem like a good organization.

I agree with this. Our team usually doesn’t find them as competitive as others in our division but the coaches are great. Id want my kid coached like that, more playing time, confidence building.

You’ll find parents shopping teams even at 10/11u to get their kid in the “best” one. Then their kid gets very little playing time. Reps are super important at this age.

We play baseball in VA. So my perspective is as an opponent. If I lived NW DC / BCC I'd check out BCC Big Train. In terms of competition, they seem solid. This is only data as an opponent--didn't notice any red flags on the coaches.

The folks at Dig-In seem nice too. But perhaps not as competitive at the 10u spot. I've really liked the Win Within Coach that we've played against.
I don't know where they are based (somewhere in DC) but he was great. Not sure if that one coach was an outlier--but after facing so many travel opponents, the fact that he sticks out as a great coach (to the opposing team) made an impression on me.

My kid’s team has played DC Dynasty teams at various ages, and I’ve thought the coaches seemed to set a very nice tone for their teams. Good priorities, good sportsmanship, emphasis on competitive but fair play. From an outsider looking in, they seem like a good organization.

We’ve been very happy with DC Dynasty 9U-11U. Excellent coaches who focus on fundamentals, developing baseball IQ, and details like arm care, stretching, and proper warm ups. Certainly don’t win every game but the teams compete well, and we’ve noticed improvement over every season. Best of all for us, practices have been convenient and most games less than 30 min away from our house in NW DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids don’t become real baseball players until about 14. In the younger years they are just getting their baseball IQ and muscle memory. In 10s-13s let your kid play on the travel team with his friends, it doesn’t matter as long as he is playing. High school is a different story.

Parent of a D1 recruited player

+1

Just so you know, OP….Being on a “top team” at 10 means absolutely nothing. Everything gets re-sorted at 14ish as they hit puberty and move to the big field. There is nothing wrong with being on a winning team or “best team”, but that should not be your focus right now. Put him on a team that works logistically for the family (time, practice location, cost etc) where he will have lots of fun and gets lots of playing time. Ideally, with friends.

Agree. Also here to say that if your child is super into baseball and loves it, I would prioritize a program with paid coaches who focus on mechanics and sportsmanship. These two things will set your child up with a solid foundation they can build on later as they grow into their own.

Anonymous wrote:Kids don’t become real baseball players until about 14. In the younger years they are just getting their baseball IQ and muscle memory. In 10s-13s let your kid play on the travel team with his friends, it doesn’t matter as long as he is playing. High school is a different story.

Parent of a D1 recruited player

+1

Just so you know, OP….Being on a “top team” at 10 means absolutely nothing. Everything gets re-sorted at 14ish as they hit puberty and move to the big field. There is nothing wrong with being on a winning team or “best team”, but that should not be your focus right now. Put him on a team that works logistically for the family (time, practice location, cost etc) where he will have lots of fun and gets lots of playing time. Ideally, with friends.

Anonymous wrote:Where do you live? In general, the farther you go out, the better the teams are for baseball.

I’ve seen this to be true also.

Where do you live? In general, the farther you go out, the better the teams are for baseball.

Kids don’t become real baseball players until about 14. In the younger years they are just getting their baseball IQ and muscle memory. In 10s-13s let your kid play on the travel team with his friends, it doesn’t matter as long as he is playing. High school is a different story.

Parent of a D1 recruited player

I’m a parent of an older baseball kid who started out in rec and switched to travel at ~11. I don’t know the current 10u travel teams, but you might want to think about if you want a parent or professional coach for your child, or if it matters. That should really help narrow down your choices in teams. (Word of advice, some of the national teams are all about $. We learned it the hard way sadly).

What are the strongest 10U travel baseball teams in the NW DC/Bethesda area? Looking for strong coaching, skill development, and good competition.