How much r u spending?

It's so hard not to get sucked into investing in their dreams.  Because how can you say no to that?  We were late to the game (didn't do this heavy travel, showcase stuff) yet what little we did do, we treated it as a family vacation, not an investment.  Parents that think they are going to be "paid back" in some way with scholarships etc have a big surprise waiting for them.  If you don't have a draft pick, and aren't invited to major tournaments, I'd say use travel for the experience he'll get playing tougher competition and attend camps to be seen.  IMO you don't have to travel out of state to play good competitive travel ball.  Pick a team that has a good schedule and on which he will actually get a lot of innings.

How much are you spending?  Less than most 16U families who are chasing the dream, but more than most non-baseball people would believe.  Hotels have been the biggest expense this year (~ $2,000), and other expense related to travel (fuel, restaurants, tolls ~ $1,000).  That covered a summer season of about 40 games (mostly tournaments - within driving distance).

Like Leftysidearmom, we try to treat this like family vacation time, and we also visit colleges along the way.

Is it all necessary?  No, especially not for pitchers.

As for PG Showcase events, that's a tough one.  My son has attended two PG showcases.  In hindsight, I would have only sent him to one (after sophomore year).  I won't send him to another unless it's something special like the World Showcase (but he's not likely to be invited).  I do think going to one is worthwhile for the profile and the videos.  I could be wrong, but I imagine college coaches watching his short videos and immediately getting a sense of whether or not they have any interest.  Saves everyone a lot of time and effort.

I do think the big PG Tournament events are almost a must for pitchers.  You get a PG profile and your velo posted, and that can be huge in recruiting.  If expenses are tight, you can almost always find a team who needs a guest pitcher for East Cobb or Ft Myers.  You only have to drive/fly in for a day or two, which keeps the travel expenses down.

Being on a team with kids who are getting looks is certainly a help, but only if you have the talent.  My son has been in front of several schools on multiple occasions this summer because of teammates, and none have “noticed” him (or most of the other guys).  It's a little disappointing, but it's also a good reality check for him.

If your son is a 2015, and with where you project him, next summer will probably be his time to get recruited.  If he has a short list of realistic colleges, going to their prospect camps might also be a good investment.  Just keep in mind that even after he garners some interest, those schools will probably want to see him in quality game situations, so he needs to be playing somewhere.

Good luck.

We have been involved in this for awhile and now things are coming to a head.  First, find out if your kid has enough talent to play college/pro baseball.  If not, you got your answer.  If yes, then find out what level.  I have seen lots of kids at camps and tryouts that were wasting their money as they definitely did not have ability at the level they were targeting. 

If significant ability, you can spend money wisely by targeting showcases and camps that have lots of schools attending.  Do not go to single college camps unless you have received phone call or direct invite, (not generic email).

Try and find an affordable Summer team for him to play on that will get good looks in your area.  Do not just pick a team based on name as it may be a lesser version of the organization and just a way to pay money with very little exposure. 

For us the academic camps were the best exposure, along with playing on Summer Team.  Most parents that had less financial means worked together to take turns taking boys and paying for hotels.  Hopefully you will have options locally and do not need to travel all over the country.

Whether you go to local showcases, camps, or big PG events, they player needs to contact the coaches BEFORE hand, so he will be one of the players the coaches are there to see.  How else are they going to know?  (I am sure the coaches want to know there is interest in their school, too.)  Emails cost nothing and it gets him in the schools "database".

At the beginning of the summer, the player should email his summer schedule to the head coach/recruiting cordinator of all target schools with a bio/baseball resume.  And then each week, send the schedule with location and times of the games.  You can add and delete schools as the summer progresses.  Same for the fall schedule.

After the first round of emails, it got less tedious for keewartson.  Son would just bring up the prior email and add new info to it.  He set up a document with all his target schools, coaches names and emails.  He "copied and pasted" from that document which saved on possible errors on email addresses and names.

Regarding travel, we also looked on these last few years as 'baseball vacations'.  Time watching your son playing ball is short.   The beach will always be there. 

(I always kept reminding myself that if we weren't putting money into son's baseball travel/gear/lessons, we would be spending on "some other" lessons/travel/gear.)

My son is about to start his freshman year, and played this summer for the 14U team for a local showcase program.  Since there really isn't much chance of recruiters/scouts looking at 14U games, my only expectation was for my son to get a chance to work with some solid coaches and play with some excellent players.

Team fees for the summer were $1350.  That cost covered coaching from May-August, field rental, uniforms, and tourney fees.  We played in 2 PG events in Ft. Myers, Prospectwire events in Bradenton and Port St. Lucie, a Nations/IBC tourney in St. Petersburg, and a local HS tourney.  We also had a few local games as well.  I think the team fees were fair for what we got, but it certainly wasn't cheap.

I'm not sure on the hotels and food... One of the PG events my son stayed with a teammate, but all together it was probably 20+ nights in hotels.  A couple of events our entire family went, so you are talking 2 rooms a night.  Yea, it really adds up.

Still though, if we weren't doing baseball - it would have been something else.  We had a great time with the other families, and still snuck in a few non-baseball activities.  My son got a chance to play at places like Jet Blue, Tradition Field, and Pirate City.  He also got a chance to pitch in City of Palms Stadium - how cool is that?

On top of everything else, the varsity head coach of my son's high school ended up being the coach of my son's team this summer.  A fortunate turn of events that we didn't anticipate. Adding to the good fortune, my son had a great summer on the mound.

I don't think this summer will have much bearing on his chances of playing in college, but that wasn't an expectation.  I expected him to play baseball and have fun, so in that I think it was a worthwhile investment.

As a rough wag, I would say the below breakout is about the norm for an upper tier 2015s travel schedule for the summer that are required to travel south for tournaments. Keep in mind that many 2015s play a couple to a few more tournaments due to being able to compete in 16u, 17u and 18u tournaments (i.e., 16/17/18u PG WWBA NCs), which makes this year the most expensive High School travel season for many. The numbers below assume you travel for 8 tourneys, 5 days at each. Again...just a wag.

• Team Fee...$2000 (varies w/team)
• Equipment...$500 (wood bats, cleats, trashed red GA clay pants)
• Hotel...$4000 (40 days x $100 per night)
• Fuel...$2000 (depends on where u live & which events u drive to)
• Airline Ticket/Rental Car...$2000 (again, depends where u live)
• Food & Snacks..$1200 (40 days x $30 per day)

Playball you have a PM

Thanks agree. Days is he pitching may be one where no one is present looking.

will look into suggestions.