Declining offers to play on teams

Where does your son want to play?  At this point, what level is he hoping for?  If you play on a good travel team with an organization that is respected among college coaches you'll be noticed.  You don't need to be flying all over the country get get attention.  Now if he's hoping to play on the East Coast or the Southwest, you may have to consider it as I would think that those schools aren't likely to be doing a lot of scouting in your area.  

I sent you a PM

A few questions just to clarify. 

Your son plays for a regional team and is being recruited by national teams to fly out for tournaments?

Or does he play for a local team and is being invited by a regional team to travel? 

Are the teams from the same organization or new teams are calling? 

@Buckeye, At 15 its hard to get him to decide. He's talked far away and he's talked about close by. I've also tried to get him to think what he would want to study as that could reduce the choices but still a bit all over on that.

@Pabaseball, He has done a local showcase and that organizations that ran the showcase asked him to join one of their team to travel for a specific tournament that is after his travel team season. He plays on a local team that does travel, I think 4 tournaments out of state for this season.

I don’t think you need the high profile. That said, if your team is traveling out of state, they should be attending some good ones. Otherwise, why the travel expense?

I have a 2020 in the PNW as well and my son has done the tournaments with these programs you are talking about.  I'd be happy to respond to any PM questions you have.

Catcher-in-the-Rye posted:

@Buckeye, At 15 its hard to get him to decide. He's talked far away and he's talked about close by. I've also tried to get him to think what he would want to study as that could reduce the choices but still a bit all over on that.

 

@Pabaseball, He has done a local showcase and that organizations that ran the showcase asked him to join one of their team to travel for a specific tournament that is after his travel team season. He plays on a local team that does travel, I think 4 tournaments out of state for this season.

Regarding your response to Buckeye's question, I think it is one of those things you may have to experience to figure out where your son fits in the athletic & academic talent continuum at 15 years old.  Essentially you are trying to figure how big your recruiting net is going to be...national, regional or local and then match his travel team to that.   Travel expenses can be substantial so I'm not downplaying budget on this topic.  

Additional perspective....Most young men at 15 years old don't know what they don't know.   My oldest son was in that category.   He only knew about Virginia schools, so he told us he didn't want to go to school outside Virginia despite playing on a national level travel team.   Fast forward a year later at 16 yo, and it becomes apparent to him that he has multiple opportunities inside & outside Virginia that are unique to his situation.   Being on a national level travel team opened unintended doors and new opportunities for him.   It would have been nearly impossible for him to be recruited by two of the four schools that he seriously considered.   I guess what I'm saying is it can't hurt to have additional college choices.   However it might cost you a few extra bucks in the short term for a long term lifetime decision.   

Good luck and as always JMO!

Thank you for the information @Fenway. That is kind of where I'm at right now. He doesn't know what he wants and is my saying "no" to these tournaments going to remove one of the options before he knows what he wants.

I guess he and I will have the conversation again this year if he gets invites again.

I would not guest play for a team unless it were free. I would be very hesitant to pay for one tournament, especially if the team is part of an organization that puts on showcases. It tells me they're just out for your money. 

If they don't charge and supply a uniform feel free to go as long as the travel, hotel, food, etc fit into your budget. Just make sure his role is well established before hopping on a flight

Fenway is on point with "Being on a national level travel team opened unintended doors and new opportunities for him."  Same here with my son.  Playing on a National team allowed my son to play Locally, Regionally, Nationally and Internationally since he was 14. Many great experiences, friends and opportunities came out of it. 

Plus, National teams tend to have some of the best talent which draws scouts to the team's games. Not-to-mention, the National team's opponents always put their best 9 in the line up which lends itself to the adage "How can you be considered a Top Prospect if you do not play with and against Top Prospects".

Thank you all for the input. We'll look harder at these offers should they come again to see if what we think it will achieve will fit with his goals. He recent did his Area Code tryout and we both felt this one was worthwhile so fingers crossed.