Travel ball high school balance

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Oct 4, 2018
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Do you have any idea why they do that? I know there are something like eight states that do it that way. When does baseball play in Georgia? How about LL?

I think it's down to 5 now. No one I know has any idea why, and no one likes it. When you play B level travel, it's no big deal as the tourneys are all near Atlanta and there are tons of B teams to compete against.

But as you go National on an A-level team, you miss out on some great Fall tourneys (since your girls are playing high school) and then in Spring some great competition doesn't/can't come to certain tournaments.

Baseball is a spring sport in Georgia high schools.
 

LEsoftballdad

DFP Vendor
Jun 29, 2021
2,838
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NY
I think it's down to 5 now. No one I know has any idea why, and no one likes it. When you play B level travel, it's no big deal as the tourneys are all near Atlanta and there are tons of B teams to compete against.

But as you go National on an A-level team, you miss out on some great Fall tourneys (since your girls are playing high school) and then in Spring some great competition doesn't/can't come to certain tournaments.

Baseball is a spring sport in Georgia high schools.
My friend's daughter plays for GA Impact 16U, and she's from NY. While they are a great National team, she doesn't play many fall events so that they can accommodate the home state HS games. Their typical start date is late October, so she might guest play to stay sharp. The reverse is true in the spring. Her HS won the state championship for Catholic schools last year, so they don't finish playing school ball until late May/early June. If memory serves me correctly, GA schools are in summer break by then.
 
Jul 14, 2018
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But as you go National on an A-level team, you miss out on some great Fall tourneys (since your girls are playing high school) and then in Spring some great competition doesn't/can't come to certain tournaments.

I heard the D1 Caucus at last week’s NFCA convention had a pretty contentious meeting about fall showcases. A lot of the top teams want the quiet period (where you can only meet recruits on campus) to be extended through the whole fall season.

Lots of reasons, including cost and time commitment to traveling through the fall. But the smaller D1’s are concerned that if the fall becomes the exclusive domain of camps, they will miss out on seeing many of the mid-level players who might choose to attend an Oklahoma camp but have no real shot of making the team.


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Jan 28, 2017
1,661
83
Little suggestion maybe she's already trying this 🤷‍♀️

Self awareness to the 'oops moment' and mental imaging can help the next moment before she's going to throw the pitch she's glitching on.

Take a deep breath, exhale, see ourself doing the correct motion and try again. Whether it's a game or off the field use that mental moment!
Hitting can have that same dilemma.
Repetitive things that need to be corrected.
I'm sure she is trying. Her biggest issue is that she is an absolute strike machine that hits spots at an elite level and will make adjustments immediately to hit spots. This sometimes leads to not correcting issues that would help in the long run, IMO.
 
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
playing ball should be a welcome break from school. If it isn’t then maybe the kid shouldn’t be playing to begin with.

DD looks forward to it as she doesn’t get to see her friends (eg teammates) otherwise.
This right here is the heart of sports that a whole lot of us miss.

Heck yes it should be welcome and they should enjoy it. I feel like this is a success I can claim with both of my DD’s. It was a happy accident, I’m truly not that smart, lol
 
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
I heard the D1 Caucus at last week’s NFCA convention had a pretty contentious meeting about fall showcases. A lot of the top teams want the quiet period (where you can only meet recruits on campus) to be extended through the whole fall season.

Lots of reasons, including cost and time commitment to traveling through the fall. But the smaller D1’s are concerned that if the fall becomes the exclusive domain of camps, they will miss out on seeing many of the mid-level players who might choose to attend an Oklahoma camp but have no real shot of making the team.


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One of the most miserable things about being a college coach has to be the travel. I would want to cap some of that too.

DD hated fall exposures. That would be a nice time of year to get to just be a kid. Some football games, some bonfires, just recover a little.

@RADcatcher I love ya sister but traveling a couple hundred miles is too far? Good gawd, the Midwest players would like a word with you!

It is the parents that fuel the Travel ball bus. You are seeing the result of what some parents think youth sports should be.
Nope. Org heads and tournament directors fuel this baloney. They weren’t happy with the checks they were cashing. And they have convinced college coaches of the necessity of this bs (and their bs lists). How much does a fall exposure cost now? How much does Colorado cost? Now there is a tournament competing with Boulder, Fireworks, Sparkler etc? WHY would that be? And how do you get your dd in the Super Top 100? (And no, it’s NOT bribery, duh.)

Dirty, dirty business. I detest it all and hate it that I was ever part of it.

Who can end this? Who can set it right? College coaches. They need to say “enough”. They lack the intestinal fortitude though. Apparently they LIKE dealing with dingbat team coaches and putting up with parent and player antics.
 
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