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When is a good time for travel softball?

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by flyingfish2u » Sun Feb 17, 2019 9:28 pm

We live in southern California. There are many options for softball. Just wondering when is a good time to go travel softball. At the end of 12U? or before? She loves softball, but she is also talented in other sports. She plays soccer, volleyball and softball. She is also a good swimmer. I don't want her to give up playing other sports. She is only 10. I am worried about getting burned out by focusing on one sport too soon. I also don't want her to start too late. So when is good time?
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by eclipse09 » Mon Feb 18, 2019 12:19 am

Does she want to go to travel? Has she expressed an interest?

She should stay where she is if she isn't getting bored and is still challenged via all-stars etc. Also hanging with friends in 10u and 12u seems to be another good reason to stick around.
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by Schmick » Mon Feb 18, 2019 5:06 am

Left just before the kids 11th birthday. She did cheer for her brothers football teams until they were both in HS, the first fall that she could, she said she wanted to go to travel ball
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by Sue Trubovitz, Turbo » Mon Feb 18, 2019 7:23 am

Be selective to find the right fit with travel teams.

Enjoy!
Last edited by Sue Trubovitz, Turbo on Sat Mar 09, 2019 7:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by eddiez577 » Mon Feb 18, 2019 8:51 am

I get this question a lot.
It's a family decision IMO. First, is your player travel ready? Does she have most fundamentals down? Does she practice on her own, look forward to practice, enjoys working hard?
Second, can she take losing reasonably? Can she take making mistakes okay? A lot of former rec players who are used to being the top dog in their league get humbled real fast in TB.
Third, is she coachable? Is she willing to learn advanced concepts, new positions, new way of swinging the bat, or throwing new pitches on command? Rec will get you playing for playing's sake, but TB should develop you.
Lastly this is where family comes in. Is your family ready to commit to the team schedule? Are you financially ready for monthly dues, private coaches, expensive equipment (bats especially), travel costs (hotels, gas, food, snacks, etc). Can you handle criticism of your player well? Can you motivate your player when things start getting tough, physically, emotionally, etc?
When you really take all the questions listed above in consideration, play a few more rec games, join a TB open practice, and see if you're ready to leave rec behind.
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by orange socks » Mon Feb 18, 2019 3:06 pm

To the OP. Have you done summer All-Stars? DD did Summer All-stars for 5 years with her last year in 7th grade. The beginning of 8th grade is when she jumped into the Travel Ball scene even though we traveled during ALL Stars to a few ASA Nationals tourneys and out of town tourneys. Summer All-Stars is the gateway drug to TB it is only for 2-3 months 5-7 tourneys. If the family likes it, DD does well, finances and time commitment can support it...go for it.

By 2nd year 12U, you should begin the transition. My DD skipped 2nd year 12U and went 14U because I was keeping a solid group of players together. Do the homework on the teams too.
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by E Train Dad » Mon Feb 18, 2019 4:49 pm

Miss those days! 10U Wreck was the best for her and for us! 10U Allstars was a great transition to TB, by year 2 of 10U All stars the girls won a trophy at about every tourney! Took this team to TB in 1st year 12U riding high after Allstars, and got worked at our first friendly! Welcome to TB!! :shock: Wouldn't change a thing! For our group, first year 12U was the right time.....most of the girls in this group including my DD playing college ball now! Good Luck and enjoy the ride!!
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by eclipse09 » Mon Feb 18, 2019 5:09 pm

Also what position she plays have a lot to do with making the transition. I have seen super fast players (slappers), pitchers and catchers start travel later and be very successful since teams always need those three players on their teams. IF/OF coaching mostly gets better via travel teams..........mostly.
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by eddiez577 » Tue Feb 19, 2019 8:25 am

E Train Dad wrote:Miss those days! 10U Wreck was the best for her and for us! 10U Allstars was a great transition to TB, by year 2 of 10U All stars the girls won a trophy at about every tourney! Took this team to TB in 1st year 12U riding high after Allstars, and got worked at our first friendly! Welcome to TB!! :shock: Wouldn't change a thing! For our group, first year 12U was the right time.....most of the girls in this group including my DD playing college ball now! Good Luck and enjoy the ride!!


Same here. Went 12u TB after 2nd yr 10u All Stars 2nd place finish, and yup, we were humbled at our first friendly :( Kept it going though and haven't stopped since. One thing I learned quickly is more established teams will poach your players that you worked hard to develop. I was annoyed at first, but then realized that it's always a recruiting cycle in TB.
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by Sue Trubovitz, Turbo » Tue Feb 19, 2019 9:45 am

Possibly biggest learning
curve at that age
10u to 12u
12" ball
Size of players
Mix of talent levels appears
Last edited by Sue Trubovitz, Turbo on Sat Mar 09, 2019 7:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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