Which Travel Team is "Better" ??

At your son's current age my son moved to a Team 2 from a long time team that was run by dad coaches.  Like you had the same level of success.  Quite simply they had lots of good players.

Two years now in the rear view mirror and from a parent's perspective really glad we made the switch.  My son had to learn how to play on a team where a dad wasn't making the lineup.  Performance, attitude and hard work mattered and how you got in the lineup or came out of the lineup.

In looking at it another thing that happened that at the time I could not have anticipated as I was "in the moment" was the majority of boys that were on that first very succesful team haven't had the same level of success as my son and a few others.  For lots of reason and most not due to their ability.  They gravitated to another sport or interest in a lot of cases.  Kids and their interests change.

Good luck to your son whatever way you choose.

If your son is thinking of playing beyond HS, then I would seriously consider moving to Team 2.  

If he is content to win tournaments stay with Team 1 (the current team).  In the end those tournament trophies don't amount to much. 

If his goal is to play in college, I think your choice is clearly the Academy Team. Once you hit HS age, winning isn't the big thing. In fact many tournaments are round robins, sign up, play 2 games a day for 3 days. No trophies, no medals, no juice boxes..............but you will normally get tons of exposure to college coaches.

Pick the coaches, not the team.  At 14 you are sprinting to HS.  You want a coach who can teach him how to play baseball.  You want him in a "HS like" environment.  My son faced the same issue.  Prospective team had half the talent but twice the coaching.  He reluctantly chose the team with the real (non-dad) coach.  It ended up being a great experience for him.  He learned more in a year than the previous 2 under the dad "coaches" (with respect to those dads who actually know the game).  He ended up pitching a bunch of his old plastic trophies -- probably meant more to his mom than him.  Good luck. 

I agree with team two, with one caveat.Many academies have more than one team at an age level. If he will be playing on the A team, usually the top team, I would go.

If there is more than one team and he is moving to the B team, their is more questions to be asked.

Actually, it sounds like you are in an enviable position where you have two good options.  Playing with a strong travel team with some of his HS teammates is good.

On the surface, it sounds like joining the academy team could be even better.  That is with the assumption that there would be more and better quality instruction and training along with the guidance through the recruiting process.  But you will have to research to verify.  That is not always the case and sometimes the coaches at the lower levels of academies aren't all that strong.  Do they have a facility and does it work financially and logistically for you and son?  Does the scheduling work with any other sports or activities your son is involved in?  What are the future plans of both teams/programs?  There are lots more questions you and your son should be asking.

What you should NOT concern yourself about is stuff like any internal conversations between other parents and coach.  I don't think you should worry about other parents yapping either, unless it is something that is so out of line that the coach should be addressing it and he is not.  Otherwise, you're likely to have those types of things come up regardless of the team/program.  I would also caution against making a decision based on what position son plays.  At 13 or 14, does he definitely know what position he may be asked to play in college, or even HS for that matter?

Best wishes and let us know how things develop.

BTW, there is a recent relevant thread regarding same age kids you may want to browse through...

http://community.hsbaseballweb.../bringing-in-ringers

My son and I talked and he decided to make the move to an academy after his u14 summer, he played the fall of u15 there and stayed for this past summer. Best move he ever could have made, his game lifted the momment he walked in the door, the coaching was more focused, the internal competition was better and practice reps were quicker and with a better purpose.

He is now a full blown kool-aid drinker of the program. I got a call from a different local academy over the winter. I asked my son if he was interested in talking with them - he never blinked and said "I have a home". LOL enough said.

You will still have parents unhappy...but if the academy is as good as you think they will take care of it quickly, quietly and it won't be an issue. Parents from our organization don't yell at umps - you may a get a loud groan on a close play but in seconds it is back to watching the game or cheering for the boys. Screaming at umps is not allowed and doesn't happen. As one of our coaches told a parent, if a recuiter sees you acting like an ass why would he want to have your kid in his program?

You've spelled out a couple options (doors #1 and #2) with both pros and cons.   But what is the end game?  If it is to play in college, then I think you need to think who has a pipeline and relationship with coaches at the next level.  The understanding is that your son will do everything in his power to improve his game with the resources available to any decisions he makes.   However, things like exposure and coaching relationships/networking at the next level also come into play.  For that reason, I'd probably lean toward the program that can open the most doors at the next level. 

Is there a door number 3?  Can you hold off on a decisions until possibly finding another situation that best fits him and his goals?  I don't know the answer, but I'm hoping you do.  Good luck!

I agree with pretty much everything already posted, and will add our experience.

First, will your son be in 8th or 9th grade this fall? As many others have opined on this site, playing with your school grade is usually the better choice than "U" year.

In general, I would say the recruiting aspect of the decision is less of an issue until about sophomore year. Unless WestCoastSon is a top DI candidate, the summers after sophomore and mostly junior year will be the most important. So you can put this decision off for another year or two with very little consequence.

What does WestCoastSon want? Most academy teams are a huge commitment of time, effort and money. Does he understand that, and does he want that?  Does he want to play other sports in high school, and will that be a problem for Team 2?

My 2015 son (and family) have faced a similar situation over the past 3-4 years. Son chose to stay with Team 1 (except they don't have parental problems). I think he's has made the right decision for him, but this is a very individual decision with a lot of factors. The one regret I have is that I think he would have been pushed harder in an academy system.

There are trade-offs. The Team 1 guys probably won't have relationships with colleges. That puts all the recruiting work on your son. It can be done, but it takes a lot of effort and can limit your possibilities.

Also, in my experience on the east coast the value of Team 1 winning games/tournaments is almost zero in the recruiting process. Very few colleges hang around cold to watch the kids on the "best team" play in the finals of a tournament. They are mostly scouting kids by appointment.

The Team 2 guys should have trusted relationships with college coaches (if not, don't even consider them). That is a huge advantage for a talented, hard-working player (i.e. one who can be recommended) because college coaches can't see these kids nearly as much as their academy coaches do. They rely on these guys to evaluate for them.

On the down side, there are limits to how many colleges the academy guys work with. They might produce opportunities for your son, but those colleges might not be a good fit. What if you son want to go to school on the east coast, can the academy team help him there? Also, if your son doesn't have the talent, or is a problem kid, a Team 2 coach is not going to risk his reputation with an endorsement.

Much to consider, but again, probably not critical to make the right decision for this coming year. Best of luck.

My son played on "independent teams" from 9U thru 14U.....our team broke up after 14U so I got a friend who was a very good coach and we recruited a very, very good group of kids to play 15U.  We were good, could play with anyone, including the "big name" teams.  I did all the promotion for our team (a lot)...emailed coaches, kept them up to date on players, schedules, etc.  We played with this same team (with a few really good additions) again at 16U.  Good tourneys...again, playing with and beating some very good teams.  We basically got no attention from coaches...other than 2 really good LHP..and that wasn't until the last weekend of the year, when one threw against a top team from out of state.  

  We disbanded that team after 16U (basically due to football conflicts).  My son moved to a really well known and well respected "organization".  No academy, and due to players being from such a wide area, really no winter work, other than optional pitching on Sundays with a college pitching coach.  The difference was phenomenal.  This year's team was able to get in the best tourneys and attracted unbelievable numbers of coaches/scouts (30-40 at times).  My son ended up getting some nice D1 interest and committed a to a D1 state school last week.  Do I think that it would have happened if we had kept our "independent" team?   Absolutely not, even though he had a great HS season and was named to the All-State team.  My son's organization had 2 17U teams...and at this point, 19 of the 34-36 kids are committed to D1's....and plenty more to come.  The name on the jersey and the organization's director and coaches had everything to do with at least half of those commits...including my son.  Can't tell you how happy my son is that he made the change when he did

M-Dad hit on 3 real good points above a pro, a con and a whatever - awesome...bottom line enjoy the ride and be ready to do much of your own research regardless of what you end up doing!!

It seems like both options are reasonable. Keep in mind making a 14u academy team does not guarantee making the 17u academy showcase team. Someone who used to spend more time on this board and our son's played against each other often, told me from the roster of the excellent 13u academy team only four made the 17u team. Academy teams tend to be expensive. You're not buying a future guarantee.

this is another great point, the roster of my sons teams has 5 kids left from the u13 season, there were various reasons why they left but 8 of them are no longer there and that was a team that won double digit tournaments for the year.

Very good points.  I've had some good friends pour a lotta $$ into academy teams on the West Coast promising 'connections' and got nothing more than games to play in.

Don't think I woulda done an academy team with our sons without a lotta research on the particular ones first.

The grass is not always greener....

Our experience was that the move to the "academy" team was absolutely the right move. A little different as my son wanted the move; the team he left went far in 13-14 yr Regional tournaments but got thrashed badly as the years went on.  The changes in the players between 14 and 18 are huge, so get them in the right teaching environment where they enjoy going to practices and games , so that they can flourish. We made the move , and it took him until his Jr year to make the top team but it paid off. Players mature at different times; outside interests and influences good and bad all contribute. The added benefit of an " Academy team" is the competition you face , it helps with a real assessment of whether he can play at the next level.

Best of luck.

I believe its all about development, which team gives your son the best chance to get better? I like a strong program where your kid can still get on the dirt everyday.

As expected, great info and feedback that is extremely helpful. Son is headed to 8th grade so no high school yet and there is time. However, the academy route (with good coaches and track record of getting older kids looked at by colleges) is probably the ticket based on what his goals are and the great advice so far.   

Hate to hijack thread but think the right people in it suits things.Sort of same question but with one change.2014 recieved offer last week to a/the top midwest d1 program.its a 99.99% he will take it.I have the same problem as OP.I want him to keep progressing.The pitch coach of last 3 yrs. looks to be out over adults not getting along.Have already recieved calls to play for aacademy teams for no charge.2014 would be an PO tho.He had highest BA on school team last year still would like to bat and play outfield while it lasts.Do I steer him to the best pitch coach I can having to spend 4 days in winter workoutsbecause with the normal 3 the new pitch coach I'm not interested in.steer him to #2 type team with all the stuff and contacts even tho not needed.I am really sore with lod pitch coach gone.he is the best.Its not my travel program tho its just my kid.

My son switched to the "academy" team before 9th grade and it was great for getting more exposure.  Old team stayed together and they got looks from smaller colleges in the area, but the name teams have connections that provided the majority of players to get better looks from top national baseball schools, as well as they have the connections with these schools to provide them feedback.  These connections cannot be underestimated.  On the two Summer teams with named entity over a dozen went major conference D1, and almost all the rest went to D1 just below that.  On "team 1" scenario a few went lower level D1, and most went JUCO.   

No 2016 is what I meant.Soph. summer.Its not a local team.But is a notch down from the big time programs.

.I will not talk to coach as I feel this is something my son needs to learn to navigate.

To all the parents: sooner or later your son/daughter is going to have to figure things out. On their own.