Sometimes, thinking outside the box is the way to go.

More and more young athletes are willing to say goodbye to their home communities and families for months at a time in exchange for accelerating development in their sport of choice.

The Prospect League, which houses the Butler BlueSox, exists because of that concept. BlueSox catcher Chucky Vasquez and outfielder Allan Hooker are from Miami, Fla., and Houston, Texas, respectively.

Imagine the culture shock experience for them, staying with a host family in a small western Pennsylvania town.

Former Butler High baseball players Mick Fennell and Colin McKee are playing in similar collegiate leagues out of state this summer. Both are coming off stellar college seasons — Fennell hitting above .400 at California (Pa.), McKee leading the PSAC in earned run average for Mercyhurst.

Both previously played for the BlueSox.

At age 15, Mike Weber left Seneca Valley and Cranberry Township to play junior hockey for the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League. His goal was to become a professional hockey player and he figured Canadian juniors was the best path to travel.

Four years later, Weber became a second-round draft choice of the Buffalo Sabres and is now a young, veteran defenseman with the NHL club.

Center Township resident Jake Hildebrand hopes for similar fortunes. At age 16, he headed to Sioux City, Iowa, to play in the United States Hockey League.

This year, the goaltender was named Male Athlete of the Year at Michigan State University, where he has developed into one of college hockey’s top goalies.

Another goalie, Valencia resident Will King, has played for numerous junior teams in Canada the past few years. He recently signed to play pro hockey in Sweden.

Butler High School freshman Connor Ollio is spending his second consecutive summer in Orlando, playing summer baseball for the Central Florida Gators. Nick Patten surrendered his senior year at Butler High — where he was a stellar basketball and baseball player — to work on baseball all year while attending school at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Patten recently accepted a baseball scholarship to the University of Delaware.

Obviously, choices like these athletes made are not for everybody, nor do they work out for everyone who goes that route.

But these decisions were gutsy ones made by young athletes who are fully focused on their future goals and extremely confident in their abilities.

Nothing wrong with that.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle