Advice needed---DD beginning travel ball

I say go for it. There is nothing to loose by just going to the tryout. Get a feel for the team and make a decision from there.

If this team is putting every older player in college on scholarship I would find it hard to believe that they have trainers that are teaching poor mechanics in regards to pitching. My daughter started getting pitching lesson during her 7u year playing up on a 8u travel ball team. She was the best pitcher on that 8u travel ball team but it was not an elite organization. She got the most innings pitched on that team and that really helped with her progression as a pitcher. This year she is playing on a 10u travel ball team as an 8u player. She started out the year as the #2 pitcher, and she is now the #1. If you want your daughter to be a pitcher she will need to get innings. She is also the lead-off hitter for the 10u team. It sounds like your daughter has very good genes and is athletic. I am a firm believer if a girl is athletic and you practice more than the other girls they will become very good players.

This past weekend my daughter was asked to play in 3 pool play games with what would be considered an elite A organization in the Chicago area at the 10u level. Not the top team in the area but a very good team that puts about 75% of there players in college on scholarship at the older levels. She did not pitch and that was expected but she certainly held her own. Played 2nd base and center field and went 3 for 6 at the plate. It was a great experience and she really learned a lot playing with girls that are at or above of her level of play. The team was very well coached. One girl on her team even hit a over the fence home run, which is pretty uncommon at the 10u level on a 200' fence. The girls were very friendly as were the parents of all girls on the team, they really made my daughter feel comfortable. They also asked her to come their practice to meet the girls the Wednesday before the tournament.

If your daughter really likes to play put her on team with other girls that put in the extra work and like to play also. It will only make your daughter better to play with better players and competition. The rec leagues around here are terrible for a player that wants to succeed at the next level.

I took my daughter to a 10u tryout for the best team IMO in the midwest (Beverly Bandits) she did not make the team and she should not have made that team either being that she would have been a 8u player the following year but I wanted her to see how good some of the girls are at the 10u can be, I also wanted to see it for myself. When they asked at the tryout how many of the girls were pitchers about 75% of them raised there hand. Keep that in mind if you want your daughter to get significant circle time. You will be competing against the cream of the crop in the area. There were some girls at that tryout that were extremely good, then there were girls that were very good. Then there was girls like my daughter who is good but not that good yet.

If your daughter has the talent to make an elite team at a young age I say go for it and see what happens. Good luck to you and your daughter.

I found a couple of pics of DD (The Beast). They are a couple of years old but give a rough idea of her size. In these pics, she is 6 years old and catching. The batter was 8. This was from her first 8U Babe Ruth State Tournament. You can add about 6 inches to her height and 25lbs now.

I can remember at one time on this board when you would be bashed for even mentioning the possibility of an 8yo playing travel so things have definitely changed from reading all the replies. I personally say go for it and I hope it is everything your DD wants it to be.

A few years ago my family was in your shoes. DD had played a couple of seasons of rec ball and was starting her first year of 8U. She was well ahead of the other kids in the league but we did not want to consider TB for a couple of years. After our 2nd game of the season I got a phone call about 9PM on a Friday night from a guy at work and they needed a pick up player for a travel team his DD played on. A girl had gotten sick and they had a tourney the next day and he wanted to see if my DD could fill in. She always wanted to play more softball so she was excited to get the chance. That Saturday changed everything for us. She loved the fact she could throw the ball and someone catch it 99% of the time. She saw girls catch fly balls in the outfield regularly and she wanted to learn how to do that. She ended up playing great and the HC asked us if we would be interested in playing with them. I told him it would be up to my DD and she jumped at the chance. He told us to keep our commitment to our other team through the regular season and play/practice with his team when it didn't interfere. It was the best decision for her at the time as she blossomed. She went from being the number one player at the park to being the number 9 player on a travel team that was a year older than her. It was a challenge for her but she learned so much more being around girls that were a year older and better than her.

I wish you and your family the best of luck on your DD's journey. We are lucky things worked out the way they did for us because DD has been ahead of the curve because of it. While she was starting for our varsity as a 7th and 8th grader the last two years other girls that were very good players but didn't make the jump are still playing for the middle school. I hope your experience turns out as well as our has. My last piece of advice is enjoy it but don't take it to seriously. Even if it is travel and it is a big time organization the girls are still 8. They will make mistakes while they learn but they will also make tons of great memories and friendships from kids outside of their school and area.

Rambler34 said:

I can remember at one time on this board when you would be bashed for even mentioning the possibility of an 8yo playing travel so things have definitely changed from reading all the replies.

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My DD started travel in 8U. I remember seeing people saying negative things about travel at that age, but we really had no choice. She had outgrown rec. After doing summer All Stars we tried going back to rec and it was very sad. I think if we'd tried to put off travel til 10U or heaven forbid 12U, she probably wouldn't still be playing.

Ill be the harsh politically incorrect one and piss off a lot of people on this forum:
AHAHHHHHAAAHAHAHAHAHAAA! 8U elite travel... its laughable! save your 200 bucks/month and spend time with your kid 1:1 and keep it fun! is it about YOU or is it about HER? Travel Orgs are experts at stoking the parent ego to get them to shell out $200/month and chase trophies and qualifiers that benefit the "ORG" at the expense of the kids... whats the teams policy? they doing round robins and guaranteed play time or are they doing straight nine/dp-flex? Tell me how many 8 yr olds in a 15 team squad are going to last for very long if they are the bottom 8 on that squad that only plays top nine and dp/flexes? oh yea but they get to practice with the elite super coach that won 3 triple-crowns but cant do the math right to show you where the $200/month fees go...

let me guess next will be 6U elite TBALL teams... sorry Im of the opinion (and yes Im entitled to my opinion) that 95% of 8U travel teams are nothing but a joke intended to bring more money to the travel orgs and nothing else and are usually run by the pissed off dad that got kicked out of rec because he wanted to WIN instead of developing or growing 12 kids....

and yes if your kid is that 1% that is trully bored and is no longer challenged or growing in REC at 8U then yes it will make sense but you still need to ensure you find an org that CARES about growing the kid not just using their talent and then dumping them when they find someone better to use... there arent enough of the 1% out there to justify the number of travel teams

DD didn't play travel until she was 13, played rec LL baseball before that. When I watch 10u travel ball, I am impressed. The girls are out there playing ball. Crow hopping throws from the outfield, good base running. This younger age group will be taking DDs position when she is a senior in college, unless she works her butt off.

I say get your DD on a good team (dont be afraid to shop around) so she will not be left behind. I do worry about wear and tear on these younger players though. Even players like Miguel Cabrera will wear out their lead knee with 'perfect' mechanics. These problems can be worse for strong muscular players with growing bones and ligaments. Take a break and re-evaluate mechanics if you hear complaints of sore arms or joints.

Mocoso said:

Ill be the harsh politically incorrect one and piss off a lot of people on this forum:
AHAHHHHHAAAHAHAHAHAHAAA! 8U elite travel... its laughable! save your 200 bucks/month and spend time with your kid 1:1 and keep it fun! is it about YOU or is it about HER? Travel Orgs are experts at stoking the parent ego to get them to shell out $200/month and chase trophies and qualifiers that benefit the "ORG" at the expense of the kids... whats the teams policy? they doing round robins and guaranteed play time or are they doing straight nine/dp-flex? Tell me how many 8 yr olds in a 15 team squad are going to last for very long if they are the bottom 8 on that squad that only plays top nine and dp/flexes? oh yea but they get to practice with the elite super coach that won 3 triple-crowns but cant do the math right to show you where the $200/month fees go...

let me guess next will be 6U elite TBALL teams... sorry Im of the opinion (and yes Im entitled to my opinion) that 95% of 8U travel teams are nothing but a joke intended to bring more money to the travel orgs and nothing else and are usually run by the pissed off dad that got kicked out of rec because he wanted to WIN instead of developing or growing 12 kids....

and yes if your kid is that 1% that is trully bored and is no longer challenged or growing in REC at 8U then yes it will make sense but you still need to ensure you find an org that CARES about growing the kid not just using their talent and then dumping them when they find someone better to use... there arent enough of the 1% out there to justify the number of travel teams

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Thanks for the response. Re-read my original post please, and I may have worded it poorly, but I said 8U upto 18U Elite. I can't fathom the thought of a 8U elite team myself.

The team fees per season were very reasonable, actually quite a bit lower than most of the other less organized teams in my area.

I realize they are interested in my kid due to her size, but they have also seen her take infield and hit. She holds her own with 95% of any 8U players I have seen. I have seen a few that were better infielders, but she can typically keep up with most any 8U player.

I could care less about trophies, titles and $5 medals. For that matter, DD could care less about those trinkets, she wants to play and learn more advanced ball. Period. Our options are rather limited, this is proving to be the best option to develop skills that I can't teach her.

They are filling two 8U teams with 12 players. If 18 of those kids are better players, they deserve to play instead of my kid, in my opinion. I am tired of being down two runs and having to sub in a player just to ensure fair playing time (rec league). DD feels the same, she wants to play hard ball and doesn't want to be rotated in/out every 2-3 innings because it's "fair". How is it fair to the kid who worked all winter and has developed superior skills? It's not your turn? really? They have earned their position in my opinion, whether on the bench or in RF or in the circle.

Another factor, our local rec league has imploded.. Poor turnout, poor coaching, daddy ball, lack of experienced players, goofy rules and so on. We played tonight, reached the mercy rule in two innings, we won and watched the 12U girls play. Not how want to spend the next 10 summers.

DadCoach said:

Thanks for the response. Re-read my original post please, and I may have worded it poorly, but I said 8U upto 18U Elite. I can't fathom the thought of a 8U elite team myself.

The team fees per season were very reasonable, actually quite a bit lower than most of the other less organized teams in my area.

I realize they are interested in my kid due to her size, but they have also seen her take infield and hit. She holds her own with 95% of any 8U players I have seen. I have seen a few that were better infielders, but she can typically keep up with most any 8U player.

I could care less about trophies, titles and $5 medals. For that matter, DD could care less about those trinkets, she wants to play and learn more advanced ball. Period. Our options are rather limited, this is proving to be the best option to develop skills that I can't teach her.

They are filling two 8U teams with 12 players. If 18 of those kids are better players, they deserve to play instead of my kid, in my opinion. I am tired of being down two runs and having to sub in a player just to ensure fair playing time (rec league). DD feels the same, she wants to play hard ball and doesn't want to be rotated in/out every 2-3 innings because it's "fair". How is it fair to the kid who worked all winter and has developed superior skills? It's not your turn? really? They have earned their position in my opinion, whether on the bench or in RF or in the circle.

Another factor, our local rec league has imploded.. Poor turnout, poor coaching, daddy ball, lack of experienced players, goofy rules and so on. We played tonight, reached the mercy rule in two innings, we won and watched the 12U girls play. Not how want to spend the next 10 summers.

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Put your kid on the 8U travel team and have a blast!

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I have had the same situation with my daughter, shes now 12, 5'9' and 180lbs, and built square like her dad. Get a state ID for your daughter showing her age, you will be showing it alot!! And then ask the same of the coaches daughter questioning it, lol ;0. Enjoy the ride it will be fun!!! DD is now a starting pithcher (12yr old 7th grader) for her high school Varsity team as well, and the older girls treat her way better than the younger girls. A lot of hurt tails for the youngers and their parents, be ready as your daughter progresses

I think playing 8U travel (if she is eligible) and getting outside pitching lessons so she can she if she likes it sounds like a winning formula...would she catch in 8U the second most sought after position after P is C.

I will stress one thing you said she wants to put in the work...well the #1 she can do to ensure playing time is to learn PROPER hitting mechanics.
She is probably getting by a lot on size and strength right now but that will eventually level out even if it takes 16U/HS Varsity.

If we've said it once it's been said a million times if you can hit there is always a place for you...as far as pitching goes make 100% sure you read the pitching threads and if you hear the words Hello Elbow say Goodbye quickly (run don't walk) and find another PC.