How often has your son changed teams?

This summer we moved to a different team because of a couple of issues.

On his prior team they would play in tournaments that involved a college field, but often times that only involved championship bracket play.  So if you didn't win your pool you drove a couple hundred miles with a hotel night or two to play all your games on high school fields in the area.  No exposure there.

Second issue was for the big PG events the old team would pick up a lot of kids from all over the country.  Playing time was sparse for some kids.  I paid attention last fall pretty closely and the decision maker for me was a kid that I knew had been in the program for 3 years and uncommitted.  His reward was 3 ABs in Jupiter.  That sealed the deal for me.

I think if you do your research and ask around you can figure out if the "promised connections" are legit or not.  You have to do what is best for your son.  That might be staying or very well could mean leaving.  Good luck.

That's a big issue to me...

I can understand the need for a lot of pitching for the bigger events, but the team should anticipate that from the beginning.  Loading up the roster (especially with position players) in order to "win" a tourney is a disservice to those kids that have paid their dues (and money).  How can you expect players to be loyal to the team when the team isn't loyal to them?

For the original poster... Why not just go to your current coach and discuss the situation?  If he is a decent person he will not have a problem with your son moving on to a better opportunity - as long as you are up front about it.  If he can put his ego aside, he should want the best for his players.  That's ultimately the goal of baseball at this age isn't it? 

Playball,

My son played for a team that was very similar to what you are describing, but we changed and went with an established organization that has numerous contacts with college and pro scouts.  Some others did not and stayed.  As a result, my son had a significant amount more exposure.  If your goal is to have fun in the last few years of high school then stay.  If goal is to get college exposure, go to team/organization that has a track record for doing that.  We were lucky as there are numerous options in our area, so son could pick one that was a good fit, (and had some of the same boys he played with on previous teams).    

Two summers ago my son played for an upstart team from a northern affiliate branching out into FL.  That team had some decent players, but very rarely made it out of pool play, only 1 or 2 kids on the team were getting any attention.  Son, who had no intent to play on a team this past summer, was contacted by a pitching coach of well established organization, asked to play and he decided to do so.  Son said it was the best move he has made.  This team garnished a lot of attention by both pro and college scouts.  They were even coming to their practices to watch.  The exposure was fantastic.  So, if that is what you are looking for, and you think your son can fight for a fare share of play time, switching may be the best move

A fair amount, although not by choice.

His first tourney team folded after two years.  I won't go into depth too much but essentially the team went from a 13u team and exploded into a 'club' which attempted to field teams from 8u up to 18u.  It was a disaster, money disappeared and although the guy starting it had his heart in the right place he didn't know how to manage the funds while ensuring that everyone paid.  So, he lost a ton of money and he said enough after that. 

Second team was a club team, good kids and good management but they decided, after my son was done playing 14u that year, to only field an 18u team.  I didn't want my son, at 15, to be playing on an 18u team (although he could play at that level) due to maturity difference. 

He signed on with his current team as a 15U and probably will play with them for the rest of his 'career'.  He likes the trainers, he liked the coach, he likes the facility.  It stinks because it is 45 minutes away from the house but he is 16 and has a license and at this point can start driving himself to the facility.  They have a 'realistic' approach to the game.  The goal is to improve your skills, play better baseball and to enjoy the game.  No illusions, no bs, just practice and play and the wins and the notice will come. 

The reasons above are very good reasons to make a switch. Exposure and level of play is very important when people begin the recruiting process, earlier than that (middle school) is more or less for practicing skills you need to show off in HS.

We never played on a team that added for tournaments and let those players have more playing time.  So be careful there are coaches out there that do take on players (and usually needed in big tournaments), charge those players little or nothing and use them while your son sits the bench.