Is travel experience necessary for HS ball?

is this a legit post?

what do you mean by "legit" post?

Is it necessary? no.  Will it help? maybe - depends on coaching and training and development.  Do a quick search under travel ball and you will most likely find what you are looking for. 

Tenreasy,

Welcome to HSBBWeb.  So, like you I was asking myself these questions 15 years ago.  My kids love baseball, they wanted to get better at it and they wanted to play on their high school teams.   Previously, all of them played house ball or recreation baseball as it is known around here.   Travel baseball gives them the repetition and skills development they need to better compete with other kids trying out for their high school teams.  All three of my kids played travel baseball and all three played high school baseball.

I know for a fact our local high school coaches don't care what travel team you play for.   But they do recognize polished talent when they see it.  I started a travel team when my middle son was 9U.   The goal of the team was for everyone of our kids to make their respective high school team when they got to 8th grade and 9th grade.  Our area allows 8th graders to play JV.  Mission accomplished.

I hope that answers your question.  

Can anyone from Illinois chime in and decode this post?  I'm unfamiliar with many of these terms.

Okay, TENREASY, this is how it works in Georgia.

1. Most kids start Travel Ball around age 9 or 10.  This is because they want MORE baseball, and the 2 month recreation baseball at the local county fields are just not enough for some kids.

2. A typical tournament can last Friday night to Sunday night, but usually Saturday and Sunday only. An 11u team will get together in August and play 2-4 tourneys from September to November, one or two of these will be Sunday only tournaments consisting of 2-4 games on Sunday.  Late February to first week in July the team will play 8-12 tournaments, usually ending 4th of July week at some destination tourney like Ripken, Panama City Beach, Cooperstown...etc. The Spring/Summer tournies they typically play 2-4 games a day.  They don't burn through arms because EVERYONE can and will pitch on a team of 10-13 kids at 11u.

3. The rec teams will play September-November, and then February to May, and if you make the all star team you can go June and July as well.

4. While Travel Baseball isn't necessary to a high school coach the coach can see who has played more and at a higher level within 5 minutes of the practice.  The travel ball kids in general have been trained by coaches who really know baseball.  They have been taught cuts, ways to throw, and techniques the rec ball coaches just don't know because in general they are volunteer dads who just enjoy the game. For my son's freshman year in high school over 35 9th graders came out.  I would estimate there were 5 who just liked baseball, they didn't make it.  10 that were rec ball players, none of them made it. And 20 that were travel ball players, 9 of them made it.  Now this is at the largest classification in GA, with a very good baseball program, and no 9th grade team.  The 9th graders had to compete against 10th and 11th graders for their spot.

5. I was at part of the summer workout they had so the HS coaches could see the rising 9th graders.  My son was playing deep left when a ball came that way, another kid came out to be a cutoff to second, my son bypassed the cutoff guy and threw a rope to 2B.  The kid shouted out "Hey, you missed your cut off!", coach told my son "Don't listen to that kid, he plays a different kind of baseball. If you can make the throw, which you obviously can, you make the throw."

Might depend where you are at. At my highschool in Texas everyone played for a high profile summer and fall team.

I honestly don't think there was a single kid who made the team that didn't play some level of travel ball.

you don't see 90 mph arms, or get recruited by playing in a rec league. Play the best talent you can play.

The only thing necessary is to be one of the best players out there on tryout day.

If you are out there throwing ropes and hitting bombs, the coach isn't going to care where the skills came from.

Necessary maybe not depending on what kind of HS team you have....helpful...absolutely.  House ball is just that....house ball. and I can tell you that based on our experience, if your son is the most talented kid on his team, he likely won't get better playing in the house league.  If he's not being challenged by the pitching, doesn't face good hitters and doesn't have to make tough plays on hard hit balls, he won't get better.  The numbers you are talking about for the travel team are so minimal that I think I would try it and see what you think.  3 tourneys isn't much of a committment.  My son's 10U season he played in 11 and also played house ball with his friends.....97 total games and he was crushed when the final game of the last tourney got cancelled....he wanted 100 lol.   Back to your original question....at my son's HS, if you can catch a ball and get a hit once in a while you'll be on the team....travel ball isn't a necessity...but like others said, in bigger cities or "baseball states" like TX  or FL, I'd assume it's a different story.  Good luck, whatever you decide.

I think the Southerners on the page would like "House ball defined". Remember we are slow.

My son started playing "travel" ball when he was 10. Main difference between that and Little League (our only other option at the time) was that we started practicing once a week in January or February, increased the practices when basketball ended, and then were done by early July and we quit as a team in eighth grade.

Our coach did a great job of getting the HS HC to practices throughout eighth grade, so when it came time for HS, he knew those kids and what they could do. That didn't get them any favors, but by junior year, roughly seven of the starting nine for our HS varsity team came from that travel team.

I'm guessing there are lots of options for "travel" ball. Pick one that fits with your family's needs and your son's level of passion for the game.

DrUGA Dawg posted:

I think the Southerners on the page would like "House ball defined". Remember we are slow.

House ball in my part of Chicago suburbs is season starts in April with 2 practices a week. Games start in late April through mid June. A total of 12 regular season games last year for 10U; plus an additional 3 playoff games. Still during the season only one game or practice Mon-Fr, and a game or practice on Saturday. 

thanks for all your comments!!!

House Ball = Whatever local community baseball program your player participates in.  Around here in Wisconsin it is Little League or Cal Ripken mainly.  

tenreasy posted:

DrUGA Dawg posted:

I think the Southerners on the page would like "House ball defined". Remember we are slow.

House ball in my part of Chicago suburbs is season starts in April with 2 practices a week. Games start in late April through mid June. A total of 12 regular season games last year for 10U; plus an additional 3 playoff games. Still during the season only one game or practice Mon-Fr, and a game or practice on Saturday. 

thanks for all your comments!!!

Yes, that sounds like what most people refer to as "Rec Ball".  Is there an option for all-stars?

"On a side note one dad had his kid try out for the local town travel team and the he didn't make the team. The dad said his kid was better then most of the travel players and that politics was involved. The judges at the tryout are supposed to be independent . Now the dad is starting his own travel team working with a local batting cage business; he is also recruiting other house players for his team."

I think this is how many travel teams are started.  It worked for me and I had a blast.  Once your son reaches 14 or 15 you will want to back out and get paid coaches.  Enjoy it while you can.    

I agree 100% with why a lot of travel teams get started due to daddy ball. One of the best things you can do is to get your son away from that.

No. I would ask how prevalent travel ball  is in your area and how much of those travel kids play HS ball? In Atlanta, travel isn't mandatory to make your HS squad but you def see more travel kids with skills and experience excel in HS ball over let's say, average kids who come from rec ball. Remember not all travel is good baseball, depends on coaching, comp. and focus of team on development vs winning games. My son's HS team had 5 D1 (two drafted) players and several D2s on his team and there were still kids who did not play travel ball on the roster. 

I'm not certain this is the right question. Here's why...

In our geo, there is an organization that brings together local travel teams to play when the county fields are open (April 1 to Oct 31). Teams sign up, are allocated practice time on the county fields, and games are scheduled with umpires. It's a system that has been working quite well for over 10 years as a means to fairly allocate the scarce resource of county fields (especially true in Fairfax County).  Here's the website: https://www.nvtbl.org/MainPage.asp

Why am I bringing this up? Take a look at the number of 8U to 10U teams: it's probably 3x the number of teams from about 4-5 years ago. Significant growth.

This tells me that more and more parents and their players are opting out of house ball (aka LL or Cal Ripken) and moving towards the travel concept. Thus the population of the youth travel ball world is growing at the expense of house ball. You would think that the talent level (as well as coaching acumen) would shrink as well. I'd guess that to be the case. Who the hell knows?

TL;DR and moral of the story: there are options available where the parents and player can go where the team talent and the competition fits the needs of the player as well as the long term aspirations (in this case, HS ball). The OP needs to come to a decision as to the level of play that will prepare his son for HS tryouts. One thing is absolutely certain: the player will not significantly improve with relatively poor coaching and inferior competition.

Travel Ball isn't required to play High School Varsity.  What is required is a lot of great practice and dedication, learning the proper fundamentals and getting Bigger/Stronger/Faster through strength training once a kid is in 8th or 9th grade.

If a kid doesn't want to put a ton of work in, on their own, on Baseball, he won't be good enough to play HS regardless if he plays Travel.  

Some of it depends on the area of the country you are in...

In Wisconsin there are 4, arguably 5 travel teams that regularly put players into D1 programs. The cheapest of them is $2500 per year, the most expensive is $4200. And that is before travel costs, and not including any extra classes or training sessions.

3 of those 5 teams have B teams or C teams that don't usually put players into D1, and two of them will put you in the "trap" where they tell you that you made the team but you don't find out if you are on the A or B team until after you've put your money down and practiced with the team for 2 months.

If you don't make any of those teams there are a half dozen or more other teams that cost $2200 plus travel costs and mostly put players in D3 and mostly play in tournaments against other D3 bound teams or the dozen additional Daddy Ball and independent teams that still cost $2000 plus.

Depending on where you live, I really don't think the advice to "play for the best team you can" is the best advice in terms of development and getting recruited, if you don't make the top teams.

Tenreasy, fellow Illinoisan here. I don't know any player on my son's high school team who doesn't play travel ball in the summer. Is it a requirement?  No. I don't know about where you live, but house ball ends at about 6th grade where we live and the competition isn't as good.  If you have a vibrant and competitive house league, then it might be a different story...

As others here say, the experience, competition and repetition helps your son develop his skills and be more competitive. If you can afford it, please do it if your son is serious about a high school baseball career. Since baseball is a cut sport, by the time he gets to trying out for varsity, there will likely be serious competition. 

Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss more. Good luck!

To answer the original question: Obviously No.

If the intent of the question was more along the lines of: Is travel experience necessary for an advanced level of success in HS ball? Definitely yes. 

If you want to be a "player" you need to practice & play with and against advanced competition. Rec / House ball is not it.

No guarantee a player playing travel ball will make the high school team. As others have mentioned travel ball is where you son will begin learning baseball.   He should play travel ball if he wants to get better and by the time he reaches high school he will have the necessary tools to show during tryouts.  I always considered house/park/rec baseball daddy ball.  Whoever volunteered and passed the background check became a manager. Some managers were great, some did the best they could.  There was no consistency since changed every season.  Time was spent teaching some players how to catch/throw/hit  and less time spent developing the better players.  In travel ball everyone's ability is at a much higher level thus understanding the game and applying it now takes priority.  Also proper mechanics will hopefully be taught.

Quality coaching and skill development (and talent relative to the situation) is needed to make the high school team. There is good and bad coaching available with every kind of ball. Experiences also vary from region to region. 

But there’s more to the big picture than just ultimately playing high school ball. What about the experience along the way? Where we lived the LL and LL all star experience was exceptional. My son did also play travel on the side. But LL and ultimately being competitive in all stars was the objective. 

After LL travel was the only competitive ball around. My son’s 14u team could have beaten most Senior Legion teams in the area. The 14u team had more harder throwing pitchers. Yes, the 14u team was excellent. But it’s more of a negative statement on Legion ball in our area. 

When I recruited travel players at 13u I asked parents if they wanted to roll the dice on rec ball coaching during the years leading up to high school or did they want four former college players (two played pro ball) with coaching experience? 

Situations vary from region to region. You have to look at the responses here and judge them against your area’s situation. And be careful who you listen to in your area. They may not have a solid grasp of the situation. Or may be very biased. 

Add/When people talk about travel kids making high school teams ...

Kids don’t make the high school team because they play(ed) travel. They make the high school team because they have talent. Most talented kids play(ed) travel ball because it’s where the challenge is.

As a HS baseball coach I know the players that come into High School from a travel ball background are always ahead of the game than players that are rec ball players.  

tenreasy posted:

My kid is 10 and has played 2 seasons house ball. He is very athletic, hits, pitches, and field well. Is travel ball necessary to make a high school team. I did send an email to the HS coach and he wrote that he did not know which kids played travel ball. I'd really like to keep him in house ball. Travel ball seems to play way too many games, is too long of a season since it starts in January and ends in late July, plus wears out arms.

On a side note one dad had his kid try out for the local town travel team and the he didn't make the team. The dad said his kid was better then most of the travel players and that politics was involved. The judges at the tryout are supposed to be independent . Now the dad is starting his own travel team working with a local batting cage business; he is also recruiting other house players for his team. The dad has asked me several times to get my son to join his team but I have declined since it starts in Jan. which conflicts with my kids basketball season and also there are 35 or more baseball games which seems too many for an 11 yr old. The travel team will play 3 or more tournaments which is a major concern since the team may play 2 games in a day thus burning through pitchers. 

My son also began with 2 seasons of house/rec ball at 10. We then did something similar and joined a small travel team (made mistakes that costs us time and money). He is now 14 at a more established academy that is very competitive. How you should proceed is highly debatable (hence this forum). 

A lot of your decision will be based on how good your son is, but I think the concensus will come down on playing travel ball if you want to keep up with the level of competition. 

If your house ball program still has a healthy amount of good players/competition, I might do house ball one more season and take this upcoming year to learn about what lies before you. Read this forum and local forums. Search the forum and read older posts. Start asking people around you about local travel ball programs. What you don't know will surprise you (every year). But you should be prepared to have a more informed idea of your path by age 12. 

You could also tell the coach (that wants your son) that you would be happy to have your son sub in tournaments for his team. Many teams need extra players in tournaments. I know kids that do this every weekend. 

If you are worried about arm care. Just follow along with PitchSmart guidelines and tell your coach ahead of time that you do. If a coach is not familiar with PitchSmart, proceed with caution. 

If your son wants to play baseball, more baseball is in your future beyond house ball. Maybe that is the first thing to come to grips with. 

Like a couple of other skeptics, I also wonder if this is a legit post.  Assuming that it is, I would offer this perspective.  Your best course of action will be dictated by a few things - a) how good is your high school program ? ;  b) are there any aspirations of playing beyond HS ? ; and c) how important is baseball in your family (is in an activity or is it competitive) ?  If your HS program is good (and competitive) and/or your son may want to play beyond HS then it is imperative that you get him out of rec baseball.  If you are competitive, remaining around people with a rec mentality is a recipe for disaster. The reverse is true also. You don't have to do a ton of travel and you don't have to spend a lot of money. Find a good coach and a team that will operate on a reasonable budget. Then play other good teams in your area, including some tournaments.  That is a sound approach until he is 14 or 15.  By then you will have a better idea where you want to go with this. You don't need a big organization - in fact I would avoid those. Above all you need a good coach that knows how to teach - and if this criteria is met its okay if he has a kid on the team. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that your son has to play with his friends.  He doesn't. He should play with players of like ability - and guess what - he will make more friends !

adbono posted:

Like a couple of other skeptics, I also wonder if this is a legit post. 

I am confused by the legit post comment - but thanks for your advice! I am just a dad with a 10 year old son that is very athletic. He is good basketball player, plays quarterback, and is good at baseball (hitting, pitching, fielding). Maybe he is just advanced compared to kids his age and the others will catch up as they grow. He didn't get it from me...maybe his mom

Thanks for all your comments/advice!

The simple truth is a vast majority of Baseball players don't work at the game hard enough and work at Speed & Strength even less.  If they don't love the game enough to work at it 5-6 days a week 10-11 months of the year, it doesn't matter what youth team they play on.  Because other, more dedicated players will pass them by like a Car racing a Bicycle 

Those with superior talent can get away with less work for awhile, but will get passed by eventually by the players with work ethic. Maybe it'll be in high school, maybe it'll be at the top HS showcase level, maybe in college, etc

I see some parents trying to buy their way out of their kid lacking work ethic by putting them on expensive travel  teams.  That doesn't usually turn out beautifully.

As someone who has coached in high school, I do have to say that it is astonishing how generally poor the fundamentals are from the kids who only play rec ball or play on lower level or Daddy Ball travel teams.  I mean really simple fundamentals those kids can't do...

Most of those fundamentals can be learned online nowadays and developed with time.  But again, it comes down to work ethic.  Most kids lack it.

I see some parents trying to buy their way out of their kid lacking work ethic by putting them on expensive travel teams. That doesn't usually turn out beautifully.

Sometimes you see parents trying to purchase talent that doesn’t exist. Lipstick on a pig is still a pig.

Pretty much have a multitude of opinions here.  So you can decide for yourself.  More than likely repeating a few but here are my observations from a 2020 catchers dad.  So had played "rec" ball as well as HS and travel ball.  Also was part of a team that missed world series by 1 game at 10 and we walked away from the daddy ball at 12 and they went to the Cal Ripken world series.

1). Positions as far as "too much" are important.  Pitchers and Catchers can get smoked over the weekend when your playing 4-6 games.  If our son is delegated to an outfield position it is a lot easier physically than catching or pitching.  If a pitcher, you need to step up and teach your kid to step up to protect his arm.  Travel coaches WILL over pitch your son.  catching 3 of 5 games when its 90 (and sometimes all of them) SUCKS.  Period.

2) Travel ball has different levels of skill as well.  There are some travel clubs that will fly in players for a single game. (Maybe not at age 10 but not that much older).  My son's travel club (as many do as do HS programs) have PO's or pitchers only.  They come to the game...pitch and go home (they are welcome to stay with the team).  But they don't hit.  They dont play positions.

3) Figure out not just what you want but what your child wants.  My son played legion this summer (minumum 3 games a week) and travel on the weekends.  Another 3-5 games.  Primary catcher for both.  It was wearing him out.

Go to fall and he plays on a relaxed travel club outside of his primary club.  An 18/u team also needed a catcher and he jumped on it so now he is finishing their season with them.  It is a TON of travel and playing.  If your son truly does not want to play in college or love what he is doing, they will burn out.  Period.  And when it looks like he needs some time away, give it.  Don't be afraid to skip fall ball or take a weekend off.

I assisted the catchers at middle school this past year.  They had 15-20 8th graders.  I asked each one to look around...Then told them the HS team took 5 from last year.  That was it.  The kids faces had that oh crap look.

If your child thinks he is gonna make it with out putting in the extra effort and time, he is setting himself up to be disappointed.

tenreasy posted:

My kid is 10 and has played 2 seasons house ball. He is very athletic, hits, pitches, and field well. Is travel ball necessary to make a high school team. I did send an email to the HS coach and he wrote that he did not know which kids played travel ball. I'd really like to keep him in house ball. Travel ball seems to play way too many games, is too long of a season since it starts in January and ends in late July, plus wears out arms.

On a side note one dad had his kid try out for the local town travel team and the he didn't make the team. The dad said his kid was better then most of the travel players and that politics was involved. The judges at the tryout are supposed to be independent . Now the dad is starting his own travel team working with a local batting cage business; he is also recruiting other house players for his team. The dad has asked me several times to get my son to join his team but I have declined since it starts in Jan. which conflicts with my kids basketball season and also there are 35 or more baseball games which seems too many for an 11 yr old. The travel team will play 3 or more tournaments which is a major concern since the team may play 2 games in a day thus burning through pitchers. 

Apparently, I'm in the minority . . .but, this may be a generational thing (yeah, I'm really old ).  I've watched and coached a lot of young kids (14 and under) in various sports, but mostly baseball and I just haven't seen any significant advantage to having these very young kids active in travel ball.  One: the main thing is for them to be able to play and have fun, particularly at that age.  Two: many at that age (pre-HS) haven't really decided which sport they really enjoy most and it's good that they take time to play other sports, which will help develop athletic skills also useful for baseball.  If a Jr High kid shows interest in baseball and HS baseball is the goal, then that's a good time to get them into a good travel ball organization where development is emphasized to include being able to play in a lot of games (doesn't do any good to be on a travel teams bench most of the time).  So in IMHO, travel ball just isn't at all necessary before the age of 13, even when the goal is for HS ball.

Just FYI: my 2010 son didn't play travel teams until  after he finished LL at 13 and he decided that baseball was priority.  In Jr High he played and excelled at all the sports.  But when he entered HS, he tried playing basketball, but the season interfered the the start of baseball so only played another sport his first HS year and thereon focused only on baseball.  He was a starter on the HS baseball team as a Freshman and sent on to get a very nice scholarship for a high profile conference and D-1 college then drafted to play pro baseball.  It's been a wonderful ride!

I don’t think there’s a need to question the intent of this thread. If a 10yo is the oldest how much does a dad know? Even though I went on to play college ball all I knew with my oldest was to ask questions and get informed. Fortunately one of my daughter’s high school teammates had older siblings playing college sports and her high school softball coach had played D1.

I agree with Truman...To a point.  

No reason to put them on high end travel clubs that travel the country at age 10-11-12.  The team my son had  played for as "rec" also played as a travel club in order to circumvent the "not getting the all star teams to practice before X date" rule.  It worked as they Went far as 12/u Cal Ripken world series. and just missed at 10/u.  If your goal is to get him some better coaching and really cement those fundamentals to put the kids ahead of the curve thats fine.  To get them to play 90 plus games is crazy.  To say there is no advantage?  Is wrong.  our kids walked through districts and states EVERY year.  They even destroyed regional teams.  Obviously their skills and taught fundamentals were superior.  never would have been that way had it not been for travel.  

Again...There are just as many disadvantages....

RJM posted:

I don’t think there’s a need to question the intent of this thread. If a 10yo is the oldest how much does a dad know? Even though I went on to play college ball all I knew with my oldest was to ask questions and get informed. Fortunately one of my daughter’s high school teammates had older siblings playing college sports and her high school softball coach had played D1.

Every post on here is not straightforward. The OP had all the earmarks of one of those. Hence, the questions. Some of us are a little more discerning about what we reply to than others. We can question intent if we want to and I'm pretty sure nobody needs approval. 

Truman posted:

tenreasy posted:

My kid is 10 and has played 2 seasons house ball. He is very athletic, hits, pitches, and field well. Is travel ball necessary to make a high school team. I did send an email to the HS coach and he wrote that he did not know which kids played travel ball. I'd really like to keep him in house ball. Travel ball seems to play way too many games, is too long of a season since it starts in January and ends in late July, plus wears out arms.

On a side note one dad had his kid try out for the local town travel team and the he didn't make the team. The dad said his kid was better then most of the travel players and that politics was involved. The judges at the tryout are supposed to be independent . Now the dad is starting his own travel team working with a local batting cage business; he is also recruiting other house players for his team. The dad has asked me several times to get my son to join his team but I have declined since it starts in Jan. which conflicts with my kids basketball season and also there are 35 or more baseball games which seems too many for an 11 yr old. The travel team will play 3 or more tournaments which is a major concern since the team may play 2 games in a day thus burning through pitchers. 

Apparently, I'm in the minority . . .but, this may be a generational thing (yeah, I'm really old ).  I've watched and coached a lot of young kids (14 and under) in various sports, but mostly baseball and I just haven't seen any significant advantage to having these very young kids active in travel ball.  One: the main thing is for them to be able to play and have fun, particularly at that age.  Two: many at that age (pre-HS) haven't really decided which sport they really enjoy most and it's good that they take time to play other sports, which will help develop athletic skills also useful for baseball.  If a Jr High kid shows interest in baseball and HS baseball is the goal, then that's a good time to get them into a good travel ball organization where development is emphasized to include being able to play in a lot of games (doesn't do any good to be on a travel teams bench most of the time).  So in IMHO, travel ball just isn't at all necessary before the age of 13, even when the goal is for HS ball.

Just FYI: my 2010 son didn't play travel teams until  after he finished LL at 13 and he decided that baseball was priority.  In Jr High he played and excelled at all the sports.  But when he entered HS, he tried playing basketball, but the season interfered the the start of baseball so only played another sport his first HS year and thereon focused only on baseball.  He was a starter on the HS baseball team as a Freshman and sent on to get a very nice scholarship for a high profile conference and D-1 college then drafted to play pro baseball.  It's been a wonderful ride!

"So in IMHO, travel ball just isn't at all necessary before the age of 13, even when the goal is for HS ball."

In my neck of the woods (Atlanta), rec ball has truly devolved. My son played travel and rec at 12. I helped with the rec team. Many of the kids could not throw properly and I was nervous they would get hurt during live games. I had a group of 6 kids that I would work just to catch the ball. This was behavior you would normally see from kids three to four years younger. We were one of only two teams. Keep in mind that our travel team, a few years previous, would have been the better kids in rec ball. Others were dispersed across other travel teams, good and bad. 

Modern baseball is overtaking the previous model. It is sad, really, because true rec sports brings scenarios that allow children to be helpers and leaders. 

As with most questions posted to the HSBBW, the answer is a resounding “It Depends.”  Just a few (of many) factors to consider:

1. How committed is your son to getting better? Can/will he work on his own?  Some kids will work 6 days a week without prodding.  Others need more structure.  But, it has to be QUALITY structure.  (Keep reading).  Travel ball may or may not provide that additional structure.
2. How committed are YOU to helping him get better? Are you going to be out there with him 6 days a week, long-tossing, throwing BP, hitting ground/fly balls?  Some parents want a turn-key solution.  They’d rather pay someone else to do it than do it themselves.  Others simply cannot devote the necessary time due to work or family issues.  In my experience, most parents could help their kids far more than they do.  If you can’t/won’t spend your own time doing it, a quality travel program becomes more of a necessity.  (Emphasis on the words QUALITY and PROGRAM). 
3. Do you have the knowledge/skills to teach/coach him yourself? If not, are YOU committed to educating yourself?  This will require a lot of work, far beyond the on-the-field time.  But, it is doable, IF you really want to.  (Assuming work and family allow you to do so).  But, if you can’t/won’t educate yourself, quality coaching of some kind becomes more essential, be it travel ball or private lessons.
4.  Is the travel ball “program” a REAL program? Or is it just “show up and play” baseball?  If all the team does is show up for games on weekends, with an occasional (or no) practice mixed in, don’t waste your money.  In my humble opinion, MOST (yes MOST) travel ball “programs” are little more than Weekend Rec Ball.  Again, if this is the best program you can find, don’t waste your money.  But, if you do, don’t delude yourself into thinking that your kid’s future is secure because he’s playing travel ball on the weekends.  You may be setting yourself, and him, up for serious disappointment down the road. 

As someone else touched on, becoming a high level baseball player is a 6-7 day per week, long term proposition.  Football is a sprint.  Baseball is a marathon.  If you and/or your kid is not committed to the marathon, he better have a LOT of natural ability. 

As with most things, there are often MANY paths to the same destination.  I can tell you from personal experience that travel ball is NOT necessarily required.  My son was able to play fairly high level college ball, plus a couple of years as an organizational player in the minor leagues, without travel ball.  But, I am NOT saying that anyone should necessarily follow our path.  Every situation is different. 

Elijah posted:

Truman posted:

tenreasy posted:

My kid is 10 and has played 2 seasons house ball. He is very athletic, hits, pitches, and field well. Is travel ball necessary to make a high school team. I did send an email to the HS coach and he wrote that he did not know which kids played travel ball. I'd really like to keep him in house ball. Travel ball seems to play way too many games, is too long of a season since it starts in January and ends in late July, plus wears out arms.

On a side note one dad had his kid try out for the local town travel team and the he didn't make the team. The dad said his kid was better then most of the travel players and that politics was involved. The judges at the tryout are supposed to be independent . Now the dad is starting his own travel team working with a local batting cage business; he is also recruiting other house players for his team. The dad has asked me several times to get my son to join his team but I have declined since it starts in Jan. which conflicts with my kids basketball season and also there are 35 or more baseball games which seems too many for an 11 yr old. The travel team will play 3 or more tournaments which is a major concern since the team may play 2 games in a day thus burning through pitchers. 

Apparently, I'm in the minority . . .but, this may be a generational thing (yeah, I'm really old ).  I've watched and coached a lot of young kids (14 and under) in various sports, but mostly baseball and I just haven't seen any significant advantage to having these very young kids active in travel ball.  One: the main thing is for them to be able to play and have fun, particularly at that age.  Two: many at that age (pre-HS) haven't really decided which sport they really enjoy most and it's good that they take time to play other sports, which will help develop athletic skills also useful for baseball.  If a Jr High kid shows interest in baseball and HS baseball is the goal, then that's a good time to get them into a good travel ball organization where development is emphasized to include being able to play in a lot of games (doesn't do any good to be on a travel teams bench most of the time).  So in IMHO, travel ball just isn't at all necessary before the age of 13, even when the goal is for HS ball.

Just FYI: my 2010 son didn't play travel teams until  after he finished LL at 13 and he decided that baseball was priority.  In Jr High he played and excelled at all the sports.  But when he entered HS, he tried playing basketball, but the season interfered the the start of baseball so only played another sport his first HS year and thereon focused only on baseball.  He was a starter on the HS baseball team as a Freshman and sent on to get a very nice scholarship for a high profile conference and D-1 college then drafted to play pro baseball.  It's been a wonderful ride!

"So in IMHO, travel ball just isn't at all necessary before the age of 13, even when the goal is for HS ball."

In my neck of the woods (Atlanta), rec ball has truly devolved. My son played travel and rec at 12. I helped with the rec team. Many of the kids could not throw properly and I was nervous they would get hurt during live games. I had a group of 6 kids that I would work just to catch the ball. This was behavior you would normally see from kids three to four years younger. We were one of only two teams. Keep in mind that our travel team, a few years previous, would have been the better kids in rec ball. Others were dispersed across other travel teams, good and bad. 

Modern baseball is overtaking the previous model. It is sad, really, because true rec sports brings scenarios that allow children to be helpers and leaders. 

Take this for what it's worth......Looking back at my son's travel team I believe every travel ball player  on his team made their high school team. Whether they excelled in high school is another story, but they made it.  We were a very good travel team but not elite.

Do you have to play travel to play HS baseball? No. Do you have to develop the skills to play HS baseball? Yes. Unfortunately most of the more athletic kids who like baseball play travel baseball now days. This is making parents freak out and think they are falling behind if their kid isn't on the local 8u travel team. This is killing what we call "House" league ball and forcing the moderately skilled player to play travel.  This waters down what travel baseball used to be. Watching the skill level of the kids who are regular pre-HS travel players it is nothing better than what house league was 15-20 years ago. The only difference is hundreds of dollars more in costs and fancier uniforms. Playing against these type of players is no big deal in development. What these parents don't realize is most will not even make their HS Varsity team.

Baseball takes reps to develop. Pitchers have to learn to pitch and throw strikes. Hitters have to learn a mindset for what count they are in and proper swing mechanics.  Fielders have to learn proper routes to balls and fielding mechanics. These things need to be taught in practice and put into practice in games. You can absolutely do this in 12 house league games and supplement it with a lot of practice. You must put in the practice time to go this route. You can also do this in mediocre travel and practice when not playing.  What you cannot do is think since my son made a travel team the coaches are going to develop my son to a level where they will make a HS Varsity team. Playing 90 games a year won't do it alone without practice.

The only people who will know what type of kid you have is you. Will they still love to practice enough to truly get better playing 90 games?  Could be yes or could be no. If no are they better off burning out on baseball after 8th grade because they are no longer skilled enough to compete? I have seen a couple examples of kids playing house league until they went on to showcase teams right before HS started. The one thing they had was they loved to practice baseball and were in many cases more polished than the kids who spent much more times playing games. Every player is different you have to find the correct fit for them to excel.

Really simple answer to your question. If he has talent then yes. If he lacks it then not so much. First session with a hitting coach years ago. He said "see that kid, he's a C. If he'll work I can make him a B, but he'll never be an A".

The summer between my son's 8th grade yr and HS we played USSSA NIT majors. When you made it into the tournament you were seeing pitchers who were well advanced physically and very polished. My son, as the aforementioned hitting coach told me, was an A player. The transition to varsity ball as a freshman was easy. The pitching he faced was almost a step back.

So I guess also, there's tb then there's TB.

SomeBaseballDad posted:

Really simple answer to your question. If he has talent then yes. If he lacks it then not so much. First session with a hitting coach years ago. He said "see that kid, he's a C. If he'll work I can make him a B, but he'll never be an A".

The summer between my son's 8th grade yr and HS we played USSSA NIT majors. When you made it into the tournament you were seeing pitchers who were well advanced physically and very polished. My son, as the aforementioned hitting coach told me, was an A player. The transition to varsity ball as a freshman was easy. The pitching he faced was almost a step back.

So I guess also, there's tb then there's TB.

Similar story -- but this hitting instructor's line was "there are two things I can't teach: hand-eye coordination and bat speed"