A team vs B team

How old is your son? What year is he in high school? From what I was told by parents of my son's friends is B teams got very little exposure unless they attended the riget tournaments. One friend played on back lots in East Cobb. They didn't see a college coach all week. And they got overwhelmed by talent that wasn't much better. When they attended a showcase geared towards D3 colleges the kids got the exposure they needed.

 

Don't rely on a travel team to find a college for your son. Make a list of target schools. Then find the right team to get in front of those schools. 

He's will be a sophomore next year.  The team will still play in major tourneys (Perfect Game, etc).

stick with the "B" Team...it's all about the reps now...sitting bench won't do anything for your 2018.

I know a kid who played for the 17/18u B team of one of the top showcase programs in the country. His father said it was a complete waste of money. The kid was a very good D3 talent. He became a D3 All American. His exposure came from the correctly targeted D3 individual showcases.

 

Philly, showcase teams are about exposure, not reps.

I would stick with B team but that is from my experience.

 

I 100% agree with RJM and his example is perfect.My son played on travel teams every summer that hit a lot of hi profile summer tournaments (not a top national showcase team - a club team). Recruiters and scouts go to these showcases with a list of players already. When those players hit/pitch - they watch. When those players are done - they leave or generally not really watching the game. My son is a good player but he is not good enough to turn heads at these kind of showcases and unless you are on their list (due to skills already measured) or do something outstanding like hit bombs - they are not watching you. 

 

Its been said on this forum many times - "fish in the right pond". My son wants to be an engineer and play baseball. Well, that means D1 is pretty much out (not that my son is a d1 talent - he is not - but even if he was - very, very difficult at d1 school). That leaves some D2 but mostly D3 schools that offered his particular major. We would have been much better off targeting the summer camps of these perspective schools than playing on a summer travel team. I feel we wasted a lot of money trying to get "exposure" at these national showcase/tournaments.

 

Luckily for us - and with a lot of advice and experience from this website we have found what we think will be a great fit for him. An engineering school that has an excellent baseball program. Everyone on team is an engineer so all the kids are in same boat in regards to academics vs sports. 

 

Sorry for the long post but the most important decision is figuring out what skill level your son is at - what his dreams/aspirations are on playing in college - and developing a plan around those goals. This may or may not include travel/showcase teams.  

 

 

RJM,

Got it, but you can't get the exposure if your sitting the bench...exposure can come from showcases as well.  The OP asked what our thoughts were about his situation on his son's team (sounds like a travel vs. showcase team)...if a player is not going to get full time playing time on an "A" Team, but will on a "B" Team, then playing for the B team would allow the player to get more "reps" to prepare for the showcases or college camps...those reps do count for something, no?

I think it depends on the organization...

 

Our's had 16 commits on their "B" team (actually it was 17, but one kid had some, ummm... 'problems' and got his rescinded)...

http://www.perfectgame.org/Eve...ault.aspx?team=27197

 

Our "C" team had 9 commits:

http://www.perfectgame.org/Eve...ault.aspx?team=27198

It would be better to find a more suitable A team that plays in the right showcase tournaments. Getting reps on a team college coaches don't see is like the tree that falls in the forest. If no one is there to hear it, does it make a noise?

You're in a talent hotbed In a part of the country loaded with baseball opportunities and good weather. That's an entirely different situation. 

Play on B team for reps, and go to targeted showcases at the college he is interested in...bench time is only good for building character so long then it becomes a waste of time and money. ..you have to get in front of the coaches you want to play for and see if they are interested or if there is a need/fit period...