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13 replies

High school team influenced by select travel??

infielddadinfielddad10,000+ posts
I was speaking with 3 Dad's this past weekend who have son's much younger than mine. The son's play at different high schools but play on the same select team. All three are receiving recruiting materials from colleges.
Turns out that 2 of the boys are on the varsity squad as sophomores. One player isn't at his school and is on the JV.
The programs at the 3 schools are pretty comparative in terms of skill and success.
Here is where things got pretty sensitive. The 3 Dad's, in effect, felt that the quality/reputation of the travel team should influence the level of your high school team and that the coach of the player playing JV either isn't competent or had another agenda. They supported this by the fact that each of the 3 was also receiving college recruiting literature.
Since I know a bit about the one high school coach, I indicated they were way off base and that high school coaches shouldn't consider travel ball/status/etc in determining whether a sophomore should play up or play JV. It should be decided based on the quality of play at the high school, alone.
After about 30 minutes of some raucous , we agreed to disagree.
Maybe I just don't know enough about current skills and levels in travel/select ball. If a player is on a good and reputable 15-16 travel select team, does that support that he should be selected for the varsity team as a high school sophomore, when programs are similar and his travel peers are on varsity at other, but pretty equal programs?
If I am not wrong, how does a high school coach ever deal effectively with parents like the 3 I talked with?

'You don't have to be a great player to play in the major leagues, you've got to be a good one every day.'

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CM Coach May1,000+ posts
The only thing that should determine what team they are on "JV or Varsity" should be there ability period. Where they play in the summer or fall and how many letters they are getting has nothing to do with it. The ability of the player and can he help the team is the only factor that should matter. Any coach that puts a kid on a team because of reputation or where he plays in the summer or fall is not much of coach in the first place. Any parent that thinks that there kid is entitled to a posistion based on anything other than actual performance is clueless. And the same can be said for the coach if he chooses to do this as well.

Reality will set in soon enough for those who think that because there kid is on a travel team or showcase team they are the s***. And the same can be said for those that recieve letters etc from college coaches. Everyone on a roster at a showcase event or tournement gets letters. Wow!!! I have arrived Im getting college letters! When they call you and offer you a scholley then come tell me. But if you still are not the best option you can be the college scholarship player riding the pine.
MTHMTH10,000+ posts
What you are seeing is the disease known as elitist travel ball snobbery. Not all travel ball parents are infected, but many are. (The ones that don't talk/brag a lot usually are not.) The malady is not confined to travel baseball. You see it with all AAU type sports such as swimming and s****r. Remember the rec ball parents who always wanted to tell the high school coach Little Johnnie's stats from Little League? They're now doing travel ball. Because they bought or finagled Johnnie onto an "elite" travel team his future is set. WRONG. Many of these kids and parents will disappear by graduation. Others will be role players. A few will be stars/leaders. The parents of the role players will continue to gripe about how Johnnie's playing time is affected by politics, etc.

The more things change, ....
TRhitTRhit10,000+ posts
I think also a lot has to do with how a "select" team is put together----we do not have tryouts---it is not a case of "paying" your way onto the roster---you join us by invite if we think you fit the needs of our program and vice versa

Receiving letters mean nothing---anyone can get them especially if you send an inquiry to a school
shortstopmomshortstopmom1,000+ posts
quote:
What you are seeing is the disease known as elitist travel ball snobbery


As the price of these traveling ball clubs goes up, it seems as though more and more parents are becoming " overly " involved and the expection of what their son/daughter will get out of it, also rises.
....at least I think that's the reason. (?)
Inputs welcome!


I do believe the more you play, the better you can make your game.
It does not however guarantee that you will have instant success.
There are no guarantees at all.

Shelling out biiig bucks is a choice. Expectations of what one will get out of it, is an unknown.

Even with all of the planets and " stars " aligned just perfect, once again,..there is no guarantee.
We as parents and consumers need to remember that.
Its a chance. An Opportunity.

Notation: Daughter tried out for tournament volleyball team. Made the team. We paid a fortune for the team fees.
They won maybe two games,...the girlds bickered, werent serious or motivated, and the coach quit.
Who's the dummy?......ME!!

It was " I " who had the expectations.

Back to baseball.
The needs of a HS team could be completely different than the needs of a select team. Different kids, different positions open, different levels of ability and talent.
Last edited by shortstopmom
B brod100+ posts
Our son played on several of the top select travel teams before playing on his varsity high school baseball team in his Junior and Senior years. The wait was good for him.

Although he was lucky enough to be on a national championship travel team, he would be the first one to say that it was harder pitching in front of his high school peers (i.e., girls) than it was in a championship game with his travel team due to the usual social pressures of high school. The wait also meant that he appreciated being on varsity that much more.

The skills may already be there, but the maturity may not be - nor have they faced "every" baseball situation when they are Frosh or even Sophomores. I am all for promoting kids based on talent, rather than have them sit, but use travel ball for what it is - to develop skills and for exposure. High school ball has a different role in their lives.

The fact your players are getting letters or invites to college camps is an indication that the recruiting timeline has moved up, not that they are ready for varsity or should have some feeling of entitlement.
B bb1100+ posts
Coaches might use where a kid played as a benchmark to his ability. Specifically for incoming freshman who they have no idea what they can do but might have knowledge of the league or team they played for. There is definitely a difference between rec ball players and most select players. That all being said a kid still has to show he deserves to play at a higher level and not have it given to him because of where or who he played with or against.
It must be earned!
CADadCADad5,000+ posts
Different coaches have different approaches. One coach might feel that a player will develop better by playing a year of JV, another might feel that they'll improve more playing limited innings with the varsity. It is easy to see how 2 coaches could treat players of the same ability differently without any bias involved.

There's no way to compare between different coaches. Now if all 3 kids were at the same school and really were equal in ability then one might wonder a bit. Even then they play different positions and that could affect decisions.
K Kupuna10+ posts
There are numerous reasons players are left on JV or Freshmen teams. My grandson's JV team played against one of the top freshmen teams in the area that had some open dates and needed games. At the first game my grandson recognized one of the players and he was surprised that the player was not on the JV or Varsity. Player is one of the top 14 year old players in the area and at this game hit a ball to the base of the 380 ft fence. I happened to talk to the player's grandfather and I asked him why his grandson was not playing JV or Varsity. He said that he believed that his grandson was good enough to play Varsity but was placed on the Freshmen team to ensure that they had enough players. Team had only 9 for first game, probably because of grades. The grandfather went on to say that his son coached the Varsity and wanted to have his 3 sons together for a few games. A few weeks later I noticed that the boxscore showed that all three (Senior, Sophmore, and Freshman) were on the Varsity and that the Freshmen had hit a home run. Also the Senior and Sophmore have accepted D! offers. At my grandson's school the Varsity pulled freshmen up because a few varsity playes were academically ineligble.
bcb3bcb3100+ posts
My son, a catcher, got moved up to varsity half way thru his freshman year, and became the starter a few games later. None of the other kids on his travel team played on varsity for their high schools. But the high school my son goes to has the weekest program of any of the five or six high schools kids from his travel team attended, and had a lack of catchers. I think the team you came from might get you an extra look, but the talent at the school you are at has to be the determining factor.

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