Choosing rec or travel only after 10u
- Thread starter Softballmom2008
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I can only speak for the league I am in but I have only seen it happen with one coach, and that coach took his daughter and started a TB team after one season.
Do you really think it happens more than TB? I would think that by TB having far more skilled players and competition for positions, it would create more of an opportunity for daddy ball. In rec, a coaches kid is usually one of the better kids on the team (I say usually) so I would think it would happen less or it be harder to see it happening (unless he is pitching his kid every game, all game). I am by no means saying it doesn't happen, but maybe to a lesser degree.
I can only speak for a few leagues in our area where it happens.
Travel opens up much more options and travel coaches know it.
My DD has played travel for 6 years and we have never been on a team with Daddy ball.
In rec 3 years it happened each year.
Bigger communities often field multiple travel teams per age group. It's often an A team (the best players) and a B team. Sometimes the letters refer to the competition level they play.
Curious how your rec league can have only a few decent teams. We have evaluations for dozens of girls and then split them into teams with the same numbers of good/average/new players. Again, perhaps we benefit from being a larger community with more girls playing.
Exactly.
My 11 year old doesn't practice outside of team practices and loves softball for the comraderie, exercise and social aspects. And she's actually quite good. Rec is perfect for her.
My 9 year old loves the game, wants to practice daily, and wants high-level competition. She plays travel.
No way I'd want the older to play travel or the younger to play rec. For me they are completely different worlds. But both are wonderful, healthy and great for my girls. I'm amazingly grateful this sport exists and the leagues around me are so great. It's given my family a lot of joy and benefit.
- Jun 8, 2016
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In our rec league there were no evaluations. You either signed up as a whole team ahead a time or as an individual and were placed on a team (not even sure how they did that).
Not for us.
If a girl plays rec and travel, she'll miss about half her rec games. That's not all that fair to that team or that coach.
And yes, travel usually entails private lessons. We do hitting and pitching. And then need to work at home on each of those. So no way would rec fit in. Then you have the issue where a 9 or 10 year old would play 10U travel with an 11" ball and 35 feet to the plate, but would probably play 12U rec with a 12" ball and 40 feet to the plate. That could very easily mess with them as they bounce back and forth.
Yeah, it could certainly be made better by a one-day, quick evaluation. Everyone here knows how it is -- you can tell how well a girl plays softball just by how she walks up to the field. A few cuts, grounders and throws and you can very easily place them correctly.
- Jun 8, 2016
- 16,118
- 113
Agreed...that is what we did 30+ years ago in LL
- Oct 21, 2016
- 189
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When DD was 12 she stopped playing Rec because the schedule for both was just too much. Once she started playing travel she missed half the rec practices and games, which just wasn't fair to her team. She's 14 now and only plays travel, but she umps for the younger rec leagues. It keeps her involved locally and she earns some extra cash.
