Looking for some advice on upcoming fall season

8th grade to high school is an adjustment.  There will be older players, who throw harder, hit further, and run faster.  Playing against better competition and practicing with talented teammates can help a player grow.  I would say that if your son is truly interested, try out for the more competitive team - it is just a tryout.  Also, as they enter high school, it is so much about THEIR desire to grow and play.  Kids with drive and passion are continuing to develop in high school.  What does he want to do?

We've always gravitated towards playing with older/better competition. Son had to try out for a new travel team as he entered high school (his youth team ended at 8th grade) and did his due diligence at that time and visited a few - he selected a competitive team that will continue to allow him to grow and develop, while playing a very competitive summer schedule.

Youth fall ball near us was pretty casual - time for development.  My son started switch hitting as a youth player in fall ball before starting as a full time switch hitter the following spring (has not looked back).  If your son waits to make the move, might he miss a spot?  I imagine that if his "old" team gets upset over a tryout, that they are destined to become upset at some point anyway, so your son needs to do what is best for him.

He wants to play for a better team. He keeps bringing it up. So yes, just talking about it helps clarify things. He's the one playing, not me.

One caveat I'd add - if you join the "better" team for fall, understand what will happen in the spring with that team (if anything).  Communication is key.  We had kids that filled in on fall teams for players that missed for other sports that would never make our spring/summer team.

I went through something similar recently with my son making the transition from 12u to 13u this summer all while switching teams.  Switching teams was 100% the right decision but created all kinds of conflicts with parents, teammates, and "friends" on the team he left.  So I'd weigh that.  It didn't matter to my son.

Has your son played on the big field much yet? Has the team he's going to try out for played much on the big field?  I'm of the mindset that the first fall season on the big field doesn't matter all much.  If my son stayed at the first team, he'd be playing tournaments all fall, which I thought was kind of stupid, considering none of the kids have even practiced on a big field yet.

You could always try out for the team.  If it's the right fit move over there for fall.  If the timing isn't right move over for spring.  And expect it to get back to your current son's coach...

Your son wants to play for a better team,  but will he be happy if he has to sit for that better team, because that may happen.

Stay on the team where he will get the most playing time. If he insists on trying  out, I would let the coach know about it.

JMO

Has your son already tried out for and committed to spring/summer ball with his old team next season?  If so...THAT is a whole other level of awkward and I would not let my son do that.  Once we committed to a team - that was it for that season.  I think kids DO need to understand the commitment to the team aspect.

Just a funny thing to consider, because we saw shades of this with some former...and then once again teammates from youth ball. When a new team started nearby, a couple of players left for what they perceived to be a better team for them.  Some poor decisions were made in terms of timing - commiting to one team and then shifting to another after that commitment...but, most accepted that they did what they felt was best for them at the time.  Many of these same families and players are now reunited in high school.  So...it's a small world.  Don't burn bridges, honor commitments made, but people WILL understand in the long run that families need to ultimately have their players play where they feel they will best develop.  Everyone is friends again in the long run this way. 

Thanks all. It does help to get various viewpoints to think about. There's more to this than I posted but I think we'll stick with the original plan and play fall ball with his team from last year. Spring/Summer is probably the time to get serious instead of worrying about it now. Plus he'll be bigger and stronger then anyway.

Thanks for the replies.

I totally get your son wanting to play for a better team, that was also my son.  Original coach was a dad (thus not quite the same as your situation) who wanted a better-than-rec team for his son and friends, goal was to prepare them for high school ball.  The team was all friends from rec, it was not that good.  Coach was offended at the idea that his team wasn't "good enough."  If I remember, we did not tell him about the tryout, but he found out, and that did lead to bad feelings for a few years.  And then it was o.k., and our son would play with his team as a fill-in on free weekends.

Some of the players on the original team were eventually on HS varsity (and went on to college ball), and some never made a high school team.  Playing on one team or another didn't particularly affect high school ball.

What is your relationship with your original coach?  How is he invested in his team?  What is the goal of that team?  Is it to get players to high school ball?  Would he be offended if you said your son wanted to play tougher competition?

Many travel teams with tryouts in August set their teams for the following year then.  So you might or might not be able to find a spot in the spring for that team.  And if you do, you'll be bumping someone else's playing time.  Travel ball is not for the faint of heart.

And yes, 100% agree with TPM, if you do decide to try out for this other team, make sure you understand how they do playing time before you commit to it.  Some travel teams rotate fairly evenly, some have a high school "the best play" mentality.

My son was a standout thru 11U, but from 6-9 grade he physically matured slowly and was tier below the highest level. He wanted to play on the very best team possible (a nationally ranked team), but it meant he’d be contributor opposed to being a star. I struggled with the choice (less innings) and made sure he knew he had options, but it’s what he wanted and that’s what I supported.

I don’t think playing on that team thru 14U, facing better pitching, or pitching against better hitters at that level improved his tools. I think those improvements happened because of good external coaching (hitting especially) and the work he put in. The only benefit I noticed (not a small thing) was he played in a bunch of championship games, and playing in big games with big moments creates mental toughness and high expectations.

Your comment “which no doubt will piss everyone on his current team off” is bit of a concern, because typically moving to another team for better opportunity done timely, directly, and openly will not make “everyone” angry. Some, because youth baseball is the definition of parental drama, but typically not everyone…

IMO, HS is where the rubber meets the road – being strong enough to drive the ball in the bigger field and contribute as quickly as possible pays the highest dividends. It’s really true, if you can hit, you won’t sit.

Good luck and enjoy the journey, it goes by way too fast!  

If your son is the stud and he doesn’t make it, he should still have spot with old team.  Tell coach if confronted son wanted to see how he fell out with best competition.  

Some random thoughts to consider. Anything that happens on the small field, before you get to 60/90, doesn’t mean anything. Especially stats. It’s fine to play with friends or whatever. Once you get to HS it’s better to play with older kids and better competition. Even then regional play is almost always sufficient. And at the HS level anything sub-varsity doesn’t matter. Especially stats. If your kid develops into a stud at the HS level other opportunities will be available to him. Btw, HS varsity stats only matter if they are posted against high level competition. Nobody gives weight to big stats from small schools. Food for thought. Some of it may not apply to your situation.

Nobody gives weight to big stats from small schools.

Or hitters who hit .200 against quality competition and .500 against the cream puffs.

@pfn posted:

Thanks all. It does help to get various viewpoints to think about. There's more to this than I posted but I think we'll stick with the original plan and play fall ball with his team from last year. Spring/Summer is probably the time to get serious instead of worrying about it now. Plus he'll be bigger and stronger then anyway.

Thanks for the replies.

@pfn,

Sounds like you've listened to the board and made a decision.  This decision is probably the start of many decisions to come as you begin the path to high school baseball and continue down the path of travel baseball.

I have 3 sons.  All played high school and travel baseball, and each picked a path that was unique to them.  My oldest son was passionate about baseball and wanted to play at the highest travel team level possible because his high school team was mediocre.  He also wanted to play in college, and he had the talent to do so.  My middle & youngest sons liked baseball, and enjoyed playing with their friends.  They had no real plans to play in college and they had other passions.   My wife and I followed their lead where they needed our time and support.

I'm suggesting it is really up to your son how this is going to eventually work itself out.  I don't know anything about your son's talent level, opportunities, or his passion for the game.   However, I do know now is a really good time to sit down and talk to him about a plan to achieve his baseball goals.  As you are no doubt realizing, every baseball step he takes there are fewer and fewer people that have the skills to compete.  Going from the small field to the big field is just one hurdle among many hurdles to come.  A good plan can help to overcome those hurdles to get the most out of high school and travel baseball.

JMO.  Good luck!

At 12u, my younger son's travel team folded.  I took him to the tryouts for a top ranked travel organization.  He made the 3rd team.  He got to play a lot. Team was known for a great development program. He worked his butt off until he made the top team.

About his junior year, he thanked me for taking him to the tryouts.  I asked him why.

He told me that he thought he was a stud until he saw what one looked like.  He knew that he needed to get better.

I would say go for it if you will get playing time and the team is known for development.  Sitting the bench to watch other people play is never worth it.

I took my 11u and 12h prep for LL all stars travel team (had to be a perspective all star in our LL) and transitioned it to a 13u thirteen of the twenty best players I could snag from our eighteen team district. It was a plan crafted between the coach of a rival LL and I during a thunderstorm delay of one of our LL all star games.

The idea was to select 13u players with solid athletic ability and potential to play high school ball. I only offered four from our LL all star team. Three joined up. The fourth came on board in 14u. Eight sets of parents were real pissed off they didn’t believe any of their kids would play high school baseball. None of them did.

Twelve of the original thirteen played college ball at some level. The three replacements who joined in 14u played college ball. The three primarily pitchers who joined at 16u also played college ball. The only kid who didn’t play college ball was 6’4” and chose to play two guard for a D1 hoops program.

Until my son got to high school and these other eight sets of parents recognized there was a huge talent gap between my son, along with the other three players and their kids these people barely talked to me.

In the Legion ranks I was know as the father of Killing Legion. I helped every year if LL behind me start travel teams.

The reality is there are times you have to do what’s best for your son’s future and take the hits until those taking swings can figure it out.

Does the current team practice?  If yes, is the coach good at teaching the game?

I've seen many players get very frustrated moving to a new team where they may struggle for playing time.  Some teams play to win at all cost.  If that is the case the weaker player will sit for obvious reasons.  Not a lot of development if you don't bat three times or play the field.

Are you unhappy with the current team?  Will the team evolve and pick up some stronger players?  Every spring is an opportunity.

Is your son challenged by the current competition?  If he is crushing on the team then obviously he needs to move to a more challenging environment.  If he is solid then moving up is probably necessary but maybe his current team will improve.  It really comes down to the plans of the program.

I've seen the dad run teams do very well at developing players and I've seen the large program teams get caught up in filling rosters to pay bills.  Just make sure you know what you are signing up for since you have to live with it.  The 13-14 year age group is where you see a lot of players walk away.   

The development strides due to physical and mental changes between 13-14 and 16-17 is huge.  Keeping players on a development track is of great importance.  Keeping kids interested and working does matter.  A good fit matters at this age.

thanks

he’s going to stick with his current team at least through fall. He’ll get a ton of playing time to get used to bbcor and the big field then think about moving up.