Travel team cost/exposure/dilema/question

BOF,
IMO, go for it if the cost is no problem. For us the single most important factor in sons exposure was joining good summer travel teams to attended top tournies, PG events, etc. throughout the country. Nothing else, IMO can come compare. Some may say he is young, but as I stated, if the cost is not a concern, why not? I would find out where they want to use him though. Sitting on teh bench isn't always a best option. He has to be on a team where they will give him the opportunity to play and be seen,not warming the bench.

Concentrating on just where he wants to attend is not always a good idea, as that limits his exposure to other programs which may in turn become a better fit. You can do those things during the fall.

BOF ...

Interesting dilemma, indeed. If it were my son, however, I would have to know the answers to some of the following questions:

>>How much play time will he see on this team? Will it be enough for him to improve his game (if indeed that is the purpose of the signing on with them)?

>>How much time will be involved in traveling to and from practices as well as games and tourneys?

>>Is he willing to sacrifice the time involved, especially during the summer, and will it be worth it to him in the long run? (There are a lot of things 15 year old players can accomplish and enjoy in the summer that don't just involve baseball.)

>>Does he think he will bond enough with the local players to enjoy being on the team?

>>What impact will it have on your entire family, presuming there are other siblings?

I throw these questions out because I believe your son is in an entirely different situation than TPM's son who was going into his senior year. Based on what I know about TPM's son, it worked well for him, but again, he was going to be a senior whereas your son is a freshman. Personally I think he has plenty of time for investing that kind of personal time, as well as family time and money, later on in his high school years.

Our son played with a team outside of our area (tho not several hours away as in your son's case) for two seasons and there were plusses and minuses for him as it restricted his involvement with future high school teammates (with whom he had played ball for years). And if given the chance, he would do it again, I am sure. But again, we are talking 30-45 minutes away, not several hours. He was able to make it to practices and had a wonderful relationship with the other players ... and it did not cause problems when he tried out for his high school team. But I must say, in the case of your son, I would not recommend he make this move at this time because my 'gut' tells me it might not be worth his while AT THIS TIME in his baseball 'career'.

I am in the So Cal area and our son was involved with quite a few of the elite teams that are still around, so if you would like to 'talk' further, please feel free to send me a PM.

FBM,
I went back and changed my post as I remembered he did play some travel summer ball going into sophmore, junior year, but not as much travel as senior summer.

Our reasons for not extended summer travel were financial, and seems times were different then with not alot of early committments.

You offer good advice and maybe able to make good suggestions to BOF.

Deleted

Another thing to consider is that most likely if he does play on a national travel team, he will be exposed (hopefully) to some of the top competition. That will only improve his game. Starting this early will give him some time to adjust if he's not used to that kind of competition.

As far as the driving. Look at it as bonding time. Our son also plays on a team that is several hours from us. It can be somewhat of a bummer, but I think with all that time, we've become closer.

Our son is not yet in HS so the exposure isn't an issue yet, but I know that his game has improved quite a bit since facing this type of competition. I know that he will never want to go back to anything else. It would be a disappointment. It's not about being "the stud", it's about getting better.

BOF- I sent you a PM.

My son never played travel until fall of his senior year.

Although he is doing well at his D1 now, if I had to do it over again, I would probably have him do it for at least one season and probably two. The sole reason would be for confidence. Confidence to face tough hitters (he's a RHP), and confidence to not be shaken by scouts and coaches holding clipboards and radar guns. I know for a fact, that the first several times he faced those situations, it affected him adversely, as I think it probably does most kids.

That being said, I think having my son play travel ball from a young age would risk burning him out. I've seen it happen to far too many of his talented friends, so I always let him choose his path, which was not to play travel.

Ahh, life is so easy in the rearview mirror.

Summer after freshman year was when we first moved Midlo Son from our local-based travel team to what you refer to as a more nationally recognized team. We profited greatly from the move, and we are very glad we did it at that time. Whether it will work best for your son and your family, only you can decide. But here are a few thoughts for you to weigh in your decision:

1. You are describing a player who, in all likelihood, will be a "pitcher only" on a travel team at that level. Is your son ready to do a lot of sitting in between his mound appearances?

2. Are you comfortable with the coaches of this particular team, esp. with regard to their observing appropriate pitch counts and rest intervals? If they cross the line, could you put your foot down, or are you intimidated by them?

3. Is your son good enough to be considered for, e.g., the USA Baseball Youth National Team? If he is, the only way to get there is to play for a team that will be at one of the two Junior Olympics events in June.

4. How much of what this team does is really helpful to your son, and how much of it is expense and burden without benefit? PG's WWBA events cannot be beat for getting pitchers maximum exposure. Showcase tourneys at local colleges may be of less value to you, and given the expense, you may want to consider whether you want to sign up for the whole experience when only a small part of it is really helpful.

5. Is baseball travel fun for you guys? If it is, it can be better than any of the same old, same old vacations. And you only get this opportunity for a few years. If you love it, do it now while you can. If it's more of a chore for you, that's an important factor.

6. You have time. You don't have to do it this year. Summer after junior year (2 years from now) is a must, in my mind. Summer after sophomore year (1 year from now) is a good idea, if only to assure that he is ready to compete when the summer of 2010 rolls around. Also, if he is a top level pitcher, his 2009 summer could open the door to his being an early commit, as many players now reach their handshake deals during the junior school year.

Hope this helps.

Advice as usual has been great!

FBM sent you a PM

My son played for one of the top travel programs in California the last two summers - Soph-Junior and Junior-Senior. The program practiced and played nearly 3 hours from our house - and certainly put a lot of miles on the car and a lot of hotel stays on the credit card. Over the last two summers, the program took him to WWBA in GA along with other events around the country.

I think the program put 08Son in the right spot, in front of the right people, and did everything they could to help him move on to the next level. Of all of the things we did last summer, the travel program was certainly the best. Far better than the Stanford camp or any of the other college camps.

I would also say that playing with this program raised 08Son's game - playing with kids that were all D1 college bound on a daily basis taught him any number of things both physically and mentally- and put him into game situations that certainly stressed him in ways that he had never experienced before. Nothing like pitching with 50+ scouts behind home plate with and against a team filled with potential draft picks has ever happened to him before - and is not likely to happen ever at a high school game.

I would do it again in a heart beat.

I would agree with TPM.. if he is going to play, it is the smart move if you can afford it.

Sometimes I reflect on the cost of these travel teams and I wonder how much it really cost. If we weren't following him around playing baseball, would we be spending money on vacations? A new big-screen T.V.? Shopping at the mall? Baseball has made us far too busy to spend money!

Bum, Jr.'s travel team cost this year will be about $1,500 after fund-raising, not bad for 70+ games against the best competition in the NW. Six of the guys on his team are already committed or signed D1, with a handful of the younger players who may also commit/sign later this year. There are two more D1 guys from last year who had to drop off to play on Collegiate Summer teams, a rare opportunity for graduating H.S. guys.

Being on a team like that is not just about exposure, as has been pointed out, but competing with and against the finest talent possible.

BBFam ...

quote:

As far as the driving. Look at it as bonding time

If you knew the route they have to travel to get to the home field of the team, you might think differently ... it is some of the worst traffic in Southern Cali on week-ends. Been there, done that, and have a few of the T-shirts to prove it.

BOF ...

Good luck no matter the decision.

FutureBack.Mom.. I grew up in Seattle and I can tell you, NOTHING is worse than Seattle traffic, NOT EVEN L.A.! But I hear you. Even a 20-minute freeway commute is beyond nerve-wracking. That's why I moved to E. WA. Easy commutes but you gotta drive 435 miles to get anywhere!

FBM-Been there, done that. I grew up down in LA. Notice I'm from Northern California now We drive over 2 hours just to practice and believe it or not, during the summer, he makes most of them. Of course, half our drive is through the country and there isn't much traffic unless you count the cows!