Ponte Vedra Baseball (college, to live in, club)

[famrelo]

Does anyone know how to get a response from the people at PV Baseball? We are moving there in 2 weeks and have been trying to get information on registration, etc. for the past 6 weeks. The website is bare bones and no one answers e-mails - the only form on communication listed on the site. Quite stressful and frustrating as my 10 year old is leaving his travel team here in Minneapolis.

[Lisa259]

The travel team here is Ponte Vedra Thunder. You can go to www.pvaabaseball.com to register. The spring season is ending now. The summer season consists of the All Stars. Then fall registration will begin. I don't know exactly when though. You can sign up for travel team tryouts under their registration link - but only once registration is open. Their email is pontevedrabaseball@gmail.com. I know - probably not much help. Sorry.
Good luck with your move!!

[trchala]

Contact Chris "Kritter" Keller. He coaches a 10u Ponte Vedra Thunder team. I believe that you can reach him at this email address, craigetheredge@me.com. I believe that the guy who heads it up is Eric Aleman, but I'd have to search for his contact info. It might be worth contacting Kritter even for this season. If your kid is a stud, and they have an opening due to an injured player . . . you never know.

Fwiw, my son plays on one of the Thunder travel teams and the experience has been mixed. Like any team, it depends on the coaches as well as skill level and team chemistry of the players. That said, I've heard that the 10u team is quite competitive.

My son's team's season ends at the end of June, which I understand is pretty typical ("spring" season games start in January). They don't have summer ball teams per as far as I know. Practices for fall ball start in early August so there's really only 4-6 weeks between playing seasons. Tryouts for fall ball are in July. For my son, playing spring and summer ball is about a 10 month experience - sometimes a bit more with optional practices and scrimmages.

You might also consider Creek Baseball Club (CBC). They've been around longer and generally field higher caliber teams than PV Thunder, though their practice fields are a much longer drive if you're going to live in PVB. There are also teams in south Jax and Jax Beach that might fit the bill as well. If your son is a very solid player, you might have him tryout with a few teams and find the one that fits best for you.

This link provides contact info etc for 10u travel baseball in the Jax and surround areas, http://www.creeksbaseballclub.com/tf...elect10_14.php. Good luck.

[snuffybear]

Let us know if you have any luck. I'm having same issue with soccer.

Good luck with the move!

[Acebab]

Snuffybear - the person that you would want to contact in regards to Ponte Vedra Storm is Kevin Aylett. His email is kaylett@globalpremiersoccer.com. Tryouts for Storm soccer are the May 27th-June 3rd. He is typically quite responsive to his email. I believe that you are looking exclusively to live in PVB if I remember correctly. This club would be the most convenient, however, depending upon what you are looking for, you might also want to look into JFC soccer program. I believe it is considered "the best" in town currently. They practice off of Hodges Blvd at Patton Park. Their tryouts are the same week as the Storm. PVB kids tend to be split between these two clubs.

[snuffybear]

Thank you Acebab! Sent you a direct msg also.

[famrelo]

Thank you for the contact Trchala - I will reach out to Craig. At this point I just want him to get on any team - it doesn't even have to be travel. He's very worried about having nothing to do this summer

We've had the same experience here with respect to coaches, player mix, etc - I think it's par for the course but we have learned which coaches to try to avoid here! Are coach's paid or parent volunteer? I was shocked to learn they still use parent volunteers for the travel teams here in Minneapolis.

Snuffybear, I'm also waiting to hear back from the soccer folks re. the rec league for my 2 younger daughters - will let you know if I have any success there. Stay in touch!

[snuffybear]

I will famrelo - let's keep in touch - moving hard with this stuff. Same thing for my son - he just wants to play and I'd like to get this before we move or he will be very upset about moving. He's on 2 great teams here (travel soccer and travel baseball)...that is the one thing that makes it hard to move...but outweighed by other things.

I do see on PV Storm website some new info (today) about fall Rec soccer.

[trchala]

Originally Posted by famrelo

Thank you for the contact Trchala - I will reach out to Craig. At this point I just want him to get on any team - it doesn't even have to be travel. He's very worried about having nothing to do this summer

We've had the same experience here with respect to coaches, player mix, etc - I think it's par for the course but we have learned which coaches to try to avoid here! Are coach's paid or parent volunteer? I was shocked to learn they still use parent volunteers for the travel teams here in Minneapolis.

PV Thunder travel ball uses paid coaches. Most had experience playing college ball, a couple are former minor leaguers. I believe that advanced baseball (basically, glorified rec ball) uses volunteer dads.

My earlier post probably wasn't clear as I mistakenly wrote "summer". There is no summer ball per se, just spring and fall. If your son is good, and especially if he can pitch well, they might have a roster spot on the 10u travel team as I think that advanced baseball is winding down soon.

Part of the issue with PVAA Thunder is that it's relatively new. Therefore, there are teething pains and that some talent that had been in Ponte Vedra, started with other organizations such as CBC and have remained there since. IMHO, this is why some of the younger teams are more competitive than their older counterparts. And just like any youth travel sports organizations anywhere, there is plenty of local politics and occasional drama.

All the above and my earlier post is just my opinion based on observation. Others - particularly those with an inside track - might chime in with differing views.

[snuffybear]

trchala, any comments on the youth sports climate in general in Ponte Vedra? Are parents generally appropriate/supportive and not overly competitive? I do like the professional coaching aspect. Thanks! (feel free to direct mail also)