Should I sign up to play travel ball this coming year?

softgabby · Sep 25, 2016

I was at our local park playing for my rec league team (we still have a few weeks yet in our season). I was sitting with one of my friends that plays on my high school team as another team had taken the field as I waited for our next game to start and waiting for my parents and sister to come back from concessions and going to the restroom. A coach representing a local travel ball team came up to me and my friend and started talking to me about coming and playing for his team next year. He was telling me as my parents were comimg back that he has a good team but that his team is short on catcher's and that his team ordinarily play their games the next county over from where I live (I live fairly close to the county line from the county which his team plays...so travel isn't an issue). He said his team plays in tournaments in not only PA but DE, MD, NJ and NY. He told me that I'm invited to sign up for his 18u team even though I'm not even 16 yet and to think about it as sign ups were in January. I'm a little leary signing up to a team whose coach just approaches and says about signing up. Is this a normal practice? Should I take him up on his offer and sign up for his team? How does the whole practice setup work for a spring, summer and fall travel team when high school softball is in March, April and May in PA?

maksoftball · Sep 25, 2016

If you have aspirations to: 1) play the next level and 2) play in college; then yes, you should tryout for travel ball so long as you AND your parents are 100% on board with the commitment and dedication that it takes to play at that level. Should you sign up for his team? Not yet, you should scout other teams...watch player interaction, coach interaction, attend a couple of practices, pick up with a couple of teams (to see if this is what you want), etc. I would be leery of signing up for an 18u team where coach is scouting Rec league games. Don't get me wrong. Not saying it's bad...just that at 18u he should be having players come to him. Anyway if I were you, I would find out where the next travel ball tournaments are. Go watch a few games...if any of the teams are in your area and you like what you see, talk to the coach about attending practices and ask when tryouts are.

Edited to add...your HS season is same as ours. We don't practice much during HS season...too many HS coaches frown on it. If we do practice, it's usually Sundays toward the end of HS season.

That's my two cents.

Good luck!!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

#7sDad · Sep 25, 2016

First thing I would say is talk to your parents. Ultimately, they need to be on board with the finances and commitment (it truly is a family commitment). Although you seem like a very independent young lady, your parents can help you research other organizations, have very frank conversations with potential coaches, and help you assess the best fit for you.
Also talk to other players on your HS team. Are any of them playing travel? Find out what they know about travel teams in the area.

good luck!

softgabby · Sep 25, 2016

maksoftball said:
If you have aspirations to: 1) play the next level and 2) play in college; then yes, you should tryout for travel ball so long as you AND your parents are 100% on board with the commitment and dedication that it takes to play at that level. Should you sign up for his team? Not yet, you should scout other teams...watch player interaction, coach interaction, attend a couple of practices, pick up with a couple of teams (to see if this is what you want), etc. I would be leery of signing up for an 18u team where coach is scouting Rec league games. Don't get me wrong. Not saying it's bad...just that at 18u he should be having players come to him. Anyway if I were you, I would find out where the next travel ball tournaments are. Go watch a few games...if any of the teams are in your area and you like what you see, talk to the coach about attending practices and ask when tryouts are.

Edited to add...your HS season is same as ours. We don't practice much during HS season...too many HS coaches frown on it. If we do practice, it's usually Sundays toward the end of HS season.

That's my two cents. Good luck!!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you for your reply maks. I would like to play at the next level and the college level. Which I know would make playing for a travel team a necessity. I have kinda sent up a flare with my parents stating that I'd like to play softball not just at the high school level but kinda to prepare for life outside of high school and to play at college. I've started talking to some of my friends and teammates on my high school team. Most of my high school team plays travel ball. They play mostly for a few teams in our area. I know this coach that approached my friend and I is a coach at a high school we play against during the high school season and quite a few of his girls are from his high school team. That's kinda what made me leary. It's that it's his girls. I don't know anyone that plays for him. For my parents, the time and money isn't that big of an issue as usually one or the other is at games and practices. Plus both work good jobs. But after I had posted this question, I had gone to our local park and decided to watch a softball game and take a little bp at our batting cages. And I was approached by my rec league coach whom playing for as a guest. She said to me that she's talked to some people and were possibly getting changed into a travel team. She said to me that I'd be her first choice to play catcher if I'd be interested in joining up with her and I'd be playing 16u this coming season. I'm not sure what I should do. What do you think?

I also seen you say we play the same season dates. Yeah, our season is just picking up in March. It's usually pretty cold here in March. April is usually fair and we have great weather in May just in time to start playing districts in mid May and finish by the time June rolls around for states.

Sparky Guy · Sep 25, 2016

Gabby,

I'd be really cautious for a couple of reasons with the coaches who've approached you.

The rec ball team that is transitioning into travel at 16U has the potential for disaster written all over it. You have coaches with no experience in the recruiting process or the world of full time travel. Many of the college coaches are looking at 16U players at this time. I'm sure the large showcase tournaments are usually filled early making hard for the unknown team/coach to try and enter. Most travel teams have their tryouts in early August and start practicing right after that. They will usually play multiple fall showcase tournaments. The summer schedule for the travel teams are usually starting to be put together in December. From your description it sounds really disorganized when compared to the normal travel level organizations.

The 18U team is not a good option for you as well for some of the reasons I listed above. The college coaches are looking at 16's harder. There are some smaller schools who will look at the 18U level.

My suggestion is to check the local message boards around you to see if someone is looking for a catcher from an established travel team. Many teams are. I think you'll have your eyes opened as to how much time, work and money is involved with playing at the next level. There's nothing anyone here can tell you to prepare you for playing 6+ games in a weekend several weekends in a row. You'll have to experience it for yourself.

As others have stated. Go watch some of the local travel teams play. See if you feel you can compete at that level. Then find an established 16U team who is looking for a catcher to join and learn from. As with anything there are risks. You may find the dream team that is run well and gets along. Hopefully you wont end up joining a dysfunctional team. Talk to as many of your HS teammates to gather as much information as you can. And you need to be sure your parents FULLY understand the time and money commitment full time travel encompasses. Team fees can be anywhere in the range of $1200 to $3500 depending the team travel plans. And that doesn't include the ancillary cost of hotels, gas, food and a gazillion other small things that cost money when you're playing out of town.

Good luck and be sure to do as much homework as possible on the teams near you.

InsidePitch · Sep 25, 2016

Skip the 16U in PA and find a good 18U team that has a history of getting kids in college programs. Good Luck.

maksoftball · Sep 26, 2016

softgabby said:
Thank you for your reply maks. I would like to play at the next level and the college level. Which I know would make playing for a travel team a necessity. I have kinda sent up a flare with my parents stating that I'd like to play softball not just at the high school level but kinda to prepare for life outside of high school and to play at college. I've started talking to some of my friends and teammates on my high school team. Most of my high school team plays travel ball. They play mostly for a few teams in our area. I know this coach that approached my friend and I is a coach at a high school we play against during the high school season and quite a few of his girls are from his high school team. That's kinda what made me leary. It's that it's his girls. I don't know anyone that plays for him. For my parents, the time and money isn't that big of an issue as usually one or the other is at games and practices. Plus both work good jobs. But after I had posted this question, I had gone to our local park and decided to watch a softball game and take a little bp at our batting cages. And I was approached by my rec league coach whom playing for as a guest. She said to me that she's talked to some people and were possibly getting changed into a travel team. She said to me that I'd be her first choice to play catcher if I'd be interested in joining up with her and I'd be playing 16u this coming season. I'm not sure what I should do. What do you think?

I also seen you say we play the same season dates. Yeah, our season is just picking up in March. It's usually pretty cold here in March. April is usually fair and we have great weather in May just in time to start playing districts in mid May and finish by the time June rolls around for states.

I would be leery of the rec ball coach starting a travel ball team for the same reasons Sparky Guy stated. You won't get to the next level with an inexperienced TB coach AND the coach will NOT have the connections to college coaches. Please heed our warnings about this, and do your homework on other teams in the area. Ask your HS teammates what teams they are on...talk, mingle, introduce. I'm willing to bet you already made a statement in HS ball, so any team would be lucky to have you. Good luck again and keep us posted on your journey.

JAD · Sep 26, 2016

If you want to play college softball playing TB is almost a must. If you do not want to play in college then you can stick with REC and HS and just enjoy the ride.

djcarter1966 · Sep 27, 2016

Definitely do your research and find a team that is a fit for your...sometimes the teams and areas matter alot...18U team could have a lot of committed girls who are just riding it out and the reason he needs you is he will probably have a roster of 16 to 18 hoping 12 can make in any particular weekend.

16U is usually the prime time especially if you want DI looks...my approach for right now would be really start asking around and start understanding what is out there and guest play for as many teams during fall ball as you can.

softgabby · Sep 27, 2016

Sparky Guy said:
Gabby,

I'd be really cautious for a couple of reasons with the coaches who've approached you.

The rec ball team that is transitioning into travel at 16U has the potential for disaster written all over it. You have coaches with no experience in the recruiting process or the world of full time travel. Many of the college coaches are looking at 16U players at this time. I'm sure the large showcase tournaments are usually filled early making hard for the unknown team/coach to try and enter. Most travel teams have their tryouts in early August and start practicing right after that. They will usually play multiple fall showcase tournaments. The summer schedule for the travel teams are usually starting to be put together in December. From your description it sounds really disorganized when compared to the normal travel level organizations.

The 18U team is not a good option for you as well for some of the reasons I listed above. The college coaches are looking at 16's harder. There are some smaller schools who will look at the 18U level.

My suggestion is to check the local message boards around you to see if someone is looking for a catcher from an established travel team. Many teams are. I think you'll have your eyes opened as to how much time, work and money is involved with playing at the next level. There's nothing anyone here can tell you to prepare you for playing 6+ games in a weekend several weekends in a row. You'll have to experience it for yourself.

As others have stated. Go watch some of the local travel teams play. See if you feel you can compete at that level. Then find an established 16U team who is looking for a catcher to join and learn from. As with anything there are risks. You may find the dream team that is run well and gets along. Hopefully you wont end up joining a dysfunctional team. Talk to as many of your HS teammates to gather as much information as you can. And you need to be sure your parents FULLY understand the time and money commitment full time travel encompasses. Team fees can be anywhere in the range of $1200 to $3500 depending the team travel plans. And that doesn't include the ancillary cost of hotels, gas, food and a gazillion other small things that cost money when you're playing out of town.

Good luck and be sure to do as much homework as possible on the teams near you.

Thank you for replying and your advice, sparkyguy.

I am a little leary of both coaches. I like my rec league coach that I'm guesting for. I think she's awesome and she's helped me develop further as a catcher and as a hitter. I'm not just saying that because she's also my private coach as well.

I haven't committed to anything yet. But I talked to a few of my teammates from my high school team and they are all telling me i need to check out their travel ball team. They have a local team. Most tournaments in PA, NJ, DE, MD, NY and the furthest...WV. Our pitcher was telling me that her sisters 16u team is in dire need of a catcher and a few of her friends that play on that team did agree (the pitcher I mainly catch in high school plays 18u and does really good). I was told to come to watch practice this Saturday and check out the team.

You said to check out some local message boards. I did, and found some other teams to check out. I found 4 more 16u teams in my area. One of which is close to me. The team's head coach...one of my closest friends dad's. His oldest daughter graduated last year, his son is a senior on the baseball team this year and is a really good pitcher and his daughter is a stellar 3rd baseman who is jumping to varsity this season. I talked to him about his team yesterday and he would like to have me on his team as well. He even said to me that he would like to have me play as a guest for his 16u team and fill in for a game or two for his struggling catcher. So it's not like I'm without options

Should I sign up to play travel ball this coming year?

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