Is Travel Ball a necessity?

Welcome to the site.  You'll find a lot of help here from people who have already been through this, some several times.  

We're in the middle of the process for the first time with our 2017 son.  In his case, I don't know that travel ball is a must, but the kid has to play in settings where coaches will be there to see him.  For us that means targeting a few showcases and, if interest is demonstrated, some specific college camps.  I suspect if my son had a chance, or the will, to join a good travel team, that might take the place of some of the showcases and camps (but not all).  Just our plan; there's a lot of options. 

As my son is entering his junior year I am of the opinion that showcases and travel ball that targets showcases are a good avenue to get noticed by college scouts.   My son attended a Complete Showcase in Houston a few months ago and there were 39 college coaches from D1 to NAIA.  

Another avenue is to make small clips of a player batting, pitching, catching, hitting and email college coaches directly.   This is the cheapest way to go obviously.  I know a local kid that was recruited to a large D1 as a pitcher and played nothing but American legion.  I'm sure his 90 mph fastball had something to do with it.  

Depends. He has to be seen at some point by someone (college coach) who gives yes to him playing at the next level. So if the HS he goes to is a powerhouse that has lots of boys go to college then he might be seen at HS games, but generally college coaches don't go to random HS games. They are in season and are only going to the ones where they have a specific interest.

If he has incredibly dominate tools of some sort (speed  running, velocity as a pitcher, hitting with power) then maybe. But ultimately he needs to be seen by decision makers and then stand out among that group.

Lots of ways to get there. The more the tools the less exposure needed.

As a college coach (I am not), I would be wondering what a young man that wants to play in college was doing in summer that was more important that being on a summer team. There are LOTS of reasons (has to work to help family, cost of travel ball, etc.). But college ball takes effort. Lots of off season and off the field training. I would be looking for someone who is willing to put in that time. Not playing summer ball would make me wonder. If the player stood out to me in some manner I might investigate further, if not, I would go on to the player who demonstrates same type of skills and I can see that trait easily as well.

There are MANY levels of summer travel ball. It is not necessary to travel the country or even multiple states to play college ball at some level. My son who is playing D1 at a mid major, rarely traveled outside a 90 minute drive time. Maybe twice a year and those were to neighboring states. But there is 11 D1 colleges in our state, and maybe 40 college baseball teams, so we could localize and still be seen. Lots of very high profile tournaments were played within that 90 mile range

Ultimately he has to be seen in some manner or other.Target schools he would be interested in and develop a plan to do that. 

I never thought I'd see this title for a thread on here.  Kudos!  Its a great question that shoulda been asked before...just don't recall ever seeing it.  Usually, its the opposite, 'Is HS ball a necessity?'

My short answer is 'no, not a necessity' but in general its a good idea.  Our older son was gonna get recruited whether he played travel ball or not, but it sure increased his opportunities. Our younger son was gonna get recruited by at least someone local, but travel ball together with having a nationally recognized HS coach in a nationally recognized HS program widened his visibility too.  Bottom line, in his case he had both a HS coach and a well respected travel coach in his corner - it helped.  No doubt about it.
High quality travel ball is a place to be seen with and against other high quality players.  More scouts/coaches show up to these games.  It increases the 'touch points' and thus the opportunities.  But maybe you and your son are happy with University-X which is just down the street?

And they are right above, you could grab the attention of more coaches by doing a couple well targeted showcases too.

You need to figure out what situation your son is in, you are in (financially, family obligations, targeted schools) and create and execute a plan.

Good luck!

Boy, is this a loaded question!  but a good one as Justbaseball said.  Whether it's a necessity or not depends on a lot of things-   does your son know where he wants to go?  how long is his list?  Does he want to stay local or does he want to expand his geography?  How connected is his HS coach and does he promote his players?   I can tell you in our case, travel ball helped tremendously.  We rarely see a college coach at our regular season games, we are a 'northern' area, and our HS season is only 18-20 games depending on weather.   Our HS coach doesn't view promotion of players as his responsibility- which is fine I guess, it's not what he's paid to do.  So in our area, and for our situation, I'd say yes, travel ball at some level is a necessity.    Others with prominent HS baseball programs, in "baseball" areas probably would differ in opinion.   

Just my two cents-

In short ...yes it is.

I agree with the above posts on exposure through travel ball, but they all assume the player is already "good enough" for the exposure?  How do most kids get "good enough"?  They play travel ball.  From a young age.

Here's the thing on travel ball.  If you want to play in college you need to find a few travel teams and do some homework. Find out where they get their other players, are they a local travel team or a national team.  Talk to other parents and coaches in your area the teams are not hard to find.

Then go talk to the travel team coaches and request a try-out. See where you stack up?  Are you better of playing for travel team A or travel team B or travel team C ?  Because you need to make sure you are playing and not funding....

Compare the schedules of the travel teams, look at what that TT is asking of you in terms of money, time, travel .  Find the team that fits your abilities.  

Do this every year and do not commit to more than a year on any team. I promise you they are not holding a spot for you except in the current year.

Get an unbiased opinion from a good source.... define your target schools based on can you attend if baseball is gone.  can you afford the school if baseball is gone?

Keep asking people on the board questions.

Also the problem with the OP idea , of breaking out is so subjective it's no help to the player.   IF money is an issue most travel teams have a little set aside to help players in need... especially if you throw 90 or hit 400 foot shots       I have never seen a travel team or travel org turn down a player  because he could not afford it.

A young man from our county played college ball without playing on his public high school baseball team in recent years. He played only travel ball.

BACKDOORSLIDER hits on something important.  The travel team you play on is just as important as playing travel ball.  If you are playing in a lower level program that does not do much to develop players and does not work to get them seen by the right folks, you might be better off not playing travel ball.  Conversely if you are in the right program that knows how to get kids noticed and plays in the right places, it can open up avenues for your son that would not normally be there.  Do you homework on your summer travel program.  

Camm posted:

A young man from our county played college ball without playing on his public high school baseball team in recent years. He played only travel ball.

Boom!  There it is.

bacdorslider - the issue I would have with your first response is that it is just not true for a group of high schools where our kids grew up.  I certainly would not say its a waste of time for kids at those schools - but it is not a 'necessity' for many of them.  I have seen as many as 30 scouts at HS games in a certain HS league that has produced hundreds of college players...and some big leaguers too.

(Full disclosure: Our younger son played in that league, our older one did not).

I think there are other areas of the country where this may be true as well...SoCal, FL, etc...  Again, I am not recommending to not play travel ball, but rather to understand the situation your son and your family is in and how that relates to your finances, your willingness to 'travel' and the rest of your family's obligations.

Both of our sons would have played D1 baseball without travel ball.  Still, they both did play travel ball at a very high level - Why? - we had the resources and we enjoyed it and in the end it widened the range of interested colleges.  And frankly, like most dads I suppose, I was nervous about what might not happen if our sons did not.  But still, it was not a 'necessity.'

D17 posted:

Let's say a kid is on varsity his sophomore year and doesn't play much. Doesn't play travel ball in the summer but plays with his HS summer team. Then he breaks out and has a huge junior year, but does the same thing again next summer, not playing travel ball. What are the chances of this kid getting recruited? Is travel ball a must for being recruited nowadays? 

If he has some great games in front of the right people (right place, right time), sure... There's a chance... A slim chance -  but still a chance.

Why take slim-chances though?

justbaseball posted:

Camm posted:

A young man from our county played college ball without playing on his public high school baseball team in recent years. He played only travel ball.

Boom!  There it is.

bacdorslider - the issue I would have with your first response is that it is just not true for a group of high schools where our kids grew up.  I certainly would not say its a waste of time for kids at those schools - but it is not a 'necessity' for many of them.  I have seen as many as 30 scouts at HS games in a certain HS league that has produced hundreds of college players...and some big leaguers too.

(Full disclosure: Our younger son played in that league, our older one did not).

I think there are other areas of the country where this may be true as well...SoCal, FL, etc...  Again, I am not recommending to not play travel ball, but rather to understand the situation your son and your family is in and how that relates to your finances, your willingness to 'travel' and the rest of your family's obligations.

Both of our sons would have played D1 baseball without travel ball.  Still, they both did play travel ball at a very high level - Why? - we had the resources and we enjoyed it and in the end it widened the range of interested colleges.  But it was not a 'necessity.'

Justbaseball,   I agree its not a necessity in the definition... but like anything else you should use all the resources available to you.  Ones decision not to play travel ball should not be based on the fact that it's not a necessity .  I think everyone understands that you do not have to play travel ball to play in college but travel ball ( exposure you would not get other wise) will help your chances and give you more opportunities.

No it is not a necessity.  Exposure to college recruiters and the baseball establishment  is a necessity.  Today, travel baseball is the most traveled path for that exposure.  The big question is how much exposure is needed for a particular recruit for a particular college and understanding the barriers.

JMO

fenwaysouth posted:

No it is not a necessity.  Exposure to college recruiters and the baseball establishment  is a necessity.  Today, travel baseball is the most traveled path for that exposure.  The big question is how much exposure is needed for a particular recruit for a particular college and understanding the barriers.

JMO

Aha!  Straight to the point and far more concise that what I said.

Nice job fenway! 

Nothing is absolutely necessary!  Players have reached the very highest level taking many different paths.

The thing that is vitally important is having the required talent and visibility.  One without the other doesn't work.  

It doesn't really matter whether the player wants to stay local for college or travel across the country.  The more interest a player creates the better opportunities he will have.  So if the local college is offering 25%, what would they offer if you were being recruited by several other colleges?  

Years ago in our home state (Iowa) most every talented player would end up at a state school.  Mostly because the high school season was in the summer rather than spring.  Most Iowa kids never left the state to compete. The state colleges could sign them for very little money or offer preferred walk on and get them.  Now those top kids are playing all over the country against the best competition.  Now the best talent from Iowa ends up at places like Southern Cal, Florida, Baylor, North Carolina, Stanford, etc.  If Iowa wants them they have to compete and fork out an attractive offer.

I use the above as an example, but it is true everywhere.  It's really simple... The more people who know who you are and like what they see... The more valuable your talent becomes.  Others might get disagree, but we see it over and over every year.

I actually see it differently than some.  Often I hear this said... If you are a stud you don't need to do anything.  To me it should be... If you lack talent there is no need to do anything.  The player with exceptional talent needs to be seen as much as possible.  He needs to be seen competing against the best possible competition.

Do the research!  Look at the first round picks or those that committed to top college programs. These would usually be consider the top prospects.  Find out what they did while in high school.  Regarding this topic, find out if they played "Travel Baseball" and at what level of Travel Baseball. Almost all of them do!

So is Travel Ball a necessity?  No, only necessity is having the required talent and making sure people know it.  If they know it they will make sure they go to see it.  All baseball levels are important and all situations are different.  But I would have to think long and hard before recruiting a player that is taking the summer off.  Last time I looked, the summer was smack dab in the middle of baseball season!  If you're a good player, you should make the most out of the summer.  For the majority of top HS players that does involve Travel Baseball.

I think travel is essential especially if the goal is to play top flight ball at the next level. But for the reasons you might think. The question you ask sounds as though you are focused on the exposure element and that question has been addressed throughout the thread.

To me, almost as important as exposure is the quality of competition question. In our experiences, playing travel ball, REAL travel ball is about kids getting an opportunity to play the game against the best possible competition. I argue that high school baseball, outside of a few markets (mostly in the Southern tier), the quality of high school baseball competition is really diluted and the caliber of the game is lowered. Showing out in the spring is irrelevant as a predictor of future competitiveness. 

By contrast, going to travel tournaments (especially Perfect Game national events) gives a kid a chance to play against other kids with his exact talents and aspirations. Personally, I found watching my son hammer a triple against a kid signed to CSU Fullerton to be more gratifying than when he went yard in the playoffs against a kid who won't be pitching at the next level. Even our local summer league, as good as it's become, doesn't forecast as well as flying to GA and facing kids who are almost uniformly D1 guys.

My son has travelled (again, REAL travel) to five major events since 9th grade. Every time he made an all-tournament team, he brought something intangible back that lead to his recruitment and being named Captain of his HS team. So yes, those travel experiences were indispensible to his development.

First, I'm defining travel as high level competition, not community based. I'm also discussing starting from the high school level and college exposure.

Is travel ball a necessity? No. Is it the advised path? It depends on what a player is looking for in his future for baseball. I don't believe a D3 prospect has to play travel. He needs to attend the appropriate showcases or camps for exposure. 

A D1 and D2 prospect is going to get better exposure through playing travel. If a player aspires to play locally he may get away with not playing travel.

i saw two pluses to playing travel. Exposure is the obvious benefit. The other major benefit is being around such a level of talent on the team and on the field it pushes the player beyond what he may otherwise be pushed.

My son was his high school team's stud. When he played Legion after his senior year of high school he was his team's stud. On his travel team he couldn't physically or mentally rest for a second for fear of losing his position. The talent difference between players three and the end of the roster was very small.

In the opposing dugout was top talent game after game. He constantly faced 87-92. There was never a cream puff pitcher on the mound like high school and Legion.

I strongly feel playing 16u after freshman year of high school had a lot to do with him being the first soph opening day starter in six years at his high school. From playing on the 16u team he was invited to play for an 18u showcase team before he ever stepped on a high school varsity field.

I convinced the dad of one of the high school players to attend one of my son's scout league games. His response? "OMG! I didn't believe there were this many high school players playing at this level." I responded, "Yep! My son is a face in the crowd on this field."