IS TRAVEL BALL leaving people/players/rec & school behind...OR...

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May 27, 2013
2,353
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Some of the above reasons are why some of our LL coaches made a travel team for the best 12 rec players from ages 10U-12U (typically we fielded 3 teams 10U, 11U, 12U). This made 36 players better for rec and we would spread them out across the rec teams each season. It provided something for the rec players to improve and compete for because those players got to play in “real” tournaments outside of LL. It was a great stepping stone for the girls who wanted to play on a true travel team after 12U.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Some of the above reasons are why some of our LL coaches made a travel team for the best 12 rec players from ages 10U-12U (typically we fielded 3 teams 10U, 11U, 12U). This made 36 players better for rec and we would spread them out across the rec teams each season. It provided something for the rec players to improve and compete for because those players got to play in “real” tournaments outside of LL. It was a great stepping stone for the girls who wanted to play on a true travel team after 12U.
I suggested an All Star team to the powers that be but I was just some guy with a funny accent who talked too fast 🤷🏽‍♂️ ( come to think of it, they may not have understood a word I said )
 
May 17, 2012
2,804
113
The problem is at 10u rec you can only have as many teams as you have pitchers. It's just that simple. When you pay to play in a tournament every team will have a serviceable pitcher.

I would also point out there are all levels of "travel" softball. From National, Regional, to Local. "Travel" is simply filling a void in the marketplace.

There is no going back.
 
Nov 9, 2021
184
43
I suggested an All Star team to the powers that be but I was just some guy with a funny accent who talked too fast ( come to think of it, they may not have understood a word I said )

I think the rec leagues have to offer something for the more advanced girls to keep their interest. If a rec league has to replace the top 10-12 players in an age group every few years they will never be able to build a solid program.

As was mentioned above it can be hard when you feel your daughter can’t even throw hard. We have had to move a daughter up early for that as well. But without the good players in the program it never forces the other girls to learn to catch harder throws. The rec programs need the better players to stick around to help in the development of all the girls.

But the rec programs have to recognize if they don’t offer something advanced for those that are more serious those girls will go elsewhere. We are working on adding a travel component to our rec programs. We hope to not make parents choose one or the other. But rather what combination fits their needs. Now how that looks has been the subject of much debate.


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radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
There is no going back.
This is something I was considering also.

Someone has to take initiative at that level if rec is to continue existing.


Within travel ball now
Newbies mixed playing against the dedicated...
That's a discussion in itself.
 
Oct 6, 2020
8
3
I think this is a common theme. 10u rec can be brutal even for the most avid softball fans. But that also doesn’t mean travel at that age can’t be negative also.

Curious on ways to make 10u rec more beneficial to all so that parents/players don’t feel they have to rush to travel to avoid the torments. In our current league my youngest plays in it can be painful. The pitchers and catchers get work and that is about it. We seem to have some really good pitchers that strike everyone out. Or really bad ones that walk everyone. Hard for the other girls to develop when they don’t get the chance to field a ball often or hit but maybe once a game and even then they may not see a strike. There is no shortcut to experience for pitchers, so we have to let them struggle. But it makes that age group painful for everyone else.

If anyone has seen something in the 10u range that works I would love to hear about it. Looking to help my local league improve the development at that age.


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I'm on the board for our local LL. LL baseball has been in our area sine the 50's. They started a softball program in 2019. That is when I got involved as a coach, then a year later was invited on to the board. What we started in the second year of our program to create a better game experience at the lower levels is in our youngest coach pitch program (6 to 8 yo) the batter gets 4 coach pitches and if the batter does not hit the ball, we get a tee for them to hit off of. The next age (9 to 10 yo) is player pitch but we utilize a no walk rule. Once the at bat gets to ball four, the hitting team coach comes out and gets 3 pitches to their batter. The Majors division (11 and 12 yo) is all player pitch. Our concept for the younger division is we want as many bats on the ball as that helps the hitters and the fielders. It keeps the girls on defense involved in the game as nearly every batter hits the ball in play at every at bat. We have seen tremendous improvement in the level of play at all divisions since we started. In 2019 there was 144 girls in 3 divisions. This year we have 255 girls between the ages of 6 and 16 across 4 divisions.

My daughters have been almost exclusively rec ball players. In 2020 when our rec league was shut down for Covid, she played in the fall on a travel team in the next town over, which consisted of only practices and a few scrimmages. She hated being in the car 4 hours a week traveling back and fort to practices. Other than that, she has not had the desire to play TB (and it took me convincing her to try it that year). She is very athletic and has a high ceiling if she would put in the work, but she likes playing multiple sports throughout the year and likes her down time. That is her choice and as much as I would like to see her pursue higher level softball, it is more important to me that she is active and having fun playing. She is definitely the "big fish in a small pond" at rec. Each year before our draft the other coaches always joke about trading me picks for my daughter.

I might be in the minority, but I wish there was something between rec ball and full on travel that would pose some additional challenge without the time and financial commitment of TB.
 
Jul 14, 2018
982
93
If you're not playing the national tournaments you're not playing travel ball...

This is silly. I personally know three committed ’22s whose coaches never saw them play at a national tournament. They went to camps, played in a few local showcases, and got offers. Playing in national tournaments might be necessary for top 10% type players, but that doesn’t mean everyone else is just playing glorified Rec. There are 30,000+ college softball players, 90% of them probably never set foot in Colorado.


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LEsoftballdad

DFP Vendor
Jun 29, 2021
2,838
113
NY
I'm on the board for our local LL. LL baseball has been in our area sine the 50's. They started a softball program in 2019. That is when I got involved as a coach, then a year later was invited on to the board. What we started in the second year of our program to create a better game experience at the lower levels is in our youngest coach pitch program (6 to 8 yo) the batter gets 4 coach pitches and if the batter does not hit the ball, we get a tee for them to hit off of. The next age (9 to 10 yo) is player pitch but we utilize a no walk rule. Once the at bat gets to ball four, the hitting team coach comes out and gets 3 pitches to their batter. The Majors division (11 and 12 yo) is all player pitch. Our concept for the younger division is we want as many bats on the ball as that helps the hitters and the fielders. It keeps the girls on defense involved in the game as nearly every batter hits the ball in play at every at bat. We have seen tremendous improvement in the level of play at all divisions since we started. In 2019 there was 144 girls in 3 divisions. This year we have 255 girls between the ages of 6 and 16 across 4 divisions.

My daughters have been almost exclusively rec ball players. In 2020 when our rec league was shut down for Covid, she played in the fall on a travel team in the next town over, which consisted of only practices and a few scrimmages. She hated being in the car 4 hours a week traveling back and fort to practices. Other than that, she has not had the desire to play TB (and it took me convincing her to try it that year). She is very athletic and has a high ceiling if she would put in the work, but she likes playing multiple sports throughout the year and likes her down time. That is her choice and as much as I would like to see her pursue higher level softball, it is more important to me that she is active and having fun playing. She is definitely the "big fish in a small pond" at rec. Each year before our draft the other coaches always joke about trading me picks for my daughter.

I might be in the minority, but I wish there was something between rec ball and full on travel that would pose some additional challenge without the time and financial commitment of TB.
Does your area have league play? Where I am located, we have LL through 7th grade. Obviously, we also have school ball for 7-12. We have what some call travel, which is really just local tournaments and leagues for girls who don't aspire to play in college or are just looking to continue playing after the school season is over. It's much less costly and time-consuming than a real high-level travel ball team would be.
 
Oct 6, 2020
8
3
Does your area have league play? Where I am located, we have LL through 7th grade. Obviously, we also have school ball for 7-12. We have what some call travel, which is really just local tournaments and leagues for girls who don't aspire to play in college or are just looking to continue playing after the school season is over. It's much less costly and time-consuming than a real high-level travel ball team would be.
No "league play" that I am aware of. We have LL that goes through 16 year old, TB and school. Unfortunately her high school team (she is a freshman) couldn't get enough girls out to field one full team. Super sad.
 

LEsoftballdad

DFP Vendor
Jun 29, 2021
2,838
113
NY
No "league play" that I am aware of. We have LL that goes through 16 year old, TB and school. Unfortunately her high school team (she is a freshman) couldn't get enough girls out to field one full team. Super sad.
That does stink about school ball, but with the way you've increased the numbers at the LL level, you should have a bright future for the younger girls.
 

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