Budgeting for out of state tournaments.

ELIJAH, I'm sure everyone is different, but here's our experience.  1) The team usually books rooms at a very affordable hotel.  Most of the players/parents stay at that hotel and some upgrade or downgrade depending on their personal financial circumstances and if they want to be in a certain area to enjoy the town, etc.  2) These hotels often have a microwave -- some have the kitchenettes, but personally I'd never cook there. 3) We eat out most of the time, but also often stop at a local grocery store for healthy snacks and I always pack a small cooler with extra food for my son -- some ballparks don't allow coolers, so check in advance.  4) We will usually have one team/parent/coach dinner on a trip and then other nights when we're not playing will either go by ourselves if we need a break away from others or partner up with families we enjoy.  It gets really hard to plan dinners for 35-50 people every night unless you have a very enthusiastic team mom or manager. 

All of that being said, we've been on a few different travel teams over the years and the dynamic is very different depending on the parent set and how the coach likes to run things.  I'd advise talking with a few other parents at the parent meeting they usually have before the season starts to get a feel for what people like to do and then adapt.  If you're coming on to an already assembled team, then just ask one of the parents what they typically do to get the inside scoop.

Hope this is helpful.

A few random thoughts.

• As midwest mom says, planning a whole team dinner is daunting, and it also can be a logistical nightmare, but one thing we found is that a lot of hotels will let you use a conference room for free where you can order in pizza or whatever.  Or just do it by the pool. Can be the whole team, or just a group.
  
  
• Avoid hotels that don't include breakfast and figure out which chains have the breakfast you like best. This saves a lot of money and a ton of time.
  
  
• If you're not flying you can save money on lunches by packing in your own sandwiches, cold chicken, etc. However you travel you can save  $$ by buying lunch supplies at a grocery store rather than deli or restaurant.
  
  
• The Panda is your friend. They use too much sugar and it's not "authentic", I know, but seriously, I would be 10lbs heavier or maybe dead if I had eaten a In n Out burger and fries for every plate of Panda Express kung pao and veggies I have had over the years. Plus: Family Feast.  For about $30 you get enough for 6-8 meals.
  
  
• Kind of obvious, I know, but if your kids are used to drinking water, not soda, you will save a ton of money on the road.

It always ends up costing a lot more than I plan or budget for

Hotel Rooms with a fridge/stove are pricey but well worth it.  Definitely packing food/water in a large cooler will save $$$

Budget for the unexpected:  Gas costing more than you planned out of state, unexpected parking fees, extra meals at restaurants because of scheduling delays, the "gotta have" T-Shirt or Hat, even an extra day of motel fees due to rainouts etc

My advise; budget it to the penny and then double it. Enjoy it for what it is. This time is priceless. From an investment standpoint, don't analyze it. The scholarship my son eventually received doesn't cover the $$ we spent over the past 10 years traveling. Still, I wouldn't trade a single second of it.

As midwest mom alludes to, different teams have different personalities and travel differently.

When my kid played on a team made up of kids primarily from that area (most of these kids would go on to make the core of the HS team), we were a fairly tight knit group of friends.  In that case we would all stay at the same hotel.  Normally a Courtyard or Residence Inn.  Residence Inn was preferred as you could easily get a two room suite with a kitchen.  Most did not cook in the room, but it did offer convenience when it came to storing snacks and drinks.  As well as offered space for the parents to get together in the evening without sitting in the hotel lobby  Occasionally someone may stay away from the team but it was normally related to having family in the area or mixing business in with the baseball trip.

We would usually head out to Lunch and Dinner as a team.  Lunch was normally B-Dubs, or a sandwich shop (why I now avoid B-Dubs) and for dinner we would try to find some type of local pub/sports-bar/bbq etc.  On longer trips we might try to find a nicer upscale "healthier" restaurant once or twice.  Again, occasionally a family would head out on their own, but again they normally had other family in the area or wanted to goto a specific area restaurant that others were not interested in going to.

When my kid transitioned to a showcase team.  The over night travel actually went way down and was not coordinated.  A few parents may get together and decide to stay in the same place, but there was never one trip where everyone stayed in the same place.  In fact there were a couple of trips where we purposely stayed in a hotel another team was staying in as we had a few friends on that team.  Again, when it came to food everyone pretty much did their own thing.  Normally there was another family or two we hung with and would run out with them.  As far as costs things were all over the place with this team.  Some folks had money and stayed at higher end hotels (JW, Ritz) and others were on a budget and stayed at Motel 6.  In some cases where the drive was less then 2 hours everyday some families decided to make the drive every day.  I know of one family that would often camp if they could.

• Do not, repeat...DO NOT...participate in team dinners!!! The restaurants can't handle that size crowd, and as a result, your order will take 2 years to be served.
• First thing we would buy: a case of water, if not two.
• Agree with JCG: stay at hotels with breakfasts.
• Stick with one hotel chain and build the points. Those points will pay off.
• We always tried to stay away from the team hotel: those maniacal kids can't help themselves from pools, hallways, etc.
• As he got older, we would ship him off on his own to room with other players in the team hotel. Miracle of miracles, they figured things out on their own.

As long as you are still talking about within driving distances...

Ice chest with cut fruit in tupperware, cold waters, peanut butter & celery, other healthy stuff made at home that keeps fairly easily.  We would often fire up a batch of BBQ chicken on the grill and then put it in zip lock bags in the cooler, tuna or chicken salad pre-made and put in tupperware, etc.

Snack bags that include nut mixes, dried fruit, clif bars, bananas, apples.

Home made granola, bring milk of choice and paper bowls/plastic spoons.

(You said you were especially interested in eating somewhat healthy, so I won't tell you about the other stuff we always packed  

Pick hotels with good free breakfast offerings or pick a good airbnb.

Bring cheap entertainment... wiffle ball, frisbee, cards, bikes, badminton, board games, ..

All this said, I agree with Root...  budget the number of trips and keep things in check.  But, then, enjoy it.  Go to that occasional restaurant, fishing/swimming lake, zoo, museum, water park, pro game, movie, county fair, ride quads, see sites, etc., whatever the interest, and don't feel guilty.  Make it special 'cuz it is. 

The only thing I don't agree with JoeMktg on is not staying in the team hotel.  The fun at the pool and in the hallways is what they remember most.

I was watching a LLWS game the other night and they interviewed Mo'ne Davis.  They asked her what she remembered most from her time at the series.  With all of her on-field ground-breaking accomplishments, she remembered "the hill".  And, she wasn't talking about the mound.

Wow. Thanks for the knowledge! Lots of copying a pasting going on. I was under the impression that most of these tournaments dictated where the teams stayed and that you had little choice as a team or that you could choose a hotel as a team. (I am thinking about Lakepoint and my conversations with other dads during the WWBA.) What is the norm once you hit 15u? Do you have a choice as to where you stay?

Elijah posted:

Wow. Thanks for the knowledge! Lots of copying a pasting going on. I was under the impression that most of these tournaments dictated where the teams stayed and that you had little choice as a team or that you could choose a hotel as a team. (I am thinking about Lakepoint and my conversations with other dads during the WWBA.) What is the norm once you hit 15u? Do you have a choice as to where you stay?

Not really, in our experience, to a large degree.  Although a lot of tournaments will have a range of "approved/affiliated" hotels, so there is some degree of price range you will find.  

Agree with the others above on hotels with breakfast & leisure time activities...Lots of Toll Roads now, too! (esp Fla) 

I usually found the nearest grocery & laundromat. I'd prepare some meals ahead & freeze, pack them separately on dry ice. 

Tide, large economy size! Stain X for grass, sweat, Oklahoma Red Dirt! OR FELS NAPTHA bar soap for stains.  First aid kit, witch hazel & rags for a 2 gal cooler (avoid eye contact), potassium tablets, NuSkin, extra laces, athletic cups (someone always forgets), travel sewing kit, safety pins, travel manicure kit, duct tape. 

One that I figured out a long time ago. When going to places like the beach or the mountains (or anywhere for that matter), you can often find houses with four or five bedrooms to rent. Get three families together and split it and you come out way ahead of hotels. Even for tourneys that require you book hotels through them, they often only require so many rooms and the rest of the team covers that number easy. When we'd do Vegas tourneys, I always rented a house with five bedrooms, with a pool and hot tub. It usually ran about $150 per family for a week. We'd even hold a team party there one night and cook out.

baseballmom posted:

 

Tide, large economy size! Stain X for grass, sweat, Oklahoma Red Dirt! OR FELS NAPTHA bar soap for stains.  First aid kit, witch hazel & rags for a 2 gal cooler (avoid eye contact), potassium tablets, NuSkin, extra laces, athletic cups (someone always forgets), travel sewing kit, safety pins, travel manicure kit, duct tape. 

Dang....I knew I was always forgetting something (or everything!) lol 

DesertDuck posted:

baseballmom posted:

 

Tide, large economy size! Stain X for grass, sweat, Oklahoma Red Dirt! OR FELS NAPTHA bar soap for stains.  First aid kit, witch hazel & rags for a 2 gal cooler (avoid eye contact), potassium tablets, NuSkin, extra laces, athletic cups (someone always forgets), travel sewing kit, safety pins, travel manicure kit, duct tape. 

Dang....I knew I was always forgetting something (or everything!) lol 

Desert Duck hahaha! These are just some of the joys of being a "professional team queen!    

baseballmom posted:

DesertDuck posted:

baseballmom posted:

 

Tide, large economy size! Stain X for grass, sweat, Oklahoma Red Dirt! OR FELS NAPTHA bar soap for stains.  First aid kit, witch hazel & rags for a 2 gal cooler (avoid eye contact), potassium tablets, NuSkin, extra laces, athletic cups (someone always forgets), travel sewing kit, safety pins, travel manicure kit, duct tape. 

Dang....I knew I was always forgetting something (or everything!) lol 

Desert Duck hahaha! These are just some of the joys of being a "professional team queen! 

Yeah, I was thinking OK that's the team MOM version.  The DAD version is much shorter.  Duct tape.  

 Blister?... duct tape.  Torn pants? .. duct tape.  Broken shoe laces? ..  duct tape.  No cup?... duct tape (LOTS of duct tape).   You get the idea.

Some hotels will let you grill in a corner out by the pool. Or do cold cut dinners. A table for twelve can be a difficult acquisition at a restaurant. Imagine trying to seat twenty to thirty.

We did one trip where we booked up an entire small, inexpensive Italian restaurant for dinner in a small town. The menu was simple ... salad, spaghetti and Italian bread or starve. The entire team and coaches ate there. Parents were welcome. Some came.

Elijah posted:

Wow. Thanks for the knowledge! Lots of copying a pasting going on. I was under the impression that most of these tournaments dictated where the teams stayed and that you had little choice as a team or that you could choose a hotel as a team. (I am thinking about Lakepoint and my conversations with other dads during the WWBA.) What is the norm once you hit 15u? Do you have a choice as to where you stay?

FWIW: register for the designated hotel, and register for the hotel that you really want. Cancel the reservation for the designated hotel before the cancellation date.  The tournaments track who has registered, but they do not track who has cancelled.

Don't tell PGStaff.

Elijah posted:

Wow. Thanks for the knowledge! Lots of copying a pasting going on. I was under the impression that most of these tournaments dictated where the teams stayed and that you had little choice as a team or that you could choose a hotel as a team. (I am thinking about Lakepoint and my conversations with other dads during the WWBA.) What is the norm once you hit 15u? Do you have a choice as to where you stay?

There are some tourneys that require specific hotels, but if you don't book one of their hotels you can still pay, just need to pay a fine for not staying in a sanctioned hotel.   The majority of the tourneys we played were not of this type.

Elijah posted:

This upcoming year will be our first year of tournaments out of state, so I am making a list of expenses to create a budget. Especially interested in how others handle food, eating somewhat healthy. 

Concerning rooms, do you book rooms with kitchenettes or do you find yourself eating out most of the time? I know this depends on the team, but in your experience, do teams try and eat together often on these trips? 

Would love advice on how you plan for out of state tourneys and what you learned along the way. Thanks!

 

My son and I stayed in hotels like https://www.woodspring.com/ for about $60 a night.  They are different hotel model.  There is no lobby.  A lot of construction workers stayed in them, they also rent by the week.  There is no room service, they don't clean the rooms, if you want clean towels, you take them your dirty ones.  Same with linens.  Each room had a fridge and a two burner stove.  They worked just fine.  Drove at night a lot to avoid a hotel room, if game wasn't early, would drive early morning to the games if within 4/5 hours.  Used the Hotel.com app to find them.

For healthier food, we tried this, it was part way successful.  I would pre-make and vacuum seal the meat part of a meal, then make pasta or rice to put it over.  Steak and gravy, chicken with alfredo sauce, etc.  We would eat a lot of Subway sandwiches.  Tried to stay away from the fast food places.  Again, partially successful.  I would also have an ice chest and waters, gatorade and milk (to mix up protein shakes).  Couple snacks, protein bars etc.  A lot of what you spend is stopping at gas stations, grabbing sodas/chips etc.  Tried to avoid that also.

If you have someone near who can split the ride and hotel rooms, that can help.  Or if there are parent's that can't go, offer to take another kid or two for some help with gas/hotels.

Sorry if I repeated anyone else's advice.  I didn't read the whole thread.

Rent a 15 Van, obtain a group rate for hotels with one comp room.

either you or the coach take charge. 

Bob

Figured $150 per night for tourney's.  Even with hotels which include breakfast I allow $100 per day for two of us, some days, it's way below, occasionally it's above.   I normally came back with cash.  I belong to every hotel chain and have their app...lots of points with two boys over the past eight years.  And get your kid a mileage plus number with American and United, and maximize the use of both of the credit card offers.  (If you take Spirit Air you'll get a la carted to death with the seat and baggage fees.)

On drive trips I always brought a case of water and a cooler.  It's the easiest way to save money going down and during tournaments, and If I had to, I'd go to a Target and reload.  I also brought my own detergent and definitely brought the duct tape, along with a tupperware kit of ace bandages, tape, peroxide, polysporin, extra shoe laces, and pediolyte (sp)!   

Instead of ordering pizza, we'd order spaghetti and meatballs from the same Italian place...plenty of carbs and protein the night before, and it was normally my players choice for breakfast.

Pick up the Hotwire app.  When a team hotel is already booked or you show up at the last minute, scout the geographic area when you get to the destination, and only then, select a hotel in your location.  Rates will be 20-30% less.  AND, stay the min nights possible at the team hotel, then use Hotwire or TripAdvisor for a nightly rate and extend your stay without checking out for 20% less.  Works.  

Sure it added up and we were shocked at times how much the summer was....but great memories for my boys and us, great relationships were developed.

After reading Baseball Mom's list, I just want to echo "Fels Naptha!"  Best. Soap. Ever.  (but not for cottons!)

Agree with MUCh of what JoeMKTG said.

-We don't book with the team, we book a house through VRBO. Sometimes you can share sometimes you don't want to.  Went to a FL trip this year, the mandatory hotel ROOM was going to be $1500 for the week, I got a 3 bedroom house for $700, with a washer/dryer, and was 20 minutes closer to the parks than the team.  I also grocery shop and cook most meals at "home", but do always splurge on one big meal, usually an all you can eat buffet of seafood.

-Meal together happens once or twice because it really does take two years.

-I drive, a car that is yours is very useful and far cheaper than air fare and car rental.  I drove to Cooperstown and I drove to FT. Myers....people who flew regretted it...although I did send my 8 year old daughter on a flight with my Mom to arrive the day after we did in Ft. Myers.  She had an adventure, we didn't have her in the car for hours and hours.  The boy sleeps or has his headphones in, the girl just talks and talks and talks. If you can send the younger sibling by plane I highly recommend it!

-I only use one credit card while away. I typically go to tourist places, where there are tourists there are crimes. It's easy to watch/cancel ONE card, it's a lot harder to deal with multiple cards being stolen.

-For the kid....I don't do much.  He packs his Jerseys and a pair of baseball pants for every day he is there but also bring Iron Out to get out the red clay if possible. His sliders, his hat(s), his cup, his cleats, his bats...etc. He's been responsible for his stuff since age 11.

smokeminside posted:

 

After reading Baseball Mom's list, I just want to echo "Fels Naptha!"  Best. Soap. Ever.  (but not for cottons!)

Also, you can pack your supplies - if driving - in a water tight 5 gallon bucket.  It works like a portable washing machine when all you have is the bathtub - also gives a pretty good upper body workout.

In Fort Meyers, if you are adventurous, go to the Lani Kai on Fort Meyers Beach in person and haggle (the kid probably needs to be at least 14yo - not the most family friendly).  I had a room elsewhere and was just wondering what they might end up offering.  I think I ended up with something like $60/night steps from the beach.  Very relaxing hanging out on the beach or the pier after a long day at the ballpark.  IF you have some extra cash, pick a nicer hotel on the island if you want to decompress at the end of the day.

If it's more than 3 or 4 days, we always tried to use VRBO to find a condo/house instead of a hotel.  We did it in GA for the WWBA, Knoxville and Nashville.  In GA, we had a 4000+ sq foot house on a lake with a dock (took a book and jet skis).  $395/night split 3 ways was very, very affordable considering we had a total of 14 people including some extra players.  Went to the grocery store the first day.....loaded up on snacks, grillable food and drinks.  Probably spent a grand total of $500 or so on food for the 7 days.  We did eat out a couple times when we had games a couple hours apart and an hour from the house.  Same situation in Knoxville.  Unbelievable house...again, $350/night split 3 ways.  We got knocked out early....made for a nice place to have a huge team bash the day before we headed home.  Ended up with 30+ people sleeping there....and nobody had to sleep on the floor (did I mention it was a big place lol)?   In Nashville, I had my son and 4 other players (17U).....rented a 2-story townhouse for $110/night.  I wanted to cover it, but a couple of the other players parents insisted on paying something so I let them pay $50 toward our food cost.  Breakfast and dinner at the townhouse most days.  Again, food savings was a huge benefit of doing this.

We typically have stayed with the team at team hotels, but this summer we did an Air B&B in Atlanta when we went to 17U WWBA. Best thing we ever did because we had a butt load of down time due to rain and games getting cancelled. We rented an apartment that was 2 BR (I snore) so my son could get some sleep. Having a full kitchen allowed us to eat as though we were at home. Relaxing on a couch at night and not the bed you will sleep on is comforting. I know organizations like Perfect Game require a certain amount of hotel nights per team because they get a cut of that revenue from the hotels, but if your team has enough people staying at the required hotels it shouldn't matter. Eating home cooked meals is definitely a plus.

I met a parent at one of the first AFLAC All American games we went to back in 2010 who had a kid playing. I asked him what it took to get your kid to that level. His first response, budget a lot of money for it. Roothog said it right. Double an budget you come up with.

Gov posted:

Figured $150 per night for tourney's.  Even with hotels which include breakfast I allow $100 per day for two of us, some days, it's way below, occasionally it's above.   I normally came back with cash.  I belong to every hotel chain and have their app...lots of points with two boys over the past eight years.  And get your kid a mileage plus number with American and United, and maximize the use of both of the credit card offers.  (If you take Spirit Air you'll get a la carted to death with the seat and baggage fees.)

On drive trips I always brought a case of water and a cooler.  It's the easiest way to save money going down and during tournaments, and If I had to, I'd go to a Target and reload.  I also brought my own detergent and definitely brought the duct tape, along with a tupperware kit of ace bandages, tape, peroxide, polysporin, extra shoe laces, and pediolyte (sp)!   

Instead of ordering pizza, we'd order spaghetti and meatballs from the same Italian place...plenty of carbs and protein the night before, and it was normally my players choice for breakfast.

Pick up the Hotwire app.  When a team hotel is already booked or you show up at the last minute, scout the geographic area when you get to the destination, and only then, select a hotel in your location.  Rates will be 20-30% less.  AND, stay the min nights possible at the team hotel, then use Hotwire or TripAdvisor for a nightly rate and extend your stay without checking out for 20% less.  Works.  

Sure it added up and we were shocked at times how much the summer was....but great memories for my boys and us, great relationships were developed.

"Instead of ordering pizza, we'd order spaghetti and meatballs from the same Italian place...plenty of carbs and protein the night before, and it was normally my players choice for breakfast."

Is loading up on carbs and protein at night common? I assume this helps with energy levels the next day? 

CaCO3Girl posted:

Agree with MUCh of what JoeMKTG said.

-We don't book with the team, we book a house through VRBO. Sometimes you can share sometimes you don't want to.  Went to a FL trip this year, the mandatory hotel ROOM was going to be $1500 for the week, I got a 3 bedroom house for $700, with a washer/dryer, and was 20 minutes closer to the parks than the team.  I also grocery shop and cook most meals at "home", but do always splurge on one big meal, usually an all you can eat buffet of seafood.

-Meal together happens once or twice because it really does take two years.

-I drive, a car that is yours is very useful and far cheaper than air fare and car rental.  I drove to Cooperstown and I drove to FT. Myers....people who flew regretted it...although I did send my 8 year old daughter on a flight with my Mom to arrive the day after we did in Ft. Myers.  She had an adventure, we didn't have her in the car for hours and hours.  The boy sleeps or has his headphones in, the girl just talks and talks and talks. If you can send the younger sibling by plane I highly recommend it!

-I only use one credit card while away. I typically go to tourist places, where there are tourists there are crimes. It's easy to watch/cancel ONE card, it's a lot harder to deal with multiple cards being stolen.

-For the kid....I don't do much.  He packs his Jerseys and a pair of baseball pants for every day he is there but also bring Iron Out to get out the red clay if possible. His sliders, his hat(s), his cup, his cleats, his bats...etc. He's been responsible for his stuff since age 11.

"-I only use one credit card while away. I typically go to tourist places, where there are tourists there are crimes. It's easy to watch/cancel ONE card, it's a lot harder to deal with multiple cards being stolen."

I like this idea! How did you get out of doing the mandatory hotel? 

Elijah posted:

CaCO3Girl posted:

Agree with MUCh of what JoeMKTG said.

-We don't book with the team, we book a house through VRBO. Sometimes you can share sometimes you don't want to.  Went to a FL trip this year, the mandatory hotel ROOM was going to be $1500 for the week, I got a 3 bedroom house for $700, with a washer/dryer, and was 20 minutes closer to the parks than the team.  I also grocery shop and cook most meals at "home", but do always splurge on one big meal, usually an all you can eat buffet of seafood.

-Meal together happens once or twice because it really does take two years.

-I drive, a car that is yours is very useful and far cheaper than air fare and car rental.  I drove to Cooperstown and I drove to FT. Myers....people who flew regretted it...although I did send my 8 year old daughter on a flight with my Mom to arrive the day after we did in Ft. Myers.  She had an adventure, we didn't have her in the car for hours and hours.  The boy sleeps or has his headphones in, the girl just talks and talks and talks. If you can send the younger sibling by plane I highly recommend it!

-I only use one credit card while away. I typically go to tourist places, where there are tourists there are crimes. It's easy to watch/cancel ONE card, it's a lot harder to deal with multiple cards being stolen.

-For the kid....I don't do much.  He packs his Jerseys and a pair of baseball pants for every day he is there but also bring Iron Out to get out the red clay if possible. His sliders, his hat(s), his cup, his cleats, his bats...etc. He's been responsible for his stuff since age 11.

"-I only use one credit card while away. I typically go to tourist places, where there are tourists there are crimes. It's easy to watch/cancel ONE card, it's a lot harder to deal with multiple cards being stolen."

I like this idea! How did you get out of doing the mandatory hotel?

-Some people LOVE to stay with the team, I don't, but they usually fulfill the required room slots. Typically it is around 10 rooms per team.

-Some tourneys check for a kids name to be at the hotel....hey George I can't afford that place can you add my kids name to your room....the answer has always been sure.

-Some tourneys say "Book X amount of rooms OR pay a penalty of $XXX"...we as a team split the penalty, last time it was $300.  Across 15 kids it was $20 a kid and we saved $800 by not staying there so that was an easy choice.

-Some tourneys are tighter on the rules but it actually was true that my mom was coming with us to FL and she has a health condition that requires minimal walking. Have you ever really taken notice of how much walking you have to do to get to your room in a hotel, even the small ones?  Team manager told me to book a ranch house, so we did.

If a tourney has "mandatory hotels" they almost always have a "buyout".  The tourney is typically getting $5-7/room per night....so if they figure 10 rooms/team, that's $50-70/night.  If you stay 5 nights, they're pocketing $250-300, which is typically what the buyout was.  Heck, on  one of our trips it was $300 for the entire team.  We had 3 families staying in a house that was $300/night.  We figured with lodging savings and food savings, we were saving $1000+ for the week combined.  We just split the $300 between the 3 of us and paid it so the team didn't have to foot the cost

The exorbitant costs of hotels plus gas plus travel multiplied by several weekends makes me continue to believe that, similar to what people say about showcases (i.e. "Don't showcase until you have something to showcase") that the thousands of dollars spent on out of state travel for Baseball would be far better spent on training, instructors, academic tutors and getting Bigger/Faster/Stronger until a kid is either:

1) a rising Junior 

or

2) likely to receive college offers

During the 17 years of organizing the Area Code games {1987 -2004]  and over 40 local Goodwill Series tournaments, I obtained special rates from local hotels and sent to the teams and parents.

No commission or mark up.

It cost the parents $$ for travel and I prefer the "freedom" of choice and to save money.

We did not charge a player's fee to participate, nor did I desire to rate or rank a player.The player knows his ability.

The "showcase" business is "out of control". There are solutions. Use your common sense. Develop the 6th Tool.

Bob

3and2Fastball posted:

The exorbitant costs of hotels plus gas plus travel multiplied by several weekends makes me continue to believe that, similar to what people say about showcases (i.e. "Don't showcase until you have something to showcase") that the thousands of dollars spent on out of state travel for Baseball would be far better spent on training, instructors, academic tutors and getting Bigger/Faster/Stronger until a kid is either:

1) a rising Junior 

or

2) likely to receive college offers

Agreed.

Consultant posted:

During the 17 years of organizing the Area Code games {1987 -2004]  and over 40 local Goodwill Series tournaments, I obtained special rates from local hotels and sent to the teams and parents.

No commission or mark up.

It cost the parents $$ for travel and I prefer the "freedom" of choice and to save money.

We did not charge a player's fee to participate, nor did I desire to rate or rank a player.The player knows his ability.

The "showcase" business is "out of control". There are solutions. Use your common sense. Develop the 6th Tool.

Bob

 

 

Where did the money come from to operate the games if you didn't charge the players? 

Elliah;

we had sponsors - Nike, Adidas.  Agents paid $250.00 and pro scouts and college coaches paid an entry fee. Parents only $6.00. Kids "free". Cost of the Stadium was $6,000.00.

Each year the players signing bonus exceeded $35 million.

Bob

I am truly too poor for travel baseball.  We cut corners in every way possible. Normally we camp unless I can get a $40 room or something on Priceline.  Always eat our own food.  A grill is a must.  Sometimes though we just being our George Forman.  Do you have stores by you that sell their meat ends/scraps from deli?   1.99 a pound around here.  I have knives and know how to slice meat!!  We also  watch sales closely.  Got honey turkey oscar Mayer one pound .89 I think cause they were near sell by date.  Bought every single one the store had and threw them in the freezer.  Get Jimmy John's day old bread for .40 a loaf.  The loaf is three standard subs. So our subs we eat on trips probably cost us around a dollar to make.  At that price it's eat up!   Agree with others water is best.  We bring water bottles and fill em up.  =Free.  If we have a microwave we bring prepared meals from home that can be warmed up.  We sometimes bring our electric griddle and make pancakes.  Pack the crock pot.  Put the ceramic portion right in the cooler and throw the outer shell in the trunk.  Plug it in and warm it up.  Key is always to have food like subs and fruit you can eat without electricity as well as stuff for back at the campground where you do.  And of course cooking in the cast iron over an open fire can't be beat!  We can do a four day tournament on less than $200 total expenses.  Depends on distance of course.  But three nights in a campground are $75 to $90.  Gas if we tent camp and take the 30mpg Camry is maybe $40 - $50?   Food is maybe $10 a day if that.  So let's say $40.  So even taking high end for campground and gas that's $180.  For the longer trips sometimes it makes sense to pony up the higher gas bill to pull our travel trailer.  Then we have all the conveniences of home right there.  And unlimited AC cause it's on the campgrounds electricity!!  If we had to stay in team hotels we could never ever do this.  You have to not be embarrassed easily though to do this when you are not well off.  Can't feel obligated to expensive team dinners or nights out at the go carts place that will cost you $50 or more etc.  everyone on our team knows we are low budget. Not trying to hide it or pretend to be something we are not.  Even at $250 a trip let's say (yes we can do it under $200 but not every time) times 8 trips that's $2,000 plus the $3200 team fees plus just throw in a few hundred for equipment and misc.  That's $5500 a year.  I know less frugal people are spending twice that.  Imagine $10000 a season.  It's a shame we have all fallen victim to the scam that is youth baseball now.  But it is what it is.  And we really have close to a zero percent chance at a scholarship.  It's all just for him to enjoy and have memories. I think we are certifiably insane.  Even if he did somehow run into a coach who bumped his head or something and offered him a 50% scholarship...   we would have to turn it down!  Can't combine aid with athletic scholarship and we would get more aid than that!  I suppose if he got grades and got academic money...   but more likely he is going to play football.  Football = free college.  And a whole lot of perks. Two more years of this.  And finally the expense will be gone.  I am burned out and can't wait.  Problem is he is not burned out!!   Don't want to make him quit with two years left so we will forge ahead.  And I suppose the memories will be worth it.  We joined a new team for next year and they unlike his old team play all the big tournaments.  So someday when the big time 2020 kids (some represented on this site) are in the big leagues he will be able to point at the TV and say - hey I played against him at the WWBA when I was 16...   and I guess that is why we do it.  But buckle up cause it ain't cheap!

Does he smell like a campfire in the dugout?

joemktg posted:

• As he got older, we would ship him off on his own to room with other players in the team hotel. Miracle of miracles, they figured things out on their own.

How old is "older"?

2020dad posted:

I am truly too poor for travel baseball.  We cut corners in every way possible. Normally we camp unless I can get a $40 room or something on Priceline.  Always eat our own food.  A grill is a must.  Sometimes though we just being our George Forman.  Do you have stores by you that sell their meat ends/scraps from deli?   1.99 a pound around here.  I have knives and know how to slice meat!!  We also  watch sales closely.  Got honey turkey oscar Mayer one pound .89 I think cause they were near sell by date.  Bought every single one the store had and threw them in the freezer.  Get Jimmy John's day old bread for .40 a loaf.  The loaf is three standard subs. So our subs we eat on trips probably cost us around a dollar to make.  At that price it's eat up!   Agree with others water is best.  We bring water bottles and fill em up.  =Free.  If we have a microwave we bring prepared meals from home that can be warmed up.  We sometimes bring our electric griddle and make pancakes.  Pack the crock pot.  Put the ceramic portion right in the cooler and throw the outer shell in the trunk.  Plug it in and warm it up.  Key is always to have food like subs and fruit you can eat without electricity as well as stuff for back at the campground where you do.  And of course cooking in the cast iron over an open fire can't be beat!  We can do a four day tournament on less than $200 total expenses.  Depends on distance of course.  But three nights in a campground are $75 to $90.  Gas if we tent camp and take the 30mpg Camry is maybe $40 - $50?   Food is maybe $10 a day if that.  So let's say $40.  So even taking high end for campground and gas that's $180.  For the longer trips sometimes it makes sense to pony up the higher gas bill to pull our travel trailer.  Then we have all the conveniences of home right there.  And unlimited AC cause it's on the campgrounds electricity!!  If we had to stay in team hotels we could never ever do this.  You have to not be embarrassed easily though to do this when you are not well off.  Can't feel obligated to expensive team dinners or nights out at the go carts place that will cost you $50 or more etc.  everyone on our team knows we are low budget. Not trying to hide it or pretend to be something we are not.  Even at $250 a trip let's say (yes we can do it under $200 but not every time) times 8 trips that's $2,000 plus the $3200 team fees plus just throw in a few hundred for equipment and misc.  That's $5500 a year.  I know less frugal people are spending twice that.  Imagine $10000 a season.  It's a shame we have all fallen victim to the scam that is youth baseball now.  But it is what it is.  And we really have close to a zero percent chance at a scholarship.  It's all just for him to enjoy and have memories. I think we are certifiably insane.  Even if he did somehow run into a coach who bumped his head or something and offered him a 50% scholarship...   we would have to turn it down!  Can't combine aid with athletic scholarship and we would get more aid than that!  I suppose if he got grades and got academic money...   but more likely he is going to play football.  Football = free college.  And a whole lot of perks. Two more years of this.  And finally the expense will be gone.  I am burned out and can't wait.  Problem is he is not burned out!!   Don't want to make him quit with two years left so we will forge ahead.  And I suppose the memories will be worth it.  We joined a new team for next year and they unlike his old team play all the big tournaments.  So someday when the big time 2020 kids (some represented on this site) are in the big leagues he will be able to point at the TV and say - hey I played against him at the WWBA when I was 16...   and I guess that is why we do it.  But buckle up cause it ain't cheap!

Good stuff, 2020dad. 

You make a good point 2020. It is kind of insane.  What's really nutty to me is how many families are still spending $10K+ per year on travelball years after their kids have committed.