Travel ball

InsidePitch said:

Go play Baseball and move her to TB at late 12 or early 14U. The most talented MI's and hitters I've seen came out of baseball. Oh and it's not baseball that makes the difference, it's the demands put on baseball players that aren't put on 8-10 year old girls.

Click to expand...

With regards to MI, I would say that with baseball they probably get used to a faster game e.g. balls hit harder to them in youth baseball than in youth softball, not because the hitters are necessarily better
but because of the ball. When my 09 DD played a travel tournament a few weeks ago against good TB kids, she had a hard time adjusting at SS because she was used to getting slow dribblers most
of the time in Rec. We are currently looking into TB for that reason along with a few others.

The powers that be in Minnesota have determined 14U is the right age to start travel ball. 10U & 12U is all community rec. They don’t even allow 12U age players to move up to a 14U travel team. PGF and USSSA are virtually nonexistent so USA Softball gets to make all the rules. Community Rec teams don’t like losing girls to travel and that’s where USA gets their money so they get to make the rules.

As such most of our 14U teams are behind the curve compared to other states. As stupid as the rule is the girls who are committed catch up by 16U so I don’t know that it makes that much of a difference when you start as far as long term development goes. It can just be painful to watch and not to mention dangerous having girls who should be on 14U travel teams facing rec players.

DD started playing TB 1st yr 10U. It really wasn't on our radar. She was always one of the best players on her rec team and there were only one or two players who would play catch with her - "she throws too hard" was the common complaint from her teammates. She loved her rec coach and he loved her. He still comes and watches her play to this day.

One of my friends let me know her husband was putting together a TB team and they invited DD to tryouts. And the rest is history. She has played for him for 4 years - thru good, great and not so good, and has learned a ton...both about softball and about herself. Just be ready for people to start looking at you funny when every weekend your life is consumed with SB. They will think you are crazy - and you will think they live boring lives.

nixxy311 said:

I keep asking DD if she wants to do travel and I think she is scared she's not good enough or won't like the coaches. She's been with the same 3 coaches in rec since T-ball and she's comfortable with it. Right now our rec league is still pretty competitive in 12U so she's not bored yet. I feel like her All-Star team could probably beat at least some B TB teams. I really want her to move up by 14U but it's up to her. We do see a bit of a drop off in 14U in our league.
She's been asked to pick-up a few times but she's always been busy when asked so she hasn't really gotten to experience it yet.

Click to expand...

Fear of the unknown is a significant roadblock for a lot of kids (and adults!). The first TB team "tryout" (just a team practice, really) I took my DD to, she didn't want to get out of the car. She didn't know any of the players, or any of the coaches, and had never been on that field before. She was worried that she wouldn't be able to keep up - especially when we found out that it was a combined 10U/12U team. With much anxiousness, she stepped out on the field with the group to get warmed up. What she found out is that they did the same stretches she knew how to do. They threw and caught the ball the same way she knew how to do. They fielded ground balls and threw them to 1B the same way, too. In fact, she quickly realized that she was one of the better players on the field. It doesn't matter whether it's rec ball, travel ball, college, or PGF, it's all the same game, played the same way. it's just softball. When we went to try out with another team, she was a lot more comfortable and confident.

Initially DD was even afraid to try out for MS ball. Luckily it's all the same girls she's used to. Second year was easy since the coach loves her. If it had been a different coach, she may have been a little more scared.
For the past 2 years, she's always been in the top 2 at evals (DH is an AC so we get to see the numbers) so I think she could do well at TB.
There was actually a team that formed last season that was coached by her very first coach (who she had for 3-4 seasons) and 1/3 of the team were girls she had played with before. We had thought of trying out for them but we had already signed up for rec and the coach didn't think we'd be able to do that and MS and rec. We had already made a commitment to rec so didn't want to back out.

Agree with everyone else. It depends on the kid. My DD started playing travel her first year of 8U. She was playing rec and picked up for a 2nd year 8U team and was asked to play with them. She played both and absolutely loved travel ball because of the difference in skill level. She went from the #1 player at our park to being the #7-9 player on a travel team. It was a very good experience for her and it helped her abilities jump.

For her other than the competition level she enjoyed tourneys and hanging out at the ball park. She loved all stars the two years before because she got to hang out with her team all day at the park. For her the social aspect of being with her team was a big draw.

nixxy311 said:

Initially DD was even afraid to try out for MS ball. Luckily it's all the same girls she's used to. Second year was easy since the coach loves her. If it had been a different coach, she may have been a little more scared.
For the past 2 years, she's always been in the top 2 at evals (DH is an AC so we get to see the numbers) so I think she could do well at TB.
There was actually a team that formed last season that was coached by her very first coach (who she had for 3-4 seasons) and 1/3 of the team were girls she had played with before. We had thought of trying out for them but we had already signed up for rec and the coach didn't think we'd be able to do that and MS and rec. We had already made a commitment to rec so didn't want to back out.

Click to expand...

What’s this “commitment” thing of which you speak? You’re clearly not ready for travel ball.

nixxy311 said:

Initially DD was even afraid to try out for MS ball. Luckily it's all the same girls she's used to. Second year was easy since the coach loves her. If it had been a different coach, she may have been a little more scared.
For the past 2 years, she's always been in the top 2 at evals (DH is an AC so we get to see the numbers) so I think she could do well at TB.
There was actually a team that formed last season that was coached by her very first coach (who she had for 3-4 seasons) and 1/3 of the team were girls she had played with before. We had thought of trying out for them but we had already signed up for rec and the coach didn't think we'd be able to do that and MS and rec. We had already made a commitment to rec so didn't want to back out.

Click to expand...

If your DD is always at/near the top of the heap in her rec league, it's REALLY time to look for another place for another place to play...if skill development is a goal for her.

MS ball for us is pretty much rec league level. My DD got a chance to play with her school friends again, and she got to be the hero, which was fun for her. A few of the girls were former teammates from 8U and 10U rec who are still playing rec. The difference in skill level between the rec players and the the TB players is vivid. Other than being bigger and stronger, the rec girls really haven't improved their skills or mechanics very much in the last 2 years. Even the all-star girls. Playing with and against better players on a continuous basis - and getting higher-level coaching - is a HUGE difference-maker for development.

MNDad said:

What’s this “commitment” thing of which you speak? You’re clearly not ready for travel ball.

Click to expand...

Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!

Our MS league has 3 tiers and for the most part, most of the teams consist of TB players. Last season our team was one of the few without any TB players and we played in the middle tier. We held our own but didn't do great. So she's seen better players. Last season they went to the All-Star World Series where it felt more like TB so I think she does like tournaments at least. It is nice to not deal with run limits :/