Travel in lieu of HS Ball

I'm afraid you'll find few quality teams to play during the high school season as most high school ball players are playing for their high school teams as they should be! Not to mention that most college coaches will be busy with their own seasons during this time.
Now other than the obvious I stated above, it seems to me that these players who think they are above playing for their high school teams would appear to have little of the "team first" attitude that they will need to have in order to succeed at the next level. Even if it's not necessarily the case, it just might come across that way.

If you are talking about HS FALL Ball, then I'd say at age 15 you could decide on your own depending on which offers the best playing options. We did travel last fall rather than our HS team because the HS team had a few practices and a few low-key games that were not coached by the HS coach due to HS rules, while the travel team played in 5 tournaments and had more practices and real coaching.

But, if this travel coach is trying to tell you to skip spring HS ball, then he's delusional. Very few travel teams above the age of 14U play in the spring with the assumption that players are playing on their HS Freshman or JV team. There won't be many competitive tournaments or pick up games to be found until the end of May. Additionally, college coaches aren't scouting in the spring and rarely scout 15 year olds.

Fall is optional HS ball depending on your school's program, but Spring is a must for HS.

quillgirl,

I’m sure glad you added the caveat: Fall is optional HS ball depending on your school's program!

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quillgirl,

I’m sure glad you added the caveat: Fall is optional HS ball depending on your school's program!

State of Illinois there aren't a whole heck of a lot of schools that have fall baseball. I'm pretty sure if the school has football, then the school can't play baseball in the fall. Rightfully so..

Why would any hs aged baseball player not play hs baseball? First of all all the other kids are playing hs baseball at this time who are they going to play? Why would you want to miss out on playing hs baseball? When your a senior if your a pro prospect how are the pro scouts going to scout you if your not playing during the spring leading up to the draft in June?

Playing the game is not about getting exposure and being seen. Playing the game is what you do because you love to play the game. The exposure and being seen is a by product of the fact that you are doing something you love to do and you just happen to be good at it. If the only reason you are playing is to be seen and get exposure then you are only about yourself.

HS baseball is about playing for your home town , your home community and with your friends you have grown up with. Its a once in a lifetime opportunity that you will cherish the rest of your life. This "Coach" is a clown for even expressing this type of view imo.

Great post Coach May!

Absolutely agree with Coach May. Why would an athlete want to miss the comraderie of playing with his high school friends? My son played high school ball and lots of travel ball, made great friendships from both but....you can't compare the high school friendships with the travel ball friendships. High school is seeing your teammates daily, hanging out with them at home, getting to know their families, having teachers and your principal come to your games. It's a great sense of community that is irreplaceable.

There is a place for travel ball and showcases- thats what summer is for.

That coach must be the stupidest coach alive to even suggest that.

He may see something special about this group, but if he is really talking about not playing high school during the spring, he does not know what the youth baseball seen or he is just trying to make some money off these sets of players.

High school baseball, besides the fellowship, provides an avenue to work out in the fall and winter to get into condition and to workout every day at school in the spring.

As others have stated there is no one for them to play during the spring and college coaches and scouts, besides not looking at 15U players, are busy in their own season or scouts looking at seniors and college guys to draft.

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some very talented 15 year olds to continue playing with his travel team instead of playing high school

first of all I can get 15 kids who pay their money and call it a travel team.

High school ball for the most part is in the spring. All this travel stuff for the most part is in the summer . ?????

i agree that hs ball is important, friendships, represnting your community etc.

college is school, hs ball shows coaches you can manage your time. baseball/school.


hs baseball is so very important for so many reason's. the least of which is actually baseball.

20dad that is a great post. The baseball part is probaly the least important I totally agree with that.

First of all when a player is drafted the pro team reports what HS or college you played for. Secondly, these summer ball, fall ball whatever tournament chapionships are over-rated. Tallahassee has two teams in the BABE RUTH world series, one in 14 and one in 15 and if they win thats great but what does it really mean-NOT MUCH. High School baseball on the otherhand in most places is a maturation of four years of work by the players and the staff at that school. They have rules in place concerning eligibility and such. High School coaches in most cases are some of the most important people in the young players life. He sees the player everyday at school because he to must be at the school everyday, he most likely monitors the kids grades, and monitors the kids sense of well being and work ethic on a daily basis. The high school coach for the most part is a person that is sacrificing HIMSELF financially and time wise to help these young people. I'm a big believer in the value of all HIGH SCHOOL sports but I'm blessed to live in an area that has some of the very best football teams in the state (Madison, Lincoln, NFC) and some of the best baseball teams in the state (NFC, PACE,) And all of these coaches are tremendous role models and help mold their kids on and off the field on a DAILY basis.

My son played for the Dirtbags two years. He loved every minute of it. He played with some great players and against some great players. Its was a great baseball experience.

Nothing can compare to playing HS baseball for your High School team and representing your home town playing with your life long friends. This game is not about getting showcased and being seen. This game is about playing a game that you love to play because you love the game. Its about the desire to compete against other players with your team mates.

Getting seen and being recruited to play at the next level is secondary to playing because you love to play the game. I get sick and tired of hearing folks so wrapped up in being seen and getting noticed that the game itself becomes an after thought.

So what if the hs team is not as good as the showcase team. So what if the competition is not as good in the spring as it is in the summer. The game is still the same game. Your playing because you love to play the game. If its all about getting exposure to you then why play on any team? Just go around to showcase events all year and worry about yourself. No need to be a team mate.

Just last week, we were looking through photos of (weekly) h.s. team brbqs, team parties etc.

Teammates, from the neighborhood, naturally hang out with each other. (What a surprise....)

The travel ball photos we found showed sunburns, motels, truck stops, trophy posing, pizza joints and airports.

I think everyone has made any point that I would try to make regarding the value of HS vs. travel during the HS season.

As I reflect back on my son's last four years in high school I can't imagine why/how anyone could pass that up. The high school years are over all too soon. Cherish each moment, it's not about exposure, it's about playing the game and creating experiences you will remember forever.

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Originally posted by kbat2012:..Some kids skip their "Home Town" college team who they wrote a NLI to and sign a filthy rich minor league contract. They missed all the college experience and the comraderie. I don't see anybody has problems with it.

How can you equate the college experience with the HS experience? Talk about apples and oranges.

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In most of the cases, play HS ball is the best choice for most of the players, but there are some exceptions, you never know if it's a good choice or not......

There will never be a choice you make in your life that you’ll blindly know for absolute sure that it’s the right one. But, there will sure be a bunch of them that you’ll have a darn good idea about because there will be a lot of information about them available.

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Originally posted by InLeftField:
Currently we have a "coach" encouraging some very talented 15 year olds to continue playing with his travel team instead of playing high school baseball. He promises more exposure and better chances of being scouted for both college and pros. Would love some views on this topic!

The coach is right the players will get more exposure for college and pros from travel. However, I have not seen any scouts at my son's (age fifteen) 16U travel tournaments. There are only a select few special 16U tournaments scouts check out.

I agree with the others. Play the game because it's fun. There's something special about playing for the community. One thousand people do not show uo to see the Bombers play the Stars in travel. They do to see East High School play West High School in the high school playoffs.

Whoops, I forgot. There is a scout at many of my son's games. One of his teammates is the son of a scout.

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Originally posted by InLeftField:
Currently we have a "coach" encouraging some very talented 15 year olds to continue playing with his travel team instead of playing high school baseball. He promises more exposure and better chances of being scouted for both college and pros. Would love some views on this topic!

I feel the same way most do here but I am from Florida, you are from Idaho. Here scouts come looking on every HS baseball field for players and we have plenty of stuff going on all of the time. I am not sure what they do there in Iowa. Your son certainly is entitled to follow his dream just like all of our kids. If that is his goal and he isn't going to find it in Iowa on a HS field, where can he find it?
What's the plan, is this usual for your area, who do you play, how many games and how many teams, do some homework. Let us know.

I love the statement "very talented 15 year olds".
I have seen my fair share of talented 15 year olds that were average 18 year olds. Its what you do when no one is watching that determines what you are capable of doing when everyone is watching. Playing to be "seen" and playing to be "showcased" is what you do after you have done all the work it takes to be a player. Playing the game because you love to play the game and being good at it makes you a prospect not playing to be seen.

I will coach a very talented 2011 team this fall. You can bet they will play to win and they will play because they love to play. If they play to be "seen" then they will be "seen" on someone else's roster not mine.

you can be (seen) all you want, but in this country we have never drafted a 15 yr old. i may be wrong but i don't think a 15 yr old has signed an NLI.

play for the right reasons, it's over to soon.

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Playing the game is not about getting exposure and being seen. Playing the game is what you do because you love to play the game. The exposure and being seen is a by product of the fact that you are doing something you love to do and you just happen to be good at it. If the only reason you are playing is to be seen and get exposure then you are only about yourself. Getting seen and being recruited to play at the next level is secondary to playing because you love to play the game. I get sick and tired of hearing folks so wrapped up in being seen and getting noticed that the game itself becomes an after thought.

Coach May --- Thank you! You are an excellent ambassador for the game of baseball. Baseball needs more of you. There have been way too many "aluminum bats" introduced into baseball over the years and we need more people like you to remind us that the most rewarding part of the game is the game itself.

As the coach of a travel baseball club, I wouldn't take a kid who chose to forego playing High School baseball. HS baseball is absolutely essential in my opinion, for all the reasons that Coach May already illustrated. Why would I want a kid on one of my teams who is all about himself, and not about team?

The coach who is trying to sell the families on foregoing HS ball in favor of travel ball is most likely focused on his pocketbook, and not the best interests of those who play under him. Wrong reason to be coaching, IMO.

The name of this website is HighSchoolBaseball Web NOT TravelBaseball Web. hmmmm


I agree with Coach May and many others that in the spring High School is without question where the boys should play. My son loves playing for his High School. You play with life long buddies, there is school pride, rivalrys that go back forever, and much more. When you play for your HS you play for something other than yourself.
I love watching HS ball because of the emotional investment the kids make in their team and the school they represent. They play with purpose and it shows on the field.
My son has played in many travel ball championship games over the years and it was no big deal, BUT when he made his first Varsity appearance at the plate I could see his knees shaking. For the first time in his life baseball meant more than the pursuit of a trophy.

Travel ball is important and has its purpose, but High School ball is special.

btw. If I was a college recruiter and ran across a kid that didn't play HS Ball, I would wonder why. Even if the kid had a reason/excuse I would still wonder why.

I don’t understand what you mean by Idaho Apple and Florida Orange. You seem to believe that sunbelt states don’t have the same issues the snowbelt states have. I assure you that Ca has lots of places where the schools are small, and/or they have a difficult time finding talented players.

Please explain why a good player shouldn’t play for a small school? HS ball isn’t meant to be a farm system for either colleges or the pros. There’s a lot more to playing for one’s school than that.

I haven’t got a clue what you mean by: I wish those "Talented 15 year olds" were all "first round" materials. Then we can drop this discussion all together. Would you mind explaining?

Doesn't matter where your from, there are many opportunities to showcase/expose your talents outside of the HS Season. Travel Ball can run from June to Oct. There is absolutly no need to play Travel Ball during your HS Season.

I have no use for a kid or parent that thinks they are too good for their HS team. I would not want that cancer near me.

One short tale:

Friend of my son has a buddy he grew up playing ball with at local park and on a travel team. Excellent SS. But the kid refused to play ball for our HS team because he didn't like the coach and thought the competition wasn't good enough. At 14 & 15 he played very competitive travel ball in summer and fall at East Cobb, but skipped the HS spring season. At the end of last year ('07)the travel team held tryouts for this year ('08)and this kid was cut. He just had not developed like everyone who had played three seasons a year, and the travel coach wasn't impressed that he refused to play for his school team. He doesn't play at all now at 16.

Bottom line..A top high school player will not have to play expensive travel and showcase. If this is a legit player, college coaches and scouts will know about these players in their freshman or sophomore years in high school since they will be varsity starters and impact players. They will get the expoure at the high school level. Any coach talking players out of playing high school ballbecause he won't get exposure has farts in his brain.

Most players playing high school varsity ball are done after their senior year and only a small number are playing college ball but it's not stopping top players from getting scouted.

As somebody mentioned earlier, high school ball is about representing the school, town and playing ball with classmates. The top players will be sought out and found in high school.

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Originally posted by zombywoof:
Bottom line..A top high school player will not have to play expensive travel and showcase.

I do not agree. There is no way son's college coach in South Carolina (1200 miles away) discovered him on his HS baseball field. That was accomplished by playing on a travel team, attending showcases and wood bat tourneys. If the above you say is true, I am wondering why I see so many recently drafted players listed on PG or played on the top travel teams in the country.

IMO, HS baseball was a waste regarding college recruiting exposure, great for senior draft year. But that is not why my son played HS baseball. He played it for the other reasons presented here. In 3 years I think ONE college coach atttended our games, and only because he had some players that he gave lessons to.

BTW, I never said that the player should not play for his HS team (if he even has made his HS team). I did ask questions as to why this would be a consideration, who they would play, the alternate plan presented by the coach, what going on in Idaho that you would not play HS ball, etc.

I didn't get an answer.

Zombywolf,
Where I live, the best kids play both. Even the tip-top players do play both HS and travel, and it makes a very big difference. Those who don't play travel ball usually don't develop as well as the kids who do. I see the difference every season. Stud kids we played with years ago, but who only play school ball now, are very different in development from those who have played travel for several years. One HS season gives a kid around 28-31 games, while travel ball adds another 40-50 games in summer and maybe 25 in the fall. Extra at-bats and experience against all sorts of new pitchers and batters, etc. is really valuable and those who do will be notably better when HS spring season rolls around. Particularly true in states where there is year-round travel ball being played--here in GA, and in FL, AL,TX,AZ etc.

I would never advise a kid NOT to play travel ball if he can, but I would also advise him to play the HS season in addition. Sure the very top kids often end up being drafted into the pros, but many other kids end up playing college ball and that's as far as they want to take it. There's more room in post HS ball than just those top slots. However, not everyone is going to be actively scouted. Travel and showcasing provides that opportunity for development and exposure for the above average player who isn't a top prospect, but is a college level player.

It increases your options. When you get out and play showcase baseball and get exposed to many more college coaches if you can play you increase your options. My son increased his options greatly by attending Perfect Game events. He increased his options greatly by playing on a very good showcase team. He ended up going to a school just down the road that saw him play in HS a few times. But he had many more options than he would have had by playing in Perfect Game events and playing in a good showcase program.

His college coaches got the chance to see him play against a top tier rhp and team at East Cobb. His performance at that event sealed the deal for him. But he already had several options to very good schools based on being seen several times at WWBA events and PG showcase events. These schools would have never gotten the chance to see him play otherwise.

IMO this has nothing to do with the original thread.

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play for the right reasons, it's over to soon.

I agree 10000000%


How many players brag and brag about winning a "National Championship" in this tournament or that? There's only a few dozen different "National Championship" tournaments that think they are the greatest thing on earth. Now, on the other hand, let's think about winning a State Championship as a part of his high school team whether it's Class A or Class 10A-- it's a BIG DEAL.

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Originally posted by zombywoof:
The top players will be sought out and found in high school.

College coaches are busy coaching in the spring. On a summer weekend they can watch 32-64 teams worth of college prospects over two days. Or he can see 60-200 players in a simulated game showcase environment complete with drills.

If a player wants to get out of region he has to play showcase ball. Coaches aren't going to know about players from out of region except the top shelf (Top 200) studs. Most D1 players, and definitely the D2 and D3 players are not top shelf studs. Then again, the ratings come from Perfect Game showcases.

This is a very good thread that sparks a lot of interest and emotion.
I definitely agree that kids should play high school baseball, and legit travel programs would never encourage a player to not play hs ball. Like someone said earlier, hs is only four years that seems like 4 months, so kids should cherish it and experience as much as possible. Also the baseball talk in school is almost as much fun as playing the games. Fun, especially for high school kids, is not overrated.
That being said I also see where some kids can be discouraged by what goes on at some school teams. Especially after playing on good travel teams with top notch coaching and top notch tournaments a kid can get discouraged by poor coaching with useless practices and poor conditions that are the case at alot of high schools. At least in our area.
Every top player, for the past 4-5 years, at my sons high school played school ball but by the end of the school season looked forward to playing for the travel team more. This is a hs that made the playoffs every year and made runs at the state title a couple of those years.
Again I would never discourage my son or any kid from playing for the high school team but their are situations out there that can sour the kids on the programs.

Those of you are right that showcase ball would benefit high school players that want to get a look. Perhaps my point about not needing to necessarily showcase would be for a top player. An all-state caliber player.

If players are serious ballplayers and want more options, they should be showcasing.

But as for giving up high school ball to play travel for exposure, there's no point to it.

I believe you have some interesting posts to muddle through to help you make your decision. First, this might not be the correct forum to form an opinion. If you have access to any scouts in your area, that would be my suggestion as a starting place. A high school baseball site might not be the proper forum for this discussion. Secondly, some errors in posting regarding tournaments in the spring for high school age players would be better understood by visiting http://www.triplecrownsports.com and http://www.usssa.com. Unfortunately, elite high school baseball programs are fewer and farther between these days and a vast majority of the elite baseball players in the country are developed in travel ball these days. The level of competition and the level of play in travel ball is much higher as a general rule and scouting at these events far exceeds those of the local high school game. I don't want to influence your decision in any way, but I would encourage you to get all of the facts and make an informed decision for yourself. The pitfalls of travel ball are in the wording itself, "travel". Travel is expensive and time consuming, but if you can afford it, the benefits are enormous. Good luck in your decision making.