NTIS?

Since you've not recieved any replies I'll tell you what little I know:

We know  a couple kids who have been chosen to play in final selection tournaments in Cary NC and another kid who played on the national team.  For those guys it's a great  or even a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  We've known many very solid players who have gone to NTIS events and not been selected.  Yup, pretty damn pricey.  I assume that's because you're subsidizing the program.  Unless I was A) rolling in cash and/or B) wanted to see what the best players in the area looked like, I would not attend the event unless I was C) very sure that my kid was truly an elite player in his age group.

The greatest waste of money, resources and time in youth baseball. I cannot over emphasize this, and I'm as vociferous as I can be. Avoid like the plague, SARS, mad cow disease, e.coli, zika, etc.

You can get identified to go to Cary, NC without the tryouts.  It happened to keewartson's roommate.  (keewartson went through 2 tryouts to get to regional games several states away.  You pay for each event along the way.  It was cheaper than some baseball camps, but it certainly isn't something you need to do.  I will say daddy-ball played into it near the top tier selection, which didn't impress me one bit.   Players that wound up getting drafted out of high school didn't get selected to Cary.  

my 2017 son did the NTIS in his 15u year. USA baseball uses different dates so he was considered a 16u for them. he went through 2 rounds of tryouts and was selected to go to Cary, we went down there and had a great time. Very good competition, lots of schools there in attendance don't have any real regrets as it was a good experience.

I don't recall the exact cost structure but we enjoyed the experience and would have considered it again last year but had a conflict with the date. I certainly wouldn't consider it a mandatory stop, you are not going to make the National team...it is glorified fundraiser but it can have it perks as well.

At the end of it this whole baseball ride - IMO it is just part of a life journey for your son and family. If you can afford it, your son has some ability I found it to be nice couple of days. USA baseball, PG, PBR and all the others are just tools to be used, the cost is relative to what you want to accomplish and what you have to spend.

This is great feedback guys thanks. Some have had positive experiences. That's good enough for me. It sounds like if my player is high level it might be a fun experience but we should not expect anything more than that.

My exp with NTIS... dont bother.... 2014 went to NC and attended either the 3rd or 4th tryout. We went to Jeff Schaefers barn where he gives lessons... he had a couple of high school coaches helping him... when it was all said and done 9 of the 12 players "selected" to move on were students of Jeff's academy.  Don't waster your time with this group.  Maybe another tryout or group is better.

Last minute argument against spending on this, and it goes to bacdorslider's point: for the most part, Cary is pre-selected. Did our player enjoy the process? Make friends that continue today? Yes, but he would've achieved those qualitative benefits by attending PG events.

It's an excellent revenue stream for all those event managers. Please don't let it be your revenue.

And to add a little more color to Joe's comment, the NTIS  regional event coordinators actually pay USA Baseball to host those events in a territory.  It's very much like a franchise.  I'm very good friends with someone who runs a large academy in my area and he was approached by them about being a host site.  Once he saw the price tag and how much he'd need to generate to get above water, he respectfully declined.

I would say that if you get selected from a regional event to Cary (which you also have to pay to attend), it can be a very cool experience.  Much like attending a college camp, going to Cooperstown, or any other youth baseball experience.  Just like those, know that it is a pay to attend event and that the road may very well end there (or at the regional tryout).  You need to weigh for yourself if it's an event/experience you're willing to pay to for your son to pursue.

Here is our experience from last year.  My son played 13u last year but he has a February birthday so he was trying out for the 12u team that would be 13u the following season or something like that.  We did the local qualifier and 95% of the kids at the tryout were from one academy program.  He was invited to the regional, but we declined.  Everything about it screamed money grab to me.  Shortly after the regional qualifier he got invited to Cary, NC even though we didn't even go to the regional.  I thought that was pretty weak.  You have kids who are paying money to go to the regional to advance and he was offered a spot without having to go through the same process.  We declined to go to Cary, but we had a friend who went.  No offense to that kid that went, but if they are taking him, they are taking just about anyone that is willing to pay the money.  Fast forward a few months and there was a big 14u event the same weekend of the Team USA tryout in Cary.  The top 14u kids didn't go to Cary, they were at the event in Florida.  Guess what, most of the kids that were in  Florida still made Team USA, even though they didn't attend any of the events.  Now, at the end of the day, they picked the top kids for the team, but I think the process is broken and the program is nothing but a way to exploit the Team USA name and profit from it. 

My son made it thru regional tryouts and played in Cary last summer. We found it very beneficial. After the games, the coaches took him aside and said you have huge upside and here are the things you need to do to reach your upside. That feedback caused us to reassess our select team and led to us joining a new program which has proved very beneficial. We would not have done it without the feedback from the Team USA coaches.

It all depends on your region. Some are run better than others. Buyer beware. 

Despite several other discussions on this site, regarding NTIS, and mostly negative feedback, we decided to try anyway (last summer).  2018 whizzed through the tryouts, and was asked to go to Cary.  HOWEVER, the team was loaded with players from the "master of ceremonies" team.   These players should not have been asked, as the talent was obviously not there. 

The second tryout was very suspect.  Was supposed to run the 60, measure the measurables, take batting practice, etc.  Little of this was done.  No batting practice rounds at all, and certain kids faced tougher pitchers, while others faced much easier pitching in the actual "games".  It all seemed a little too much like "daddy ball" for my liking.  It also seemed like they already knew who they wanted (including many players from the same travel team).  The team could not have been strong, so we declined.

The local morning news just made a huge deal of the local indoor facility that was "selected" to host the local tryout (Try-outs are this Friday).  On-site broadcast.  Lots of talk about making Team USA.  I just had to laugh.  No disrespect to those hosting the event, as I am sure the have good intentions.  There are more and more "tryout" locations each year.  To me, that means more and more tryout money going in the coffers. 

I would avoid.  Spend your money elsewhere.  A good summer travel team.  PBR or PG showcase, to get legitimate numbers, to get your players name out there, and get him on the radar. 

Two thumbs down!

My son participated in Cary, NC this past August, attempting to make the 2016 17U development squad.  

Our region was ran by a bunch of homers, but even with the bias towards a few kids, it was still a fun experience.  The fields are immaculate, the area where the complex is located is beautiful and at the end of the day, the National Selection Committee got it right, at least in our region.  One kid torched the place for three games going 10-12 with 2 triples, 4 doubles, 7 runs scored and maybe 8 stolen bases.   Was glad to see that kid make the squad, well deserved.   My recommendation would be to go at it with your eyes wide open.  Even if you make it to Cary, they are only going to take 12 kids from the trials so the odds are long, but if your kid dreams of wearing USA across his chest and you can afford the multiple qualifiers and travel that goes with it, give it a shot.   

 We've gone to Cary twice. The first time he thought for sure he would make the team. It was a long 11 hour ride home. The second time he understood that most of the team was already picked and was just going to play baseball against some great players in a great complex. Really enjoyed it with no stress of making the team. Probably one of the most enjoyable 4 days of baseball he's had.

Our two cents on NTIS: Son went twice.  Skipped 1st round the first time and went to regionals, then Cary. Was asked to be on 14u Stars but birthday cutoff changed so played 16u at 14. Made friends, had fun, coach was a nice guy, fair with playing time. Good chance to view NC colleges.

The 2nd time was invited straight to Cary, played well, threw out several. a noted college coach nominated him for the "short list" for the one open catching spot on 40 man roster. The regional rep told son to watch the selection show as it was him vs 3 other catchers, in the end he did not make it. 

Was fun to play on USA fields and talk to the college coaches.  Nice speeches at the opening ceremony. Son was offered some summer team invites off the weekend. Was invited back a 3rd time but was invited to an MLB team's workout so did not go.

If your son does not have to do all the tryouts (and you do not have to spend the $), it is an experience for your son. Once is probably enough if your budget allows for it.   As others said it seems 99% of the team is pre-selected and certain regions are very well represented .

Catcherdad posted:

If your son does not have to do all the tryouts (and you do not have to spend the $), it is an experience for your son. Once is probably enough if your budget allows for it.   As others said it seems 99% of the team is pre-selected and certain regions are very well represented 

I'll continue to advocate for all to consider the opportunity cost. If you have $X to spend, should it be spent on this process, or spent on your PerfectGame (or PBR) strategy as you continue to support your son in the college recruitment process?

If college recruiting is the goal, then I'd argue that PG showcase program is a far better way to expose your son to the college recruiter marketplace, both regional and national events, and the ideal place to spend that $X. BTW: the "experience" can be garnered at these events as well, e.g., building acquaintances, participating in a high level of activity, etc. 

We were lucky enough to be able to afford both avenues, and my son participated in the 13U event in Cary where he made friends, one of whom became a Canes teammate this past Fall. On the other hand, he's made friends throughout his PG showcase travels.

In retrospect, if I had a chance to do it all over again, I'd forget the whole NTIS thing. Waste. Of. Time. And Time is the greatest resource of all.

Ohio Dad posted:

Despite several other discussions on this site, regarding NTIS, and mostly negative feedback, we decided to try anyway (last summer).  2018 whizzed through the tryouts, and was asked to go to Cary.  HOWEVER, the team was loaded with players from the "master of ceremonies" team.   These players should not have been asked, as the talent was obviously not there. 

The second tryout was very suspect.  Was supposed to run the 60, measure the measurables, take batting practice, etc.  Little of this was done.  No batting practice rounds at all, and certain kids faced tougher pitchers, while others faced much easier pitching in the actual "games".  It all seemed a little too much like "daddy ball" for my liking.  It also seemed like they already knew who they wanted (including many players from the same travel team).  The team could not have been strong, so we declined.

The local morning news just made a huge deal of the local indoor facility that was "selected" to host the local tryout (Try-outs are this Friday).  On-site broadcast.  Lots of talk about making Team USA.  I just had to laugh.  No disrespect to those hosting the event, as I am sure the have good intentions.  There are more and more "tryout" locations each year.  To me, that means more and more tryout money going in the coffers. 

I would avoid.  Spend your money elsewhere.  A good summer travel team.  PBR or PG showcase, to get legitimate numbers, to get your players name out there, and get him on the radar. 

Two thumbs down!

 

 

 

 

My son declined the first two try-outs via email. Then the guys running the NTIS for our region at the time called him on his cell. Convinced him that they really wanted to see him and thought he had a good chance to move on. So we went to a third one. It was un-organized. Same batters over and over. Same pitchers over and over. It was not run well. My son never pitched to live batters, he ended up throwing a glorified bull-pen. You could tell who they wanted to see. 

The players that did get picked to move on to Cary had a great time and it was a good experience. For the others it was not a good experience. 

I do not believe the same organization is still running this for our region so my experience comes from over 4 years ago. The new organization for Ohio valley is the Pittsburgh Diamond Dogs.  

Our son did not attend any tryouts but was invited to participate in the 17U National Team Development Program based on his performance in a Team USA tournament.  Can't speak to the tryout process but wanted to add that if your son is fortunate enough to have this particular opportunity, by all means take it!  He had one of the best baseball experiences of his life.  

nothingtodust posted:

Our son did not attend any tryouts but was invited to participate in the 17U National Team Development Program based on his performance in a Team USA tournament.  Can't speak to the tryout process but wanted to add that if your son is fortunate enough to have this particular opportunity, by all means take it!  He had one of the best baseball experiences of his life.  

My son knows a half-dozen kids who have played on either the 12U or 15U national teams, or 14U NTDP, and they were identified the same way as your son -- not through a fee-based "tryout". I would avoid those.

We are currently in Cary, NC with the 11U - Ohio Valley team.  A complete waste of time and money. Like many have said....stay away.  The roster is predetermined.  This is just a fundraiser for Team USA.  Unless your child plays or takes lessons from the All American Baseball Academy in PA...do not bother with the Ohio Valley Region. The Ohio Valley Region is a joke.  Not sure how the other regions are run, but the Ohio Valley Region is run by a bunch of guys that only play kids they coach.  Your son will never get a fair shot at it.  Our team should be called "Team Pennsylvania".  COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME.

Same experience last year.  Kids they were taking were not good players.  We decided not to go.  Good decision.  

Ohio valley Ntis has been this way for a long time. The org that ran it before this one was the same way. 

Strongly recommend against it. It's designed to extract $$$ from your wallet. 

DC0588 posted:

We are currently in Cary, NC with the 11U - Ohio Valley team.  A complete waste of time and money. Like many have said....stay away.  The roster is predetermined.  This is just a fundraiser for Team USA.  Unless your child plays or takes lessons from the All American Baseball Academy in PA...do not bother with the Ohio Valley Region. The Ohio Valley Region is a joke.  Not sure how the other regions are run, but the Ohio Valley Region is run by a bunch of guys that only play kids they coach.  Your son will never get a fair shot at it.  Our team should be called "Team Pennsylvania".  COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME.

Same experience last year as my kid went for 12u team spot without having to do a tryout based on reputation.   Was it a cool event?  Absolutely.  Games were well managed, greeted at the airport, overall it was pretty good. Very much like USSSA All American in terms of being a money grab though. 

They brought some good players but also a LOT of players that didn't belong (even had one kid from Arizona in the Ohio Valley team who wasn't very good but his dad was a coach so..you guessed it, he batted third, caught and played SS).   They skipped the skills competitions which we were looking forward to and might have helped them see if kids could actually field.   Outside of games no fielding was scouted and hitting was maybe 5-7 hacks in front of scouts.   15 kids on the team so limited PT.   They basically were looking for kids throwing  70+ and then they would watch to see if they could also hit.      

The scouts pick the ultimate team and I think they got it just about right.    However, another factor is practicing with them at the later stages in LA. How are you going to pull that off if you have a season to play and are not in SoCal?    Most of the kids on these teams are from the West Coast SoCal because they know that they are the ones who are going to show up in June and July for the camps. 

The fact is that 99% of the kids there there are just subsidizing the ones who again are mostly from the West Coast, who are going to get picked. Also remember the age cutoff is Jan 1 not May 1 and there were kids there who were a full year older than others which is huge at that age.   

 But would i do it again? I think you have the answer above. 

Crazy to hear the Ohio Valley region is still a disaster.  My son went at 13U (6 years ago).  At that time, the Ohio Valley team was run by a group out of Cleveland.  It was coached by 3 guys from Detroit who ran possibly the worst 13U travel team we saw the entire summer.  The coaches were absolutely awful and had 3 of their kids on the team....pitched, played SS and CF.....EVERY GAME!!!!  The SS had 3 errors in the first 2 innings of the first game...but never came out.   It was nice to be playing baseball in October in 85 degree weather.  My son also got to visit UNC .....just called them and asked....an assistant coach met us at the gate and took us thru the entire complex.....but other than that it was a complete waste of time and money.

Wow, lots to think about here. Does anyone have experience with the southwest NTIS, particularly AZ? 

I can't help you with info about AZ, but my nephew did local and regional NTIS last 2 years. Since there wasn't much recent info on here when I searched, I'll chime in anyway since I can speak to the national event in Cary. OH Valley switched leadership fairly recently (I think after 2015), its run by a guy out of Pittsburgh who I thought was fair through the local and regional tryouts. The best kids from our local tryout received invites to regionals, and the ones that weren't good didn't. Nephew made it to the regional tryout both years, but he got sick at regional tryout the first year and had to leave early. So we did local tryouts again last year and made it to Cary, NC.  

As others have said, players selected for the extra workout session in Cary seemed to be pre-selected. Some because they were already involved in the USA program before (which was the case on our regional team), or some for other unknown reasons but most likely reputation from regional NTIS coaches who know the kid from their travel program. I think it is possible that if your kid is a true stud that hasn't been on their radar, he could have a real shot at invite to national team tryouts. I do think they try to put together the best competitive team possible and wouldn't pass over a truly star player. But some of these kids have been participating in the USA system for several years and they always seem to get re-selected no matter whether they do good or not in Cary. 

NC is not going to be a cheap trip from the southwest. If you have the disposable income, go for it. The kids all seem to enjoy the experience even if they don't go any further. As others have said, it's pretty cool memories if you can afford it. I agree with others who have said the NTIS series is a money maker for the program. They've gotta fund it some way so that doesn't really bother me.

Also keep in mind, there is another "path" to national team tryout invite. Son could do the USA Team Championship tourney which is the other "path" to national team tryouts. We didn't know this until recently, but if your kids travel team isn't interested in doing that tourney, your kid can sign up for that as a free agent and be put on a free agent team. That tourney is the equivalent of the entire NTIS tryout path. If you have specific questions, PM me and I'll be glad to answer. 

Just know going in, it is a very selective process (some parts fair and others maybe not so much). One of the top 10 PG ranked 2021 players (who we play travel ball with) tried out via the tourney path for 4 years before he was selected for the national team. So they are definitely looking for the best of the best. 

Thanks - very helpful analysis. I love this forum!

I realize this thread began more than three years ago (Feb 2016), and the most-recent post is more than a year old, but I wanted to say thanks to those that took the time to post comments about NTIS.  Maybe we would have declined the invitation to the second round. My son is scheduled for round two of the southeast region 16u tryout on July 23-24. Money isn't growing on trees at our house - I'm just looking at this event as something that my son will enjoy. With all the mentions of players being pre-selected and poorly-run events, maybe expecting those  traits will help this to be just a fun experience. While canceling is still an option (50% refund), I don't think that's the route we'll take. But, if it were you, would you cancel (and receive a 50% refund)?

For me it would depend on how far you are having to travel, and how much the rest of the trip will cost you.  If it is local, and wouldn't cost much for hotels, travel, etc., then I would just go, not expecting much, and enjoy some reps.  If getting there/staying there would be costly, I would not make the effort.  Looking back on the process, my son ended up playing at the college level.  However, all the work, cost, and stress the process brought, was not necessary to get him where he wanted to be.  I would never give back the memories and friendships of him playing travel ball for seven Summers, and doing the camps, but would do it differently if I were to do it again.  Son is now starting to question if he wants to continue with college ball.  The constant politics, not understanding coaching decisions, huge time costs of playing, and basically not having a life outside of school and ball, has him considering a different way to compete.  Good luck with the process, it will rarely make sense (unless your kid is 6'4" hits constant bombs, or throws 90+) 

We went last year to the 13u NTIS and had a blast. It was a good team with some good baseball on beautiful fields. It was definitely a memory that my son will always remember. Fortunately for him, we just found out he was selected again this year for the 14U NTIS. So another year of memories! We are registered and set to go mid August. 

I still stand by my original comments. If you can afford it without it being a burden for your family, go for it. It's a cool baseball experience and bonding time. If money were tight, I would cut my losses and save the expense of hotel etc. (unless son has his heart set on it). I think most of us 2019-2021 families would tell you that the best bang for your buck in the recruiting journey is spending your money on good instruction (hitting/pitching), strength/agility training, and the very best summer travel team your son can make. 

My son went to the round 1 tryout last year and was selected to go to Cary. It was a good experience and something he wanted to do. I think like many things, the team is already pretty much set, but it was still an overall positive.

Ohio Dad posted:

For me it would depend on how far you are having to travel, and how much the rest of the trip will cost you.  If it is local, and wouldn't cost much for hotels, travel, etc., then I would just go, not expecting much, and enjoy some reps.  If getting there/staying there would be costly, I would not make the effort.  Looking back on the process, my son ended up playing at the college level.  However, all the work, cost, and stress the process brought, was not necessary to get him where he wanted to be.  I would never give back the memories and friendships of him playing travel ball for seven Summers, and doing the camps, but would do it differently if I were to do it again.  Son is now starting to question if he wants to continue with college ball.  The constant politics, not understanding coaching decisions, huge time costs of playing, and basically not having a life outside of school and ball, has him considering a different way to compete.  Good luck with the process, it will rarely make sense (unless your kid is 6'4" hits constant bombs, or throws 90+) 

Ohio Dad,
For the travel and hotel: five-hour drive and two nights at a hotel.

Since we're taking the approach to have fun in the moment, I'm hopeful the trip will just be a good baseball experience. A rep at Keep Playing Baseball had mentioned that if you go without thinking of it as a recruiting trip, it can be a worthwhile event.

What would you have done differently in the journey? My 2022 son is definitely not 6'4" (so he'll have to prove he CAN make it, rather than prove he can't).

ARCEKU21 posted:

We went last year to the 13u NTIS and had a blast. It was a good team with some good baseball on beautiful fields. It was definitely a memory that my son will always remember. Fortunately for him, we just found out he was selected again this year for the 14U NTIS. So another year of memories! We are registered and set to go mid August. 

Great to hear that you guys had a good experience, and congratulations on your son making the 14U NTIS!

Zia2021 posted:

I still stand by my original comments. If you can afford it without it being a burden for your family, go for it. It's a cool baseball experience and bonding time. If money were tight, I would cut my losses and save the expense of hotel etc. (unless son has his heart set on it). I think most of us 2019-2021 families would tell you that the best bang for your buck in the recruiting journey is spending your money on good instruction (hitting/pitching), strength/agility training, and the very best summer travel team your son can make. 

Thanks for sharing.

My son is looking forward to going to the second round in South Carolina next week, so we will still plan on making the trip. Five-hour drive and a couple of nights away from home - great memories to be made.

My kid is going to the Northeast 2nd rd on Monday and Tuesday. Luckily for me, l the 2nd rd is held at the same location of the 1st rd, a local D2 college with a nice turf field where he dropped a few tanks. I fully agree with Zia2021, if you can swing it financially, it is a great experience. Both rds cost less than a PG showcase. If my son is fortunate to go to Cary, the total cost of the 3 events will be about $900 not including travel. I spent that kind of $ on a lot worse, besides the kid has been working hard training where he could of have been sitting on his arse with a game controller, so I am happy with the expense. 

We went last year & after registration I read on this site & talked to some people at a PG Showcase that were from North Carolina that informed us that it was a waste of time & everyone was preselected. We had already booked travel, so decided to go with no expectations. My son was selected for this year’s NTDP. My son had never played travel ball before and definitely was not on anyone’s radar. I say go. You never know!

The USA baseball scouts and coaches may already have their eyes on people and a feel for some of the kids, but the selections for the development program are not set in concrete. Last year for 13u, only 3 of the kids who were actually part of the 12u Team USA that won the World Cup were chosen to be part of the development program. We had the co-International Player of the Year on our NTIS team and he wasn’t chosen. So while yes, there are definitely kids on the radar, things can definitely change once you get there.