Is Travel Ball the best way?

[_MIA_]

That’s what Lotti does for a living coach softball. I was told by former UConn pitching coach that they are a feeder program for UConn.

I am glad NE teams are getting in on the National scene. Travel baseball hadn't really started when I played but I would have loved to have the opportunity to play against warm weather players when I was playing. The first time I played anybody South of NY/NJ was when we traveled down South in college. Not sure my parents would have loved the price however

 

[MadBandit22]

I am glad NE teams are getting in on the National scene. Travel baseball hadn't really started when I played but I would have loved to have the opportunity to play against warm weather players when I was playing. The first time I played anybody South of NY/NJ was when we traveled down South in college. Not sure my parents would have loved the price however

I hear you. Wasn’t an option in my playing days either. It was school ball and Legion in the Summer if you were so inclined.
If you check out local D-1 college rosters some local kids but also girls from Cali, Fl, TX, and MN seems to be a softball hotbed lately.

 

[_MIA_]

I hear you. Wasn’t an option in my playing days either. It was school ball and Legion in the Summer if you were so inclined.
If you check out local D-1 college rosters some local kids but also girls from Cali, Fl, TX, and MN seems to be a softball hotbed lately.

Same here. My legion team did a fair amount of traveling but it was all in the New England/NY/NJ area and we didn't make it out of the State in the Legion playoffs.

 

[marriard]

To all the parents that have been through the TB scene and those going through it now a few questions for you:
Is playing TB the best way to get daughter recruited?

Yes, the entire travel ball experience overall is the best way right now to get recruited. Certainly if you want to play for a decent program. College Coaches make whining noises about it - but the reality is the system has adjusted to THEM and is what it is because of THEM- not the other way around.

Is a better option getting private hitting/pitching lessons and going to camps/clinics of schools that she is interested in attending?

Honestly, this is not separate from travel ball. This is part of it. The lesson develop the skills, which you use in games, which get you noticed, which get you specific looks at camps, etc, etc. Many camps are followed by a showcase right after so they can see you play with your team after they saw you at the camp.

Is High School and private lessons enough? Do we really have to sacrifice most Summer weekends traveling all over the Northeast for game experience?

Not unless you the elitist of elite athletes. High school is ~25 games and only 10% of HS teams are any good. Which also means that even if you are lucky enough to be on a good high school team, about 50% of the games will be 20-0. And it is REALLY rare to get a college coach to a game - and even rarer to come see someone they haven't seen in travel and are actively recruiting. Most HS seasons are on a the same time as the HS season - so they don't have time even if they wanted to.

What you can do is pick the team that best suits your DD's goals. You can stay in state if that is best for her. Or go nationalwide if that is the dream.

-- typical 14U player status deleted --
Asked me recently if she was going to tryout for a National 14U team this Summer/Fall. It’s only 10K and they travel all over the country. I believe she could make the team at 2nd or OF. Just question her level of dedication.

First - that is typical for 14U - they are going to make their own decisions where they really want to take their game and they become more and more independent. How much they want to dedicate their time to softball over other activities and so on. Sometimes letting them figure it out themselves is not a bad way to go. When mine hit high school, it changed her mindset to wanting to play in college. Others went the other way - and there is no right or wrong in that.

Secondly - $10K? Does that include travel and hotel and meals? Because that is insane if it doesn't. I am not saying I don't see this often - because I do - but I can tell you $10k for just org and tournament fees & uniforms is excessive.

For reference, DD plays for a national org on one of their better teams and we travel and across most of the country for $2,500-$,3000/year in org fees (fields/tourney fees/uniforms). That doesn't include travel expenses though and we do have a few fundraising efforts that bring is some good money.

 

[MadBandit22]

Yes, the entire travel ball experience overall is the best way right now to get recruited. Certainly if you want to play for a decent program. College Coaches make whining noises about it - but the reality is the system has adjusted to THEM and is what it is because of THEM- not the other way around.


Honestly, this is not separate from travel ball. This is part of it. The lesson develop the skills, which you use in games, which get you noticed, which get you specific looks at camps, etc, etc. Many camps are followed by a showcase right after so they can see you play with your team after they saw you at the camp.



Not unless you the elitist of elite athletes. High school is ~25 games and only 10% of HS teams are any good. Which also means that even if you are lucky enough to be on a good high school team, about 50% of the games will be 20-0. And it is REALLY rare to get a college coach to a game - and even rarer to come see someone they haven't seen in travel and are actively recruiting. Most HS seasons are on a the same time as the HS season - so they don't have time even if they wanted to.

What you can do is pick the team that best suits your DD's goals. You can stay in state if that is best for her. Or go nationalwide if that is the dream.



First - that is typical for 14U - they are going to make their own decisions where they really want to take their game and they become more and more independent. How much they want to dedicate their time to softball over other activities and so on. Sometimes letting them figure it out themselves is not a bad way to go. When mine hit high school, it changed her mindset to wanting to play in college. Others went the other way - and there is no right or wrong in that.

Secondly - $10K? Does that include travel and hotel and meals? Because that is insane if it doesn't. I am not saying I don't see this often - because I do - but I can tell you $10k for just org and tournament fees & uniforms is excessive.

For reference, DD plays for a national org on one of their better teams and we travel and across most of the country for $2,500-$,3000/year in org fees (fields/tourney fees/uniforms). That doesn't include travel expenses though and we do have a few fundraising efforts that bring is some good money.

It does not include travel expenses. That was the # the Coach threw out there after the initial tryout. It did scare away several parents including myself.
It’s how the coach makes his living it’s his full time job. Having said that they lowered tuition for all other teams from $1450 to $1200 and no longer have the girls do fundraising.

 

[marriard]

I hear you. Wasn’t an option in my playing days either. It was school ball and Legion in the Summer if you were so inclined.
If you check out local D-1 college rosters some local kids but also girls from Cali, Fl, TX, and MN seems to be a softball hotbed lately.

RI Thunder are an excellent org and I know Dave Lotti well enough. The org is top heavy like most orgs - when we have come up there to play we beat up on the weaker Thunder teams - but his top couple of teams are tough nuts to crack. New England's Finest is as good a recruiting event for teams as you will find. There are some other solid orgs in the NE I like and respect as well - one I really hate (out of NJ) and quite a few who say 'national' but no one outside the NE has heard of them much.

About the NorthEast - and your area - you have a LOT of colleges. A REAL LOT. Like can't spit and not hit three colleges.

Florida talent (and TX, GA, Cali, etc, etc) - like my DD btw - often ends up in the NE because there is not enough colleges and softball teams locally for all the local talent. So they start looking outside the state. We were in CT this weekend for a showcase and guested on a rather weak team comapred to her normal team - we went 4-1 and probably should have won all 5. Coaches were at all the game watching the 'Florida' girl and other players like her at the event. Helped her teammates get noticed as well - but the intensity and level of play was overall 'poor' in what was a 18U Gold division.

On the other hand most of the girls at the CT event will play in college because there are just SO MANY colleges needing players in the region.

 

[Tango]

Biggest thing with high TB competition is competition. DD is in her last 12U tournament as we speak. She played her first tournament this year local and struck out 17 out of 21 batters she faced. The next weekend we played in a big tournament and she went 0-2 on the first two batters and then they hit line drives. She immediately adjusted and pitched very well but only struck out one the entire tournament. Still learning how to pitch with two strikes but is getting better.

 

[Rick M]

Just a note on the cost here in the Northeast --

The weather necessitates indoor facilities for at least five months a year, and the cost of getting into someplace decent can be pretty high. Indoor tournaments during the winter and early spring are also ridiculously expensive. If you're looking to push your players and play against the best teams, that means traveling to warmer climes. Even if families are responsible for their own costs, the big orgs have one or two paid coaches who need to have their expenses covered and be compensated for spending weekends on the road. It adds up.

$10K is definitely on the high end of what I've heard, but $5K - $8K is fairly common at 14U and up.

 

[MadBandit22]

RI Thunder are an excellent org and I know Dave Lotti well enough. The org is top heavy like most orgs - when we have come up there to play we beat up on the weaker Thunder teams - but his top couple of teams are tough nuts to crack. New England's Finest is as good a recruiting event for teams as you will find. There are some other solid orgs in the NE I like and respect as well - one I really hate (out of NJ) and quite a few who say 'national' but no one outside the NE has heard of them much.

About the NorthEast - and your area - you have a LOT of colleges. A REAL LOT. Like can't spit and not hit three colleges.

Florida talent (and TX, GA, Cali, etc, etc) - like my DD btw - often ends up in the NE because there is not enough colleges and softball teams locally for all the local talent. So they start looking outside the state. We were in CT this weekend for a showcase and guested on a rather weak team comapred to her normal team - we went 4-1 and probably should have won all 5. Coaches were at all the game watching the 'Florida' girl and other players like her at the event. Helped her teammates get noticed as well - but the intensity and level of play was overall 'poor' in what was a 18U Gold division.

On the other hand most of the girls at the CT event will play in college because there are just SO MANY colleges needing players in the region.

I agree about Thunder. Top teams are good younger teams lots of Daddy Ball.
CT Charmers are also a good organization. We have many colleges your right. Lots of D-2, D-3,& of course the Ivy League Schools. Some decent D-1 like BC, BU, UMass, UConn. Many lesser D-1 like Central CT Fairfield,, Hartford, Quinnipiac etc....
As mentioned by somebody else much more expensive to train in the “off season” in Northeast.
Lotti is actually going even younger with a 12U National team for 2019/2020.

 

[MadBandit22]

I agree about Thunder. Top teams are good younger teams lots of Daddy Ball.
CT Charmers are also a good organization. We have many colleges your right. Lots of D-2, D-3,& of course the Ivy League Schools. Some decent D-1 like BC, BU, UMass, UConn. Many lesser D-1 like Central CT Fairfield,, Hartford, Quinnipiac etc....
As mentioned by somebody else much more expensive to train in the “off season” in Northeast.
Lotti is actually going even younger with a 12U National team for 2019/2020.

I have a cousin from NorCal that got a full ride at University of Hartford. He was a freshman last year but for some reason went back to Cali. He was a reserve P, OF at U of H.