In defense of HS ball

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Jul 25, 2015
148
0
Two different worlds for certain but the writer also erroneously attempted to claim that there are some things a kid cannot get from travel ball that they can/do get from school ball... The only thing I see they get from school ball that they do not also get from travel ball is the opportunity to wear their school colors...

IE when discussing how many pitchers / position players they get and the need to place players is very real but lets just say the ace pitcher and when not pitching starting SS for an upper level travel team is relegated to playing RF - exactly what is that player getting from school ball? The answer is nothing...

Also, the writer conveniently left out the local/parental politics that always seems to put at least one player and more often than not two or three players on the field ahead of other girls that are way better when you are playing HS ball... It is still "daddy ball" just the "daddy" has money and isn't coaching now... "Daddy ball" has pretty much disappeared by HS age when it comes to travel ball or at least the upper tier players are not having to put up with it...

Not downing HS ball but the author has an obvious bias toward school ball... DD#1 played and DD#2 is playing HS ball... It is what they wanted to do, so I am supporting it but HS ball in my area is nothing more than elevated rec ball maybe bordering on rec all-star ball... Pretty much the 18U "C" class that doesn't exist in travel ball...
 
May 16, 2016
1,024
113
Illinois
Came off as being biased to me. The author made it seem like tb was evil, with a bunch of whiny parents and players that like to contradict High School coaching. Whereas High School ball was all about the team and being a great student athlete. Personally I disagree.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
The key word throughout the article is "different", and I agree with that statement completely. I am an assistant coach for travel ball and for high school varsity/jv. They are VERY different... Just like anything else, there are a lot of variables involved with this. Personally I have experienced less drama, etc. in travel ball then I have in high school ball. Players seem much more "entitled" in high school ball. At least at our school. As far as the motivation for doing each, that varies too. DD and her best friend play both, and here are their reasons.

DD -- prefers travel ball because of the level of competition, travel, and other factors.
Best friend -- prefers high school ball because she likes to see her name in the newspaper.

Nothing wrong with either, but very different reasons.
 
Nov 18, 2013
2,255
113
I thought the author nailed it. Their list of complaints about school ball are almost word for word what we read here. "Relegated to RF" means getting nothing out of school ball? its those statements that prove authors point about TB parents thinking the world revolves around their DD's.
 
Jul 19, 2014
2,390
48
Madison, WI
There is something to be said for competing for your school, rather than your club or yourself.

I've done all of these for non-sports activities. Pluses and minuses.

The big advantage of a school team -- you are wearing the school colors, the newspapers notice if you do well, you compete with the people you go to class with.

DS enjoys being part of a college rowing team. He shares an apartment with teammates his year. They live together, get up early and go to 5 AM practices together, go to class together, study together, and compete for the same team.
 
Jun 27, 2011
5,089
0
North Carolina
The only thing I see they get from school ball that they do not also get from travel ball is the opportunity to wear their school colors...

If you play on a successful high school team, people outside of the team may actually care about it. Teachers, fellow students, alumni, not just your own, but other schools who might play you in big games. The media may take an interest. You're playing for something bigger than just those in the dugout and their parents.

My DD was on a 9th grade team that advanced 4 rounds to the state semifinals. Virtually everybody in that dugout would say those were the biggest softball games they ever played. The most fun, the most anticipated. Some might've lost sleep the night before being nervous, or afterward when they lost a close game that knocked them out. How often do you play a TB game where you do something that transcends your own team?

Unfortunately, not many high school situations are going to offer that opportunity. So by no means am I saying that HS ball is better overall. But HS ball definitely offers the potential, if you catch lightning in a bottle, to offer something meaningful that TB can't.
 
Nov 16, 2015
184
18
In my experiences the travel ball is where all the drama was, lots more entitlement, helicopter parents etc. School ball was much more of a team first aspect, travel was all about me, me, me.

Competition is definitely better in travel ball. My DD saw 6-8 pitchers in 14u tb that our high school varsity never saw

School spirit is a pretty cool things, something about wearing your school uniform. Our hs has a nice program and we draw nice size crowds for the games. There is just something about the atmosphere that we dont see in TB
 
Feb 15, 2016
273
18
I think the title implies that the author will be defending HS ball and that is what the article is about. There should be a slant to the article. The title is not "A Neutral Look At the Differences Between High School and Travel Ball." I think that the author makes many valid points. Travel ball is very "me" centered. Read the threads and a majority are about how to make your DD the best she can be, how she needs to have plenty of playing time, how she needs to be on a team that is a good "fit", etc... When a parent is paying a lot of money for their DD to play ball, it becomes very focused on your DD and how is this team helping your DD develop. Neither of my DD's necessarily wanted to play the positions that they played on their HS teams but both were the best options the coach had available in those spots. Both of my DD's learned a lot playing HS ball. Sometimes politics plays a role in school ball. Sometimes it does in travel ball as well. I have seen travel ball tryouts where returning girls get the nod over other girls at tryouts who appeared to be better. Can a coach probably defend those decisions? Sure... The HS coaches also run into the issue of what to do with those JRs and SRs who aren't very good. Do they play a better freshman on varsity or do they make the freshman play a year of JV? Depends on philosophy... I think philosophy is probably the biggest issue most travel ball folks have with HS ball. In travel ball if you don't like the coaching philosophy you don't join that team. In HS ball you can't do that.
 

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