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My 2015 son has been offered a spot on a local legion team.  The coaches have been involved with the team for many years and have a good reputation, the boys who have played on the team enjoyed their experience and all say they've learned a lot and have become better baseball players, and I know my son will enjoy playing with his hs teammates.  He prefers to be a "middle of the pack" player on a good team with older kids rather than a "stand out" player on a team of kids his age.  We think this is a good fit for our son.

 

That said, we are concerned about how much exposure he will get on this team.  I believe they play one tournament and then he "will have the rest of the summer to attend showcases and camps".   I read through the discussions below, and it sounded like legion in MD was well regarded, at least in 2004, so that's a plus.  Is legion in MD still well regarded?  Or do we really need to find a travel team if he wants to play baseball in college?

 

Thanks!

 

http://community.hsbaseballweb...ing-teams#6056098845

 
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gettin'there,

 

I don't have a simple answers to your question, but here are some things to consider.

 

Have you identified 2015's schools of interest?  Would most of those schools come see him play a Legion game?  If so, score one for AL.  If not, the travel team is probably going to give you a better chance of playing in front of recruiters (depending on their schedule).  IMO, camps and showcases play an important role, but coaches want to see them play in real games.

 

What are 2015's other options?  Does a high-level travel team want him?  He's probably already missed quite a few tryouts for summer 2014 teams, although many of those teams will add players at any time if the new player is an upgrade.  Playing for a mediocre travel team, in front of schools he has no interested in, would not be a great investment.

 

Could 2015 play AL, but be a guest player at one or two big tournaments next summer (e.g. East Cobb)?  This is probably much more feasible for pitchers.  I would only pursue this if the AL coach was on board with it, since he would likely miss some AL games.

 

Are you prepared to invest a significant amount of money into travel ball?  The team fees and travel expenses add up quickly.

 

Attached is an interesting article about MD Legion baseball from 2010:

http://ww2.gazette.net/stories...evspo93439_32547.php

 

With Legion from my experience would depend on what part of Maryland you are talking about. There are very few good teams out there any longer. IMO and there is great number of opinions out there is to find a very good travel/showcase team to play on. Yes this drains the pockets and can require a lot of travel outside of your area but in general you end up playing with better talent and against better talent also. I also think it gives your son a better idea of how he stacks up against better talent. Playing with Legion you are just playing other legion teams with the same kids you see playing high ball in your state.  If he is looking to go to school out of state unless he is a stud pitcher it is unlikely that a coach is going to come see him on a legion team even if he is in state.  A travel /showcase team may be playing at a tourney near his school and it may be easier to get him to come take a look. When we would travel to well run out of state tournaments or even in state we would always see coaches from local collages there. Again this is just IMO.     

The following are Maryland based prgrams that are run by quality indiviuals who have the players best interest at heart.  

 

Dig In Baseball(Will Frazier and Steve Ballance)

        - Coach Frazier has coached several National Championships teams

        - Former Coach of the nationally ranked  Maryland Baseball Academy team

         - MD based training facility located in Rockville

        

 Mid Atlantic Red Sox (Allen Haines and Mark Shives

        - Produced several MLB drafted players 

        -Coach Shives is associated with USA Baseball   

 

Elite Baseball(Brian McKennna and Matt Werts)

        - Several players in program have been drafted

         - Year round training facility located in Columbia

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