Youth baseball

[timber]

Things have sure changed since my son came up playing. Most games were local If you made allstar team you might have drive a hour at most for tournment. My grandson is playing 12u travel ball. Saw schedule last week for this spring and summer. They have tournment in Pigeon Forge Tn, Myrtle Beach SC, Cooperstown NY plus all the smaller tournaments around Richmond Va. Dont know how the parents can keep up with all the practices and the traveling. Told them i would try go as many tournaments as i can but count me out for NY. Have no plans of making that one

 

[DBCooper]

Things have sure changed since my son came up playing. Most games were local If you made allstar team you might have drive a hour at most for tournment. My grandson is playing 12u travel ball. Saw schedule last week for this spring and summer. They have tournment in Pigeon Forge Tn, Myrtle Beach SC, Cooperstown NY plus all the smaller tournaments around Richmond Va. Dont know how the parents can keep up with all the practices and the traveling. Told them i would try go as many tournaments as i can but count me out for NY. Have no plans of making that one

I wonder how much of this is ...who has the best players...or, which parents have the required income to support this lifestyle?

My guess is...is it's a little of both.

 

[oldest school]

I wonder how much of this is ...who has the best players...or, which parents have the required income to support this lifestyle?

My guess is...is it's a little of both.

Well it’s a long way to go for ass whippins
So most teams have players BUT it is a racket for the tourney sponsors and ego trips for parents and others.
All this from one who chases baseball and softball teams.

 

[timber]

I wonder how much of this is ...who has the best players...or, which parents have the required income to support this lifestyle?

My guess is...is it's a little of both.

No doubt income probably play some in it. But most of these teams are extremely competitive. I know the organization that grandson playa for have try outs to make the team. They recruit good players from several counties. I know one kid is about hour away from facility they practice at. Have heard some of tge bigger tournments are 500 to 600 dollars a kid to enter. Think cost grandson about 1700 a year to join the team. Thats mainly for up keep on the facility. The tournament entry fees are mainly paid for by sponsorship

 

[DBCooper]

Well it’s a long way to go for ass whippins
So most teams have players BUT it is a racket for the tourney sponsors and ego trips for parents and others.
All this from one who chases baseball and softball teams.

No way my family could have afforded that for me. It was everything they could do to send me to camp at UNC each year (for a week).

I'm sure they're getting great competition, but I don't personally see the concept being necessary until the kids get to be of age to be recruited. Yeah....I'm sure people's kids are being recruited at young ages, but my opinion stands.

I'm hoping kids who are great players (but, whose families are financially burdened) are getting out there and raising money for their cause. I just wish they didn't have to.

 

[timber]

From what I understand they start recruiting some at the 13u and up level. I know the coach has mentioned to grandson about playing on what they call dirtbag team next year when he turns 13. They do more traveling but a lot of college scouts start watching. Supposedly those tournaments its more on how you play individually than just winning the tournaments as a team.

 

[timekiller13]

I hate travel ball.

This is coming from someone who played travel AAU baseball starting at 13. And got recruited/offers from colleges.

It’s a waste of money and time. I feel sorry for my mom and dad. I can’t even fathom how much money they spent on me traveling around and watching me play meaningless baseball games.

 

[timber]

It’s definitely tuff on the parents. Here it’s rural area and a lot of the parents not making 6 figure income. I know of several families that these away tournaments take the place of there vacations. Hopefully in the long run it might lead to some kind of college opportunity for a few. One thing I see good is it’s just not a sign up and play. If the kid looses interest and dosent try they can get replaced. Something don’t hear much in travel ball is just go out and have fun. When they go to these tournaments they go to win

 

[rangerxp]

Mostly about the money these days . Years ago kids played Rec ball and the better than average players would move on to travel ball around age 13. Once around age 16-17 if well above average those kids would try and make a showcase team.
Now Rec ball is pitiful with kids who have never played starting the game as late as highschool .
Today Travel ball is like the old Rec ball , most any kid can find a team if parents are willing to pay to play.
Even Showcase baseball is watered down and with a little talent most any kid can find a team , again if parents are willing to pay.
Dirtbags use to be the elite players 16-18 year olds . Now Dirtbags is just another name and has kids from 8u to 18u and multiple teams in each age group . If they can get 10+ kids to pay then a new team is formed . Dirtbags , EvoShield , Rawlings , GameTime , etc... All the same.
College scouts looking at kids under age 16 , not gonna happen unless their in the stands waiting for the 17-18u game to start or the rare younger kid that is well above average and getting talked about often.
I've been there and done it with my son. I let him play travel ball because he loved to play and figured if we had to be at a baseball field every weekend I wanted him to see better quality of play. Played one summer of Showcase baseball at age 14 on a 15u team. It was a money racket . Only good thing about it was he got the chance to play on college fields like UNC , NC State , ECU , Liberty and Campbell .

If the kid loves the game and just wants to play at a higher level and you can afford the cost and travel , go for it.
If you think it's gonna get your kid a chance to play college baseball , your money and time can be better spent in other ways to get there.

 

[justwin24]

My son played travel baseball for 10 years. He is now playing baseball in college. Without baseball there is no doubt in my mind he would had gone to college. Not that college is a prerequisite for success.

There is many corrupt organizations and individuals involved. Much money is being drained from parents. I have seen 9 year old kids cut and told they were no longer good enough to be on that team when a better player came along. We learned to stay away from organizations with multiple teams in the same age group.

My son learned valuable life lessons at an early age. Such as you have to earn playing time. How to handle failure and pressure situations. That it's just a game and you cannot let it define who you are. How to respect authority. How to be goal oriented. That success was the greatest revenge. Then and now if he feels he wasn't getting a fair shake my response was to work harder.

You do not need travel baseball to play in college but I do feel its good preparation for college ball. Not a lot of scholarship money in baseball either.

We met many great coaches and families over the years. Some have what I hope to be life long friends. I felt that all the hours traveling with my son in cars and hotel rooms was invaluable. He was able to see parts of the country he may not ever had seen. Those were great times.

I still travel all around the too watch him play but it's not the same without him and his stinkin friends in the backseat.

As much bad as there is I feel there is as much and if not more good. The college baseball recruitment process is where you really find corruption. From showcase teams, showcase camps, recruitment businesses, coaches, and colleges.

For example. When my son sent a video to a coach he always made a new YouTube video with zero views and a unique number in the description to keep it straight as to which coach got sent which video. Roughly half the time the coach or his recruiter would say they liked what they saw in the video we would find zero views. It was an easy way to weed out the clowns.

 

[ScottyB]

From what I understand they start recruiting some at the 13u and up level. I know the coach has mentioned to grandson about playing on what they call dirtbag team next year when he turns 13. They do more traveling but a lot of college scouts start watching. Supposedly those tournaments its more on how you play individually than just winning the tournaments as a team.

Yep and if your kid makes the “B” team. Your money will support the “A” teams travel expenses! It’s all a racket that has been diluted by parents that have mediocre ball players that can’t seem to get picked up by a team….. so they start their own team and 95% of the time their “”at best” right field kid is the teams terrible shortstop!

 

[timber]

Mostly about the money these days . Years ago kids played Rec ball and the better than average players would move on to travel ball around age 13. Once around age 16-17 if well above average those kids would try and make a showcase team.
Now Rec ball is pitiful with kids who have never played starting the game as late as highschool .
Today Travel ball is like the old Rec ball , most any kid can find a team if parents are willing to pay to play.
Even Showcase baseball is watered down and with a little talent most any kid can find a team , again if parents are willing to pay.
Dirtbags use to be the elite players 16-18 year olds . Now Dirtbags is just another name and has kids from 8u to 18u and multiple teams in each age group . If they can get 10+ kids to pay then a new team is formed . Dirtbags , EvoShield , Rawlings , GameTime , etc... All the same.
College scouts looking at kids under age 16 , not gonna happen unless their in the stands waiting for the 17-18u game to start or the rare younger kid that is well above average and getting talked about often.
I've been there and done it with my son. I let him play travel ball because he loved to play and figured if we had to be at a baseball field every weekend I wanted him to see better quality of play. Played one summer of Showcase baseball at age 14 on a 15u team. It was a money racket . Only good thing about it was he got the chance to play on college fields like UNC , NC State , ECU , Liberty and Campbell .

If the kid loves the game and just wants to play at a higher level and you can afford the cost and travel , go for it.
If you think it's gonna get your kid a chance to play college baseball , your money and time can be better spent in other ways to get there.

I agree the rec ball has gone backwards. I blame that on the parents as much as anything. It’s minimal cost to play so parents don’t have excuse they can’t afford it. Grandson plays rec ball along with travel which travel takes priority. He was playing on a city rec and there were games where there want enough kids to fill out a team. Last year switched to a county league which is a lot better. They had 5 teams his age group. Guess disadvantage played in a different town every week. Don’t doubt there are some pickup travel teams but haven’t seen it much in these big tournaments. It takes a lot of money to play the tournaments like Charleston Sc, Myrtle Beach and the ones in Cooperstown Ny. The entry fees are high. Takes some good sponsorship to play especially when you are playing multiple tournaments a year. I can see some of both sides. Have seen kids in rec league that didn’t know which side of plate to stand on or which hand to put the glove on. But on the flip side there are a lot more opportunities now for kids that really want it. There is a guy here that use to coach some in college that teaches hitting. He has a building set up with nets and computers with cameras like colleges use. Have seen some big improvements from the kids that go there. But it’s one more expense. Think it’s 40.00 a session. Grandson been going for about a year and big difference in his hitting

 

[rangerxp]

The SC tournaments are just another TopGun baseball tournament that cost you more money to play , drive and hotels .
The kids love them because they feel it's something special. Most of the time your team will end up playing another team from your area.
Cooperstown is one of the last special tournaments for 12u kids , completely different from Travel baseball and they make it special for the kids.
Cooperstown only negative is the cost/travel and the small fields turn many games into a homerun derby .

Look into the Ripken baseball tournaments in Myrtle Beach , https://ripkenbaseball.com/locations/myrtle-beach/#events
Ripken was the most enjoyable tournaments we played in the 10-12u age groups.
Ripken has small and larger tournaments from weekend games to week long tournaments with lots of activites outside of baseball.

Finding a good hitting , fielding , pitching , catching coach is the best thing you can do for a young player that truly wants to play better and willing to put in the work. Best to find a coach that works with your kids swing " as long as it's a good technique " and not some of the higher level coaches wanting to teach a kid to learn their personal way of baseball.

 

[timber]

The ripken tournament in myrtle beach was a nice tournament especially the fields. Played in that one think was around july last year. There were couple teams from Fla that were good teams. Usually we have different teams to play between NC and VA. They play a lot of tournaments north of Richmon Va which draws team from a big area between northern Va and VA Beach areas. The tournaments they played in Rocky Mount probably ran into more of the same teams than most of the others. Which Rocky Mount was probably one of the worse tournaments i have been to with the whining.

 

[dpc]

Little league……….

Make the mafia blush, haha
You want to talk about fixed sports

 

[timekiller13]

Back when I was playing, you thought you were good until you went to some of these big tournaments and then you got humbled real quick!!!

My team went to a tournament in Va Beach one year (1999 or 2000). We were good. Very good. We played a team called the Tidewater Drillers.

They were great. Beat us 34-3.

Played in a national tournament in Florida. Faced a team from Texas. Starting pitcher threw 93-96mph at 16 yrs old!!! Just fouling one off was an accomplishment!! I think he struck out something like 17 people in a row.

 

[Sportsman]

I live in Greenville NC where we are totally saturated with youth/middle school/high school baseball players and families. I love the game, but the "life style", the egos, and those living vicariously through their children are rather annoying.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love baseball (collegiate level especially), but people around here lose their minds over their sons' baseball habits. Parents basically give up their lives for 8-10 months out of the year for 10 years for their kids to play baseball. In the end, maybe 1.5-2% of the boys wind up playing Division 1 baseball.

All that said, I sort of get it if the boy is an absolute stand out with obvious potential to play at levels above most others around him. But they're a rare breed.

 

[richard corn]

Things have sure changed since my son came up playing. Most games were local If you made allstar team you might have drive a hour at most for tournment. My grandson is playing 12u travel ball. Saw schedule last week for this spring and summer. They have tournment in Pigeon Forge Tn, Myrtle Beach SC, Cooperstown NY plus all the smaller tournaments around Richmond Va. Dont know how the parents can keep up with all the practices and the traveling. Told them i would try go as many tournaments as i can but count me out for NY. Have no plans of making that one

NY might be the best of the lot. My son played there 15 years ago. At the time it was for 12 year olds. It may have changed since then but for every week during summer 64 teams from across the country, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico signed up to play. Then the last week all the winners from previous weeks came back to town to name overall grand champion. Saw some phenomenal young talent there. Most were there with their dads who were compensated with all travel and expenses paid by team owner. Great experience for the kids and a free day to visit Cooperstown and Hall of Fame. Long and tiring week but baseball was king then. By the way the event was run and owned by a man from Salisbury, NC. Cooperstown Dream Teams, go for it.

 

[timber]

I would like see them play in Cooperstown but can’t deal the traffic. Think some of the team and family might just take Amtrak so don’t have deal with traffic and parking. Found out last week they not playing in Pigeon Forge TN instead playing in Delaware so probably want go that one either. Those big tournaments usually have a channel can pay and watch game on TV. Watched some of the games they played at Myrtle Beach last year on tv.

 

[richard corn]

When we went to Cooperstown we played against a player from California who played in AAU national finals, Cooperstown finals, and LL World Series all within a month. Pretty good player

 

[richard corn]

I would like see them play in Cooperstown but can’t deal the traffic. Think some of the team and family might just take Amtrak so don’t have deal with traffic and parking. Found out last week they not playing in Pigeon Forge TN instead playing in Delaware so probably want go that one either. Those big tournaments usually have a channel can pay and watch game on TV. Watched some of the games they played at Myrtle Beach last year on tv.

Don’t remember traffic being an issue. Fields are located outside Cooperstown before you hit the downtown area and tourist trap. I would never allow traffic to be the determining factor in an experience that both you and your son will cherish forever. If that were the case I’d never go to Charlotte, Atlanta, or Washington,DC.

 

[adkarcher]

I grew up near Cooperstown, little small town out in the middle of farm country. Traffic is not an issue, way worse here in the burbs of W-S. We were scheduled to go but then COVID cancelled the tourney, which stunk for the boys.

I am currently in the middle of the whole travel ball thing with a 15 year old. He has played on elite teams since he was 9 years old, the year he stopped playing rec ball. Most tourneys in the early years were local, with 1-2 trips years out of town - Myrtle, Pigeon Forge, Rocky Mount.

His current team is much more travel - AL, FL, SC, GA and the major college campuses here in NC, VA and SC. It is a lot of money, but at the same time, we have been to places as a family we would never have gone to and just did family time there when not playing ball. He has played on much better teams than he ever would have locally and played against some of the top teams and players in the nation. This is turn has made him a better player. Maybe it leads to college ball, maybe not. He is good enough to play college ball, what level is TBD....

But in the end, he is doing something he enjoys, making memories and working hard to achieve his dream of playing college ball - and if it doesn't work out, he has developed life long habits (both physical and mental) that will help him as an adult when his playing days are over. And we are together many, many weekends as a family - not my wife sitting home alone, my son locked in his room playing video games and me on the golf course with my buddies..... and being a transplant, almost all of our friends have come thru travel baseball.

Overall, has been very positive for us.

 

[Scrub]

Coached showcase teams and it’s a money racket. If your kid shines in High School they will find him

 

[timber]

Agree it’s money driven. No doubt a outstanding player in high school ball will get noticed. The kicker is getting to be outstanding. For 99% of they get to be outstanding by playing ball and a lot of it. Not saying there aren’t some kids that are natural athletes that can pick it up fast but for most that’s not the case. I see travel ball really come into play in rural areas. Grandson was playing on a town rec team. The last year he played wasn’t but 2 teams. The same 2 team were playing each other twice a week and some nights want enough players to fill the team. The games were more practice than anything. Last year he switched to a county rec league with 5 teams along with plying travel ball. Which travel ball comes first. Travel ball from what I have seen is just a different level. Another advantage is the money. Grandson plays travel ball with a sports center that sponsors baseball and girls fast pitch softball. They charge a yearly fee per kid but that would no way cover all the expenses for facilities and all the money spent on tournament entry fees. They have outside sponsorship to make it work. They have a facility they can practice fundamentals along with pitching and batting in all year round if needed regardless of weather. I’m sure some of the larger towns or cities have much larger rec budget and have more to offer

 

[dbohunts]

If your kid shines in High School they will find him

Hardly ever the case, unfortunately. The only sport that is a vessel from high school to college these days is primarily football.

 

[Scrub]

Agree it’s money driven. No doubt a outstanding player in high school ball will get noticed. The kicker is getting to be outstanding. For 99% of they get to be outstanding by playing ball and a lot of it. Not saying there aren’t some kids that are natural athletes that can pick it up fast but for most that’s not the case. I see travel ball really come into play in rural areas. Grandson was playing on a town rec team. The last year he played wasn’t but 2 teams. The same 2 team were playing each other twice a week and some nights want enough players to fill the team. The games were more practice than anything. Last year he switched to a county rec league with 5 teams along with plying travel ball. Which travel ball comes first. Travel ball from what I have seen is just a different level. Another advantage is the money. Grandson plays travel ball with a sports center that sponsors baseball and girls fast pitch softball. They charge a yearly fee per kid but that would no way cover all the expenses for facilities and all the money spent on tournament entry fees. They have outside sponsorship to make it work. They have a facility they can practice fundamentals along with pitching and batting in all year round if needed regardless of weather. I’m sure some of the larger towns or cities have much larger rec budget and have more to offer

Get back to me in a few years

 

[brownisdown]

Hardly ever the case, unfortunately. The only sport that is a vessel from high school to college these days is primarily football.

Agree, I wish that was the case but in small town academics politics are hard to overcome. I batted 0.690 and 0.750 my freshmen and sophomore years and got cut as a Jr after 1 day of practice. I loved the game but it ruined it for me. I was never a power hitter but rarely struck out.

 

[Papa_Smurf]

Agree, I wish that was the case but in small town academics politics are hard to overcome. I batted 0.690 and 0.750 my freshmen and sophomore years and got cut as a Jr after 1 day of practice. I loved the game but it ruined it for me. I was never a power hitter but rarely struck out.

agreed. similar story here. solid on base % and way better than average with a glove.

 

[brownisdown]

agreed. similar story here. solid on base % and way better than average with a glove.

I have a wall full of game balls and all star trophies as a 2nd basemen. I may not have been good enough to play Jr college ball but the way it all played out ruined the game for me.

 

[DBCooper]

I batted 0.690 and 0.750 my freshmen and sophomore years and got cut as a Jr after 1 day of practice.

What level was this at? Why do you think you were cut?

I RARELY see anyone bat over .500 in HS. A HS second baseman who can hit over .300 would be HIGHLY sought-after, I would imagine.