Legion ball...What Legion ball?

Actually, I think all this is DownSouth's fault......

Good to hear from you again pal...

 

next?

give it time and today's showcase will become something different in years to come.

 

Yep....plus you have HS summer leagues that will compete to get the players that traditionally have gone to Legion and Showcase baseball. There are many areas that have had success with their HS summer leagues. To me it makes a lot of sense, especially if it is sanctioned by the NCHSAA. What better way to develop your HS baseball program.

and I agree with tj...it's all DownSouth's fault.

 

I hear ya....and it still boils down to what people can/are willing to afford.

You brought up a point that I want to respond to and that's the parents. Of all of the areas we have discussed, that is one area that has changed the most in the last 20-25 years. Parent involvement. Reflecting on the years that I played, as kids got older there were less involvement with the parents or families. Heck, it was a treat to have my parents attend 2-3 of my games and I know many of my teammates had the same situation. There were very few families that followed my teammates around game after game.

Now, it's totally opposite, but here is what I found. Baseball families don't take vacations. They don't spend the $3-4,000+ to rent a house at the beach or go on a Disney vacation. They are spending their summer vacations attending the weekly tournaments as a family....and that is pretty cool. The friendships they make, the friends (teammates and opponents) the son's develop, the stories that are shared and remembered between families and while doing this, you know where your children are and who they are associating with...and all of this is done with your family.....it's priceless!

So taking that lump sum of money to spend one week with your family to play in the sand is spread out through the whole summer, so you can spend every weekend with them....as I said, that's pretty cool.

Someone asked me yesterday, how is it that my oldest son and I have such a great relationship. That although he is a college student now, we still hang out together when he is at home. It's because of the relationship we developed during those weekends at a tournament when he was growing up. Where we had time to sit in a hotel room and discuss everything (inside and outside of baseball).

 

I had no idea that so many people felt so passionate about both sides of this topic. Fortunately it was discussed here politely instead of another site out there. People would have been flaming each other on another site. Nice to see everyone keeps things civil here.

 

Hopefully, that is one of the things that makes TBR different. I appreciate differing views, but I enjoy it more when done with civility.

 

I would like to add something awesome Post 29 with Cherryville, Pineville, Taylorsville, Rutherford and a couple other post are doing this year.

June 21-22 (I think its Fri/Sat) there is a Scout series at MS Deal. there are a pair of Area IV conference double headers all being played at Deal on both days and Post 29 is fitting the bill for lodging Pro and College coaches and scouts to come and watch all the teams and players. I know the night cap on one of those two nights is Caldwell/Cherryville. I saw the schedule yesterday at signups. I think this is truely awesome both for all the teams involved and for Legion baseball in general.

 

Hey, Braves, Now you will have a chance to come to Deal Stadium this summer and see some of those Showcase/Scout games and finally see Deal Stadium and hang with the Renowned Right Field Bleacher Bums. Just ask Down South, He can fill you in.

 

you wore a pink shirt.....nimrod tj and boxman thought you was........playing for the other team.

plus, braves hid from us the whole evening.

 

My Facts

I won't get into the debate of which organization is best or which is best for the kids or which is right or which is wrong or even what is happening to Legion ball as this thread started out...

But I will add my facts (note: I said my facts and not my opinions). Impactbaseball and the Dirtbags was by far the most enjoyable and rewarding baseball experience my family as ever had.

First: Just as Braves post stated, our vacations last year were spent traveling to different venues for "showcase" tournaments. It was tough traveling to East Carolina, Atlanta, Va. Beach, Clemson, Myrtle Beach, Ft. Myers, Jupiter, just to name a view. Really not much to do in these cities, except watch baseball games that my sons were participating in on some of the nicest facilities ever. And the beaches at Florida, boy that was a tough call, or the time we went to Six flags with all the boys and families, gosh, that was another tough job... and I really don't think the kids enjoyed Myrtle Beach at all... But in all honesty, was it expensive, YES, but was it worth, YES and I'll explain more....

Second: Both my sons have played both Jr. Legion and Legion as well as high school. My oldest would be one of those kids as mentioned earlier as "marginal". But being on the Dirtbags not only got him noticed, it gave him the confidence and desire to get better. He's having a good year this year as a Senior and having a great time playing ball while looking forward to playing Division I baseball next year. Would he have been noticed in Legion or High School alone?? I doubt it very seriously, Playing at West Forsyth, there are a lot a good pitchers that have to get their innings. He only threw 19 innings his Junior year and doesn't play the field so I attribute his success to Andy Partin and the Dirtbags. Did he enjoy his high school and Legion baseball, YES, very much. He has been fortunate and had great Coaches in travel ball (Clemmons Tornados), Legion and High School, but showcase is what got him noticed and confident.

Third and MOST important: I met and my family met what has now become some of our closest friends last summer during our travels. Close enough friends that as a family we've driven from Lewisville to Asheville to South Johnston just to watch them play this spring. I've stayed in touch with my new friends from Virginia and congratulated them on not only winning the Virginia High School baseball championship last spring but then turning around and winning the Football championship also (go Goochland)! We have a road trip planned for next Saturday to go Bryson City just to watch friends from Swain and West Henderson play. Of course listening to the stories GMan has to tell, certainly helped pass the time....

So in summary, as I stated earlier, it was expensive and my family made sacrifices to do it. But it was worth it. We got some scholarship money which was nice, my son is getting a college education but most important, we as a family were very close knit ALL of last summer and the friends we met will never be replaced. If neither of my sons play beyond the high school level, the experiences we had and plan on having again this year as meet new friends are worth every dime and time spent!!!

Hugh McBride