What was the cost? I guess I need to decide this week since the deadline is Friday.
$599 which includes uniform, bag helmet and 7 games. Pretty reasonable compared to other tournaments or camps
My son is attending. Class of 2019.
My 2018 got the same invite to the Sophomore Division awhile back and then an email indicating that they needed to know because they were about to send out a second round. We ended up declining mainly on a $$ basis. He'll be in Ft. Myers for the Junior National Showcase and a second trip from Colorado would be a little steep especially if it ends up that he's already committed by then. Otherwise, it certainly looked like the beginnings of a "must attend" type of event in the future.
My 2020 got the same invite, word for word, except "East Texas" team. It is from his PG fort myers tournament last summer, where he and about 5 others on his team got "all tourney". I think they all got the same invite. (so did about half of the participants) He is playing the WWBA at Lakepoint in June, so that will be enough travel for him this year. Oh, and Tulsa in July at a V-tool tournament. Can't wait, the plains in July. At least it will be too hot for tornados.
Good for you go dad! It will be fun to see where these 2020's take themselves! Our goal remains - just make next years team! Although this may make me popular (and I wouldn't want to do that) with some of the old timers, but I really do want things to slow down. In fact I really want to go back to when he was 7 and baseball just amazed him. I want this season to last forever.
My 2020 was invited. At first I blew it off because the feedback from the youth ages from last year wasn't very good. Since it is now part of PG I am reconsidering. I guess my big question is what are the benefits of a 2020 attending this event?
d-mac posted:My 2020 was invited. At first I blew it off because the feedback from the youth ages from last year wasn't very good. Since it is now part of PG I am reconsidering. I guess my big question is what are the benefits of a 2020 attending this event?
Competition mostly. Also, playing with kids you son doesn't know, being out of his comfort zone. Very nice facilities. The beach at Ft. Myers is nice. Tarpon fishing in the Punta Gorda area. Air boats through the everglades are fun. Be careful with rum runners if you normally have an extra shot thrown on top.
2020dad posted:Good for you go dad! It will be fun to see where these 2020's take themselves! Our goal remains - just make next years team! Although this may make me popular (and I wouldn't want to do that) with some of the old timers, but I really do want things to slow down. In fact I really want to go back to when he was 7 and baseball just amazed him. I want this season to last forever.
You were already popular with the 'old timers!' 
These things are fun. My main advice would be to keep it in perspective. Our younger son took an 'invite on the fly' to a USA Baseball tournament in AZ when he was 14 and to my surprise he ended up making the USA team and playing in Guatemala. Terrific experience including the Montezuma's Revenge that set him down for 2-3 games.
But I never, ever looked at these things as getting a leg up on recruiting. In fact, I cannot draw anything (other than solidifying his position on an area elite travel team) - but I can't draw a line to anything in his ultimate recruitment a few years later to doing that event in 8th grade.
He was just a very good player that got a nice perk out of it. Some who were on that USA team struggled mightily after that, while others flourished. A year later he was cut from the USA team following a very good tryout - smallish, didn't throw as hard as others - but he was cut in favor of others who ended up not being as good as him in the long term. Doesn't bother me, just telling you a true story.
Being in things like this certainly indicate your son is a very good player right now. But things can change for better...or worse. Just keep things in perspective. That and I think most of us need to consider just how much we will spend between 7th/8th grade and end of HS? Even consider how much through the end of college (travel expenses for mom and dad can get pretty high then as well). Virtually none of these things are a case of 'do it or else.'