California Collegiate League vs. Northwoods

Do your research the Northwoods League as you know draws a strong attendance and pro scouts.

Bob

I don't know anything about the NW league and next to nothing about the CCL (have a friend who played in it a couple of years ago and had a blast), but keep in mind that the state of California is BIG.  the league goes from Orange County to Napa which is probably 7 hours by car (assuming you're driving pretty fast) so probably 8 hours or more by bus.  I know the NWL is pretty spread out, too, but at least it looks spread out on paper.  

Not to introduce complexity to his decision for things impossible to predict, but if my son was in your son's situation, I probably couldn't help but wonder which league is more likely to actually have a season with the virus likely still a factor.  Maybe neither one is better than the other from that perspective, but it could be a bummer if one played and the other didn't, and he had chosen the one with no games.  Best of luck to him, both seem like excellent options for a freshman.

My son played in the CCL and had teammates who played in Northwoods. I believe they both play around 50 games and travel a lot so both are a grind and will give a player a feel for what the minor leagues are like.

As someone posted the CCL teams are spread out so there is a lot of travel. There is also a big difference in the quality of the teams so he should know in advance which team he is being put on. The Santa Barbara Foresters are usually the class of the league and there is frankly no better place in the world to be during the summer than SB. They play at the UCSB stadium, or at least used to.

The San Luis Obispo Blues used to also be very good but I looked and they appear to have dropped. San Luis Obispo is a long way from all of the other teams so they will likely have more overnight travel.  The Orange County team seems to also be a very competitive team.

http://calsummerball.com/2019-ccl-standings/

The league winner plays in the summer Collegiate World Series so a long season gets even longer for the top team. There is also a CCL All Star game that is heavily scouted by pro teams.

Post or IM the team he is supposed to be on and I can provide some more insight.

Both are great leagues....My two cents? Play close to home - home cookin' and you get to see him play more often.

@BOF posted:

My son played in the CCL and had teammates who played in Northwoods. I believe they both play around 50 games and travel a lot so both are a grind and will give a player a feel for what the minor leagues are like.

As someone posted the CCL teams are spread out so there is a lot of travel. There is also a big difference in the quality of the teams so he should know in advance which team he is being put on. The Santa Barbara Foresters are usually the class of the league and there is frankly no better place in the world to be during the summer than SB. They play at the UCSB stadium, or at least used to.

The San Luis Obispo Blues used to also be very good but I looked and they appear to have dropped. San Luis Obispo is a long way from all of the other teams so they will likely have more overnight travel.  The Orange County team seems to also be a very competitive team.

http://calsummerball.com/2019-ccl-standings/

The league winner plays in the summer Collegiate World Series so a long season gets even longer for the top team. There is also a CCL All Star game that is heavily scouted by pro teams.

Post or IM the team he is supposed to be on and I can provide some more insight.

Son was told he would be on the SB Foresters this summer.

CCL did not play in 2020 but some teams played a short season, including the Healdsburg Prunepackers.  I'm sure they'll put something together in 2020. They are usually a very strong team - both Spencer Torkelson and Andrew Vaughn are recent players - with a very solid coach. Great place to spend a summer,  too. The team has a great fan base, but to be clear, I don't think the league draws that many scouts.  Torkelson and Vaughn went to the Cape when it was time to be seen by the pros.

2020 Lefty, I totally get the preference to have him nearer home and, no doubt, Northwoods is first rate.  On the other hand, if your son hasn't had the opportunity to spend much time in California, this could be a great opportunity.  Having grown up in the Upper Midwest, I would have killed for a chance to spend a summer in some of these places as a college age kid.  Most locations and organizations in CCL are great.  There are significant differences in home locations, though.  We live very near San Luis and not too far from Santa Barbara.  Those two in particular are both well run, good fan base and awesome places to be in the summer.  Some others are much closer to very big cities and have the associated traffic and societal issues.  I too would be glad to answer more specific questions if you'd like to PM me regarding a specific team he may have an opportunity with.  Several of my former HS  and travel players have played in the league and one son coached a season for the Arroyo Seco team... good people.  There are one or two where I would be inclined to pass.

Go44, that's a great pull!!!  If you come out to visit and happen to head up the road for one of the Foresters/SLO Blues games, let me know!

I get the playing close to home but to spend a summer in Santa Barbara would be pretty special for a college Soph, plus they are a very well managed team.

There are people who can live any where in the world and chose to live Santa Barbara, just as a FYI. 

https://enroll.professional.uc...l/beautiful-ucsb.jsp

If he ends up out here I would certainly come up for a game. (I live about 40 mins south by car)

As a former resident [11 years] of Santa Barbara, I have many great memories.

My son and I "worked out" at the Pershing Park [Forester's Home field] near the famous West beach, Sterns Wharf,  harbor and Santa Barbara City College.

Visit the old Mission a real history lesson. My neighbor and great friend was Duncan Renaldo {Cisco Kid - TV Series].

Santa Barbara at one time had a Class A Pro team.

Bob

Thanks to all for their input!  My son is trying to find out which team he would be on in the CCL.

I will update once he gets word.

This will echo previous comments, which are all very good. Santa Barbara is one of the most awesome places I have been in the continental US. No doubt about that. And both leagues are very competitive and well run. You can’t make a bad choice between those two. I would advise you to take a good look at the travel once you know the specific team your son will play for. It can be very different from team to team. I agree with 9and7 that the most important criteria in making a decision is determining which league is more likely to play their season. I would be a little nervous about CCL - but maybe that’s just me. But considering some of the nonsense that goes on in Cali you have to think about it.

Did CCL play with covid?

Northwoods did!

Please review the Foresters web site. Last year they play Independent schedule,

http://sbforesters.org/   Please see the web site for Stearns Wharf , walking distance the home field. https://stearnswharf.org/

Bob

Can someone experienced with college summer ball enlighten me on the costs for my son? Do they put him to work taking care of the fields, etc?

Host families, is there a cost? Transportation to California. Is there a per diem?

And when I say for my son, I mean coming out of my wallet.

Thanks

@Go44dad posted:

Can someone experienced with college summer ball enlighten me on the costs for my son? Do they put him to work taking care of the fields, etc?

Host families, is there a cost? Transportation to California. Is there a per diem?

And when I say for my son, I mean coming out of my wallet.

Thanks

found an thread from a couple years ago...https://community.hsbaseballweb.com/topic/collegiate-summer-league-fees-question

That thread is still relevant but just remember each league and each team are different.  Some require fees some don't.  Each league is different and each team is different and each housing situation is different even within the same team.  I think one of the greatest unknowns from my kids experience is the housing.  It can make or break it for the experience.  My son had really good and downright despicable.  He had to threaten to go home one summer to get moved and he moved from a trash dump with a grandpa sleeping in the living room and having to room with a 10 year old kid to a pool house beside a mansion.

My son got word that he would be placed at the Walnut Creek Crawdads if he chose the CCL.

Any info on this team, living conditions,  travel........greatly appreciated.

Lefty:

the Crawdads play their games at beautiful St Marys College in Moraga. Please review their web site https://www.walnutcreekcrawdads.com/coaches.

Have you made contact with the GM? The area is "upper income" and close to Berkeley, Oakland, SF. Use the Oakland airport for your flights.

Bob