Looking for info on collegiate leagues/teams for my son in San Diego. Does anyone have any experience with this.
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Barona Stars, Poway Skylz, and a bunch of other SD and OC based teams play in what is essentially a college league (some teams have older players [e.g., Stars] and some will have a few extremely good HS players [e.g., Skylz]).
The Skylz have about 50 players- in part because its pitchers only throw one or two innings per outing and in part because it plays over 60 games in two months (lots of double headers). I have watched Skylz games where 18 pitchers each threw an inning over both games.
Thx. I have contacted teams from several leagues and the roster sizes vary from 15 to 35 position players. Those big numbers are kind of scary. Seems to me that at bats is the key so going with a smaller roster is the way to go. But these are typically in the less competitive leagues.
Another question. For those with incoming college freshman would you put importance on competition or reps. Meaning play in a more competitive league but play less or play more in a lesser league
A player has to play to get better.
Some teams manage playing time better than others. This league is for players who may also have summer jobs and, therefore, don't show for every game.(Compared to, say, the Cape, where playing is the job.) And, some teams play more non-league games than others (the Skylz play the most games).
I can really only speak to the Skylz. Despite the huge nominal roster, roughly 60% - 70%+ are pitchers and those guys are getting lessons/instruction which are capped off by game appearances each week. Scores don't matter the same to each team (to the Skylz scores don't matter, though scores matter to the Stars).
This a a question to ask each team. I have seen teams with 20 person rosters not really compete for the entirety of a double header due to a lack of pitching.
Agree with Goosegg. Roster size alone doesn't tell the whole story. Your son has to talk to these teams and find out what the program is and what his fit would be. You mentioned "going with the smaller roster is the way to go". Actually, a summer college team with a roster of 15 or so would scare the heck out of me - likely a very loosely run team that doesn't play much of a schedule and that schedule may be prone to frequent change. Try to find a fairly established program that will get you son reasonable PT. Granted, not always an easy find for rising college freshmen.
15 position players. Roster is closer to 30.