Last year son's school had a JV and V team: V coached by a volunteer assistant and the other by a dad. My understanding is that the head coaches are not coaching this fall either. I think woodbat may be most beneficial for those players that are not on a travel/showcase team in the fall, so they can at least play somewhere (and in one case last year, a player had already committed and decided to play woodbat rather than showcase). I have heard about a school whose coach demands that his players play for him in the summer and fall, so it differs greatly by school. I don't think my son missed anything by NOT playing woodbat since he plays on another team for the fall/summer, nor did it adversely effect his playing time in the spring for his high school. Talent level will vary greatly, and some schools don't have enough players to field a team. Maybe if a player is a rising 8th or 9th grader and is looking to get in front of the coaches for the first time, it could be beneficial (or not!) but the coaches need to be there for that to happen. The positives are 1) that the price is right and 2) they practice during the week.
