What travel team should he start in??

I would say the main thing is close by, not too far. 

This is a much harder project than it should be.  One of the challenges with youth travel ball is there is no one place to go to get these kinds of answers.  There aren't travel ball leagues per se, at least out here in California.  There are multiple organizations that host tournaments - USSSA, XTreme Diamond, AAU, to name a few, but teams can come together for a single tournament and then disappear.  Some teams are "closed", consisting of a group of Little League all-star teams that want to stay together.

I'll tell you what I did.  I looked at USSSA website, which keeps a database of teams by geography and categorizes them by skill level (AA, AAA, Majors).  You can look at rosters of teams in your area and get a feel for what caliber players are on a team (if you know any players).  This was most helpful in getting started.

I also looked at the local high school rosters and found the travel ball teams those kids played for in 7th and 8th grade (via Google - very helpful).  I asked my son what teams some older boys played on when they were his age.  I asked Little League coaches and parents what teams their older boys were playing with.  I asked his prospective high school coach if he had any recommendations (not much help).  I went to some local tournaments with my son and we watched some of the teams play (very helpful).  Once we identified a few teams that looked like a good fit, we went to a couple practices to observe how they do things and check out the talent level.  I also talked to a few of the coaches to get a feel for how their team worked, their opinion of my son's talent level, their needs, etc.

I should point out that so called "feeder teams" that are coached by the high school coaches are very common as well.  8th graders are often expected to play on these teams to learn the coaches system and get exposure to the coaching staff, and sometimes 7th graders are welcome.  You should check out this option if your high school team has such a program.

This process took a couple months.  With my older son we started this time of year and got him situated for Spring, but we were too late for Fall ball.  With my younger son we got started in July and got him on a team in time for Fall ball.

Smitty has some good advice.  And all the leg work can take a while. 

One criteria I would focus on at 13 is quality coaching.  You are sprinting to high school and a year or two of quality coaching will go a long way for your kid.  You want a coach who will teach your kid the game -- all of the little details.  Especially how to self correct for his mistakes.  But beware, just be cause a team has a great record, doesn't me the coaching is any good.  I have seen too many instances where the coach picks the 12 largest or most athletic kids and doesn't teach them squat.  They win because they tend to be bigger and faster than their less mature competition.  Good luck.

One thing to watch out for is the number of dad coaches. If there are four dad coaches that's four starting positions not available. If you see five or six coaches you probably don't even have to research how many are dads. Just run in another direction. Watch travel teams games and see how coaches react to mistakes. Do they overreact or provide instruction? Dad coaches aren't always bad if their sons deserve to play the positions they play. You also want to make sure each player gets reasonable playing time. When you see an eleven man roster advertising for two players, they are usually replacing the two players who rarely got off the bench for more than an at bat.

Find a travel team where he can play and is taught correctly.  Travel ball should not be about the trophies, it is about improving your son against competition that will challenge him. 

Why a travel team at his age?

bob

Pick the travel team that your son will get the most instruction and playing time.  

Pick the travel team that your son will get the most instruction and playing time.  Many of the teams today are “trophy” driven.  Their state/national ranking seems to be the focus.   Once high school comes around all the kids seem to be competitive.  Yes there are still some politics but most good high school program with good coaching will play the best kids.  I do not think listing the amount of trophies one has won is part of the high school tryout.

In retrospect, I would have my son play for only a local travel team with a moderate schedule.  The other time should be spent improving skills, strength and agility.  

In some areas rec ball is terrible. Where my son grew up LL was great. The drop off started at thirteen. I started a 13U team with four former college players (two former pros). Travel baseball was in it's early stages when my son was thirteen. What I sold to parents was, "do they want their kids to have knowledgeable training leading into high school ball or the same old "daddyball" coaching where the coach's kid pitches, plays short and bats cleanup regardless of talent?" It was an easy sell.

I assembled a staff with a former All American and AAA pitcher, college catcher, A level infielder and college outfielder. Guess which one helped sell the team.

The second year I merged the team with another team and released all the kids trying to play for two summer teams. The third year we gave the team to a new baseball academy. The coach's kids played free that year. My son had the option to stay through showcase ball for free even though I wouldn't be coaching. Two associate scouts ran the team and put together their own staff. My son chose another option. 

There are two types of Travel or Club baseball.  It has become a fairly big business in many parts of the country.  The growth has been amazing, but not always in a good way.

The thing that separates these two types usually centers around the amount of talent. 

1. On one hand you have teams that require nothing more than a player paying to play.  These teams will take any player that is willing to pay The fee. Usually these type teams can't compete on a level that gets their players any exposure.  Some do help develop baseball skills while others don't even do that. 

2. Then you have the teams that compete against the very best. These type teams recruit the best possible players.  In fact, this is where real recruiting often begins.  These teams want to win. And they want to put their players in a position to advance to the highest possible level. 

Both types need money to operate. In fact teams in number 2, actually need much more money to accomplish their goals.  Yet they are the ones that require much more than money. You seldom see these top programs advertising for players.  You never see them posting on a message board that they need a catcher, three pitchers an infielder and an outfielder.  Let's face it, if they need that much, they are not a strong program. 

Yes, the best programs RECRUIT!  And it is very competitive in some parts of the country.  Some of these teams recruit nationally in addition to their own region.

So much of this is based on the goals of the player.  Does he want a chance to play DI or get drafted?  Does he want to just play somewhere after high school?  Or does he just want to have fun playing some baseball?

From an exposure standpoint, bad teams without much talent get the least exposure. Good teams with lots of talent get the most exposure. Not much explanation need there!

At the younger age groups, development should be the goal.  In that case look for the team that can best provide that.  It's not necessary to seek out the best tournaments and travel all over the place.  This is the time to learn the game and develop skills.

I used to be one of those who believed their was no reason to compete at a higher level in the younger age groups.  I still think development is the most important thing at those ages. However, after seeing how many of these kids that went that route at a very young age become early draft picks and major league players, I have a bit different view.

Sure there is a daddy ball, politics, etc.  Sure most of these kids at 12 years old don't end up playing in college.  Then again, most of the kids that play in High School don't end up playing in college either.  Bryce Harper, Justin Upton, Jason Heyward, and hundreds of others all played at a high level when they were 12 years old.  Did it help them? Of course, everything they did helped them.  Would they be the same had they not played at that young age?  Probably, but there is no way that we can know that for sure.

Bottom line, nearly anyone can get on a team.  There are a lot of teams that will welcome you with open arms.  All it takes is money!  If exposure is what you want, look for those teams that base their rosters on talent.  Nearly all of them will have some form of Tryouts.  If you don't have what they are looking for, you will be holding on to your money.  If they want you, it might be money well spent.  But know something about who you're dealing with.  Be careful!

If it is instruction you're looking for, look for the teams that have proven they provide that.  Look for those that are dedicated to teaching the game.  Don't get fooled by a Big League name, though that can be very good, sometimes it's not the best. 

Because of what we do, we know most of the top travel programs well.  If there is a player out there that has lots of talent, we sometimes deliver the message to these programs.  They will check that player out.  These programs sort of operate like colleges and professional baseball.  They are looking for players that will help their program. They scout, they recruit!

Best of luck