| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Cycle |
Posted - 07/12/2012 : 10:54:16
This a philosophical question about the format of travel ball. First of all, I love the high level of competition of travel ball. I question whether or not the kids really enjoy playing so many games in a weekend. I love ice cream too, but I don't want to eat it 4 - 6 times a weekend. My son & I love baseball, but I have often felt a sense of relief when our games are over for the weekend. I wish there were a way to combine the competitiveness of travel ball with the format of rec ball. For me, a game during the week and a game on Saturday is the right amount, with a couple of practices in between. I know there are some travel ball leagues that play this format in the Atlanta area. Unfortunately, we are a long distance from the Atlanta metro area and those type leagues do not exist where we are. My question is: Does anyone else ever feel like travel ball is more baseball than the boys enjoy in a weekend ? |
| 13 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Cycle |
Posted - 07/13/2012 : 12:00:01
Thanks ramman. I have seen effect this also. We had a kid who played on our Major travel ball team in the fall, took the spring off to play little league, and came back for a couple of tournaments at the end of the season. He was just as solid when he came back as he was in the fall - did not seem to miss a beat. Sure, there is rust after a layoff, but the rust can be removed.
Travel ball does have a way of taking over, at least your weekends, if not your life. You do have to make sure that it is the right choice for the family and not just Dad or junior.
Thanks again - always helpful to hear from those dealing with similar situations. |
| ramman999 |
Posted - 07/13/2012 : 08:36:47
I played baseball from the time I was 7 until legion ball at 19 - probably averaged somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 games a year, obviously more as I was older, less as I was younger but that's 300 games. My son started playing travel at 8, and through the fall last year had played close to 200 games and he is only 11!! We talk about how we didn't have this when we were kids, and we didn't, why? Because it is a business now, when it was a game then.. You played ball in the spring, had your summer off to goof off with your buddies. We turn it into a job, suck the fun out of it - in it's purest form, it is still a game.
I spent the last 6 months not really involved in baseball due to the job transfer,so my son took off this spring season. This downtime gave us some time to reflect and it made us appreciate how fanatical we had become - all this expense, all the windshield time, all the stuff and the pressure really made me open my eyes to a lot of things. It really came full circle a couple of months ago, when we were asked to fill in with a team - the kid hadn't picked up a bat or a ball since really November, although he did some tee work in the yard and we'd throw the ball around some here and there leading up to it - he jumped in, batted for a high average, led the team in hits and made a ton of plays that weekend - heck he even caught a game which he hadn't done since Cooperstown last summer.
My point is, 6 months away from the game and he barely slipped down a peg from where he was - sure his mechanics were off, and he was a little rusty but he had fun, and so did I - made me appreciate the game a little more, after taken it for granted.. Don't feel obligated to keep up with the Jones' and play year round, and throw away family time to live at the ball field unless that is what you (and your son) want to do, because in the end, if the talent is there, the time off doesn't hurt. |
| Cycle |
Posted - 07/12/2012 : 20:03:32
Lots of great responses - thanks, I was hoping for a lively discussion. The pitching comment & number of at-bats are excellent points.
I have witnessed this first hand, in that when only playing a couple games a week, you really only need 2 or 3 quality pitchers and many kids who would like to pitch do not get the chance.
We played a full season of travel ball (fall, spring & summer) at 9 and I looked back at the stats. My son had 170 plate appearances and 140 ABs - that could never be duplicated playing a rec type schedule - invaluable experience no doubt.
When I first asked my son if he wanted to play rec or travel, he chose travel. His reason was that in rec ball there is only 1 tournament at the end of the season, in travel ball, there is a tournament every weekend. Travel ball is definitely easier in metro Atlanta as there is somewhat less travel.
I struggle with the sacrifices that the whole family has to make so that 1 child can play travel ball and just wish that it were not so all consuming. |
| DecaturDad |
Posted - 07/12/2012 : 19:21:31
My son just returned for a sleep over basketball camp where they played multiple games each day. He got home at 1:00, and was at a batting lesson at 5:00 (His choice). On the way home, his one comment: I love sports. |
| AllStar |
Posted - 07/12/2012 : 17:55:28
quote:
Originally posted by excoach12
Your scenario works very well if your goal is just to play a game of baseball. But to some kids, and mine is one of them, the goal isn't just to play a game of baseball but to see how deep into a tournament the team can get. How far their combined talents take them. The strategy of "do we win this pool game or is it not that important?" "When do we pitch who and why?" Things like that. In this game I'm watching with two other teams in it who do I hope wins and how does that help my team?
If you play one or two games a week and keep a W-L record on your website thats fine. But you do not have a "field" of teams to compare yourself against. Yes, you can compare yourself to other teams doing exactly the same thing, like playing Lanier League, but if you were only doing one or two games a week and trying to compare yourself against tournament teams then its apples to oranges.
In my opinion that gets diluted if you do it 3 out of every 4 weeks for 4 months. It's what we did, though, so obviously I'm in the minority.
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| mrbama31 |
Posted - 07/12/2012 : 16:37:50
What about ABs ....2 games equal at best 6 ABs...2 BBs...is 4 singing AB's a week good enough...Hard to get better that way.
quote:
Originally posted by allaboutbaseball
I will add that it is more than just pitching...how many times do we hear from parents that their child needs to be playing other positions? And if you play 2 games per week - and you put a child in a particular position - they may get only one or two plays a week. So part of playing travel ball - is the opportunity to get the reps that requires playing 50+ games.
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| excoach12 |
Posted - 07/12/2012 : 15:36:24
Your scenario works very well if your goal is just to play a game of baseball. But to some kids, and mine is one of them, the goal isn't just to play a game of baseball but to see how deep into a tournament the team can get. How far their combined talents take them. The strategy of "do we win this pool game or is it not that important?" "When do we pitch who and why?" Things like that. In this game I'm watching with two other teams in it who do I hope wins and how does that help my team?
If you play one or two games a week and keep a W-L record on your website thats fine. But you do not have a "field" of teams to compare yourself against. Yes, you can compare yourself to other teams doing exactly the same thing, like playing Lanier League, but if you were only doing one or two games a week and trying to compare yourself against tournament teams then its apples to oranges.
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| allaboutbaseball |
Posted - 07/12/2012 : 15:12:39
I will add that it is more than just pitching...how many times do we hear from parents that their child needs to be playing other positions? And if you play 2 games per week - and you put a child in a particular position - they may get only one or two plays a week. So part of playing travel ball - is the opportunity to get the reps that requires playing 50+ games. |
| bballman |
Posted - 07/12/2012 : 15:08:57
If your kid doesn't want to play that many games, you need to find the right fit for him. I think burnout comes from playing too much when the kids don't really want to. It becomes a chore instead of something they look forward to do. You can form a team on your own, if you can find a field and only play the schedule you want to. I see posts on here about teams looking for a weekday or weekend game all the time. Shouldn't be a problem just doing that.
I wouldn't worry about the pitching thing. One of the biggest arm killers is too much pitching from a young age. I wouldn't think it's a problem to pitch a pitcher for one or two innings a game. That way, you can get 6 or 7 pitchers work every week. I would rather have that than kids getting over thrown - which can happen very easily with an 11, 12 or 13 man roster over a packed weekend. |
| AllStar |
Posted - 07/12/2012 : 13:05:03
quote:
Originally posted by SSBuckeye
It is about pitching for the most part. Having a son who played in a league like that at 9u, only 3-4 kids got to pitch when 10 kids wanted the opportunity. Just not enough games to go around.
Exactly.
We played 50-65 games a year for that reason. I would have liked, and tried like crazy, to play more non-tournament games. We had a lot of access to nice fields, especially once school let out. If you can play a game on Wed and Thurs, maybe a home and home, and then doubleheaders on Sat and/or Sun, you could get 4-6 games in a week without having to a) pay the tournament fee and b) travel 30+ miles for an 8 AM game.
We played 80% tournament games, 20% non-tournament games. I would have loved it to be more 50-50. Would have been easier on the budgets and calendars. |
| BREAMKING |
Posted - 07/12/2012 : 12:57:06
We played in a 9u league that was structured like that also. Probably same league. We tried to schedule as many of those games back to back as possible so everyone would get reps. We pitched everybody during the league games and thought it was the best place to get the mound time these young kids need. Next year we will do the same thing. A lot of the teams in the league tried just pitched the same couple of kids like you said but i think it is a great way to get the kids work. |
| SSBuckeye |
Posted - 07/12/2012 : 12:02:24
It is about pitching for the most part. Having a son who played in a league like that at 9u, only 3-4 kids got to pitch when 10 kids wanted the opportunity. Just not enough games to go around. |
| peashooter |
Posted - 07/12/2012 : 11:28:40
Here is the main problem. What if you kid is a pitcher? How about the 3-4th best pitcher on the team. Two games a week...He may not even pitch. I hate having that many games, but in order to get your pitchers game reps, it is probably worth the hassle. |
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