10/16/2026
๐ญ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐:
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐. ๐๐๐๐๐
๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ผ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ & ๐๐๐๐๐๐พ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐
Having dedicated over three decades to coaching, managing, teaching, and nurturing young baseball talents, Iโve seen numerous transformations in youth sports. Regrettably, one of the most significant shifts has been the decline of loyalty, commitment, integrity, and respect among players, families, coaches, and organizations.
Every August, travel baseball organizations conduct tryouts, evaluate players, extend roster offers, and begin building their teams for the following season. Players and families accept those offers and make commitments. Based on those commitments, organizations make decisions that affect not only their rosters but also other young athletes who may have been turned away because those positions were filled.
๐ผ ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐!
What I find increasingly disappointing is the practice of other organizations, particularly newly formed programs or teams still trying to fill their rosters, contacting players who have already accepted positions with established organizations.
Let me be perfectly clear. Recruiting or poaching players who have already committed to another organization is a line that should not be crossed. END OF STORY.
There is an unwritten rule in travel baseball, and really in all organized youth sports, that you respect another organizationโs committed roster. You donโt go behind another coachโs back, contact families, make promises, and attempt to convince players to abandon commitments they have already made.
Unless, of course, YOU JUST DONโT CARE!
You donโt care about the organization that invested in that player. You donโt care about the coaches who spent countless hours developing that athlete. You donโt care about the teammates who were counting on that player. And you certainly donโt care about the skilled young athletes who were turned away because that roster position had already been accepted.
What does that say about the integrity and professionalism of an organization that needs to build or complete its roster by recruiting players who have already committed elsewhere?
And what message are we sending our young athletes? That their word means nothing? That a commitment only matters until someone comes along with a better sales pitch? That loyalty and accountability are no longer important?
I also encourage parents to be cautious when another organization, coach, or someone with college baseball connections contacts you and promises everything you want to hear.
Ask the difficult questions.
How many other families have been given those same promises? How many players have been recruited away from other organizations to build that roster? What exactly are they offering that your current organization hasnโt already provided? And most importantly, where is the proven history of player development that backs up those promises?
A college coaching title or connection doesn't automatically make someone a better developmental coach, nor does it guarantee a young athlete opportunities at the next level.
The Syracuse Jr. Chiefs have been developing baseball players for more than five decades. Our coaching staffs donโt simply promise development. We teach it, instruct it, train it, and deliver it. We invest in our players physically, mentally, emotionally, and fundamentally. We believe in preparing young athletes for the next level, both on and off the baseball field.
I fully understand that families have the right to make decisions they believe are best for their children. Players will change teams, and organizations will change rosters. That is part of travel baseball. But there is a right way and a wrong way to conduct business, and actively pursuing players after they have accepted roster positions with another organization is the wrong way.
To the newer organizations entering the travel baseball community, understand something: You do not build credibility by tearing apart another organizationโs roster. You build credibility by developing your own players, establishing your own standards, and earning the respect of the baseball community.
If you want to build a successful program, do it through your own tryouts, your own recruiting efforts with available players, your own coaching, and your own ability to develop athletes. Donโt build your organization on promises made to players who have already given their word elsewhere.
We preach accountability, discipline, teamwork, respect, and commitment to our players every day. How can we expect those young athletes to live by those standards if the adults and organizations running youth sports refuse to follow them?
๐๐๐๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.
This isnโt about one player, one family, or one particular organization. This is about a growing problem within travel baseball that needs to be addressed before we completely lose the values that youth sports are supposed to teach.
We will always wish every young athlete success, regardless of the uniform they wear. However, I will never agree with the practice of poaching committed players simply because another organization needs to fill its roster.
If we expect our players to respect the game, then the adults and organizations involved need to start respecting the game as well.
๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐๐!
๐ถ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐
Joe Scannell
General Manager, Syracuse Jr. Chiefs
Owner, Perfect Practice, LLC
