Travel ball- how necessary? (1 Viewer)

Wholeheartedly agree that the absolute best way to gauge interest is to get on campus for a hitting/fielding/pitching camp - preferably one where it doesn't feel like a money grab (you'll know - usually better ratio of players/coaches to attendees as opposed to the money grabs where there are hundreds of attendees and fewer players/coaches).

Thinking back on it - after doing NCSA and several "showcase" events I don't feel he was anywhere closer to an offer than before he did any of that.  It was after he started building relationships with a few coaches and went to their invite camps that he narrowed down his options to about 5-6 schools that were a fit and had interest.  Of those schools it was the relationship with the coach and/or recruiter that ultimately led to him narrowing down to 2 schools - then his campus visit is what ultimately sold him on the school he now attends (and the added bonus that they were as interested in him as he was them).  TBH, his final two schools were so similar from a culture perspective that I would have been happy whichever he chose.

My 2 cents.  First there are a lot of definitions of a "travel" team, from all star teams for local organizations that might play in a league in a 60 miles radius and do a week tournament at some place like Cooperstown Dreams park to teams that travel up and down the east coast. And that is true pretty much of all sports, my younger sons main sport is soccer, the local club (most here are based on school district) he started playing for has rec and travel teams, the rec teams play among themselves and a few neighboring organizations while the travel teams require a tryout and play in a league covering 3 counties, have playoffs and they would do a couple tournaments (under an hour away). They still however are mostly coached by a parent or someone with a direct connection (maybe someone who grew up in the organization and wants to give back). That is different from what they refer to as a "premier" team around here which is an open tryout, pay to play with paid coaches.

As for what is necessary, I think that depends on your kids interest and what the goals are. My son for example started Rec at the young ages as all do, really enjoyed soccer and when he got of age went to the travel side of the local club. He was lucky to have a coach (a dad) who had some decent playing experience and a pretty talented core group of 6 or so kids. They learned a lot and were able to be successful at the younger ages playing 7v7 and 9v9. However when he got moved up to 11v11 a year early because of numbers and ended up playing with a team that was half kids that should really be playing Rec it bothered him. Not so much that they weren't as successful (they still went like 4-6 and were competitive) but because half the kids would fool around at practice and didn't care if the coach disciplined them and were there just to hang out and not get better. It was the first time since he started that I didn't really see growth in his game. So this year we decided to let him tryout for a premier team. It took a lot for him as he tends to be shy around new people so the deal was if he wanted to do it then he had to go to the open winter training sessions that the two closest premier clubs had, so we could get an idea if he had the skills others told us he did (I didn't grow up in a soccer area) and if he would like it. It wasn't always smooth, some Saturday's he was going direct from a basketball game and tired, the first handful of times he didn't know anyone or maybe recognized a kid or two he had played against at most and we would sit in the truck before going in and discuss is this really what he wanted to do. In the end we let it up to him and he decided to try it. He ended up making the second team at the club whose coaches he preferred out of about 45 kids that tried out. That really boosted his confidence and  he has really enjoyed it and the development in his game and his understanding of what they are trying to do has been great. Just being with kids who all had the same desire and commitment as he does was great for him, he still secondary rostered on the local travel team and went back and played on off weekends with his school friends, while it was much better this year as his core group from previous years were all up at that age level now when asked he always said he enjoyed playing for his premier team more regardless of results. But that is the way he is, when he was like 9 and played some goalie they said he needed to work on punting, he would go out at night and practice punting over our fence for an hour or more, he has a ball at his feet all the time in the house (much to my wife's dismay). My older son is the complete opposite, he was a decent baseball player up through 12U, usually just missed out on tournament teams because his age group had an overly large percentage of kids whose first sport was baseball but he always played the in-house leagues and did ok. Hit middle school and was on JV and not getting a lot of playing time, coach told him what he needed to work on. While my other son was at soccer practice I went to the baseball field next door to work with him, he would do it for 15 minutes then be bored and want to be done. Always had a good pitch back at home, he would go out and throw 15 pitches and be done. He has went through just about every sport (baseball, soccer, basketball, golf, volleyball, and he is now bowling) because he keeps looking for one he can be good at without practice. He goes to team practices and never complains but has no desire to do anything out side that to get better. That is not the type of kid that should look at travel programs even if they have enough pure talent to make the team.

I’m a parent who has just emerged from all this, albeit in a different sport- swimming. 

Daughter is now a freshman swimmer at her dream D1 college in California. Loving life. But holy moly! The time and money involved to get her to that point was ridiculous. I don’t blame any parent for questioning the worthiness of the pursuit.

Anyway, good info in this thread. Couple points, maybe I missed somewhere: 

NCAA D1 and D2 give scholarships. D3 does not. There are head count scholarships and equivalency scholarships, depending on the sport.  

In men’s NCAA D1, football and basketball are head count, everything else is equivalency, including baseball.

in women’s D1,  head counts are basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, and tennis (maybe?)

All D2 scholarships are equivalency.

For instance, swimming is an equivalency sport. In D1 there is a total of 14 scholarships for women’s swimming. But that is the max. Many schools don’t fund all 14 spots. On my daughter’s team, for instance, there are about 30 women swimmers. As far as I can tell, the school funds 6 scholarships. Most swimmers there get nothing. The rest split the 6 scholarships in various ways, depending on how fast they are and what kind of “deal” they can make with the coach each year. Scholarships are year to year, not four years. But rarely does a coach take a scholarship away as long as you get passing grades and don’t break any rules.

Swimming is a very objective sport- your times tell a pretty complete story. So I never saw much use for the various recruiting services. But my general impression of them is that an engaged parent willing and able to devote a chunk of time each week can take care of the college recruiting process on their own.

In the end, it was worth it. She will get a degree from a great school and have a pretty impressive resume when the time comes. Watching her swim in the college environment is a great payoff for her parents as well.

dino259 said:

anyone have experience with the resistance bands?  Do they help strengthen the arm or work on flexibility?  Any brand recommendations or other reviews of them?  My boys are in 6th and 4th grade currently.  They are about the same size.  They younger one has a stronger arm, but the older one has more accuracy (compared to his own team and his brother).

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I strongly recommend band work for all ballplayers (not just pitchers or catchers). J-Bands (the original Jaeger bands) are probably best, though you can get good quality knock off brands for less money. To me, the band work is about off-season prep (strengthening/stretching the arm and arm parts) and as part of a pre-practice/pre-game routine. At 14s this previous season I had my entire team using bands before all baseball activity. We didn't see any arm problems, even though I was told all off-season that "14s is when all the arm issues pop up". You can find routines online - have your player (or team) learn one and consistently do it 2-3x/week during the off-season and then a less rigorous routine (more for warming up) prior to all practices/games.

Just thought of another thing.  So many kids (and parents) focus so much on batting average/rbis/runs/won-loss record/era/etc.  Those are nice to have - they will at least get a coach or recruiter to look at your video (or even better come see you play in an actual game).  But what I have heard from college coaches and recruiters is that when they call the high school (or club) coach they don't ask about those things.  They care about measurables - they care about character (assuming measurables are there).  So my best advice is play your hardest - build up the stats in the process but don't focus on them.  Focus on getting bigger/stronger/faster.  S many high school kids get by on raw talent up through high school.  They get to college and the weight room and positional work are a whole new ballgame - they just don't understand that college ball is essentially damn near a full time job in addition to class work.  So as early as you can in high school - and definitely as soon as you know you want to play at the next level - you will need to sacrifice to put work into the weight room above and beyond  - you will need to get your GPA as high as possible as well - and prep for the ACT/SAT.  Cold hard fact - there are less than a dozen full baseball scholarships in D1 11.7 to be precise and those 11.7 can be divided bewteen a maximum number of 27 players.  Do the math - you will need good grades to get more money for school because you aren't getting a full ride for baseball.  In D2 it is 9 total scholarships.  In NAIA it is unlimitted but based upon the school and guess what you aren't getting a full ride there either.  In D3 there is NO athletic scholarship - but it is amazing the amount of academic awards and grants you can get (wink, wink) if you happen to be a good student and a good baseball player.

So my advice don't show up at college before getting physically ready - when you show up you are competing against grown men - not high school boys.  You want to make an impact in year 1?  Be physically capable of competing with and against them.  Remember they are already in the program - they already have that in their favor - impress the coaches when you show up at good playing weight - strong...don't go in thinking they are going to magically make you that way on Day 1.

Once you have reached a point you are sure your kid wants to try to play in college it is also important to get a good travel organization, not just the team.  I have two daughters playing travel softball, both interested in playing in college and I am getting an education in recruiting and all that goes along with high level travel sports.  One of the organizations my daughters play for has a person dedicated to emailing college coaches and advocating for and helping kids get in touch and staying in touch.  The organization recently got an email from an assistant coach at Dartmouth university asking to be in touch with any players that might be able and interested in going to their school.  The built in networking can be a great help if you can find an organization like this.  You will still have to work at it but it is such a step above.  

The other organization is a one person show basically.  That one person has some connections and knows the process but all the leg work falls on the families.  

shadyridr said:

My 8 year old son (will be 9 in June) has been playing baseball for 4 years for our local little league. He was never really good at it so it was always just a fun thing. But something funny happened last year. He got good. Maybe not the best player on the team but maybe the 3rd best. His fielding is fantastic, hitting is decent, and he pitches. Travel was never even on my mind until this spring. I thought about it but ultimately decided not to pursue it yet because he also plays flag football. I didn't want to burn him out on little league, travel ball, AND flag football. He really likes playing baseball now because he's good at it but I do think if he played too much it would burn him out. Not sure he "loves" it yet. That being said, almost all the good players in his division also play on a travel team. Its insane. Where do people find the time? So while it may be too late to get him on a travel team this spring, I think a travel fall team is definitely in the cards. So am I hurting him by not having him on a travel team?

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No.  

I have seen the travel ball players at 18.  Many turned down free rides to play in college, many didn't even get that.  The ones I know of were all in for a decade and told they would be drafted.

Anyone have experience where a travel/club team blew up after a couple of years?  My son has been with the same team for about 6 years now and this team has experienced very little turnover (lost 2 and gained 3 over 6 years).  But as the boys get older, there is a definite split between them.  Some are starting to like other sports more than baseball.  Some are realizing that they are not as good as other boys, so they act out in other ways (bad attitudes, yelling at umps or other teams, etc).  Some dads still try to use "politics" to leverage their sons into more playing time and get upset when his kid gets chance after chance but doesn't perform well (errors, strikeouts, etc).  What have you guys done to help your son/daughter through these kinds of seasons?

My son is visibly upset after every game.  He says he's embarrassed and doesn't want to keep playing with his team.  He gets along fine with 3-4 other boys, but that's it.  I asked him what would make things different, and he said "We should have tryouts every year and cut people who can't play".  I asked for a list of kids and he gave me 3-4 names quickly. He caught me off guard as he's normally a laid back kid who just wants to play and have fun.

I want him to enjoy the rest of this season and told him he can do tryouts once the season is over.  He has never considered leaving this team, yet now he's welcoming the opportunity.  He's at that age where HS ball is right around the corner, so the timing to move to another team has me concerned he won't find the same playing opportunities elsewhere.  

Peak said:

Anyone have experience where a travel/club team blew up after a couple of years?  My son has been with the same team for about 6 years now and this team has experienced very little turnover (lost 2 and gained 3 over 6 years).  But as the boys get older, there is a definite split between them.  Some are starting to like other sports more than baseball.  Some are realizing that they are not as good as other boys, so they act out in other ways (bad attitudes, yelling at umps or other teams, etc).  Some dads still try to use "politics" to leverage their sons into more playing time and get upset when his kid gets chance after chance but doesn't perform well (errors, strikeouts, etc).  What have you guys done to help your son/daughter through these kinds of seasons?

My son is visibly upset after every game.  He says he's embarrassed and doesn't want to keep playing with his team.  He gets along fine with 3-4 other boys, but that's it.  I asked him what would make things different, and he said "We should have tryouts every year and cut people who can't play".  I asked for a list of kids and he gave me 3-4 names quickly. He caught me off guard as he's normally a laid back kid who just wants to play and have fun.

I want him to enjoy the rest of this season and told him he can do tryouts once the season is over.  He has never considered leaving this team, yet now he's welcoming the opportunity.  He's at that age where HS ball is right around the corner, so the timing to move to another team has me concerned he won't find the same playing opportunities elsewhere.  

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You can look back through this thread for details of my own son's travails in travel ball (FWIW, he just finished his sophomore year of college, made all-conference for the 2nd time and led his team in most offensive and defensive categories), but to address what you're going through, I'll say 3 things:

1. Kids losing interest is normal, and your son's frustration with kids that aren't as serious about it as him is normal.

2. As for dealing with the political side of the game, I always guided my son to let his game speak for itself.  I was never buddies enough with any of the dads/coaches on his team to be taken seriously, so I would just have to let his actions speak for themselves.  Most coaches worth anything will tune out the BS and give the kids the chances they deserve on their own merit.  I get your worrying about it, but the best thing you can do is show your son you're not worried about it and believe in him and what he can control.

3. As for moving to another team and the chance for the same opportunities, if he's good enough, he'll get to his rightful place.  When my son left his long-time team, he replaced the starter at his chosen position, and when he joined a showcase team full of more highly regarded, private school kids, he again wound up as a starter.  At the time, and even to this day, his strength is his work ethic. Good coaches notice that quality and seem happy to reward it whenever possible. If your son has that drive and at least some skill to go with it, he'll find his way. The best thing you can do is stay out of his way while supporting him. As for the timing, again don't worry. It's not like everything he's done to this point will vanish and he'll forget how to play.  In fact, moving to a more 'serious' team may be the best thing he can do at this age. HS coaches don't care where you played before or for how long, they only see what you are right now, and TBH, your son probably won't get as good developmental coaching at that level as he will on a 'serious' team. Good luck and keep us posted here.

Peak said:

Anyone have experience where a travel/club team blew up after a couple of years?  My son has been with the same team for about 6 years now and this team has experienced very little turnover (lost 2 and gained 3 over 6 years).  But as the boys get older, there is a definite split between them.  Some are starting to like other sports more than baseball.  Some are realizing that they are not as good as other boys, so they act out in other ways (bad attitudes, yelling at umps or other teams, etc).  Some dads still try to use "politics" to leverage their sons into more playing time and get upset when his kid gets chance after chance but doesn't perform well (errors, strikeouts, etc).  What have you guys done to help your son/daughter through these kinds of seasons?

My son is visibly upset after every game.  He says he's embarrassed and doesn't want to keep playing with his team.  He gets along fine with 3-4 other boys, but that's it.  I asked him what would make things different, and he said "We should have tryouts every year and cut people who can't play".  I asked for a list of kids and he gave me 3-4 names quickly. He caught me off guard as he's normally a laid back kid who just wants to play and have fun.

I want him to enjoy the rest of this season and told him he can do tryouts once the season is over.  He has never considered leaving this team, yet now he's welcoming the opportunity.  He's at that age where HS ball is right around the corner, so the timing to move to another team has me concerned he won't find the same playing opportunities elsewhere.  

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What, exactly, is causing your son to feel embarrassed?

If he's embarrassed by the unserious attitudes of 3-4 players on the team, then it seems to me that this would be a good opportunity for him to get together with the other serious players and focus on leading by example. Anyone who doesn't get with the program should be frozen out.

I'm not a big fan of "team shopping", especially if the kid is already getting plenty of playing time. Learning to deal with adversity is part of growing up.

Peak said:

Anyone have experience where a travel/club team blew up after a couple of years?  My son has been with the same team for about 6 years now and this team has experienced very little turnover (lost 2 and gained 3 over 6 years).  But as the boys get older, there is a definite split between them.  Some are starting to like other sports more than baseball.  Some are realizing that they are not as good as other boys, so they act out in other ways (bad attitudes, yelling at umps or other teams, etc).  Some dads still try to use "politics" to leverage their sons into more playing time and get upset when his kid gets chance after chance but doesn't perform well (errors, strikeouts, etc).  What have you guys done to help your son/daughter through these kinds of seasons?

My son is visibly upset after every game.  He says he's embarrassed and doesn't want to keep playing with his team.  He gets along fine with 3-4 other boys, but that's it.  I asked him what would make things different, and he said "We should have tryouts every year and cut people who can't play".  I asked for a list of kids and he gave me 3-4 names quickly. He caught me off guard as he's normally a laid back kid who just wants to play and have fun.

I want him to enjoy the rest of this season and told him he can do tryouts once the season is over.  He has never considered leaving this team, yet now he's welcoming the opportunity.  He's at that age where HS ball is right around the corner, so the timing to move to another team has me concerned he won't find the same playing opportunities elsewhere.  

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IDK about baseball, but with hockey we need permission from our current organization to explore opportunities with other orgs.

If you don't need any sort of permission, start looking at clinics and camps where he can get some 1 on 1 time and exposure with other coaches. Talk to all of them, tell them your situation and desire to have him in a better competitive situation. You never know, they may have and opening or know of someone who does, or they are looking to upgrade at that position but dint have a better option. GL

[scooter] said:

What, exactly, is causing your son to feel embarrassed?

If he's embarrassed by the unserious attitudes of 3-4 players on the team, then it seems to me that this would be a good opportunity for him to get together with the other serious players and focus on leading by example. Anyone who doesn't get with the program should be frozen out.

I'm not a big fan of "team shopping", especially if the kid is already getting plenty of playing time. Learning to deal with adversity is part of growing up.

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IDK, I think there is a fine line. Kids only have a few short years of playing in most cases. If the team is truly imploding from the inside, you can try to make it better or leave. Unfortunately kids can only do so much. I'm not a fan of shopping every season, but if there is no real rainbow in sight, you risk burning the kid out and quitting over frustration. Kids can't change the politics, so its either live with it and let their fun youthful sports careers fizzle out or move and enjoy as much as you can out of it.

Its the parents who shop their kids looking to make super-teams that I despise. I think in this case, the kid just wants an opportunity to enjoy playing, win or lose.

Peak said:

Anyone have experience where a travel/club team blew up after a couple of years?  My son has been with the same team for about 6 years now and this team has experienced very little turnover (lost 2 and gained 3 over 6 years).  But as the boys get older, there is a definite split between them.  Some are starting to like other sports more than baseball.  Some are realizing that they are not as good as other boys, so they act out in other ways (bad attitudes, yelling at umps or other teams, etc).  Some dads still try to use "politics" to leverage their sons into more playing time and get upset when his kid gets chance after chance but doesn't perform well (errors, strikeouts, etc).  What have you guys done to help your son/daughter through these kinds of seasons?

My son is visibly upset after every game.  He says he's embarrassed and doesn't want to keep playing with his team.  He gets along fine with 3-4 other boys, but that's it.  I asked him what would make things different, and he said "We should have tryouts every year and cut people who can't play".  I asked for a list of kids and he gave me 3-4 names quickly. He caught me off guard as he's normally a laid back kid who just wants to play and have fun.

I want him to enjoy the rest of this season and told him he can do tryouts once the season is over.  He has never considered leaving this team, yet now he's welcoming the opportunity.  He's at that age where HS ball is right around the corner, so the timing to move to another team has me concerned he won't find the same playing opportunities elsewhere.  

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We are in the middle of our 5th year with basically the same team.  Started when they were 9 and are now 13.  Every year we have made great improvements but this year.  This year we have about 3-4 kids that have terrible attitudes and think their #### don't stink.  We have 3-4 that work really hard and never have attitude and the have 2-3 stuck in the middle. 

We have been losing more games than normal and some of the kids are getting really frustrated.  As a coach I wanted to go into this season (likely our last as about half of the team is going to HS next year and we don't have a big community to choose replacements from) with a gear towards relaxed improvement.  The fundamentals have been taught and they all know them.  Now it's a bout fine tuning and putting in the effort to get better.  Unfortunately early on the kids were screwing off at practice too much and not working hard.  We came down hard about putting in the time and giving max effort and trying to improve (nothing they had not seen at times when players got out of hand before - extra laps, conditioning, sitting on bench, etc).   A few tuned out and had parents come to us saying we were being too harsh and that the kids weren't having any fun and thinking of quitting.   Once that came down I basically told the kids it's on them now.  If they don't care about improving and working hard why should we as coaches put in that time and effort.  We will hold practices and continue drills but if they don't work hard and try and improve (and listen to instruction) then they won't get any better. 

All this to say I think in that age 13-14 yrs the attitudes start to poke out a little more and they get to a crossroads on how they want to go.  The few that want to work hard are still doing so and I am keeping my focus on them.  The ones that are complaining aren't getting the play time and aren't getting any better.  It is hurting us as a team (wins/losses) but the boys that are still working hard will easily pass the other's soon. 

[scooter] said:

What, exactly, is causing your son to feel embarrassed?

If he's embarrassed by the unserious attitudes of 3-4 players on the team, then it seems to me that this would be a good opportunity for him to get together with the other serious players and focus on leading by example. Anyone who doesn't get with the program should be frozen out.

I'm not a big fan of "team shopping", especially if the kid is already getting plenty of playing time. Learning to deal with adversity is part of growing up.

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His biggest pain is that the 3-4 kids who are at the bottom of the roster have "given up" and now just fool around (his words).  He sees the same kids making mistakes in the field, as well as running the bases.  They ignore signs and say "I missed it" but they bunt when they want and steal when they want.  One kid even ran back to a base on a force out.  Routine ground ball play, he has to run to 2nd, goes half way then runs back to 1st and is surprised to see his teammate already on the base.  He has told me that going on the field after things like that are embarrassing.  He knows they can play the game, but now they "act like they have no idea".

The team instilled captains this season, and some of the other "baseball first" kids (including my son) have joined in to help them "lead by example".  He has told me that it doesn't work.  The other boys ignore the captains or sit around through practice.  I've tried to help him but he gets more frustrated and embarassed every week.  The frozen out part is where they are now, as there are about 3 groups - per my son, the baseball players, the goof-arounds, and the talentless.  I asked if he has talked to his captains about his frustration, and he says yes.  I ask if they (the captains) have said anything to the coaches, he said no.  When I asked why, he told me that the "goof-arounds" include sons and friends of two of the coaches.  The boys aren't comfortable talking to the coaches about their sons play right now, and I can't blame them.  They're only 13.  It should be about fun and not worrying about fallout/reaction from players or coaches.

He's been with this team for many years, so I don't know much about team-shopping.  I don't even know where to look for local tryouts at this time.  He joined this team with a friend of his right out of rec league.  He was invited to the tryout and has been with the team ever since.  

Gally said:

We are in the middle of our 5th year with basically the same team.  Started when they were 9 and are now 13.  Every year we have made great improvements but this year.  This year we have about 3-4 kids that have terrible attitudes and think their #### don't stink.  We have 3-4 that work really hard and never have attitude and the have 2-3 stuck in the middle.

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Eerily similar situation.  I wonder if our boys are on the same team!  

Gally said:

We have been losing more games than normal and some of the kids are getting really frustrated.  As a coach I wanted to go into this season (likely our last as about half of the team is going to HS next year and we don't have a big community to choose replacements from) with a gear towards relaxed improvement.  The fundamentals have been taught and they all know them.  Now it's a bout fine tuning and putting in the effort to get better.  Unfortunately early on the kids were screwing off at practice too much and not working hard.  We came down hard about putting in the time and giving max effort and trying to improve (nothing they had not seen at times when players got out of hand before - extra laps, conditioning, sitting on bench, etc).   

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This is what our HC has tried to put into play within the last week.  I've talked to a couple of the coaches to let them know.  They say they are aware, but nothing really changes in regards to playing time or expectations.  They tried to run the boys more as a negative motivator, but the boys not taking things seriously just jog.  The coaches just started a game day strategy to bench some players, but that only impacts more of the "talentless" as my son calls them.  The "goof-arounds" are in position of need, so they'll never sit.  Its definitely a rough time. 

Peak said:

Eerily similar situation.  I wonder if our boys are on the same team!  

This is what our HC has tried to put into play within the last week.  I've talked to a couple of the coaches to let them know.  They say they are aware, but nothing really changes in regards to playing time or expectations.  They tried to run the boys more as a negative motivator, but the boys not taking things seriously just jog.  The coaches just started a game day strategy to bench some players, but that only impacts more of the "talentless" as my son calls them.  The "goof-arounds" are in position of need, so they'll never sit.  Its definitely a rough time. 

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It doesn't matter.  They need to sit if they aren't giving the effort.  We have sat our best players for length's of time (even played with 8 once because one player didn't think we could bench him).  It sucks for the players doing the right thing that want to win because it hurts the team but you have to do those things.  You cannot let the goof offs run the show. 

But you also don't know how players will blossom....they are only 13.  The "talentless" may eventually get it if they have the work ethic to keep going.  Maybe some playtime for them will help get them there.  It's 13U baseball.  Losing games because you sit your best players with attitude is not a big deal.  The long term gain hopefully outweighs the short term loss. 

Peak said:

Eerily similar situation.  I wonder if our boys are on the same team!  

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Maybe.  It has honestly been the worst I have seen for a handful of kids with regards to total lack of following direction and working hard.  It's been my most frustrating year of coaching I have ever had.   I really think it's just the age......the thing that really pissed me off though was getting texts from parents complaining that we are being too hard on the kids..........then complain that we are losing..........then complain saying we need to practice more.  We don't need more practice.....we need better practice!

If we weren't short on numbers (only have 11) I would be all for letting those few quit but then we would have to fold the team and that would hurt the kids that want to keep working hard.   It just makes it easy to have this be our last year. 

Gally said:

It's been my most frustrating year of coaching I have ever had.

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I can only imagine.  The HC came and asked me about my son because he noticed his frustrations on the field.  I told him the same here, I don't envy your position as a coach.  At this age, the attitudes are definitely showing.  We have the fun stage of half the team has hit puberty and the other half are waiting.  Your observation about talent is spot on and it's partly why I'm willing to have him stick it out another year, telling him some kids may leave due to lack of interest, some may leave due to HS ball, etc.  It could very well be a whole different team next year.

Also keep in mind that 13U is when teams move to the big field, and when 'real' baseball actually starts.  200-foot bombs are now simple fly balls, and half your shortstops and third basemen are now all second basemen because they don't know how to properly make that long throw from the left side of the infield.  My son's team went through the same things you guys are describing about 13U.  The ones who were 'done' but didn't just quit were just kind of out there, and I think part of it is the emotional attachment they had made over the years of playing together.  It's much easier for me to see it so many years later, and it was tough going through it in the moment, but it's natural and probably healthier in the long run than waiting for things to peter out.

The team my son had been on from 8U was built for their 12U season at Cooperstown Dreams Park. When that ended, I had it in my mind that 13U should be a kind of 'victory lap' in which they went out there one last time to enjoy playing together, but moving to the big field is not really the time for that.  The focus was on adjusting to the bigger dimensions, so for the coach, he was still in a serious, developmental mindset, just having HS ball as the goal instead of Cooperstown. Unfortunately, the 13U season was pretty up and down. I'd say that half the kids were looking towards playing in high school, while the others were either a year behind or had lost interest in the game.  That didn't keep them from sneaking into their league championship game, which they ended up losing to the team that had started the same year as theirs way bat at 8u and went from being way behind to becoming one of the best teams their age.  With emotions still high right after the game, the coach started talking about making plans for the next season, and naturally they all said they wanted to come back.  By the end of the Summer, I think the ones who were already losing interest during the 13U season were now regretting saying they'd come back, as the Fall season was a trainwreck.  They began doing the things you guys are talking about: not hustling or working as hard, etc. and that frustrated the coach to no end.  To me, I think it was a mistake by the coach to talk about next season right on the heels of such an emotional loss.  He should have given them a few weeks to let things settle for himself as well as the boys before even thinking about a next season (FWIW, his own son was one of the kids that had given up, so it was that much more of a sacrifice by the coach to keep going).  Over those weeks, the best pitcher tried out for and was picked up by a 16U showcase team, and my son decided he wanted to leave for a different local team who has asked him to join them for a tournament late in the Summer.  They were comparably talented, maybe not even quite as talented, but he knew most of them before he joined them, and he felt they were more friendly with each other than his old team was.  It also didn't hurt that the coach's dad owned an indoor facility, and access to it was free for the team, so he got free batting cage time as well as free instruction from the coach.  He didn't tell his old coach until the Fall season ended and they had conducted tryouts, which I thought was a bad look, so I made my son tell the coach himself that he was leaving.  Also, by the next Spring, 4 other long time players left the team as well, so they had to go into 14U with a bunch of new players who hadn't hooked on with any other team, and were frankly not as good as what they had lost.  That season was a trainwreck not only for his old team but also his new team, but that's a different story.  I ran into his old coach a couple years later and he said he wished he had known the boys that didn't want to go on would have said something, as he could have merged the remaining players with another local team made up of kids they'd end up playing with in high school.  The one time he wasn't proactive, it bit him in the backside.  I think that, at 13U, you either have to have all serious ballplayers or no serious ballplayers.

My son just wrapped up U10 travel baseball where he also had to play in-house. He had a great in-house season. He started travel slowly with not much PT (he was one of the last kids to make the team) but picked up as the season progressed. In the beginning there were consistently 13-14 kids showing up so lots of bench spots, which he often ride, As the season went on there were conflicts, illnesses, injuries so my son got more PT. He largely showed well. The travel team got smashed in a lot of games, The other teams were so much better. We won only 1 game. Regular season over. Now we’re doing two weekend tournaments nearby. Coach told everyone about them five weeks ago - save the date. The assistant coach gave me a heads up just a few days ago that tournaments are different- you don’t have to enter your team - you can add other players as long as they are age eligible, you can also cut players. So a team email goes out today from head coach announcing that the intent is to win these games - playing time and at bats may be limited - let your kids know in advance. I get it, but isn’t that kind of lame, coming off a 1 win season?  Even with the 2 outsider kids I know of that he’s adding, the team should get smoked. Should I care if my son sits on the bench for a 4day then 3day tournament while outsiders play? We’re not paying for the tournaments- bankrolled by the coach. 

NajehHejan said:

My son just wrapped up U10 travel baseball where he also had to play in-house. He had a great in-house season. He started travel slowly with not much PT (he was one of the last kids to make the team) but picked up as the season progressed. In the beginning there were consistently 13-14 kids showing up so lots of bench spots, which he often ride, As the season went on there were conflicts, illnesses, injuries so my son got more PT. He largely showed well. The travel team got smashed in a lot of games, The other teams were so much better. We won only 1 game. Regular season over. Now we’re doing two weekend tournaments nearby. Coach told everyone about them five weeks ago - save the date. The assistant coach gave me a heads up just a few days ago that tournaments are different- you don’t have to enter your team - you can add other players as long as they are age eligible, you can also cut players. So a team email goes out today from head coach announcing that the intent is to win these games - playing time and at bats may be limited - let your kids know in advance. I get it, but isn’t that kind of lame, coming off a 1 win season?  Even with the 2 outsider kids I know of that he’s adding, the team should get smoked. Should I care if my son sits on the bench for a 4day then 3day tournament while outsiders play? We’re not paying for the tournaments- bankrolled by the coach. 

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1. If you don't have to pay for the tournament, then it's free baseball.  Any action he gets will be gravy.

2. You can't worry about 'outside' kids; the focus needs to be on your boy's interest/willingness to be good enough that the coach has to play him. On that note, I recall when my son started on his long-time travel team at 8.  The coach had 3 kids that he trusted to pitch, and the rest he would give an inning or two here and there.  My son was eager to pitch at that age but wasn't getting the chances he wanted, so we practiced on our own. By the end of the season, the top 3 kids arms were getting tired and my son started getting more innings late in the season and became their '1-b' pitcher for the next 3 seasons.  My point is that he is the one who wanted to do it, and put in the work.  If your son improves and shows he can contribute when he's out there, the coach will see that, and if the coach is halfway competent, he'll give your son his chances.

3. Moving forward, if he remains interested/serious about baseball, then avoid intramural ball and look for the best competition you can reasonably afford. It will be tough getting kicked around, but that's where he'll decide how badly he wants it.

Gally said:

We are in the middle of our 5th year with basically the same team.  Started when they were 9 and are now 13.  Every year we have made great improvements but this year.  This year we have about 3-4 kids that have terrible attitudes and think their #### don't stink.  We have 3-4 that work really hard and never have attitude and the have 2-3 stuck in the middle. 

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See my post above. It was soccer with my son but basically the same scenario. Small town club travel team, U9 and U11 they won the league playoffs but they had a group of 6 talented kids and another handful that worked hard so playing 9v9 they were covered. He gets moved up to U13 a year early with 4 other kids because of numbers. Now it is 11v11 and other then one or two kids that age group had a few of those "stuck in the middle" kids and a bunch of the "goof offs" so now there was no way to hide them as it is one big team instead of two smaller A and B teams. He felt a lot the same way as yours and Peak's son felt, frustrated that he was there to work and try to improve and others just wanted screw off. His coach had moved up with them so he had a good coach but the goof offs didn't care, make us run laps, ok we'll walk them and waste daylight. Above I gave more detail but it took all he had being shy to go to winter workouts and then tryouts with a couple premier clubs but he did it because he didn't want that frustrated feeling . Best thing we ever did for him, being with like minded kids and paid coaches (not that his old coach wasn't good, but not being a dad and having an extensive playing/coaching background he got all the kids respect right off). His game improved leaps and bounds and he had so much fun and made a bunch of new friends.

We just went through some of the process again as his team was the second team for the club and with the boys now also playing middle school soccer a few decided it was too much playing for two teams at once and just wanted to play school, one was moving on to concentrate on water polo, another had lost interest. The goalie got called up to the top team as their goalie left and we were down to 8 or 9 kids.  They ended up folding the team as they didn't get enough kids willing to commit from the tryout. We saw that as a possibility so we went to a couple other clubs tryouts and that year in this environment he was like a different kid, completely confident  with kids he didn't know and got an email after the first of two nights of tryouts from the team that was his first choice that they wanted him. Last year even if he had the talent he didn't have the confidence to let himself stand out like that. 

NajehHejan said:

My son just wrapped up U10 travel baseball where he also had to play in-house. He had a great in-house season. He started travel slowly with not much PT (he was one of the last kids to make the team) but picked up as the season progressed. In the beginning there were consistently 13-14 kids showing up so lots of bench spots, which he often ride, As the season went on there were conflicts, illnesses, injuries so my son got more PT. He largely showed well. The travel team got smashed in a lot of games, The other teams were so much better. We won only 1 game. Regular season over. Now we’re doing two weekend tournaments nearby. Coach told everyone about them five weeks ago - save the date. The assistant coach gave me a heads up just a few days ago that tournaments are different- you don’t have to enter your team - you can add other players as long as they are age eligible, you can also cut players. So a team email goes out today from head coach announcing that the intent is to win these games - playing time and at bats may be limited - let your kids know in advance. I get it, but isn’t that kind of lame, coming off a 1 win season?  Even with the 2 outsider kids I know of that he’s adding, the team should get smoked. Should I care if my son sits on the bench for a 4day then 3day tournament while outsiders play? We’re not paying for the tournaments- bankrolled by the coach. 

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I've got a couple thoughts on this. When my son played baseball I was on the board and we had very specific rules on playing time both in-house and for our tournament teams. First is we never would have allowed a coach to bring in outside kids from another organization unless we were short players from our teams. Second we had play time rules, now tournament teams didn't have as strict of requirements, off the top of my head I think it was one at bat and 2 innings in the field every two games, might have been two at bats for tournaments.  Our team was pretty decent but still had a few players who were obviously weaker. Our head coach had a great system for tournaments, pool play games he batted all 12 and everyone got at least two innings in the field (assuming it went 6 innings). But when we got to elimination game time it was bat 9 and everyone got at least one inning in the field and if kid 11 got two innings this game then kid 12 got two the next, etc. (it helped the bottom three were fairly even and two were pretty much strictly OF and the other OF or a little 2B). The parents were told upfront how it was going to work and I never heard anyone complain. It worked well as we were competitive in every tournament, won our Cal Ripken district beating a team that pulled from a league 5 times our size in a best of three and won three games at states making it to the quarter finals. This from a league that had two in-house teams of 13 from which to draw our tournament team.

At the ages of 13-15, a lot of kids start losing interest in playing serious, competitive baseball. I have been through this twice with different teams. What we did was find a team similar in talent as us and I would start working either the coaches or the parents. At the end of the season, we blew it all up and started a new team, taking only the best players from the 2 teams.  Most of the time, the only ones ever upset were the parents of the kids as they wanted their kids to keep going and didn't want to face it that their kid topped out at 13 or in little league. The kids were usually happy to not have to put in the work that was required to play at that higher level and many would go back to little league where you could be a star with almost no effort.

UncleZen said:

At the ages of 13-15, a lot of kids start losing interest in playing serious, competitive baseball. I have been through this twice with different teams. What we did was find a team similar in talent as us and I would start working either the coaches or the parents. At the end of the season, we blew it all up and started a new team, taking only the best players from the 2 teams.  Most of the time, the only ones ever upset were the parents of the kids as they wanted their kids to keep going and didn't want to face it that their kid topped out at 13 or in little league. The kids were usually happy to not have to put in the work that was required to play at that higher level and many would go back to little league where you could be a star with almost no effort.

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I was with you until your last sentence.  Back to little league at age 14-15?  Little league ends at age 12 here in Arizona.

UncleZen said:

At the ages of 13-15, a lot of kids start losing interest in playing serious, competitive baseball. I have been through this twice with different teams. What we did was find a team similar in talent as us and I would start working either the coaches or the parents. At the end of the season, we blew it all up and started a new team, taking only the best players from the 2 teams.  Most of the time, the only ones ever upset were the parents of the kids as they wanted their kids to keep going and didn't want to face it that their kid topped out at 13 or in little league. The kids were usually happy to not have to put in the work that was required to play at that higher level and many would go back to little league where you could be a star with almost no effort.

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This is close to where we are now.  I have had a few parents reach out to me about how their son is just as frustrated as mine.  We've talked about taking the boys to tryouts together, but the odds of 4 of these kids getting on the same team again is slim.  One dad who used to coach has offered his time to field a new team.  It's tempting, but I'd rather see a non-parent coach take the reigns.  There are some parents who just can't see that no matter how much money they put into equipment, private lessons and batting cages, that their kid still can't field a ground ball or swing a bat.  They complain about Timmy not getting the same playing time as the other boys and use that as their son's excuse for poor play.  Of course the coach bends and puts Timmy in the OF and the bottom of the order.  I've found that the loudest complainers on the sidelines are usually the parents of the kids who just aren't keeping up with their teammates.

Peak said:

This is close to where we are now.  I have had a few parents reach out to me about how their son is just as frustrated as mine.  We've talked about taking the boys to tryouts together, but the odds of 4 of these kids getting on the same team again is slim.  One dad who used to coach has offered his time to field a new team.  It's tempting, but I'd rather see a non-parent coach take the reigns.  There are some parents who just can't see that no matter how much money they put into equipment, private lessons and batting cages, that their kid still can't field a ground ball or swing a bat.  They complain about Timmy not getting the same playing time as the other boys and use that as their son's excuse for poor play.  Of course the coach bends and puts Timmy in the OF and the bottom of the order.  I've found that the loudest complainers on the sidelines are usually the parents of the kids who just aren't keeping up with their teammates.

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I think what you should see moving into the HS age teams is the talent pool really starts to separate along talent lines, and meddling parents become more of a nuisance to the coaches.  The showcase team my son played on after his sophomore and junior years of HS was to me the epitome of how those type of teams should be run.  They fielded teams in age groups reaching down to 12U, used reputable local HS and/or travel ball coaches.  The coach in charge of the whole program had a solid baseball pedigree and was brutally honest with the players and parents both. My favorite story from that first tryout was as he was watching the evaluations, he had the list of all the players, and instead of taking copious notes, he would write the letters 'CFP' next to some.  Another dad, who knew him and had coached travel ball with him one year, asked him what that meant, and the coach said without blinking "can't f**king play".  My son knew many of the kids that tried out and knew ahead of time which ones weren't going to make it.  Most of the kids that made the team were from prominent private HS teams, as well as my son and the 3 other top players from his public HS team. Most of the kids on the team, while not necessarily having played HS ball together, either knew each other from playing against each other, or they had played travel ball together before HS, so I'd say the odds of all the kids from your team playing together again might not be so bad after all, if they're comparable in abilities.

Don't Noonan said:

I was with you until your last sentence.  Back to little league at age 14-15?  Little league ends at age 12 here in Arizona.

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Not to speak for him but I assume he mean lower case little league. I would think most, but oviously not all, places have non competitive baseball options for teenagers.  I know in my immediate area there are two different options for kids at that age to play that is not traveling/VFW/Legion.

Peak said:

This is close to where we are now.  I have had a few parents reach out to me about how their son is just as frustrated as mine.  We've talked about taking the boys to tryouts together, but the odds of 4 of these kids getting on the same team again is slim.  One dad who used to coach has offered his time to field a new team.  It's tempting, but I'd rather see a non-parent coach take the reigns.  There are some parents who just can't see that no matter how much money they put into equipment, private lessons and batting cages, that their kid still can't field a ground ball or swing a bat.  They complain about Timmy not getting the same playing time as the other boys and use that as their son's excuse for poor play.  Of course the coach bends and puts Timmy in the OF and the bottom of the order.  I've found that the loudest complainers on the sidelines are usually the parents of the kids who just aren't keeping up with their teammates.

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Does your area have a good Legion program ?  Our Legion program offers Sr Legion (19U), Jr Legion (16U) and Legion Prep (14U) all of which play in very competitive leagues and often will play in additional tournaments and showcases outside of the Legion league. It's a combination of multiple school districts that they pull from so it is always a competitive tryout and the Sr and Jr Legion coaches are always independent coaches, the Prep coach it depends but when it has been a dad it is always one with experience from tournament teams at the lower level and the Jr and Sr coaches weigh heavily in the selection process to ensure favorites aren't played.

SwampDawg said:

Does your area have a good Legion program ?  Our Legion program offers Sr Legion (19U), Jr Legion (16U) and Legion Prep (14U) all of which play in very competitive leagues and often will play in additional tournaments and showcases outside of the Legion league. It's a combination of multiple school districts that they pull from so it is always a competitive tryout and the Sr and Jr Legion coaches are always independent coaches, the Prep coach it depends but when it has been a dad it is always one with experience from tournament teams at the lower level and the Jr and Sr coaches weigh heavily in the selection process to ensure favorites aren't played.

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Unfortunately not.  It's a hot bed of youth travel teams.  Many kids jump from team to team, and have been doing so since they were 9.  We managed to stay with a team without jumping, but now I think the writing is on the wall.  The current HC has said he will hold tryouts this year, yet he hasn't scheduled/announced anything.  Meanwhile, comparable teams to ours have already announced their tryout dates.  My guess is that he's planning tryouts around his vacation, which means the tryouts for other competitive teams will happen weeks before ours.  This leaves us in a bad spot as I don't see how we can wait, because if we do, my son may miss a spot on a more competitive team.  I've already talked to my son, and he wants to sign up for the early tryouts.  He has a friend going to one of them with him already.

Peak said:

Unfortunately not.  It's a hot bed of youth travel teams.  Many kids jump from team to team, and have been doing so since they were 9.  We managed to stay with a team without jumping, but now I think the writing is on the wall.  The current HC has said he will hold tryouts this year, yet he hasn't scheduled/announced anything.  Meanwhile, comparable teams to ours have already announced their tryout dates.  My guess is that he's planning tryouts around his vacation, which means the tryouts for other competitive teams will happen weeks before ours.  This leaves us in a bad spot as I don't see how we can wait, because if we do, my son may miss a spot on a more competitive team.  I've already talked to my son, and he wants to sign up for the early tryouts.  He has a friend going to one of them with him already.

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it is difficult to negotiate this kind of stuff,  but the best thing you can do is do what is best for your kid.  if he wants a team that is more serious you're either gonna have to build it yourself or go seek it out aggressively.   I  have 2 daughters in travel softball and have gone through this every year.   Coaches quit, move, get in fistfights with each other in dugouts.  Parents do lots of the same. Kids usually figure out who does and doesn't want to take the game seriously , and react accordingly to how serious they want to take it.  If you think it's time its probably past time.

I’ll lay it out in a nutshell, given my experience.  If your sons are looking for greater competition, reps, and hopefully ( I say hopefully because each program is different) better instruction, travel ball will help. However, and this is the key, based on what I have seen when I played baseball, and observing my now HS ball players, EVERYTHING CHANGES AROUND 11-12 years old.  Puberty is a b***h.  It doesn’t care how good you were prior to...when that kid, who was uncoordinated and awful at 8, 9, 10, etc.  becomes a man overnight, the game changes.  

So, my advice...nothing wrong with travel ball, although most are a total and complete scam, playing or not playing, will not determine future success, in any sport.  What will determine future success are three things:

1. Does your child enjoy the sport? And when I say enjoy, they can’t get enough work in, they eat it up.  The passion comes from within, not mom or dad.  They’re in the backyard day and night.

2. Hard work.  Natural athletes with start out of the gate with a huge advantage, however hard work will either sustain the advantage, or if less athletic, at least close the gap. Especially when puberty hits....

3. Size/ puberty.  This one, you and your child have no control over.  The kid who was totally uncoordinated at 8, shows up at 12, in full puberty mode pushing or exceeding 6 ft, has a huge advantage over the natural athlete who, also is 12, but happens to be 5 ft nothing.  Yes, 1&2 above, could close the gap, but it’s an uphill battle.  Smaller kids can barely hit the ball out of the infield, while these “other” kids, who nobody had on their radar, are launching 300 + bombs, and looking down, literally, on the coaches.  Kids who love the game can survive until they hit puberty, however others will NEVER get there or they’ll fully develop in college...unfortunately too late for HS.

Bottom line, don’t be the jerk Dad who thinks their 9,10,11 year old is too good for LL, and rob your child of the some of the most fun they will have as a KID; in other words, competing with their buddies, and building lifetime memories.  Look at travel ball as an assist, not the be all end all.

Full disclosure: my kids both played travel & little league, and now HS baseball.   Winning championships in both LL and travel, however their memories, and the times they look back on, are generally from their time in LL.

Don't Noonan said:

I was with you until your last sentence.  Back to little league at age 14-15?  Little league ends at age 12 here in Arizona.

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Little League Divisions:

Tee Ball (ages 4-7)

Minor League (ages 5-11)

Major Division (ages 9-12)

Intermediate (50/70) (ages 12-13)

Junior League (ages 12-14)

Senior League (ages 13-16)

NajehHejan said:

My son just wrapped up U10 travel baseball where he also had to play in-house. He had a great in-house season. He started travel slowly with not much PT (he was one of the last kids to make the team) but picked up as the season progressed. In the beginning there were consistently 13-14 kids showing up so lots of bench spots, which he often ride, As the season went on there were conflicts, illnesses, injuries so my son got more PT. He largely showed well. The travel team got smashed in a lot of games, The other teams were so much better. We won only 1 game. Regular season over. Now we’re doing two weekend tournaments nearby. Coach told everyone about them five weeks ago - save the date. The assistant coach gave me a heads up just a few days ago that tournaments are different- you don’t have to enter your team - you can add other players as long as they are age eligible, you can also cut players. So a team email goes out today from head coach announcing that the intent is to win these games - playing time and at bats may be limited - let your kids know in advance. I get it, but isn’t that kind of lame, coming off a 1 win season?  Even with the 2 outsider kids I know of that he’s adding, the team should get smoked. Should I care if my son sits on the bench for a 4day then 3day tournament while outsiders play? We’re not paying for the tournaments- bankrolled by the coach. 

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Quick update. Of the two outsiders who joined, one was a full time player (and played very well), and the other played half the game (and did nothing). My son rode the pine all game with the exception of pinch running in the 4th. He stole second then was left stranded. We lost 5-3. My son took it very well. I did ok and to be honest I’m glad the coach gave us a heads up on the limited PT. Still frustrating. I missed my other son’s cub scouts end of the year picnic, where I’m the treasurer, and hadn’t missed that event in the five years we’ve been with the pack. My wife went - we had to divide and conquer. Back at it again tomorrow morning. I’ll be once again silently rooting for the other team. Wish the other team luck please

NajehHejan said:

Quick update. Of the two outsiders who joined, one was a full time player (and played very well), and the other played half the game (and did nothing). My son rode the pine all game with the exception of pinch running in the 4th. He stole second then was left stranded. We lost 5-3. My son took it very well. I did ok and to be honest I’m glad the coach gave us a heads up on the limited PT. Still frustrating. I missed my other son’s cub scouts end of the year picnic, where I’m the treasurer, and hadn’t missed that event in the five years we’ve been with the pack. My wife went - we had to divide and conquer. Back at it again tomorrow morning. I’ll be once again silently rooting for the other team. Wish the other team luck please

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Sorry to hear your boy didn't get more PT, but the good news is that at this age, the best thing he can do is keep working hard.  Also glad to hear he capitalized on his opportunity when he did get in the game.  The only advice I would offer now would be to just keep staying out of the coach's way and find a way to be gracious to him for letting your son play for free.  After the tournament, your son can figure out if he wants to stay with this team or not. 

Charlie Steiner said:

Sorry to hear your boy didn't get more PT, but the good news is that at this age, the best thing he can do is keep working hard.  Also glad to hear he capitalized on his opportunity when he did get in the game.  The only advice I would offer now would be to just keep staying out of the coach's way and find a way to be gracious to him for letting your son play for free.  After the tournament, your son can figure out if he wants to stay with this team or not. 

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Thanks. That’s exactly my plan. Not gonna show any frustration via words or actions, or burn any bridges. Some kids may leave next year. Or, we could check out other leagues. He’s only 10, but loves the game, and gets better every day. One day at a time. 

NajehHejan said:

Thanks. That’s exactly my plan. Not gonna show any frustration via words or actions, or burn any bridges. Some kids may leave next year. Or, we could check out other leagues. He’s only 10, but loves the game, and gets better every day. One day at a time. 

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Everything I've been saying is easy for me to say now, but when my boy was 10, it was very stressful on me. At that age, they're getting the game more and things start taking on more significance to them.  However, it was also the year I another dad gave me the best piece of advice I could have gotten at that time.  I will only say he played a pro sport other than baseball for almost 20 years, was coaching his other son's team in said sport.  He said that when he contacted the kids/parents to let them know they had made his team, many of them asked him what they should do over the Summer to get ready, and he told them to go outside and play, ride their bike, swim at the pool, etc.  He also said he didn't get serious about his sport until he got to HS and we shouldn't give away their childhood on any one sport.  From that day on, even though I still stressed about what more we could do to make him a top ballplayer, I always allowed him to pick which sport he wanted to play and stayed available to take him to the field to practice and/or take BP.

Also, I would say that given the position you're in, you may as well check out as many other teams as you can. To me, it's not so much about finding the best choice for his 'baseball career' as it is finding the situation he'll enjoy the most.  In my son's case, the team he joined when he was 8, while only ever able to almost reach .500 over their 6 seasons together, he got great instruction (some of the things that coach was telling them at 8 are the same things he's heard from coaches at every level since) and got to play with his best friends for almost 10 consecutive years counting HS, which is why I'll always say that it was money well spent.

NajehHejan said:

... My son rode the pine all game with the exception of pinch running in the 4th. He stole second then was left stranded...

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Glad he got in the game but found this scenario interesting. Done a lot of different tournaments with my boys and around here almost all up until 13U when they go to a full size field you can only pinch run for the catcher or pitcher of record and then it has to be the last batted out that runs.

Reading through this whole thread made me sad.  Every parent trying to make the right decisions for their children is admirable, but the amount of money and level of involvement some put toward travel ball is insane to me.

SwampDawg said:

Glad he got in the game but found this scenario interesting. Done a lot of different tournaments with my boys and around here almost all up until 13U when they go to a full size field you can only pinch run for the catcher or pitcher of record and then it has to be the last batted out that runs.

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We've encountered this between 11U-13U so far.  The above scenario is correct if you Roster Bat.  However, if you choose to bat 9 or 10 (EH or DH), you can use your subs to PH at any point in the game.  I believe the courtesy runner has to be a sub in these scenarios.  I haven't seen it at 10U, but I'm sure there are some tournament teams who do this - and based on the OP's description, this HC would be of that mindset to bat 10 with a EH, while carrying multiple subs sitting the bench.

trader jake said:

Reading through this whole thread made me sad.  Every parent trying to make the right decisions for their children is admirable, but the amount of money and level of involvement some put toward travel ball is insane to me.

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It depends on how you look at it.  If the kid really enjoys the game then this is like a bunch of mini vacations each week surrounding baseball.  It's great quality time spent with friends and family.  Lots of time hanging out at the pool or the baseball field all summer long.  It can be long and hard work but if your kid enjoys it then it is a great way to spend time together.  It becomes money well spent whether or not your kid ends up playing at the next level.  Think of how much money you spend on family vacations.  If baseball is something the whole family enjoys then you are just choosing a different type of vacation. 

SwampDawg said:

Glad he got in the game but found this scenario interesting. Done a lot of different tournaments with my boys and around here almost all up until 13U when they go to a full size field you can only pinch run for the catcher or pitcher of record and then it has to be the last batted out that runs.

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There is a difference between pinch running and courtesy running.  In tournaments they allow courtesy runners for the pitcher and catcher to help speed up the game.  These do not count as substitutions and there are specific rules on who can be the courtesy runner (last batted out, last out, or any sub depending on how you do your lineup).  If you have a straight nine lineup (or 10 with EH) then a pinch runner is a substitution and treated differently than a courtesy runner. 

So since this is my thread and I asked the original question, I figured I'd provide an update.

This spring my son has played on his travel team and a little league (senior minors team). We have some form of baseball (game or practice) 4-5x week. He absolutely loves it. Never gets tired of it. He has become the main third basemen and 2nd best pitcher on both teams (great arm). Still makes mistakes in the field and sometimes fails to get the glove down. Still drops the hands slightly when batting but second on his little league team in hits. Bottom line, I am so glad he decided to do travel. We both made tons of new friends and have something to do every weekend now. Soon the summer season starts and I am looking forward to that as well.

But the biggest reason for this update is I am very proud that he made his senior minor league all star team and will be playing in a tournament against other all star teams in our area. He was the youngest on his LL team and 5th youngest in the division. He wont turn 10 until next week and is already facing 12 year olds. What a great experience/accomplishment for him! I cannot wait to go home and tell him the good news! Its been a great year so far and it wouldn't have been possible without travel. I have spent a TON of money on baseball this year. Between travel, hitting lessons, and equipment probably over $3k but IMO its money well spent.

I have no long term goal of college or even HS at this point. All I know is my son loves playing baseball, we love spending time together talking and practicing baseball, he has made a ton of friends, and I love watching him grow as a player and a person. He will definitely be in travel and LL again next year.

Just putting this out there, but the offseason tryout process is brutal.  My son has attended two different tryouts so far and both were extreme opposites.  One had a plan, but the kids moved from station to station in a single group.  They had left handed players doing the same drill as right handed players (fielding as a SS and throwing to 1B - when does a Lefty play SS?).  Then cattle-called to run bases.  Then cattle-called to field flyballs.  It was a long and exhausting tryout and I just watched.  The other tryout was a mix of stations with smaller groups that ended in a scrimmage between players to see how they react to live hitting in their primary spots.  I thought this was at least interesting and would result in actual exposure to what the kids can do during a game.  

It's our first time at tryouts, so all of this is new to me and my son.  He seemed to like the scrimmage style because "it felt more like baseball".  The downside is that these coaches tell you they are looking for 2-3 players and that they'll reach out in 24-48hrs after the tryout - then you hear nothing from them.  My son felt he did well, but keeps asking me if anyone has called yet.  He's told me he isn't nervous about things, but it's constantly on his mind.  He's 13 now.  I can only imagine what HS tryouts will be like.  But at least then the coaches will tell you up front if you made the cut. 

The travel team coaches seem to shy away from those "hard" conversations, from what I've seen so far.  My son has asked me if he could have done anything different.  Is it a bad idea to reach out to a coach to say "Thanks for giving my son an opportunity to tryout.  Do you have any feedback that may help him grow/improve as a player?"  I'm assuming no contact means the boy is not what they are looking for, which is fine.  I'd just like to offer my son some type of closure so he can move on, instead of him constantly waiting and asking.

Peak said:

Just putting this out there, but the offseason tryout process is brutal.  My son has attended two different tryouts so far and both were extreme opposites.  One had a plan, but the kids moved from station to station in a single group.  They had left handed players doing the same drill as right handed players (fielding as a SS and throwing to 1B - when does a Lefty play SS?).  Then cattle-called to run bases.  Then cattle-called to field flyballs.  It was a long and exhausting tryout and I just watched.  The other tryout was a mix of stations with smaller groups that ended in a scrimmage between players to see how they react to live hitting in their primary spots.  I thought this was at least interesting and would result in actual exposure to what the kids can do during a game.  

It's our first time at tryouts, so all of this is new to me and my son.  He seemed to like the scrimmage style because "it felt more like baseball".  The downside is that these coaches tell you they are looking for 2-3 players and that they'll reach out in 24-48hrs after the tryout - then you hear nothing from them.  My son felt he did well, but keeps asking me if anyone has called yet.  He's told me he isn't nervous about things, but it's constantly on his mind.  He's 13 now.  I can only imagine what HS tryouts will be like.  But at least then the coaches will tell you up front if you made the cut. 

The travel team coaches seem to shy away from those "hard" conversations, from what I've seen so far.  My son has asked me if he could have done anything different.  Is it a bad idea to reach out to a coach to say "Thanks for giving my son an opportunity to tryout.  Do you have any feedback that may help him grow/improve as a player?"  I'm assuming no contact means the boy is not what they are looking for, which is fine.  I'd just like to offer my son some type of closure so he can move on, instead of him constantly waiting and asking.

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Do you have any other background information about the two teams he tried out for?  My gut says that the team that had everyone working out as a group either already knew who they were going to add or were hoping for that kid that was able to stand out from among the rest. As for lefties doing the infield drills, it's probably just to see their arm strength, as kids who could dominate on the smaller field sometimes get a rude awakening on the big field.  When my son's team moved to the big field after 12U, half the kids that could be plugged in to play third base and shortstop found they either didn't have the arm to make the longer throws from the left side and/or they had to learn new mechanics for making those throws (they call it 'following your throw'), and those 200' bombs kids were hitting on the smaller field are now easy pop-ups, so in addition to having the sheer size to survive at this level, they also need the skills and ability to do 'the little things' to compensate for not being 6'4" as at 13 year-old. That may sound doom and gloom-y, but the reality is that if a kid can play, he's going to play somewhere, it's just that the more average sized kids have to show their skills are good enough, especially since most are going to be just hitting puberty and things can still wildly change.

The waiting for that call is nerve-wracking, but it's going to be that way moving forward with these travel teams until he catches on and proves to the coaches over the long haul that he can earn his keep.  Whether you've heard it already or not, the further one goes in baseball, the more of a grind it becomes.  Now that you're on the big field, the grinding aspect is really going to kick in, so just bear it and keep an eye on your son, not to push him where doesn't want to go but more to gauge if he's willing to keep putting in the work needed to stay in the game.

As for HS ball, if it's anything like what we went through, JV will keep just about everyone that tries out, but when the time comes for varsity, the better/more serious players will have separated themselves from the rest.  I called it 'baseball Darwinism' when my son was going through it.  On one hand, it doesn't sound like your son will have to worry about making JV; he sounds serious enough about it that the coach(es) will see him as worthy of a spot, but on the other hand, all that making JV does is open the door.  He'll have to prove to himself and the coaches that he can play at the varsity level. 

Good luck and keep us updated.

Peak said:

Just putting this out there, but the offseason tryout process is brutal.  My son has attended two different tryouts so far and both were extreme opposites.  One had a plan, but the kids moved from station to station in a single group.  They had left handed players doing the same drill as right handed players (fielding as a SS and throwing to 1B - when does a Lefty play SS?).  Then cattle-called to run bases.  Then cattle-called to field flyballs.  It was a long and exhausting tryout and I just watched.  The other tryout was a mix of stations with smaller groups that ended in a scrimmage between players to see how they react to live hitting in their primary spots.  I thought this was at least interesting and would result in actual exposure to what the kids can do during a game.  

It's our first time at tryouts, so all of this is new to me and my son.  He seemed to like the scrimmage style because "it felt more like baseball".  The downside is that these coaches tell you they are looking for 2-3 players and that they'll reach out in 24-48hrs after the tryout - then you hear nothing from them.  My son felt he did well, but keeps asking me if anyone has called yet.  He's told me he isn't nervous about things, but it's constantly on his mind.  He's 13 now.  I can only imagine what HS tryouts will be like.  But at least then the coaches will tell you up front if you made the cut. 

The travel team coaches seem to shy away from those "hard" conversations, from what I've seen so far.  My son has asked me if he could have done anything different.  Is it a bad idea to reach out to a coach to say "Thanks for giving my son an opportunity to tryout.  Do you have any feedback that may help him grow/improve as a player?"  I'm assuming no contact means the boy is not what they are looking for, which is fine.  I'd just like to offer my son some type of closure so he can move on, instead of him constantly waiting and asking.

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If someone wants to manage, they need to do the hard things as well. They need to put their big boy pants on and give honest feedback. A lot of times, it's telling the little leaguer short stops that they aren't ever going to be a shortstop on a team other than in little league.  Sometimes, it was just a matter of team fit. You can only have so many lefties that all want to play 1st base. I think you are perfectly fine in asking the coaches for feedback.

shadyridr said:

So since this is my thread and I asked the original question, I figured I'd provide an update.

This spring my son has played on his travel team and a little league (senior minors team). We have some form of baseball (game or practice) 4-5x week. He absolutely loves it. Never gets tired of it. He has become the main third basemen and 2nd best pitcher on both teams (great arm). Still makes mistakes in the field and sometimes fails to get the glove down. Still drops the hands slightly when batting but second on his little league team in hits. Bottom line, I am so glad he decided to do travel. We both made tons of new friends and have something to do every weekend now. Soon the summer season starts and I am looking forward to that as well.

But the biggest reason for this update is I am very proud that he made his senior minor league all star team and will be playing in a tournament against other all star teams in our area. He was the youngest on his LL team and 5th youngest in the division. He wont turn 10 until next week and is already facing 12 year olds. What a great experience/accomplishment for him! I cannot wait to go home and tell him the good news! Its been a great year so far and it wouldn't have been possible without travel. I have spent a TON of money on baseball this year. Between travel, hitting lessons, and equipment probably over $3k but IMO its money well spent.

I have no long term goal of college or even HS at this point. All I know is my son loves playing baseball, we love spending time together talking and practicing baseball, he has made a ton of friends, and I love watching him grow as a player and a person. He will definitely be in travel and LL again next year.

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@shadyridr, that is awesome and really is money and time well spent. My kid, who is 27 now, still looks back on those days as some of the happiest days in his life and I got to be a big part of it.

Thanks guys.  I'll most likely reach out to the coaches after the holiday for their feedback.  I didn't want to seem like that "baseball dad" complaining about my kid. 

@Charlie Steiner - These were 14u tryouts, so most knew how to play.  Both teams were high level competitive teams in our area (southern ohio), and I'm sure they were both looking for something specific.  It was just odd to tell the boys in line to "back hand" the ball and then they hit it to the glove side of the lefty.  I laughed to myself thinking, how is the kid supposed to back hand that?   They had already completed the OF portion where they tested arm strength from RF to 3rd on a flyball, so I assumed it was testing their fielding grounders/footwork/etc. I just found it odd that they either didn't recognize the one lefty in the crowd, or they obviously weren't interested in adding another lefty - but if that's the case, why bother to invite him to the tryout?  Just seems odd all around.

I did enjoy the scrimmage concept, as you were able to see some of the kids standout against the existing team in drills.  You could tell those that fit in naturally with the other players, who fielded their spot well, who could hit/run the bases.  Nice change of pace from the cattle call routines.  Although that team did a lot of the group stations as well. 

Peak said:

Just putting this out there, but the offseason tryout process is brutal.  My son has attended two different tryouts so far and both were extreme opposites.  One had a plan, but the kids moved from station to station in a single group.  They had left handed players doing the same drill as right handed players (fielding as a SS and throwing to 1B - when does a Lefty play SS?).  Then cattle-called to run bases.  Then cattle-called to field flyballs.  It was a long and exhausting tryout and I just watched.  The other tryout was a mix of stations with smaller groups that ended in a scrimmage between players to see how they react to live hitting in their primary spots.  I thought this was at least interesting and would result in actual exposure to what the kids can do during a game.  

It's our first time at tryouts, so all of this is new to me and my son.  He seemed to like the scrimmage style because "it felt more like baseball".  The downside is that these coaches tell you they are looking for 2-3 players and that they'll reach out in 24-48hrs after the tryout - then you hear nothing from them.  My son felt he did well, but keeps asking me if anyone has called yet.  He's told me he isn't nervous about things, but it's constantly on his mind.  He's 13 now.  I can only imagine what HS tryouts will be like.  But at least then the coaches will tell you up front if you made the cut. 

The travel team coaches seem to shy away from those "hard" conversations, from what I've seen so far.  My son has asked me if he could have done anything different.  Is it a bad idea to reach out to a coach to say "Thanks for giving my son an opportunity to tryout.  Do you have any feedback that may help him grow/improve as a player?"  I'm assuming no contact means the boy is not what they are looking for, which is fine.  I'd just like to offer my son some type of closure so he can move on, instead of him constantly waiting and asking.

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Im guessing the other coaches knew other kids at the tryouts. Ive found its often who you know more than how well they tryout. It sucks but it is what it is.