USA Baseball launches 12U National Team

I had thought that USA Baseball was a pretty legit organization run by intelligent people.

Now, I see that I was mistaken. 12?

Wow this is heading down the wrong path

$$$$$$$$$......

Looks like this organization got the age date correct so that it runs a true 12U team unlike Little League who uses a cutoff date that makes LL Majors a 13U division instead of 10-12 yr olds lkike it was intended to do.

A total of 18 athletes will be identified throughofficially sanctioned identification events in the spring for 12U National Team Training and eventual competition at the 2013 IBAF 12U World Championship.

fAt least they are going to select players from "officially sanctioned identification events".  That makes them sound much more official........seems much more legit this way.

My first thought is this is knee jerk reaction to USA Baseball losing to Puerto Rico in the 2013 World Baseball Classic (quarterfinals) and placing 4th in 2009, but it is probably more about $$ money as others have pointed out.

The best 12 y/o in the country on 60 foot diamond? What a waste of time.

Horrible

Think about the best 12 year old players when your son was of that age, and what many of them are doing now. The advantage of physical size at 12 years old has a funny way of becoming evened out or surpassed at 16 or 17 years old.

As many posting above have said, this is pretty much a terrible waste of time, but will be making someone money.

I am opposed to this as well, and I have a funny feeling that several USA Baseball member organizations (specifically LL, whose fabled All Star tournament can't help but be affected by this) will go south on USA Baseball.

With that said, for USA Baseball regional directors, they have little choice but to follow suit.  If they want to maintain the privilege of fielding teams in the higher age brackets, they'll have an obligation to identify and bring "quality" 12U players too.  Some may think they'll be developing a pipeline for their older teams, but the reality is (as several have pointed out) that "standing out" at 12U is mostly about the advantages of early growth rather than a sustainable edge in talent.

This does nobody any real good...except maybe USA Baseball.

If there were a true way of selecting the very best 12 year olds I think this would be very interesting.

I have a different view about the fact these kids might be bigger and more mature for their age.  The idea of fielding a team of the very best 12 year olds is interesting.  I actually would like to see that.  Of course, it doesn't mean these will be the best when they are 16, 17, or 18, but how important is that?

Many who stand out when they are very young are not so good when they get older.  What's wrong with giving those kids an opportunity to have a once in a life time experience.  Why not give them a day in the sun, maybe their best baseball memory.  It's not their fault they are more physically developed or advanced for their age. Being a good player at 12 is better than never being a good player. And it sure doesn't hurt all those young kids who will become bigger and/or better later on. 

Also, in a few cases, there could be a future super star playing on this team. We first saw Bryce Harper when he was 12. He would have been on any 12 year all star team. We first saw Delmon Young and Justin Upton when they were 13, I imagine they stood out as 12 year olds.

I don't know nothing about the process. I don't know if it is all about money or not.  But, I, for one would actually enjoy watching the very best 12 year olds play baseball. Heck, I would enjoy watching the very best 7 year olds, or any age, play.  I just don't think it is possible to identify the best at ages below HS.  It is difficult enough even after they get older.

I do understand why this might upset people.  

PG, I can agree with you to a certain extent.  I have seen a lot of 12 yr olds that reach their peak at that age.  I have nor probelm giving them their moment in the spot light, that is what LL does, at a minimal cost. 

I too enjoy watching the best kids, at any age level, play good baeball.  But, from the onset this is shaping up to be a HUGE money making venture.  How many "tryouts" and "showcases", at several hundred dollars each will it take to select these kids?  Then, how much will it cost the kids to play?

If USA was smart, they would try to pull this off with no-fee tryouts and a very minimum cost to the participants who are selected.  Guess we will just have to wait and see

Lefthookdad,

You could be right, guess I'm not aware of how the system will work.  Our only experience with USA is in the older divisions.  For example, the Tournament of Stars, which is free (anyway it used to be) for the players.  Then they selected players from that event to form Team USA. I like that system, except they miss some of the very best because they don't or can't attend the Tournament of Stars.

This whole NITS or NTIS seems to be totally different, but I don't know much about it other than what I've read.  I've always greatly respected what USA Baseball does, I hope this doesn't somehow pdiminish what they do.

I think they (USA) are in a position to do something good, if they do it correctly.  I am sure they have put a lot of thought into it and I will reserve any further judgement until we see a finished product.

PG, thank you for your thoughts - you made me think about the honor it would be for any young man to be considered among the best at any age, and why perhaps we should (maybe even especially) include young players who are often unlikely to get another moment in the sun.

That said, I agree for the most part with lefthookdad - that's what Little League is for, and it is designed to cast a broader net, at a much cheaper price.  The only thing I would say is that some very good players from small leagues fall through the cracks and do not get opportunities on a state, regional, or national stage simply because their leagues cannot field an all-star team that can compete at that level.  Those kids might be benefited by this, I suppose.

I just wonder why this is the best thing for most players, or even the youth baseball organizations that members of USA Baseball.  The tournament this 12U team will be formed to play in will take place in late July, right in the middle of Little League's All Star tournament.  Many of the identification camps and tryouts will happen during these organizations' regular seasons.  I guess I just wonder, how can taking the best players out of your organization at that time be for the better of the whole organization?  Are these organizations doing such a poor job of giving young players a chance to shine that we should disrupt their seasons and tournaments?

As for cost, I do know that there are hard costs that every USA Baseball regional director has to recoup that make it very difficult to do this in the way most people here (and I agree) think it should be.  First, there is an annual licensing fee that I am pretty sure exceeds $20,000.  Secondly, in any of these tryouts, USA Baseball takes as much as $25 a head!  Between those two costs. for many regional directors, if you try to keep your costs down to something fairly reasonable (like say $100 tryouts), USA Baseball will have taken half your gross right off the top.  It is no wonder these identification camps and tryouts are so expensive! 

So, to me, the question is whether that kind of cost is appropriate at this age, and whether other organizations are doing an adequate job of giving kids their chance to shine for much less.  At later ages, especially after kids have mostly matured (above the 14U age level, mostly at 16-18, HS ages), parents can more easily determine where their player fits and whether they should pursue these opportunities.  Fielding a 12U team just seems to me like more of a money grab, taking advantage of players and parents who do not yet know better, and doing it at the expense of organizations who are already doing a pretty good job at this age level.  JMO.

From my perspective, as my son was a 12u last year he participated in the Little League Tournament.  It was not what I wanted him to do, as he had already played two travel seasons on a 50/70 field and one on a 60/90, but he wanted to play with some of his school friends and give it a shot.  They didn't get out of the District, but they did enjoy themselves.  Obviously this was very inexpensive.

Other than that, he did a week-long 12u 104 team tournament at Cooperstown Dreams Park with some teammates and they had a blast getting to the final 16.  This ran us a bit more money, but we knew what we were paying for.

I would not have wasted the money, time and energy with a 12u USA Baseball program.  I'd have no issue with him attending a USA Baseball tryout when he gets older, but there is - in my mind - nothing to prove at 12.

As a side note, there is a kid my son's age who sprouted up early, was very strong, and could really clobber the ball as a 10 and 11 year old.  Also threw very hard.  He was always the kid everyone wanted on their team.  Fast forward and the kids are playing 14u.  The pitchers are no longer grooving fastballs down the middle and that arm didn't get any stronger, especially from 60 feet.  He is struggling mightily at the plate for the past year and his dad is taking it worse than the player.  He's no longer "the best player in the county", as they were always eager to tell everyone.