Top travel programs in Northeast Ohio

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perfectgame23

New member
I was recently at a tryout and the head of the organization made a statement that they were the top organization in Ohio When pressed they struggled to provide concrete answers. What makes a program the best?
We like to go to tryouts to see how other programs are doing things. This always validates our choice to stay with DHC. Our family believes in Coach Tom. His instruction, knowledge and connections are as good as anyones around. I am eager to get others opinions.
 
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Tom, er I mean perfectgame23, DHC is not even the top 10. They are an afterthought. That is clearly evident in results, commitments, etc.

Tier 1:
Ohio Elite
Release
T3

Tier 2:
TOPS
Brownlee Lookouts
Midwest Stars

Tier 3:
Ohio Longhorns
Force Ohio
Premier
Diamond Boys

Tier 4:
Mashfactory
Canes
Spikes

Tier 5:
singular teams at various age groups
DHC
 
WildcatBall123 said:
Tom, er I mean perfectgame23, DHC is not even the top 10. They are an afterthought. That is clearly evident in results, commitments, etc.

Tier 1:
Ohio Elite
Release
T3

Tier 2:
TOPS
Brownlee Lookouts
Midwest Stars

Tier 3:
Ohio Longhorns
Force Ohio
Premier
Diamond Boys

Tier 4:
Mashfactory
Canes
Spikes

Tier 5:
singular teams at various age groups
DHC
Click to expand...
Saw an 'impressive' display but one of the brownlee teams this summer when their coaches and I believe 4 fans were tossed for acting like jackarses.....all in a game where they were down by 10.

But I digress...
 
I umpired last year a team I believe were T3 Rua. 16 year olds. Great team and class act. Other than my 2 games I worked them I know nothing about them but they left a good impression
 
perfectgame23 said:
I was recently at a tryout and the head of the organization made a statement that they were the top organization in Ohio When pressed they struggled to provide concrete answers. What makes a program the best?
We like to go to tryouts to see how other programs are doing things. This always validates our choice to stay with DHC. Our family believes in Coach Tom. His instruction, knowledge and connections are as good as anyones around. I am eager to get others opinions.
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I umpire many of the teams on the "tier list" someone wrote. As an umpire, I will not speak to one team or another, but just some general advice from someone who has been around most of these teams and had zero vested interest in their abilities or organizations.

Tryouts are tryouts, never judge a team or coach by a tryout. You are trying out because they want your player, your money, or both. It is like a first date or job interview, everyone is on their best behavior.

You should go watch their games. Watch how the kids interact with one another, do they enjoy being together or are they always arguing? Can't tell you how many times I have been base umpire and listened to infielders b****ing at each other all game.

Watch how the coach interacts with his players. When I was coaching, I was a firm believer that games were for competing and practice was for learning, but you still have lots of teachable moments in a game. When a kid messes up, do they just get yelled at or do they receive instructive feedback, ideally during a conference or after the inning?

Is the coach calling 25 trick plays a game or relying on good fundamentals?

Are backups playing? At all? Only in blowouts? This is important if your child isn't a world beater...they would improve faster playing every game on a rec team than sitting the bench on a travel team.

I will not speak to a particular team being good or bad, because as an umpire I must be neutral and officiate the game the same way regardless of the team. But you will learn way more about a team watching them compete than going to a tryout.
 
WildcatBall123 said:
Tom, er I mean perfectgame23, DHC is not even the top 10. They are an afterthought. That is clearly evident in results, commitments, etc.

Tier 1:
Ohio Elite
Release
T3

Tier 2:
TOPS
Brownlee Lookouts
Midwest Stars

Tier 3:
Ohio Longhorns
Force Ohio
Premier
Diamond Boys

Tier 4:
Mashfactory
Canes
Spikes

Tier 5:
singular teams at various age groups
DHC
Click to expand...

No more Manchester A’s?
 
WildcatBall123 said:
Tom, er I mean perfectgame23, DHC is not even the top 10. They are an afterthought. That is clearly evident in results, commitments, etc.

Tier 1:
Ohio Elite
Release
T3

Tier 2:
TOPS
Brownlee Lookouts
Midwest Stars

Tier 3:
Ohio Longhorns
Force Ohio
Premier
Diamond Boys

Tier 4:
Mashfactory
Canes
Spikes

Tier 5:
singular teams at various age groups
DHC
Click to expand...
Where would you put IVL and Impact baseball on this tier list?
 
WildcatBall123 said:
Tom, er I mean perfectgame23, DHC is not even the top 10. They are an afterthought. That is clearly evident in results, commitments, etc.

Tier 1:
Ohio Elite
Release
T3

Tier 2:
TOPS
Brownlee Lookouts
Midwest Stars

Tier 3:
Ohio Longhorns
Force Ohio
Premier
Diamond Boys

Tier 4:
Mashfactory
Canes
Spikes

Tier 5:
singular teams at various age groups
DHC
Click to expand...
I know the Force team at the 16U level this yr is Tier 1. This all depends on age groups.
 
perfectgame23 said:
You sound jealous Comet
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far from it

just would like to point out that any open hs job that held respect you offered up a guy as a favorite that lacks respect in the baseball world

then put that guys summer program as best program in ne ohio

just laughable how much you think you know but truly dont know

but yes. jealous. keep swinging for the fences and striking out
 
BINGO!!!
Trueword gets it. Big difference between being a car salesmen and someone who can actually coach and develop players. They are in the talent acquisition business. Not the player development business.
 
trueword said:
WREAKED HAVOC you moron!!! If you can't spell even when the site corrects it for you please stop posting. DHC is awful and Release is a cash grab. No real coaching there just a collection of talent.
Click to expand...
reek
[rēk]

VERB
reeked (past tense) · reeked (past participle)
  1. smell strongly and unpleasantly; stink: much like your post
 
WildcatBall123 said:
BINGO!!!
Trueword gets it. Big difference between being a car salesmen and someone who can actually coach and develop players. They are in the talent acquisition business. Not the player development business.
Click to expand...
In a way every organization is in talent acquisition business, no? that's what the tryouts are for. I would imagine they are doing something to keep those acquired talent or to attract those talent. Which organizations are known for Player development?
 
trueword said:
WREAKED HAVOC you moron!!! If you can't spell even when the site corrects it for you please stop posting. DHC is awful and Release is a cash grab. No real coaching there just a collection of talent.
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release is cheaper than most other top travel teams out there
 
The one nut oilers premier elite black team usually has 12-15 commits a year. Great coaching lots of games and hot moms. Probably 1-A on above list
 
A lot of shade in here..... I Love it 🙃

I haven't really paid attention to travel baseball since 02-09 -- Is the Boys of Summer still around?? How about the Barberton Nomads??
 
It is very difficult to have a team at the highest level and develop players. No impossible but difficult. Here is why.
1. Geography. The top teams have players from all over the state/region.
2. Serious players that have talent often do a lot of personal training both physically and with a personal hitting/fielding/pitching coach
3. Money. The tournaments that some of these teams play in are 3 k to get in. The costs are high; travel, lodging, personal equipment. If I hire young talent to coach, to help develop players it is gonna cost money. The top teams do it, but having practice more than once a week in the off season is logistically difficult. Other sports take precedence, so practice is often with a skeleton team. We can develop those players that are there during these times. NOT everyone will be getting that benefit. During the season, you have to contend with injuries, overuse, and travel cost which are hurdles for development. It is much easier to develop kids who are from the same area or school system. So "Cash Grab" is often used for Release, OEB, Brownlees, etc. Its important that the team treasurer/accountant has everything transparent for the parents who are giving money.
 
WildcatBall123 said:
Tom, er I mean perfectgame23, DHC is not even the top 10. They are an afterthought. That is clearly evident in results, commitments, etc.

Tier 1:
Ohio Elite
Release
T3

Tier 2:
TOPS
Brownlee Lookouts
Midwest Stars

Tier 3:
Ohio Longhorns
Force Ohio
Premier
Diamond Boys

Tier 4:
Mashfactory
Canes
Spikes

Tier 5:
singular teams at various age groups
DHC
Click to expand...
Not a bad list.

For the last 10 years I've coached and been the manager of community/rec teams of various age groups (14U through 17U) who we place in big travel tournaments (Buckeye Elite, CABA World Series, Cincy Flames, Midwest Challenge, TeamSports, you name it) and have played just about every team on your list multiple times.

I have no agenda and no dog in this fight, but figured I'd chime in. Here are the adjustments I would make, based on the competition I've seen first-hand, and stories I've heard from our players who have gone on to play for some of them:

Move Midwest Stars down at least to Tier 3, maybe Tier 4. They have lots of teams, yes, but I've never seen any one of their teams be dominant or even above average compared to their peers.

Move Ohio Longhorns up to Tier 2. I have them in about the same category as Brownlee Lookouts. If there was a Tier 1B, I'd put Brownlee and Ohio Longhorns in there.

Add Lake Erie Warhawks to Tier 3. They used to be higher, IMO, but I think they, too. have suffered from getting too many teams and thus watered down.

Add Manchester A's somewhere around Tier 3 or Tier 4. They have good, underrated coaches, but for some reason they just don't attract the top level talent like the other big name programs, yet they still compete with them every year.

Add IVL to Tier 3 or Tier 4. Their players receive good coaching and development in-season and out-of-season. But given their location and access to lots of good ball players, I feel they underachieve slightly.

Add Boys of Summer to Tier 4 or Tier 5.
 
CometssFan88 said:
1st off your crazy if you think OEB NORTH is in the same conversation as Release

simply put. just like anything it’s cyclical. summer guys are wearing out their welcome, people are getting sick of programs, programs arent adapting, some programs are getting $$$ hungry,
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CometssFan88 said:
1st off your crazy if you think OEB NORTH is in the same conversation as Release

simply put. just like anything it’s cyclical. summer guys are wearing out their welcome, people are getting sick of programs, programs arent adapting, some programs are getting $$$ hungry, etc
Click to expand...
Ohio Elite is most certainly ahead of Release. North and South. It’s not even close. Sure Release may still be the new flashy thing but they don’t develop players. They steal already committed players. They don’t have the same coaching or training. And that’s not even close and it’s a fact.
 
CometssFan88 said:
agree with you and the main theme of this post and agree with the majority of ur posts in the thread. release doesnt develop at all.

not a buyer of what oeb is selling. can you expand on their training and development that makes them look ur top? looking from a competitive level i don’t see them do well in many big events
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My son graduated from college in 2019. Played for a mid-major here in Ohio. He played on some pretty good teams back in day (9u-16U)....though none of them were part of any "organization. A single team program from 9-12, another single team for 13 and 14 and a new team 15-16 due to a coach moving away. He played 17U for Ohio Elite. They were fantastic with getting him in front of coaches and making sure they followed thru with any contacts/questions they received about my son. He committed halfway thru his junior summer. I guess my question is this....do you want to "do well in big events" or do you want you son to develop as a player. Sure, my son could have gone to play in a big organization earlier, but for what? He had great coaching, played with over a dozen kids thru the years that ended up at D1's or D2's and got a nice scholarship himself. Sure he had trophies from some tourneys when he was 9-10, but none after that lol because how many 16 year olds want a plastic trophy or a cheap ring? I guess you need to consider what the "ultimate goal" is? Win events or get noticed by colleges (if that's the goal).
 
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