Travel success and HS struggles

[DLineCoach]

I have players that are supposedly stellar on a travel ball field and are struggling on a HS field… I say it’s due to age limits in travel ball… 14u are going against 14 year olds, 16u vs 16 yo etc… BUT in HS these 14 & 16 yo are playing against 18 & 19 yo… thoughts?!?


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[Towny9]

They aren’t that good in travel…

 

[MNDad]

That’s a big reason people bash HS so much. Their 14U freshman star isn’t as good as the 18U seniors and the parents can’t see it. Parents are also used to seeing their DD’s on rosters of 11 and playing every game. Some might be as talented as a senior, but lack the experience and aren’t ready yet.

 

[BrianTx01]

Unless you are in a super talented area it would be hard for me to see a good travel ball 14U player struggle in HS ball, but they could be very good at 14C and very bad at HS ball.

 

[flash277]

I have players that are supposedly stellar on a travel ball field and are struggling on a HS field… I say it’s due to age limits in travel ball… 14u are going against 14 year olds, 16u vs 16 yo etc… BUT in HS these 14 & 16 yo are playing against 18 & 19 yo… thoughts?!?


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There is no age limit in travel ball playing up, so a 14U girl can play on a 18u team.

 

[newnin]

I had 7 girls from my 14u team eligible to play high school ball this year. 2 opted out unfortunately, but was interesting to watch how the others fared. All were on varsity, and defensively, they held up well. The pitchers got roughed up a bit, and for the most part, it was by the older kids. Offensively, they all struggled against the older pitchers, and did well against the freshman and sophomore pitchers.
And only 1 returned to the team playing worse than when she left. I think that was mostly because she didn't get to play much, while the others did.

 

[Traps71]

I suspect it’s the factors you already identified. Differences in mental and physical maturity and experience between 14yo and 18 yo girls. I think, for pitchers in particular, it is going out there and getting all 21 outs. Not 12 or 15 outs in a time limited travel game. Unless you are truly dominant, that means you are going to see line ups at least 3 and more likely 4 times (maybe even 5 if the game gets wild). Adjusting to a more limited role (might just be pinch hitting or pinch running), also is different for a lot of girls used to playing most innings in travel ball. If the coach is fair and trying to win, there is real competition in HS ball. As pointed out, too, the quality of travel teams varies quite a bit.

My DD is having a better than expected Freshman season on varsity. I was just happy she made the team. However, she has pitched meaningful innings and challenged for the starting P role. I think part of what prepared her was moving to a more competitive 14U travel team last summer, which typically played up to the 16U-18U level, especially when playing locally. This exposed her to bigger, stronger, more experienced batters. Wasn’t always a lot of fun, but think it paid dividends.

 

[Westwind]

First of all, physical strength. It matters. 14 year olds are girls playing against someone else’s 17/18 year old college commits…. Skinny little freshmen are just that. (Both in hs and college, lol)

Second of all, many people think their dd plays on a 14u travel team, but who are they actually playing against? Other local kids. Half the kids are 12/13 year old kids that aren’t hs eligible. By that age, at least some of the best players have left to play on regional teams of other dominant players.

DD played on a local team when she was a first year 14. It wasn’t a good fit. One of the good things the coach did was play 18u teams that year. Now on our local scene, 18u softball is not all that competitive, all the good players have long departed for better competition but it really did boost the confi of the players who would be playing hs ball against older kids the next year.

 

[_MIA_]

I have players that are supposedly stellar on a travel ball field and are struggling on a HS field… I say it’s due to age limits in travel ball… 14u are going against 14 year olds, 16u vs 16 yo etc… BUT in HS these 14 & 16 yo are playing against 18 & 19 yo… thoughts?!?


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If they have the requisite skills/ability then after an adjustment period they would be able to compete. If they cannot then they have work to do

 

[sluggers]

Unless you are in a super talented area it would be hard for me to see a good travel ball 14U player struggle in HS ball, but they could be very good at 14C and very bad at HS ball.

I see good 14Us struggle in HS ball quite a bit...but I live in DFW and see a number of games in Chicagoland as well. The speed of play takes some time for them to get used to it.

The biggest problem is the length of the games. The 14U TB players are used to playing 4 or 5 innings. They tire out mentally and physically in the 6th and 7th innings.

You can really see it in 14U pitchers--they have no idea what to do the 4th time through the order. They just keep doing the same old thing...they are just learning.

They also have some problems with continuation...they tend to stop playing too early.

14U catchers rarely have the arm to compete at the HS level.

And, 14Us have rarely faced good pitching. Few of them have seen a real rise ball before.