how good is the instruction you are getting in summer ball

I cannot speak for other summer/fall travel teams but we are always teaching and working to refine the players games


Frank how many parents is "alot" ???


And what level of team ?

My son has played on the same Summer team for two seasons and receives great instruction. The mamager is a former skipper @ the AA level, the 1st assistant was a AA catcher and the 3rd assistant played college ball and is a high school coach. Yes, it would be better if they practiced more but when you play 50-60 games in 9 weeks it's difficult to find practice time.

My son played 100+ games in the summer and they always had aleast two 4 hr practices a week. Pitchers who don't throw between games ae risking arm injury.

I'm seeing the opposite. During the HS season, it was tons of games, no instruction, maybe one practice every couple weeks. During the summer we have fewer games, practice a couple times a week with a good coach, and because we don't have games every day (or school), my son can get practice time on his own.

Due to the makeup of our team and where they come from, they come in each weekend, weekday practices are not a viable thing----BUT

On the weekends when we play it is baseball all day and possibly into the evening--we have had instances where we were rained out and got time in indoor facilities to work out all afternoon---we also get to fields at least two hours before gametime to talk and work on things---we are deep into the mental aspect because evey kid on the team has talent on the field but we find the mental aspect is what needs to be fine tuned


I truly wish we could practice durig the weekdays but it cannot be when you have players from a number of states plus Canada coming in each weekend

Trust me we get the most out of our time

Three or more games a week against weak competition, no practices and it shows. They are playing down to the level of the competition and getting worse game by game. My son has given up 6 runs in his last 9 innings on 2 singles and 1 walk. Only 10 or 11 Ks though. These are the same players who came in third in their JV league, where the top team's varsity team was nationally ranked and three other teams were nationally ranked at the varsity level at times during the season.

It just depends on the team and its goals. My son has played on both. A couple of the teams practiced regularly and were coached by ex-MLB players that knew the game inside and out and passed a lot of that knowledge along. Some of these coaches were more interested in the players learning to play the game than winning.

My son also played, for a short time, on a team that got together on weekends and played and about the only thing the coach knew was how to steal players from other teams in an attempt to get more wins and make him look better.

There are also some high quality teams in our area that meet on weekends and play and provide teaching and direction during the games.

Becareful when you chose a team for your son because both kinds, and those in between, are out there. Determine what you and your son are looking for in terms of winning, teaching, and playing time. Talk to the coach. Observe a practice - if the team practices. Talk to former players. I believe it is all about fit to get the most out of the experience.

May I add my 2 cents,our son has played both travel ball and American Legion ball.From our experience the travel coaches were focused only on retaining /recruiting players players not teaching.On the other hand all 4 legion coaches were strong teachers and leaders.Plus legion competed in all games where travel group just made sure all played wothout regard to good baseball!

I understand that TRHit's team have different format and goals. But must of summer teams doesn't have the time or the intention to teach the players. They recrute the players they need to win games, not to teach nonbody. Even the teams that practice 2 or 3 times a week, they practice the team, they don't go player for player to see how they can help them to get better.

We picked a summer team solely because of coaching and without regard to the talent level or the likelihood that the team will win. So far the experience has been great. Son is getting continuous instruction on positioning and play-making in the field as well as pitch by pitch feedback from the third-base coaching box. He is doing extrememly well and improvements in his game and approach are noticeable. We had the opposite experience with Legion ball. Very little teaching.