At what point Travel ball? or are we already too late.?

[MightyMO]

You're not too late.

Find a C level team with a coach who is in it for the right reasons and you'll be set. The reason I say the part about the coach is, sadly, C ball is full of coaches who have a B level team but register C to trophy hunt. Find the coach that wants to develop the girls and will get your DD on the field.

 

[flogzilla]

11 is not too late, my DD was 11 when she started TB. Find her a good hitting coach now if you don't have the proper knowledge to teach her yourself! Hitting is going to be the one thing that will overwhelm her, seeing good 12U TB pitching and all she's ever seen is rec ball pitching!

Eric's post is spot on, focus on development and a coach who really knows how to teach and runs a great practice!

Totally agree.

Driving 2 hours for pitching.. Can accomplish hitting in an hour drive. 45 minutes is the best we are going to be able to do for travel ball. I feel like I can teach her hitting but she's 11... I will be much smarter in a few years than I am now. Lessons are probably her best option right now. Giving my golf membership up next year to help fund all of this.. just want her an her brother to have the opportunities that I didn't. What they do with that opportunity is up to them.

Have a potential tryout this weekend.. we will see what there mindset is, hopefully more concerned with developing people and players than chasing trophies. We'll see.

 

[ANNASDAD]

Totally agree.

Driving 2 hours for pitching.. Can accomplish hitting in an hour drive. 45 minutes is the best we are going to be able to do for travel ball. I feel like I can teach her hitting but she's 11... I will be much smarter in a few years than I am now. Lessons are probably her best option right now. Giving my golf membership up next year to help fund all of this.. just want her an her brother to have the opportunities that I didn't. What they do with that opportunity is up to them.

Have a potential tryout this weekend.. we will see what there mindset is, hopefully more concerned with developing people and players than chasing trophies. We'll see.

Great post! Good luck this weekend!

My standard talk with Anna when she was younger for tryouts, camps, etc was run, run, run, and then hustle! Someone will be watching at all times!

Look the coaches in the eyes, never look down, say yes sir and no sir, loudly! And don’t slump your shoulders or drop your head if you make a mistake, just do it again and do it right!

Tell her to look like she belongs there and make the coaches think she’s having a blast being there! And again hustle, never walk!

 

[Orange Socks]

My DD did join a true TB team until 8th grade. Although she played 5 summers of very competitive All Stars(sound funny doesn't it?), she was more developed than most of her teammates on her TB team. She is one of 3 girls from that team that is playing college ball this year. Sound like she needs lots of reps. I found many girls that jump from Rec directly into TB at young ages burn out the quickest. Slow roll it.

 

[Rick M]

Definitely not too late. One thing you really have going for you is reasonable expectations about your daughter's skillset. If you read around on DFP, you'll find a lot of lamenting about playing time (been guilty of this myself). But if you approach a travel coach with the idea that your daughter is behind and wants to get better by practicing with a better team, even if it means she won't play much to begin with, you'll probably find some receptive coaches. As long as your daughter is on board and ready to do the work, she'll progress quickly by being around coaches and other players who have been at it for a while.

 

[djcarter1966]

My DD did join a true TB team until 8th grade. Although she played 5 summers of very competitive All Stars(sound funny doesn't it?), she was more developed than most of her teammates on her TB team. She is one of 3 girls from that team that is playing college ball this year. Sound like she needs lots of reps. I found many girls that jump from Rec directly into TB at young ages burn out the quickest. Slow roll it.

Not funny at all...I've said it many times but I'd put my old All Star team against any travel ball team and not even think twice about it...we might lose but I promise we would not be embarrassed...granted they won city, district, placed in state and went to National so they weren't your typical All Star team but as I watched them all season I didn't think hey these are the best players on the planet either.

Hard thing here tough is it sounds like they are very rural which limits your options if you don't want to travel; but if after two years of rec if you can't slide coaches are doing you a disservice...it's stuff like this that just made me coach most of my sons and daughter teams....just couldn't stand watching people without a clue coach my kids.

 

[JumboJack]

I'll chime in. My DD is a junior and will turn 17 next month. She started playing organized SB (High School) as a freshman. Became starting varsity catcher as a sophomore. Played one season of Rec HS ball and this past summer joined an 18u TB team. Now, since she started playing as a freshman she has worked her butt off but IMHO it is never too late to atvleast try to play TB.

 

[wconn1979]

We joined Travel this year as a last yeah 12u. Its been tough and she has a lot of catching up to do. But it is possible and we do enjoy getting to see her play and have fun.

 

[Chris8]

Great post! Good luck this weekend!

My standard talk with Anna when she was younger for tryouts, camps, etc was run, run, run, and then hustle! Someone will be watching at all times!

Look the coaches in the eyes, never look down, say yes sir and no sir, loudly! And don’t slump your shoulders or drop your head if you make a mistake, just do it again and do it right!

Tell her to look like she belongs there and make the coaches think she’s having a blast being there! And again hustle, never walk!

ANNASDAD has got it right here.

With our DD we expect her to say thank you to EVERY coach and shake their hand at the end of a camp, tryout, lesson, etc. Saying THANK YOU is a lost art it seems. Being able to look an adult in the eye at 11, introduce yourself and shake a coaches hand is so cool and something most girls/boys don't do.

We chuckle with our DD now...she has hitting instructor who just smiles and said "You're going to shake my hand again...aren't you". DD replied "Yup, every time. I'm going to shake your hand and say thank you. You need to know I appreciate your time and investment in me"

Another suggestion....get to the front of the line. Be first in line...even if you mess up. And if you mess up...shake it off and ask the coach if you can get "another one". If they say "no" no big deal. But as a coach and others that I've worked with we generally love the attitude of a player who wants another shot and will shake off the last mistake.

Finally at 11 IS NOT TO LATE. Sounds like she'll work her tail off. Practice practice practice. Our DD tries to live by this quote. "Want to play, practice. Want to play more, practice more, want to win practice harder"

 

[Eric F]

I'll chime in. My DD is a junior and will turn 17 next month. She started playing organized SB (High School) as a freshman. Became starting varsity catcher as a sophomore. Played one season of Rec HS ball and this past summer joined an 18u TB team. Now, since she started playing as a freshman she has worked her butt off but IMHO it is never too late to atvleast try to play TB.

I would say she's a rare breed - especially in the talent-rich pool of So Cal. Props on her development and success.