Just wanted to check in and say thanks to those who encouraged my recent-HS graduate catcher to play in the DC wood bat "format" this summer. He played on the Falls Church Barons in the DC Wood league and against Industrial and Fed teams. He's had a great time and they are now in the playoffs. Almost across the board it has been an outstanding experience. Some observations:
Those who play, play because they love baseball; most teams have 1-2 "young guns" like my son who are trying to stay ready for D3 or club baseball in the fall; base running is, as a rule, conservative; pitching varies from HS average (but with better control) to collegiately impressive; lots of LH pitchers too; hitting varies the most
My son has caught 1-2 games per week with loads of ABs.
I have mixed feelings about wood bat hitting in general. While it has made my son stronger and much more in tune with barrel control and squaring up balls; he finally broke his wood bat (after 2 years), then proceeded to break 2 more in two weeks (at $80 a pop). A hard-throwing pitcher could definitely break loads of bats with hard inside sliders and FBs.