Distance you travel to your travel team.

[ANNASDAD]

51.9 miles to our practice field, and 61.9 miles to our indoor facility. I must say, it's getting old!

 

[ang2bmd]

3hrs one way for the last 3 yrs. Some teams and some coaches are worth it. Wouldn't have it any other way right now.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[ELKAHOLIC]

Almost 2 hours for my DD's 16u team. It is not even a thought for us. It is a top team with the top recruitment.

 

[CMMom1740]

What team are you with, if you don't mind sharing?

We play in a ton of Atlanta tournaments and I'm just curious if I've seen your organization around the ballparks.


My 10U girl plays on the local community team. Commute is 8 minutes and it's awesome. She could probably make a better team but that's not the plan. We want to keep it fun, community-based, local for as long as we can. That of course could change but I love that we're a tight group of parents and girls who are on track to play together on the high school team.

We are Firecrackers Sims 16U (there is another Firecrackers team with a coach named Sims in 14U, but that is not us).

 

[FP26]

DD's first team practiced 30 minutes away from our home. Her second team was also 30 minutes from home, but in a different direction. When she turned 16 it was a big win for me. Instead of driving 30 minutes to get home and then 30 more minutes to get to practice. I could just drive 10 minutes to get from my office to the field. DD would drive herself.

When she was 14 she decided to try out for a higher level team. Seemed like a good fit and she was offered a spot. It was at that time that we were told the practice schedule. 3 times per week with 4 pm start times. With an 1:15 minute driver, that would have required either DW or myself leaving work early and DD being pulled out of school prior to her final class on practice days. We chose against that idea, even though we all really liked the team and the coach.

 

[WI Dad]

We drive about 1hr 45min as my daughter has gotten older the level/distance has increased.

 

[CFenton]

I guess since I asked I can answer as well. My DD is 8 on a 10U team because it is close and was originally going to be 1 tournament a month. That has turned into 2 or close to it anyway. They are a B team but The more I read here the more I am pretty sure we are a C team. This is their first year together and my DD is a completely different player from when they started practices 5-6 months ago. So all and all its been good for her.

My curiosity in this question stems from the point you or your DD feel like you have outgrown the team and what happens then. From what I have read, I guess you will know. Who knows maybe the team will grow together and be as competitive as they need to be to benefit all the players on the team.

 

[fuzzy2651]

If you feel you have outgrown or outgrowing the team, then start looking at who some of the more prominent teams are in your area. Make a list, find out when they are holding their tryouts and see if you your DD makes the team. I've been there and you'll be happy to see how your DD really grows when she's with girls who are more at her level and who are better than her.

 

[mudrunner]

My curiosity in this question stems from the point you or your DD feel like you have outgrown the team and what happens then. From what I have read, I guess you will know. Who knows maybe the team will grow together and be as competitive as they need to be to benefit all the players on the team.

We stayed pretty local through the second year of 12U. Honestly when we started playing select/travel ball in 10U we had no idea what we were getting into. She got asked to be on a local team and said yes. The next year the same thing happened but for a different team. About the second year of 12U DD was outgrowing the local teams a bit. Not because she was any better than the other girls, but her commitment to softball started being more than the rest of the team. The only way to get her on a team with more like minded athletes was to venture out a little bit farther. I should also say that anytime DD wanted to tryout or change teams it was her decision. We basically tell her any team within an hour from home that she wants to play for she can. I would go farther but it would have to be the right situation.

 

[denise_anngolf]

I guess since I asked I can answer as well. My DD is 8 on a 10U team because it is close and was originally going to be 1 tournament a month. That has turned into 2 or close to it anyway. They are a B team but The more I read here the more I am pretty sure we are a C team. This is their first year together and my DD is a completely different player from when they started practices 5-6 months ago. So all and all its been good for her.

My curiosity in this question stems from the point you or your DD feel like you have outgrown the team and what happens then. From what I have read, I guess you will know. Who knows maybe the team will grow together and be as competitive as they need to be to benefit all the players on the team.

You will definitely know when it is time to move on. My DD also started 10U as an 8 year old. After her third year of 10U, she knew she wanted to move to a more challenging team. After her first year of 12U on a different team, once again she knew she wanted a more challenging/competitive team. She is about as challenged as she can be right now. Our team has played close to 50 games since the fall. When the season is over, we will re-assess to see if she is happy playing at this level. So far she loves being surrounded by girls that love the game as much as she does. Good luck!