Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Slightly OT, but how competitive is HS baseball these days? I remember when I played HS baseball 30 years ago, it was competitive, but travel was definitely required to make the team. Travel itself was actually much less of a thing.

I guess what I'm asking, is if you don't play travel, is there a remote shot at making a HS team? Or is the talent just that good/deep today?

Totally depends on the size of the school and whether they field a freshman team or “JVB” team (along with JV and varsity).

Our HS is huge, and fields 3 teams (JV varsity and a freshman team) which lets some kids play for a bit longer. Generally a kid will need to have played travel ball to even make the freshman team.

At a small local private school, there aren’t even tryouts for baseball. They take everyone (although some may not see playing time in games).

At a smaller local public district, the baseball teams are significantly easier to make- just due to lower numbers trying out.

There are more HS teams in the DMV than there are travel teams, so there will always be HS programs that aren't as competitive. It's just a numbers issue. But there are some areas where there are concentrations of travel teams that flip this calculus. Where that happens making the HS team is usually a lot more competitive. HS baseball 30 years ago was fed much more by the local league system where almost every community had a program through at least U14, and if you lived in an area with a good local league then your HS was usually very competitive.

Interesting. We are class of 2032 at a WCAC, and baseball will likely be at least part of the decision of where we go. And there doesn't seem to be any middle ground. The program is either pretty good, or they stink.

So you have a 5th grader? O'Connell seems like an attainable place to play baseball. St. john's no. I've seen kids being recruited by Ireton, so they are trying to build up the program.

St. John’s might be the gold standard for DMV baseball, but Gonzaga and PVI are also totally loaded and sending many kids to power 5 schools. The publics like Vienna, Whitman, WJ and even Wilson in DC are also sending many kids to D1. There are plenty of paths for kids who work hard.

This always bothers me when people say “there are plenty of paths for kids who work hard” because it’s actually a lie. There are paths for kids who physically mature early and catch coaches eyes and for those who are willing to go to coaches special clinics and pay big bucks. For DS and teammates (who have worked their butts off and are solid players) the high school trajectory is very much up in the air. I don’t regret the travel experience and all the extra hours with trainers but his ability to play in HS is nowhere near locked down.

We have seen this. Unfortunately, tryouts should be meritocracy, combined with an honest assessment of future ability. But often, especially if a coach has an affiliation with a certain travel club, those decisions are anything but meritorious.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Slightly OT, but how competitive is HS baseball these days? I remember when I played HS baseball 30 years ago, it was competitive, but travel was definitely required to make the team. Travel itself was actually much less of a thing.

I guess what I'm asking, is if you don't play travel, is there a remote shot at making a HS team? Or is the talent just that good/deep today?

Totally depends on the size of the school and whether they field a freshman team or “JVB” team (along with JV and varsity).

Our HS is huge, and fields 3 teams (JV varsity and a freshman team) which lets some kids play for a bit longer. Generally a kid will need to have played travel ball to even make the freshman team.

At a small local private school, there aren’t even tryouts for baseball. They take everyone (although some may not see playing time in games).

At a smaller local public district, the baseball teams are significantly easier to make- just due to lower numbers trying out.

There are more HS teams in the DMV than there are travel teams, so there will always be HS programs that aren't as competitive. It's just a numbers issue. But there are some areas where there are concentrations of travel teams that flip this calculus. Where that happens making the HS team is usually a lot more competitive. HS baseball 30 years ago was fed much more by the local league system where almost every community had a program through at least U14, and if you lived in an area with a good local league then your HS was usually very competitive.

Interesting. We are class of 2032 at a WCAC, and baseball will likely be at least part of the decision of where we go. And there doesn't seem to be any middle ground. The program is either pretty good, or they stink.

So you have a 5th grader? O'Connell seems like an attainable place to play baseball. St. john's no. I've seen kids being recruited by Ireton, so they are trying to build up the program.

St. John’s might be the gold standard for DMV baseball, but Gonzaga and PVI are also totally loaded and sending many kids to power 5 schools. The publics like Vienna, Whitman, WJ and even Wilson in DC are also sending many kids to D1. There are plenty of paths for kids who work hard.

This always bothers me when people say “there are plenty of paths for kids who work hard” because it’s actually a lie. There are paths for kids who physically mature early and catch coaches eyes and for those who are willing to go to coaches special clinics and pay big bucks. For DS and teammates (who have worked their butts off and are solid players) the high school trajectory is very much up in the air. I don’t regret the travel experience and all the extra hours with trainers but his ability to play in HS is nowhere near locked down.

We have seen this. Unfortunately, tryouts should be meritocracy, combined with an honest assessment of future ability. But often, especially if a coach has an affiliation with a certain travel club, those decisions are anything but meritorious.

The only place you'll get a meritocracy in a tryout process is in individual sports with quantitative scoring that only depends on the single athlete -- like swimming, track, golf, etc. Coaches in those sports know numbers don't lie and tend to take the best athletes regardless of their bias.

Having HS coaches that coach club players is a big problem in a lot of sports, and its especially bad in private schools in this area. Some HS coaches now actively tell players that they need to play for their club if they want to get a spot on the HS team. Others will tell players that if they play for a certain club then they won't get a spot. Players are vulnerable in this situation and tend to do whatever the HS coach says. More than a few of those coaches don't have the best interests of the players at heart and they give some really bad advice that effectively halts the growth of really talented players.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Slightly OT, but how competitive is HS baseball these days? I remember when I played HS baseball 30 years ago, it was competitive, but travel was definitely required to make the team. Travel itself was actually much less of a thing.

I guess what I'm asking, is if you don't play travel, is there a remote shot at making a HS team? Or is the talent just that good/deep today?

Totally depends on the size of the school and whether they field a freshman team or “JVB” team (along with JV and varsity).

Our HS is huge, and fields 3 teams (JV varsity and a freshman team) which lets some kids play for a bit longer. Generally a kid will need to have played travel ball to even make the freshman team.

At a small local private school, there aren’t even tryouts for baseball. They take everyone (although some may not see playing time in games).

At a smaller local public district, the baseball teams are significantly easier to make- just due to lower numbers trying out.

There are more HS teams in the DMV than there are travel teams, so there will always be HS programs that aren't as competitive. It's just a numbers issue. But there are some areas where there are concentrations of travel teams that flip this calculus. Where that happens making the HS team is usually a lot more competitive. HS baseball 30 years ago was fed much more by the local league system where almost every community had a program through at least U14, and if you lived in an area with a good local league then your HS was usually very competitive.

Interesting. We are class of 2032 at a WCAC, and baseball will likely be at least part of the decision of where we go. And there doesn't seem to be any middle ground. The program is either pretty good, or they stink.

So you have a 5th grader? O'Connell seems like an attainable place to play baseball. St. john's no. I've seen kids being recruited by Ireton, so they are trying to build up the program.

St. John’s might be the gold standard for DMV baseball, but Gonzaga and PVI are also totally loaded and sending many kids to power 5 schools. The publics like Vienna, Whitman, WJ and even Wilson in DC are also sending many kids to D1. There are plenty of paths for kids who work hard.

This always bothers me when people say “there are plenty of paths for kids who work hard” because it’s actually a lie. There are paths for kids who physically mature early and catch coaches eyes and for those who are willing to go to coaches special clinics and pay big bucks. For DS and teammates (who have worked their butts off and are solid players) the high school trajectory is very much up in the air. I don’t regret the travel experience and all the extra hours with trainers but his ability to play in HS is nowhere near locked down.

We have seen this. Unfortunately, tryouts should be meritocracy, combined with an honest assessment of future ability. But often, especially if a coach has an affiliation with a certain travel club, those decisions are anything but meritorious.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Slightly OT, but how competitive is HS baseball these days? I remember when I played HS baseball 30 years ago, it was competitive, but travel was definitely required to make the team. Travel itself was actually much less of a thing.

I guess what I'm asking, is if you don't play travel, is there a remote shot at making a HS team? Or is the talent just that good/deep today?

Totally depends on the size of the school and whether they field a freshman team or “JVB” team (along with JV and varsity).

Our HS is huge, and fields 3 teams (JV varsity and a freshman team) which lets some kids play for a bit longer. Generally a kid will need to have played travel ball to even make the freshman team.

At a small local private school, there aren’t even tryouts for baseball. They take everyone (although some may not see playing time in games).

At a smaller local public district, the baseball teams are significantly easier to make- just due to lower numbers trying out.

There are more HS teams in the DMV than there are travel teams, so there will always be HS programs that aren't as competitive. It's just a numbers issue. But there are some areas where there are concentrations of travel teams that flip this calculus. Where that happens making the HS team is usually a lot more competitive. HS baseball 30 years ago was fed much more by the local league system where almost every community had a program through at least U14, and if you lived in an area with a good local league then your HS was usually very competitive.

Interesting. We are class of 2032 at a WCAC, and baseball will likely be at least part of the decision of where we go. And there doesn't seem to be any middle ground. The program is either pretty good, or they stink.

So you have a 5th grader? O'Connell seems like an attainable place to play baseball. St. john's no. I've seen kids being recruited by Ireton, so they are trying to build up the program.

St. John’s might be the gold standard for DMV baseball, but Gonzaga and PVI are also totally loaded and sending many kids to power 5 schools. The publics like Vienna, Whitman, WJ and even Wilson in DC are also sending many kids to D1. There are plenty of paths for kids who work hard.

This always bothers me when people say “there are plenty of paths for kids who work hard” because it’s actually a lie. There are paths for kids who physically mature early and catch coaches eyes and for those who are willing to go to coaches special clinics and pay big bucks. For DS and teammates (who have worked their butts off and are solid players) the high school trajectory is very much up in the air. I don’t regret the travel experience and all the extra hours with trainers but his ability to play in HS is nowhere near locked down.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Slightly OT, but how competitive is HS baseball these days? I remember when I played HS baseball 30 years ago, it was competitive, but travel was definitely required to make the team. Travel itself was actually much less of a thing.

I guess what I'm asking, is if you don't play travel, is there a remote shot at making a HS team? Or is the talent just that good/deep today?

Totally depends on the size of the school and whether they field a freshman team or “JVB” team (along with JV and varsity).

Our HS is huge, and fields 3 teams (JV varsity and a freshman team) which lets some kids play for a bit longer. Generally a kid will need to have played travel ball to even make the freshman team.

At a small local private school, there aren’t even tryouts for baseball. They take everyone (although some may not see playing time in games).

At a smaller local public district, the baseball teams are significantly easier to make- just due to lower numbers trying out.

There are more HS teams in the DMV than there are travel teams, so there will always be HS programs that aren't as competitive. It's just a numbers issue. But there are some areas where there are concentrations of travel teams that flip this calculus. Where that happens making the HS team is usually a lot more competitive. HS baseball 30 years ago was fed much more by the local league system where almost every community had a program through at least U14, and if you lived in an area with a good local league then your HS was usually very competitive.

Interesting. We are class of 2032 at a WCAC, and baseball will likely be at least part of the decision of where we go. And there doesn't seem to be any middle ground. The program is either pretty good, or they stink.

So you have a 5th grader? O'Connell seems like an attainable place to play baseball. St. john's no. I've seen kids being recruited by Ireton, so they are trying to build up the program.

St. John’s might be the gold standard for DMV baseball, but Gonzaga and PVI are also totally loaded and sending many kids to power 5 schools. The publics like Vienna, Whitman, WJ and even Wilson in DC are also sending many kids to D1. There are plenty of paths for kids who work hard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Slightly OT, but how competitive is HS baseball these days? I remember when I played HS baseball 30 years ago, it was competitive, but travel was definitely required to make the team. Travel itself was actually much less of a thing.

I guess what I'm asking, is if you don't play travel, is there a remote shot at making a HS team? Or is the talent just that good/deep today?

Totally depends on the size of the school and whether they field a freshman team or “JVB” team (along with JV and varsity).

Our HS is huge, and fields 3 teams (JV varsity and a freshman team) which lets some kids play for a bit longer. Generally a kid will need to have played travel ball to even make the freshman team.

At a small local private school, there aren’t even tryouts for baseball. They take everyone (although some may not see playing time in games).

At a smaller local public district, the baseball teams are significantly easier to make- just due to lower numbers trying out.

There are more HS teams in the DMV than there are travel teams, so there will always be HS programs that aren't as competitive. It's just a numbers issue. But there are some areas where there are concentrations of travel teams that flip this calculus. Where that happens making the HS team is usually a lot more competitive. HS baseball 30 years ago was fed much more by the local league system where almost every community had a program through at least U14, and if you lived in an area with a good local league then your HS was usually very competitive.

Interesting. We are class of 2032 at a WCAC, and baseball will likely be at least part of the decision of where we go. And there doesn't seem to be any middle ground. The program is either pretty good, or they stink.

So you have a 5th grader? O'Connell seems like an attainable place to play baseball. St. john's no. I've seen kids being recruited by Ireton, so they are trying to build up the program.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Slightly OT, but how competitive is HS baseball these days? I remember when I played HS baseball 30 years ago, it was competitive, but travel was definitely required to make the team. Travel itself was actually much less of a thing.

I guess what I'm asking, is if you don't play travel, is there a remote shot at making a HS team? Or is the talent just that good/deep today?

Totally depends on the size of the school and whether they field a freshman team or “JVB” team (along with JV and varsity).

Our HS is huge, and fields 3 teams (JV varsity and a freshman team) which lets some kids play for a bit longer. Generally a kid will need to have played travel ball to even make the freshman team.

At a small local private school, there aren’t even tryouts for baseball. They take everyone (although some may not see playing time in games).

At a smaller local public district, the baseball teams are significantly easier to make- just due to lower numbers trying out.

There are more HS teams in the DMV than there are travel teams, so there will always be HS programs that aren't as competitive. It's just a numbers issue. But there are some areas where there are concentrations of travel teams that flip this calculus. Where that happens making the HS team is usually a lot more competitive. HS baseball 30 years ago was fed much more by the local league system where almost every community had a program through at least U14, and if you lived in an area with a good local league then your HS was usually very competitive.

Interesting. We are class of 2032 at a WCAC, and baseball will likely be at least part of the decision of where we go. And there doesn't seem to be any middle ground. The program is either pretty good, or they stink.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Slightly OT, but how competitive is HS baseball these days? I remember when I played HS baseball 30 years ago, it was competitive, but travel was definitely required to make the team. Travel itself was actually much less of a thing.

I guess what I'm asking, is if you don't play travel, is there a remote shot at making a HS team? Or is the talent just that good/deep today?

Totally depends on the size of the school and whether they field a freshman team or “JVB” team (along with JV and varsity).

Our HS is huge, and fields 3 teams (JV varsity and a freshman team) which lets some kids play for a bit longer. Generally a kid will need to have played travel ball to even make the freshman team.

At a small local private school, there aren’t even tryouts for baseball. They take everyone (although some may not see playing time in games).

At a smaller local public district, the baseball teams are significantly easier to make- just due to lower numbers trying out.

There are more HS teams in the DMV than there are travel teams, so there will always be HS programs that aren't as competitive. It's just a numbers issue. But there are some areas where there are concentrations of travel teams that flip this calculus. Where that happens making the HS team is usually a lot more competitive. HS baseball 30 years ago was fed much more by the local league system where almost every community had a program through at least U14, and if you lived in an area with a good local league then your HS was usually very competitive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Slightly OT, but how competitive is HS baseball these days? I remember when I played HS baseball 30 years ago, it was competitive, but travel was definitely required to make the team. Travel itself was actually much less of a thing.

I guess what I'm asking, is if you don't play travel, is there a remote shot at making a HS team? Or is the talent just that good/deep today?

Totally depends on the size of the school and whether they field a freshman team or “JVB” team (along with JV and varsity).

Our HS is huge, and fields 3 teams (JV varsity and a freshman team) which lets some kids play for a bit longer. Generally a kid will need to have played travel ball to even make the freshman team.

At a small local private school, there aren’t even tryouts for baseball. They take everyone (although some may not see playing time in games).

At a smaller local public district, the baseball teams are significantly easier to make- just due to lower numbers trying out.

Anonymous wrote:Slightly OT, but how competitive is HS baseball these days? I remember when I played HS baseball 30 years ago, it was competitive, but travel was definitely required to make the team. Travel itself was actually much less of a thing.

I guess what I'm asking, is if you don't play travel, is there a remote shot at making a HS team? Or is the talent just that good/deep today?

Anonymous wrote:Slightly OT, but how competitive is HS baseball these days? I remember when I played HS baseball 30 years ago, it was competitive, but travel was definitely required to make the team. Travel itself was actually much less of a thing.

I guess what I'm asking, is if you don't play travel, is there a remote shot at making a HS team? Or is the talent just that good/deep today?