Questions to ask travel teams...

Welcome Pudgemom31! Very good question and I’m sure you will get different responses. I think one thing comes into play and that is the reputation of the coach and the team. A relative unknown team or coach should answer more questions whereas a well known coach or well known team allows his “record” to speak for him. Generally speaking the situation is different with a travel team as compared to a high school team. In high school you need to sit back and watch but you are paying money to play on a travel team and you deserve to be told what the benefits are by playing for that team. There are ton of questions I would ask. What position(s) will my son be playing? With a screen name of Pudgemom I assume your son is a catcher. Will they rotate catchers in tournaments? Is your son expected to be the started or the back up? What equipment are you expected to buy? How are travel expenses paid? Things like motels, meals, etc? Does any of your team fees pay travel expenses? Do you have team sponsors? How does the team travel? What is the team’s affiliations... AABC, NABF, AAU etc. Will the team play in post season. Where are the different post season tournaments? Will they pick up additional players for these post season tournaments. Is your son expected to be at every game during the summer? Do they allow players to leave for family vacations?
I would probably ask too many questions but “Inquiring minds want to know”
Fungo

I would go ask parents of past and present players what their thoughts were. You will hear the baseball "plus" side of the team from the coach, but, you need to see the big picture from all sides.

I would want to know if they'll ever practice and how often. What will be taught and what is their experience?

I would throw in questions about team and individual rules as well.

If they are traveling - and staying in hotels - I would want to make sure that the coaches have control of the situation.

Several questions come to mind…

Is there fundraising involved? What is it; i.e. raffle tickets, candy bars, frozen pizzas, carwash, spaghetti dinners, bowling night, etc., and how much is expected to be raised by each player?

Does the team sponsor a tournament of their own (many do) and if so what are the responsibilities of each player/family – work and cost?

If for any reason a player’s parent(s) can not provide transportation to a game and/or tournament what are the possible alternatives. On the same note… If a tournament is out of town and the parent(s) can not attend who is responsible for your child and what can be expected; rules, lodging, meals, transportation, etc.?

Are there any hidden costs? Batting cages, costs for training facilities in the off season, practice fields, guest hitting & pitching coaches, uniforms, extra hats, jackets, websites, etc…

How much individual or small group instruction can be expected?

Are there discounts buying equipment through the team, bats, gloves, catchers equipment?

Does the team carry supplemental insurance in the event, God forbid, that you son is injured?

Yes, my son is a catcher(that was really a no-brainer given my sn!!) Thank you all for the detailed replies. I feel much more prepared as we go into tryouts.

Pudgemom,

You already received great advice; I would just add two things to ask about...specifically "what sort of positional training will young Pudge get?" and "will he get enough drill time to build the skills?"

A catcher at 13 is often at a critical juncture in his career. The field is getting bigger and learning proper mechanics (which, for a catcher, require much hard work) is critical.

IMO, his travel team's primary objective (at that age) should be to teach the fundamental skills.

Good Luck,

Mike F