It might be wet, it might be hot, it might be buggy. It might be early, it might be late. It might be a long walk to the field, it might be long drive to the hotel after.
You could nit pick about 1,000 things. But the experience in Jupiter is second to none. If you have the opportunity, go. 100% of the time. Enjoy the long weekend down there biggerpapi...I did it for two years and loved every minute.
"Man, this is baseball, you gotta stop thinking! Just have fun." ~The Sandlot
Posts: 516 | Location: A field somewhere | Registered: May 28, 2005
1. If you find your son assigned to the Red fields, you might want to visit a Target after your plane lands and pick up one of those light, cheap folding chairs that you can carry in a sling over your shoulder.
2. Bring a rain jacket, and shoes that you don't mind getting muddy.
3. Be sure to watch games other than your son's. Next June it'll be fun to say on draft day, "I saw that kid play!"
4. Bring your laptop so that you can check schedule updates if the rain gets bad. The one thing, though, is that they move heaven and earth getting fields playable, so even if it's raining, be sure to be at your field at game time. It's amazing how quickly those MLB spring training diamonds can be gotten into game shape.
Posts: 3164 | Location: Virginia | Registered: February 01, 2006
We bought a chair and an umbrella when we were at Roger Dean a few years ago. This year I am planning on putting one in my son's bat bag and buying an umbrella that will fit in my luggage. Or you can tie two chairs together and check it with your baggage. Don't forget the OFF wipes or whatever you use for bug repellant and that sun screen always comes in handy. Be prepared for rain most days and yes, games will be ready for play even when you think they won't be.
Posts: 16 | Location: Texas | Registered: September 30, 2009
The best advice I can give to parents going to Jupiter is to let their son enjoy the experience and not to buy into the environment, because chances are the son might too.
As I said, I was fortunate enough to go to the Jupiter tournament for two years. The first year, I was one of the youngest kids on the team and had no parents with me. I flew down with the team, stayed with the team, ate with the team, etc. I was fairly oblivious to everything that occured, and was very awestruck at the level of talent (watching Rick Porcello pitch and Jason Heyward hit on fields right next to each other) and the level of exposure available (literally HUNDREDS of scouts, coaches and agents roaming the premise for hours on end). I believe my ignorance was a blessing because I was still a young kid down there who was there to just play.
The following year, the fall of my senior year, I was fully entrenched in the recruiting process. I had been speaking to schools and was incredibly nervous about the Jupiter trip. My father came with me after I raved about the tournament to him for a whole year, and I think that helped me a lot as well. Instead of staying in the room, or in the pool, or walking through Palm Beach all day/night like I did the year before with my teammates, I spent meals with my father and he provided me with a lot of normality that I felt back at home. He very rarely talked about baseball and if he was bought into the scouting hype that surrounded the event, I surely didn't notice.
Each year featured two very different emotions and different ways of going about things. Regardless, the experience of going to Jupiter was second to none and one that I'll probably never forget. Whether you are a player or a parent, enjoy every minute of the event because there truly is nothing else like it.
"Man, this is baseball, you gotta stop thinking! Just have fun." ~The Sandlot
Posts: 516 | Location: A field somewhere | Registered: May 28, 2005
