Travel ball thoughts (for kids)

[dawg21]

I didn't know what to expect when we started at age 7. Now my son is 10 and I thought I'd share a few things for those that have kids or might be wondering.

1. We've been lucky- about 10 tourneys in the spring and a couple in the " fall"
2. So many tourneys in MS..you can can do this without too much travel
3. My kid has gotten so much better doing this- I can't imagine where he would be playing just league and all stars
4. There is a lot of good players in MS..it will only get better

I questioned this at first, but I advise parents and kids to at least try it if their child loves baseball.

I also advise just a few games in the fall..just light work.

Most of our experience has been good..only a few times where there were crazy coaches or parents.

[The Federalist Engineer]

How much does this cost? How much do we think it costs to make a Alex Lange or Brady Sunger?

Obviously all the money in the world won't make an untalented kid into Lange, but how much to participate in the equivalent development program?

[preachermatt83]

I didn't know what to expect when we started at age 7. Now my son is 10 and I thought I'd share a few things for those that have kids or might be wondering.

1. We've been lucky- about 10 tourneys in the spring and a couple in the " fall"
2. So many tourneys in MS..you can can do this without too much travel
3. My kid has gotten so much better doing this- I can't imagine where he would be playing just league and all stars
4. There is a lot of good players in MS..it will only get better

I questioned this at first, but I advise parents and kids to at least try it if their child loves baseball.

I also advise just a few games in the fall..just light work.

Most of our experience has been good..only a few times where there were crazy coaches or parents.

Amen- same for girls softball.

[dawg21]

How much does this cost? How much do we think it costs to make a Alex Lange or Brady Sunger?

Obviously all the money in the world won't make an untalented kid into Lange, but how much to participate in the equivalent development program?

Depending on how much you stay in hotels..but like I said..so many tourneys in MS many times you don't have to "travel" and stay overnight. I'd say overall cost for unis, tourney fees, and food- $1500 to $2000 per year for a family of 4. Some teams travel more and tourney cost do go up with age but the cost is the hotels and food.

The reps and competitive game experience is where the improvement comes from.

[ShotgunDawg]

A few thoughts on the development of young baseball players:

- Play with other good players that push your child.

- Play in the yard ALOT. Play whiffle ball, hit rocks with broom sticks, hit bottle caps, hit sunflower seeds, etc. The hit tool is not being developed currently in America because travel ball is only offering kids around 15-20 ABs a weekend while Latins playing in the streets are getting hundreds of ABs and ground balls in that time span. Baseball is 99% standing around or sitting in the dugout, and this does not offer a quality developmental path. Playing games is good, but, if you want to be bad ass in this sport, you must gain a feel and improvisation skill that only thousands of reps and pure instincts can provide.

- LEARN TO THROW! Most high school baseball players in America can't throw and it limits thier opportunities to play different positions, which limits their chances of finding a position that they can adequately play and offensively profile at. Not everyone can hit for enough power to profile at 1B or LF, but by learning to throw with a clean, compact, fluid arm action, you open up a world of possibilities for your bat to find a place on the field.

- Learn to dance and play other sports. MLB players have rhythm and excellent, light feet and body contro. Clunky white boys better hit for power or there is no place for them. Other sports teach these abilities.

- Don't worry about building muscle. Build flexibility and remove rigid, stiff, long actions from your game. Be quick, not strong. Have arm speed, not strength.

- learn to impact the baseball and generate bat speed. This piecey, pre-stride, opposite field, line drive stuff that infiltrated lessons across this country are a joke because they take the natural athleticism and rhythm away from a hitter. Most everyday ML players hit for some sort of power. Learn to do it.

Any questions?

[Cooterpoot]

Leave MS and you'll see even better ball, but it will cost you. And don't get into local daddy ball travel teams.

[Coach007]

I didn't know what to expect when we started at age 7. Now my son is 10 and I thought I'd share a few things for those that have kids or might be wondering.

1. We've been lucky- about 10 tourneys in the spring and a couple in the " fall"
2. So many tourneys in MS..you can can do this without too much travel
3. My kid has gotten so much better doing this- I can't imagine where he would be playing just league and all stars
4. There is a lot of good players in MS..it will only get better

I questioned this at first, but I advise parents and kids to at least try it if their child loves baseball.

I also advise just a few games in the fall..just light work.

Most of our experience has been good..only a few times where there were crazy coaches or parents.

It's that way with most things. Dance for example.


If there is a concern, it's the development of the human body at an early age. Certain things can harm kids creating damage that can not be undone. Certain pitches by youth will harm them due to not being fully developed.

I might add that the brain is not fully developed until about 26 and pot will cause permanent damage in younger developed brains.

Feet of a dancer... Same thing. no kid under the age of 13 should ever be on pointe'. It will harm them.


Need more examples?

[Coach007]

A few thoughts on the development of young baseball players:

- Play with other good players that push your child.

- Play in the yard ALOT. Play whiffle ball, hit rocks with broom sticks, hit bottle caps, hit sunflower seeds, etc. The hit tool is not being developed currently in America because travel ball is only offering kids around 15-20 ABs a weekend while Latins playing in the streets are getting hundreds of ABs and ground balls in that time span. Baseball is 99% standing around or sitting in the dugout, and this does not offer a quality developmental path. Playing games is good, but, if you want to be bad ass in this sport, you must gain a feel and improvisation skill that only thousands of reps and pure instincts can provide.

- LEARN TO THROW! Most high school baseball players in America can't throw and it limits thier opportunities to play different positions, which limits their chances of finding a position that they can adequately play and offensively profile at. Not everyone can hit for enough power to profile at 1B or LF, but by learning to throw with a clean, compact, fluid arm action, you open up a world of possibilities for your bat to find a place on the field.

- Learn to dance and play other sports. MLB players have rhythm and excellent, light feet and body contro. Clunky white boys better hit for power or there is no place for them. Other sports teach these abilities.

- Don't worry about building muscle. Build flexibility and remove rigid, stiff, long actions from your game. Be quick, not strong. Have arm speed, not strength.

- learn to impact the baseball and generate bat speed. This piecey, pre-stride, opposite field, line drive stuff that infiltrated lessons across this country are a joke because they take the natural athleticism and rhythm away from a hitter. Most everyday ML players hit for some sort of power. Learn to do it.

Any questions?

I had to jump in this ...

-Play small. By that, I mean play with very small sticks. and use very small balls. Think the little round bouncing balls out of gum ball machines and a wooden dowel.

- Dance... It's not just about the feet. It's core and it's flexibility. It's also strength in flexibility. Meaning it reduces the odds of injury. I have actually seen what dance can do for players. A major advantage. If the instructor understands the goal, they can move them quicker in the right direction. Ballet.... seriously. Give me a running back, and I can take him to the right person and he improve drastically. Give me a lineman on either side, and I can take him to the right person and they will improve drastically even being able to defend another sec when getting beat backwards.

[shoeless joe]

Travel ball is definitely a catch 22. It's almost necessary at this point if you want your kid to develop fully. But at the same time it can be the worst thing for a kid. GOT to make sure the kid loves it...and continues to.

Also have to keep tabs on pitching. There is zero doubt that travel ball is a major reason for all the teenage tommy johns

Be very wary of the team, program, and who the coach is. A coach that acts like every game is the World Series and doesn't focus on development is not a good thing.

I wish travel ball wasn't as necessary as it is. I hate being around it. 90% of the teams are "selected" cuz somebody's little johnny got left off another team so mom and dad made their own team.

But if you can find a good program with a good coach it can also be crucial in the development of a really talented kid. .

[Anonymous]

In reality, and this kind of goes along with the playing in the yard tip, travel ball isn't necessarily the answer. If you must travel to allow your kid to play year around, then sure. But really the repetition and year around practice is where the development comes from, not so much the game experience. As stated, not all that many reps actually take place in a game.

[shoeless joe]

In reality, and this kind of goes along with the playing in the yard tip, travel ball isn't necessarily the answer. If you must travel to allow your kid to play year around, then sure. But really the repetition and year around practice is where the development comes from, not so much the game experience. As stated, not all that many reps actually take place in a game.

Very true...but instinct and "feel" for the game do take place only in live game situations. There have been a lot of kids that lack those two intangibles that can't max out because of it. But you're right about reps in regards to physical tool development...just don't over do it.

[Tbonewannabe]

Very true...but instinct and "feel" for the game do take place only in live game situations. There have been a lot of kids that lack those two intangibles that can't max out because of it. But you're right about reps in regards to physical tool development...just don't over do it.

Live games also get the kids used to the pressure situations of game action. When you are fielding ground balls, it isn't as big of a deal to miss one but in a game the pressure is amped up. That is why teams that are experienced at the big games do better in future big games. It reduces the nervousness if you have had the experience before. You can look at the women's title game this year. We had just come off a big win and we came out flat in the title game. USCe has consistently been in higher level games compared to us. They played a lot less nervous than we did.

[GoDawgz]

My son played select travel ball one summer only.....worst summer of our life!
Too much travel, way too much money and ended up being too much ball for him which made him lose the love for the game and felt like a job.
Its not for everyone....some kids love it and then some parents love it more than their kids do.......

[IMissJack]

My son played select travel ball one summer only.....worst summer of our life!
Too much travel, way too much money and ended up being too much ball for him which made him lose the love for the game and felt like a job.
Its not for everyone....some kids love it and then some parents love it more than their kids do.......

+1 There were weekends that we were playing at 1 in the morning due to rain or something. Too many teams are put together by dads who were really good, but their kids aren't that good. If your kid is average at baseball, they are probably not going to enjoy the competition level.

[GoDawgz]

+1 There were weekends that we were playing at 1 in the morning due to rain or something. Too many teams are put together by dads who were really good, but their kids aren't that good. If your kid is average at baseball, they are probably not going to enjoy the competition level.

yep, we played in a couple tourneys like that. Breezed through a couple and got it handed to us in a couple. Those 8am games were the worst! What really was the end to our time in it was when they started pushing games to Sunday's. Couldn't allow my son to think in was ok to miss church to play baseball.

[Commercecomet24]

I have coached travel ball for the last 20 years. My youngest son is 15 and started at catcher as a freshman this past year. We played all over the southeast looking for the best tournaments against best competition. He can hit anyone's fastball and I have no doubt it's from facing the best competition in the south. It's my first year not to coach as I have turned him over to a showcase team. When you go play against the best competition in the south you can't help but develop. Heck we faced a kid in a national championship game when we were 9 that was throwing 68 mph. Best way to develop play with the best against the best! Imho

[parabrave]

You have to let the kids play other sports. I have seen too many kids who played travel ball year round quit baseball by the 9th or 10th grade. They hate baseball and don't want to play any other sports. Dr Andrews and other major sport figures say the worst thing you can do is to make your kids play one sport only year round. And oh yeah soccer is a close second.

[ShotgunDawg]

You have to let the kids play other sports. I have seen too many kids who played travel ball year round quit baseball by the 9th or 10th grade. They hate baseball and don't want to play any other sports. Dr Andrews and other major sport figures say the worst thing you can do is to make your kids play one sport only year round. And oh yeah soccer is a close second.

Kids that only play baseball end up rigid & stiff

[shoeless joe]

I have coached travel ball for the last 20 years. My youngest son is 15 and started at catcher as a freshman this past year. We played all over the southeast looking for the best tournaments against best competition. He can hit anyone's fastball and I have no doubt it's from facing the best competition in the south. It's my first year not to coach as I have turned him over to a showcase team. When you go play against the best competition in the south you can't help but develop. Heck we faced a kid in a national championship game when we were 9 that was throwing 68 mph. Best way to develop play with the best against the best! Imho

Don't disagree...but it's not for everybody and in a majority of instances it's not necessary. Which is where my issue with it begins. The folks that make money off of these organizations and tourneys want folks to think it is necessary. It is big business...there are folks that work 3-4 months a year doing tourneys and never work til the next year. These coach's that get paid by these organizations are also feeding the kids and parents lines about HAVING to pay and play with them to get seen. They are pulling focus and kids away from high school programs without having the investment in the kids and their overall development.

This doesn't describe all travel ball or showcase organizations but in my 15+ years of involvement in many different avenues, it's pretty accurate of most.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

What really was the end to our time in it was when they started pushing games to Sunday's. Couldn't allow my son to think in was ok to miss church to play baseball.

And that is how you really develop a kid. Good for you.