Top players from the Western Burbs?

HSDad - There are a number of d-1 potential players in the western burbs, not sure if I'd say "abundant". You just don't hear of them often because many of their teams aren't strong enough to advance far in tournament. Good luck to your son this season!

Ryan Anetsberger of Glenbard West is going to Illinois State I believe. Very good SS. Plays with the Norwood Blues in summer/fall.

Todd Schultz, p/of, Hinsdale South.

Committed to the UIC Flames.

Didn't Jordan Baughman / RHP / LT commit to University of Indiana?

"You observe a lot by watching."

Western burbs kids only ???

West Suburban Conference"

C - Chad Biznette / 2005 Hins Cent
C - Brian Flannigan / 2004 LT
!B - Miles Kurgan / 2004 Leyden
2b - ??????
SS - Antesburger - / 2004 Glenbard West
Brewer - 2005 LT

3B - ??????
OF - Viscomi - 2004 Glenbard East
Laidlaw - 2004 Downers Grove South
Murray - 2004 Downers Grove North
Long - 2004 Hins South
P- Schutlz- 2004 Hins South , Baughman - 2004 LT, Reiglar- 2005 DG South,

AS usual, ive left some out.. so fill in the blanks, replace who you want, put in who you want.

hitNrun...

Good to hear from you again. How is the family, and how were the holidays?

"You observe a lot by watching."

my thoughts on some top players.
P Sagwich Glenbard West 05
p Schults Hinsdale South 04
p Dennahey OakPark 05
p Binder Hindsale Central 05

p Baughman Lyons 04
3b Mahler lyons 05
ss Brewer lyons 05
ss Anetsberger GBW 04
ss O'connor Oak park 05
2b Bromann GBW 04
1b Price Oak Park 04
1b Gawenda Lyons 05
cf Schults Hinsdale South 04
cf Chubikus GBW 04
cf Laidlaw Downers South 04
Cf Hart Oak Park 04 of Considine OakPark 04 of Mcfolling Oak Park 05
Of Ronosky Lyons Township 04
of Long Hinsdale SOuth 04 of Finn Glenbars South 04
of Viscome Glenbard East 04
of Farell Naperville Central 05
of McKay Willowbrook 05
ss Reimer Glenbard South 04
c Weis Naperville Central 04
of Finn Glenbard south 04
c Flanagan Lyons 04
c Bisnette Hinsdale Central 05
3b lee naperville central 05
sorry about the spelling,and i know i left some out.

A lot of OPRF's on that list. Looks like Lyons will be tough as usual and GBW seems to have a number of top guys. Anetsburger and Broman are O4's, think Sagwich is an 05.

pitchdoc24....

Isn't Broman an 05?

"You observe a lot by watching."

not sure...anywone know if broman from GBW is an O5 or 04? I thought he played with Norwood this fall as well.

Bromann is an '04 and yes he did play with Norwood this fall.

Talent has a good list...I would add our HC Catcher...the DGN Centerfielder..Tokarsi (sp)...the GW LF Webber and GW 3rd Baseman Angeli.....Pretty good league.

talent - what are your individual reasons for each of those guys? Im just wondering.

HCDad, Contrary to some posts,I believe that our West Sub. Silver is about as good as it gets in HS baseball. In Miami and Ft. Lauderdale the smaller schools (Private and expensive are ******* up a huge pile of talent.(Brito, The Westministers,Cardinal Gibbons,Monsignor Pace,Tampa Jesuit, St. Thomas) Along with them we still see a very powerful Gold Coast Conference which is scarily similar to our WSS. Many northern kids move to south Fla. to play at one of these schools.After that esteemed group there are few conferences that could compete w/ours. We are loaded as are the SW side guys because of 1)base talent2)high end travel teams like Upper Deck, Lombard Lightning, Arlinton Longshots and many more. Too many of us think it can't happen here because of weather but I noticed last year that the Florida and most southern boys play no more games than we do.(about 100-130)Credit coaches like OPRF,GW etc. who encurage travel ball and actively seek Fall oppurtunities.The weather won't change but oppurtunities can if the right coaches get put in place.By the way, places such as Strikes or the WSA would be making 3X the dough in South Florida. My understanding is that many coaches there run scared of losing talent to the next guy and lock their kids into specific programs.

Tar,Thats a great discussion all by itself. The great 12 year old coach Tom Matsie believes that although practice is very important, its what happens in games that brings out the answers a coach is looking for. If your kid can get 250 or more At Bats from age 11 - 12 then the games become the practice! This guy has won about 83% of the games he has coached w/ about 1 practice a month on avg. He does work them hard indoors from Jan - April. I believe our problem is the %$#@ weather we are forced to play in during March and April.That along with the lack of outdoor practices puts us behind early. But on the other hand our guys look pretty good around June-July.So there is another reason we get fewer big time ships. The high school season is not an equal playing field. The Midlands teams,The Ohio Warhawks,Indiana Yankee program and Norwood can compete with anyone once we can play everyday above 60 degrees!

...250 at bats from 11-12 year olds??? 75 games in the summer?

When do they have time to be kids?

Although some kids burn out along the way,most are in 7th heaven with a full schedule of games that gives them the experience they need at the higher levels. Additionally it can tell a parent whether to proceed w/baseball or move on to something else. My son and most of his baseball freinds feel like they are the members of a pretty cool private club. Not for everyone,certainly not, but its high time that people recognise why some kids are way behind others at the Pony and higher levels.The really good travel programs play 50 + games at a minimum.

...Our experience...There are only 3 or 4 competitive teams/programs at the 13-14 year old level, in the Chicagoland area, that you can play each summer.

The rest of the games are played against "daddyballers"...you know, the kind of team that have one or two good players plus the coaches son and the rest should have given up the game (to play s****r) by age 12.

We were 44-7 one year and our only losses were to teams at national tournaments. Many of the teams we played against locally resulted in scores of 27-2, 18-0, 29-4, 361-2. Definitely counter-productive.

Please...don't tell me that you play all 50 games against national-level competition!

no but we were out of town more than you guys and matsie had been at it for over 15 years.i think we played a wider variety of teams. plenty of daddyballers and credible competition too. buffalo grove,hoffman estates,rock island and rockford to mention a few.

Gees...Buffalo Grove and Hoffman Estates are not "out of town".

Which powerhouses did you play in Rock Island and Rockford?

soxnole.....

By-and-large, Beenthere, TARatko, talent, myself, and others agree with what you are saying. BUT, your not going to have more "quality" programs like Lombard, Norwood, UDC, Wisconsin Blazers, Racine Hitters, Indiana Bulldogs, and some others, until someone person, or organization, commits to bringing the necessary facilities to this area in-order for us to compete nationally.

Yes, we have the WSA, Strikes, The Ball Yard, CF Swingtown, the place in Mokena (I can't keep-up with the ownership and name changes), and many others, but that is indoors. Someone needs to step-up and create playing facilities (maybe like Bourbonnais or Crystal Lake) and conduct high quality tournaments. Have Perfect Game, Team One, Midwest Prospects, College Select, organizers of showcases, participate in collecting player information from the Midwest, here locally, during events similar to the Area Code Tryouts at North Central College, or the Evaluation Combines put-on by the White Sox. Our "top talent" always has to go to warmer climate events just to see if, and where, we can have our kids play at the next level.

Now, take the "projectable" player, pro projectable player. Joe Dunnigan, possibly even your son from what I hear, except for a few, most kids in high school baseball don't know about the names of the showcase providers that I mentioned above. So, knowing that you have to play games to get better, and become more aware of your instincts (feel the force Luke), you have found the path to future opportunities at the next level for your son. Most kids haven't and probably won't find that path, and even if they did, most still won't get the opportunities because of "stereotypical" standards.

Talk to Beenthere some time about his ideas for better teams in this area. He can fill you in on the deatils. And, please be happy that you are lucky enough to be where you're at. Oh, and don't belittle anyone else, or be condecending, it's not nice. Remember, "what goes around, comes around."

I wish your son nothing but the best, and I hope that OPRF lives up to the high expectations that have been put on them for this coming baseball season.

"You observe a lot by watching."

thanks BoomerII, only got uptight w/Mr peabody 1 time. Other than that i have only responded in kind....and in good fun. i do believe that we are about the players and their families and civility is the core from which we proceed. if my freind is unkind i still must remind him of the core from which he has deterred.By the way don't forget the LOMBARD LIGHTNING!! great program across the age groups!!

soxnole.....

I did mention the Lightning! I put them in front of Norwood on my list of clubs. That is who my son plays for, and he played against Norwood during 'fall ball.'

"You observe a lot by watching."

Sorry I missed that Boomer, its important that Bill OBrien's hard work gets its due. This will be the program of the future for boys who are top notch and want to play a big schedule from 13 up.

Does the Lombard Lightning have a web site? What age groups do they have?

Its good to be back !!!! .. Boomer, my computer went down last week, and I went through HSBaseball withdrawel. All is well with me, and the family. I hope your holidays went well, Ill see you and Andy at Strikes soon. Ill be making my Weds trips there again.

As far as OPRF,they have the talent, with many great kids, Im looking forward to a LT, OPRF game. 2 great teams going at it, and both coaches know the game. WAIT ..lol .. didnt Downers South beat OPRF AND LT last year ??

I just threw that in, its the only thing we could hang our hat on !!!
Anyway, I look forward to a great HS season. Play nice all.

Mustang Dad 23, Norwood Blues Dad 9

pitchdoc24....

To my knowledge, they don't.

They start at 13, and have teams up to 18U.

"You observe a lot by watching."

Do the Lightning have players just from the Western Burbs or from all over? Who are some of the top players in the area that play on the Lightning. I have been seeing the Lightning mentioned quite a bit on some of these boards but do not know too much about them.

The Lombard Lightning has teams from 13 thru 18 . As of now there is no web site . The players are primarily from the western suburbs . As for their history 31 players have " graduated " and 26 of the 31 have continued their playing careers at the next level .

Boomer, I need Bill O' Brian's phone number PM me with it if you can.

Thanks

hitNrun - How is college search going??

Tar,

O'Brian is a quaily man, as well as a coach. You and your son will like him. We had a opportunity to play with LL this past year and didnt. Played with Norwood in the fall. Pildes is another good man for the game. With LL, you cant go wrong. We are blessed with some pretty good 18u teams here in chicagoland. Norwood, LL, Top Tier, Indiana Bulldogs, Wisconson Blazers.

Good luck

Mustang 23 dad ( Laidlaw )

Agree 100% with hitNrun, can't go wrong with either team as far as quality kids/coaches.

Dennis, doing well, We are going to go the junior college route. We signed a letter of intent to go to Olney Central College in southern Il. Jon will start and lead off and they gave a us a great package. room, board, tuition, books and fees.

We are going out to see Monmouth, Il. D 3 and Bemidji State U, in Minn. D 2

For those who dont know junior colleges do give scholarships, and you can sign a letter of intent with a JC, and continue looking at NCAA, and NAIA schools, and sign a letter of intent with them also. I always keep something in my back pocket

Dennis, hopefully all is well with you.

hitNrun, Bill OBrien's # is 630-327-7251.

Sox, thanks.

George, congratulations - sounds like things worked out well. By the way, I have a few friends who played at Bemidji and had a good experience athletically and academically.

hitNrun.....

I left a few other posts today, one of them for you, but for some reason, they didn't show-up on this 'topic'?????

Glad to hear about your son, quality young man!!! Must get that from mom, right!!!

One of these days we will 'hook-up'. I'm also glad you got Bill's phone number.

"You observe a lot by watching."

quote:

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Originally posted by hitNrun:
Western burbs kids only ???

West Suburban Conference"

C - Chad Biznette / 2005 Hins Cent
C - Brian Flannigan / 2004 LT
!B - Miles Kurgan / 2004 Leyden
2b - ??????
SS - Antesburger - / 2004 Glenbard West
Brewer - 2005 LT

3B - ??????
OF - Viscomi - 2004 Glenbard East
Laidlaw - 2004 Downers Grove South
Murray - 2004 Downers Grove North
Long - 2004 Hins South
P- Schutlz- 2004 Hins South , Baughman - 2004 LT, Reiglar- 2005 DG South,

AS usual, ive left some out.. so fill in the blanks, replace who you want, put in who you want.

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