The travel team my son was playing with disbanded last fall and we are searching for a 15U team located in the Central VA area. Any advice would be appreciated!
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Most teams are well on their way through their summer schedule. Keewartson only has 4 more events this summer ...sigh...
Will he be 16U in the fall? Teams usually have tryouts in August (for fall and next summer). Check the team's website (and this site on the Virginia Forum) for Richmond Braves, Canes, Virginia Cardinals, IYG Spiders, RBA South and RBA West tryouts. I am sure there are others.
Personally I find 15u teams not to be worthwhile. A big reason is the one you note: They tend to fall apart mid-season. This is the turning point year, when everyone who's been playing travel ball just because everyone they know is doing it starts to separate into two groups -- those who will go forward and those who will not. Especially after kids go through HS JV cuts in Feb/March and start to realize that for some of them, the end of the road is upon them, you tend to lose half your roster over night.
Which leads me to say, look for a 16u team. If you find a 15u team, it may well have openings, as it tries to replace the guys who've quit. But so very often, you'll find that a week after you arrive, the 15u team will lose some more guys and be right back in the soup, unable to put 9 on the field.
Thank you so much! He will be 15 in August, don't know if he can play 16U? Would that depend on the individual teams?
There are plenty of good 15U teams out there. You just have to find a reputable one like RBA, Braves, DBA, Pirates and so on. These are all business driven, not run by a dad.
If he is 15u and not able to compete at the 16u level, that would to me be an indication that he is reaching the end of the proverbial line, baseball wise.
On the other hand, if he is someone who belongs in high school-aged travel ball, then he should certainly be able to compete with a 16u team. Especially considering that most 16u teams are actually using rosters mixed with 16u and 15u players.
Not to mention, your son is really no longer to be thought of as 15u, 16u or whatever. You leave all that behind at this point. His class year (recruiting year) is what matters. Typically a 15u would be a 2016 player, but if he's a 2015 or 2017 player, that will matter far more than his birth date.
Originally Posted by Bevomav:
"These are all business driven, not run by a dad."
Many of the organizations are run by dads and families of players that have been through the baseball pipeline or former professional players. They usually know what they are doing.
Many of these same organizations employ dads of players to help coach individual teams. Some of these dads have tremendous coaching expertise.
But, if your son plays the same positions as the coach's son, you need to go in with your eyes wide open. (btw-my experience with this was from 13u-15u.)
playing on a team coached by a dad usually is not the way to go. Daddy ball should be left at the little league field. My son played a season with the Canes, the stars, and the DBA dragons, none of which was coached by a dad. There is always exceptions to the rule.Originally Posted by keewart:
Originally Posted by Bevomav:
"These are all business driven, not run by a dad."
Many of the organizations are run by dads and families of players that have been through the baseball pipeline or former professional players. They usually know what they are doing.
Many of these same organizations employ dads of players to help coach individual teams. Some of these dads have tremendous coaching expertise.
But, if your son plays the same positions as the coach's son, you need to go in with your eyes wide open. (btw-my experience with this was from 13u-15u.)
Originally Posted by Bevomav:
playing on a team coached by a dad usually is not the way to go.
I totally agree. I was trying to be polite. 
But, when a player tries out for a team/organization, you may not know who the coaches are that season.
Originally Posted by keewart:
Originally Posted by Bevomav:
playing on a team coached by a dad usually is not the way to go.
I totally agree. I was trying to be polite.
But, when a player tries out for a team/organization, you may not know who the coaches are that season.
It depends on the dad. I think I saw some daddy-ball on ESPN while watching the NCAA playoffs!
We had a group of kids who played "daddy-ball" as 15u and 16u and competed extremely well against the "professional coached" teams. We had a roster of 11 players, of which, 3 are playing D1 and 6 are playing D3. Our defiency was not having the relationships with the college coaches to help them with the recruiting process. If you need someone at this age to help with the recruiting process, I strongly suggest, professional coaches. If not, IMHO, I think its fine to play on a team that is coached by a group of dads provided they are qualified to do so. I would strongly discourage trying out for teams when you don't know the coach unless it is a highly regarded organization with a reputation of placing qualified coaches on their teams.
Baseball mom
When it comes down to it, let your son play where he wants. If it's a dad run team, or with an organization with professional coaches. It's going to depend on his upside and skill level when you get down to it... I believe in having kids at the 16 year old level who have talent play with a proven organization to give the child the best chance to play at the next level...At this point of the season, you will be better off waiting till the fall season like keewart wrote. He gave you some really good teams for the fall.
Good luck!! Originally Posted by keewart:
Originally Posted by Bevomav:
playing on a team coached by a dad usually is not the way to go.
I totally agree. I was trying to be polite.
But, when a player tries out for a team/organization, you may not know who the coaches are that season.
We are a new organiztion that is ran / coached by fresh college players. Some just graduated, and some still playing. If you are interested visit our website www.eastcoastwhitecaps.com and email us with some info. We would love to help you and your son out.
I would recommend your son tryout for the Richmond Braves. My son plays 14u and has been with them for two years now. They have been absoutely great. You can go to www.richmondbraves.org, I believe they have tryouts coming up soon.
baseballmom,
It depends on talent level and your goals. Certain teams look for top D1 talent and help your player with the coaches at those schools and others don't. I coach the EvoShield Canes. Feel free to PM me and I can help you further.
Midlo Dad,
I disagree with you about 15U teams. We have three 15U teams and all are very solid. None of them have disbanded or experienced any turmoil. The kids have gotten better and learned to play at a higher level, together as a 15u team. Every weekend they face 16u and 17u teams and come out ahead most of the time.