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Reply to "Travel Ball nightmare"

Sorry to hear this. I was wondering the same thing that TPM asked. How old are these kids?

The best teams I have seen in MD over the past 20 years are the teams that are coached by former players or high school coaches who don't take a dime to coach the team. They do it because they love it and they get satisfaction on seeing players and the team reach their potential. They somehow work it out with their employers so that they can attend every practice, game and tournament from Memorial Day to mid-August. Many of these clubs have coaches who don't have kids on the team. Many of these clubs started out as fledgling organizations, but stuck with it long enough to prove themselves and attract quality talent. These teams send their summer schedule and rosters to dozens of colleges within driving distance and follow up with emails/phone calls to the coaches asking them to come see the club. These teams don't focus on the exposure aspect of baseball. They leave that for fall ball or the occasional tournament during the summer season. The coaches attend clinics in Cherry Hill, NJ or other locations. They line and water the field. They mow the lawn. They clean out the dugouts after the game. They try and schedule top quality competition and practice once in a while on an off night.

To sum it up...I have seen coaching youth baseball turn into a big time business in the past 15 years with some organizations. I know this works out for many young people, but I'd venture to say that for each success story, you have a train wreck like was described above.
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