Braves Coach, the only thing leading to the diminishing of the integrity of the forum, is the conduct of some of the adults, who refuse to hit the ignore button and leave well enough alone.
just trying to get the word out about a great opportunity for area baseball players! That's it, no hidden agenda!
Yes, if it continues it could once again lead to the destruction of the thread or perhaps it could lead to some kids having a great baseball experience.
Letter from a parent
11/11/2006
Without in any way putting down the opinions of others who have offered opinions on this topic, let me offer a different one. My son played for Steve Bort's team a few summers ago at the CABA tournament in Euclid, Ohio. Not entirely clear how Coach Bort got my son's name, but we investigated the opportunity through some folks that I am confident were in a position to know something about Coach Bort and decided that it sounded like an interesting one. Eventually, my son committed to play for Coach Bort's team for what I recall was a week to 10 day tournament. Frankly, my son had a great time. There were kids on the team from all over the country (4 were eventually drafted in the top five rounds of the MLB draft) and many of them became fast friends like kids tend to do. Yes, the kids were put together for the tournament, but my son made some new friends that he still keeps up with and had a fun baseball experience. The people running the tournament in Euclid were terrific (he had never been to the Cleveland area and we had some time to do some sightseeing including an Indians game) and the baseball was, overall, pretty good. And as it turned out, Steve Bort was a real good guy. He was honest with my son (a pitcher) about playing time for the tournament and delivered exactly on what he had promised. I thought he was very interested in the kids on the team, offered what seemed to me as a parent to be some good advice on college vs. draft issues for the kids who were in that mix and just generally delivered what I thought was a fun experience for my son. Even today, my son still talks about the CABA experience as one of the highlights from the Summer before his senior year in high school. And, as it turns out, one of my son's good friends on his college team was on an opposing team in Euclid that has given each of them an opportunity for some good natured ribbing. I can understand how people might criticize putting a team together for one tournament (I'm sure that he is not close to the only one doing that), but I can tell you that, based on our experience, this was not even close to a scam. It was just one type of experience that worked for my son, that he thoroughly enjoyed and that he still looks back on happily. As a parent, it doesn't get too much better than that.
Observer post
11/12/2006
Posted January 02, 2006 01:26 PM January 02, 2006 01:26 PM I have alot of experience with the CABA World Series since it has been in my back yard for many years. My son's high school is a host school for the tournament and he was in fact discovered by his present college at the tournament. I can say from experience, the Bergen Beach team (in my eyes and others) is the ELITE of the elite. It seemed all the pro scouts were watching their games more than any others and from appearances for good reason. From what I know, Alex Rodriguez, *(Johnny Damon, Todd Helton and Josh Hamilton were members of the team. Based on my take on the talent level it takes to be on that team, none of their claims appear unfounded to me - imho.
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*Camp update We will have a speaker discussing the professional ITrac Visual Training Program.
http://www.mlb.com/content/printer_friendly/mlb/y2007/m07/d11/c2081748.jspWe will also have a speaker on new strength and training techniques.
