What would be a good reason for a 16u team to compete in both the 16u and the 17u tournaments in July?
What are reasons NOT to do both weeks?
Original Post
Good reasons include the fact that both are great tournaments and probably your best options, if your team travels regularly.
A top 16u team might want to play the 16u tourney "to win" and the 17u just to challenge itself. But if you aren't really that talent laden, you might want to skip the 17u, because getting pasted 6 times is no fun for anyone.
The 17u event is very heavily scouted by colleges. It's been a while since I was at the 16u, but in 2005 and 2006 I didn't see college scouts in attendance. I was last at East Cobb for the 17u in 2007, and hundreds of colleges had assistant or head coaches there scouting. Our team picked up a following of roughly 25 scouts who were keeping tabs on some of our players.
These events are particularly valuable for pitchers who can light up RADAR guns. A 16u guy with a live arm can find himself atop PG's charts in a hurry, and that can open a lot of doors. If you stay 2 weeks, your top arm might get 3 starts in without sacrificing proper rest intervals. On the flip side, if your team relies too heavily on one or two arms, stressing them in back-to-back weeks is a very bad idea, both from the standpoint of their long term health, and in terms of potentially having them watched by scouts when they are less than their best.
A top 16u team might want to play the 16u tourney "to win" and the 17u just to challenge itself. But if you aren't really that talent laden, you might want to skip the 17u, because getting pasted 6 times is no fun for anyone.
The 17u event is very heavily scouted by colleges. It's been a while since I was at the 16u, but in 2005 and 2006 I didn't see college scouts in attendance. I was last at East Cobb for the 17u in 2007, and hundreds of colleges had assistant or head coaches there scouting. Our team picked up a following of roughly 25 scouts who were keeping tabs on some of our players.
These events are particularly valuable for pitchers who can light up RADAR guns. A 16u guy with a live arm can find himself atop PG's charts in a hurry, and that can open a lot of doors. If you stay 2 weeks, your top arm might get 3 starts in without sacrificing proper rest intervals. On the flip side, if your team relies too heavily on one or two arms, stressing them in back-to-back weeks is a very bad idea, both from the standpoint of their long term health, and in terms of potentially having them watched by scouts when they are less than their best.
