[EKYProspectors]

I'm not going to say travel ball doesn't help the players with "exposure".  But I would like to see it turned more into a whole team game.  Like basketball/football, where a coach would take an entire team to play in tourneys.  To get the team better.      Lets be honest, most of the kids that I've seen mentioned are at the top of the talent pool anyway.  And no-one can tell me they wouldn't have the opportunity to play at the next level even without travel ball.

Agree, I took the best our region had to offer minus a few boys and went and showed colleges what we had to offer in this area. That was my whole goal. Juniors that are rising seniors are the only recruitable class at open tournaments. This was my team this summer and that was my main focus.

It can be a team game but as mentioned before. There are 9 positions on a baseball field. Take a team like Hazard who will be senior loaded this year. There are a lot of boys behind them that won't get reps due to the team being rising seniors. Basketball and football have JV because of the number of kids and skill levels at open positions. JV baseball is a lot different. Sometimes you are putting kids in open spots instead of developing them in a position that best fits them.

This is where the fight of going to your age division and getting 25-30 games in playing competition you arent getting blown away with. Develop your skill to bring back to your team and get ready for that 17u summer where you can be openly recruited by colleges.




I agree to an extent, but playing 25 "exhibition" games isn't really working on your skills.   Practice is where you get better.   

I also see many players playing in their "not natural" positions during a high school season.   When you only have 13-15 kids on a team, and 9 have to play the field, you are gonna have kids out of position.   
First base for instance, I usually see 3-4 kids that can play it better than the one that is normally there.   But you hae to take a natural first baseman and put him at 3rd, second, or even shortstop.  Because he is the best option you have.   Kid make 2-3 errors , and gets written off as a bad fielder, but is actually just out of position.  

And I've seen or been around travel ball for years and its USUALLY 1 of 2 things.    
1.  Daddy ball  -  dad starts a team and coaches it because his kid plays
or
2.  For profit  -   someone starts a team to make money    

Not saying the Prospectors fit into one of those 2 categories, but i would say 90% of the time, that is the case.

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I mean what is the Overall Goal of HS baseball?  To win a state championship right?  Seems like they play baseball about 2 months a year in this area and wonder why nobody goes on to play in college.  I don’t feel like anything is better than experience.  Even the top players in this area can benefit from playing travel with their returning high school teams.

But it falls back on why kids in this area aren't recruited. 

Trinity starts 9 kids that can play at a high level of college. Teams in our area may have 1-2 that are eligible to be recruited. Tell me where you would spend your time as a college recruiter. Either go play with those teams with those kids being recruited at your age or play for your school and take the chance of not being seen. Self-development in baseball is a lot easier at a higher level than in basketball and football. Plus the cost to play. Who is going to pay for these tournaments and things in high school?

I understand that recruiters are gonna go watch Trinity play over any team in the 14th.       Trinity has studs at every position.    Their 9 is as good or better, than anyone in this region.

Oh, I agree 100 percent. I didn't start it for daddy ball cause that's what I wanted to get away from. I started it because I felt that we as a geological location are looked over. Our boys go to Lex teams and are still in the shadows of Lex kids. 

Practice does make these kids better. But colleges don't come to watch practices. They can sit at a tournament and see 100 kids in 3 hours. That's the sad reality of us East Ky folk but that was the goal of my organization. Be a connection point between colleges and players. Whether they play for me or not. 

Football, Basketball, Baseball, or underwater basketweaving takes self-discipline to get better. You showcase your skills in a game and your work on your craft in practice. This is what separates D1 from NAIA. I'd love to see a lot of things done differently with baseball but the simplicity of it is we are the red-headed stepchild in the KHSAA to Basketball and Football.

Glad to formally chat about this as it is a light that I think needs to be addressed. But when you can't control the current of the river, grab a paddle and go with it.