Great subject Swamp.
While I think that every college player should play summer ball at least once, I don’t think many realize it might be better to tell their coaches they would prefer not to. As Swamp pointed out summer ball is a long grind, it wears players down and most don’t have the time or energy to work out and get bigger and stronger. Depending on the individual, I think spending the time working out and gaining strength sometimes trumps getting worn down by the grind of summer ball. Pitchers who have logged a lot of innings should stay home and recover IMO and it may also be better for younger players to spend the summer getting bigger and stronger. Each situation is so unique I don’t think you can make blanket statements, but I think that some players and their parents don’t realize it may be better to not play.
My son played in the CCL after his freshmen year, pitching and hitting, which was unusual for a D3 player in a very competitive league. As Swamp mentioned, he got very tired at the end, they had to be at the field by 12PM 5-6 days per week and he usually did not get home until after 10PM. His second year he decided to work an internship, and played in a Sunday only league with mostly JC kids with a handful like him. He was able to workout everyday at the gym and get in his arm strength work. He was also working on changing his pitching mechanics with his college coach so he would get video posted of his Sunday outings and he and the coach would review once a week. It ended up being the perfect scenario for him, he came back throwing significantly harder than when he left. This year he is at UT Austin doing summer research and is doing the same thing working out in the gym, working on his arm strength and will come back to school bigger stronger and throwing harder than he would have if he had been through the summer ball grind.
Also a lot of players don’t realize but in some of the higher end leagues you can get short contracts that are 2-3 weeks and this is also a good option for players who want to be seen, but don’t want to have the long season grind.
The experiences are unforgettable and if you are invited to play in the Cape you have to go, but for many it might be better to stay home for a summer or two.