What's your personal opinion of the DBAT organization? We are inquiring about playing with them and wondered what everyone's experience has been? How many teams/coaches are in the DFW area? If you could do it again would you? Negatives? Positives? Suggestions? How competitive are they? Different coaches have different caliber of players or are they all the same? Thanks for your help.
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DBAT guys are on here regularly so I do not know how many straight answers you will get. DBAT has a lot of very good coaches, but they also have lots of facilities and lots of teams. We played against many DBAT teams over the years, and the best were as good as it gets, but many were fair to mediocre. Your job is to find out if the team your son is considering is one or the other.
Also, the pants are hideous 
Son played for DBAT for 3 summers. My personal opinions to answer your questions, Not very high; Not very good; A lot; No but played against and not a fan; No; Money grab and Didn't do anything for our son's recruiting; Play good competition but not many games for the money; Find a place where you can get on #1 team; Upper teams are very competitive but rosters are big; Definitely different caliber depending on team. Feel free to PM me if you want more insight from my side of things.
My son would agree with Aleebaba on the pants. lol
Also, the pants are hideous
Sorry to hijack your thread. I have nothing on the DBAT question... but had to jump in on the ugliest pants I have ever seen has to go to the Dirtbags down in Jupiter this weekend.
Gold, white, black COWPRINT... 6" thick black prison stripe on the sides with DIRTBAGS written down the leg in huge lettering.
If you live in North Dallas, Richardson, Plano, Frisco, Allen, Mckiiney area and your son is in High School, I would give Frozen Ropes a shot.
WOW those are some UGLY PANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you live in North Dallas, Richardson, Plano, Frisco, Allen, Mckiiney area and your son is in High School, I would give Frozen Ropes a shot.
What makes Frozen Ropes better then DBATS? We are new to this area and am in the process of trying to find a team for him to play on. He is a great all around player with a 6.45 60 and one of the highest OBP on our HS team. Got a stick and isn't afraid to use it....so we are wanting to find a team that best showcases his ability. We weren't dissatisfied with the MSL Fall league as he has gotten some interest so I know DBAT is a part of the MSL and would think that they do a pretty good deal. Our coach was a hands off coach, but again when the boys are playing at this level you have an expectation that they should know what they are doing so we were ok with that for the short amount of time that he played.
I would look at a few teams, for example Dallas Tigers went 3-1 this past weekend in Jupiter.
I would look at a few teams, for example Dallas Tigers went 3-1 this past weekend in Jupiter.
Would add a few more (not knowing your area, just Texas teams)...
Austin Banditos, Dallas Mustangs, Dallas Patriots, Dallas Tigers, Houston Banditos, Houston Heat, Texas Sun Devils.
Sure there's many more.
Now a days these top travel teams have tryouts and take kids from all over the place anyway. Since they are playing the big tournaments and traveling to FL, GA, etc... it may not even matter to you that it's actually a TX team.
Not sure what you're looking for.
What makes Frozen Ropes better then DBATS? -
Our son has played with both organizations and I found that Danny Florence with Frozen Ropes provides a better value for his players. It's just more of a business for DBAT where it's more of a passion to Frozen Ropes.
I have a lot of expereince with the baseball clubs my son played with or against here in DFW,but I don't have as much expereince in the other age groups. The 2012 class was loaded with great ball players from all around the metroplex on a bunch of different teams.
I'm not telling you to avoid DBAT on this forum - just check into Frozen Ropes
What year is your son? I assume 2015 because that is the age Tompkins coached last season.
What is your family's take on select ball?
What I mean by that is there seems to be two factions. 1. Those that prefer to play for a large orginization. 2. Those that prefer an independent team.
Either choice can help or hinder your son's exposure to colleges. Assuming that is the goal.
My son has played for both. We played for DBat for two seasons and have played for an independent team the past Summer and the Fall before that. We've done the MSL as well.
I may not answer your question directly but I can give you what went in to our decisions.
My son was asked to play up on a 15u(2014) DBat team when he was 14. We jumped at the chance to play on a DBat team thinking that was thing to do. He had fun and loved the challange of playing up. At this age recruiting was not a consideration. We played up again the next year on the same team. By this time I was much more familar with the workings of the DBat orginization. Again, early for recruiting. Although most of the boys on that team were now in the summer before their Junior years. No recruiters to be seen at games. His coach had told everyone that he would not be carrying the team forward as he only wanted to coach at the 15u and 16u levels. So I knew before that second season started that we would need to find a new team.
Our first decision was wether to continue to try and play up or drop back down and play 16s again. I began researching on this website.
What I realized was the best thing we could do for our son was to put him on the most competitive team we could. Whether it was a large club team or an independent team didn't seem to matter.
So we decided that if he dropped back down to his true age he could play on a much better team that he could playing up.
We began our search...
We indentified a top level DBat team and a top independent team. We set up try outs with both.
We were asked to play for the independent team and never heard back from the DBat team.
The independent team was full of kids who had played for large orginizations and the parents had decided they wanted a different approach. We, as a family, found that we felt the same way. It was a perfect match. I can honestly say we did not have those feelings before we joined this team. I do not have any issues with the large clubs at all. That's not my intent. We just had our eyes opened to an alternative. One we personally liked.
I followed the DBat team through out the summer. In fact, a family we had played with before was on that team so I got some first hand feedback.
Both teams were heavly scouted and recruited through out the summer. Both teams have had pitchers early verbally commit to Big 12 schools. Both teams had kids playing on the Battle of the Borders Texas Team.
So, I said all that to say this.... Play on the most competitive team you can, period.
DBat is great if you are on one of those top teams. Outside of those, I'd have to question whether it is worth the costs.
As far as Tompkins... He is the Head Coach at Lake Dallas who are in my son's district. His teams are well coached and competitive, but I can not give you a personal opinion about him.
Also, since you say you are new to the area, I'll add my view of the 2015 landscape:
The top teams were, in no particular order:
DBat Gallegos
Dallas Mustangs - Sharp
DBat Nelson
Dallas Patriots - Valdez
DBat Tompkins
Storm Baseball
Texas Stix Red - Phillips
Hope that helps!
BBMomfan,
Most parents including me, want their son's to get looks. My son's a 2014. I've noticed that whatever the organization is, it's the top teams within each group that get most of the looks. The larger the group, the more competitive it will be to achieve said top teams. I have found the Arlington A's to be $ reasonable and they get looks. My son's been with them 5 years now. I've noticed each year as we've approached the senior level, players coming from other independent groups because in the end, colleges will reach out to the A's. The A's have been around since the 80's and each year around 30+ kids move on to play college or/then pro ball. This off season, a number of colleges will come to the A's facility to tryout players. Kids are not traveling Texas and paying $50 or more to be part of a camp. They've been doing this a long time.
No matter what group you choose, you'll find nah sayers and supporters.
My son and myself are happy we are with the A's.
We have been a part of the DBAT group for a few years now and I can tell you when you are at national events the scouts know and respect DBAT. Yes they are making money, they have families to feed too. I can also tell you the coaches of their top teams Rose 17U and Leach 18U are GREAT coaches. I think DBAT as well as many other Dallas organizations need to take note of the teams in Cal, Fl and Georgia in regards to perfect game events rather than pursuing the Connie mack World Series. To me the connie mack should be for the 18U group and the 16 and 17's should be about showcases. Other than that we love DBAT!
If your son can get on one of the top two DBAT teams for his age group, go for it. Should be outstanding coaching and a great experience.
My opinion is that DBAT teams other than those top two, are money grabs.
If not chosen for the top DBAT team, then find a team where your kid will get his reps against the toughest competition. In DFW area, some solid organizations are Stars, Tigers, Frozen Ropes, etc.
Dallas Giants, I noticed that the Stars, Tigers, and Ropes all have multiple teams in every age group. What happens if you're not picked for the top teams with these guys?
If you have been around select baseball the past few years, you and your son will know who the top team's are. Word of mouth, High School Accolades, PG Accolades, etc....
Most of the top teams pool their best talent in to 1 or 2 teams when kids get older, and sometimes move kids between teams. They all have connections with 100s of colleges and pro scouts. They can also help get you into Area Code tryouts, which in my opinion are the best looks your kid will get in the state, (and it is virtually free). Dallas Tigers, DBAT, Patriots, Mustangs, FW Cats, Arlington A's, Frozen Ropes, and others all have these connections. Go were you get an opportunity to play for one of the top teams in the organization, hopefully for a coach that believes in your son and will pitch his talents to various scouts. A call from one of these coaches verifying the skills of your kid is worth every dollar spent.
There are several good National level programs in Texas. DBat is certainly one of them. I'm only talking about the highest level of each organization. DBat is one of the top teams in the country most every year. As an example one year they had Kershaw, Waldon and another guy (name slips my mind) who was one of the best in the country. Maybe the best pitching staff ever in travel baseball. Then another year they have Bundy and Bradley two of the top prospects in professional baseball. I have no reason to promote them other than the truth is... They are very very good at the top level!
As I said, there are several very very good programs all over Texas that also have proven track records.
It really depends on what you are looking for. I will tell you this, if your son has elite talent get him on the best team out there....period. These team are very competitive and some kids don't get to play hardly at all, just sparingly but they know that prior to getting into it. But if your son has elite talent get him on the top DBAT team....easy decision for me.
Dbat has had 10 1st rounders in the MLB draft since 2009, and 8 2nd rounders since 2009. There is not another team in the country that can say that. If your son is good enough to be on that team then its a no brainer for me, if not then its really preference.
Some Dallas teams like to travel to Florida and play the PG tourneys and some play the connie mack and aabc teams. No way is better than the other, just depends again on what you are looking for. I do know Dbat pieces some of there younger players and other orgs to field a team and put one together in the fall and sends them to the PG WWBA, but to my knowledge they have never sent there full roster A team there.
I agree with that poster above, DBat probably needs to send there 17U top team to PG east cobb and WWBA and the 18U team definitely needs to stay playing connie mack. There is nothing like the Connie Mack world series in the entire US. From the parade, to playing every game with over 8000 fans at each one wearing there favorite teams jerseys....words cant describe. That event is larger and better than the LLWS and it blows my mind how its not on TV.
Honest opinion would be best dbat team, then dallas mustangs carpenter or dallas tigers Vanlandingham. Frozen ropes had a great year this past year as well. Cant go wrong with any of those.
