@anotherparent posted:How much travelling will the different teams actually be doing, how far away - i.e. how expensive? Can you get a sense of whether they will be playing the same tournaments, or different ones? If he wants to be challenged, but will be playing in the lowest level tournaments, that will not be as good as if his team is in tournaments playing against better teams. Then you have to figure out whether the cost of travelling is worth the challenge and development differences.
I agree about the driving - I have great memories of that.
They will be playing in similar tournaments (Perfect Game, Five Tool), one will play in the USA Baseball Teams Championship, the other plans to go to the Future Stars National Tournament. The one affiliated with the university is not allowed to travel out of state per NCAA rules. The dues are very similar, so the one time travel is the primary cost differentiator.
His current focus is becoming a better baseball player and continuing to get bigger/faster/stronger (5'10/170). He is not looking to "showcase" nor expects to be recruited at this point. I think all the teams have quality coaching, however the one team will only practice once a week, which he does not like. The furthest team will practice 2-3 times per week.
I agree on the car rides. Those are special times. Since he will have his learner's permit by then, he will likely be sharing in the driving, no matter where he ends up.
Thanks for the replies.