Carolina Combat Baseball Club Position Statement on the Status of Travel/Amateur Baseball
February 2016
The travel baseball boom continues to explode all across the United States and beyond. It has literally become a billion dollar industry when you factor in the total economic impact. While some disagree with the culture that has evolved, many stakeholders will contest that this is the free market and American capitalism at work, just as it is done in so many industries. This statement will report and outline the contributing factors, whether positive or negative, of the culture as it relates to the individuals entities involved. It will also allow Carolina Combat Baseball Club to endorse or reject factors that affect the culture as it relates to the growth and future of amateur baseball.
Amateur baseball is defined as any level of baseball that is not paying players to participate which can range from little league to travel to adult leagues, including college baseball. Professional baseball is defined as organizations paying players to participate, such as players employed with Major League Baseball clubs (as well as the pro clubs in other countries) and independent professional baseball clubs in which players are under contract or are compensated for their play.
One major contributing factor involved with the rising costs of travel baseball (and the growth of it as an industry) is that NCAA regulation decades ago establishing scholarship limitations for college baseball, which not only put limitations on scholarships, but pushed more youth (particularly lower socioeconomic status players/families) towards other sports in which they could potentially receive full scholarships, such as football and basketball. Establishing baseball as a “non-revenue sport” at the college level gave rise to the current travel ball boom and has evolved in to the system we now have, with travel baseball being primarily an upper-middle class sport.
With many college baseball programs being underfunded and understaffed, they usually have one if not multiple volunteer assistants or coaches with very limited pay for a full time (if not more) work load. Needless to say their resources, including time, is limited. College programs have to find ways for these coaches to make extra income and also see as many quality prospects as possible, so camps and hosting tournaments put on by showcase and other organizations have given opportunities for these coaches to supplement their limited or lack of income. The high value on the college coaches’ time puts this resource at a premium. Therefore the lack of funding trickles down and someone has to pick up the cost of playing in these tournaments and events, which are attended, hosted, and/or outsourced by college baseball coaches and their institutions. Carolina Combat Baseball is a proponent of fully funding baseball at the college level through the NCAA removing scholarship limitations in an effort to reduce the burden passed on to the coaches that trickles down to travel ball and to the parents. This would allow easier access for more athletes to participate or get their foot in the door without putting tremendous financial strain on families.
There are third party hosting organizations that run tournaments or showcases with the primary objective to make money (as any business). If a player has success with finding a school that is a fit then that’s a bonus and it will be heavily promoted. Like all other capitalistic industries there is a wide spectrum of quality ranging from outstanding to very poor when it comes to summer baseball teams and events. There are also organizations that are hosting full circuits of summer and fall tournaments, and also supplying their own teams, in an effort to create a virtual monopoly. They have a financial incentive to promote year round baseball opportunities, creating a conflict of interest involving player health, and further devaluing development. Many teams and tournaments are becoming watered down due to this. Carolina Combat Baseball stands against any organization that charges high fees for a player to be on a team only to play in their own tournaments in which they also charge high fees (not to mention high gate fees that parents who’ve already spent thousands are asked to pay). This type of business behavior is highly unethical and is a disservice to unassuming parents and families. Usually when this starts to happen you see an organization start to create “satellite” teams to complement (or supplement) their main team. Satellite teams are alternate teams, or teams outside of that program’s home city/region in an attempt to expand on their programs model of hosting their own tournaments and events as a business, while also charging players to be on teams that play in their own tournaments, as a business. Carolina Combat Baseball supports the idea of local travel ball with players being identified by their region and having the opportunity to train more effectively and prepare to play team baseball promoting the kinds of concepts that college programs will actually have them use once they arrive on campus. Showing up with a new set of players each summer(or each weekend) or different combination of players from various regions may allow for a more diverse compilation of talent, however it diminishes the significance of promoting and representing your home city/region and instilling team concepts. It is also not cost efficient to take unrefined players from one region and promote them on a club that is based in another region, or state. It is the view of Carolina Combat Baseball Club that travel teams should have players from the region they are based in and skill development and refinement should be paramount if the goal is truly to play at the next level.
Travel should mean travel to play in tournaments with players representing your home region, not travel to represent a team outside of the region, then travel again to compete outside of that region. The idea of recruiting a 15 year old who throws below 80mph with dreams of winning summer ball championships does not help the player directly develop, and it sends him the wrong message since he is already being "recruited" by summer teams that "I must be good!". Many older teams(16u/17u) rosters are settled before they even start pre season practice at their high school. Again, this type of practice is inefficient and counterproductive for unrefined ballplayers who need continuous development to prepare for the college level. Most players fall in to the category of unrefined, or could be described as needing continuous development. Youth travel sports is not professional sports and should not parade around as such due to the development component necessary for youth to grow physically, and emotionally. The exception would only be if no quality team is available in a geographic region and development opportunities are available therein.
Carolina Combat Baseball envisions and is a proponent of travel baseball getting back to a localized model in the coming years to improve the development and better ensure healthy physical and mental growth. That does not mean a player should be forced to play with any team, just that a player should make informed decisions if they have aspirations of playing in college or beyond. All parties should be held accountable, including coaches, parents, facilitators, as well as players. College and professional coaches have openly commented on the changes they see in the mindset of incoming freshman, they may be talented, yet display a lack of baseball knowledge, and unrefined skills in that is attributed to the culture of travel ball (as well as other summer and fall baseball institutions. Players “team hop” for various reasons and receive mixed messages when it comes to instruction, sportsmanship, and game knowledge. This is not an attack on travel ball (or other baseball institutions) as a whole, just an open statement that the current model could be more efficient and effective. We've seen other amateur leagues shoot themselves in the foot with regulations, the pendulum has swung the other direction with travel ball due to a lack of regulation, or even rationality at times. The team providing the best instruction, age appropriate development, and exposure while also promoting team concepts should be the team that provides the opportunities in a geographic region. Programs that reflect virtues becoming of a future college baseball player, and more importantly, a future adult, who is a father, husband, and positive contributor to society will have staying power and an endless impact in their area and the lives of their players.
February 2016
The travel baseball boom continues to explode all across the United States and beyond. It has literally become a billion dollar industry when you factor in the total economic impact. While some disagree with the culture that has evolved, many stakeholders will contest that this is the free market and American capitalism at work, just as it is done in so many industries. This statement will report and outline the contributing factors, whether positive or negative, of the culture as it relates to the individuals entities involved. It will also allow Carolina Combat Baseball Club to endorse or reject factors that affect the culture as it relates to the growth and future of amateur baseball.
Amateur baseball is defined as any level of baseball that is not paying players to participate which can range from little league to travel to adult leagues, including college baseball. Professional baseball is defined as organizations paying players to participate, such as players employed with Major League Baseball clubs (as well as the pro clubs in other countries) and independent professional baseball clubs in which players are under contract or are compensated for their play.
One major contributing factor involved with the rising costs of travel baseball (and the growth of it as an industry) is that NCAA regulation decades ago establishing scholarship limitations for college baseball, which not only put limitations on scholarships, but pushed more youth (particularly lower socioeconomic status players/families) towards other sports in which they could potentially receive full scholarships, such as football and basketball. Establishing baseball as a “non-revenue sport” at the college level gave rise to the current travel ball boom and has evolved in to the system we now have, with travel baseball being primarily an upper-middle class sport.
With many college baseball programs being underfunded and understaffed, they usually have one if not multiple volunteer assistants or coaches with very limited pay for a full time (if not more) work load. Needless to say their resources, including time, is limited. College programs have to find ways for these coaches to make extra income and also see as many quality prospects as possible, so camps and hosting tournaments put on by showcase and other organizations have given opportunities for these coaches to supplement their limited or lack of income. The high value on the college coaches’ time puts this resource at a premium. Therefore the lack of funding trickles down and someone has to pick up the cost of playing in these tournaments and events, which are attended, hosted, and/or outsourced by college baseball coaches and their institutions. Carolina Combat Baseball is a proponent of fully funding baseball at the college level through the NCAA removing scholarship limitations in an effort to reduce the burden passed on to the coaches that trickles down to travel ball and to the parents. This would allow easier access for more athletes to participate or get their foot in the door without putting tremendous financial strain on families.
There are third party hosting organizations that run tournaments or showcases with the primary objective to make money (as any business). If a player has success with finding a school that is a fit then that’s a bonus and it will be heavily promoted. Like all other capitalistic industries there is a wide spectrum of quality ranging from outstanding to very poor when it comes to summer baseball teams and events. There are also organizations that are hosting full circuits of summer and fall tournaments, and also supplying their own teams, in an effort to create a virtual monopoly. They have a financial incentive to promote year round baseball opportunities, creating a conflict of interest involving player health, and further devaluing development. Many teams and tournaments are becoming watered down due to this. Carolina Combat Baseball stands against any organization that charges high fees for a player to be on a team only to play in their own tournaments in which they also charge high fees (not to mention high gate fees that parents who’ve already spent thousands are asked to pay). This type of business behavior is highly unethical and is a disservice to unassuming parents and families. Usually when this starts to happen you see an organization start to create “satellite” teams to complement (or supplement) their main team. Satellite teams are alternate teams, or teams outside of that program’s home city/region in an attempt to expand on their programs model of hosting their own tournaments and events as a business, while also charging players to be on teams that play in their own tournaments, as a business. Carolina Combat Baseball supports the idea of local travel ball with players being identified by their region and having the opportunity to train more effectively and prepare to play team baseball promoting the kinds of concepts that college programs will actually have them use once they arrive on campus. Showing up with a new set of players each summer(or each weekend) or different combination of players from various regions may allow for a more diverse compilation of talent, however it diminishes the significance of promoting and representing your home city/region and instilling team concepts. It is also not cost efficient to take unrefined players from one region and promote them on a club that is based in another region, or state. It is the view of Carolina Combat Baseball Club that travel teams should have players from the region they are based in and skill development and refinement should be paramount if the goal is truly to play at the next level.
Travel should mean travel to play in tournaments with players representing your home region, not travel to represent a team outside of the region, then travel again to compete outside of that region. The idea of recruiting a 15 year old who throws below 80mph with dreams of winning summer ball championships does not help the player directly develop, and it sends him the wrong message since he is already being "recruited" by summer teams that "I must be good!". Many older teams(16u/17u) rosters are settled before they even start pre season practice at their high school. Again, this type of practice is inefficient and counterproductive for unrefined ballplayers who need continuous development to prepare for the college level. Most players fall in to the category of unrefined, or could be described as needing continuous development. Youth travel sports is not professional sports and should not parade around as such due to the development component necessary for youth to grow physically, and emotionally. The exception would only be if no quality team is available in a geographic region and development opportunities are available therein.
Carolina Combat Baseball envisions and is a proponent of travel baseball getting back to a localized model in the coming years to improve the development and better ensure healthy physical and mental growth. That does not mean a player should be forced to play with any team, just that a player should make informed decisions if they have aspirations of playing in college or beyond. All parties should be held accountable, including coaches, parents, facilitators, as well as players. College and professional coaches have openly commented on the changes they see in the mindset of incoming freshman, they may be talented, yet display a lack of baseball knowledge, and unrefined skills in that is attributed to the culture of travel ball (as well as other summer and fall baseball institutions. Players “team hop” for various reasons and receive mixed messages when it comes to instruction, sportsmanship, and game knowledge. This is not an attack on travel ball (or other baseball institutions) as a whole, just an open statement that the current model could be more efficient and effective. We've seen other amateur leagues shoot themselves in the foot with regulations, the pendulum has swung the other direction with travel ball due to a lack of regulation, or even rationality at times. The team providing the best instruction, age appropriate development, and exposure while also promoting team concepts should be the team that provides the opportunities in a geographic region. Programs that reflect virtues becoming of a future college baseball player, and more importantly, a future adult, who is a father, husband, and positive contributor to society will have staying power and an endless impact in their area and the lives of their players.