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I would think that Prime would be the top team.....Scout team for certain events that don't fit into the normal Prime schedule (likely fall/winter events) and National their 2nd tier summer team.  When my son played against them a few times, they didn't have Prime/National designations.  That must be a fairly new way of them designating their teams.

Buckeye 2015 posted:

I would think that Prime would be the top team.....Scout team for certain events that don't fit into the normal Prime schedule (likely fall/winter events) and National their 2nd tier summer team.  When my son played against them a few times, they didn't have Prime/National designations.  That must be a fairly new way of them designating their teams.

I just took a look at PG.  I looked at 14U for 2019.  They didn’t have a prime (although they had a 13U prime in 2017 – so, maybe they don’t use prime anymore?).  They had a 2022 (14U) scout team – but, there were no kids from NJ on that team.  It was all kids from around the country.  The did have a 14U national team in 2018.  It looked like kids close to their base – NJ/PA/NY, etc.  But, the team went 2-11 in PG.  So, maybe that is their “B” team?

Go44dad posted:

For many orgs like Tri State, the "B" team usually wins the most games, and the most development will come from this team.  It's mostly the same players, same coaches and they don't bring in the guest players very often.  And get this, THEY ACTUALLY PRACTICE TOGETHER AND KNOW EACH OTHER. 

I don't really buy that. The B team is still pulling players from 5/6 different states, not sure how much practice time they're getting in. They charge a few thousand to play in some local tournaments and then head down the WWBA where they go 3-4, 2-5, etc. The top team is good, but after that it's a cash grab with the hopes that they get lucky with a few kids so they can slap in on the website. 

It’s been 10-12 years. But we (the team I formed) beat the B team on a regular basis from 13u to 16u. When my son played the teams we’de called Blue and Gray.  I didn’t see anything special about the B team. They didn’t stink. But they weren’t any better than ASBA teams below 17u.

Last edited by RJM

My son's friend played for the TSA 15U B team a couple of years ago.  The kid's dad said that the best part was that they all got the same training in the Winter workouts, and there were a lot of strong players there pushing each other.  Once the season started, though, they were just an above average team.  Typically came in 2nd or 3rd in tournament pools.  Obviously all the top pitching went to the A team.

PABaseball posted:

It varies by age group. To add to the confusion, they went down to Jupiter as Tri State Arsenal FC. They're good but something I would wait until after freshman year before jumping into. 

Great, not only did baseball organizations start naming their teams Premier, Elite & Select, which came from travel soccer.....now they're using FC?   FC is football club....another soccer term lol.  Why would anyone possibly use FC in a baseball organzation?   I don't care if it means Fastball-Changeup lol, any true sports fan is going to look at it and assume it's a soccer club

My son knows some kids who played on their older team.   One was a two way player.  He said that he had to pay as a pitcher and a hitter to play both ways for them.  It was like four grand in total.  And, he never got to pitch in the tournaments as they always brought in pitchers.  He did say that you would probably play if you were a position player who could hit.  But, they were always bringing in players to play in the tournaments that no one knew or saw before, etc.

Buckeye 2015 posted:
PABaseball posted:

It varies by age group. To add to the confusion, they went down to Jupiter as Tri State Arsenal FC. They're good but something I would wait until after freshman year before jumping into. 

Great, not only did baseball organizations start naming their teams Premier, Elite & Select, which came from travel soccer.....now they're using FC?   FC is football club....another soccer term lol.  Why would anyone possibly use FC in a baseball organzation?   I don't care if it means Fastball-Changeup lol, any true sports fan is going to look at it and assume it's a soccer club

Founder's Club

PABaseball posted:
Go44dad posted:

For many orgs like Tri State, the "B" team usually wins the most games, and the most development will come from this team.  It's mostly the same players, same coaches and they don't bring in the guest players very often.  And get this, THEY ACTUALLY PRACTICE TOGETHER AND KNOW EACH OTHER. 

I don't really buy that. The B team is still pulling players from 5/6 different states, not sure how much practice time they're getting in. They charge a few thousand to play in some local tournaments and then head down the WWBA where they go 3-4, 2-5, etc. The top team is good, but after that it's a cash grab with the hopes that they get lucky with a few kids so they can slap in on the website. 

Are you referring to Tri State? I was generalizing with my experiences and with what I have observed to give Francis an idea of what to research for his either hypothetical or real situation.  All good here.

Go44dad posted:
Buckeye 2015 posted:
PABaseball posted:

It varies by age group. To add to the confusion, they went down to Jupiter as Tri State Arsenal FC. They're good but something I would wait until after freshman year before jumping into. 

Great, not only did baseball organizations start naming their teams Premier, Elite & Select, which came from travel soccer.....now they're using FC?   FC is football club....another soccer term lol.  Why would anyone possibly use FC in a baseball organzation?   I don't care if it means Fastball-Changeup lol, any true sports fan is going to look at it and assume it's a soccer club

Founder's Club

Where I know FC / Founder's Club from is Marucci (the sporting goods company).  Years back they created a grass roots marketing campaign that gave discount uniforms/gloves/bats/etc to travel orgs.  If the team joined the program, they became a member of the "Founder's Club".  Three/four years back they started a Marucci World Series with the FC teams.  Here is a link to 2017 list of teams (at least that came to the World Series).  https://maruccisports.com/mws Orgs such as Scorpions, Stars, East Coast Sox, CBA, Ontario Blue Jays, Louisiana Knights, Dallas Tigers were at the WS.  Games were played at LSU, ULL, Tulane and other colleges/high schools.

The boudin was hot and the crawfish did flow.

 

baseball mom2020 posted:

FC is Founders Club and TSA is scheduled to play in the Marucci World Series.Top teams are "National"

That's great!  It is a really fun tournament.  Probably the most fun for both of us since little kid days.  All the teams show up opening night at Tiger Stadium (LSU).  They have cajun food for the kids, a HR derby and fastest man for the 17U kids.  Then Bands play that night.  Games start the next day.

It will be very interesting to watch what happens with Tri-State with out the Barth's involved. For better or worse the man had a vision and built towards it. 

When you sell a business to new owners it is very difficult to remain the same company, experience and guidance are lost, relationships while they still exist are new and untested. Debt service can create process changes to keep the books in line. There is much behind the scenes both operationally and financially that can have an impact on the what the product ends up looking like. 

I think in the short term it is buyer beware. 

My son had two classmates that played on their 16U teams last year (B&C). They had good experiences and felt they improved as players. It's true the won/loss record wasnt great, but they are returning this year and they do have a 60+ minute drive to practice. In speaking with their dads, It sounded similar to my kids experience at ASBA........ Similar cost and development, but more of a drive. 

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