Both parents on board is ideal. But, in light of the fact that OP is doing the heavy lifting, sometimes you have to "put" people on the bus rather than wait for them to "jump" on.
To travel, or not to travel..
- Thread starter HuskyMom
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- Jun 12, 2015
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I don't think travel ball would be very practical without both parents on board. It's extremely time consuming and usually expensive.
Greenmonsters
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If TB isn't an option, and you end up being limited to rec, but want to develop skills - consider switching to baseball for a season.
If Dad is on board where her playing for team #2 and she has friends there go with that option. At 10U as long as she gets the reps the coaching really makes no difference. It is the time and guidance she gets from you that will make the difference.
Agree.. even if it is for one season, getting her onto the team and into travel is not a bad idea. It is just 10U and that wont make a difference long term if she wants the higher levels later on.
And in 10U, outfield flyballs - not automatic outs for the majority of travel teams. Much more likely to be an out than in rec of course, but they are all still adventures. Looking for girls who can already put it out there and then working on their hitting skills to harness that strength isn't the worst idea I have heard.
I also agree with the post that suggested that if travel does not end up an option for whatever reason, playing up in rec makes a lot of sense and is a viable option. But in terms of development, travel is a preferable path.
Having both parents and DD involved in, and agreeing on the final decision of where to play is a must IMO. There are often times that you will have to rely on the other parent to take DD to practices, games and tournaments simply because life and work both throw funny little things at you at the last minute. If they are not on board and support the decision, then your DD will probably be the one to suffer in the long run.
For example, I have a girl playing on our team that her parents are divorced. Mom has a very demanding job but she and DD want her playing TB for us yet Dad wants no part of it. She misses every other tournament and many practices throughout the season when Dad has her because he won't bring her and refuses to practice with her or help her in any way if it's related to SB. She tries working on her own at home but there's only so much she can do by herself. She wanted to play college ball but her skills haven't advanced along with the rest of the team so the chances aren't good.
I realize that this is both an extreme situation and not the one that you are in but I thought it a great example of how a child can suffer from the lack of support from just one parent.
As for your question as to move on to TB, it sounds as if your DD is advanced enough to do so without issue.
As to the selection of the team, it will be a compromise of fit for your DD, the ability to meet the financial and time obligations of the team and the possible travel requirements involved as well as what you, her father and your DD want.
At the 10U level, TB is all about player development and reps. It's not the end of the world if you make a mistake and choose the wrong team first time- right out of the gate. IMO, most of your DD's skill development should be happening at home anyway. You'll find that the work put in at home will usually pay off three-fold on the field for your DD.
For example, I have a girl playing on our team that her parents are divorced. Mom has a very demanding job but she and DD want her playing TB for us yet Dad wants no part of it. She misses every other tournament and many practices throughout the season when Dad has her because he won't bring her and refuses to practice with her or help her in any way if it's related to SB. She tries working on her own at home but there's only so much she can do by herself. She wanted to play college ball but her skills haven't advanced along with the rest of the team so the chances aren't good.
I realize that this is both an extreme situation and not the one that you are in but I thought it a great example of how a child can suffer from the lack of support from just one parent.
As for your question as to move on to TB, it sounds as if your DD is advanced enough to do so without issue.
As to the selection of the team, it will be a compromise of fit for your DD, the ability to meet the financial and time obligations of the team and the possible travel requirements involved as well as what you, her father and your DD want.
At the 10U level, TB is all about player development and reps. It's not the end of the world if you make a mistake and choose the wrong team first time- right out of the gate. IMO, most of your DD's skill development should be happening at home anyway. You'll find that the work put in at home will usually pay off three-fold on the field for your DD.
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If the dad has never seen a competitive travel ball tournament I would highly recommending getting him to one asap. Most people after watching a tournament and realizing the level of competition that is available never want to go back to REC ball. Some REC parents live in their own world never realizing what else is out there, some are content having their DD be the "superstar" on a REC team, and some are selfish and do not want to invest the time/effort/money into their kids.
- Jun 12, 2015
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Definitely take him to a tournament! It was all stars that got us. We did one more rec session after all stars. Won the championship, beat a team with an otherwise undefeated record over 3 years, and it still sucked. Well, winning it was fun. But my dd hit so many homeruns we lost count and after every one she'd say, disgustedly, "That would have been a single at a tournament." Lol. travel ball is awesome
If your daughter is a competitive kid who loves the game she'll love travel ball.
- Jul 20, 2013
- 71
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Okay wait, but before you go prodding Dad and putting any one on any bus...did you have an in-depth talk with your child to discuss her goals in this sport? I mean, you do realize she is the one practicing and playing the game no matter who is doing the driving and paying for such expenses. If her goals at this point in her "career" is to just have fun, be with friends, and learn some skills along the way I would say that is not a bad thing! This option is definitely better than status quo.
Plus option 2 does sound like a possibly mutual compromise for Mom, Dad, and DD. You don't have to do this forever, try it for a season or two or for the whole year. See how she reacts, does she excel still skill wise (send her to a private coach for hitting if you can't stand the fly ball outfield thing lol), does her social skills improve, etc. If all goes well and DD shows hunger and interest to grow more in the sport after a season or two...she'll naturally become another salesperson with you to get Dad on the travel bus.
But what do you mean, playing for them in the "worst way"?
If you think driving to rec ball practices, games, and paying for things is fine now...just try doubling or tripling what you're doing now. She made the team, that's it. That's the beginning. It's just getting started...hold on to your hats! Not to mention you have to consider the team culture, goals, and such if they coincide with your child's goals and your family goals regarding sports.
IF there's a good team in your area. There's teams all over mine but it's not much different, dads are coaches, they teach the best they can based on what they know, etc. Plus I hear politics in baseball can be more intense than softball, at least from what I've heard. We've considered this for my DD, she's 10 as well but decided not to...another set of equipment, uniforms, fees, getting to know other parents, etc. just for a season didn't work out for our family.
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To me though, I'd go with team 2. LOTS of playing time is so crucial - I wish I could take back the last 3 years with my DD. I went down a similar path, I won't clog your thread with it but it ends bittersweet. Moral of the story is don't try to advance her too fast beyond what she wants based on your own goals. Sometimes you can become so intoxicated with your quest as a parent to solve all the softball problems we forget that our kids have a totally, 180 degree view on the world and what it means to them to play a sport and that it has nothing to do what you fuss and worry about.
Is it wrong for them to play a sport to socialize with friends? Is it wrong for them to play a sport because they want to "play" it and not be "managed" during practice and games? Is it so wrong for a coach to want to see his young 10 year old players swing for the fences?
Just a last note, there is nothing wrong with encouraging big bats at any age. Sure, you can have a bad technique when you hit but encouraging players to swing for the outfield is not as crazy as telling them to have small bats. Or, hey hit it hard to the infield!
- Jun 12, 2015
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We've only done rec baseball, though her team is going to travel this year. But so far we've not run into any more politics than in softball. Probably less, at least so far. We'll see if going travel changes things, but I don't think it will. From what I can tell it seems like travel softball is a bigger deal here than travel baseball. It might be because I haven't dived into baseball yet though.
Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to travel (sorry if someone has mentioned this) is that depending on her goals and the team's goals, it's not just practices and tournaments. My dd is a pitcher. She takes pitching lessons once a week and we practice at home at least 4 days a week, and also do hitting practices at least 3-4 days a week. That's in addition to the team practices. And we always get to practice an hour early so she can pitch before practice starts. Catchers usually have a similar experience. But even when we were 8U and she wasn't pitching in games yet we still did a lot of practicing on our own. Fielding grounders, playing catch, hitting, working on pop flies. You don't have to do those things, but the girls who don't fall behind the curve pretty quickly. That may be ok depending on the team but if you're looking at more competitive teams you definitely spend extra time working on things on your own if you want them to keep up. Which leads to the question of how much time your daughter is willing to spend on softball.
Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to travel (sorry if someone has mentioned this) is that depending on her goals and the team's goals, it's not just practices and tournaments. My dd is a pitcher. She takes pitching lessons once a week and we practice at home at least 4 days a week, and also do hitting practices at least 3-4 days a week. That's in addition to the team practices. And we always get to practice an hour early so she can pitch before practice starts. Catchers usually have a similar experience. But even when we were 8U and she wasn't pitching in games yet we still did a lot of practicing on our own. Fielding grounders, playing catch, hitting, working on pop flies. You don't have to do those things, but the girls who don't fall behind the curve pretty quickly. That may be ok depending on the team but if you're looking at more competitive teams you definitely spend extra time working on things on your own if you want them to keep up. Which leads to the question of how much time your daughter is willing to spend on softball.
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