Now before I start please know that I realize that this is ultimately up to the coaches & ours to stay or go-- but, we are parents have been asked for some input by the coaches. Apparently our coaches and manager cannot agree completely this year.

So here goes we are a 14U "Select Travel Elite"(whatever the right term is) who play in the Major division. The debate is that at this age, the year before HS, is it more important to be seen and known locally(in state) or is traveling as much as possible(we are talking ALOT more 2-3times more than years past), & as far as possible to see what else is out there more important. Dates & trips have been kinda thrown out there for parents to consider before the parents meeting in two weeks. Parents are expected to still travel with the boys & the coaches have boys on the team too.

Also some of these dates conflict with HS fall sports tryouts and mandatory camps. The one coach said to the mom who brought that point up that the boys will have to committ to HS fall sports(football, s****r, etc..) or travel baseball this year. Spring will be different when HS baseball starts up since that is our sons goal. I thought that was harsh since they have never been in HS or had the chance to tryout for those sports.

One more thing I should mention is that we as a team have found a gold mine of a fundraiser and our bank account is very healthy-some parents think that one coach is 'drunk' on the money we are bringing is therefore thinking bigger, better(?) & more expensive travel this year.

Some opinions please

I would say, the HS sports should take precedence,but what I reall want to ask is "What gold-mine of a fund-raiser?". My son's team is going to be doing a couple, but we would(I would) really like to have a great one to defray the costs.

U14 Travel baseball or HS sports ??? Someone is drunk or otherwise delusional. Find a team with coaching that has the player's best interest in mind.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty34:

The debate is that at this age, the year before HS, is it more important to be seen and known locally(in state) or is traveling as much as possible(we are talking ALOT more 2-3times more than years past), &
Some opinions please

Seen by whom? For what purpose?

Who cares about 14U baseball…..other than the players, parents and apparently coaches over exuberant coaches.

I coach a 14U team that is pretty good (nationally) and I would NEVER EVER ask them to choose between our team and their school team. The whole purpose of our team's exisence is to get them ready for HS baseball.

Lefty, what does your son want to do? No doubt travel is exciting and fun, and sometimes travel teams are better than freshman/JV teams. But there is something about wearing that HS unie and being part of the experience that is special.

Our situation was a little different from yours in that 2B had the opportunity to play at the HS level while playing 13U and 14U (small K-12 school), but I think the basic premise still applies. When we were playing 12U to 14U (not very long ago) it did seem like it was the most important thing in the world. And we weren't on what you would call a Select Elite whatever team - just a pretty darn good local team (2006 fall 14U AAU D2 state champs, 5th at 14U AAU nationals). But just a short year later, as BOF says, we learned the hard lesson that no one really cares as much about what our son did at 14U (or any other level) as we parents think they should. But the benefit of playing at that level (as opposed to rec ball) certainly did pay off when the time came for HS tryouts.

From the time 2B had the opportunity to play at the HS level, he always chose to play HS during the regular season, then returned to his travel team when the season was over. The travel coaches didn't like it too much, but always seemed happy to have him back for the summer and fall. Now that 2B is actually in HS, the 16U travel team doesn't operate in any formal way until the HS season is over because players generally aren't allowed by HS coaches to do both at the same time.

Looks like your travel coach isn't going to be as flexible as ours was, and that's really too bad. Our coaches felt the way redbird5 does - the reason they play travel ball is to make the HS team. I think the players on your team should have the opportunity to provide input.

The only thing that matter in 14U is becoming a better player in preparation for high school ball. Playing locally provides the high school coach an option to come see him play.

When a kid gets to high school he may have to make choices on sports. In some high schools it's hard to play multiple sports based on the demands of the coaches. My son is missing the winter physical training for baseball due to basketball. The coach gave him the routine to do on his own time.

I have a little different way of looking at it. Our program sets up our teams by grade- not age. Therefore, we do not have conflicts with HS baseball during the high school season. Secondly, I don't think 14&U baseball is solely to get them prepared for high school baseball.

HS baseball is great. Nothing like playing with your classmates and school pride. That said, I hope we are starting to prepare them for the level after high school. Most schools (there are some excellent exceptions) are not set up to prepare them for the next level.

I think schools and amateur programs outside high school should work in concert with players. Unfortunately, you get coaches on both sides who get greedy and don't have the best interest of the player in mind.

quote:

Originally posted by ncball:
...HS baseball is great. Nothing like playing with your classmates and school pride. That said, I hope we are starting to prepare them for the level after high school. Most schools (there are some excellent exceptions) are not set up to prepare them for the next level...

I agree. I guess I should have said HS and beyond. We have been fortunate to have some great kids on our roster. By being successful as a team, we always face each team's #1 pitcher. Facing this competition prepares them for more than just HS.

The only exposure we care about is to higher levels of competition, not college coaches at 14U.

Lefty, if you don't mind sharing I'd love to know what type of fundraising you are doing?

Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by YHF:
Lefty, if you don't mind sharing I'd love to know what type of fundraising you are doing?

Thanks.

HandyRandy & YHF- I don't mind sharing- we are located near StLouis and a major sports/concert venue-this venue has allowed groups to "volunteer" to work in the concession stands there. We are paid 10percent of our gross sales in that concession stand for the night. Each parent who works then gets their share of that $ distributed into accouts set up for each boy. Any tips made are saved for a parents night out. We work/volunteer for a couple events a month. 4-8 hours a month sure beats cookie dough or candy selling-I think that takes almost that much time to raise the kind of money travel requires.

Win win we earn money for the team and the venue can cut back on paid employees and benefits.

quote:

HS baseball is great. Nothing like playing with your classmates and school pride. That said, I hope we are starting to prepare them for the level after high school. Most schools (there are some excellent exceptions) are not set up to prepare them for the next level.

Agreed...most definitely. High school ball is a step on the journey to the next level, and pre-HS travel ball can certainly instill the fundamentals, competitiveness, game savvy, and work ethic that can make a big difference in the player succeeding beyond high school. But as has been said so many times here on HSBBW, and what ncball alluded to, it is only one piece of the puzzle. At the same time, HS ball is where they learn to balance grades and athletics and a social life, and set priorities - the things that they will have to do on their own in college. It is also where they can - to a level higher than travel ball IMHO - be a part of something bigger than themselves and their circle of friends and teammates.

quote:

Also some of these dates conflict with HS fall sports tryouts and mandatory camps. The one coach said to the mom who brought that point up that the boys will have to committ to HS fall sports(football, s****r, etc..) or travel baseball this year. Spring will be different when HS baseball starts up since that is our sons goal. I thought that was harsh since they have never been in HS or had the chance to tryout for those sports.

The coach sounds like a moron. This sounds like a coach in it for the wrong reasons. I would bet his son is a star player.

For many teams, 14U is an odd situation, because some players will have started high school and others are still in 8th grade. So in the spring, the 8th graders may have some difficulty in getting together enough players to field a team, at least in states that require HS players to only HS ball. Large organizations may have two 14U teams and they can combine the 8th graders during the HS season.

In my opinion, players should also play other sports, certainly through the freshman year. It helps develop coordination, conditioning, and mental freshness. It will usually help a player make the team, because coaches like competitors. Kids who play football or sokker successfully also gain a reputation as an athlete before baseball tryouts. It helps.

Does this mean that a travel team can't travel? Not really, at least in our experience. The high schools here tend to have their freshman games mid-week or on Friday evenings. Travel ball tends to be on the weekends. My son plays on the freshman team in ncball's organization, and also played HS football. He missed a couple of games (not tournaments) because of schedule, and one tournament due to a mild football injury.

I think there is value in playing against strong competition, and it may be necessary to travel to find the competition. But it isn't necessary to have 100% of the team attend every game of every tournament.

3Fingered- Agree on your thoughts of student-athletes playing other sports. It's a very valuable experience on many levels.

Lefty34,
You have gotten good advice from all. Athlete and their parents will always be forced to pick and choose as which “route” to take. High school baseball and select summer baseball are two different routes and they will conflict along the way. Other sports, social events, family matters, academic goals and personal desires will also conflict with both summer and high school baseball --- you have to look at each choice and determine which is the most important at that time. Pro active parents (and players) can expect to make choices that “step on some toes” during the pre-high school and high school years. I don’t know of any way to avoid this.
Fungo

Rising freshman can tryout for Legion/Summer League ball, you might want to check into that as well. A big send off for the players might be fun though.

Maybe, you could schedule tournaments out of state that don't conflict, saving the money for 15u, or possibly forming a showcase team at 16? Money makes some people nuts, so a two year long term wait may not work. If the boys are playing next spring at school, they won't be playing travel. As stated earlier, it is a transition time for everyone.

High School comes first imo.

(We just played our last with son's travel team. I'm very sad about it - we had a great combination of parents. The team was pretty good too. It's hard to say good bye.)

Travel teams are really considered showcase teams. High School is for school pride and recognition within that district.A smart high school coach will be glad to see kids play select if he wants what is best for the kid.If a kid wants to go to the next level he really needs to try to get on one of the " premeire teams". The problem these days eveyone call their travels teams select.
I do not think a kid should play select during the regular high school baseball season.That should be kept for summer or fall. If the high school coach thinks it is a conflict in the off season then he is being selfish.That should be a choice that the parents and kid makes.

Lefty34,

Thanks for sharing your "gold mine" idea. I coach a new 12U Major "Select Travel Team" in the St. Louis area as well. If you wouldn't mind sharing a contact name and/or number, I would like to look into it further. We are needing to raise some funds for this summer. Best Wishes.

MoDad

quote:

Originally posted by Play hard:
Travel teams are really considered showcase teams. High School is for school pride and recognition within that district.A smart high school coach will be glad to see kids play select if he wants what is best for the kid.If a kid wants to go to the next level he really needs to try to get on one of the " premeire teams". The problem these days eveyone call their travels teams select.
I do not think a kid should play select during the regular high school baseball season.That should be kept for summer or fall. If the high school coach thinks it is a conflict in the off season then he is being selfish.That should be a choice that the parents and kid makes.

Per your own admission all travel teams are not "premier."

Go back and re-read the original post- the problem is "conflicting" schedules. Many States have student requirements that restrict them from participating in non-school sports during the HS season. The main reason for this is the Interscholastic Athletic Agencies found TB and their coaches are tearing the kids up with 100 game schedules. Much-maybe some- of the HS coaches' mission is program development. TB is all about winning.