Travel Teams

[cbg]

Let's take a close look at "Travel Teams" and what they really are. Are not 99.9% of these teams really "Select Teams" where coaches go out and recruit the players and go play games? How many of these teams teach and require the players to use fundamentals and how many use "Little Johnny's" dad to coach and just put the 9 best athletes on the field and roll the ball out on the diamond? What teams really travel on a regional or national level most weekends? What are the cost per players associated with a real travel team? What would be considered the best organizatons: AABC, CABA, AAU, USSSA, Babe Ruth, American Legion, etc... Have we lost sight of what we are doing in teaching kids to play the game?

 

It seems like I have several question and wanted everones opinion.

[GLee]

Not really bad questions but also questions that are answered different for each 'travel team' out there. Some are great for thier players and others are not. It's that simple. The 'team'....coach, has to be all about the players.

[B BALL]

The coach has everything to do with it. Who cares how many games a team wins. It's all about learning and playing good competition. It is good for a kid to play for someone other than thier dad.

[ksgovols]

I have mixed emotions. Alot of travel ball is just about the $$$$. All you have to do to go to 'state' or a 'world series' is pay an entry fee and win a few games. There's alot of tired arms on some of these tournament teams that don't have pitching depth or too many games per week for the pitching depth that a team has. A player's arm shouldn't be sacrificed for a win or two.

 

I don't think it matters what kind of baseball you play if the organization running the league or the manager that's pulling the strings doesn't heed pitch counts, days rest, injuries and so on. For high school age kids, I'd be much more comfortable with my son playing summer ball in a league format that has some accountability for these kind of things than playing 80 games in the summer and risk injury.

[ld4242]

The coach has everything to do with it. Who cares how many games a team wins. It's all about learning and playing good competition. It is good for a kid to play for someone other than thier dad.

 

 

 

 

I agree that players should play for a coach that is not thier dad but the sad fact is alot of times if a parent does not coach then they won't have a team.

[E5]

As a coach, the ones that are problem programs:

 

1. Play 80-90 for the sake of saying "we play 90 game a year"

2. Win so that coach\dad can take glory.

3. Start when they are six (check www.msaba.org forums)

4. Teach them short-term skills (hit all balls to left side when they are young, hit ball on ground on hard all dirt infield, all throws from outfield go to best infielder regardless of position, etc...

5. Teach them to thorw breaking balls to win...refer to #2.

6. As previous poster stated go to a "World Series."

 

 

It is hard for middle school programs to compete in larger areas who have had travel teams longer than middle school programs. Coaching is the most important factor in both the travel league and middle schools. I would think the high school coach would want sound fundamentals taught by his feeder programs. How a coach manages a game seems unimporant in the grand scheme of things. Having access to practice and game fields is also a problem some middle school programs have. I am curious as to how many have their own fields.

 

Just my thoughts

[3-6-3]

and i was just about to start my own 5-6 yr old travel team. can we only play about 90 games? it's fun to see different parts of the nation, and if we can raise enough money, we might take the kids by a amusement park a couple of times too. shucks, i did notice last yr. with my 4 yr old team that many of the teams were no better than what we used to play at the park. It cost us about $75 to sign up and maybe another $200 the rest of the year for team snacks and coke and popcorn during the games. It only cost us $4500 to run the 4 yr old team. Maybe i outta rethink this - tell me i'm wrong, it can't be can it? i know the 5-6 yr old travel league will have to be better than the one last yr. surely there aren't other dads out there taking their teams from a local rec league just to say that they played "select" travel ball are there?

[3-6-3]

and i was just about to start my own 5-6 yr old travel team. can we only play about 90 games? it's fun to see different parts of the nation, and if we can raise enough money, we might take the kids by a amusement park a couple of times too. shucks, i did notice last yr. with my 4 yr old team that many of the teams were no better than what we used to play at the park. It cost us about $75 to sign up and maybe another $200 the rest of the year for team snacks and coke and popcorn during the games. It only cost us $4500 to run the 4 yr old team. Maybe i outta rethink this - tell me i'm wrong, it can't be can it? i know the 5-6 yr old travel league will have to be better than the one last yr. surely there aren't other dads out there taking their teams from a local rec league just to say that they played "select" travel ball are there?

 

 

i just don't want my kid left out, you know..... i mean it ain't fair that he didn't get to go to the all-star games last summer....if all them other kids play travel my kid should too

[3-6-3]

The coach has everything to do with it. Who cares how many games a team wins. It's all about learning and playing good competition. It is good for a kid to play for someone other than thier dad.

 

 

now that just aint americun!!!!!! win win win win win win win win, how many win's did i get!!!!!!

 

don't forget to pay for $40 lessons for 30 minutes at least 3 times a week for 9 months - my kid is gonna be the next derek jeter, arod, you name it....... he's awesome. my instructor told me so.

[E5]

i just don't want my kid left out, you know..... i mean it ain't fair that he didn't get to go to the all-star games last summer....if all them other kids play travel my kid should too

 

3-6-3,

 

Don't take this wrong, but you seem a bit slow. I have been around baseball my whole life and it has always been about the players first. Especially when it comes to my player\son who did not make all stars but was better than the ones that did. My wife kept our book one year and my son hit .987 and did not get selected. So the only option was to form our own travel team. We took the same group of kids and won two different "world series" We bought our way into the cheapest ones and the ones with the least number of teams. Either call me or email me and I will set you straight.

 

E5

2005 AAIIYUHGFVBNRJC WORLD CHAMPIONS

2004 ALSKDJFPOWIEJROWKEMC RUNNERS UP

[RBDAD1]

I have been a select coach and a select parent and when my son was younger I think it was ok to have a parent coach but as he got older 14/15 I think they need to be coached by a coach . I was lucky to live in Chatt. and my son was asked to play for the Chatt. Cyclones. The Cyclones are coached by high school coaches his first year it was the head coach from Mcminn co. his 2nd year by a pro player rehabing his arm and this last year by a assistant coach at Ridgeland . The Cyclones play at colleges around the south and have had just about all the seniors that want to play college ball signed with some level of college. The money and travel is to me a graet way to spend time as a family doing something we all love. So if you can get with a program the quality of the cyclones it is in my opinion the only way to go .

[rcpatriot]

I have experience on both ends of this "dad coaching" and "independent coach" coaching. I currently coach a "traveling" 13u team. We play AAU, USSSA, & BPA tournaments on the weekends and league play during the week. Most of our tournaments are local (knox to cookeville), because they are convienient, less travel expense, and because they meet the level of competition that my team is ready for. We try to enter tournaments that the level of competition is either equal or better than we are. I believe, this is how you get better.

Now, as I mentioned, I've experienced this from both ends. My oldest son played for Thunder & the Yard Dogs during his teenage years. Learned a lot, met some great friends, played the best competition they could find, and is a better baseball player because of it. No, I didn't coach the team. Yes, it was expensive. Were the coaches dad's of players on the team? Yes. At times their were issues because of that, and yes, these coaches were paid for coaching the team. If the coaches were'nt dad's, the fee to play on the team would have been higher.

As I mentioned, I currently coach a "traveling" team, and yes, my youngest son plays on that team. No, it's not the ideal situation for either of us, but, it doesn't cost me or my parents an arm and a leg to get quality instruction, while playing at a fairly high level of competition. No, I'm not a Mike Nipper or Scott Shreffal (I know thats mispelled, sorry Scott), which are two of the best instructors I ever encountered. But, I think my players get quality instruction without having to pay for it, while getting just as fair of an opportunity to play, as if they were playing for a non-parent coach. I understand that this isn't the case with some, but their are a few of us still doing it for the simple love of teaching and enjoyment of seeing some of our players succeed at the HS level, as well as the college level.