travel softball ?

[EMAW_KSU]

Care to expand on that? Is your point that if they pay, they play? Do you think they derive any benefit even if that's true?

Not sure what there is to expand. Just stating that travel teams are full of players that are not great athletes.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Not sure what there is to expand. Just stating that travel teams are full of players that are not great athletes.

Knowing the reason you feel that way would be interesting to a lot of us.

 

[EMAW_KSU]

Knowing the reason you feel that way would be interesting to a lot of us.

Because it is true. It is a very small percentage of club/travel players that are good enough to make it to the next level. I am not saying your son or daughter is not a great athlete.

 

[bethy]

.

 

[bethy]

With all due respect, there is no way anyone can guarantee this. No.Way. Kids move on, families move away. Some will improve so much they want to seek out a higher level team. Some may plateau and not be at the proper level for the team, and may have to be cut.

My son started with his soccer club when he was 10 in their academy. He moved up to Premier at U13. From the 18 boys on that 1st U13 team, by the time they graduated High School, there were 4 of the original boys left. Some left the sport, some changed clubs, some moved away. There is no way to say the team will stay together until they age out. I'd be careful of what other promises the club/coach may be making that they cannot guarantee.

And I would go to tryouts, with the intent to participate fully. Travel teams can be a hotbed of politics and backstabbing, and for a girl to have a place on the team without going through the tryout could cause some hard feelings.

These are wise words.

Telling someone they've made a team before tryouts is fairly unprofessional, in my experience as a sports parent. (Even though it's true that decisions are certainly made before tryouts.)

All that said this stuff is all typical and it doesn't mean your child won't have a great experience.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

These are wise words.

Telling someone they've made a team before tryouts is fairly unprofessional, in my experience as a sports parent. (Even though it's true that decisions are certainly made before tryouts.)

All that said this stuff is all typical and it doesn't mean your child won't have a great experience.

Not necessarily unprofessional... I've seen it done both ways - tryouts and invitations. Some girls get invited to play on the team without a real tryout because the coaches know who they are and have seen them play before. I think my DD went to an actual tryout 1 time out of the 3 different travel teams she played on. Even before the tryout, she'd been invited to join the team.

I will second that teams usually do not remain together for years. Girls come and go; teams fold. DD started travel at age 8. When that team folded, DD plus 2 other girls went to a new team together. When that team folded the same 3 went to a new team and rejoined 2 other girls they'd played with when they were 8. All 5 girls play on different high school teams.

 

[Hrhpd]

We just got home from the parent's meeting and we think this will be a good team for her. The team is going to be made up of all first year girls so there will not be girls above her. We have tryouts tomorrow and Saturday but we were already told she would make the team since she did the winter softball team and the coach likes what she is doing. She will pitch and play first base. We still have to go to tryouts to meet the other girls. We are very excited for our daughter to do this. We were told that the team would stay together till they age out at the end of their senior year of high school so the girls have a chance to grow as a team which makes me happy.

I would like to thank all of you guys for your advice on this.

An entire travel team of 1st year 10 year olds, I am impressed. Those are some dedicated parents. Most of the teams my kids have been on, they tried rec for at least a year to see if they liked the sport before committing to the time and money of a travel team. It will be fun for your daughter. Congrats and Good luck! Keep us informed of how it goes for her.

 

[bsblady01]

An entire travel team of 1st year 10 year olds, I am impressed. Those are some dedicated parents. Most of the teams my kids have been on, they tried rec for at least a year to see if they liked the sport before committing to the time and money of a travel team. It will be fun for your daughter. Congrats and Good luck! Keep us informed of how it goes for her.

it is a ten plus team and all of the girls have played on the local little league teams. So far so good her team is made up of a great bunch of girls three of the girls were on her winter softball team.

 

[bsblady01]

Not necessarily unprofessional... I've seen it done both ways - tryouts and invitations. Some girls get invited to play on the team without a real tryout because the coaches know who they are and have seen them play before. I think my DD went to an actual tryout 1 time out of the 3 different travel teams she played on. Even before the tryout, she'd been invited to join the team.

I will second that teams usually do not remain together for years. Girls come and go; teams fold. DD started travel at age 8. When that team folded, DD plus 2 other girls went to a new team together. When that team folded the same 3 went to a new team and rejoined 2 other girls they'd played with when they were 8. All 5 girls play on different high school teams.

I hope this team stays together they all love the game and want to stay together

 

[debster812]

Not necessarily unprofessional... I've seen it done both ways - tryouts and invitations. Some girls get invited to play on the team without a real tryout because the coaches know who they are and have seen them play before. I think my DD went to an actual tryout 1 time out of the 3 different travel teams she played on. Even before the tryout, she'd been invited to join the team.

I will second that teams usually do not remain together for years. Girls come and go; teams fold. DD started travel at age 8. When that team folded, DD plus 2 other girls went to a new team together. When that team folded the same 3 went to a new team and rejoined 2 other girls they'd played with when they were 8. All 5 girls play on different high school teams.

You are right that it's not necessarily unprofessional, as a lot of travel coaches do have a good idea of the players they want on their team. However, if they are holding tryouts, presumably there are still spots to be filled. With that being the case, I would certainly not flaunt the fact that my child 'already has a spot' and have her participate in the tryout. DS has done this on numerous occasions for various teams, and will be doing so in about 2 months for his summer soccer league.

I hope this team stays together they all love the game and want to stay together

A lot can change over the course of just a few years. I realize that the girls want to stay together now, but they are ten year old girls. Minds will change, situations will change, and circumstances will change. Hopefully, the team does stay together, because if they do, they will have YEARS of chemistry behind them, but the reality is that it is unlikely, and not something to be counted on.

 

[bsblady01]

The last set of tryouts were this morning she made the team. She will play first base and pitch. There is 12 girls on her team this year . Now we start the first part with practice every mon wed and Friday with our first game being the second week in april. We do have the week off for easter so we do not have to move our Disney cruise.

 

[Hrhpd]

it is a ten plus team and all of the girls have played on the local little league teams. So far so good her team is made up of a great bunch of girls three of the girls were on her winter softball team.

My apologies. I obviously misunderstood this statement that you said all the girls are made up of first year girls. I read it as first year players.

The team is going to be made up of all first year girls so there will not be girls above her.

Again, congrats to your daughter. Sounds like she will have a great team of girls.

 

[bsblady01]

Another question for you guys. What do you fo for meals I want to make sure she eats something healthy and not fast food all the time. What are some of your go to meals for game weekends when you are at the field all day .

 

[sam_gordon]

We brought lunch meat (turkey, salami, etc), ate fast food or hotdogs from concession stand, "cuties" (mini oranges), LOTS of water/sports drinks. She also like pickles at the time.

Cut fruit and veggies are good also. Sometimes granola bars.

 

[lovin'fl]

Fruit. They love cold fruit out of the cooler...grapes, strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, watermellon. Bananas are good to eat but go brown so easily. Veggies and dip. Pita chips and hummus. Chicken salad with crackers. And power bars are big. I like pepperoni and cheese but my DDs aren't fans of pepperoni but they love Teriyaki beef jerky. I bring a few of those little nutella cups and they get grabbed up super fast as all the girls like those. You want to keep the carbs down and protein up. And gatoraid is not all that good for them but they like to have one every now and then. They do love to bring big packs of twizzlers but we try to save that for the end of the day or in the hotel. And I agree with Sam...hot dogs at the concession are a good cheap easy form of protein.

We played up in Philadelphia and a vendor came in to sell cheesestakes...OMG, that was sooooo good!

 

[Southernmiss]

My soccer kids like Subway sandwiches between games on tournament weekends. Light, but filling.

 

[debster812]

Applesauce cups or pouches are good for in between games with a quick turn around.

DS's pre-game breakfast (and lunch) of choice was always and still is, lightly toasted sesame bagel, with a little butter, and orange juice. He will eat that about 2 hours before every game. If he's feeling tired, he might add peanut butter for a little protein.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We almost always packed a cooler with food from home. Between games players eat with their families, then run off to start warm ups again. On road trips always brought cereal, milk, fruit, yogurt for breakfast for at least one relatively healthy meal of the day, and sometimes even brought iunch items and snacks to save on costs. A good size rolling cooler is a must and a fridge for the room in hotels, if possible. We also keep a case of water in the car and DS uses a Big Bubba mug that he fills with ice and water for the day, which often gets refilled a couple of times on hot days.

 

[lovin'fl]

Question for those who do showcase tourneys where the team is required to book hotels through the tournament. We were sent, from the team mom, a link to book a hotel for July. It's the team's 3rd time at this showcase and the same hotel we got the last times. It's a Holiday Inn in PA. I went to book and the price is ridiculous. It's $174/night plus taxes. For a HI. I was taken aback so I went on Expedia and see it for a chunk less. Do these showcases book hotels with deals to get the hotels higher rates (I was thinking we'd get lower rates) or is some of the price going back to the showcase (kickback) or do you think this is to cover the 2 coaches rooms that I do know we, players/parents, are paying for (but the way I was understanding, we were paying coaches hotels in the player fees)?

 

[sam_gordon]

I can't help you with softball showcase information, but I'm the "hotel coordinator" for my son's soccer team. For the last year, there's been a slight discount (maybe $10-15) off the normal rack rate. I think.