Too Many Travel Ball Teams as a Player

I need some advice from some of the experts out there. I was at a practice this past week and one of the parents were talking about players moving to different teams. He had said it is better to stay with one or two travel ball teams while playing instead of jumping to three or more teams during the years you are playing. He said he had talk with some college coaches, who said they would not consider signing a player to play for there college if they had played for numerous travel ball teams. The reason being is the college coaches feel that they may only play one year of college ball with there school and then begin jumping the next year to another school to play ball. What are your thoughts on this? WndMillR, I know you coach college ball. Is this really true?

 

I would be surprised if that's true. When the girls (or boys) are young and become involved with tb, it always starts out as a "big happy family" type deal. Reality is, you have to find the best fit for your kid as well as help them to get to the competitive level that challenges them to improve. That rarely is with the same team.
College coaches aren't looking at who you played with when you were 12 or 14. They look at 16u (17u for boys) and 18u for the talent they are going to recruit. This could be a drawback for players that "play up" and change teams a few times as it may put questions in the minds of coaches... and could burn some bridges that could get a player some negative "press" so to speak. I really think though that this is a minor issue if it does arise. A scholarship is a contract and if a player commits to a college program, they aren't really in a position to be jumping from school to school.

 

Why Are You Changing Teams?

Wndmiller may respond differently, but here goes.

I brought this point up to two coaches while at the SC Bandits clinic in Myrtle Beach. They said they would want to know why a player was jumping teams. It is a good point. Why is a person jumping from team-to-team. I realize that you have to find the 'best-fit' for your daughter, but if you are switching teams every year (or every fall and every spring), you have to ask why?

It's the same as putting together a resume for a job interview. If you switch jobs every 6 months, I would fully expect the employer to want to know why.

 

We have had this discussion in my house. You don't want to build a reputation. We make friends and have left. It is often a hard decision. As I think loyalty is great thing, but differnt coaches have different strengths. You often learn differnt things from different people. We You want to learn to hit homeruns see Coach Sherrill. You want to slap see Coach Lambros. People are told in the world of academia to get your degrees from different places so you just don't learn the same things from the same people.

 

good points

I would want to know why? and which teams are they leaving?

Do your work before you " sign on " Know what you are getting into...
Are you leaving because of problems, or are you the problem...

something to think about... I can name allot of players that jumped travel ball teams every time the wind changed.......can't name one that played 4 years at the college level.. They were mostly one and done......

 

My Dad always told me that to be successful, "...just put good people around you..." Like you always see on message boards from teams, "..we want girls who are hard working, dedicated parents, yada, yada...", and you get there and you find it's something else (Daddy Ball is the biggest thing). My DD has been on three teams in less than two years. Not because we hated anyone. She was looking for a chance to work and get better and you can not do that sitting on the bench, or being in a situation where you have no support. And it does not matter if you are 8U or 18U. Academics should come first not softball, but if my DD ever gets to the level that a college coach is interested and there is a problem because she changed teams too many times in an attempt to improve, she won't be playing at that school. FOOTNOTE: there are girls who change college teams for more playing time, or maybe there was a coaching change and they decided to move and were welcomed with open arms at another school. Same as anything else.

 

Not sure you can equate a career (job) with softball. I understand your point, but as you know the dynamics of softball are totally different. It's youth sports. You know?

Couple nights ago I talked with a team we played for. The coach told me all about how the team changed over. You know what it was? PARENTS. I've seen so many absolutely ruin kids and teams. And you can not tell anyone anything. But with that said.....I guess people have the right to do what they think is best for their DD. All we ever wanted was a good coach and a chance to play. Guess that was too much to ask for.

 

Coaches add players with too little investigation into the player...
Players join teams with too little investigation into the team.

If you like a team, then go to a tournament and if you cant play with them, then watch them play and how the coach interacts during the games. Attend a few practices before you commit to the team. This helps both the potential coach and the potential player to decide AHEAD OF TIME if they are a fit or not.

Teams and players are very much like a business unit and the process to join one or "hire" a new player is quite similar to job hunting. Doing it right can be a good lesson in life skills, and figuring out how to get along on a team after deciding to join it, even if it is not perfect, is also a good life skill.

Team sports is an excellent metaphor for life, dont miss the opportunity.

To offer an answer to the OP's question. In hiring a new person, if I noticed that they had been at the same company forever, then I would be just as interested in why, as if they had changed jobs frequently. I would want to see improvement in a situation where they were at the same place.

 

Some things are better left un said.......

 

Ahh... Travel Ball is So Much Fun...

I most certainly can equate softball with finding a job. That is ultimately what most players at the travel/HS level are trying to do - get their schooling PAID FOR.

Riding the Pine only Improves Splinter Resistance...
If your daughter is sitting on the bench on a team, there is most likely a reason. I haven't met a coach yet that sits an ultra-talented player on the bench just for the heck of it. As I have said in the past, there are different level's of teams. If your daughter is sitting on the bench on one team, perhaps you are at the wrong level. In this case, I can completely understand making a change to a team with a skill level that fits your daughter and allows her to play and develop. However, if someone tells me that they have had to change teams 3, 4 or 5 times in a year - many, many red flags will go up.

You wouldn't Buy a Car without Test Driving It...
Research is also key. Each and every player that we take, we find coaches they have play for in the past, or parents that know the family and we ask. You have to know what you are getting. It's not just about getting enough to play (see the USFA message board for that), its about getting quality people (including parents) to be part of your program. As parents, I expect families coming on our teams to ask questions, see us interact with people and judge our performance as people before they commit to our team.

Ever Notice How Many Unhappy People There Are at Casinos...
Be happy you are on a travel team - they will help you develop. Many people get to a travel team, and are almost immediately unhappy (honeymoon's over). It seems that there are a lot of parents who think that if you are paying to play travel ball - then the coach better play their daughter - a lot AND at the position they LIKE. If not, it's time to go. Understand what travel teams are and look at how far your daughter's skill set has come. Sometimes people need to look at the big picture. Just because your daughter didn't pitch the championship game doesn't mean she isn't valuable to the team. I really think that sometimes it is the parent's ego's that hurt teams more than a ground ball through the legs in 7th inning.

Let the criticism of this post begin...