Joining Long Distance Travel Ball teams

[Chad504boy]

I guess i'll do a bad job of rambling seeking thoughts and opinions on the matter of when/why/what's too much in joining a travel ball organization that's say anywhere from 70-300 miles away from your home.

There's only 1 Class A team at the moment within i'd call my semi local distance and I have zero interest in joining that team.

The rest... pretty are different parts of state and from then, the elite teams are across state lines.

Then we have the difficulty of dd becoming a to be 8th grader and trying out for varsity. Then trying to join a Class A team that competes at more national level etc. High School ball really is not the avenue that gets the best or most exposure from a collegiate perspective.

Its very consuming to digest, plan, and execute these tryouts and contacts with teams so far away.

 

[Lance Steckler]

what state are you in now? State of Confusion doesn't count.

 

[Chad504boy]

Loueezeeanna

 

[GunnerShotgun]

I have coached a few players that have done this. During the tournament season we are all traveling to the "same" tournaments so where your team is based out of is less relevant. Figure out where the teams are playing and see if it fits.

For winter/off season training it can be a pain but when the players are older there is less concern from all parties. Softball is all about the individual work and you are getting your hitting/catching/pitching practice in anyways (away from the team).

So I would say age and tournament schedule are the determining factors here.

 

[BRsoftballDad]

I guess i'll do a bad job of rambling seeking thoughts and opinions on the matter of when/why/what's too much in joining a travel ball organization that's say anywhere from 70-300 miles away from your home.

There's only 1 Class A team at the moment within i'd call my semi local distance and I have zero interest in joining that team.

The rest... pretty are different parts of state and from then, the elite teams are across state lines.

Then we have the difficulty of dd becoming a to be 8th grader and trying out for varsity. Then trying to join a Class A team that competes at more national level etc. High School ball really is not the avenue that gets the best or most exposure from a collegiate perspective.

Its very consuming to digest, plan, and execute these tryouts and contacts with teams so far away.

I'm in your neck of the woods. I'm in the 225 whereas I see you are in the 504. My DD plays for a national level team based out of Brandon, MS. For the most part, we work on our own throughout the week. She has batting lessons each week and we do catching drills, long toss, grounders, etc at a little field near my house. In terms of high school ball, you are absolutely correct. Coaches are not looking at high school games for recruiting. We were on a local team that mainly stuck to the south Louisiana area when it came to tournaments. Once my DD started her first year of 14u, we decided to start getting serious on recruiting and therefore needed to be on a team that received more exposure. My DD has an eye on D1 schools or high academic D3's and we were not going to get too much of that around here.

But back to your question....being an 8th grader on a high school team can be challenging because she will not be able to play travel ball until high school season is over. Coaches know that and may have to use guest players in order to field a team on a given weekend.

In terms of A class teams, if you know the big names, check out their facebook pages to reach a coach or watch for tryout information. However, often times, if your DD is good enough, they will reach out to you. Attend a few practices, ask others about the team, do your homework, etc.

Shoot me a private message and we can discuss this some more. I just wanted to chime in as a fellow Louisianian.

 

[NJZoo]

My cousin's kid was living in Texas and playing on a team in Tennessee. The team didn't practice, everyone just met up for tournaments. Sounds crazy, but it happens.

We had the chance to join a team that practiced about 90 min away, and I thought that it would be something that we could deal with. We ended up going with a team 30 min away and I am glad that we made the choice. Between homework, taking 2 kids to practices, traveling for work, etc. even being only 30 min away is sometimes tough to manage. I couldn't imagine a 3 hour round trip commute for practices.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

We made a bad decision in going with an organization 105 miles from home after a not-so-good experience with a local team. The new organization was run by a thug, thief, and liar, so that part was awful, but the traveling to practices on weekends became way too much for us. Even the tournaments they joined were mostly in the NJ/Eastern PA area, so everything involved a hotel stay. The roundtrip for each Sunday practice was 210 miles, plus a ride through NYC, so I was happy to get away from that team.

I know a lot of older girls join teams and only do tournaments with them, but my daughter needs the work she gets from team practices to really excel at her game.

Whatever you choose, I hope it's the right choice for your and your family.

 

[LRH1969]

Really depends on the players commitment. My daughter (9th grade 14U) plays for her varsity high school team and when that is done, goes straight to winter training for her travel team. Two practices a week, 400 road miles, 6 hrs. roadtime, a tank of gas, and food every week, and I'm not including pitching lessons. For us its a big commitment, but for now it is working. This is a B level team that we are working with. Winter training from November to March, tournaments and league all summer and then back to school ball. It will wear and tear on the best of us. My daughter said the other night on the way to train she was ready for it to be done and get to playing. In the end its up to her, if she ends up not enjoying it, she can find another hobby. Another thought is...two years ago my daughter was gung ho on being on our state D1 college team and after visiting and participating in a clinic there decided it was too big for her...so things change.

Cost is significant and time is also.............

 

[Hawk_]

We had an offer from a a team that was 115 miles away, practice on our own through out the week and then drive down for weekend practices. We decided against it because my daughter wanted the "team" feel with her teammates and she would have been the outsider as everyone else was pretty close. We decided to go with an org and is based 4 miles from our house.....this week we have had 4 practices and hit on our own one night..... so worth it to stay close for us.

 

[Rick M]

I have a good friend whose son got recruited to a top five baseball program. He spent most of HS playing on a team based in Atlanta while he lived in NY. As others have said, he did all of his practice and training on his own and joined the team at tournaments around the country.

So it does happen, but in that case, you’re talking about a blue chip, stud pitcher who was 6’9” as a HS junior. I know of a few other stud softball pitchers who also play for teams far away.

The bottom line is, if your DD is an all-world sure bet player that is head and shoulders above anyone you’ve seen, playing for a faraway team is in your future if she wants to play at the highest level.

If your DD is not a unicorn, keep it close to home where she can play and develop and have some fun without spending every free minute on the road.


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