Interesting article about the problems with travel (AAU) basketball, primarily from a college coach's perspective. I am sure many of you will say that baseball as different, and to a certain extent it is. But, the article reminded me of a conversation I once had with an ACC recruiting coordinator who told me that he absolutely hated going to East Cobb for many of the same reasons expressed in this article.
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The individualism in baseball is VERY much a factor with some of these baseball travel teams. It's even a concern with some HS players. My son despises players that are "out for themselves only". He walked away from a travel team that was loaded with those types of players.
He understands the concept of showcase baseball allowing a player to put themselves out there in the best possible light. But he can't push past the fact that he hates to lose more than he loves to win. Even in a showcase game. I think his attitude is fine for HS and college baseball, but should the day come where he has an opportunity to play pro baseball, he'd have to re-examine his thoughts.
My son has played both travel (some AAU) basketball and travel baseball. I can tell you that the "Im out for me only" attitude is way worse with basketball. Its one of the reasons he has given it up. I have noticed recently that you can start to pick out the AAU kids at a HS basketball game. While many of them have skill sets (dribbling, shooting, etc) they do not know how to play structured basketball with a team. Couple that with the dads yelling things like "take him" and its pretty easy to see where Frank is coming from. This last HS season my sons team played some games with kids who were either highly ranked or who had a reputation for being good ball players. We beat these teams. Mainly because the players were playing for themselves and not the team. I could see the frustration on the other HS teams coaches faces at times.
As how this relates to baseball my recent mantra here on this board has become that the type of travel team you play for can really help in the recruiting process. Just being on a good travel team may not be enough. You need to be involved in a program that focuses on showcasing kids. That said you need to find a balance between a team that gets the kids exposure and one that encourages kids to "play on their own". The team must focus on the team aspect of baseball as much as the exposure part.
The individualism in baseball is VERY much a factor with some of these baseball travel teams. It's even a concern with some HS players. My son despises players that are "out for themselves only". He walked away from a travel team that was loaded with those types of players.
He understands the concept of showcase baseball allowing a player to put themselves out there in the best possible light. But he can't push past the fact that he hates to lose more than he loves to win. Even in a showcase game. I think his attitude is fine for HS and college baseball, but should the day come where he has an opportunity to play pro baseball, he'd have to re-examine his thoughts.
NYdad: The "individualism" you speak of was one of the reasons my son liked indoor track the least between baseball, soccer and track. There was a year when his school had a relay team that could have placed highly in an event, but two runners wouldn't run because "their event" was later on in the meet. As for baseball showcase games, he too was always for the team. Though "individuals" make up the team in a showcase (which players have just recently met), I know he's hitting to right field with a runner on second no out, though he would probably like to square and sacrifice. 
It's hard to compare the sports. But the similarity looking at it from a showcase team standpoint is the players desire to shine doing the big things and lack of desire to master the little things. The biggest difference in basketball is the player who doesn't hit the open man because he wants points. That's obvious to even the most basic fan.
i had a kid like this on my travel team. I yanked him from the game if he didn't hit the open man. I told him I didn't care how many points he scored. But if it mattered to him he can't score from the bench.
When we played weak teams I challenged my son (point guard) to see how many points we could run up without him scoring. It was games he could have easily scored twenty to thirty points. A couple of former NBA players said he was one of e best passers they've seen at his level. I believe it's because I emphasized passing.
The kid from my team now playing in the ACC was a team player. He gave up easy scores if he saw an open man on the other side. But in tough games he was the guy we wanted shooting.
Boo hoo. If they don't like it, then don't take the players. These coaches get mesmerized by "athletes" who can't play the game. They hope to teach them, but that rarely works out. Pick the 3 and 4 star players who have learned how to actually play the game. Put them in a team based environment system and win. Just look to Bo Ryan at Wisconsin. He's got today's template.
"Clemson University assistant coach Steve Smith estimated through July he watched approximately 10 to 15 games per day. He estimated among those 15 games, merely two or three featured fluid, fundamental basketball."
I'd like to ask Coach Smith how many players Clemson recruited from those two or three games.
The best teams with the most talent do not call themselves Showcase Teams. Oddly enough many of the lesser talented teams do label themselves as Showcase Teams. Is that a marketing thing?
If you named the top 100 summer or fall baseball teams, I'm not sure you would find any that are called showcase teams. Yet these are the teams that draw the most interest, by far, from recruiters and MLB scouts. These teams play to win and that is the very best way to showcase any individual player. These teams produce many DI commits and draft picks every year.
Also, baseball is very much a game of individualism. That pitcher and especially that hitter is in the most individual position in all sports. There is nobody blocking for him and nobody to pass the ball to. It's almost always you and the ball, whether it is pitching, catching, fielding, running the bases, or hitting.
The team part of baseball starts with simply being a good teammate and being coachable. Doing the little things and executing your job. Giving the effort it takes to help your team. Understanding the game and the situation. To be willing to do the right thing at the right time. The better you are as an individual the more likely you will help the team.
But from the time the pitcher throws the ball, to when the hitter hits the ball, to when it is hit in the direction of a fielder, and everything after that, it is all about those "individuals" Involved in that play. The individual is either successful and helps the team, or he fails and hurts the team. Then the best individuals move up to the next level and keep playing.
That said, there are talented individuals that only care about themselves and actually ruin a team one way or another. Everyone knows this and that is why the players "makeup" is so important to decision makers. Only when those individuals understand the importance of TEAM will a player truly understand what the game is all about.
My son's team did not call itself a showcase team. But every tournament was a high profile affair with lots of coaches and scouts in attendance. I use the term showcase team so people understand the objective of the team. It is to showcase players. Otherwise every team wouldn't list all the players who played for them who move on to college and pro ball.
BTW, in no way does my sons team call itself a showcase team. Yet they do a great job of getting the kids seen.
I don't think there is anything wrong with calling a team Showcase Team.
Guess my point is that most of the very best teams aren't called Showcase Teams.
I would even go so far to say that the very best teams are most interested in winning first and showcasing individuals second. Yet they do the best job of showcasing the individuals. I also believe that the best players are most interested in winning. Winning seems to help individuals look better most of the time.
BTW, I see nothing wrong with those teams that concentrate on giving their players exposure, and put that above winning. But exposure isn't always a good thing. In fact, sometimes exposure can create disinterest in a player. The top teams don't have to look for exposure, that get lots of it. Even not being in the game, but just being on the roster puts them in a certain category. I just know for sure how important winning is to these top teams. I also know that recruiters and scouts love seeing that.
