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High School Coach starting Travel Ball Team

standballdadstandballdad5,000+ posts
Just found out that the high school my son will be attending in 2013 as an incoming freshman, is starting a TB feeder team that will be run by the high school freshman coach. My question is, my son has been playing with the same TB team for the last 3 years. Don't really want to move him to a new team the year before he starts high school, but my fear is that the kids that are playing on this team will have the advantage since they will know the coach and the coach will know them. Does it really matter if my son does not play on the HS TB team?
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I IEBSBL1,000+ posts
If it is full of players that will be attending the high school then the answer is yes it matters and IMO you should move your kid to that team. If they are setting up a feeder system then they will be running the team based on the coaching philosophies of that high school. This means the kids playing for the team will understanding, prior to HS, the terminology, expectations, etc. etc. of what is going on in that high school.
standballdadstandballdad5,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by IEBSBL:
If it is full of players that will be attending the high school then the answer is yes it matters and IMO you should move your kid to that team. If they are setting up a feeder system then they will be running the team based on the coaching philosophies of that high school. This means the kids playing for the team will understanding, prior to HS, the terminology, expectations, etc. etc. of what is going on in that high school.


I understand what you are saying but I feel like we already made a commitment to his current team. Do you really think one year will make a difference? If my son was younger and just starting out in TB I would agree, but since this is the first year of this new TB team and the last year my son would play with his current TB team I thought why move him now. He is having fun playing with this team and really enjoying himself. I think my sons skills will speak for themselves when he has to try out for the HS team.
F fast10+ posts
Has this coach directly contacted your son about this new team? Or have you just heard about it via bulletin board/word of mouth? If the latter is the case, you could ignore it and if asked once he's a freshman why he didn't join freshman coach's TB team, he'll have the chance to explain that he was already happily committed to his other team and didn't want to back out on that commitment, although he strongly considered going out for freshman coach's team. Then, let his skills speak for him.

On the other hand, if freshman coach has talked to your son directly, and asked him to be on this new team, then you and your son could make an appointment to talk to him about son's dilemma. Explain that your son is considering trying out for coach's new TB team, but he's committed to (and quite happy with!) his current team. You might be surprised with his response. Maybe he's starting the new team primarily to provide an opportunity for those players who've never played travel ball. If your son's current team is a successful one (and I assume it is if he's really content), and his coaches are well-respected and knowledgeable/experienced, your son might get freshman coach's blessing, while also establishing a good relationship now. You might even discuss the number of players freshman coach expects to be on his new team (if quite a few, then point out that your son might get more playing time with his present team while freshman coach can focus on players who don't have another option). You might find out that freshman coach's team is only going to play a few tournaments, just so he can get an idea of what he has coming in. In that case, maybe your son could practice with/play for both teams, with schedule conflicts being dealt with as needed.

Let me explain where I'm coming from: My son's future HS coach put together a summer team to play a limited schedule so he could begin to get an idea about the incoming talent. When he asked us if son could play, we told him we'd love for son to do that, but our dilemma was that he's committed to his TB team (which he loves, but we can't wait for him to play with HS coach, so we wanted to find a way to make it work). HS coach told us that, if son could make some practices and games, GREAT, but HS coach doesn't want to interfere with the TB programs already out there because the TB experienced players he gets usually have a leg up on those who've never played TB, and he doesn't want to negatively impact any of those teams or discourage them from picking up players from our school. So, we spoke with son's travel coach, who gave us his blessing (his goal is to prepare players for HS anyway), and we carefully worked with both coaches so that son didn't miss any tournaments with his TB team, got to work with the HS coach's team some, and was never pitched when he'd not had enough rest. It was win/win for son, and I think both coaches.

Of course, you might find from your meeting that this freshman coach strongly encourages your son to play with freshman coach's team despite a commitment to another team, and then you can better gauge the impact of his choice on his future relationship with this coach.
I IEBSBL1,000+ posts
I agree with Fast 100%. In regards to does a year make a difference my answer is 100% yes it does. Case in point....In our section of CA we are allowed to run practice after school out of season. We limit these to 1 hour including stretching and throwing. The freshman that take part in these work outs and our scrimmages are always way far of the kids that do not take advantage of this. With new coaches come new lingo, expectation, and the way they teach things. The quicker your son can be come acclamated to this the better.
standballdadstandballdad5,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by fast:
Has this coach directly contacted your son about this new team? Or have you just heard about it via bulletin board/word of mouth? If the latter is the case, you could ignore it and if asked once he's a freshman why he didn't join freshman coach's TB team, he'll have the chance to explain that he was already happily committed to his other team and didn't want to back out on that commitment, although he strongly considered going out for freshman coach's team. Then, let his skills speak for him.

On the other hand, if freshman coach has talked to your son directly, and asked him to be on this new team, then you and your son could make an appointment to talk to him about son's dilemma. Explain that your son is considering trying out for coach's new TB team, but he's committed to (and quite happy with!) his current team. You might be surprised with his response. Maybe he's starting the new team primarily to provide an opportunity for those players who've never played travel ball. If your son's current team is a successful one (and I assume it is if he's really content), and his coaches are well-respected and knowledgeable/experienced, your son might get freshman coach's blessing, while also establishing a good relationship now. You might even discuss the number of players freshman coach expects to be on his new team (if quite a few, then point out that your son might get more playing time with his present team while freshman coach can focus on players who don't have another option). You might find out that freshman coach's team is only going to play a few tournaments, just so he can get an idea of what he has coming in. In that case, maybe your son could practice with/play for both teams, with schedule conflicts being dealt with as needed.

Let me explain where I'm coming from: My son's future HS coach put together a summer team to play a limited schedule so he could begin to get an idea about the incoming talent. When he asked us if son could play, we told him we'd love for son to do that, but our dilemma was that he's committed to his TB team (which he loves, but we can't wait for him to play with HS coach, so we wanted to find a way to make it work). HS coach told us that, if son could make some practices and games, GREAT, but HS coach doesn't want to interfere with the TB programs already out there because the TB experienced players he gets usually have a leg up on those who've never played TB, and he doesn't want to negatively impact any of those teams or discourage them from picking up players from our school. So, we spoke with son's travel coach, who gave us his blessing (his goal is to prepare players for HS anyway), and we carefully worked with both coaches so that son didn't miss any tournaments with his TB team, got to work with the HS coach's team some, and was never pitched when he'd not had enough rest. It was win/win for son, and I think both coaches.

Of course, you might find from your meeting that this freshman coach strongly encourages your son to play with freshman coach's team despite a commitment to another team, and then you can better gauge the impact of his choice on his future relationship with this coach.


Thanks for your response, answer is that we heard by word of mouth.
zombywoofzombywoof1,000+ posts
If the kid's talent stands out above the rest, it won't matter where he plays. If his talent is about on the same level as those who are trying out for the HS team, then the edge might come from familiarity with the new coach, team and the system he runs as well as getting to see the player on a day in and day out basis to make a more educated decision on what players will make the cut.

If this was only found out by word of mouth, then it shouldn't be an issue and should play on his current team unless the HS coach apporaches those he wants playing on his team. If he does, then your kid should talk to the coach and have him explain he plays for another team and see how he responds to this. Maybe the HC won't have an issue with it but whatever the case, the kid needs to talk to the coach about it if he's asked to play on the new team.
Last edited by zombywoof
standballdadstandballdad5,000+ posts
Thanks for every ones replies. Gonna keep a close eye on things (a little nervous) but will stay with current team. My guess is that they are (HS coaches) already aware of my sons skills since he played with a lot of the incoming freshman this year on All-Stars. My son was (not boasting) the best player on that team. (Hit 1st or 3rd played SS, Catcher and pitched) and if I am wrong then he will have to prove himself during tryouts next year. Always told him that competition brings will the best in him. Thanks again
BackstopDad32BackstopDad325,000+ posts
I agree with fast's comments. This whole situation requires some good self awareness. Meaning: Does your son seperate himself from his peers? What level does his team play at now? If it isn't Major, Premiere, whatever you want to call it I wouldn't assume his skills are going to stand out?

Would he benefit by being seen by these coaches over a period of time vs. a one week/two day, etc. tryout? Just finished trying out for a well respected Travel Team that starts now with the intention of playing for this organization through high school. I can tell you that when you get 30-40 or more 14-15 year olds on the field only about 3-4 will truly stand out from their peers and after that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Really hard to seperate many of the boys as the talent is very pretty close.

Top pitchers and top catchers are always in demand. Top hitters who don't have a bad round or two of bp will always make noise. (I have seen them not. My son's best friend can flat out rake, but I saw him at a try out and he was worst hitter in the place that day-didn't make that team over many less talented kids).

Also if your son has a poor try out next year could your current coach pick up the phone and call the varsity coach and have enough respect in the area to get him on the team? This will be my first year not coaching and I can say that myself or my head coach would have zero pull with the baseball community and we always have had very competitive teams and were respected for it. Thus why we made the switch this coming fall.

Sorry a little long, but as we are going through similar stage just wanted to give you a couple of more things to think about. Not an easy decision to leave the comfortable behind. Good luck.
P Prime91,000+ posts
Your son isn't going to HS for two years (2013 you said) so it's still a bit early to be concerned.

Towards the end of next year I'd encourage your son to have a conversation with the High School Freshman Coach that is managing that team and get all the answers he needs first hand. In high school and beyond, he will be expected to handle these things himself! So let him get an early jump if he's still playing and the program remains in tact.

lol
Last edited by Prime9
P playball20115,000+ posts
Have other kids on the TB team done the same in the past? Are the kids coming into Freshman class any good? If so move him to that team. Just be careful that the Freshman coach doesn't get the impression that your son thinks he's "above" his team. Another thing to consider-I've seen it happen. Your son could find himself with an injury near time of try-outs. If he has played on team with Freshman coach then he would know what type of player he is and give him spot even though he may not be 100% at tryouts. If he's never seen him before he may not want to take chance on him.He won't have seen just how good he was before injury.
standballdadstandballdad5,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by playball2011:
Have other kids on the TB team done the same in the past? Are the kids coming into Freshman class any good? If so move him to that team. Just be careful that the Freshman coach doesn't get the impression that your son thinks he's "above" his team. Another thing to consider-I've seen it happen. Your son could find himself with an injury near time of try-outs. If he has played on team with Freshman coach then he would know what type of player he is and give him spot even though he may not be 100% at tryouts. If he's never seen him before he may not want to take chance on him.He won't have seen just how good he was before injury.


Playball2011,

Just a little update, on the situation. I have talked to parents that have sons on the HS TB feeder team. I can honestly say the boys on that team are the ones that IMO are on the edge of making the Freshman team so I can understand why they are playing on this team to help improve there chances. From what I have heard from other coaches from other HS is that my son has a good chance of making the JV team. The current TB team is coached by someone who is also an assistant coach at a nearby college and it seems he is doing a great job. Plus my son thinks the world of his current coach. I understand the risk of injury but, I think the coaches at the HS already know who my son is. Thanks

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