Agree with the above. Around here the key year in a kid's career is freshman year in HS. The top freshmen cement their standing in the school program, which directly translates into placement on a top travel squad, which is where the college exposure comes from. So while the difference between a 19 and 20 year old may be negligible, the difference between a 15 year old freshman and a 14 year old freshman is not.
@ReluctantO'sFan posted:Almost every kid that comes to mind (at least locally) that plays or has been given the opportunity to play at the next level follows a very similar blueprint. Start KN at 6, play 2 years at 12u, and/or repeat 8th grade. This isn't anything new in my area, and kids most definitely benefit from doing so. At least until the pack catches up with them. I would guess that for the really talented ones this happens at the major league level.
Granted, I don't have the stats in front of me, but I would venture to say that the vast majority of baseball players that play at some form of the "next level" are older, not younger when compared to their peers. Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem so from my experiences.
Agree 100% and this is why the kids that get big offers as freshman that I know fizzle in college and transfer from e.g. ACC or SEC to Juco in year 2 or beyond wheras the players that I see stick a little longer are just sold players or grinders who found the right program and actually played. There are exceptions w and yeah some have gotten drafted or scholarships from it but seems like fools gold in most cases with the fool normally being the dad and this twitter or facebook account. What I don't get is why scouts fall for it. And I'm not talking about 6.3" Freshman who throws 90 it's the head scratcher guys.
What do you make of the mid major early commit types? we've all heard of the studs who verbal to a P5 in their 8th, 9th or 10th grade years. I've noticed a handful of frosh/soph types who verbal to local (usually) d1's that are decent programs but not power programs. often these guys seem to be stud players but undersized or local hero types who haven't gotten their man strength.
is this the kid taking the first/best offer available? is this the local D1 rolling the dice on a kid with possibly a bunch of upside? I'm noticing this on the west coast so we're talking WCC/WAC/Big West type schools.
@ReluctantO'sFan posted:Almost every kid that comes to mind (at least locally) that plays or has been given the opportunity to play at the next level follows a very similar blueprint. Start KN at 6, play 2 years at 12u, and/or repeat 8th grade. This isn't anything new in my area, and kids most definitely benefit from doing so. At least until the pack catches up with them. I would guess that for the really talented ones this happens at the major league level.
Granted, I don't have the stats in front of me, but I would venture to say that the vast majority of baseball players that play at some form of the "next level" are older, not younger when compared to their peers. Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem so from my experiences.
This was not my experience. I started a travel team at 13u. The team was essentially some of the top all stars from out eighteen team LL district with a couple of outside players. I didn’t go just by who were the best all stars. The kids had to be projectable as high school players regardless of current size. I passed on big kids with short parents. I avoided kids with PITA parents. The 13u team had thirteen players. I swapped out three (for attitude) at 14u. I added three pitchers for 16u (kids were fifteen). Everyone moved on to quality 17u programs.
Four of the kids were 5’2” at thirteen. A majority of the team had January or later birthdays. No one started school late or repeated a year. Five went on to play major conference ball. All but one played college ball at some level. The one played college basketball. He could have played baseball.
@2023Catcher posted:Great story this is the way it absolutely should be. have no doubt that 75% of the kids on 3 teams my son played in from 13u to 15u will play D1 baseball. many have committed already.
But I need to ask...when did this occur with your Tam RJM. A lot has changed in HS baseball recruiting in the past 15 years, even if a lot has not really changed in how players develop in that time thanks to social media, PG, PBR and the emphasis on metrics vs. eyeballs.
Things are happening sooner now. It increases the odds of mistakes on both sides, college coaches and players.
My son is 27 now. There were teams then selecting the biggest, strongest kids and swapping them out each year for the new biggest, strongest players. I used to explain to parents just because a kid is on the 14u A team at an academy does not mean making the 17u A team.