Question for the Travel Baseball Dads/Coaches Out There (1 Viewer)

[Mr. Know-It-All]

If you had a kid that was on a travel team and had an opportunity to make a reserve High School team, would you encourage them to finish out the season with their travel team or move up to the High School Reserve team? Assume the kid was a decent ballplayer and would get similar playing time on either team.

I am asking this because they are proposing opening up Reserve to incoming freshmen starting this year and I am curious as to what other people would do.

My kids are older now so has no impact on them - but when I was a coach I would have been ticked to lose several of my better players to another team halfway through the season (travel teams typically play Mar- first week of July around here - whereas Reserve runs end of May through start of August). But from a player perspective, it might benefit them from getting an early jump acclimating to high school.

Thoughts?

 

[Fennis]

which one is more likely to get him laid?

 

[Mr. Know-It-All]

which one is more likely to get him laid?

Good point - travel teams fanbase is mainly relatives - whereas HS fanbase might broaden to include prospects.

 

[PIK95]

Totally depends on the level of both programs and if the player is projecting to play college. H.S. all things equal IMO.

 

[Mr. Know-It-All]

Totally depends on the level of both programs and if the player is projecting to play college. H.S. all things equal IMO.

Kind of what I was thinking as well - my last travel team had 3-4 kids that would have excelled in reserve as incoming freshman - but had I lost them our travel team would have been brutal that 14U year. As it turned out since the opportunity was not there we kept all four and had a great season against AAA/Major competition (highest class where we played). But man if they would have left we would have been a AA team at best. From an athlete perspective, it might make sense to jump up a level assuming competition better at higher level...but that would hose the guys left behind. My only hesitancy would be the message sent from jumping teams midstream - I think they just need to account for that possibility and maybe carry a larger roster to account for potential defections. Glad I am done coaching and dealing with things like that.

 

[Judge Smails]

What is a "reserve" team? JV or something?

 

[Blind Tiger]

Whatever will have him play against the best competition.