Fall 2014/Spring 2015 team tryout question

Your question is a bit confusing because Spring is usually when HS ball is played and there is far less travel/club going on.  For summer/fall club ball, most organizations hold any tryouts a month or two before season but some are further out.  It does vary quite a bit from program to program and probably regionally as well.  You may want to post a question in the appropriate regional/state forums to get info on teams in your area. 

Yes, part of the process should definitely include questions about playing time and which events they will participate in prior to signing the dotted line.  The next two years will go by quickly and you don't want to make poor choices on teams when it can be avoided.  Of course, it is a two-way street.  The best organizations are looking for the best players.  Try to find the most competitive environment where your son will not sit.  And, of course, they have to attend events that will provide the desired exposure.

Thanks - good point about the spring season I wasn't thinking about that.  I guess I was trying to figure out if the team being tried out for typically plays together starting in the fall and then also the following summer or do they typically play together starting in the summer and then the following fall.  Sounds like it varies so I will keep my eye out and try to find out what teams we are interested in and try to find out what that particular team's tryout schedule is.

Learning, I see you are from the Mid Atlantic, so this may not apply. Here in Ohio most of the travel clubs hold try outs in late July and August for the next spring. Many of the young men who play baseball in this area also play football. So while the travel club may put a fall team together it rarely looks the same or has the same players as the Summer teams.

You may ask what role he expects your son to have, We always did, but that may not be the final result. Unless the coach is very familiar with your son and the others on the team he is making an educated guess on seeing players during a short try out. He may not know more until he has seen the boys practice together. 

As a pitcher he was told he would be a spot starter, come in in relief. And he would be a back up position player. But after practices started and games were being played he would quickly become 1 or 2 in the rotation and start center or right field. This made some parents mad. It was not because the coach lied to them, it was because he was not completely sure what he had. They had not seen my son play before and when he got on the filed he got better results than the other players. 

So a coach can tell you what he anticipates the role your son will have, it does not mean that will definitely happen.

Good luck...

In addition, I think it is real important for you to get an idea of your son's talent level.  Seek a third party's evaluation of his skills or attend multiple combines or tryouts may help you to place him on the right travel team whether it is local, regional or national.  There are so many choices out there.  Ultimately you need to decide if a potential travel team or showcase schedule matches up with the colleges that he wants to be recruited by.  That falls on your shoulders before you stroke that travel team check.

It is very fair (and expected) for your son to ask the high school coach at the end of the year what he needs to work on and what his projection is.  I've seen many players improve over the summer to unseat a projected starting upper classmen the following year.  Don't assume anything for next year, but rather focus on developing his skills and approach.

All of my son's played Fall baseball for the same travel or American Legion team they played for in the summer.  Typically, there were separate Spring/Summer & Fall tryouts but if you were an integral part of the team you were asked back.

JMO.