- Mar 21, 2019
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Yes we look forward to all stars just so she can see decent pitching when she bats.
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Travel Ball is Killing Rec Ball
- Thread starter whack
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Yes we look forward to all stars just so she can see decent pitching when she bats.
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- Mar 21, 2019
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My daughter didn’t mind rec basketball (I found it frustrating to watch though lol). Her teammates don’t have to be good just throw it towards the backboard and let her go to work. She played in a coed 10-12 year old league and at 10 led league in scoring and rebounding at 14.5 and 22 a game. Basketball is her weakest sport though and since the travel team she is on plays a pretty short travel season and they didn’t mind her missing occasionally for softball and volleyball I wanted her to get the coaching to try and make sure she didn’t slip to far in learning the game since the school coaching is awful till she gets to hs.
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- Apr 16, 2013
- 1,113
- 83
I'm surprised this discussion doesn't come up every season. After spending years on a baseball board, this was a seasonal event. 
Yes, TB is killing rec. My daughter and I (she's 15) are coaching a LL 12u rec baseball team. It's the same org she started playing with when she was 7. They had a lot of teams back then. Now, 12u, what used to be the biggest and best age group, is having to pool together with other rec leagues in neighboring towns in order to get enough teams to play against. Kind of sad, but at least rec has found a way to survive. However, there's a motivational poster I saw years ago that sums this up perfectly. Something along the lines of, "Change is inevitable, those that fail to change fade away." Like it or hate it, it is what it is.
My DD started playing travel baseball when she was 8. She absolutely loved the sport. Rec wasn't enough, she wanted more. I told her there would be things she'd have to give up, namely competitive dance. She dropped it like a lead bucket. It's still her love even though she plays softball more than baseball now. However, I always made sure she tried other sports. Some she didn't care for like basketball. Some she still loves, namely volleyball. Even though she plays travel softball, I flatly tell her coach she'll be playing volleyball (beach) in the summer. If you don't like it, she'll find another team.
With all that said, if you want to play college ball, D1/2, you better be playing travel at 12u and up. Also realize that girls and boys sports and recruiting are very different. High school softball means squat, for most. High school baseball still has a big value. My DD doesn't even consider trying to play high school softball. It's a massive waste of her time. She might as well be playing rec. She's not a socialite and cares nothing for being friends with any of those girls. Others have different experiences. Regardless, travel is a near requirement for any serious college bound fastpitch athlete. It's not about size and speed as much as it is skill. Softball is a sport that takes many years of skill to build. If you're not building it, it doesn't matter how fast or strong you are, you aren't playing D1/2. Sure, the cream still rises to the top, but now the cream has spent years refining their skills so their superb athletic abilities are able to shine through. My DD is a powerhouse batter, I knew it the first time I watched her hit a baseball. However, it doesn't matter how much strength she naturally has. If we hadn't of spent YEARS refining her swing and letting her play good competition, she'd be good for the local women's church league slowpitch team... that's about it.
Yes, TB is killing rec. My daughter and I (she's 15) are coaching a LL 12u rec baseball team. It's the same org she started playing with when she was 7. They had a lot of teams back then. Now, 12u, what used to be the biggest and best age group, is having to pool together with other rec leagues in neighboring towns in order to get enough teams to play against. Kind of sad, but at least rec has found a way to survive. However, there's a motivational poster I saw years ago that sums this up perfectly. Something along the lines of, "Change is inevitable, those that fail to change fade away." Like it or hate it, it is what it is.
My DD started playing travel baseball when she was 8. She absolutely loved the sport. Rec wasn't enough, she wanted more. I told her there would be things she'd have to give up, namely competitive dance. She dropped it like a lead bucket. It's still her love even though she plays softball more than baseball now. However, I always made sure she tried other sports. Some she didn't care for like basketball. Some she still loves, namely volleyball. Even though she plays travel softball, I flatly tell her coach she'll be playing volleyball (beach) in the summer. If you don't like it, she'll find another team.
With all that said, if you want to play college ball, D1/2, you better be playing travel at 12u and up. Also realize that girls and boys sports and recruiting are very different. High school softball means squat, for most. High school baseball still has a big value. My DD doesn't even consider trying to play high school softball. It's a massive waste of her time. She might as well be playing rec. She's not a socialite and cares nothing for being friends with any of those girls. Others have different experiences. Regardless, travel is a near requirement for any serious college bound fastpitch athlete. It's not about size and speed as much as it is skill. Softball is a sport that takes many years of skill to build. If you're not building it, it doesn't matter how fast or strong you are, you aren't playing D1/2. Sure, the cream still rises to the top, but now the cream has spent years refining their skills so their superb athletic abilities are able to shine through. My DD is a powerhouse batter, I knew it the first time I watched her hit a baseball. However, it doesn't matter how much strength she naturally has. If we hadn't of spent YEARS refining her swing and letting her play good competition, she'd be good for the local women's church league slowpitch team... that's about it.
- Mar 21, 2019
- 137
- 28
I guess I’m still confused how 6.5% of hs players get to play in college then 
hell maybe she’ll blossom at basketball where she can actually get recruited and keep growing who knows. Crap she may quit it all and take up knitting though she tells us she’s playing pro something and living with us forever so we’ll see where life takes her.
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hell maybe she’ll blossom at basketball where she can actually get recruited and keep growing who knows. Crap she may quit it all and take up knitting though she tells us she’s playing pro something and living with us forever so we’ll see where life takes her. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
- Jun 8, 2016
- 16,118
- 113
So that is 6.5% is kids who only play HS and not TB?I guess I’m still confused how 6.5% of hs players get to play in college then
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Every kid is different. My daughter tried a couple of other sports, and we have encouraged it, but she really only wants to play softball, so she has stuck to it.
I guess I’m still confused how 6.5% of hs players get to play in college then
Not much confusion. Most girls that end up in college play both HS and Travel. Most HS age travel teams shut down during the High School season. If you just play HS softball, your chances of being recruited are close to zero (exceptions apply). For the HS # of softball players that includes everyone - which includes travel players + rec/casual/first time players. Some teams have all travel players - some have none.
I don't know for certain, but looking at all the high school teams locally, I suspect the % of travel ball players on high school teams is probably in the 7-10% range. And they account for pretty much all of the 6.5% of players who go on to play in college.
It is also why the # of HS participant / # of college player % is meaningless because it is not the pool college softball coaches are pulling from.
In softball 98+% of recruiting is done in travel or is related to travel. And that is a conservative %.
We have not had a girl go through our travel program without the chance being presented to her to play in college at some level. Some decide not to in the end.
- Mar 21, 2019
- 137
- 28
Don’t know doesn’t show that. Just says doesn’t include club sports numbers.
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Wow..... I just read through all 9 pages of this thread. Gotta commend you on striking a nerve with these folks. My DD and I are new to the travel game she 8 on a 10U team. Didn't play college anything but I was in the NFL with the Cowboys for 5 years ..........................
Do you believe that.........................................
That's about the chances of playing college softball if you don't play on a travel/select team. From what I have gathered!!
Do you believe that.........................................
That's about the chances of playing college softball if you don't play on a travel/select team. From what I have gathered!!
Travel ball is as expensive as you make it. Out of town via air, 6 night stay tournaments are not a requirement to play high level travel ball and get recruited into college if desired. Make sure you have not bought into someones false narrative.
