Ditto Fungo's assessment of college coach having the input as to if & where his players are assigned.
Texas Collegiate League is doing GREAT things!! Some terrific talent! McKinney Marshalls & Coppell Copperheads are loaded.
http://www.texascollegiateleague.com/
grateful ...
Tho I cannot address this aspect (because of course I honestly believe that coaches would never do something like this), I did hear some stories about players tipping off summer teammates ... who were disgruntled at their schools ... about possible openings at their schools. Hmmm... isn't that pretty close to a violation as well
quote:Another factor that influences college coaches in sending their players to certain leagues and teams is tampering.
Tho I cannot address this aspect (because of course I honestly believe that coaches would never do something like this), I did hear some stories about players tipping off summer teammates ... who were disgruntled at their schools ... about possible openings at their schools. Hmmm... isn't that pretty close to a violation as well
My son has played in the Valley League for two years, and has been fortunate enough to live at home during the summer, 15 minutes from the field. The league, located primarily in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, has been around for many many years, does have a lot of scenic rural field locations (New Market has been featured in a number of national magazine articles), good fan support (crowds range from 200 to 1000), nice fields for the most part, and frequent scout visits, but not as extensive as the Cape. Traffic is easy, unlike the Cape, many field locations are within 45-60 minutes of each other (Covington is always a decent ride). The only negative I've seen is way too much inconsistent umpiring, including a few with oversized chips on their shoulder. Players stay with host families and generally get the rock star treatment from the communities where they play. The players seem to enjoy it immensely, although truth be told, at this late time of the season, like players in most summer leagues, they're all physically and mentally tired and want the season to be over so they can "have a life" for a few weeks before school starts. These guys have been playing ball since January, a long grind.
Hokie - Do the kids that play in the Valley League do so through coach referrals? If so, are the schools from all over or tend to be a particular region?
hokieone, I aree with your assessment of the Valley League, I was there at Harrisonburg when
Madison was a girl's college. Beautiful scenery between the two "mountain" ranges and the people
are first class all the way. I will always have fond memories of Mr Lineweaver and Mr Armentrout
waiting after every game to "congratulate"
the star players of each game.
Umpiring was and always will be questionable(with exceptions given to our resident Blues)-it's
the same here in the Florida Collegiate Summer League. A few good-the rest, ????.
I would never question a young man's choice to play in any summer collegiate league-each one has
it's own uniqueness and to claim one is better than another IMO is silly. Cape Cod is the Granddaddy and an honor to be invited to play. Did any of you "old timers" ever believe the
Fiesta Bowl would ever be mentioned in the same paragraph as the Rose, Cotton, Orange, and
Sugar?
Just enjoy the experience no matter where you are.
Madison was a girl's college. Beautiful scenery between the two "mountain" ranges and the people
are first class all the way. I will always have fond memories of Mr Lineweaver and Mr Armentrout
waiting after every game to "congratulate"
the star players of each game.Umpiring was and always will be questionable(with exceptions given to our resident Blues)-it's
the same here in the Florida Collegiate Summer League. A few good-the rest, ????.
I would never question a young man's choice to play in any summer collegiate league-each one has
it's own uniqueness and to claim one is better than another IMO is silly. Cape Cod is the Granddaddy and an honor to be invited to play. Did any of you "old timers" ever believe the
Fiesta Bowl would ever be mentioned in the same paragraph as the Rose, Cotton, Orange, and
Sugar?
Just enjoy the experience no matter where you are.
A combination of coach refererals, summer league coach scouting, and many players sending inquiries to teams through their web sites, with the coach and/or general manager followup. My son's team owner said he had hundreds of applications, but really did go through all of them, checked out quite a few, and some invitations resulted. Players are from all across the country, from local Virginia guys to California, and everywhere in between, some big name D-1's, some no name D-3's, and everything in between. "Big name school" D-1 players have an edge in getting invites, but a lot of D-2 and a fair number of D-3 players are in the league. There seem to be a lot of players from the south, but there are large numbers from all over the country so where a player goes to school geographically doesn't seem to matter, although travel reimbursement is higher to players from further away.
p.s. Moc1-good point. The main thing is to play somewhere. Players get better by playing, period, and these guys are all well above the playing level attained by most of the baseball lovers of this world. Summer ball is a great experience for the players and cheap entertainment for the fans.
p.s. Moc1-good point. The main thing is to play somewhere. Players get better by playing, period, and these guys are all well above the playing level attained by most of the baseball lovers of this world. Summer ball is a great experience for the players and cheap entertainment for the fans.
Thanks for that info Hokieone.
[QUOTE]Originally posted by FutureBack.Mom:
From my perspective, based on input from our son who played in both the Alaska League (freshman) and the Cape Cod League (sophomore):
The Alaska League has many pluses, and some are dependent on which team you are affiliated with. Our son was in the Kenai Peninsula, and he loved the outdoor life there, the fishing, the experiences with the residents, and a wonderful host 'mom' who made home cooked meals for him and his roommate as late as midnight. Other interesting aspects of the League:
>>There are many quality players affiliated with strong college programs so the competition is good
>>Some players do not like the distances they have to travel between cities (Kenai Peninsula is 14-17 hours away from Fairbanks, depending on whether the bus has fully inflated tires or has a couple that went flat along the way)
>>The number of fans that come to the games is relatively small compared to other leagues like the Cape, Northwoods, etc
>>There is quite an adjustment to the long daylight hours ... some players adapt well, some don't
>>The fields are not in particularly good condition
>>It is very very far away from home and very very expensive to visit
>>The players use composite bats (not 100% wood)
>>Teams allow former professional players because Alaska residents cannot be restricted from participating (per Alaska law) and generally do not have the same restrictions as teams like the Cape which are "sanctioned" by the NCAA
>>MLB SCOUTS DO NOT COME UP VERY OFTEN, tho there are more there during the championship series. (The Alaskan League players whose teams make it to Wichita for the NBC World Series are probably seen by more scouts during that trip than in Alaska.)
They have improved some of the fields up here but we are in Alaska, so it can't be perfect. The ABL took a hit because the GM's decided to only send the league champs to Wichita instead of the top 2 teams. Alaska isn't the Cape Cod League, BUT it is still a good place to enjoy your summer. Families struggle to come up and during Alaskan summers, everyone is out camping, fishing or hunting and there isn't a big fan turnout. The Anchorage teams do have a solid fan base but the other teams struggle somewhat I think.
From my perspective, based on input from our son who played in both the Alaska League (freshman) and the Cape Cod League (sophomore):
The Alaska League has many pluses, and some are dependent on which team you are affiliated with. Our son was in the Kenai Peninsula, and he loved the outdoor life there, the fishing, the experiences with the residents, and a wonderful host 'mom' who made home cooked meals for him and his roommate as late as midnight. Other interesting aspects of the League:
>>There are many quality players affiliated with strong college programs so the competition is good
>>Some players do not like the distances they have to travel between cities (Kenai Peninsula is 14-17 hours away from Fairbanks, depending on whether the bus has fully inflated tires or has a couple that went flat along the way)
>>The number of fans that come to the games is relatively small compared to other leagues like the Cape, Northwoods, etc
>>There is quite an adjustment to the long daylight hours ... some players adapt well, some don't
>>The fields are not in particularly good condition
>>It is very very far away from home and very very expensive to visit
>>The players use composite bats (not 100% wood)
>>Teams allow former professional players because Alaska residents cannot be restricted from participating (per Alaska law) and generally do not have the same restrictions as teams like the Cape which are "sanctioned" by the NCAA
>>MLB SCOUTS DO NOT COME UP VERY OFTEN, tho there are more there during the championship series. (The Alaskan League players whose teams make it to Wichita for the NBC World Series are probably seen by more scouts during that trip than in Alaska.)
They have improved some of the fields up here but we are in Alaska, so it can't be perfect. The ABL took a hit because the GM's decided to only send the league champs to Wichita instead of the top 2 teams. Alaska isn't the Cape Cod League, BUT it is still a good place to enjoy your summer. Families struggle to come up and during Alaskan summers, everyone is out camping, fishing or hunting and there isn't a big fan turnout. The Anchorage teams do have a solid fan base but the other teams struggle somewhat I think.
quote:The only negative I've seen is way too much inconsistent umpiring, including a few with oversized chips
quote:at this late time of the season, like players in most summer leagues, they're all physically and mentally tired and want the season to be over so they can "have a life" for a few weeks before school starts. These guys have been playing ball since January, a long grind.
quote:Just enjoy the experience no matter where you are.
My observations, too............
stangsbaseball ..
Hope you also noticed my comment at the end of the post where I stated that, given the opportunity to play amateur ball one more summer, son would have returned to Alaska, even after having played in the Cape ... he loved the Alaska experience.
Hope you also noticed my comment at the end of the post where I stated that, given the opportunity to play amateur ball one more summer, son would have returned to Alaska, even after having played in the Cape ... he loved the Alaska experience.
Hey all..I guess I better say a few things while I'm in Alaska playing in the ABL. stangsbaseball24 who are you a batboy for up here? Did I throw against you?
Baseball in Alaska is awesome. I play on Athletes in Action and we do something a little different in that we have bible studies every day along with baseball. So, we have two main focuses, baseball and our relationships with Jesus Christ. In that sometimes it's hard to be dealing with life issues that you haven't delt with and then go and compete againts the best college players in the country. I know for myself I've had a wonderful experience here. No there are not many fans, no there are not many scouts, no the fields are not the best, but they are not that bad either. You honestly can't beat how beautiful Alaska is though. I came up to Alaska from going to a Junior College and after this summer I know that I can compete with top D1 talent now. I held a 1.50 ERA going into my last start and got murdered by the Matsu Miners to finish my ABL season with a 3.06.
If you are looking for good baseball, and just a fun summer in somewhere a lot different, Alaska is the place to be. I really would love to come back, but I also would love to experience the Cape, or the Northwoods as well.
Tallman
Baseball in Alaska is awesome. I play on Athletes in Action and we do something a little different in that we have bible studies every day along with baseball. So, we have two main focuses, baseball and our relationships with Jesus Christ. In that sometimes it's hard to be dealing with life issues that you haven't delt with and then go and compete againts the best college players in the country. I know for myself I've had a wonderful experience here. No there are not many fans, no there are not many scouts, no the fields are not the best, but they are not that bad either. You honestly can't beat how beautiful Alaska is though. I came up to Alaska from going to a Junior College and after this summer I know that I can compete with top D1 talent now. I held a 1.50 ERA going into my last start and got murdered by the Matsu Miners to finish my ABL season with a 3.06.
If you are looking for good baseball, and just a fun summer in somewhere a lot different, Alaska is the place to be. I really would love to come back, but I also would love to experience the Cape, or the Northwoods as well.
Tallman
We beat you last night.
Rough season for you guys Tallman, I like the AIA Fire guys though. I am the batbaoy for the Anchorage Bucs.
Rough season for you guys Tallman, I like the AIA Fire guys though. I am the batbaoy for the Anchorage Bucs.
Future Back Mom,
I loved your post. The attention was slipping away from the ABL and all I was trying to do is bring it back.
I loved your post. The attention was slipping away from the ABL and all I was trying to do is bring it back.
There is an 'International based' collegiate summer league where everyone arriving hears the statement:
"The official home of baseball like it oughta be".
and upon season end says, How so true!
And it's NOT CCBL nor ACBL!
Regards
Bear
"The official home of baseball like it oughta be".
and upon season end says, How so true!
And it's NOT CCBL nor ACBL!
Regards
Bear