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The NACSB and MLB have changed previous policies and now allow summer collegiate leagues to charge players fees. This is probably nothing more than an acknowledgment that operating these teams isn't cheap and perhaps financial reality/survival requires some sort of payment. At our Valley League board meeting last week, it was mentioned that we may be 1 of only 3 leagues that don't charge, which seemed unlikely to me given the large number of leagues that have sprung up in recent years.


I've heard of some leagues charging a "housing fee" and perhaps other names so I'm curious as to how many leagues are charging and how much they're charging. Our Director of Player Personnel told me that almost all college coaches are asking about fees this year, something that didn't happen as recently as last year.
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quote:
Originally posted by fillsfan:
Birdman, My son played for Quakertown in the ACBL and there was no charge for anything. This included uniforms, bats, bus transportation and sandwiches between games of doubleheaders.


PF, guess my son played in the wrong division of the ACBL. Did your son live with a host family?
birdman,
No he didn't. I think one player did. Most of the guys were local to the area. My son and 2 of his college teammates from the south Jersey area had a rough time getting up to Quakertown for the week night games though. Fighting rush hour traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway and PA turnpike was a bear.

They probably should have stayed with host families.
There are no universal rules out there - even in the same league.

Some leagues are known for covering all charges and some are known for charging some to the players. Some host families pick up room & board and some charge. It depends on who you get.

My son was lucky as his stay in the Valley League was covered by his team and host family. Same for him in the Coastal Plains where he had different host families each year. I believe some of the teams and/or host families in the Coastal Plains and other leagues may charge however.
My Son played in the Prospect League for 2 years and there were host families and no fees.

Some meal money was given out for road trips, but it was not near enough.

Next year, he is playing for a team in the Great Lakes League and there is a $300 fee, which includes housing and most meals.

I know of another team in the same league that charges $750, which does not include housing.
My son played in three different leagues. The league and team quality was directly proportional to the fee(s) they charged. The more the fee(s) the worse the experience.

Freshman summer he played in the Great Lakes league in Ohio. The fee was $150. He lived in a college frat house with most of his teammates. They had use of the college athletic facilities. They received one meal a day whether they had a game or not. Travel was on a chartered coach. Two uniforms which were washed for them after every game. All and all it was a well run, worthwile experience.

Sophomre summer he played in the ACBL in Pennsylvania. The fee was $500. He lived with a very nice host family but was required to babysit two young kids 5-days a week. No athletic facilities but he could pay $200 for the summer to join a local gym. His host family fed him except for game days when he had to get his own food. The team provided no transportation. He had to car pool with kids that had cars. On more than one occassion he could not get a ride to a game. The team played only three days a week; double headers Saturday/Sunday (7-inning games) and a mid-week night game (9-innings). Virtually no practices and because of transporation issues the team seldom got together except for games. All-in-all it was a completly wasted summer. Our advice would be to avoid the ACBL.

His Junior summer he played in the NECBL in Conneticut. There was no fee this summer and they payed for his return airfare once the summer was completed. He lived with a host family that treated him "like family." The team provide a very nice charter bus for all road games and meals when out of town. The league and all the teams appeared to be reasonable well funded and run with great pride.

As I said in the beginning; The league and team quality was directly proportional to the fee(s) they charged. The more the fee(s) the worse the experience.
Last edited by ILVBB
Our son played in the Valley League. There was no fee involved. He drove his own vehicle up there so there were no problems with transportation to games/practices. His team provided a charter bus for away games.

His host family was great! Both parents worked at the local chocolate factory so chocolate and other treats were plentiful. They cooked for the 3 players housed with them. Each of the guys had their own room. The community was very welcoming. A local gym allowed the fellows to work out for something like $10 for the entire summer.

All in all it was a good experience. Our son came home for just a week or so before he headed back to school. During that week his routine was - - eat, work out, hang with friends, sleep, then do it all over again.
I believe different teams in the CPL have differing levels of support regarding housing, however there is no fee for playing in the league. Players do sign contracts which are taken quite seriously. That said, it is my understanding that if a player having signed a contract is offered a position on a Cape team, it is understood that the player is free to move on. I am fairly sure that is the only case where a player can disregard his contract and expect to play elsewhere.

My son played for the Fayetteville Swampdogs for 3 seasons with the same awesome host family. I know that they were some of the most enjoyable years he has played anywhere. He had a great time!

Fayetteville Support
Last edited by floridafan
quote:
Originally posted by floridafan:

That said, it is my understanding that if a player having signed a contract is offered a position on a Cape team, it is understood that the player is free to move on. I am fairly sure that is the only case where a player can disregard his contract and expect to play elsewhere.



That is certainly not the case in my experience with the CPL.

novabball- floridafan's son is a record holder in the CPL. I pitched there in 2010. PM either of us and we'd be glad to share all the insight that we have.
I spoke to the father of one of our 2011 players
who is going to the Cape this summer...it's costing him $800.

We were told at our league meeting that in the fall meetings with MLB (the summer league teams meet with a MLB rep each year), MLB has now blessed the practice of league's charging fees, but is pushing hard that if a fee is called a "housing fee", that it be paid to the host family. Thankfully, the Valley League still charges no fees to players, but for many of the nonprofit teams (all NACSB teams are nonprofit), that "nonprofit" thing has a double meaning.
Last edited by hokieone
J H posted:
quote:
Originally posted by floridafan:

That said, it is my understanding that if a player having signed a contract is offered a position on a Cape team, it is understood that the player is free to move on. I am fairly sure that is the only case where a player can disregard his contract and expect to play elsewhere.



That is certainly not the case in my experience with the CPL.

novabball- floridafan's son is a record holder in the CPL. I pitched there in 2010. PM either of us and we'd be glad to share all the insight that we have.

JH, I'm not able to pm you.

Florida State Fan posted:
J H posted:
quote:
Originally posted by floridafan:

That said, it is my understanding that if a player having signed a contract is offered a position on a Cape team, it is understood that the player is free to move on. I am fairly sure that is the only case where a player can disregard his contract and expect to play elsewhere.



That is certainly not the case in my experience with the CPL.

novabball- floridafan's son is a record holder in the CPL. I pitched there in 2010. PM either of us and we'd be glad to share all the insight that we have.

JH, I'm not able to pm you.

Florida State Fan, JH is no longer on this site.   This is a very old thread.  See if you can dig up a more recent one.  FWIW - My son played for the Northwoods League, which is run for profit, and had a tremendous experience.  We paid around $275 ish for uniforms and hats.   Dinners provided after every game, which was every night, and son had a place to cook breakfast.  Dairy Queen sponsored that year and he could eat anything he wanted for free that summer.  Ice cream never got old.

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