And just to give you an idea of the level of talent, here is my son's last team there and where they went: LINK

SW Sliders are a good organization.

I wouldn't only play baseball at a young age, but if your son likes it, look for some of those organizations on that link for quality training. One of them is the Twelve. I've seen some of their little guys practicing and they were receiving excellent teaching.

It is not unusual for Aggie players to have played other sports in high school.

They key is that it has to be fun.

Make sure he takes enough time of from throwing each year to rest his arm. I heard the Twelve talk, they actually shut down younger guys early to avoid burnout.

Still possible to play multiple sports and play select coach pitch. He's only 8.

aggiefan09 said:

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Still possible to play multiple sports and play select coach pitch. He's only 8.

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Absolutely. It isn't all or nothing with select. It is up to the parent. If a team doesn't take time off, don't play for them.

Play both if your son loves the game. LL gives you mid-week games. Select provides multiple Saturday and possibly Sunday games. If you are worried about Daddy ball in LL then coach a team yourself, you can bring in consultants to teach special skills and work your LL team practice around the select team practices. Be cogniscent of burn out.....he may end up playing/liking football more by the time he hits middle school.

Phil Garner said:

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Build It said:

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No. No and no. Plenty of time for that after his freshman year of high school

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Wait until freshman year? Will be so far behind it will be rediculous.

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A good little league and pony organization is all they need to get ready for high school ball. Spend the money on quality lessons instead.

Don't take my word for it read Shane's post. He might know a thing or to about it.

Waste of time, waste of money, unfair to family. I have 6 kids, so I don't have to worry about such silliness as select ball for 2nd graders. Also, consider this...when I was 9 years old, I knew the game way better than the kids of the Texas Rangers that I went to school with. Why? Because I loved the game and studied it, not because I trucked around the state every weekend.

94chem said:

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Waste of time, waste of money, unfair to family. I have 6 kids, so I don't have to worry about such silliness as select ball for 2nd graders. Also, consider this...when I was 9 years old, I knew the game way better than the kids of the Texas Rangers that I went to school with. Why? Because I loved the game and studied it, not because I trucked around the state every weekend.

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"And that's the bottom line, cause 94chem said so."

I agree with everything that you've said.

I played local select growing up. No real travel. Ended up 1st team all district senior year. Don't think traveling overnight would have helped any more. I'd say stay local but avoid "travel" baseball. Just anecdotal, no statistics to back it up. Good luck!

...and as Minks basically said, there's no such thing as a college baseball scholarship.

Build It said:

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Phil Garner said:

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Build It said:

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No. No and no. Plenty of time for that after his freshman year of high school

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Wait until freshman year? Will be so far behind it will be rediculous.

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A good little league and pony organization is all they need to get ready for high school ball. Spend the money on quality lessons instead.

Don't take my word for it read Shane's post. He might know a thing or to about it.

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Alrighty. LL until HS. I guess that's what Shane said. Go for it.

Best of luck with that.

Wait...that's not at all what Shane said...and I agree with what Shane said.

Schu2000 said:

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I played local select growing up. No real travel. Ended up 1st team all district senior year. Don't think traveling overnight would have helped any more. I'd say stay local but avoid "travel" baseball. Just anecdotal, no statistics to back it up. Good luck!

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This is what most are missing on this thread... select baseball does not have to equal "travel" baseball, unless you live in some remote area. You don't have to travel all over, and especially not at a young age.

Get some kids together for a team, and coach it yourself (might want to pick a couple kids with dads that are helpful). You can control the schedule (when, where, how often). It can be done on a low budget, You don't have to have three different uniforms and matching bat bags and all that. I did this for my older son for a few years and we did it local and low budget. Except for a couple that are playing different sports now, they are all on the high school baseball team.

If you live in or near any of the major metro areas in Texas, there are plenty of tournaments to play in without "traveling". At least not more than 30 minutes to an hour.

All this being said, I wouldn't put a kid on a select team until he had played at least one season of "kid pitch" baseball. You don't know if they really want to play until they have hit against a kid (not a dad in coach pitch or tball). If they like the game and are pretty good and aren't afraid to hit against a real pitcher, then you might consider some select ball.

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LL teams practice 90mins/week and you simply don't get the quality reps you do in select.

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Are you saying kids only can practice or get reps at a team practice? So, kids can only get quality reps if you pay for it?

To the OP, get your kid and 3 or 4 of friends. Get a bucket of balls, gloves, and bats. Drop them off at the field with some water and tell them you'll pick them up in 2 hours. Let them figure some things out for themselves. They'll learn to get out of the way of bad pitches (or, it doesn't hurt as much when momma ain't around), throw stikes, make up games, etc.

GEA89 said:

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My son plays D1 NCAA baseball and here are my thoughts in reflection:

- Only play select baseball if your son truly is elite in talent. WAY too many parents put their kids on teams trying to force the issue. Pretty much anyone can play select baseball these days because there are enough crazy parents out there forming teams which have watered down travel baseball.

- Only play select baseball part of the year, the Fall should be reserved for taking a break mentally and physically and playing a different sport. Mine played football all the way through his Sr. year in High School and the cross training, mental break, and fun doing something else was invaluable.

- If your kid loves it, keep doing it, if they hate it quit and let them play less in the year or play another sport. Do not force them out there.

- If your kid is really good play in the Premier Baseball league when they are in High School. Not that Nations Baseball thing they formed and called it "Premier" years later after this other organization had been in existence to compete and so they can call themselves "premier" too. Here is the address: http://www.premierbaseball.net and I am saying this based merely on scouting and what the organizations do to get kids placed on college teams. I am sure someone will argue with me because they know of an exception or they take offense because their kid does not play on one of these teams but I can speak on experience and watching 100 guns go up in Joplin at one game because there were that many scouts watching on top of the organizations run by MLB scouts is where you want your kid to be if they have a shot.

And just to give you an idea of the level of talent, here is my son's last team there and where they went: LINK

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Listen to what this guy says, especially if your kid is in High School. Put him on a good team (a Premier League is a good place to start) and then step back and get out of the way. My oldest is going through that right now.

My son has been playing Select ball since he was 8. Now 12. I would not go Select until kid pitch. Coach pitch is the best years in LL and the talent or lack of around him won't hurt. That changes in kid pitch.

I suggest being very picky though. These days you have Select, you have club, etc. I call club daddy ball. That is when 2 + dads put a team together and coach that team how to win. Play with your buddies. We play Select. In Select, coach is hired and that coach teaches baseball skills to kids. You see them get better every practice. Many times these club teams win all the tournaments, but their kids don't get the individual skills training Select teams get.

All that being said, play multiple sports. We play all year round in baseball, but our coach knows that football comes first in the fall and no pitching whatsoever in fall, basketball come first in winter/early spring. Baseball comes first in late spring/summer.

Last, hire a hitting coach for him to work with once or twice per month. That will be cheaper than Select ball for the next year or so

Shane Minks said:

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RoughRider said:

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My 8yo just finished up his first year in coach pitch. He did not play last year in what should have been his first season in coach pitch. His current coach asked if we had interest in joining a select team. I have always had no desire to be a part of the select venue. However, as my boy has shown he has certain skills that put him above the average ball player - and he has passion for learning the game - I don't want to hold him back. Our oldest will be a freshman in HS this upcoming year, and will be going out for the softball team. My hold up is putting our family in a position of so much travel and having a HS kiddo. I was coming around to the idea of the little guy playing local LL spring and fall ball until my daughter either started driving or once my son turned 12.

Just looking for input from those who have lived in the select/travel world....

TIA!!!

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NO NO NO!

No need to play "travel," "select," or "year-round," baseball at such a young age. Heck, I didn't start playing "year-round" until I was a sophomore in high school, and still played football, basketball, and ran track during the school year.

The money spent on travel, hotels, fees, etc, from ages 8-15 could easily be saved up and put towards a college fund that would most likely greatly exceed the amount of an athletic scholarship (except for maybe football and basketball).

One of my biggest pet peeves as a former player and a coach is when I hear that a 10 year old is a "baseball only guy." They haven't even had a chance to play other sports yet...for all we know, he could be the best dang basketball, football, tennis, etc, player in the county by the time he's a senior...but we'll never know because he was pigeon holed at such a young age.

Ask any high school or college coach around, and most (if not all) of them are going to tell you that they prefer guys who played multiple sports in high school.


End of rant.

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What Shane said. We started travel ball when my son was 8, but we only played late spring and summer. We also started him in travel ball because our local rec league ball was absolutely terrible. The last year he played the coach practiced once a week for about an hour. He also batted the kids in numerical order and made them change positions every inning. It was a complete waste of time. I told the league commissioner that I didn't want my son with the same coach the next year and he said OK. Then when it came time for the season to start the same guy called to say that my son was on his team. I called the league commissioner and he said that he couldn't do anything about it. I withdrew my son from the league and he's been in travel ball ever since. But that being said in the fall he played flag football and in the winter he played basketball. Now he's about to finish his sophomore year in high school and still plays baseball and football for his high school. As a freshman he played basketball as well. We still only play travel ball once the high school season ends and the summer. Once school football starts in August he won't play baseball until football ends.

Here's another thing that I tell parents who get delusions of grandeur about their son and getting a baseball scholarship. Division I schools are limited to 11.7 scholarships. Most players are on a quarter to a half. Very few have more than that. Alot of select coaches will say "We have all these kids that get scholarships. You should pay this exorbitant amount of money to play for this team." The reason that I tell people this is because if you're trying to justify spending all the money that you have spend to play travel ball because you are getting a scholarship then don't do it. Save your money that you're spending and put it into a savings account and you'll pay for more college than any scholarship that your child might get. BUT if you have the financial means to afford to do it and your son enjoys playing AND you have the time (i.e. weekends) to devote to it then do it.

I will say I have no vision of D1 baseball scholarships, especially at the age of 8! Select ball was never really a thought at this age until his current LL coach - who is really good and a former collegiate player - asked us about our interest in having Will go that route. My wife and I had already talked about not doing select until he was 10 at the earliest - and that would only be if he showed the skills that would make select worth the time and money. Will is a lefty, loves playing first base and wants to pitch. I have already told him pitching was going to be very limited by me, and we were not going to learn a bunch of different pitches for a couple of years! My arm is shot because of my own over use growing up.

What I like from all this are the various paths folks have taken. It has made me do more research in our area, and I have found some cool one on one training, like fall batting practice with a UTSA coach on a few Sunday afternoons. Relatively inexpensive, close and good (hopefully) instruction in a 1-on-1 environment.

I have had to check myself early on to make sure this was his desire and not mine! I had my chance to play further and chose not to do so. This is his choice for the most part.... I am going to guide those choices within parameters. So right now I am not even going to present select as an option. Spring baseball, summer training, flag football, basketball, soccer and fall baseball is what he can choose from. As someone else said, he may find football to be his sport of choice, although I think mama is going to have something to say about that!

Anyway, thanks for all the input. Good conversation and very informative, especially with how much things have grown in choice since I played.

Let's be honest here...

You are going to do whatever you want irrespective of what a bunch of interWeb jackholes say on a message board.

This was just an opportunity for you to showcase the idea that a former college ball player thinks your kid is good enough to play select ball....AND you could have played at a higher level but chose against it or injured your arm (not sure which as you mentioned both)

Seriously congrats on both! Not hating just calling it like I see it

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interWeb jackholes

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Yep, found one. Glad you know me so well that you "call it as you see it".... I ask for input from all kinds of folks about a bunch of different things. If you read it that way, so be it.

It sounds like your kid is a good athlete and ball player...and his parents love him a bunch. He's got it good in this world!

Let him drive the train and you can't go wrong - so says this jackhole anyway

Good luck RR.

You've done some research. I hope you understand that there are different levels of select ball. In the Houston area Nations is the biggest organizations that youth tournaments are played under. Other places are probably USSSA. For nations, the levels of youth ball are metro (recreational), select, elite, and premier (this level starts at age 10). For USSSA, they go A, AA, AAA , and major (I have less experience with this organization). There is a ton of money that is earned every weekend hosting tournaments. Do the math and I bet you can see a weekend tournament that grossed about 24,000 in entry fees. And there are tournaments all over the place.

We started off playing recreational ball with team of very athletic kids. We realized my son enjoyed playing baseball and wanted to play at a more serious level. We joined a team involved with an organization at age 8. These were all dads that coached the teams. I found the kids not to me more athletic (but they were good), but they were far more polished. It took about a year of work for us to catch up.

The first team we were on played mainly at the select/AA level. We could find all the tournaments we wanted in the Houston area. We rarely traveled anywhere. In the fall, we worked out a little bit, but most kids primarily played football, soccer and basketball

At the younger ages (through 12-13), the top level teams (premier/major) will be made up of big kids who develop earlier physically, but you can catch up in high school - sometimes.

The big problem with dad coached teams is they tend to be a vehicle that showcases their son and the training as compared to someone who played collegiately or professionally is usually not as good. After a couple of years we wound up playing for a guy who played minor league ball and he taught us a lot. My sons still uses things he learned from that guy today.

We still played in the Houston area, except for a few occasions. All the families and kids had a blast one year playing a spring break tournament in Phoenix. Hung out by the pool, went to spring training games, and played baseball. There are tons of places along the gulf coast (Florida, Alabama) that sponsor "World Series" One thing we missed on that many select kids do is a "World Series in Cooperstown for 12 year olds. That is supposed to be a great experience.

Now, my son finished his freshman year in high school and is on of one of those teams in the link to the Premier League. If he wants to work hard he may be able to play collegiately - but at what level, who knows. Right now it is more about working hard to get better and having fun playing. I don't know the San Antonio area but I would say that in Houston, if you feed into a high school that has a competitive program, if you aren't playing at least the elite/AAA level by age 12 or 13, you will have a hard time making the high school team, and the skills can't be developed overnight.

Final note, if you are looking at an academy, check their reputation. Many of them have a top level team and other teams that are just meant to help pay the bills. In checking their reputation, find out whether they cut kids mid season. Some places you are on the roster unless they find someone they like better. The first team we played for had three kids who were cut mid season from another team the year before at age 7. How ****ty is that? You want someone who really has your son's development in mind and is not just chasing trophies.

Thanks for all that Tex. You actually introduced a completely different level - academies. I did not even know those existed until just recently. A college buddy has a kid playing in the 12 organization. I thought that was just another team, but researching shows that is an academy type organization with several teams - almost a league of their own. Interesting concept in how they have that set up, but would hate to be part of something and have kids cut from the team.

We were past the youth age, but I heard the head 12 guy talking to parents. I love what they do. They do not cut kids: For the year - you are theirs and they are yours. Next year you have to try out again. I've seen their coaches working with the younger kids and really liked what I saw - both how and what was being done. For 10 year olds, they end the year fairly early. They go a little bit longer at 11, and so on.

In the San Antonio area, I would look at the Southwest Sliders. Their Houston players were good when I saw them in the fall. Really like their Houston guy for hitting and infielding. San Antonio is their headquarters. Their main color is a hideous burnt orange.

There are more academies with former college and pro players every year.

RoughRider said:

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Quote:

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interWeb jackholes

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Yep, found one. Glad you know me so well that you "call it as you see it".... I ask for input from all kinds of folks about a bunch of different things. If you read it that way, so be it.

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lol, no doubt, especially since your post showed you followed up a lot of the ideas with research.

I personally like the Little League with outside coaching idea. There is no comparison to the Little League All Star experience. Cooperstown is fun, but hundreds of teams go every year. A trip through sectionals to state in Texas would be an experience the kids never forget, even without making the regional.

Little Leagues are run 100% by volunteers, so, if you don't like the "daddy ball" nature of a league, get some friends and join the board and do something about it. Like just about anything else, you can be part of the problem, or part of the solution.

That said, there are many more "club" team options than in the past and you can probably find one that fits what you want, if you don't have the time to participate in your local Little League.

RoughRider said:

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Thanks for all that Tex. You actually introduced a completely different level - academies. I did not even know those existed until just recently. A college buddy has a kid playing in the 12 organization. I thought that was just another team, but researching shows that is an academy type organization with several teams - almost a league of their own. Interesting concept in how they have that set up, but would hate to be part of something and have kids cut from the team.

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The 12 does not cut mid season. The roster spots are year to year. If you make a roster they will commit to you for the year. If you are in Katy do it. I'm in CS and have two boys that went through/in the 12 organization.

8 yrs old? Select ball? No.

It's really off the rails when people are singing praises of an organization because it doesn't cut 10 year old kids mid season.

Twelve deserves better than to have that be advertised as one of their strengths.

Late getting back to the thread but one factor I have used with my girls was not being willing to pay for select / travel / etc.until I saw them put in the work by themselves. If they weren't going to shoot 100 shots or dribble for an hour on their own, then sports is just recreation for them. I'm fine with that as well. I save my money and save my daddy ball issues for less competitive leagues

Just something different than what has been stated above. And in the end the cost would be roughly the same. Instead of select ball could always put up a batting cage in the back yard. Atec machine. Hit when you want.

Honestly though. 8 is too young imo. You have plenty of time.

Select was the absolute best time of my life. Didn't play football until 7th grade so I was all out in baseball. It's expensive but it was truly the best part of my childhood.

Saying that, my high school didn't care about baseball at all, me and my brother and dad would get kicked out of the batting cages in summer by our AD. So I'd suggest it unless you're from a place that loves baseball and your AD supports it.

We use Select for extra development in conjunction with Little League and Texas Teenage. We will play select when we are not playing Little League or Texas Teenage. I believe this is a great thing as it allows the kids more practices, more games, while still playing League.

All the coaches volunteer to coach our select teams and it's a $50 fee which goes towards insurance, uniforms, and select registration. When we go to tournaments we split the entry fees amoung all the players.

If you have 8-9000.00 per year to spend on your son, have at it.

My son went that route for 5-6 years, until he entered high school. He played football, soccer, Select baseball, ran local 5K's and also track and CC in middle school, plus some AAU T&F. When he was going from 8th to 9th, I told him he could play two, maybe three sports in high school but no more and that he wouldn't do anything if his grades suffered. I also told him to make the choice- I wasn't going to do it for him. I thought he would stick with football (QB) and baseball (P) but he surprised the crap out of me- he went strictly CC and Track in high school and lettered seven times.

Select stuff is expensive.

You don't have to spend a fortune...my kid plays 9u select and it's less than $400 per kid for the season, we get to use pony fields for free and have some small sponsors. We practice 3 days a week when we have no games.

We never go far enough away to need a hotel, there are at least 5 big tourneys within 50 miles each weekend.

However there are other kids from his old team that pay from $150 - $350 per month and play for organizations...the twelve, stampede, Catchers University, and the Banditos...the only one I'd say was far better than us is the 12.