Travel Teams

Agree

WELL SAID!!!!!!

 

:xyzthumbs

 

ENKAJET04,

Your question has many answers depending on what you and your daughter are looking for. There are elite travel teams and there are local travel teams. The goals that elite teams have, both coaches and players, are different than the local travel teams goals.

An elite team's goal is to get to the best scouted tournaments by college coaches and to set the stage for success for each girl. The girls must in turn perform at the level that gains a college coaches interest. College coaches are evaluating how these girls play against each other at the top level in the country. With only a limited number of days available to recruit (according to NCAA rules) the college coaches attend major ASA 18U and Gold tournaments (not exclusively, but mostly). Elite travel teams will fly to these tournaments around the country. They must do their best to succeed and they must put their best players on the field. An elite team coach must show his ability to win games (to get bids to state and national tournaments) and be successful in order to gain the coaches ear. He must also be a very good negotiator and people person. The goals of 99% of all girls on an elite travel team is to win and play ball in college.

A local travel team has a different philosopy. Other factors like friendships between teammates, fellowships between parents, highschool team, etc. can drive these teams. Don't get me wrong, these teams have some very high caliber players and they are good teams. Local travel teams will play in the surrounding areas and states. They will play in NSA, USSSA. and AAU tournaments. These are great tournaments run by great people, but the major college coaches choose ASA (ASA is also affiliated with the Olympic Team). If the college coaches choose NSA, USSSA, or AAU, then the elite teams would go to these tournaments.

To illustrate my point, 2 college coaches having a conversation on where a certain 16/17 year old girl was playing. When they figured out she decided to stay with the team comprised mostly of her high school teammates, they dismissed her abilities. She was a talented player and was recruited by an elite team. Howerver, her family decided this was easier and would not upset anyone on the highschool team. This worked for her and her family. It was their choice, but she had talent to do better.

The formula that I have seen work many times is to have a discussion with your daughter and see what her goals are. Once you have decided on a course of direction, develop a workout plan and develop the talent needed to get to your goals. If at anytime your daughter's goals change, re-evaluate them and adjust your plans. Of all that is said on this website, remember it is about your daughter and what she wants. You as the parent must give her the confidence and reality of what is obtainable. Then you must sacrifice your time and energy to help her achieve her goals. Remember that college coaches will look for acedemics and character along with talent.

Also travel team coaches, tone it down some. College coaches are watching you too. If you act bad, they will not want to talk with you.

 

Cardinal Fan...........:applause: great post for the entire softball community!

 

thank you cardinal fan for seeing what i also think is a different side of the coin. although maybe we now coach what we consider to be elite teams, when we first started at 10 or 12u, i offer that showcasing our DD's at the Dynamites tournament was probably not at the top of our agenda, if we even had any clue what it was or what a showcase tournament was.
we have by whatever methods were available over the years gained this knowledge as fp grew, these tournaments grew along with the expanding opportunities that have presented themselves
lets not get so full of ourselves, that we discount the value of any form of travel ball on the development of fp and more importantly on any girl who wants to play, be it elite ball, or any of the local tourneys. not all kids want to play ball in college, some just want more than middle, hs, or rec ball can provide
any girl that wants to play and works for it should be provided the opportunity at some level of travel ball, without them our elite teams would never be

 

Cardinal Fan I appreciate your insight. My daughter has moved on to the next level and I am enjoying watching her play there. My question posted out there was really to see what kind of responses would come back to the simple but thought provoking question. I have seen both situations in my short time as a travel coach. The hardest part is getting the credibilty for your travel team which comes not only from the coaching but from the tournaments you select. The second hardest part as I have experienced it is to get parents and players to see the difference in the two teams(elite vs non elite). If you want to play at the next level and if your goals are to play D1 or upper D2 then you need to play on either an elite team or a team that at least goes to the better showcase tournaments. Now if you go to the showcase tournaments with a team thats not comprised of the best players in your area then you are hard pressed to get the college coaches to look at your team long enough to see the abilities of some of the elite players that may or may not reside on that team. If you do not want to play in college then you should select a team that is not going to go to the type of tournaments. Also the teams shouldn't be all about winning. The fact that you go to the showcase tournaments and "showcase" your players should be the highest priority. Especially during pool play. Once you get to the single elimination then put the best team (that day) on the field and go for the trophy. We always talk about the players more than the coaches as it should be. But, do not overlook the fact that getting the quality coaches to properly teach the players is the first step of any team (elite or othewise). I have watched and admired the programs of the Cardinals, the Bandits, the Dynamites, the Crush and others like them in this area to be used as a benchmark when you are looking at starting an elite program. Quality Coaches, your top players, good administration. Even more the right attitude of the parents and the organization in what their mission statement is and should be. Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread. :xyzthumbs :applause:

 

Travel teams/Showcase

Lots of good comments here. Some very knowledgable coaches and softball fans. Problems arise when players who are accustomed to being the "top dogs" and playing every inning come to a team that has 10-12 college quality players. It is difficult for them to understand playing time or maybe it is difficult for their parents to understand! U can play for a team that goes to Showcase tourneys but if they do not have someone that has a relationship with college coaches and regularly e-mails, calls, or writes them to make sure they attend your games, U have not done the job! There are many quality players that never reach their goal of playing college softball due to lack of support. Selling the talent your team has, is the KEY! Attend the best tournaments in the SE and try to go to the ASA Nationals. Good luck to all of U with your young ladies and teams. Hope to see all of U this summer.

 

Agreed....I just looked back at my post and I can't believe I left off the Lady Blues as one of the programs I have watched...My BAd....no way they should not have been on my post. Lady Blues and the other teams I have mentioned are totally committed to do all the things. No wonder they succeed as an organization and their players move on to the next level. :applause:

 

There are only a handful of tournaments in this country that get a sampling of coaches from around the country. These tournaments are not in the true sense of the word, "showcases". If my understanding is correct, showcase tournaments are round robin play, these tournaments all have winners on the last day. These handful of tournaments are where the level of play gets turned up to the best it can be. Where young players are on the road to being seen on ESPN for a world series.

The funny part is, most of the college coaches leave on the latter days of these tournament. Very rarely do they care who wins or loses. They are maximizing the available recruiting days to see as many players as they can. It serves them no purpose to waste an extra day to see 4 teams play to win, especially if the teams/recruits they are following are out. There are typically more than 100 teams at the start of these tournmaments.

Playing in these tournaments are two fold. You play against the best teams in the country and see how you rate against the rest of the eligable recruits nationally. And, because of this high level of competition, you get scouted by college coaches. If you can make a difficult play against a fellow recruit from another part of the country, or she against you, and you are both deemed high level prospects, then a coach will feel more comfortable with your abilities and the offer they extend.

When you are knocked out of the tournament, interested college coaches line up to talk with these young ladies and win their favor. By the end of the summer the players have multiple offers waiting for them. It becomes both a fun and stressful time for a young lady. This is what an elite team has as an advantage over other teams. It is not just in softball, there is baseball, basketball, soccer, etc. and etc. Recognition at a nation level will open more doors than can be imagined.

 

Elite

Most of what U say is right on! The Rising Star tourney in Fla. is a true Showcase with five pool games and no elimnation rounds. The fall tourney had 204 teams, the summer 116 teams. Coaches from all over the country (over 200) were there at five complexes trying to see as many kids as possible. Practice games were offered on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning and were well attended by coaches. The Lady Blues played the Texas Peppers Gold in front of 25 coaches including 15 D-1's in a pool game at 11:30 on Saturday. We won 5-1 and because of that win, had 15 new coaches watching us at 8am on Sunday. U have to play well and U must win till U build your name with coaches. Dynamites, Bandits fall tourney, and Va Beach and Boulder Co. summer all have elimnation rounds after pool play. The Cardinal Classic, NSA Showcase, Va fall do not. As I said earlier, ASA regionals and ASA nationals are also extremely important. National attention is helpful as it will bring the local D-1 schools to your games more than U could imagine. UNC, NC State, UNC-W, Elon, Ga Tech, Fla State, Oregon, Maryland, Va Tech, UAB, Auburn, USC, Purdue and D-11 schools, Presbyterian, Queens, and others watched us on Sunday morning. The local schools came once they discovered that we had some of their competition watching. We have a great coaching staff with Moni, Adrian, and Dan which has helped our girls understand what it takes to get ready for the college game. My hats are off to all of U travel teams that work hard for your players. Cardinal Fan, U obviously have lived it all! Best to U and your team. :xyzthumbs