Pros and Cons of AAU baseball and Insights on playing both AAU and Little League

Congrats on the invite--you should be proud of the obvious work your son and, I guess you, have put into his development. The AAU team I coach is in the same boat, where we schedule our practices and tournaments around Little League. Hopefully, you and the team will be up front with intentions, as the AAU may expect a "full-time" commitment, either exclusive, or with AAU taking a priority over L.L.

For my experiences (I have a 11-U team), I have found a place for dual participation. Certainly, with AAU your son will be placed where he will most help the team, and maybe not his preferred position--so be prepared. You will find, though, that the competition level is better than even L.L. all-stars, and that your son must be at his best, physically and mentally, in order to earn (and keep) a position on AAU. The result is a much more prepared L.L. player. Two caveats: he may well be bored going from AAU to L.L.; and there will probably be a choice to be made come all-star time!

Good luck, and feel free to e-mail me if you have any other questions. JT