Fascinating discussion here.. I think everyone is correct in many aspects.
IMO- Summer Ball is about Growth- personally and baseball wise...
it's about Perserverance..
my 2019 RHP has been put through many challenges/schools/portals etc.. very difficult but after awhile it makes you stronger.
last year , while he was in the portal, during the summer he went to Driveline for a week and he worked out with our local PC and played for PC's local team. He thought that was the best fit for growth at that time.
this summer- His current D1 didn't really want him to play Summer but he insisted and they placed him in the WCL-
not the whole season but about 5 weeks. exact and limited pitch counts..
within 24 hours of him being there - we get the phone call:
"host family is 30 min away from field, I don't have a car, there is no pitching coach and no body works out here- I think it would be more beneficial to come home to work out with home PC "
so how do you handle that?
on one hand he kind of has some valid point's.
but on the other hand it is about personal Growth and perserverance.. as well as grinding it out and being a good teammate and dependable person
so we rented him a car from afar. he got back some freedom and found a gym. He weathered another "mini storm" along with some crazy bus trips and had a good time. Pitched well too.. made friends and memories that he won't ever forget.
It was a good decision.