Summer before college travel ball

[CMMom1740]

Yeah, I would consider maybe doing a B travel team or rec team just to stay in shape. But no heavy travel or overuse. I know that such teams do exist in most areas. DD (also a senior) will play locally, but we are not doing CO, CA, etc... And there are enough on the team that occasional absences won't be a biggie.

 

[PitchMum]

I would agree the schedule seems excessive, especially if most of the girls have already committed to play somewhere. My daughter's team recruited a few new players that were upcoming seniors, and also kept those that graduated on the roster. The graduated seniors could then come in and play at tournaments that they wanted to participate in, or when the team was short girls that weekend, so the pressure was off to attend each and every single one. The graduated seniors could also work more hours over the summer to save money. What you've described sounds like a huge unnecessary expense and amount of stress right before starting college.

 

[FP26]

When we played 18u we had 3 2nd year players that were already playing in college and 6 1st year players that were committed to play in college. The 3 older players were aging out at the end of that summer. I sat down with the other 6 players and their parents and suggested that instead of playing another year of 18u that following year, that we instead change our focus and play a limited schedule of 23u tournaments. All 6 agreed. The 3 that were aging out decided to stay. And we were able to pick up 5 other college players that we knew. We then played 5 tournaments that summer at the 23u level.
I suggested this idea to the group because I felt playing against other college level players would give them good experience and better prepare them for college ball. It worked out well for us. That said, I do realize that some regions don't have 23u tournaments. Our selection was limited as well. In fact, one of the tournaments was supposed to have two brackets; a 23u bracket and a Women's bracket (teams above 23u). In the end they didn't have enough teams to play both separately, so they combined the brackets. (Side note: Our starting pitcher in the first game of this tournament was a junior in college at the time. The starting pitcher for the other team was her pitching coaching. Pretty cool dynamic...).

 

[canyonjoe]

You only get to be 18 once. Let her decide what she wants to do. If she wants a little break take it, if not let her play. In college she'll have 6-7 days a week of practice, games and workouts so playing tournaments is almost going to be easier.

 

[sluggers]

Loves her travel team, team has plenty of players so they won’t be short, but she is ready to move on and has said the being gone for weeks on end effects her physical and mental health, which I can confirm I’ve seen.

*SHE* is ready to move, and it is time for you to get out of the way.

I’m hesitant because I have never allowed her to and she’s never asked to leave anything early.

With due respect, *SHE* is the softball expert, not you. She knows what is coming next year in college, and she wants some time to do something other than softball.

You raised a smart lady.

 

[murphdog]

There’s nothing wrong with not playing an intense schedule as long as she continues to hit, throw and train in some way. I’ve seen kids show up out of shape and not prepared for college ball and then quit because it’s “too much”.
Maybe ask her coach if she can play in the more local tournaments? Or find a team she can guest on from time to time?

 

[Chris8]

DD plays on a high end travel team. Is committed and signed. TT is set for summer of 5-6 out of state tourneys(some many states away), which was a grind on the body and mind last year after rolling in straight from HS (&10 years of doing it) Had several college coaches tell some of our coaches we play too much. I was told we would play less, But yet, we will see a similar schedule again. 5-6 4or5 day out of state tourneys with big travel (and expense). DD has spring HS ball and is considering forgoing travel in the summer and enrolling early to train with team that stays on campus (we live within 40 min of the campus) . She has articulated very well that her best self is healthy, rested and continuously training on skill and weight room. Wants to be her best self when stepping on campus and I have had numerous girls (from her team and others) return from their freshman year and said they wished they hadn’t done travel after senior year. Loves her travel team, team has plenty of players so they won’t be short, but she is ready to move on and has said the being gone for weeks on end effects her physical and mental health, which I can confirm I’ve seen. Clearly, this is the direction she is heading and a convo with the college coach is coming for direction from them. Just wondering if anyone has had this experience or can just relay their thoughts. I’m hesitant because I have never allowed her to and she’s never asked to leave anything early. But, I do believe she will be her best self as a player if she devotes her time to this next step.

To me one deciding factor is this. "Plenty of players". If there weren't enough players. Or say she was one of three P's....would she still play?

One thing I think is important is that players who've committed to a college not bail on their TB...because there are likely other girls at the same grad class or younger still working to get committed. The committed players can be helpful for the team and those still working to get where they are now. YMMV.

Of course every team is different.

We've seen kids in our area bail on their team once committed and leave the team in a lurch. I appreciate DD's current 8u team which is a mix of 2022, 2203 and a couple 2204's. All but 1 2022 are committed (she likely will decide soon). Yet they are still sticking with the team to help the 2023/4's get to where they are now. We have a full schedule but doesn't sound quite as grinding as yours.

One suggestion. What if she sticks with her team but doesn't play the full summer schedule. If you have 6 tournaments maybe she committs to being at 3 of them? OTOH if the TB coach has enough players....are there other players that could benefit from the playing time that she would be getting if she stayed?

No wrong answer here....but your DD knows herself the best and whats coming up for her. Sounds like she's a smart cookie and got her head on straight.

 

[jsoftballcoach]

Hey OP, not sure if this was mentioned but if it’s a high level TB team most of the other players should be committed as well. Are they planning to miss tournaments? I do agree that 5-6 out of state tourneys sounds a bit much.


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[PapaBear]

Similar situation, mine always played with a team that was a year older now they are freshman in college. She has one more spring season and should be a long one if they duplicate the state run from last year. Teams have inquired about her playing with them because they know she available now. Told her when she was traveling coast to coast in her early high school years that if she was committed/signed and she wanted to take the summer off to workout prior to her college fall semester that was up to her. She can treat it like college in letting her body heal, focus on herself and get her body ready not only for the demand of the circle. But also, let her enjoy being a kid one last time. Selfishly, I'd rather her take the summer off, work with her PC and trainer and be with friends and family. She is siding right now on picking up only.

 

[_MIA_]

Similar situation, mine always played with a team that was a year older now they are freshman in college. She has one more spring season and should be a long one if they duplicate the state run from last year. Teams have inquired about her playing with them because they know she available now. Told her when she was traveling coast to coast in her early high school years that if she was committed/signed and she wanted to take the summer off to workout prior to her college fall semester that was up to her. She can treat it like college in letting her body heal, focus on herself and get her body ready not only for the demand of the circle. But also, let her enjoy being a kid one last time. Selfishly, I'd rather her take the summer off, work with her PC and trainer and be with friends and family. She is siding right now on picking up only.

Not relevant to the OP, and don't mean to pick on you @PapaBear as I know what you meant (hanging at the beach, etc), but I hate that phrase "being a kid" when it is used in a context where playing ball is treated as being some kind of punishment. Unfortunately in the 21st century, for far too many kids, "being a kid" pretty much means sitting on your arse for 10 hours a day and staring at your phone so essentially the out-of-shape 50 YO staring at their phone in the drive thru at Sonic is "being a kid".