Baseball Overseas

Sorry never heard of them   what is the cost?   What would he gain from experience?

I've seen companies such as these for other sports (track & field) when we've had parents request a donation through our PAL. If this is the same, they will invite players to join the team for an overseas trip, charging $XXXX which you can offset with fundraising. 

It is typically not the highest level of competition, but I guess as a life experience it has merits. 

The fact that their website  is so barren is a factor I would consider. They are also an LLC to mitigate any liability (IMO). 

I sent an email to them this morning about the cost. The experience of traveling and viewing another country would hopefully be something that my son would gain something from I hope

PAL gives scholarships for this kind of stuff??? My wife and I both studied abroad and believe that our children should as well. We gain so much from our experiences that we feel this trip is a great opportunity to introduce Europe to our son and we can only hope this will entice our son to want to study abroad. 

I find the website to be basic, but being an LLC is interesting, but I can understand why. 

I would have no problem sending my boys on a tour with a reputable guide, baseball related or not. In fact my eldest boy did do a trip to D.C once. But it was expensive.  Because we're not rich and our travel budget is limited, I'd rather take my kids abroad myself.  So my kids have not played baseball against middling teams in Italy, but they have been to Italy, as well as several other countries.

As for lasting baseball memories, if you look at the shelf where my youngest has arraigned all his travel ball trophies and Little League All Star pins and home run balls, close to the center there's a mud-caked baseball that we used last spring to keep his arm in shape while traveling, including when a gendarme threw us out of the Jardin de Luxenbourg in Paris for playing catch.  Priceless.

How much travel/experiencing culture will they be doinG?  EF tours is a good company that takes HS kids to tour Europe and other countries. You can pay cost(approx $2500) over months they r in school, and not all at once.

Curious about the cost

 I just heard back from the owner and he was explaining the trip and what it consists of. The trip is 10 days and for 6 days/nights, they are based out of one location. Its a beach town along the Adriatic. The hotel that they stay at is on the beach and is all inclusive, i.e all meals. The team will play 4-5 games dependant on weather. The last 3 nights they are in Rome. The games are played at night and are throughout Tuscany and Venetian area. Its really interesting though, he explained that on this tour, the team gets 3 countries in one. He explained that they sightsee not just in towns like Florence, Verona, Rome, and Rimini. They go to the Republic of San Marino, and Vatican City. I have been to the Vatican, and I know its within Rome, but still, he could get 3 stamps on his passport.They have private tour guides in each city for just their group.He also registers every trip with the State Department and that they know where are kids are as well. The cost was pretty affordable when you look at the all inclusive and the setting they are in. He sent me some email addresses of past parents and players that went on the trip, if I had any questions, they are available to answer them. He also stated that one reason he does graduation trips, is because he found most graduation trips like Mexico, Hawaii and Florida, most the kids are going to just party and get drunk and this is an alternative. He is very honest though that although the drinking age in Europe is 16, he does what he can to have the games later in the night and the hotel, has its own pool so the guys can unwind their and not go out. The cost was $2545

to clarify: Our PAL will try to help any kid out that has gone through our programs (provided they get good grades, etc.) with a donation, typically $100-$200. 

I find most of the PAL's in my area do the same. 

Like I said, it has merits as a good life experience for the travel abroad. Not sure about the baseball part. 

Thank you everyone for your response, My wife and I have decided that the idea is good and we are looking into it more.

Sounds like a great vacation, but this is not about baseball.  Real baseball is not played in Europe.  If your son is a graduating h.s. senior, is he playing in college?  If so, why isn't he concentrating on getting ready for his freshman season by playing the best competition in the United States?

I dont know about REAL baseball, but for my son, who might be playing in college, this is a great opportunity in life. The game is the game no matter the competition. The life experience to us outweighs the competition. I guess some, like yourself dont understand the importance and significance of experiencing different cultures. WE believe this trip is actually going to benefit him as a person, not just as a ball player. 

It's the same baseball that is played here.

My son was invited to play on a team traveling to Europe when he was fourteen. They were selling having USA on the front of the uniform. Of course it wasn't the real Team USA logo. After research I discovered the qualifications were the ability to pay. It turned out for twice the cost to my son I could take four people to Europe and not have baseball interfering with our sight seeing.

A friend sent her son to Europe on a tennis tour from the same company when he was sixteen. He crushed everyone he played. He was a ranked sixteen year old in his state. The competition was mediocre. Plus he said he was forced to watch a lot of bad tennis. He couldn't sight see until everyone was done playing.

I believe these sports trips are money grabs under the false pretense the player is representing his country. If you want to see Europe just go on your own.

I have traveled to over 15 countries, lived in Japan for two years, have intimate knowledge of the people and cultures of Asia, and am a life-long student of Geography and Geopolitics.  Having said that, none of it has anything to do with baseball.  If you wish your son to have such an enriching experience I'm all for it but it won't help him get onto a college field. 

Bum, Jr. has traveled to any played in I'm guessing 35+ states and has seen more culture than he would ever see in a few Burgs in Europe.  If you want culture, nowhere is more diverse than right here at home.

Send him to an academy in the DR if you want to him to travel abroad and play baseball.