I'm looking for the community's advice. I have an 11 year old that's headed to 6th grade. He has played travel for the last couple of years on AA and AAA teams as a pitcher, catcher, corner infielder and #3 hitter. His school has a middle school team that's comprised of 6th - 8th graders that play 60/90. The school is small and have been told he is all but a lock for team. Assuming he does make the team, our expectations are he would be a backup/bench player with 7th and 8th graders playing ahead of him.
My question is around a travel team. When looking for a travel team should we prioritize the most competitive team? Should we look for a team that has several of his friends, which might not be as talented? I expect him to experience some growing pains at the middle school level so should we look for something travel team wise that's a bit more relaxed? Being on the top travel team and collecting a bunch of hardware is not a top priority. We believe there's time for that in high school if the interest is still there. Looking for anyone that's had a similar situation. |