Alaska Summer College League

The level of play is very good. But, what an opportunity to live and play in a portion of the US that few get to experience.

From what I’ve heard, it’s great. Biggest downside is the bus rides to away games. I’m sure BBM will see this and fill you in. Not sure about the number of scouts in attendance. Great place to be if you like to fish, hike or into photography. Some of the fields are played on the tundra, lol. Usually the first and second place teams go to Wichita, KS for the NBC World Series. Great venue and pretty good baseball.

There isn’t an overall league website, but most have individual sites. Here’s one of a tour of the different ballfields.

http://www.geocities.com/shoeless_60067/alaska.html

Good luck and have a ball.
Frank

Yep ... FrankF called it. There are several of us "oldies" who have had sons play in Alaska.

The competition is very very good and most players consider it an honor to be invited. The toughest part, as I am sure most former players would concur, would be the bus rides. The teams in Kenai and Fairbanks have it the toughest with rides between those cities going as long as 14 hours. (Our son's team rode on a flat tire from Kenai to Fairbanks ... took 17 hours.)

But for the most part, that is the only real "down side". Depending on which team you play for, your opportunities for outdoor adventures can be phenomenal. In Kenai, the fishing is some of the best in the state ... our son and two of his teammates were able to charter a plane for a fly-in fishing trip ... got a reduced rate because the pilot/guide was a close friend to our son's host mom. It was an adventure of a lifetime for him. He loved Alaska so much that he was going to return at the end of his junior year (after playing in the Cape as a sophomore) if he had not been drafted.

The host families are wonderful ... altho someone can always find one or two that don't quite make the grade. Our son had a home cooked meal after every home game ... 10:30-11:30 at night every time except once. Some of the host families allow their "sons" to borrow the family car.

While in Alaska, some players work part time ... it is a little difficult because of the travel and being gone at times for 4-5 days. But the employers work with the players and accomodate the schedules. It helps with some of the incidentals. Unlike in the Cape, we don't know anybody in Alaska who had to pay rent ... otherwise they probably wouldn't get players there. All of our son's travel expenses were paid to and from Alaska ... in the Cape, he was reimbursed 50% of his airfare. Again ... I am sure nobody would go if they had to pay their own way.

Scouts are not in high attendance during the regular season, but I understand they do come up for some of the end of season activities ... and I think there is a tournament sometime during the summer when several scouts show up. But the competition and the opportunity to play on a regular basis is wonderful.

If you are interested in any specifics, please feel free to send me a private message (left click on my name (BabyBackMomma) and drop to the link that invites me to a private topic). Also, 123KMOM's son played in Fairbanks this past summer and she can also offer great advice.

Good Subject!

My son Johnny played this summer with 123KMOM's (Hi Dottie)son Jeff on the Fairbanks Goldpanners. They have a very good website for your review if you like at www.goldpanners.com. I was able to watch every game on the computer through "Pannervision".

Being in Fairbanks in the middle of the state I think they had more of the longest bus rides, because the rest of the league is in the south.

Johnny had a great time, with a terrific host family, and played with and against some of the best players in the nation, from Stanford, Arizona State, Cal Poly, Texas Tech, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, Washington, Pepperdine, USC, UCLA, Oregon State, etc. If you have the chance to go.... GO! You'll have the time of your life, and play some darn good baseball to boot! Not to mention the salmon fishing is awesome. When I went up to visit for a week we fished in bright sunshine at midnight, what a trip.

I'm very excitied about this oppurtunity! My other name is Tallman7. That name wasn't working, so I started a new name. Thank you for all the info about the league in Alaska. I think it will be a great experience. I'm actually playing with Athletes in Action. I know they didn't do that well last year, but they usually have a pretty good team.

I guess Athletes in Action split time playing in Fairbanks and Anchorage. I'm not much of a fishing guy, but I love bears! I would love to see some bears in Alaska.

I'm sure the level of play will jump up a little from me being at a Juco. I think it will really test how well I'm doing.

Thanks,
NJC

NJC ...

Athletes in Action is based in Fairbanks. You will compete against the other Fairbanks team (Goldpanners, as matadordad said), as well as the Mat-su Mariners (just outside of Anchorage, I believe), the Kenai team, and one or two teams in Anchorage. You will have long stretches away from Fairbanks because of the road trips, but you will have a wonderful time. I don't know much about Fairbanks, but I do know that in Kenai, there were plenty of moose and bears (especially on the rivers). We have a photo from Fairbanks with a bald eagle flying over the roof of the Goldpanners "Olympic Village" (where the visiting teams stayed). And if memory serves me correctly, you will occasionally see a mosquito that is so large you will think it is a bald eagle.

Have fun.

BBM,
They can't be bigger than FL squitos! Afterall, that is our "unofficial" state bird (beside the earlybird)!

NJC,

Just a quick thought about "I'm not much of a fishing guy"

My son has always hated fishing, his brother is an avid fisherman but he always thought it was way too boring and in his words "a waste of time".

When I went to visit him in Alaska over the summer, we went out at midnight with a couple of his teammates and a local kid to a favorite salmon fishing spot. Guess what, I had to drag him out of the water when it was time to go, he was the last to come out. The kid that hates fishing was having a ball!

Up there they catch salmon on a hook and colored yarn, almost as fast as you can chuck it out there, you are getting a bite. And these are 6, 7, 8, up to 10 - 15 pounders. Give it a try when you get up there, there's nothing like it down here to compare it to.

Two years ago Athletes in Action made it to the NBC World Series and did quite well there. You are correct that it is going to be a huge step up from NJC.

Good luck!

alaska is awesome, we get some grat players from stanford and so cal and some other grat schools. the weather is warm(around 70 to 80) and the summers are great. Bus rides arent that bad, you get to see wildlife and it isnt like riding through nebraska or something, let me know who you are playing for, i would recommend the anchorage bucs and as a side note, last years ace for da bucs was Jered Weaver and we've had McGwire and Giambi, and Kent. The fans are close to the players and you can make some rally nice bonds. I have a grat relationship with Adam Dunn, and for all you Az State fans, if you remember a player in 98 named Andrew Beinbrink, we chat all the time. Beinbrink is at AAA in the Texas Rangers system, Overall, you will be playing good compitition and you will have a lot of fun. There are a LOT of CWS players here and THE WEATHER IS PERFECT. The worst part are MOSQUiTOES.. Ask me any further ??'s .