How do you afford it?

My daughter will be going into her 6th year of travel ball (Will be aging up to 16U). She was never the best player on any of her teams, but she could hold her own. She just started taking pitching lessons (never pitching before) last July and by March was the starting varsity pitcher for her small HS. By the end of her Freshman year she shut out the opposing team.

She has been on losing teams her whole travel experience. All of the teams were local teams or club teams that were based in one town or another, but not true "club" teams as money has always been an issue. The team she is currently on will probably not be fielding a 16U team this upcoming season, so once again I am searching for a new place for her to play. It's a shame because she really likes the girls she plays with.

I am noticing a lot of teams (some nationally recognized) that are posting tryouts. These teams have current & former college players coaching and seem to be well run organizations. But here is the rub. I do not think I can afford for her to play on one of these teams. Will she be stuck playing on mediocre teams the rest of her travel career because I do not make enough money? How do you finance such a large bill? I will add that she is not the best student, so college softball is not the ultimate goal, although it still is a goal. It seems that getting into college softball programs are the main focus of the club teams.

Any advise?

Tough question to answer. Each answer is a finger-print of the unique person answering it.

I will generalize.

There are those who can't and those who wont afford the TB-A world.

For those who truly "can't" I have seen some great organizations decide to have their teams mutual funds "assist" the talented and motivated true "can'ts" in getting the player through the financials. When this happens I regain faith in humanity.

Then there are the "wonts". These are the folks that choose not to sacrifice other parts of their lives (vacations/new cars/etc) and for them that is their choice. For these families this is their personal decision and that is something that the DD has to deal with in their more important belonging to their families.

Just like healthcare, playing TB-A is not a DD's god given "right".

What state are you in?

Some organizations do have scholarships, but of course, the monthly dues isn't the expensive part. I think that the travel and hotels are.

I have two jobs.

After that we find a team that is within our budget…fees, travel expenses, gear, time, etc. If one doesn’t exist, then we make do with year long rec teams.

Regardless of how each year has gone…both my kids love playing….desire to play and have always been comfortable with the teams they’ve played on; and currently play for

Trust me….I had to tell both my kids there are teams we can’t touch financially. I felt bad saying it, but that’s the reality of it and in the end I shouldn’t be ashamed….it’s who we are.

There are times we say no.

We usually buy our bats a year late.

I’ve cable tied their gloves to finish a season out.

We have a beat up charcoal grill that looks like a hand hammered wok.

Our kitchen floor is ½ plywood because ½ the vinyl tiles have peeled up.

The driver side window in my truck has been broken for almost a year!

Etc. Etc. Etc.

We all make choices…these are some I have made.

And I’m okay with it all if it helps provide opportunities for our kids....which it has.

If your kids are not striving and working for playing days in college…then the most important thing is that they are actually playing (regardless for who), and are enjoying the game.

Things could be worse....3/4 of our kitchen floor could be plywood, or both windows in the truck could be broken.

Travel Softball is not for everyone. It is very expensive. I had two go thru it, but my youngest was the talented one and played elite softball. We laughed about it because for years our vacation was a softball tourney in some state. Now that it is over, no regrets. Friends you make for life. I now go watch kids play and many come up to give me a hug and thank me for coaching or giving lessons. I get funny looks since I cheer kids on both teams. Both of my dd's would not trade the experience. My only mistake was getting an RV now , instead of back then. My wife hated the bathrooms and the RV would have made her happy.

Sounds as though the player described is not yet a dominant player, but getting better and better. She also may be in the right place for travel, staying local, and getting a bunch of pitching reps.

Big org travel is really expensive. But the key here is to be good enough to be on their #1 Gold 16 team, or #1 Gold 18 team. These players are going to college on scholarship the majority of the time. Even the #2 16 team, or #2 18 team may get scholarship offers. These teams get looked at plenty, and the good ones get offered.

Just be very, very careful if, in all reality, someones DD is not college material. By 16 years old, SOME interest should be seen. Maybe just an e-mail from a few small colleges (D2's) even generic in nature. That is how they start, just what looks like random e-mails to parents/players to look at their college, with no mention of softball.

The reason I bring this up is ... many Big Org. teams have #3 teams which serve little on no value to the player. The Big Org will pretend as those these players are "on the cusp" of getting recruited. But the cold hard reality is the lesser teams of Big Orgs are there to help pay the bills. Some big orgs will have tryouts and tell just about everyone they "made it" ... yeah. Well, maybe not yeah.

Always know your DD's skill level. Big orgs can and will take your money, and a bunch of it. And not really offer much. Though they practice a bunch and that is a plus. This is strictly my opinion.

My DD got recruited from local teams. Albeit in a high concentrated softball area in South Carolina.

For those who want to counter that Big Orgs, will offer assistance/money to players who are poor. What they really are saying is that they are taking the money made from a #3 team and giving that money to a #1 Gold player who is poor.

Find a team that has a successful record placing players with your daughters skill set. If her skills and academics could use some work, JUCO may be her best bet. The costs associated with getting placed into a JUCO are much less than a Big D1 via a top name team. Many JUCO's offer comprehensive financial assistance and may well fit into your budget. JUCO can often lead to bigger and better things. My DD is at a top JUCO program and after her performance last season has an official visit scheduled with a Big 10 team and another with an SEC team with a couple others in the works.

The truth is that if you cannot afford the costs of a top travel ball program you probably cannot afford to pay the difference after scholarships in the programs where they will try to place her. Every year I see players seeking scholarships at big name/high cost schools who unfortunately in the absence of a full package cannot afford to attend the school. It is a balancing act between desires, abilities, and financial resources and you have to be brutally honest as to what is realistic. Sit back and honestly assess where you are and where you want to go, make a realistic plan, and you will get there. There is a place for your daughter, you just need to find it.

There are at least 4 times (probably more, just trying to be conservative) more D2, D3, JUCO etc options combined than there are D1 options for college SB. And, unless you intend to play for a top 100 D1 SB program, you don't HAVE to play for a big-name, big-dollar TB org.

For those who aren't D1 prospects or have coaches knocking down their doors, IMO the best strategy is to ID your possible options based on academic qualifications and objectives first, evaluate the SB programs at those same schools, and then target and market yourself to those schools that offer the best overall matches.

SCDad said:

For those who want to counter that Big Orgs, will offer assistance/money to players who are poor. What they really are saying is that they are taking the money made from a #3 team and giving that money to a #1 Gold player who is poor.

Click to expand...

In the case I brought up this does NOT apply - it as from the direct teams pool of $.