travel baseball questions from a newbie
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Anonymous
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Our DS (almost 10) has done several seasons of little league but is now interested in playing with a more competitive team. We're contemplating whether we want to take the plunge into travel baseball but I have some questions I'm hoping experienced parents might weigh in on, since I'm not immediately finding the answers in my own research and don't have a large network of baseball parent friends to ask.
First, is it basically a given that travel baseball games will be on Sundays? The answer seems to be yes, based on what I'm hearing about the local travel team where most kids in our LL play. But wondering, with the numerous other teams out there, if there is any variation. Are there any teams that play more on Saturdays? This is in all honesty probably the biggest obstacle for our family, since we attend church weekly and don't have much flexibility with our service times. Understand it's not an issue for everyone, but it is for us. We could probably work with a team that did mostly afternoon games, but it seems like you don't find out that kind of information in advance. Second, how common is it for kids to try out for a number of different travel teams until they find the right fit? The kids in our LL who do travel baseball seem to all play with the local travel team. But apparently (based on what we've heard from multiple parents with kids on that team), the travel team is pretty terrible. I know my son's not going to make it onto the most elite team out there, but it sounds a little demoralizing to put in the extra time for travel ball only to always lose. I'm wondering how hard it would be to find a team that's maybe a little bit better and would give him an overall more enjoyable experience. We don't want to go too far outside our area, but based on my initial foray down into this rabbit hole, information on teams' stats doesn't seem to be easily accessible if you're not already connected to a team. Is it just a matter of trial and error? Is it common to move between travel teams if you're not happy with one? I would consider having our son do one year with the local travel team to get his feet wet, then maybe trying out for a better team next spring--but wondering if that would be a major social faux pas, when our LL has all these families where the kids have been playing LL/travel ball together for years. Lastly, while I'm sure this varies among leagues, if we ultimately opt not to pursue travel ball, does moving from AAA to Majors generally mean that the whole team is usually playing at a higher level and might that be a reasonable alternative to help my son get a more competitive experience without doing travel ball? He will be 10 this summer and while I'm not 100% sure he could move up this fall, I think he could likely move up in the spring, assuming he kept his skills sharp over the winter. |
Anonymous
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Yes travel baseball is every Sunday, double headers or away at tournaments all weekend.
At this age, go with a team that is convenient for your family. It's all about the same anyway until puberty. |
Anonymous
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There are Saturday travel teams, but very few for the exact reason you mention…many play LL which plays Saturday.
Not sure how you would play both if you find a Saturday travel team…so are you saying you would drop LL for a season? Basically it’s Sunday travel through 12u and then it pops over to Saturdays for older years because LL is done. |
Anonymous
| Travel teams will definitely play on some Sundays, so you’ll end up missing church at least sometimes. However, travel ball is somewhat seasonal obviously, & sometimes games will be later in the day on Sundays as opposed to morning (really just depends on the schedule and can vary week to week). If he plays tournaments you may not even know Sunday game times until Saturday evening. On the other hand, league schedules are usually set well in advance. |
Anonymous
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Yes re Sunday doubleheaders for most teams, but there are a handful of teams that play throughout the week and/or Saturday. But tournaments will always run through Sunday and, like PP said, you will not know the schedule until Saturday night.
Re: finding the right team--this is a bit of trial and error and you may have to switch a couple times before you find the right fit. Right fit meaning the schedule and location works for your family and you like the coach, the parents, and the players (or at least can tolerate everyone!). FWIW we played on a team that lost a TON of games at 11u, but everyone liked each other so we all stuck with it and several seasons later the boys are now winning more games than they are losing. Still not going to blow anyone's socks off and we do not have kids who are on recruitment path, but it's amazing what consistency, hard work, a good coach, and time can do. Good luck! |
Anonymous
| Are there any travel teams that play seasonally? For example, only in the fall for something a bit more competitive than LL fall ball? |
Anonymous
That’s not exactly true, we have kids in 13 and 14 U and they play Wednesday single games and Sunday doubleheaders. We’ve never played a Saturday travel game in the NVTBL. |
Anonymous
That’s a coach/team preference issue. Once we hit 13u, we never played Sunday DHs because that is how the coach registered the team. |
Anonymous
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Through 12U, travel ball is on Sundays (usually doubleheaders) because the Little Leagues have field permits all day Saturday.
Once they step up to the big field, games can be either Saturdays or Sundays — there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason other than coach preference/schedule. There are some LL-age travel teams that keep a very light schedule in the spring and then go harder in the fall. But for the most part, you’re looking at busy weekends August-October and again March-May. (Travel teams generally shut down during LL All Star play.) Given the enormous time suck, I strongly recommend you find a team close by, with a coach focused on development (and not collecting plastic trophies) and players your kid knows and likes. You will be spending a lot of time with these people, and a short commute with lots of carpool options makes a huge difference. Also, find a church that offers multiple services, and divide and conquer as needed. We spent many years with some family at one service while others went earlier/later. |
Anonymous
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NP here and was also going to say that I thought Little League field permits had to do with when 12u and under played. In our experience, once you get to the big field at 13u, you have more weekday games. Our coach likes to play Wed games, but weekday games seem to also happen Tue and Thurs as well (and I’m sure Mon and Fri too!). However in spring when HS ball is happening, some teams won’t play weekday games either due to choice (maybe their coach also coaches for a high school) or lack of field time, but once school ball is over, they will pick up a lot more weekday games.
Again, as others have said, i don’t know that you’ll find younger travel teams playing Sat games just due to LL conflicts. Also, at the older level, we seem to get our schedule a month in advance for regular league play. It is common to move teams, to answer your other question, but moving every season would catch a coach’s eye in perhaps a negative way. |
Anonymous
For all the shortcomings of NVTBL registration, the one thing you can do is check the boxes of which days your team is willing to play. If you don't check Sunday, you won't ever be scheduled on Sunday. |
Anonymous
| To answer one of your questions there was a big skill jump from AAA to majors in our experience. It’s when a lot of kids who aren’t serious/good drop out. |
Anonymous
| At the youth level, do kids that play for the big national brands also play LL or Babe Ruth? |
Anonymous
It depends on where you live. e.g. in Arlington they require kids to play "rec" LL or BR in addition to travel, so to accommodate that, the travel games are always on Sundays, as rec is on Saturdays. Do not join a team if you plan to miss games because of church. It's not fair to the rest of the team. |
Anonymous
Who requires it? The travel team does? |