Collegiate summer teams - Travel questions?

If you are referring to teams that play in the Coastal Plains League, I know that the team provides a bus that all players travel on. They usually have one or two overnighters and the team picks up the expense of the hotel and dinner on those trips.

BIG props to FloridaF son - ripping it up this summer. We have a 4th yr friend(mid level D 1) in the league -and I thought he could hit!

Valley League-buses. As chartered buses have gotten very expensive and most trips are short, renovated school buses are frequently used.

Thanks Liner. He had a rough outing the other night in a 16 inning marathon going 1 for 8. Really messed up his BA! But he seems to have rebounded nicely. Sure is fun!

He's hit 2 home runs in 3 games against my team. A 1 for 8 performance is part of the game...hopefully our staff wises up a bit in the next few matchups

We appreciate the learning curve...

Hey JH, I sincerely hope you and your team have an awesome summer! Its great isn't it? Have you been to a game at Fayetteville yet? They are a blast!

FF- So far we are 7 and 4. We were in Fayetteville a few days ago. It was very humid and muddy (had rained all day). But there was about 2500 people there and the beer garden is right next to the visitor's bullpen so we caught some slack from quite a few people, which turned out to be fairly enjoyable and humurous. I believe we are back there sometime next week.

The experience has been great so far. Couldn't ask for anything much better

I got a buddy who is the broadcaster for the Fayetteville Swampdogs. He and I grew up playing sports together in city leagues, we went to separate high schools (him Catholic school, me public school) and then went several years without really seeing each other except in church on occasion. We happened to intern last year with the same team. He was in the booth as the #2 broadcaster and I was in the dugout as an athletic training intern. This is his first fulltime gig. I'm hoping to catch him on the radio (online) real soon..

Is there anyone else who can share their experiences about college summer team travel?

So far my son's team has no bus to ride in. They guys that have cars have to car pool and drive themselves to the games.

He plays on a team on the west coast.

A great book about a summer in the Valley league, "Safe At Home", available at New Market Rebels web site, www.rebelsbaseball.biz

hokieone, Just got back from a 12 day trip to New Market. Son is on the Rebels. It was everything you said and more. Spent many hours talking baseball with Austin Gisriel. Author of "Safe at Home" A great read... Son is Staying with a great family and enjoying every minute of it. Made the All-Star team and is having the time of his life. Hopefully he has caught some scouts attention. Thanks again for all the info.

You're very welcome; New Market's GM has been a wealth of information for me as we prepare to launch our Valley League team next summer-it's a great organization, with tons of good people, many I'm sure you met during your visit.

Cal Ripken league offers no transportation for it's teams, my only complaint about the league. Longest trip is 2 hrs + and boys carpool. Balt/DC traffic stinks trying to get to a 5:00 BP. Chalk it up to experience though. Most parents would probably be willing to pay a bit more for a bus, we brought it up to the coach. To late for this year though.

Son's summer experience has been spectacular. His host family is wonderful, the teammates are all great guys, and playing time has been fair for the most part. Teams ride in buses provided, all of their food is provided either by the team or their host family, and the host families also provide transportation for them so they can get around while there.

Oh, forgot to say the league - Atlantic Collegiate.

Diamond Dog, thanks for the information about the Cal Ripken league. If you have any further information, good or bad, I'd love to hear it. Son received a call out of the blue last week and was invited to come play their next year.

I cringe at the idea of him driving up their next summer to drive around DC!

YGD

Young Gun, I would absolutely recommend the league, other then the driving (and it all worked out fine in the end) he had a great time, good pitching, 40 games in 50 nights, great place to experience, incredible 4th of July celebration and most important to MOM, still got to come home for a month. I think we ended up spending $800 in food and gas. Most teams offer to find jobs for the kids, but Chris was already taking a couple online classes, so we didn't have him work, just study and get ahead for the spring.

YGD, which team? Diamond Dog, which team did your son play for?

Big Train

Oh, he should definitely come!! I promise I will take good care of him. (I'm the host family coordinator.) Driving around here's not so bad. All our host families are very close to the park and two opponents are only 15-20 minutes away. The driving's not so bad... and as for the team, it has made PG's top 30 summer collegiate wooden bat team list for the past few years. Great team, great coach, great atmosphere... can't say enough about Big Train.

LHPMOM, you have a pm.

YGD

Alexandria Aces, stayed in Mount Vernon, 1 1/2 mile from Georges place.

My nephew played for the Big Train in 07-09. Didn't talk to him much about it, but I know he enjoyed it. Wish I would of been able to make it to a game. At least I got to watch him play at Michigan State.

Was he an outfielder?

Yep. Right Field. First name Eli....

We hosted him. Great kid. So excited about his success this year!

quote:

Originally posted by LHPMom2012:
We hosted him. Great kid. So excited about his success this year!

Wow! What a small world. He loved staying with you guys. How is your son doing in baseball? Is he playing? Hopefully my son (Eli's cousin) will follow in his footsteps. He is also a LHP/OF. 2015 grad.

My son is doing well and is committed to play for Mississippi State next year. Maybe your son will end up playing for Big Train, too! Hope both our boys end up doing as well as Eli has done!

Congratulations! If I remember correctly, Mississippi State is a great baseball school and has a tremendous following based on the tailgating that goes on in center field.

That's exactly why we wanted him to go there... we're all about the tailgating!

Another option is to take the summer off and rest up the old body, spend some time with your family. Maybe get a part time job to get work experience. Being in college and doing a sport doesn't allow much time for holding down a job. I know a pitcher who did this, took two summers off and did minor work outs, he ended up going pro, so don't worry about the exposure part.

After all 99% of these players will end up in the work force or military anyway. Don't get upset if you don't get on a team. I'm looking forward to spending more time with our son, have seen very little of him since he left for college.