Travel Ball is Killing Rec Ball

[_MIA_]

Couple things. Most kids parents aren’t felicity huffman or whatever her name is. Average kids
Parents can’t buy their way onto a college team.

What do I propose? Get rid of all the low level travel teams but that won’t happen. These low level teams are here bc kids that weren’t good enough for the elite level travel wanted to play travel too so they made a step down and another step down till it’s very watered down. My daughter had a game tonight she’s upset frustrated bc most of the girls don’t know what to do they won’t cover bases she chases erratic pitches non stop and even when she tells em watch the runner and cover the bag good Chance is they won’t move to cover. Sadly this is what’s become of rec ball. Shouldn’t have to play travel ball just to play with semi decent kids but all the semi decent nothing special just decent players are playing travel.

I’m obviously of differing opinion than the vast majority of this site but travel ball is so watered down now it’s just really expensive rec ball at the low levels. Some of em are so watered down they play in rec league tourneys cause we played em last year. Is what it is. My apologies for offending the site.


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You should have just said in your initial post that you wanted to rant, people will understand that and will be more forgiving of something silly you might be saying...

The whole reason I moved my DD to TB at 8 YO was pretty much spot on what you described above. She wasn't having fun playing with kids who were not able to catch or throw a ball. I didn't like it anymore than you did. I thought it was ridiculous actually. I played college baseball and didn't have to pay more than 50 dollars for any leagues I played in, including college summer leagues, from the age of 7 till 22. But it is what it is...times have changed and that horse isn't going back in the barn. At the end of the day you want your kid to have fun playing..if they are not then you have to find a situation where it will be fun. It is about her right? Not about some moral stance you might want to take as a parent.

 

[dirtyjersey]

These travel kids are gonna find out come recruiting time the cream rises to the top and there’s nothing mommy and daddy can pay that puts you on a college team. They gonna watch multi sport athletes who only played rec and school ball get recruited and wonder what went wrong.


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You can look at just about any D1 D11 DIII NAIA roster, click on BIO and most of them will list what club the player was with. College coaches don't go to HS games, so unless you are on a club team that goes to the showcases these college coaches attend, how will they know they even exist let alone be recruited?

Sure, you can attend camps and never play on a travel team and be seen, but D1 coaches have told me to my face we do not offer anyone unless we have seen them bat live. So, where are these coaches going to see the non-travel girl bat against a real pitcher? You think a talented athlete who never played travel ball will be able to hit a 65 mph fastball? Come on. My kid was just at a DIII camp and the best of the best was there. National clubs from CA to TX to GA to NJ. The best rec player in my state could have batted for 100 years and not made contact off any of these girls.

 

[whack]

Yup I want her to have fun and play. We’ve been to a couple different practices. Sorry I ain’t paying what they want for that level. It’s glorified rec ball. Practice in the and play indoor in the winter regular travel season runs into school basketball. Ten year old shouldn’t have to give up other sports and choose 1. Thats asinine. I didn’t just post a rant. Nothing I’ve said is silly. Travel sports are ruining youth rec leagues they are causing kids to have to choose 1 sport to concentrate on. High school level that’s fine but these are freakin kids.


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[_MIA_]

Yup I want her to have fun and play. We’ve been to a couple different practices. Sorry I ain’t paying what they want for that level. It’s glorified rec ball. Practice in the and play indoor in the winter regular travel season runs into school basketball. Ten year old shouldn’t have to give up other sports and choose 1. Thats asinine. I didn’t just post a rant. Nothing I’ve said is silly. Travel sports are ruining youth rec leagues they are causing kids to have to choose 1 sport to concentrate on. High school level that’s fine but these are freakin kids.


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Looks like you need to find better TB teams. At 10U there are certainly some lousy ones..but there are also some pretty good ones too. If you just don't want to pay I can understand that but not all 10U TB is glorified rec.

The silly thing you said was regarding recruiting. I would guess 90+% of college softball players played TB.

Also as I said, my 9 YO plays basketball too and will continue to play as long as she is good enough. Rec basketball is pretty lousy, but basketball is a sport where you can improve a lot just working on your skills by yourself or with a parent so I have chosen to have her go the TB softball route and just play rec basketball until MS. I work with her 2 or 3 times a week on basketball and during the summer she will be out there working on her game in the driveway. There are TB teams out there which will allow kids to play multiple sports. There are a few other kids on my DD's team who play basketball. Again, you have to find the right fit for your DD.

 

[whack]

You can look at just about any D1 D11 DIII NAIA roster, click on BIO and most of them will list what club the player was with. College coaches don't go to HS games, so unless you are on a club team that goes to the showcases these college coaches attend, how will they know they even exist let alone be recruited?

Sure, you can attend camps and never play on a travel team and be seen, but D1 coaches have told me to my face we do not offer anyone unless we have seen them bat live. So, where are these coaches going to see the non-travel girl bat against a real pitcher? You think a talented athlete who never played travel ball will be able to hit a 65 mph fastball? Come on. My kid was just at a DIII camp and the best of the best was there. National clubs from CA to TX to GA to NJ. The best rec player in my state could have batted for 100 years and not made contact off any of these girls.

Sounds like softball is out for my daughter then. That’s a shame. She’ll enjoy it through hs then. I’m not asking her to give up other sports she loves too.


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[dirtyjersey]

Right it’s being silly. These numbers show a pretty accurate picture for all the sports. The chance of a girl playing college softball are just as slim as a dude playing football. Most of your college softball players are still from hs’s bc if not 25% plus of girls college age that play softball would be playing in college and that’s not the case.


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Whack, you are so out of the know it's not even funny. I have my state's data (provided by the NCAA) regarding the percentages of HS players (for every sport) who end up playing DI, II and III. Some sports are way more competitive than others. Like Fencing, a ridiculously high percent end up playing in college, whereas soccer, baseball, football are very low.
If you'd like me to forward this PDF to you, DM me your email address.
It also gives ranges of measurables like speed, height, weight, etc. for each division and sport and even breaks them down by position.

To be clear, the chances of a girl who plays high level travel ball all the way to 16U-18U continuing on playing in college, compared to a kid who goes to even a top 10 nationally ranked football team are not even in the same universe. I wouldn't even know how to do that math. I follow HSFB religiously, trust me.

 

[_MIA_]

Size and speed don’t matter? Find me a 5 flat 40 WR or a 5’10 240lb offensive lineman. In college. Go on I’ll wait. I was recruited by the school I ended up signing with solely on size and speed. They (HC and DC) didn’t even know I played football they happened to be at the state hs basketball tourney I was playing in and saw me. Found me after the game asked if I was interested in playing football in college. I asked if they wanted to see film they said nope at 6’6” and your size with quick feet we’ll make an all conference lineman outta you. It matters in all sports my personal experience in college recruiting was in football and basketball but if you think it don’t matter you are fooling yourself.


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Softball is a skill sport, and while athleticism/size do matter, it is not the same as taking an athletic big guy and making him a lineman. They didn't try and make you a QB did they, which would be sort of the equivalent in football regarding skill development....

 

[whack]

Looks like you need to find better TB teams. At 10U there are certainly some lousy ones..but there are also some pretty good ones too. If you just don't want to pay I can understand that but not all 10U TB is glorified rec.

Also as I said, my 9 YO plays basketball too and will continue to play as long as she is good enough. There are TB teams out there which will allow kids to play multiple sports.

Yep the really good ones want even more commitment. She plays travel basketball. It runs a couple months is reasonable and travel is 2 hours max. She plays in the rec league too and her school. The basketball rec league is a bigger joke than softball. They didn’t even have officials last year. This isn’t a softball specific problem. I have zero issues with travel as they get older and the elite level stuff that’s always gone on but if you’re a good to above average player the rec leagues are a lesson in frustration. And why is she playing travel basketball? Bc they let her play her rec volleyball and rec softball and didn’t tell her to choose a sport.


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[whack]

Softball is a skill sport, and while athleticism/size do matter, it is not the same as taking an athletic big guy and making him a lineman. They didn't try and make you a QB did they, which would be sort of the equivalent in football regarding skill development....

The statement alone shows you don’t know about offensive line play. Everyone in the trenches is big and strong technique wins every time. You have zero chance at survival though if you don’t have the size. The technique can be taught. Did they take a risk yup they risked I was teachable.


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[_MIA_]

Yep the really good ones want even more commitment. She plays travel basketball. It runs a couple months is reasonable and travel is 2 hours max. She plays in the rec league too and her school. The basketball rec league is a bigger joke than softball. They didn’t even have officials last year. This isn’t a softball specific problem. I have zero issues with travel as they get older and the elite level stuff that’s always gone on but if you’re a good to above average player the rec leagues are a lesson in frustration. And why is she playing travel basketball? Bc they let her play her rec volleyball and rec softball and didn’t tell her to choose a sport.


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Life is about choices. Like I said I chose to have my kid play TB softball and play rec basketball because the AAU basketball around here has their tournaments in the summer..same time as softball. As she gets older if she continues to like basketball and continues to improve then that decision will be revisited if necessary.