My son is trying out for the Bayside Yankees and I have heard good things about the coach and the team. Can anyone give me feedback as to the quality of the program. Thank you.
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The Bayside Yankees are a long standing organization which year in and year out put very competitve teams together. Marc Cuseta coaches the 18 Americans and he is the founder and President of the organization. Marc is a quality baseball guy. The 18 American team is their premier program and he will bring kids in from all over the country to play. Almost all have already committed to colleges from other programs. This is a true tournament team.
The Bayside Yankees do not play in any of the Perfect Game or WWBA events but do travel to East Cobb and other places for non-PG events.
If your looking for college placement or help in the recruiting process, this is not their strength. They enter events with the intention of winning them.
Every program has the niche'. Bayside is a great program if that is what your hoping to come away from it with.
The Bayside Yankees do not play in any of the Perfect Game or WWBA events but do travel to East Cobb and other places for non-PG events.
If your looking for college placement or help in the recruiting process, this is not their strength. They enter events with the intention of winning them.
Every program has the niche'. Bayside is a great program if that is what your hoping to come away from it with.
Coach Merc has it right. They usually field 4 teams. They vary in quality. There is a lot of turnover. They focus on 18u and try to get some kids drafted. Saw some great players there. Saw some nice players getting very few at bats and then gone the next season to another program.
Coach Merc, Are you talking about
America's Team
America's Team
Bear... 
Yea thats the team ...
BTW we will be back down your way for a tournament July 15-18.
BTW we will be back down your way for a tournament July 15-18.
Coach Merc
You in the MD Mets event?
You in the MD Mets event?
quote:Originally posted by TRhit:
Coach Merc
You in the MD Mets event?
What is the MD Mets event? Where can I find info on this.
Thanks
TR, not sure who's hosting it but that's where we're going. U of MD and a few other schools. It very well could be. Mike has the paperwork. We haven't been down there since Bear was hosting.
Coach Merc
That is the one--
That is the one--
quote:Originally posted by Bear:
Coach Merc, Are you talking about
America's Team
What is the MD event? Where can I find info on it?
Thanks
quote:Originally posted by Coach Merc:
TR, not sure who's hosting it but that's where we're going. U of MD and a few other schools. It very well could be. Mike has the paperwork. We haven't been down there since Bear was hosting.
Wait just a minute Coach Merc. I sucessfully ran the Bear Classic, Showcase for Our National Pastime
through out the 90's and half way into this century and for sixteen years. I purposely kept the costs minimal and never denied a telented player the opportunity to play ever if he could not absorb the $15 expense for a shirt and cap.
It was people and ball clubs like yourself that kept the Bear Classic going. The Bayside Yankees participated one year (after Jimmy Gilbert got sick), and would not be invited back!
What is being observed in the last several years so called "Tournament Directors" charging teams as much as $800. (That includes ~ $675 for four games and $125 for attendance fees.
Univ of Maryland Facilities brought in a couple of business folks who forgot the entire purpose of the Bear Classic was for development and exposure of the local and regional talent.
Several past and current Univ of Maryland Baseball Coaches don't get it. Elite Baseball and Prestine Baseball and others don't get it. Tom Bradley got it. Kelly Kulina (may he RIP) got it.
quote:Several past and current Univ of Maryland Baseball Coaches don't get it. Elite Baseball and Prestine Baseball and others don't get it. Tom Bradley got it. Kelly Kulina (may he RIP) got it.
JMO Bear, but I tend to disagree. Having participated in some of the programs listed above, I have found a completely opposite experience than your own. This is my personal and recent experience.
Bear. my point was that we had not been there since having played in your event which by the way was a great time. This will be our first time back to MD since. We have tried VA Beach the last 2 years.
The Bear Classic was a well run event.
The Bear Classic was a well run event.
Until the day I drop dead - I will never ever forget the Bear Classic - and the aftermath.
That is for sure.
That is for sure.
I heard today that Bayside merged with NY Nine. Tremendous dilution in Metro-NY baseball. I imagine that many more squads will be forced to join together because there are not enough quality kids out there to field all the travel squads and make the promises of coaches appear true to the parents who can afford to pay.
The merger between the Yankees and the NY Nine was posted on the NY Nine web site dated for 2/24. There is no question that the number of local travel teams has skyrocketed. I don’t think it is just the dilution of the players through an increase in teams but the overall cost of the programs to attend various tournaments (the cost of the team itself plus travel expenses) which absent substantial fundraising is a high bar to participate in Baseball. Join that with the cost of showcases /camps to gain exposure and I can see why many parents in our area chose local teams and then attend showcases/camps on which to spend their money as opposed to high level travel teams. We try to strike a balance with our son because absent playing against the best players he can on a regular basis he just does not feel he can be competitive to develop his own skills and later on hopefully at college level. The high level travel tournaments whether localized in the Northeast where we are or further south joined with select showcases like the PG and others seem to be the balance he desires. I will add that he is lucky to have HS coaches in modified, freshman and JV that he respected and gave him all the opportunity to earn the field time he has, had travel coaches that clearly love the sport and want nothing but the best for the players and continue to push them to be the best they can be, and off season coaches and trainers that simply and clearly would take whatever time a devoted player wants to keep developing and learning. All of this provided life lessons on teamwork, getting along with people, respect, winning, losing and other matters far beyond just baseball. Given all of this, the overall cost of the travel and participation at tournaments along with the showcases in which he will participate are a small sacrifice for the experiences he is gaining. Lets face it, he is only young once and these days are never going to come again. We do whatever is necessary financially and through fundraising to afford him the choices to participate or not and make the most of his abilities and opportunities while they exist.
quote:Originally posted by Albanybbdad:
The merger between the Yankees and the NY Nine was posted on the NY Nine web site dated for 2/24. There is no question that the number of local travel teams has skyrocketed. I don’t think it is just the dilution of the players through an increase in teams but the overall cost of the programs to attend various tournaments (the cost of the team itself plus travel expenses) which absent substantial fundraising is a high bar to participate in Baseball. Join that with the cost of showcases /camps to gain exposure and I can see why many parents in our area chose local teams and then attend showcases/camps on which to spend their money as opposed to high level travel teams. We try to strike a balance with our son because absent playing against the best players he can on a regular basis he just does not feel he can be competitive to develop his own skills and later on hopefully at college level. The high level travel tournaments whether localized in the Northeast where we are or further south joined with select showcases like the PG and others seem to be the balance he desires. I will add that he is lucky to have HS coaches in modified, freshman and JV that he respected and gave him all the opportunity to earn the field time he has, had travel coaches that clearly love the sport and want nothing but the best for the players and continue to push them to be the best they can be, and off season coaches and trainers that simply and clearly would take whatever time a devoted player wants to keep developing and learning. All of this provided life lessons on teamwork, getting along with people, respect, winning, losing and other matters far beyond just baseball. Given all of this, the overall cost of the travel and participation at tournaments along with the showcases in which he will participate are a small sacrifice for the experiences he is gaining. Lets face it, he is only young once and these days are never going to come again. We do whatever is necessary financially and through fundraising to afford him the choices to participate or not and make the most of his abilities and opportunities while they exist.
Excellent post! George Rogers in your area runs a tremendous program.
I met Marc about 15 years ago. He and I speak once or twice a year on the phone. Since I stopped coaching summer baseball in 2003, our conversations tend toward family and other non-baseball related topics.
I've seen some tremendous teams he's put on the field over the years. I remember he and I talking about a lefty kid warming in the bullpen to pitch against us several years ago. He said the kid had serious potential but he hoped we'd rough him up a little cause things were a little too easy for him so far that season. As Scott Kazmir strode to the mound and took a few warmup pitches, the kids on my team were chomping at the bit. About 5 innings later, and maybe 2 hits, I had a lot of kids eating their bats.
I always found Marc to be honest and upfront. While I didn't always agree with some of his onfield antics, I respected what he was doing. And I learned many years ago (not from Marc) that he donated a lot of his own personal money toward the team to keep costs down. Let's face it, what they do takes lots of money!