Is Travel Ball the best way?

[Eric F]

Is playing TB the best way to get daughter recruited?

Yes.

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

Going to camps and clinics is part of the process.

Is High School and private lessons enough? Do we really have to sacrifice most Summer weekends traveling all over the Northeast for game experience?
...
I’m thinking HS & private lessons may be the way to go.

Playing 20-ish HS games per year against a mixed-bag of competition cannot compete with the mental and physical development that happens with a TB player playing 100-ish games per year, playing consistently against top-level competition. In my DD's freshman season of HS ball, one of the things that was immediately and vividly clear were the players who had years of TB experience, and those that didn't.

Colleges are looking for players who can play the game at a high level, not ones that are just good doing drills. Getting good at the game isn't just about physical skills, but about game smarts, mental approach, etc., etc. For example, developing the internal clock and game-reading ability to determine how long you have available to check the runner at 3B before throwing to 1B to get the batter out isn't something you learn in a showcase clinic or with a private skills instructor.

There is no short-cut. You have to do the work, put in the time, and get the experience to compete with the players who are doing the work, putting in the time, and getting the experience.

 

[Scottb14580]

Going to college camps is the easiest way to get attention from colleges. I coach High School and have built good relationships with many of the head coaches and asst coaches in my area which has allowed me to set up workouts for my players that want to keep playing. My travel ball organization plays showcase games at these schools as well. Travel ball helps players get better due to the high level of competition.

Girls will go through wanting to play a bunch when they are younger, to wanting to enjoy other aspects of life as they get older. If SHE truly wants to play college ball you will know. If she waivers at all, she is most likely ready to hang it up after high school.

I would never pay 10K for any type of travel ball fee! It ain’t that important lol

Excellent points. Great advice!

 

[rodzski]

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?
Is a better option getting private hitting/pitching lessons and going to camps/clinics of schools that she is interested in attending?
Is High School and private lessons enough? Do we really have to sacrifice most Summer weekends traveling all over the Northeast for game experience?
I must admit I don’t mind traveling to practices and games if there is an end goal that can be reached. My daughter has her ear/air buds in and is on her phone the whole time to & from practices/games so there is no conversation/bonding going on that I read about.
If I saw maximum/honest effort outside of team practice I wouldn’t be questioning the process.
My DD is a very good player but I see her being even better with more dedication and practice time.
Not going to push her anymore. Encourage yes but going to make her come to me if she wants extra practice. Not asking anymore.
Just thinking if it’s worth it to put all the time & money in and see her go through the motions.
She 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.
I’m thinking HS & private lessons may be the way to go.

• $100-$200K for four year college education
• 1167 operating college level softball programs
• • 286 DI, 264 DII, 408 DIII, 239 NAIA
  • Avg Roster Size is 15
• 17,500 Players total
• • 12 Scholarships/team DI
  • 7.2 Scholarship/team DII
  • 10 scholarships/team NAIA
  • 0 for DIII >>> 11,500, competing for 7432 potential scholarships from 813 schools
  • 7432 Divided equally between Frosh?soh/JR/SR .....1858 scholarships per year
  • Of the 1858 scholarships per year: 40% outfield, 40% infield, 10% catchers, 10% pitchers
• 3432 DI Scholarhips
• 1901 DII Scholarsips
• 2390 NAIA Scholarships
• Total Potential: 7432

The Questions you need to ask:

1. Is your daughter 1 of the best 2000 players of her age in the entire country?
2. If your daughter is a pitcher/catcher, is she 1 of the best 200 her age in the entire country?

 

[Tom Dibble]

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?
Is a better option getting private hitting/pitching lessons and going to camps/clinics of schools that she is interested in attending?
Is High School and private lessons enough? Do we really have to sacrifice most Summer weekends traveling all over the Northeast for game experience?
I must admit I don’t mind traveling to practices and games if there is an end goal that can be reached. My daughter has her ear/air buds in and is on her phone the whole time to & from practices/games so there is no conversation/bonding going on that I read about.
If I saw maximum/honest effort outside of team practice I wouldn’t be questioning the process.
My DD is a very good player but I see her being even better with more dedication and practice time.
Not going to push her anymore. Encourage yes but going to make her come to me if she wants extra practice. Not asking anymore.
Just thinking if it’s worth it to put all the time & money in and see her go through the motions.
She 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.
I’m thinking HS & private lessons may be the way to go.

I think I would start from the opposite direction.

First, decide if your daughter wants to play softball in college. It isn't just a way to get tuition payed; it is a serious time commitment and in many cases you will find that as a result athletes "downgrade" their majors (you don't see many pre-med starting pitchers). Playing the game doesn't have to end if she doesn't make the university/college team; there are plenty of opportunities for college-aged kids to play, at least out where I am (west coast). Honestly, a good college player isn't there to pay their way through college; they are playing on the team because the sport is intrinsic to their life, and in and of itself gives them great joy. That said, attitudes change drastically between a 14-year-old high school freshman year and senior year four years later.

Second, narrow her top-tier colleges down a bit. She probably doesn't just have one or two she is looking at at this point, but pick at least one "dream college" and a few "okay, but not first choice" colleges as your sampling set. If your area has a good community college system, don't forget to include one of those at least; every university/college I know of drafts heavily from community college graduates. This winnowing step is important because the next step doesn't scale well to "every college in the US" size!

Third, and very importantly, contact the coaching staff at the target colleges. Ask them if they recruit more from travel teams or from high school teams, and if they consider the latter, would being a "star player" at a position in her high school get her on their radar. A good hand-written letter is always the best choice for this query, but she should also check out what materials/guidance the school puts out online before asking for a personal response (and reference what she found in the letter so it shows she did her homework). A bonus is that the response she gets here, if she does get a personal response, can be referenced later on when she goes to the suggested showcase/camp and wants to invite the coaching staff of that college to check her out.

Fourth, look at the high school team. If being a star second-baseman or outfielder is her path to getting an invite to try out for her dream college, does the high school team already have a "star" player there? Will she be able to get playing time? At least in my experience (three daughters through this, two high schools), high school coaches aren't about "developing" girls, and will only play their "top nine" every game, start of year to end of year. They are also heavily risk-averse, and time-short, so even if she is better than the player they are used to playing, she might not get starting playing time out on the field. She needs to find a way to get playing time in one of her positions, generally by being clearly better than the competition.

Fifth, if the target colleges emphasize playing in their showcases or going to their "camps", figure out how she will do that. The high school team is not likely going to ever play in a showcase tournament; you'll need a travel team for that. But camps and such are generally open to individuals.

Sixth, and IMHO most importantly, you want to continue to foster a love for the game. My experience in this area (northern California) is that high school ball is incredibly toxic, and (somewhat as a result) not highly valued by area colleges (UC, CSU, etc). I know literally dozens of top players who permanently left the game as a result of their high school playing experiences. I routinely advise players to skip playing for their high schools out here unless their target college specifically values high school team standings over travel ball. It isn't an "opportunity" decision; it is a "sanity" decision.

If you do go the travel route, $10k for a season sounds absolutely outlandish. I'd expect that to more than cover a whole four year high school period. Local teams out here go generally $1500-2500 per season (with a good chunk of that being uniform which doesn't need to be repaid each season unless the uniforms change or she grows out of it) and travel all over the western US with those fees. That said, the weather is definitely different in the north-east US, so maybe that affects travel team dues; shop around! Teams that are "value conscious" are not necessarily worse than those that cost at the high end of the spectrum.

Definitely factor in the emphasis of the coaching staff (or general organization if the specific coaches are new) on college admissions when choosing a team. Ask about results: which girls on their team/organization in the last couple years have gotten college play offers and scholarships? What level of colleges have they applied to? Have any gotten into the colleges on your daughter's list? Usually getting into a showcase or skills camp isn't enough; you also need to invite the college coaching staff to come look at you and consider you. Make sure that the travel team staff has the skills and experience to help with that process and make sure it gets done the "right" way. Paying a lot of money for showcases and skills clinics and hoping to get someone's attention and from there an offer to play is a nice dream, but very unlikely to happen; planning and organization are incredibly important to make that work, and the travel team's staff is who will have the experience to make it work, if anyone does.

Again on the "travel" route, don't dismiss rec and "B" leagues. Usually, at least out here, the rec leagues peter out once you hit high school (too many girls choose travel or high school ball). "B" leagues starting at 16U are based on a set of high schools (if I recall correctly and it hasn't changed in the past few years, a "B" team just needs to restrict itself to girls pulled from no more than five high schools). Around here, there are a lot of B travel teams with much lower fees than the "A" travel teams, but who do compete in (and get scholarship offers from) showcase tournaments. Also consider that a player who plays "B" league ball and does well for a few years can join that "A" travel team junior or senior year of high school and from there get scholarships. As before, see what the route is that the coaching staff advises, and try out for the team(s) that will get your daughter to the end goal of being at those showcases or skills camps that the college coaching staff advised.

Finally, remember that the college application isn't just a softball tryout. Your daughter also needs to get into that college's admissions process and be poised to succeed well there. While some coaches will be able to "pull strings" to get a player into the college, that often doesn't apply to girls' sports (fortunately or not), and even when it does apply, sets the player up for academic failure (or "getting a degree" but not with the knowledge they will need to succeed afterwards). Do not forget academics and other (non-sports-related) extracurricular activities. If you sign her up for a travel team that practices an hour away and travels out of state every other weekend, that cannot help but impact her academic performance. Again, look for local opportunities and for a coaching staff which understands the full college admissions process.

In the end, you want your daughter to succeed, and to be happy, and hopefully to continue enjoying a sport that can keep her active for decades to come. If that all involves playing softball on scholarship at a university to achieve, target that; if it does not, then just keep her playing at a skill level which matches or exceeds her own, and let her have fun while concentrating on the other things she needs to do to succeed.

Sorry for the lengthy reply. As they say, if I had more time I'd make it shorter

 

[sluggers]

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

In order for your DD to be recruited she has to be "good". In addition to a lot of skills, she has to develop a deep understanding of the game.

Is High School and private lessons enough?

NO.

Do we really have to sacrifice most Summer weekends traveling all over the Northeast for game experience?

Yes.

 

[BobInMadison]

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

That is certainly true.

My DD 2 goes to college in Boston( NU). She told me her school doesn't have a softball team, but I saw a softball team practicing across the street. She pointed out that was a different college. Literally, on one side of the street is a big college, and on the other side of the street is another big college.

There is yet another college a few blocks away. One of the colleges she turned down is a mile or two away. And so on.

The only other place I've seen with that kind of concentration of colleges is Claremont, CA, which is the same thing on a much smaller scale.

 

[murphdog]

That is certainly true.

My DD 2 goes to college in Boston( NU). She told me her school doesn't have a softball team, but I saw a softball team practicing across the street. She pointed out that was a different college. Literally, on one side of the street is a big college, and on the other side of the street is another big college.

There is yet another college a few blocks away. One of the colleges she turned down is a mile or two away. And so on.

The only other place I've seen with that kind of concentration of colleges is Claremont, CA, which is the same thing on a much smaller scale.

There’s 6 or 7 schools within a half mile of where your DD is not to mention the ones in the rest of the city.
I live close to the city and never realized how many there were until DD started looking. She’s in Boston also.
That was a huge part of the decision making, she wanted to be downtown and not on some small campus in the middle of nowhere.
It’s extremely important to make sure the school is a good fit in case for some reason she ended up not being able to play. I’ve seen so many girls get recruited and be blinded by the division or other factors and then transfer because they realize the actually never liked the school itself much.

 

[MadBandit22]

I think I would start from the opposite direction.

First, decide if your daughter wants to play softball in college. It isn't just a way to get tuition payed; it is a serious time commitment and in many cases you will find that as a result athletes "downgrade" their majors (you don't see many pre-med starting pitchers). Playing the game doesn't have to end if she doesn't make the university/college team; there are plenty of opportunities for college-aged kids to play, at least out where I am (west coast). Honestly, a good college player isn't there to pay their way through college; they are playing on the team because the sport is intrinsic to their life, and in and of itself gives them great joy. That said, attitudes change drastically between a 14-year-old high school freshman year and senior year four years later.

Second, narrow her top-tier colleges down a bit. She probably doesn't just have one or two she is looking at at this point, but pick at least one "dream college" and a few "okay, but not first choice" colleges as your sampling set. If your area has a good community college system, don't forget to include one of those at least; every university/college I know of drafts heavily from community college graduates. This winnowing step is important because the next step doesn't scale well to "every college in the US" size!

Third, and very importantly, contact the coaching staff at the target colleges. Ask them if they recruit more from travel teams or from high school teams, and if they consider the latter, would being a "star player" at a position in her high school get her on their radar. A good hand-written letter is always the best choice for this query, but she should also check out what materials/guidance the school puts out online before asking for a personal response (and reference what she found in the letter so it shows she did her homework). A bonus is that the response she gets here, if she does get a personal response, can be referenced later on when she goes to the suggested showcase/camp and wants to invite the coaching staff of that college to check her out.

Fourth, look at the high school team. If being a star second-baseman or outfielder is her path to getting an invite to try out for her dream college, does the high school team already have a "star" player there? Will she be able to get playing time? At least in my experience (three daughters through this, two high schools), high school coaches aren't about "developing" girls, and will only play their "top nine" every game, start of year to end of year. They are also heavily risk-averse, and time-short, so even if she is better than the player they are used to playing, she might not get starting playing time out on the field. She needs to find a way to get playing time in one of her positions, generally by being clearly better than the competition.

Fifth, if the target colleges emphasize playing in their showcases or going to their "camps", figure out how she will do that. The high school team is not likely going to ever play in a showcase tournament; you'll need a travel team for that. But camps and such are generally open to individuals.

Sixth, and IMHO most importantly, you want to continue to foster a love for the game. My experience in this area (northern California) is that high school ball is incredibly toxic, and (somewhat as a result) not highly valued by area colleges (UC, CSU, etc). I know literally dozens of top players who permanently left the game as a result of their high school playing experiences. I routinely advise players to skip playing for their high schools out here unless their target college specifically values high school team standings over travel ball. It isn't an "opportunity" decision; it is a "sanity" decision.

If you do go the travel route, $10k for a season sounds absolutely outlandish. I'd expect that to more than cover a whole four year high school period. Local teams out here go generally $1500-2500 per season (with a good chunk of that being uniform which doesn't need to be repaid each season unless the uniforms change or she grows out of it) and travel all over the western US with those fees. That said, the weather is definitely different in the north-east US, so maybe that affects travel team dues; shop around! Teams that are "value conscious" are not necessarily worse than those that cost at the high end of the spectrum.

Definitely factor in the emphasis of the coaching staff (or general organization if the specific coaches are new) on college admissions when choosing a team. Ask about results: which girls on their team/organization in the last couple years have gotten college play offers and scholarships? What level of colleges have they applied to? Have any gotten into the colleges on your daughter's list? Usually getting into a showcase or skills camp isn't enough; you also need to invite the college coaching staff to come look at you and consider you. Make sure that the travel team staff has the skills and experience to help with that process and make sure it gets done the "right" way. Paying a lot of money for showcases and skills clinics and hoping to get someone's attention and from there an offer to play is a nice dream, but very unlikely to happen; planning and organization are incredibly important to make that work, and the travel team's staff is who will have the experience to make it work, if anyone does.

Again on the "travel" route, don't dismiss rec and "B" leagues. Usually, at least out here, the rec leagues peter out once you hit high school (too many girls choose travel or high school ball). "B" leagues starting at 16U are based on a set of high schools (if I recall correctly and it hasn't changed in the past few years, a "B" team just needs to restrict itself to girls pulled from no more than five high schools). Around here, there are a lot of B travel teams with much lower fees than the "A" travel teams, but who do compete in (and get scholarship offers from) showcase tournaments. Also consider that a player who plays "B" league ball and does well for a few years can join that "A" travel team junior or senior year of high school and from there get scholarships. As before, see what the route is that the coaching staff advises, and try out for the team(s) that will get your daughter to the end goal of being at those showcases or skills camps that the college coaching staff advised.

Finally, remember that the college application isn't just a softball tryout. Your daughter also needs to get into that college's admissions process and be poised to succeed well there. While some coaches will be able to "pull strings" to get a player into the college, that often doesn't apply to girls' sports (fortunately or not), and even when it does apply, sets the player up for academic failure (or "getting a degree" but not with the knowledge they will need to succeed afterwards). Do not forget academics and other (non-sports-related) extracurricular activities. If you sign her up for a travel team that practices an hour away and travels out of state every other weekend, that cannot help but impact her academic performance. Again, look for local opportunities and for a coaching staff which understands the full college admissions process.

In the end, you want your daughter to succeed, and to be happy, and hopefully to continue enjoying a sport that can keep her active for decades to come. If that all involves playing softball on scholarship at a university to achieve, target that; if it does not, then just keep her playing at a skill level which matches or exceeds her own, and let her have fun while concentrating on the other things she needs to do to succeed.

Sorry for the lengthy reply. As they say, if I had more time I'd make it shorter

Thanks. I appreciate your insight.

 

[MadBandit22]

• $100-$200K for four year college education
• 1167 operating college level softball programs
• • 286 DI, 264 DII, 408 DIII, 239 NAIA
  • Avg Roster Size is 15
• 17,500 Players total
• • 12 Scholarships/team DI
  • 7.2 Scholarship/team DII
  • 10 scholarships/team NAIA
  • 0 for DIII >>> 11,500, competing for 7432 potential scholarships from 813 schools
  • 7432 Divided equally between Frosh?soh/JR/SR .....1858 scholarships per year
  • Of the 1858 scholarships per year: 40% outfield, 40% infield, 10% catchers, 10% pitchers
• 3432 DI Scholarhips
• 1901 DII Scholarsips
• 2390 NAIA Scholarships
• Total Potential: 7432

The Questions you need to ask:

1. Is your daughter 1 of the best 2000 players of her age in the entire country?
2. If your daughter is a pitcher/catcher, is she 1 of the best 200 her age in the entire country?

Wow!!! A numbers guy huh? Stats are always a good place to start. Thanks for the info.

 

[texasheat]

• $100-$200K for four year college education
• 1167 operating college level softball programs
• • 286 DI, 264 DII, 408 DIII, 239 NAIA
  • Avg Roster Size is 15
• 17,500 Players total
• • 12 Scholarships/team DI
  • 7.2 Scholarship/team DII
  • 10 scholarships/team NAIA
  • 0 for DIII >>> 11,500, competing for 7432 potential scholarships from 813 schools
  • 7432 Divided equally between Frosh?soh/JR/SR .....1858 scholarships per year
  • Of the 1858 scholarships per year: 40% outfield, 40% infield, 10% catchers, 10% pitchers
• 3432 DI Scholarhips
• 1901 DII Scholarsips
• 2390 NAIA Scholarships
• Total Potential: 7432

The Questions you need to ask:

1. Is your daughter 1 of the best 2000 players of her age in the entire country?
2. If your daughter is a pitcher/catcher, is she 1 of the best 200 her age in the entire country?

your stats (roster size = 15, pitchers get 10% of the scholarships) would indicate that there are only 1.5 pitchers on each roster. That's not normal.