Travel Teams

[ut18vols]

i think that travel teams are good bc u get seen more then u would on a regular city league team...

[E5]

i think that travel teams are good bc u get seen more then u would on a regular city league team...

 

I would agree that most travel team players are better off than those taht play for the local leagues. Local leagues have lost the better arms to the travel teams. I was looking at it more from a middle school vs. travel league. We lose players with lure of going to "world series" and "Cooperstown." School teams like ours, that are direct feeders to mainly one school are kept togehter in the summer same as many high school teams. Competing against "selected" teams that will win at all cost tends to change your paradigm.

[catsbackr]

3-6-3 Posted Today, 01:58 PM

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?

 

My son started when he was 8 years old and I truly believed that was too young. I sit here and read about someone that is going to start a TRAVEL team for 5 and 6 year old CHILDREN and I can only believe that is absolutely ridiculous!

 

Why are you wanting 5 and 6 year old CHILDREN playing and traveling? No one else has said it here, but this is way, way too young! By the time these kids are in high school, 90% of them won't even be playing anymore. Check your attrition rates.

 

This is exactly why so many good players are absolutely sick of baseball by the time they are seniors in high school. Just my 2 cents.

[ccriders25]

My son started when he was 8 years old and I truly believed that was too young. I sit here and read about someone that is going to start a TRAVEL team for 5 and 6 year old CHILDREN and I can only believe that is absolutely ridiculous!

 

Why are you wanting 5 and 6 year old CHILDREN playing and traveling? No one else has said it here, but this is way, way too young! By the time these kids are in high school, 90% of them won't even be playing anymore. Check your attrition rates.

 

This is exactly why so many good players are absolutely sick of baseball by the time they are seniors in high school. Just my 2 cents.

2 cents? thats about all that was worth. I hope my kid plays yours! Mine has been playing since he was 5. By the time your kid has his 1st practice we've already perfected double cuts on a sure double. I'm tired of all this non-competitive rec ball crap. Lets turn on the scoreboard and strap it on. If you are going to play - take it serious

[tcoach]

If you want to play past high school you must expose yourself to the best competition possible. Summer ball is the only way. "Who" you play for is the most important factor. If you think travel ball is a waste of time, don't play.

[hsfbinsider10]

I know several guys who are in college right now playing baseball that would not be there if it were not for playing travel ball and getting the right exposure because of a connected coach. Many high school coaches have limited contacts and some simply coach because there is no one else to do it and have never made the contacts needed to promote a good player. Some travel experience is all about parents' ego, but other teams (especially older age groups) are legit and give exposure that otherwise would not happen.

[riverdaleman]

2 cents? thats about all that was worth. I hope my kid plays yours! Mine has been playing since he was 5. By the time your kid has his 1st practice we've already perfected double cuts on a sure double. I'm tired of all this non-competitive rec ball crap. Lets turn on the scoreboard and strap it on. If you are going to play - take it serious

I think you are wrong i dont think that you read here post entirely she said at 5 6 these kids dont need to play travel ball 60 games at that age is way too many they dont care about all that and if you ask them nest year what their record was they arent gonna know or care. What is wrong with playing your rec league and then going to all stars I PERSONALLY KNOW guys who are in college and majors going this route as well by the time your kid plays her kid in high school MOST of those have quit playing baseball i know so many good baseball players walking highschool halls right now that are tired of baseball because they traveled so much when they were young and decided to quit when they got to HS all of our kids have played since they were young.

I have 4 boys and all of them play ball my oldest is 16 he did not play a lot of travel ball he played all stars but not much travel til high school now my 14 year old he traveled when he was 10 and it about burned him out my twins are 10 and they play rec league and they are happy with that i will not let them play travel until they are 12 and that is if we get them a good coach so when they are 5 6 years old lighten up teach the fundamentals and let it be fun when they get to middle school and high school then you can take it a lot more serious

[hardball23]

I think if you want your kids to play at the High school level they must play some travel ball. Because the only way to get better is by playing.

[riverdaleman]

I think if you want your kids to play at the High school level they must play some travel ball. Because the only way to get better is by playing.

I agree with some and at a little bit older of age but to play 60 games as a 6 year old is not the right time i think 12 maybe a little at 11 is a good age but i think the all star way after your rec league is good too when you play all stars you play the better competition and you extend your season by about 10-15 games andthat is plenty after playing a 15-20 game rec season now when they get to 12 the summer before their 6th grade year then you might want to think about a travel team playing about 50-70 games

Edited March 4, 2006 by riverdaleman

[Rabble Rouser]

I agree with some and at a little bit older of age but to play 60 games as a 6 year old is not the right time i think 12 maybe a little at 11 is a good age but i think the all star way after your rec league is good too when you play all stars you play the better competition and you extend your season by about 10-15 games andthat is plenty after playing a 15-20 game rec season now when they get to 12 the summer before their 6th grade year then you might want to think about a travel team playing about 50-70 games

Travel ball is great with the right coach. Here's what happens if they start too early. A kid that young has no clue why all this emphasis/pressure is being placed on him No. 1. No. 2, and this is simple logic, a kid who starts travel at 6 has nothing to look forward to at 12, except that he now knows he's missed a whole lot of other things, like hanging out with his friends. He's seen tons of hotels and pools and played in hundreds of "the most important game of his life."

 

Of the 40 that were playing at 12 with my son on tavels teams, only 8 are still playing. Some figured out they weren't actually gonna be baseball players and the rest got tired of missing other things or got tired of the travel.

 

The last stat I read reported that 47 percent of major league ballers didn't start until they were 13. Think about that. Now this stat is probably five years old, but...

 

Having said all that, the difference between a kid who's played some travel and one who's played rec is dramatic if for no other reason that experiencing the game. Now, the difference between the one who's played 50 games a year and 100 is minute. The simple truth is the "freaks" stand out no matter what. If you don't have a freak, psycho travel ball won't make a difference. If your kid is small and not throwing it 90, the extra travel, camps and being seen won't make a difference.

 

6-year-old travel ball is stupid and done only for daddy.

Edited March 4, 2006 by Rabble Rouser

[alcoa06]

You have to play travel ball if you want to play college baseball at any level, you will not be seen by college coaches by just playing high school and summer rec leagues. This is the best apporach for a high school kid that wants to continue his high school career....

 

1. It is not the number of games that you play in the summer, its the amount of QUALITY games that you play. You need to always be playing against people that are college level players because you will never get any better if you dont play against people that perform at high levels. It will show you what you need to work on the most.

 

2. You need to make sure that you develop a good relationship with the area MLB scout in your area or any other person that has contacts with college coaches. These men can be great references for you and in baseball college coaches will use the people constantly to see how your progressing and to see what kind of person and player you are.

 

3. It is also very important that you take some weekends and weeks off from playing tournaments and go to college camps. This is the best way to get recruited because its very easy for college coaches to evalute you in their own environment and in the manner in which they want. They will be totally focused on you, and recruiting is the main reason college coaches hold these camps because they dont have the money to travel around and recruit like football and basketball programs.

 

4. In the end the most important thing is to get involved with Perfect Game Baseball. They are the number one college scouting service and orginization in America. They know what they are doing, are very successful at it, and have put thousands of kids into college. Their showcases and tournaments are the biggest attracator of college coaches year around. Every college coach in the nation goes to their tournaments in East Cobb, Georgia in July and I have played in these tournaments many a time with 30-40 college coaches in the stands, and not just any coaches, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Clemson, North Carolina, and I could go on forever.

 

If you do all of these things and always work hard during the off season then you will play college baseball, that is dependent on you having some talent to begin with

Edited March 5, 2006 by alcoa06

[Rabble Rouser]

You have to play travel ball if you want to play college baseball at any level, you will not be seen by college coaches by just playing high school and summer rec leagues. This is the best apporach for a high school kid that wants to continue his high school career....

 

1. It is not the number of games that you play in the summer, its the amount of QUALITY

I don't believe the first part of your response is true. It helps - a lot, but I don't believe it is an absolute truth. A freak will be found. Your premise probably can't be proven because most good players do play travel. Not picking here, just pointing out that scouts have been doing this a long time and they still do attend high school games regularly. They know what they are looking for. I'm thinking here of the kids that still play multiple sports. I'm not sold on this whole year-round thing and attending every camp and paying a lot of money to get book money at some college. That happens a lot more than people think. I wonder how many parents have spent thousands on travel and camps to have their kids books paid for.