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(note: i have not read the article peter wrote because i am not a subscriber, yet)
"select" and "travel" baseball for kids under 16 is almost always a complete joke. if you have money, you can play, that is the selection part of "select" teams. i laugh when i hear about "select" and "travel" teams for 8 year olds and 11 year olds. what does one 8 year old know about baseball more than the next one? nothing. ive heard people talk about their kids needing exposure early. to who? believe it or not, 8 year olds playing baseball at the park down the street is no different than 8 year olds playing at a park with a 180 foot fence 45 minutes away while wearing half-button up t-shirts as opposed to no buttons.
yes, there are good "select" and "travel" teams out there, but for the most part my experience (be it umpiring, playing for, playing against, or watching 3 younger brothers who played for and against these teams) has been that its not worth the whole title and cost most of the time. one younger brother played in the NABF world series in jackson, missisippi a year ago and his team was legit; he is the only person to not go (and play) D1, as he is playing at a D3 school. on the other hand, another brother played in some AAU "world series" in florida and got smoked, and were only there because they could pay...they had nice jerseys though (rolls eyes).
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