Out of Town Team/Traveling

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Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
Haven't done it, but I did talk to her not too long ago about how it might be fun to try out for a particular team that was several hours away. She didn't want to do it. She likes to practice and bond with her teammates. She's homeschooled, so softball is a big part of her social life compared to a lot of kids her age.
 
Feb 26, 2018
328
28
My DD made a 12U A team this year and half the girls live in Ohio and the other half live in SE Mich. Our drive to practice is about an hour and a half each way, but they practice once a week for 3-3 1/2 hours. I actually like the format better because it seems like they are getting a lot more done that the twice a week practice schedule I was previously used to. It also makes it easier for her to go to hitting lessons and fielding clinics during the week without her feeling like she's doing softball every day. Yeah the drive isn't the greatest, but the org is great, and she's getting great coaching.
 
May 1, 2018
659
63
Wooo no thanks. I have no insight on this at all. Just y'all put in some serious miles. Respect
 
Jul 4, 2018
25
3
If a team is going to take girls that have to drive from distances of an hour+ it is imperative that they schedule and utilize practice time accordingly. Our team has girls that travel from anywhere from 1hr to 3+ hours away. We practice once per week, on a weekend, for 3.5+ hours. Also team bonding is very important. Girls use team messaging and chats to talk all week long to keep in touch, which helps but is not a substitute for face to face and on-field. I feel it is important to do a fall season out of town tournament that the girls can hang out together at the hotel, this really helps with bonding.
 
Jun 29, 2013
589
18
No personal experience, but my Bro in law has a team where kids fly from other states to play (he is in Southern CA). From what he tells me, the out of state kids fly in for a weekend at least twice per month (coming from other western states), stay with a host family (not a relative of the player), play during the weekend, then fly home late on Sunday. Crazy life, but it works for them.
 
Apr 16, 2010
924
43
Alabama
I think at older ages it happens more and more simply because all of the top level teams play in the same tourneys anyway. For many people even playing on local teams can be tough travel wise. DD had played for Birmingham based teams her whole life. At one point for our indoor practices my wife had to pick her up from school and meet me south of downtown in order to get her to a 6 pm practice through the worst traffic in town. I am sure many folks in Atlanta have dealt with the same issues. Our outdoor practice filed is 45 minutes from our house. At one point due to construction it took almost two hours to get there for about 6 months.
 
Oct 5, 2012
52
8
Florida
currently in this situation right now. Our DD (14u) plays on a team that is 2 hrs away(one way). Coach has practices twice a week during the week for the local girls. maybe once a month on a weekend (3hr practice with team luncheon). DD does her hitting lessons, workouts(GAPSS), and works out with a local team(once a week) during the week to get that situational awareness. Plus any additional hitting/fielding camps with the local colleges. We did this during the fall/spring summer season as 12u and it worked out pretty well. Its the type of schedule that this team plays is what I want for DD. the local practice team plays locally and maybe 2 out of town tourneys. The current team will play elite competition and will fly out to Huntington Beach this fall. Expenses...meh, maybe an extra hotel stay or two if the elite tourney is local for the team. Team bonding....yep team stays at the same hotel...works well.
 
Aug 17, 2018
4
13
Texas
We live in Texas. My daughter played for an organization based out of Georgia. The team had girls from other states that also played on the team so it was an eclectic mix of girls from different regions of the country. Before the summer season began, there was a mandatory Sat/Sun practice the 2 weekends before the first tournament of the summer so that the girls could practice with each other, learn the coaches signals, etc. When the season kicked off, we normally would get to the tournament the Thursday before the tournament so that the team could have a practice and get some hitting in. At the end of the weekend, everyone would go their separate way and then meet up again the next weekend in whatever city for the next tournament. The team played a limited fall ball schedule but didn't play a cross country schedule. My daughter usually only made one fall ball tournament as she was usually playing basketball and volleyball for her high school. During the summer season, the team had sponsors that paid for the girls hotel rooms for the various tournaments. They also provided uniforms, bats, batting helmets, cleats and catching gear for the catchers. They also occasionally provided airfare for certain tournaments but that was not the norm. The parents had to pay for their own airfare, hotels, rental cars and meals for themselves. It definitely wasn't cheap but I would do it all over again in a heat beat if given the chance. I would say that playing for this particular organization helped prepare my daughter for college. She is now starting her junior year at an SEC school and it is starting to hit me that I only have 2 years left to watch her play.
 
Last edited:
Feb 7, 2014
547
43
As someone who spends a fair amount of time traveling to practices and tournaments for softball (as I'm sure many do on this board) I wouldn't trade a minute of it. That time you get to spend with DD traveling is worth every mile.
 

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