Does anyone have any tips on how to start a travel baseball team. Are there any licenses you have to get? Insurance? What's the best way to recruit? Any information would be helpful.
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
.
For a particularly quick start I would recommend this...
...works like a champ!
.
Seriously...does anyone have answers for ygpbb321? Can anyone steer him in the right direction? Does anyone have addresses or contact info for the travel ball organizations?
Click here...perhaps this might help.
For a particularly quick start I would recommend this...
...works like a champ!
.
Seriously...does anyone have answers for ygpbb321? Can anyone steer him in the right direction? Does anyone have addresses or contact info for the travel ball organizations?
Click here...perhaps this might help.
What age?
Might be hard to believe but its kinda late for recruiting a 2010 team if you plan to play at the majors/elite level.
You should probably begin by compiling your team and determine what kind of budget you will be targeting.
If this is a youth team, you might see if there are any travel based leagues in your town. Its just like a rec league except you get to recruit and build your own team instead of using a draft.
The benefit is that you typically get a field assignment for practices and these leagues usually will provide an insurance policy at a group (cheaper) rates. These travel leagues usually play intra-league games during the week and have the option to travel on the weekends to tournament play.
If you're in Orlando, you will have plenty of options between there and Tampa. Might begin by calling your larger rec facilities to see if they have a 'travel' league in addition to their rec leagues. That's the easiest way to get started.
Might be hard to believe but its kinda late for recruiting a 2010 team if you plan to play at the majors/elite level.
You should probably begin by compiling your team and determine what kind of budget you will be targeting.
If this is a youth team, you might see if there are any travel based leagues in your town. Its just like a rec league except you get to recruit and build your own team instead of using a draft.
The benefit is that you typically get a field assignment for practices and these leagues usually will provide an insurance policy at a group (cheaper) rates. These travel leagues usually play intra-league games during the week and have the option to travel on the weekends to tournament play.
If you're in Orlando, you will have plenty of options between there and Tampa. Might begin by calling your larger rec facilities to see if they have a 'travel' league in addition to their rec leagues. That's the easiest way to get started.
ygpbb321,
The primary thing you need is team insurance. If you are going to play in a travel league, part of the registration fee typically goes for this and will cover you in tournaments as well. If you are playing just tournaments, sanctioning bodies like USSSA offer insurance.
The rest is pretty flexible. You need to recruit players, determine a budget, find a place to practice, determine the team name and uniform design, order uniforms, collect money from the parents to pay expenses, register for the different sanctioning bodies you intend to play in (i.e. USSSA, Triple Crown, AAU, Nations Baseball, USTBA, Super Series, etc), enter tournaments and play.
What other pieces were you interested in?
The primary thing you need is team insurance. If you are going to play in a travel league, part of the registration fee typically goes for this and will cover you in tournaments as well. If you are playing just tournaments, sanctioning bodies like USSSA offer insurance.
The rest is pretty flexible. You need to recruit players, determine a budget, find a place to practice, determine the team name and uniform design, order uniforms, collect money from the parents to pay expenses, register for the different sanctioning bodies you intend to play in (i.e. USSSA, Triple Crown, AAU, Nations Baseball, USTBA, Super Series, etc), enter tournaments and play.
What other pieces were you interested in?
If you plan to fund raise, it would be advisable to obtain a non-profit status:
501c nonprofit organization
501c nonprofit organization
Thank you very much to everyone who answered. This info really helps. How bout an order of how this should be accomplished. Should I start by forming the team and having a tryout, or should I start by getting all the paper work figured out?
Get the team first.
Go to the eteamz.com baseball board. I wrote a very detailed description of the requirements. Several others critiqued and added to my points.quote:Originally posted by ygpbb321:
Does anyone have any tips on how to start a travel baseball team. Are there any licenses you have to get? Insurance? What's the best way to recruit? Any information would be helpful.
starting a travel team
Note: I reference people to this site all the time.
.
If you can imagine the mom of any of your potential players looking like this then I would suggest you take a pass.
Same goes for the father.
.
If you can imagine the mom of any of your potential players looking like this then I would suggest you take a pass.
Same goes for the father.
.
First off you find some place to Travel too.
Then go there with a Team.
Now you are a Travel team??
EH
Then go there with a Team.
Now you are a Travel team??
EH
.
With all of that traveling you and your team will soon be playing...
.
With all of that traveling you and your team will soon be playing...
.
Step away from the car.....
Think long and hard about this one before you pull the trigger. I ran a team for several years mostly because there were no quality teams in the area we lived.
If my son were at this age again I would not form it as there are many more teams around. It is a lot of work, and although it was a lot of fun (with the kids) you will get more grief than kudos from parents....actually not in volume but you will most likely have to remove a few kids from the team because of the parents. The few ugly ones will most likely taint the whole experience. At least it did for my wife. BTW your wife will most likely have to sit away from the stands, because she will go nuts listening to all of the comments.....
If you decide to do it make sure you spell things out in advance and have a zero tolerance policy as far as parental behavior.
If you still decide to do it PM me your email address and I will send you a few forms I made up to hand out to parents and players so they understood what the program was about.
It can be very rewarding, but can also be very maddening. Make sure you have a really good reason to start the team because I have to believe there are lots of options in Fla.
Think long and hard about this one before you pull the trigger. I ran a team for several years mostly because there were no quality teams in the area we lived.
If my son were at this age again I would not form it as there are many more teams around. It is a lot of work, and although it was a lot of fun (with the kids) you will get more grief than kudos from parents....actually not in volume but you will most likely have to remove a few kids from the team because of the parents. The few ugly ones will most likely taint the whole experience. At least it did for my wife. BTW your wife will most likely have to sit away from the stands, because she will go nuts listening to all of the comments.....
If you decide to do it make sure you spell things out in advance and have a zero tolerance policy as far as parental behavior.
If you still decide to do it PM me your email address and I will send you a few forms I made up to hand out to parents and players so they understood what the program was about.
It can be very rewarding, but can also be very maddening. Make sure you have a really good reason to start the team because I have to believe there are lots of options in Fla.
Before you start a team, here's a checklist:
1) No kids of friends on the team. (He will not be your friend by the end of the year.)
2) Whatever you do, don't let the team mom keep score. E-6's become 1-baggers faster than you can say "can I buy you another latte?"
3) Collect the money upfront. I'd rather collect from Al Capone than some of these folks. At least Al would've killed me quickly.
4) Have a team rule.. you will not talk about playing time. Exceptions can be made only in the form of cash or cashier's check.
5) Don't camp on out-of-town trips. You'll go 0-5 in the tourny and the dugout will smell like fish bait.
6) Put 37 kids on the roster. That'll make sure you have at least 10 by the end of the season.
7) For sanitary reasons, each kid buys their own helmet. No cup loaners.
8) Buy seeds in bulk. Curse at the other team only when provoked. Flip off the ump only after the gamme.
Hope that helps.
1) No kids of friends on the team. (He will not be your friend by the end of the year.)
2) Whatever you do, don't let the team mom keep score. E-6's become 1-baggers faster than you can say "can I buy you another latte?"
3) Collect the money upfront. I'd rather collect from Al Capone than some of these folks. At least Al would've killed me quickly.
4) Have a team rule.. you will not talk about playing time. Exceptions can be made only in the form of cash or cashier's check.
5) Don't camp on out-of-town trips. You'll go 0-5 in the tourny and the dugout will smell like fish bait.
6) Put 37 kids on the roster. That'll make sure you have at least 10 by the end of the season.
7) For sanitary reasons, each kid buys their own helmet. No cup loaners.
8) Buy seeds in bulk. Curse at the other team only when provoked. Flip off the ump only after the gamme.
Hope that helps.
.
.
.
Bum, you nailed them all!
I have run two teams and we had hired coach for one; still nightmare running it. On that team I controlled the money and the tournament schedule; from the feedback I guess I was awefull at both!!
I have run two teams and we had hired coach for one; still nightmare running it. On that team I controlled the money and the tournament schedule; from the feedback I guess I was awefull at both!!
Gee Bum, sounds to me you've done this before! HAHA!!!!!!! I coach a local travel team and boy, did you nail it like fsmjunior said. It's mostly a PITA with a sprinkle of "good job coach" along the way.