Daque, I hear everything you're saying. I understand.
People, he's not against travelball. All he's saying is that a lot of people think success in TB ALWAYS equates to success in H.S., and it's simply not true. The references to the big field are more about age and maturity than anything else. A lot can change at the age we reach the big field. I've been in T.B. for 5 years. I can tell you that all the big hard throwers that "dazzled" everybodys minds when they were 9-12 years old have suddenly dissapeared.It's funny that these overgrown boys who's parent were all 6' or under are suddenly covered in hair with a deep voice and done growing at 13 yrs old.Guess what, they aren't throwing it by ANYONE now! They're getting BOMBED! Baseball isn't fun anymore. They didn't learn good hitting mechanics because they didn't need them before.
My son, well he's 5' 6" and doesn't have a hair on him yet. Oh, and because he couldn't throw it by them all these years, he learned to "pitch". He's getting people out. Oh, and mechanics? Yeah, he needed them to hit when everyone was bigger than him. Try throwing one by him. AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN. Good mechanics are the rule. Oh yeah, I'm 6' 1" and at least as big as most other parents we're around. I knew that these boys who dwarfed my son would end up looking him in the eye someday. I enterd H.S. 5'4" 120lbs and not a hair on me. My son will most likely do the same.
So to recap, what happened on the small field probably won't equate to the H.S. diamond because those kids who grew faster have quit growing. They didn't need good mechanics (even in T.B.) to be successful and now baseball isn't fun because they aren't dominating it. Can they get better? Sure they can. But there are no guarentees.
Daque, I do think baseball knowelege learned in travelball will be hard to overcome in H.S. The season is just too short here in the midwest. The rec league boys will probably wind up being outfielders and role players unless they work hard on their own.