Converting to travel ball

[Coach-n-Dad]

Congratulations

 

[Amy in AZ.]

You're doing good. What positions are you going to play?

 

[Peace Love and Softball]

Thanks guys! I'm going to play mostly second and outfield, but I play anywhere except pitcher and catcher. I'm really excited but my mom is a little worried about all the traveling and expenses.

 

[twisted1]

Good job. Best of luck and keep us posted

 

[mudbug]

Thanks guys! I'm going to play mostly second and outfield, but I play anywhere except pitcher and catcher. I'm really excited but my mom is a little worried about all the traveling and expenses.

I was too at first when my daughter got started. I put it off for a few yrs because even though I knew she was a gifted athlete, I couldnt see paying what I thought it would cost. ( I dont spend money freely on frivolous things.) But, I figured thought we'd have to do it for a yr or two to give her the skills to make HS team when she got there.

Then, to my surprise, I learned that HS softball was really, really bad, all college recruiting centered on travel ball, and Id have to keep doing travel ball for 6 yrs!. At that point I kind of had real stress and second thoughts about the total amount of money that would be involved, it was not insignificant. We were talking many thousands of dollars in aggregate. I really couldnt fathom anyone spending that amount to play anything. That wasnt in my retirement planning!

Fortunately, (or unfortunately, im not sure which!) my daughter got picked up by a great organization, one that routinely produces national contender teams . She got great coaching, opportunity to compete at the highest level, and travel over much of the country.

After one season, we were hooked. It was extremely taxing though! The expense was way more than I ever would have thought it could have been! About 3X what I initially stressed over! The sheer # of practices and tournaments and weekends out of town really put a strain on us, we have other kids too that want lives of their own. But in the end, the fun, the camaraderie and friendships made were too strong to even consider not continueing, in spite of the high cost. So we learned to sacrifice a lot of other things, because it is something you find you really , really enjoy and really want to keep as part of your life. It just feels right. It is hard to describe any other way. Our teams/parents/siblings spend so much time together that they become a large extended family, it becomes very hard to leave that family.

This is why parents will still show up to see their daughters old teams/coaches play in tournaments sometimes, even when shes in college, or even out of college. Once it gets under your skin and you spend several years of life with it, its very hard to give up.

That is also why many "Daddy" coaches continue coaching after their own daughters have gone on to college. They cant fathom not having it as part of their life anymore. Eventually, they can turn into really good coaches when they have many yrs of experience.