Bad year

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Jun 27, 2017
9
0
I can't stop thinking about what we should do next year.

My 13u daughter played her first full/real year of travel ball this year. On a 14b team.

They held practices once a week- all the way until May. Then they stopped for some reason (unhappy about that). !!! No practices after about mid May. At all.


But between May & July we played 7 tournaments (they actually mentioned 9 to us last year before tryouts though). We played 41 games total (went 22-19) and one scrimmage all year long. About 203 innings. The rain this year really messed up a lot of tournaments for us. Sometimes playing only 2 pool games instead of 4, and then only 1 hour games. whew- it was frustrating all season long to say the least.

We don't have school ball here until 9th grade (she'll play school ball this coming spring). But with so much travel ball (we thought) to look forward to this year- we messed up and skipped rec ball. We are used to a lot more softball. In years past, with rec and allstars and a travel tourn here or there- it would average at least another 100 innings or so. Plus practices a few times a week.

This year- it felt like she was never playing softball. Did anyone else feel that way after leaving rec?

Our local little league has some really bad people in charge and we really didn't want anything to do with it. But WOW- it was so much more softball.

The only difference next year will be that she will have a season of school ball (practice every day) leading up to travel season. So maybe only 200ish innings next year will be welcome? Is it enough as long as there is a school season too ?


It was a rough year for us for sure. The only bright spot was that out of 203 innings, she got 139 of them in the circle. That's probably pretty hard to beat. It just sours my feelings so badly for travel ball and for this team that I'm having trouble signing back up for another year. Her school friends all have a team too that is going to try to do 5 tournaments next year and they want to know if she'll come back and play with them instead and I know she'd prefer playing with her friends. But I'm sure it means even less softball. I really am having trouble deciding now- how much softball we will want to play next June. It's crazy and we're considering not committing to anyone yet. Has anyone ever done that? Not tried out. ? Not signed with anyone. ? Then figure out next year where to play. We really don't know what we want to do next year. It's bad.
 
Last edited:

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
This year- it felt like she was never playing softball. Did anyone else feel that way after leaving rec?

Nope. Not at all. It is normal for softball to be 3-5x the amount of softball when you go to travel.

You ended up on the wrong travel team, that is all

Now add in weather effecting some tourneys and you got a lot less time at the field than perhaps you thought. If they are a locally based travel team as you described, I don't know any that don't have at least 2x week scheduled practices and practices on off-weekends.

Also, just because your team is not practicing together, doesn't mean that your DD shouldn't be. It doesn't have to be team practices - my DD currently takes Tuesday off. Otherwise she is out there doing something - lessons, field work, tee work, gym work, etc. As your DD gets older you will start to see a lot of travel players play for teams in other cities and NEVER practice with their teams - just join them on tournament weekends. They do a HUGE amount of work on their own.

You now know all the local teams after a season in travel - it should not be hard to move one that is going to be more suited to your expectations now the season is over.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,133
113
Dallas, Texas
Your DD is 13YOA. It is time to let go of the steering wheel and let her decide what to do.

The weather sucked for softball in your area this year. Rain can mess up a rec season as well. I've been through a season where it rained almost every weekend. It is frustrating.

But, it happens.

If the weather is too much to handle, then either (1) move to Southern California or (2) have your DD play travel basketball.

This year- it felt like she was never playing softball. Did anyone else feel that way after leaving rec?

It seems that you believe that playing 100 innings of rec softball is more than playing 200 innings of TB softball.

But I'm sure it means even less softball. I really am having trouble deciding now- how much softball we will want to play next June.

You didn't play one inning of softball last year. And, you won't be playing an inning of softball in 2018. Your DD played 200+ innings of softball.

My point: This is your DD's decision, not yours.

It's crazy and we're considering not committing to anyone yet. Has anyone ever done that? Not tried out. ? Not signed with anyone. ?

It seems that you are complaining about your DD not playing enough softball. Yet, you are willing to let her miss the fall season and fall practices. This doesn't sound very logical.

Your DD can wait until next year to find a team...however, it probably will not be a good fit. Why? The coach has players has worked with other players over the winter and will be more committed to them than to your DD.
 
Last edited:
May 22, 2015
410
28
Illinois
The number of games and tournaments is something that should have been discussed at a parents meeting before last season started. Not just number of tournaments but league games, friendlies, scrimmages. That's a pretty important part of the decision making process for your DD. Does she want to play more? If so then I would look elsewhere. 7 tournaments over 3 months sounds about average over that time span, but ball season can last longer than that. 41 games seems pretty low for a 14U B team, but not much you can do about the weather. We had 2 tournaments rained out completely and 3 more that were shortened due to weather. That said we still played around 55-60 games as a 14U B team. Our practices did dwindle a bit as the summer schedule got a little busy in June and July. I know my DD would play every day if she could. She plays about 20 games in middle school ball, and guest plays about 10-15 games a year too so that adds up. I know as softball parents, when we have a week or weekend off it seems like we don't know what to do with ourselves lol. You get in the habit of practicing on certain days and playing on weekends, and it seems weird when that's not happening.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
This year- it felt like she was never playing softball. Did anyone else feel that way after leaving rec?

Pretty much the opposite for us. It feels like we are ALWAYS playing softball. Spring rec reason was 16 games. Our 12U TB team has done that in 2 weekends...many times. 90+ games played since January 1.
 
May 16, 2016
1,024
113
Illinois
The amount of tournaments played seems relatively normal. You can count on weather to cancel a tournament or two every year, it can be difficult to do a make up tournament in some situations when the whole schedule is planned months in advance. The stuff your team is missing out on is practices, seems odd for the practices to completely end once you get into the tournament season. A lot of the teams in this area play more scrimmages/friendlies during the week when there is not a tournament schedule for the following weekend.
 
Oct 27, 2015
182
16
I'm not quite on Sluggers line of thinking. 13 yo is not old enough to let her make all the decisions. Give a little more freedom each year until their 17 seems like solid parenting to me.

We had a crapy year of rain this year as well and played half as much ball as normal. However for your daughter's team to have no practice after Mid May seems strange to me especially after only one practice a week leading into it.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
All TB teams are not created equal. Ask a lot of questions before you choose a team and look for a coaching staff that has clearly defined goals, expectations and a plan to execute stated goals. Some teams play to win, some are developments, some are just for fun. It has also been my experience that the number of practices tend to decrease as the players get older. We practiced a lot more at 10U/12U/14U than we did at 16U/18U.
 

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