I just recently learned about College club baseball. All of our final colleges choices have a club team as well as the college team. Anyone have any experiences with college club baseball?
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Great post question. My 2023 will not be able to play top 150 D1 baseball. I was talking about baseball with someone whose husband went to VA tech and played club baseball there. Raved about the experience and how much fun he had. I didn't know that the school actually covers most of the travel costs for the club team. VA Tech won the Club National Championship recently I believe. So if 2023 doesn't find a D3 school that fits his academic interests, I'm already promoting this idea to him.
It's not a given, specifically at Va Tech:
haha. I don't feel like my kid will ever play any baseball after high school...
@FolsomBallDad posted:I just recently learned about College club baseball. All of our final colleges choices have a club team as well as the college team. Anyone have any experiences with college club baseball?
FBD, there are many threads on this site regarding college club ball that you can search or you can ask any specific question directly here on your thread. There are plenty of folks here that are familiar. It varies by school but generally is typical of club activity vs varsity sport. The time commitment is substantially less. Rosters are way smaller. Some are competitive but nothing near the same school's varsity program. It is not unusual to have a player as a manager. It is college club sport, not college varsity sport. It is a great option for many.
My oldest son played ultimate frisbee for his college's club team (there are no varsity ultimate teams). He had a great time, travelled all over the country, made friends, had a leadership role one year. Baseball son was impressed when his brother's frisbee team beat Arizona State in a tournament!
@cabbagedad, I did some searches before this post and currently find anything in recent years. I have no specific questions, just want to hear all experiences, good or bad. My 2022 is pursuing is choosing from 2 D2 and 1 D1 school, but no love from the coaches. The club baseball route sounds very appealing to him.
@anotherparent - Not going to Va Tech!! So he has a good chance.
Results may vary regarding club baseball. Some programs have a real coach. Son’s friend said his club team was coached by a volunteer looking to build a resume. Some clubs use an upperclassman as player coach. An upperclassman as coach could lead to the buddy system and favoritism.
I know kids who chose the right college academically over baseball. Then they came home and played in adult summer leagues. Some are better than others. Some are a combination of college players, former college players and former minor leaguers. Some are less.
2020 Son played Club Baseball at Georgia. They technically didn't have a season, covid, but played a couple of weekends against Clemson, Georgia Southern, .... nothing sanctioned by the school. So, take it with a heavy grain of salt.
Watching the games was like watching two of the best travel teams I have seen. Quality players. Some really good pitchers but not a lot.
These were guys that loved playing baseball but went to the big university to get a degree not play ball. With 30,000+ students, there was plenty of talent to have a really good team.
Real beer softball league vibe with players giving a lot of crap to each other and the other team. It was fun to watch and my son had a blast playing. Your mileage may vary.
What I have seen is a lot like JETSR71 stated. Some are run by fraternities so they are very much who you know stuff. May have one or two pitchers but not a lot of pitchers. No promotion from school. Most are you pay your own expenses. I played rugby and the club games I went to, had a kid play at Clemson, were a lot like my rugby days. There was a lot of beer drank before and after by most and I'm sure during for some. Probably more girls there than at the school games. The games were not very competitive to me by I was comparing them to top level travel and not near D1 baseball. Lot of trash talk but the kid I went to watch loved it and would never have played college at a D1. He ended up coaching the team his junior and senior year and quit playing. Was good for his resume.
@FolsomBallDad posted:I just recently learned about College club baseball. All of our final colleges choices have a club team as well as the college team. Anyone have any experiences with college club baseball?
Every kid I know who played club baseball loved it. My one kid tried out for his school, didn't touch a bat or ball for 6 week prior to tryouts and he doesn't pitch...LOL he got cut! He isn't a bad player but i assume he was terrible.
Does club baseball have any pull with admissions anywhere?
@NotMadeOf$$ posted:Does club baseball have any pull with admissions anywhere?
No. It’s considered an extracurricular student activity. It’s not part of the athletic department.
Do the club teams typically use the same fields and facilities as the varsity team?
At Georgia, no.
Club = University's Baseball Club
Same way the school may have a young democrats/republican club, finance club, theater club, etc. Each club gets a discretionary budget from the school and they get to use it however they see fit. My guess would be 1500-3k for the year. The guys pay out of pocket to travel or for uniforms, balls, etc.
The clubs at both their schools use the local public park. Nothing at all to do with $$$, admissions, or the varsity team. Although there are some that use old facilities on campus if there are any.
A former teammate of theirs went to a D3 and started there for a year. The school wasn't for him so he gave up baseball and transferred to a big state school and played club ball. I asked how his team was, he said they weren't bad. They wouldn't beat his former D3, but they would be some of the teams they played. It was fun and nobody really cared if he showed up hungover.
One note regarding club baseball teams at a school that also has an intercollegiate varsity team. A student competing for a club team will be charged with a season(s) of collegiate eligibility if that student later wants to transfer and possibly join an intercollegiate team at another university. (Such as going from a club team at a D1 university to a D2 or D3 intercollegiate team.)
@Rick at Informed Athlete posted:One note regarding club baseball teams at a school that also has an intercollegiate varsity team. A student competing for a club team will be charged with a season(s) of collegiate eligibility if that student later wants to transfer and possibly join an intercollegiate team at another university. (Such as going from a club team at a D1 university to a D2 or D3 intercollegiate team.)
Thank you for adding this to the discussion @Rick at Informed Athlete
My husband played D1 basketball at a small mid-major that had some fun NCAA runs. His junior year, all of the guys decided to play slow-pitch club softball. It was the most fun they had...they made up a rule that the arc of the pitch had to go over the height of the hitter and enforced especially when the "Jims" (one was 6'8" and the other was 6'11") were up until one team finally called them on it. So way back then it was more fun and less of a super competitive environment. On the flip side, my oldest daughter went to Notre Dame (she would have been a D3 basketball prospect but decided she didn't want to play in college). She got recruited for the club team but decided to manage the women's basketball team instead. They take club sports pretty seriously there---some of the ice hockey players have gone on to play on the D1 ice hockey team. Here is their website: https://recsports.nd.edu/club-...ts/mens-club-sports/
Club sports can be a really healthy way to keep playing and tap into the team atmosphere that so many of our boys thrive in.
I am fairly certain that a SP last season for Northwestern was at one point a pitcher for either USC, UCLA, or Stanford prior to transferring to play at Northwestern.
@used2lurk posted:I am fairly certain that a SP last season for Northwestern was at one point a pitcher for either USC/\, UCLA, or Stanford prior to transferring to play at Northwestern.
SP on the northwestern club team?
What a story! I think my eyes got a little wet. Only the dog noticed