12 yr old looking for a team

Baseball my be different from girls fastpitch, but it will be hard to convince me that travel ball does not benefit players into becoming a much better player. I coached a girls fastpitch group from the time they were 10 years old until they were 16 years old. That group stayed together and six of them started on the local high school team that won the state championship last year. And several of them will have an opportunity to play at the collegiate level. In softball, there is no doubt they would not have been the players they are today if it had not been for travel ball. Teaching fundamentals and competing against quality players, in our town, typically does not happen at the rec level. Other rec leagues may be more beneficial than ours and I can't give an opinion on something I have not experienced.

 

I'm not trying to convince you. I believe DBacks recommended two successful programs. Charlotte Express has a history of very good teams...and have had many players from the Gastonia area. I wish you all the success in the world in your son's endeavors.

 

There's no right or wrong answer here. What does your son want to do? What are the objectives? Will the family be committed to giving up much time on the weekends to travel baseball? The decision will effect all in the family. I have seen plenty of families enjoy the travel at early ages, and others that did not.

If your son & your family want to pursue this, then I recommend contacting the Carolina Copperheads 12U team - Eddie Royko (Manager) 704-607-4561. The fall season is almost over but you should start looking now for next spring as many teams will have their rosters reading to go sometime this coming February. Also you can check them out at www.copperheadsports.org.

Many families have enjoyed travel baseball at young ages. There's an up and a down side to everything. Stay positive in all you do and good luck to you, your son, and your family.

 

You guys have been alot of help. Thanks for your input!! I'll give them a call.

 

Touchemall....We started travel ball at an early age (AAU 10U) and my son enjoyed every minute and has developed into a decent ball player.

Just make sure you stay in touch with what your son wants....some travel teams are demanding and play a heck of a lot of games, make sure he is having fun....good luck. You can't go wrong with the Copperheads organization.

 

Both of my boys played AAU & USSSA (the fourteen year old still does) and I believe that if you want to get better, you play with the best. In case some of you have missed watching High School Ball the past couple of years, (and I know that you haven't), most, if not all of these kids are still playing some kind of travel ball, (American Legion, AAU, etc). If you have a young (12 year old) talented ball player, why not let him play with the better ball players. Trust me on this: ....... they will get bored real fast and not improve their talents playing in some of the rec leagues around. But then again, some of these kids think they are real good (so do their parents), while playing in their rec league, they make the move to the travel leagues, and BAM, reality sets in. Their kid isn't so good after all. Then they go back to the Recs.

You can also post on ncaaubaseball.com as well as crystalcarolinasports.com.

USSSA still has tournaments schedule thru the first week of December, so there is still time left to play.

As far as not having fun and playing with your buddies, some of you are way off base on that one. We play all local tournaments, and have met some of the nicest people that you could meet. A lot of the teams we play are friends of my son from school and such. The people are our team are like and have been like family. Can't go wrong with that.

I do agree that you should please ask your son what he wants to do, and I promise you, he will tell you that he wants to continue with the travel team!

Good Luck

 

As spectator said so well, there is no right or wrong answer. At the Little League age level you will be exposed to daddyball whether it's little league, travel teams or so called showcase teams. The price is anywhere from 500- 3,000 depending on what team...and that doesn't include travel costs that can triple those figures...and for what? at that age? You might be better served to save some of that money and invest in a solid instructor to improve their fundamentals. But if money is of no issue, then travel ball can be fun.

...and yes, touchemall, taking nothing away from some of the great softball coaches around the area that I know of, baseball, at all age levels, have some terrific coaches whether they are in rec ball, AAU, USSSA and others. You just have to do your homework.

I will say after they are 12 and start playing regulation baseball...a good team with a good coach becomes important.

Of course, I have been recently informed that they are forming an 8 yo travel team. When I asked why? I was told because they will face better competition.....I dunno...maybe I'm a dinosaur. But I know this as a fact. If you have a son that is talented and he played stickball...he will have no problem finding a good team to play for.

 

Braves....you not that old....oh yea, you are! By the way, what did they use to hit the ball when you played?

 

Braves and I both pre-date wood .... by that I mean the creation of it, not the use of it as bats .....

 

Dave- nobody said they won't have fun. The point is, at that age level, ensure they are having fun. We have lost countless of young players to other sports or quit the game simply because they were not having fun any more.

I believe most people that frequent this board have a son that has experienced some level of success in baseball...but we have all seen the other side as well. The father that puts too much pressure on his son, etc., etc...and we all know that as the competition gets stiffer, the pressures intensifies as well. And it's usually not the kid that can't handle the rise in pressure.

IMO, I just don't like to see little league kids have to face this type of baseball. Let them be kids and have fun! The pressures of showcasing will come soon enough.