My son really enjoys baseball and has been putting in a lot of work outside of team practices to improve. When he started playing travel ball two years ago, he was one of the smallest kids on the team. Since then, he's grown quite a bit and has developed into one of the stronger players on the roster.

He's left-handed, so he primarily plays the outfield and first base. The biggest area of improvement has been his hitting. He went from batting near the bottom of the lineup, usually 8th or 9th, to consistently hitting leadoff or in the 2-hole.

He's currently playing AA, but honestly, the team has struggled. The coach is a former minor league player and knows the game well, but in my opinion, several of the kids would be better suited for Rec ball. We're considering having him try out for a AAA team, but I'm curious what level of talent difference we should realistically expect between AA and AAA.

He genuinely likes his teammates and enjoys being part of the team, but he's becoming frustrated with the lack of success and the number of losses. Is there anything we should be considering as we evaluate whether to stay put or move to a more competitive team?

I am not trying to get him more noticed or invited to showcases, just want him to experience winning a little more than he is now.

Maybe try picking up with an AAA team to test the waters.

When I evaluate whether my kid should stay put or move on, I basically ask myself the following questions.
1. Do they enjoy it? Have friends? Want to be there?
2. Do I trust the head coach? Do their on-field values align with ours?
3. Is my kid getting opportunities? Has there been growth?
4. Is the environment healthy? If the answer to this is no, then likely some of the ones before are no, too.

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He's left-handed

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He ever pitch? He should.

I honestly think a bit of losing is good for kids...obviously nothing but losing will be hard to endure, but it allows for certain leadership traits to be developed. On the flip side, being around better players will elevate and push certain kids.

Just like a job interview, it certainly won't hurt to check out another team if you think it might be a better fit.

10andBOUNCE said:

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He's left-handed

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He ever pitch? He should.

I honestly think a bit of losing is good for kids...obviously nothing but losing will be hard to endure, but it allows for certain leadership traits to be developed. On the flip side, being around better players will elevate and push certain kids.

Just like a job interview, it certainly won't hurt to check out another team if you think it might be a better fit.

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He does pitch but his bat is more advanced than his arm. He is likely the 5th or 6th pitcher on the team.

In my experience with select, the difference between AA and AAA is not so much the team, but the level of playing at all the positions.

You should see better pitching and the outfield will be better/more solid. Infield should be better at turning plays and less likely to commit errors.

One thing I've always asked is "Is my kid the best on the team at X?" My kid rises to the occasion, so if he's the best hitter, he's not being challenged and as such, he starts to regress. Same with fielding or pitching.

Playing in AAA doesn't mean they are better; they just get to see better players and more 'challenges'.

~egon

Thanks for the feedback. I don't want to be the dad who switches clubs all the time. He has been with them for 2 years and most of his development is coming from DBat lessons.

I am not sure if he should go AAA or find a more competitive AA team, or stay put until he gets older and stronger.

Our hitters 1-4 can play. Using Game Changer stats, they strike out less than 10% of the time and can get on base versus the pitching they are seeing. All four are hitting .500 or above. Batters 5-11 need help, they strike out 50+% of the time and 2 of those kids have not had a hit in 11 games.

Do we talk to the coach about plans to get more competitive, I want to be as upfront as possible.

I cannot help about moving vs. staying. We've changed almost EVERY season, but 60% of the time, that was due to team imploding.

Either OTHERS left before us, leaving us with like 5-7 players, the team just...left? We didn't mind each other, the coach just kind of went off the rails.

We did get cut from one team, which was a little BS, but water under the bridge now. The rest, we left because, we feel, valid reasons. Bullying by a player that went unchecked, toxic team and once just because we weren't developing.

If you feel your kid is getting better, that's the main goal. As many coaches have mentioned to us, the goal is for your kid to improve, not win cheap rings. If you are still improving and developing ON the team, then I would stay.

If you are only developing because of outside practice/work, then that's where you potentially look. Going to try outs don't mean you're leaving. You can see who else is out there, what the other competition looks like, what your kid might be facing in the future.

Ultimately, you need to advocate for your kid, as no one else will look out for them. But, as we do scouting as well, the questions I always ask:

Are they having fun?
Are they safe (the all-encompassing safe)?

Then they are ok.

~egon

My son spent a lot of time at both levels - AA and AAA. We never viewed him as playing to seek out a scholarship. It was just fun to play with kids who wanted to be there and loved baseball.

I don't feel there is a significant difference between the two levels. (I DO feel that there is a big difference between "Majors" level and AAA, though.) I'd say that the pitchers throw a bit harder and have a bit more command at the AAA level. You run into fewer kids with parents just trying to escape Rec ball. On a lot of AA teams, the 7-9 batters generally feel overmatched. You don't see that as much at the AAA level. If he's been working hard, you owe him the chance to try out for a AAA team.

I'd agree with all the other posters who have said to make sure that a team/coaching situation align with your values/standards.

I don't think I saw how old he was but I'm not sure it really matters all that much until they hit 60/90 and by that time they are almost in HS and there are no more levels, you're going to sink or swim as a 15 yr old. My oldest son played rec ball until 12U, then played mostly AA ball after that. He's a sophomore in HS and is doing just fine. Kids that just keep working hard in HS will keep getting better and passing up those that aren't. His younger brother has played select since 8U and has played mostly AAA or Open tournaments. As an undersized pre-pubescent 12 yr old, he's still got a long road ahead of him. But having two kids take totally different paths, I think these are my keys.

1. I want my kids to be middle of the road players on their team. if they are the best, there is probably a better opportunity out there, but if they are the worst, they may not be getting the right opportunity, be it more at bats or time in the field. You don't want to be a bench warmer on a good team bc those rings aren't going to mean a dang thing come HS ball.
2. Play for the best coach you can regardless of level. I think you get most of the individual development outside of team practice so find the team that teaches you how to play the game the right way and run effective practices.
3. This might be arguable, but play for an org with multiple teams at different talent levels and a solid HS program. Not that you can't move to a different team or org, but this allows movement to fit your needs without feeling like you're moving every season. Then sets you up for HS success.
4. Especially if your son is younger, have fun. Its a game, and he's probably not making the big leagues. Avoid the drama, play with good teammates and coaches and enjoy it. Maybe easier said than done in our sports crazed world these days.

He is 11, but still very small for his age.

TXAGGIES said:

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Thanks for the feedback. I don't want to be the dad who switches clubs all the time. He has been with them for 2 years and most of his development is coming from DBat lessons.

I am not sure if he should go AAA or find a more competitive AA team, or stay put until he gets older and stronger.

Our hitters 1-4 can play. Using Game Changer stats, they strike out less than 10% of the time and can get on base versus the pitching they are seeing. All four are hitting .500 or above. Batters 5-11 need help, they strike out 50+% of the time and 2 of those kids have not had a hit in 11 games.

Do we talk to the coach about plans to get more competitive, I want to be as upfront as possible.

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I've always said this is the biggest difference. On a AAA team, there are likely 7-8 kids like your 1-4. On a major team, there will be a few absolute studs, but everyone else is as good as your 1-4. A AA team will have a lot of holes, a AAA team will have a few holes, and major teams don't have any holes.

And I'll add there are two levels of Majors as well.

You have the true travel ball team; going to different states and playing at a truly high level vs. a local majors team. The local majors team has good players, but on off days, a AAA team can take them out and bring them to the mat.

AA - wildly inconsistent play. WAY more ups and down and emotions in the game.

AAA - more consistent play and can get emotional, but tends to (in my experience) be more 'decent' baseball.

low Majors - can be fun to watch them mow down teams, especially if they are playing up.

~egon

Unless I'm misreading your original post y'all have been with the same team and mostly the same players for 2 years and are still playing AA, correct?

If so, I think that's a problem. The team and boys should be growing, developing, and advancing to tougher levels of competition. If they're not then some kids probably don't really want to be out there. So if some kids aren't really working to grow then your kid will probably get bored and complacent.

Have a conversation with the coach and get an honest assessment and tell him your concerns.

Now will sticking with the team mean he will get left behind other kids? Probably not. But, IMHO, you should always be seeking the tougher challenge.

yes, we are completing our second season with them. After 12 months, 3 kids were asked not to return and most likely went to Rec ball, and we replaced them with 3 new players. I still feel like 5-6 of the boys should be in rec ball and we don't have any consistent pitching which makes it hard to complete at any level.

TXAGGIES said:

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yes, we are completing our second season with them. After 12 months, 3 kids were asked not to return and most likely went to Rec ball, and we replaced them with 3 new players. I still feel like 5-6 of the boys should be in rec ball and we don't have any consistent pitching which makes it hard to complete at any level.

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Then it seems like a conversation with the coach is in order and the coach maybe needs to communicate expectations to the team in terms of individual work outside of practices.

I also don't think there's any harm in going and checking out other teams for the spring via open practices and tryouts to see if there's a better fit. I prefer open practices where you can talk to parents and observe how practices are run.

When our older boy joined the org he played for in 13 & 14U he never did an official tryout but went to 4 open practices with the org so the coaches got to see him for 8 hours on 4 separate days and got to see how he interacted with the boys already on the team and it ended up being a great fit and experience with excellent coaching/development.