In our area, the second-year 14U (03) teams are dark right now. On another team in our org, one of the '03 players is an 8th-grader, but the rest of her team are 9th-graders. She is playing with us (14U '04s) until the HS season ends.
HS vs Travel conflicts
- Thread starter Cyder517
- Start date
Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch
Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.
In our area, the second-year 14U (03) teams are dark right now. On another team in our org, one of the '03 players is an 8th-grader, but the rest of her team are 9th-graders. She is playing with us (14U '04s) until the HS season ends.
I think I am right on rule but an hour and a half or 2 hours a day has always been enough for DD.
Wears her out.
Wears her out.
That is a conversation you need to have with the 2 respective coaches and come to an understanding before the start of the season.
This is still the rule. Can't play, practice, etc. on a non-school team during the school season.
You can attend a tryout, I believe, but it is supposed to just be a demonstration of your skills (the rule really does have odd wording like that) and not a team practice.
- Jul 14, 2017
- 181
- 28
I understand where you are coming from, but hard to have that conversation before the season starts as essentially, we’d be putting the cart before the horse.
We’ll make it work as much as we possibly can. She had a school game on the night her travel team practices. She went to her school game and then to practice. She was about a 1/2 hour late for practice, but I got her there.
Was just wondering how others handled it, if they were on a team that didn’t shut down during school season either.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
In my state they aren't allowed to play on a travel ball team during HS softball season - written in the state HS activities association rules.
A TB coach is off base if they take issue with a kid playing in a game vs being at a practice. Games should be a priority either way.
- Nov 29, 2009
- 2,975
- 83
What a lot of 14U teams do in Illinois is to combine the 8th grade players with the players from another 14U team until the freshman kids get back from HS. For most of them it's mid-May. For the kids who make varsity they end up going longer depending how far the HS teams make it in the post season.
Another phenomenon that's happening in the Chicagoland area are spring teams. They are made up of players who are not playing HS ball for whatever reason. They had 90 girls last spring. They divide them up into teams and play round robins every weekend along with some tournaments in states who play HS ball in the fall and summer.
Another phenomenon that's happening in the Chicagoland area are spring teams. They are made up of players who are not playing HS ball for whatever reason. They had 90 girls last spring. They divide them up into teams and play round robins every weekend along with some tournaments in states who play HS ball in the fall and summer.
There is no black and white answer to this. It is very situational.
For us it was school first and we communicated that from the start. Our school ball team was Iowa and travel was from South Dakota. Thus making June and first half of July quite challenging. My dd started as a freshman and that is where it became tough. We shut down travel completely during region play. It really wasnt fair to that team either even though we communicated it prior to joining the team a few years back. Our travel ball families were shocked we would skip travel for school. For us it was a no brainer.
The best pitcher in our conference chose the other way. She played travel and then played school when available and it was agreed upon between parents and coaches.
The community support for our school teams is awesome. It means a lot to our kids in all sports. Our coaches are great people that spend a ton of time developing our kids as people. They are opening the gym in December and practice doesnt start til May. They make sure softball if not the #1 priority for kids in other sports. Its a great environment. If this wasnt the case, then i would strongly consider travel and not school ball. Our TB coaches are better softball coaches and teach at a higher level, but our school coaches do much better at developing my dd for life after softball.
We actually left that travel organization this year because it wasnt fair to anyone involved. We joined an Iowa team that shuts down during the IA season. Its a better fit, but i sure do miss those travel ball coaches and that level of play.
For my dd, qualifying for the hs state tournament is her #1 goal. The region final loss was more heartbreaking than anything in travel that she will ever go through
For us it was school first and we communicated that from the start. Our school ball team was Iowa and travel was from South Dakota. Thus making June and first half of July quite challenging. My dd started as a freshman and that is where it became tough. We shut down travel completely during region play. It really wasnt fair to that team either even though we communicated it prior to joining the team a few years back. Our travel ball families were shocked we would skip travel for school. For us it was a no brainer.
The best pitcher in our conference chose the other way. She played travel and then played school when available and it was agreed upon between parents and coaches.
The community support for our school teams is awesome. It means a lot to our kids in all sports. Our coaches are great people that spend a ton of time developing our kids as people. They are opening the gym in December and practice doesnt start til May. They make sure softball if not the #1 priority for kids in other sports. Its a great environment. If this wasnt the case, then i would strongly consider travel and not school ball. Our TB coaches are better softball coaches and teach at a higher level, but our school coaches do much better at developing my dd for life after softball.
We actually left that travel organization this year because it wasnt fair to anyone involved. We joined an Iowa team that shuts down during the IA season. Its a better fit, but i sure do miss those travel ball coaches and that level of play.
For my dd, qualifying for the hs state tournament is her #1 goal. The region final loss was more heartbreaking than anything in travel that she will ever go through
We are not in a state that has rules as others are saying - though I suspect there are coaches who wish there were.
Last spring DD2 was oldest on 14U and starting freshman on HS team. We handle the same way - HS sport practice and games In Season are priority and we then do our best to get to travel practices. Winter workouts HS over travel. Key for us has been communication with travel coach. Travel uses TeamSnap and I always put in an availability note so Team families also know why DD2 isn’t at a travel practice or is leaving early/arriving late.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
