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May 20, 2019
132
43
One of mine played 'travel' 8U. It was all local metro area stuff. All good so far.

But her team was really good (several ended up D1 stars). We got sucked into a vortex of traveling all over and by 10U they played in the first 10U Nationals. We were spending about $5000 per year on travel, lodging, food, etc. It's easy for this to happen to you.

For my later kids, we played on the very best local team that we could and kept them out of any long distance travel as long as possible. However, we have excellent metro area teams that are very competitive.

Travel coaching is about winning, NOT personal instruction. You are better served getting quality instruction where they measure your progress, not just say nice things (which is most of paid instruction). 90+% of kids have bat drag and they don't fix that in travel baseball or fastpitch. Most kids don't advance with bat drag. If you can hit, you will play. If you have velocity, you will play.

Disclaimer: I did not have any girl pitchers so I can't speak to that experience. However, my son was a D1 pitcher and I kept him out of travel until 13U. We used a radar gun in the back yard to work on grips, movement, speed and different techniques. My shins still hurt.


All of what you are saying is likely true in an urban environment with tons of commercial sports economy. When you live rural you often get your "quality" instruction during practice whether on the field or in the back yard. In my opinion a good travel ball coach should always have the girls development in mind. Prime example of what happens often here is a TB coach will bring guest players in for a tournament and sit out his regulars.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
We made the decision to move to TB in my DD's second year of 10U, when it became apparent that she had outgrown the level of play in our rec league, AND we decided to make the commitment to the lifestyle as an entire family. For us, it was the right time, and in hindsight, I still agree with the timing of our decision.

IMO, if your DD is not one of the top players in her league, you're probably better off staying put, and continuing to work on developing her fundamental skills with extra work outside of team practices and games. At her age, the biggest difference-maker is lots of good-quality reps.
 
Dec 15, 2018
809
93
CT
You asked for some pros/cons…

Cons:

Her social life will change, and she needs to be okay with that. “I can’t, I have softball”…
Your social life will change, and you need to be okay with that.
If you have another child, you will need to learn how to divide, conquer, barter, carpool, speed, videotape, and be okay with missing some stuff.
There will be a financial impact.

Pros:

She will get a crash course in time management, determination, pushing through fatigue, and teamwork.
She will likely develop softball skills and IQ at a much faster pace.
You will enjoy her games a lot more (better quality anyway).
She’ll make tons of softball connections (coaches, teammates, other players)

Also, just from a few months of reading these pages, “travel ball” isn’t universally defined. Your situation may be highly dependent on where you live, what your local scene is like, etc. I know my daughter’s 10u B experience here in CT is a lot different than someone playing high level SoCal fastpitch. And there are multiple ways to have a travel ball experience, from being able to stay relatively local, to going out of state every weekend.

I happen to live 5 minutes from our home field, and 80% of our games are within an hour’s drive. We go to one or two out of state tourneys.

We’re just starting the thick of our heavy schedule (May – end of July), and here’s what last Friday through this weekend looks like:

Friday – 7pm game away (1 hour drive)
Saturday – 3pm home game
Sunday – 11am away game (45 minute drive)
Monday – catching lesson
Tuesday – 6-8 practice
Wednesday – 5:30 away game (10 minute drive!)
Thursday – 6-7 batting practice
Friday – 7:15 tournament pool
Saturday – 1:15 and 3pm tournament pool
Sunday – tournament bracket (hoping for 3 games!)

So, pretty heavy, but all super local, so manageable. But keep in mind the kids need to go to school, do homework, somehow squeeze in dinner, etc. I'm sure there are teams in other places doing a lot more, and others doing a lot less. Like I wrote, all dependent on your local situation and what kind of team you're looking to join.
 
May 20, 2019
132
43
We made the decision to move to TB in my DD's second year of 10U, when it became apparent that she had outgrown the level of play in our rec league, AND we decided to make the commitment to the lifestyle as an entire family. For us, it was the right time, and in hindsight, I still agree with the timing of our decision.

IMO, if your DD is not one of the top players in her league, you're probably better off staying put, and continuing to work on developing her fundamental skills with extra work outside of team practices and games. At her age, the biggest difference-maker is lots of good-quality reps.

From a coaches view I would place my kid as #2 player in 8U rec league and considerably better than several other TB players of her same age on the local team. She was recruited for TB last year as a rookie and i wouldn't let her play. I think i will have a look at a couple area TB teams and see if i can observe a practice to see just what make sense.
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
see if she can guest play for one of the team ( should be easy if they were recruiting her, get to see coaches in game environment), maybe have her go to one or two practices (so you get an idea of the instruction she will be getting).

and talk with any prospective team about their philosphy on PT, positions, game load, how far you wil go for tourneys, how many will require hotel (remember, a lot of those will be stay to play).

in other words, do a week long test drive before you buy.
 
Apr 20, 2017
152
28
see if she can guest play for one of the team ( should be easy if they were recruiting her, get to see coaches in game environment), maybe have her go to one or two practices (so you get an idea of the instruction she will be getting).

and talk with any prospective team about their philosphy on PT, positions, game load, how far you wil go for tourneys, how many will require hotel (remember, a lot of those will be stay to play).

in other words, do a week long test drive before you buy.

This is some great advice if you make the decision to go the travel route. Don’t just jump at the first offer. Go check out at least 2 or 3 teams if there are enough options close by. I would also suggest going to one top team to check out. It will give you more insight to make your decision. Most good coaches are more then willing to allow a prospect to come to a couple of practices.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
My DD started travel ball in 2nd year 8U. She was one of the girls who developed earlier than her peers and rec ball had gotten too boring. It was her decision to go to travel instead. It's a whole different world and it definitely has its down sides. Find a coach who believes in developing players over wins at that age. Keep it fun, and take time off.
 
Oct 4, 2018
4,611
113
We just started travel last fall as a 9 year old in 10U. The team was established for the girls who found rec ball frustrating due to lack of skill of other players. But we're still very developmental, and not all about winning. And I think that's important for your first travel team at a young age.

... and you won't really know if a team is like this until you see them play a few tournaments. Watching practices might not be enough.

Last Saturday we woke up at 5:30 to head to the tournament and returned home after midnight. Y'all ready for that? :D
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
I agree with your "pro comments". Your "con comments" are an aggrandization of 8U and 10U softball. Also, seems like you are confusing parents and the DD.

She will get a crash course in time management, determination, pushing through fatigue, and teamwork.
She will likely develop softball skills and IQ at a much faster pace.
You will enjoy her games a lot more (better quality anyway).
She’ll make tons of softball connections (coaches, teammates, other players)

This is 10U softball...

a) There is very little time management *BY THE CHILD* . (It is the parents who have to learn time management.) Determination? Pushing through fatigue? At 10U??? If your kid has to "push through fatigue" at 10U, the kid should be seeing a doctor. Compared to basketball or soccer, softball is sedentary.
b) At 10U, there is not a whole lot of difference in skills or softball IQ between rec and TB players, assuming the kids are have similar athleticism. That is, an athletic kid in a good rec league with an engaged parent is not going to be behind a similar TB kid.

c) Enjoy games more? If your kid isn't having fun playing rec league, she is not going to have fun playing TB. There is a whole lot more sitting around doing absolutely n othing in TB than rec ball.
Better quality games? The quality of the play is better, but the games are not any better. Usually, one team is much, much better than the other. It is the same as rec league...one team gets slaughtered.

d) A 10U player is going to be networking with coaches and players? I didn't know that TB players had business cards these days.
c) Softball connections?
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
b) At 10U, there is not a whole lot of difference in skills or softball IQ between rec and TB players, assuming the kids are have similar athleticism. That is, an athletic kid in a good rec league with an engaged parent is not going to be behind a similar TB kid.

c) Enjoy games more? If your kid isn't having fun playing rec league, she is not going to have fun playing TB. There is a whole lot more sitting around doing absolutely n othing in TB than rec ball.
Better quality games? The quality of the play is better, but the games are not any better. Usually, one team is much, much better than the other. It is the same as rec league...one team gets slaughtered.

for b, the trouble is 7 out of 10 rec parents are not engaged, so there is a huge gap between the girls. so much so, that even before she want to TB, DD would have to pull the string on a lot of her throws

for c, DD has much more fun playing TB than rec. many fewer walks, she can count on teammates to make plays most of the time, where as in rec, she can count on teammates NOT to make plays most of the time (refuses to try and pick off runner at 1B or 3B because she knows it is likely to be extra bases, not an out.
 

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