20 years ago almost all college baseball players had played for their local legion team during the summers in high school. For those of you who don't know, American Legion Baseball has been around for almost 100 years and is essenitally an amatuer all-star team that is tied to the local American Legion Post. The tryout process is similar to aau baseball but will likely only include a few surrounding town instead of an entire county or sometimes an entire state.
AAU baseball has become a lot more popular in recent years. Hundreds of MLB baseball players today came from nationally recognized AAU programs such as East Cobb Baseball down in Atlanta. Instead of being run by a certain town or legion post, AAU teams are private baseball clubs that can draw players from anywhere they want. There are many successful AAU baseball programs that have players from all different parts of the country. This is a major difference when comparing legion baseball vs. aau baseball.
Benefits of Legion Baseball
1. If you're not as advanced, your legion team is probably easier to make
2. Shorter season with less games so if you're a multi-sport athlete this is sometimes preferred
3. Less travel so if you will be able to work or practice another sport if you have a summer job
4. Hometown team where you will likely know most of the players
Benefits of AAU Baseball
1. Longer season with more games equals more experience
2. More competitive team that draws from a bigger pool of players
3. Travel nationally and sometimes internationally to play best competition
4. Better chance of getting noticed by college baseball coaches because of talent level
For a long time all the best players played legion, but times have clearly changed. If you're still playing legion baseball, it's better than nothing, but if you're trying to elevate your game, play against the best competition and ultimately play at the college level, you should be playing AAU baseball.
By now you've probably realized that AAU is the preferred organization for youth baseball among players and college coaches. It is one of the best avenues for expsoure for players focused on getting noticed by college baseball coaches.
Sweet Spot Baseball has consistently been recognized as one of the best aau baseball programs in Boston. Check out the Sweet Spot Baseball home page for info on our AAU Baseball teams.
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