Travel team decision

If he can hit he will play. Isn't this what it's all about? Your son may face these circumstances from 14u to when he stops playing. Shouldn't he learn how to deal with it now. Maybe he learns his future is at another position. If the primary goal this summer is to become a better catcher find another team.

This is an easy one for someone on the outside looking in. Find a new team. If you stay where you are your son won’t play very much and both of you will become frustrated. Not to mention wasting your money. Find a team where he will start or share time equally with one other C. You have to play to get better.

JETson is a catcher that was always picked for his bat and versatility not his catching ability. Solid catcher but nothing special. So, he played third base, 1B, RF, LF, DH and pitched. In general, he caught every third game but always played because of his bat.  Really good development.

The big kid can't catch all the games in a deep tournament. So, there is a small window of opportunity. If the coach likes your kids bat, he will find a way to play him.  If your kid is only a catcher, there's a problem.

Why did the coach pick your kid?  If it's to be a third back up catcher and the coach needs your check, you need to leave.

If the team/organization is known for development, it might be worth the risk.  If it's win at all cost, it ain't worth it.

@JETSR71 posted:

JETson is a catcher that was always picked for his bat and versatility not his catching ability. Solid catcher but nothing special. So, he played third base, 1B, RF, LF, DH and pitched. In general, he caught every third game but always played because of his bat.  Really good development.

The big kid can't catch all the games in a deep tournament. So, there is a small window of opportunity. If the coach likes your kids bat, he will find a way to play him.  If your kid is only a catcher, there's a problem.

Why did the coach pick your kid?  If it's to be a third back up catcher and the coach needs your check, you need to leave.

If the team/organization is known for development, it might be worth the risk.  If it's win at all cost, it ain't worth it.

This is gold.... versatility and athleticism will keep your kid on the field the further he decides to play this game. It only gets harder as he gets older.

If you are paying then playing time should be close to equal. For pool games at least. 3 catchers is a lot for a 14u team. I wouldn't hesitate to ask the coach if playing time is earned or equal. If it is earned then I would find another team.

And as others have noted, versatility can go a long way in recruiting. During one of my son's visits the coach asked him if he thought he'd do more catching or pitching this year. He told the coach he'll probably won't catch much because he'll be playing 3b or SS. The coach then went on a rant on how he likes guys willing to play other positions. He always wants the best 9 hitters in the lineup but sometimes that doesn't work because some kids aren't as versatile defensively.

@TerribleBPthrower posted:

If you are paying then playing time should be close to equal. For pool games at least. 3 catchers is a lot for a 14u team. I wouldn't hesitate to ask the coach if playing time is earned or equal. If it is earned then I would find another team.

I'm never sure about this, but in an ideal world, the organization would make it clear, before signups, how the team was going to be run.  Is it going to be like HS, "the best play"?  or is it going to be rotated because everyone is paying?

In 5 years of organization travel ball, our best experience was one coach who said 3-4 players would play all the time, and the rest would rotate, and he did that.  We had another pair of coaches whose sons played all the time, and most others rotated, they started showing everyone their stats to explain why some were playing more than others.  Most were happy, but some were not and quit mid-season.  A different year, the coach was only playing the best players, there were unhappy players/parents who were paying for the travel and barely playing; that was the worst coach.  

We never did ask ahead of time how it would be, but then, we were never unhappy about playing time.  In hindsight, my advice would always be, ask NOW how it's going to be, and hope that they are honest with you.

Also, at 14U it needs to be fun.  If it's not fun, you need a different team.  Fun can be playing, it can be learning from the coaches, it can be enjoying teammates who are also obsessed with baseball.

No one mentioned that every team needs a bullpen guy.

You might want to imquire about that.

I agree that if this is a developmental team, it might be worth every penny.

One of sons travel coaches in his early years in HS was a STL scout. His brother was the Farm Director. Son learned a ton from him. He is a pitcher but they let him play other positions because he could hit. There was a prior discussion about this before he committed to the team.

A lot of good points already mentioned. I say go with a team that will give him the most reps. I'd definitely recommend him working on a secondary position (not pitcher though if he's a catcher). I think it's a good idea to ask the coach how he's going to determine playing time. Definitely keep in mind the connections that the coaches/organization have. Your son may not be ready yet, but in a couple of years those connections can really help out if he wants to play at the next level.

Really depends upon the coach - we have played for coaches that absolutely want and will use more than one catcher (competitive team that plays quite a few games) and for others that pick their favorite and very few others get to play the position.  How many catchers will this coach typically use?  How many games do they play how closely together?  If it's a bunch of tournaments in July, the coach is more likely to want 2-3 catchers for fresh arms/break from the gear in the heat. The decision on the team was always based upon the quality of the team - we played better teams and our son had an excellent chance of developing because he played quite a number of games against competitive teams.  Then again, we've never played for a team JUST so our son could play one position - he's become adept at more than one so that he can play as much as possible.  I agree that if he can hit, he will play.  We just finished 14U - son has played catcher for many years, but it's never been his only position.  I would consider how much you like this team, how many catchers the coach might use, and what other positions your son might also play.  Whatever you decide, best of luck to him!

Also depends on what region/state that he lives in.

JMO

I coached a very talented 14u team. All thirteen went on to play high school ball. All but one played some level of college ball. The one chose college basketball over baseball.

I had a thirteen player roster. With an EH and DH we batted ten and played eleven. Kids didn’t hit when they pitched. On the bench we had a relief pitcher and an emergency injury fill in player who might not play more than pinch hit or pinch run in the last inning.

Everyone played equally. I could have pulled the lineup out of a hat and got the same result. We had two catchers who mostly alternated between catcher and DH. We had two more players who could catch in an emergency. One caught for his middle school team. But, as the fastest kid on the team I was grooming him as an outfielder.

Before committing to a travel team there should be an understanding of how playing time works.

If you are paying an organization and/or coaches to be on a team and develop your kid, you have the right to know what the development process is, and what the playing time tactics will be. If they don't like that, then they are selling a mystery product and I'd find another organization.

A caveat to this is the situation:  The two travel teams my son played for in the Austin and Houston areas (we moved to Houston at 12U). The teams were very competitive and managed and funded by the parents of one of the players. - If someone else is paying the cost, then you get what you get and move on if you don't like the situation.

My son was in the top third of the 7U-11U team (most played in HS and about 25% in college) and bottom third in the 12U-14U team (all played in college, 3 have debuted in the MLB with several more currently in AA/AAA - I think there will be 5 MLB players out of that group). My son's playing time was appropriate to his ability to contribute for each of those teams (he was a late bloomer).

On the second team with all the studs, he was a contributor and not a starter. I'd have preferred to move on and go somewhere with more playing time, but he enjoyed the team and I gave him the choice (there was no cost to us beyond travel).

What is the goal? Our goal was to enjoy baseball and hopefully get to see him play in HS, everything beyond that has been icing...  

Thanks for all the great responses. So after talking to my son he doesn't seem to care that he may not get the playing time that he is accustomed to in his favorite position. Although he loves to catch.

It's also important to note that the travel organization is reputable and the head coaches are very knowledgeable and have a ton of contacts. This is a tournament team.

There is a bit of a back story to this.  He's been on several developmental type teams over the years and benefited tremendously. He has gotten tired of being one of a handful of kids that hit and performed well in the field on his team and then the team loses lots of games. He always been on the bubble between developmental and competitive winning teams. His goal for several years has been to be on a better team and he works hard to that end. We have never placed a premium on winning but just on development and being appropriately challenged. His travel teams were always chosen with that in mind. But he's rarely experienced winning a tournament or league championship.

So according to him now the fun is "about winning " he is hungry to do so. With that goal in mind he works in the gym and on his game on almost a daily basis year round.

As a parent my idea of enjoyment is different I love seeing him play and enjoy practicing him with him. Winning is secondary.

As far as his hitting he's not a power hitter but a very good consistent contact hitter with very fast bat speed for his age. Head Coach has told him he has a lot of faith in his bat.

I am not sure what the coaches philosophy is about playing time I suspect since this is a higher level team it may be about playing the best 9 and getting just enough time to the others. It seemed from what the coach said that he would be one of the key players but this was before this other player appeared. He is new to the organization.

As a parent I don't find the idea particularly enjoyable of seeing my son on the bench more than he plays but he also is extremely motivated by being around better kids then himself. He always seems to work to their level if that makes sense.

He has been working on a secondary position but lacks the confidence and experience at that position.  He's spent so much time behind the plate that he isn't as skilled at other positions despite practicing grounders and pops on his own. The fundamentals are there but he needs work. Fortunately there is time to work on those things in the off season now.

He also plays frequently for a low cost lesser team that gives him a ton of reps. I've spoken to that coach and he has been supportive and has been giving him reps in multiple positions. It was suggested by that coach he should continue to develop in other positions because he may have a shot at going to varsity a year or two early if his bat continues to develop the way it has. There are several stud catchers in the grades ahead of him.

It does seem that on the higher level teams players are much more desirable when they play at least 2 maybe 3 positions well and can pitch as well as hit.

The main thing that I am getting from this is no matter what the training focus for my son should be on continuing to develop a well rounded defensive player. Any tips on the best way to do so? As a catcher you get so much more in games reps than as an infielder/outfielder. What is more important practicing fielding techniques or general athleticism, strength and conditioning at this age? He already does catcher specific training and starting lift weights under the guidance of a trainer.

At 14u all teams should be developmental. The players have so much to learn and blend with their physical development. My 14u team was the third best team in our region. In ten tournaments the kids made the semis eight times and won three. They played .700 ball. I considered the team developmental. Winning was a function of learning how to play the game correctly and talent.

The most physically talented team was a competitive, win at all cost teams. The head coach went to Cooperstown at 12u and recruited twelve of the biggest kids he could find for 13u. The first time we played them in 13u I thought we accidently showed up at a 15u field. Beat them 2-1 on a squueze.

It was fun outcoaching their coach. What was uncomfortable was watching him berate players after they lost. It was always the player's fault and not the coach. I saw him tell players to turn in their uniforms after games. The team half turned over after 13u and disbanded after 14u.