Play Baseball in Rimini, Italy July 8-17

Is it free?

Life is expensive and so too is baseball. It is too bad that the 08 player that is referenced did not appreciate the significant sacrifice the parents likely made and got so little out of the extraordinary experience that was apparently paid on his behalf. Italy sure beats playing baseball in Kenosha!

Nonetheless, I suggest you add up the cost of gasoline and other associated expenses (hotel, meals, etc.) from a summer of travel baseball, plus camps and showcases and you will be surprised at the expense. I see lots of SUV's and big vehicles that are chasing to baseball games and at $4-$5 a gallon of gas it all adds up to a big investment. Minimum of and perhaps 35 weekends of travel baseball experiences at $200-300 per weekend (a conservative estimate). Do the math and you will find that it is not cheap.

Balance the expense of the experience and make your assessment. "ofbengals08" is absolutely right on the money...."the parents do pay...so the kid can play."

Dolphin,

You are soooo right. We are going on our 37th weekend trip this year. I've been everywhere from Ft Lauderdale, Fl to Yakima, WI. The experience my kid has gained from these trips has been immeasurable. Just last week he got calls from about 6 major league teams and he's only twelve. They gave me a lot of tips on what I need to do to get more exposure for him. The biggest tip they gave me was to get my kid enrolled at Whitney Young. Hope to see you there in a couple years.

nonfrank, i'm interested now that you brought up the fact that your 12-year old son is already getting calls from the pros. what are the numbers o him? height, weight, stats from the spring, high school he would be attending as of right now, velocity, etc. Thanks

what is the current roster for this team? I'm thinking of joining.

Guess we'll have to wait and see if the sacks full of money being spent on the junior flipper result in a D-1 ride.

fvcfan08,

Think Prince Fielder only skinnier. The kid is massive. Must be the corn based diet I have him on. He is currently 6'2.5" 215. He has a priority membership at Bally's and works weekends (when not at baseball) pouring concrete. I don't think a game has gone by that he hasn't mashed the ball. He's a pitcher too and is throwing about 88MPH. NO one else on his team is any good. All we need it him.

quote:

Life is expensive and so too is baseball.

What cost's the most is the time spent apart.

quote:

Originally posted by Dolphin Mom:
Italy sure beats playing baseball in Kenosha!

That would be true if you were in baseball for the sights and not the competition. I've seen some great baseball played in Kenosha, very enjoyable, and it doesn't give you an elitist snob attitude from the experience.

quote:

Originally posted by Dolphin Mom: Italy sure beats playing baseball in Kenosha!

LOL! Italy is darn near a third world country! So glad I never fell for paying exhorbanent amount of money to have my son play with others who also got suckered in. Can you imagine the low level of competition in Italy? I bet you can find better competition in Kenosha. The pasta might not be as good, but the brats sure are.

It takes less time to get to Italy than to drive to Carbondale.

GOING to Italy may beat GOING to Kenosha, but that's not the same as saying PLAYING in Italy beats PLAYING in Kenosha. But, hey, if you can afford it and want to send your kid to Italy, more power to you. Just remember it's a TRAVEL experience, not a travel BASEBALL experience. Last time I checked Italy was not exactly a baseball hot spot.

Post the roster - you might garner some interest and get a couple of players that way.

Seedthrower,

Italy a third world country, not to my eyes. We are currently in Rome, after visiting Venice and Florence. What a magical country, what great food, and the only negative is that our dollar is almost worthless. Nothing against Kenosha, but this country is loaded with kids from the US either studying or backpacking around. I also know that the older brother of a recent draftee from Vernon Hills HS is currently playing professionally in Italy. Seems like a dream to me.

Rosy,

Well go take in some games and let us know how good that competition is. Betcha can find better competition in Kenosha on any given weekend.

Who are the coaches on this World traveling team???

Jason Ormond, Whitney Young High School (Class of 2009) is playing for USA Athletes International representing the United States as a player and ambassador in the 2008 Torneo Citta di Rimini Baseball Tournament in Rimini, Italy. The coaches are David Vince of Clearwater High School and Tracy Paulton of Pinnellas Park High School. Both high schools are in Florida.

Coach Vince has 421 career wins with coaching experience on the international, college, high school level and has been a ten time coach of the year recipient. His record includes 10 district champion teams, 8 district runner-up teams, two state final four teams, 1 state runner-up team, and 1 college conference championship. He has coached baseball in Holland, Spain, Czech Republic, Australia, Sweden, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii. The roster includes players from Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Coach Paulton is the Pitching Coach at Pinellas Park High School. His experience includes being the assistant coach at nationally ranked Seminole High School, 6 years as the assistant coach at Countryside High School, where he worked under former major leaguer, Darnell Coles. He also has 10 years of playing experience above the high school level (college, semi-pro), and has worked baseball camps for Florida State, and All-Star Baseball. He is also the owner operator of Super Skill Baseball Academy in Florida.

The team will meet and travel from New York Kennedy International Airport to Rome, Italy on July 8 and then travels north to Rimini which is the tournament venue, located on the Adriatic coast 200 miles south of Venice. The tournament is hosted by the Rimini Pirates Baseball Club, Serie A1 of the Italian Professional Baseball League. The USA Athletes organization was established in 1991 and provides athletes the opportunity to experience international competition as well as the history and culture of another country. The 16 man roster team is scheduled to play the 18-U Italian National Team. USA Team Athletes must sign a release as the sponsoring organization retains all television and video rights.

After playing baseball Italian style, the team will visit Milan and Florence before returning to the United States on July 17, 2008.

Visit www.usaai.org

Is there a list of our area players from last year and the coaches?

playball2,
is that mint for me!! Did you come to the drity south this year!!

DC I working on it, just can't seem to convince our board. On a side note, how did Kelly get skipped?

Hey,

Don't these dates conflict with the high school summer league?

The USA Athletes International Team left for Italy today on an American Airlines flight from New York to Rome.

The team is staying at the Hotel Aldobrandeschi Roma, located in the center of the city. The players and coaches will tour Rome on Wednesday and Thursday morning, visiting the Vatican, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica.

The USA team will be wearing red, white and blue on the field and will play its first game in Rome on Thursday afternoon. The team transfers to Tuscany on Friday morning. Two upcoming games are scheduled against the Italian 17-U Junior National team. The Italy National Baseball team is the team that represents Italy in international baseball competition. Along with the Netherlands, the Italian national team is viewed as the second strongest in Europe

nc42dad....Here in Illinois, most of the really good programs encourage the players to "play up" during the summer.

Many starters play little or no summer ball.

Seedthrower....obviously you know nothing about Italy or Italian baseball. (Known as "bollate").

rosy said it all...a great country full of smiling people, beautiful scenery and wonderful food.

Baseball is very popular in Italy and has been since I attended school there in 1969. Even then there were posters (like bull fighting posters in Spain and Portugal)everywhere in Florence and all over Tuscany announcing the next game of Bollate!

Currently Joe Mazzuca (Holy Cross,Creighton, Northern illinois and the Marlins organization) is a big star, playing on the National team and the First Place Division 1 pro league team in Bologna.

Bologna,Florence,Genoa,Milan and Venice rival any city in Europe for culture and civilization in general. Shame on you for the misinformation...our kids are reading this stuff!

By the way...I'll take any top rated Italian team over any Kenosha team of the same age....and give 5 runs...NO CONTEST!

Has Kenosha ever fielded a top team of ANY kind...SHEESH.

Soxnole,

My best friends are Italian.....I get an education about Italy everytime I visit. The s****r over there is tremendous though. We also do have many great Italian restaurants in Kenosha, try one the next time your here for a tournament.

Sorry you misunderstood my statement about good teams here. On a weekly basis tournaments are played at Nash Park. Many really good teams play in Kenosha weekly from around the midwest. I did overhear a couple scouts last year say we have some of the best hot dogs and brats in the midwest.

Most of the good players from Kenosha don't play in Kenosha. Our baseball programs are not that strong. Although, one of our high schools did win the D1 State tournament.
I spent plenty of money on my son while coming up through the travel programs. I never would pay for my son to go play abroad if he didn't earn it through a tryout or some strong recomendations. He did have the opportunity with Coast to Coast Athletics when he was younger (14). Even then I kinda saw through what that whole deal was about. If the trip is taken for cultural reasons, so be it. If it is about paying to go play abroad to say you were on a national team....that is another.

For my money's worth, I'll stay in the states.

Seedthrower....Fine and Dandy!

My problem was your 3rd world misinfo.

and PUULLLEEEEEASE don't compare any kind of wiener to the best cuisine in the world!

If I want wiener or sausage of ANY kind I'll visit Germany. That is where Kenosha's roots are and brats come from. Brats are a poor substitute for good German sausage and a 40 OZ REAL beer!

Dolphin,

Thanks for all the great info. I especially like knowing the colors of the uniforms. Did they board the plane in casual clothes or did they have to wear a suit and tie? Also, on non game days will they be able to travel and see the sights. If so, what type of shoes will they have to wear? Can't wait to hear the results, it's been awhile since you last signed on.

Team USA won today against the local Rome team that was scheduled as Game I. The team transfers to the Tuscany region in the morning. For the next several days the team is based out of the Villa delle Rose in Pescia, which is in close proximity to the beaches of Versilia.

On July 11 team USA will play the Arezzo Baseball team in Arezzo. The following day the team will visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

See the following link for an article from the St. Petersburg Times about the USA Team Head Coach Dave Vincent.

Linked from the St. Petersburg Times:

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseballpreps/article692032.ece

Where are they going to stay in Tuscany? I hear the maestro says that there are no rooms in Tuscany.

Team USA won Game II played today versus the Arezzo Baseball Club in the Tuscany Series Edizione 2008 ages 21 and under. Jason Ormond was the winning pitcher going 7 innings and allowing one run.

Arezzo (Latin Arretium) dates back to the 11th century and is the capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km (50 miles) south-east of Florence.

Link:

http://www.tuscanyseries.it/risultati_2008/ARUNDER21.htm

Norfrank - The team is staying at the Villa delle Rose in Pescia for the next several days. No problem with rooms.

This is truly unbelievable.

No need to watch the Travel Channel for a while. LOL.

La tua Squadra non partecipa?

No, né lo sono.

My baby boy was invited to make that same trip after his freshman year. But, for about the same money , I took the whole family to Orlando. We went to EPCOT and did six countries in less than a day. Then did Universal and rode the movies. Even went to a character breakfast and had my picture taken with Mary Poppins. I think my son got about as much exposure there as the J man is getting in Italy.

This last post you put up was deleted yesterday. As you should know, every day an athlete steps onto the field, his career changes in some way. Whether it be stats, the schedule, contacts, references, etc. The kid is working hard to improve his game. How about you? For all of these kids playing in Italy is something that they will remember for the rest of their lives.

SD 9....I suggest you give it up and bury the hatchet. Glad you remember your photo op with Mary Poppins, but far better to live life in the now than to be living in the distant past. The amount of animosity you seem to carry has got to be really getting you down.

Too many downers on this Board. Life is way too short and passing you by.

I agree with Dolphin. SD9 please bury the hatchet. I know dolphin is doing his best to get a nice college gig for his son. I would love for my son to have a chance to get the exposure he needs on one of these trips. Think about all of the scouts that are seeing his son play over there. Should definately translate into a big time scholarship offer. And dolphin, I don't think anyone really cares about your son's stats. We all see you as the pompous fool that you are.

Whatever.....the kid has to have the desire to do it. Whatever it is. That is the way life goes.

A parents job is to provide support and opportunities. The kid has to decide what he or she wants.

I see SD 9 deleted his "My Bad" apology.....typical....his rant continues.....and Norfrank we will just have to wait and see how it all plays out. These kids have their destiny in their own hands. There is nothing that can be done now to change anything in the past. The grades are in the record books and the test scores are what ever they now are. The degree of separation on the playing field is nearly immeasurable. The reality is that it is all about today not yesterday and the future is what most counts.

Lots of doors to open....each kid has to make the effort and create his own opportunity.

Dophin Mom your posts are not meant to enlighten or inform, but to brag and promote. Every parent here loves their kid and think that he's the bees' knees. People with alot more to brag about than you are on this site every day, but have the class and good sense not to do it. Give it a rest.

Dolphin,

Stop providing excuses for your inane behavior. You are pompous and you are a braggard.

I'm sure your son appreciates the opportunities you are providing to him and who wouldn't. Travel overseas and to nice camps are great; but, do we all really need to know about it? Do we really need to know about everytime he laces his shoes and beats an Italian team that probably has the talent of a struggling Chicago Public School team?

Look back at this board and see how other parents and athletes talked about their performances. I don't think you will see Soxnole bragging about his Florida State/OPRF student or Boomer bragging incessently about his Lyons township/Rochester University all conference player or Sulltiger or BBalldad going on and on about their students. Show some class and display at least an ounce of humility.

Not sure why you guys are so upset with this guys posts. Just don't read them if you find them nauseous.
Certainly we all know that the Italian trip is not exposure in any shape way or form. It is a cultural experience.
I have a friend who just graduated from Niagara U and is playing in Italy. Not sure what he thinks but there are opporunities to play in europe. Some you pay for and some you don't. The BB doesn't compare to over here in the US and Canada. We all know this.