Q & A with Coach Andy:

Here are some of the questions I have received from parents and players over the years and the answers to them. If you have a question, please feel free to email me at: fvroyals@comcast.net

Coach Andy Bisceglia - Fox Valley Royals President

1) Q - What makes the Fox Valley Royals program different from other travel baseball programs?

A - There are some other good travel baseball programs out there that all serve a purpose. We do not claim we have all the answers and nor should anyone else. We believe in player development more than anything else, however that development goes deeper than just skills. We feel there is something much more important than what kind of player one becomes and that's what kind of person one becomes. We believe our program not only develops fine young baseball players but more so helps develop fine young men. This is the foundation of our success. Our motto is "Make a Difference" in a positive way not only on the field but off the field. This is how we feel we are truly different. We tell our players that 30 years from now you will not be measured on how many baseball games you won but more so on the kind of man you have become.


2) Q - Some programs call themselves a National program, what does that mean?

A - I'm not really sure. I guess any program that does any traveling out of state could be considered a National program. I really don't think there is any such thing as a National program.

 

3) Q - Can you guarantee my son receives a college scholarship for baseball?

A - NO!  No one can and if they do you should run from that program fast! If you are in our program we do our very best to put our players in good exposure opportunities in front of college coaches. However we cannot and will not guarantee we can get any player into a specific school or get him a college scholarship. Simply put we cannot (nor can anyone else) make a college coach like a player. Making a coach like a player is strictly up to the player himself. We only guarantee two things in our program, and that's honesty & hard work.

 

4) Q - What do you think of the various travel ball website & the promotions of players on them?

A - There are many fine websites out there and its good to promote but not over sell players. Its nice for a player and or parent to see the players name on the website promoting them but really who is the one deciding a particular player is the best for his age level at a certain position is the state or country? Or who the best teams are? Websites that over sell players really hold no weight and college coaches & pro scouts pay no attention to them. In short don't be sold by hype and over selling.

 

5) Q - Why do you think some travel team really hype up there players?

A - To sell there program to you! They are not confident their program will sell itself so they use over promotion to solicit players & parents.

 

6) Q - Do have parental coaches?

A - NO! All of our coaches are non-parents with either college or professional experience.

 

7) Q - What do you think of all the recruiting of players that many of the travel programs do and does the Royals program recruit players?

A - The recruiting of players is very common and is something many other travel programs do. Of course its each programs choice on how they get players involved in their program but the Royals program does NOT recruit players, period. We may market our tryouts with our website, mailings and newspaper ads but we DO NOT recruit players in anyway. We want players & parents to see the value of our program and not have to contact or oversell them to get involved. We feel if the program is of high quality then why would they have to recruit any players? That's probably because they are not confident their program is everything they think it is and they must oversell their program to players they are recruiting. Let the players and parents make the choice on what program they want to be involved with on their own. If someone seems like they are overselling or making allot of promises your should really think twice before joining that program.

8) Q - Are travel baseball programs a business?

A - Some are more so than than others. If you pay a fee and ANY of the coaches get paid then there are of course business aspects to running any travel baseball program. Be on the lookout for a program that nickel & dimes you to death. Some programs tell you an initial cost and then after you've paid or the season starts they tell you that there are now additional costs. Get a total fee before you pay a dime.