Is travel ball really travel ball?

[Skarp]

I was about to jump into this fray, but I was suddenly reminded of the age-old philosophical conundrum (or maybe it's just a question I usually have to ask myself )--to wit: who is the bigger maroon, the dummy or the guy arguing with him?

[Sam]

First of all, for everyone so angry with my blog, why reply or even open it knowing I wrote it? Second of all, I was drafted, and played minor league ball until blowing my knee out, post germany's unification. And lastly I am not denying anyone the opportunity to play softball. I think all of the good travel ball coaches should coach public league, where they can actually teach players how to play. A real travel team should be filled with talent so there is no need for that kind of coach, so all of you GREAT people, go coach in house and help the population. Second, what are you teaching any kid when you just find somewhere for them to be accepted? It took me until I was a junior year in high school before I was invited to play travel ball and I earned the challenge. I would like to see every player get the opportunity to learn the game, and do it SAFELY. Do I believe that any player who is "old enough" is competent enough to face some of the scary fast pitching in softball from a mere 40 ft away? NO! And there are players I would not put on a field to be in harms way of some big hitters. The players who make travel ball what it is. But hey, I am a dumb kid right. Sorry. I provide for every player I meet and then some. I give my lessons, I coach my 1 travel team, I train 3 in house teams, and I also coach for the special olympics to TEACH kids the great game of softball. But Im a dumb kid. Keep arguing, but when kids are getting injured on the field because they should not be there, dont say I didnt tell you so. Teach your kids, dont just give them an opportunity, make them earn it, 11 months a year.

You should really read your post before hitting the Submit button. Personally, I've never coached an Elite team....but I have coached some kids that are playing D1 softball and some that will play D1 along with D2, D3 and NAIA. Those kids might not have been afforded that opportunity had it not been for the travel teams I coached and the many teams that they played against. I'm pretty sure that those kids earned their scholarships.

Safety is rather unclever straw argument. Players get hurt at every level of competition. Heck, even minor leaguers blow out their knees. I'm wondering if you blew out your knee because you "should not be there."

If the elite baseball players play in the Major Leagues....why do they have minor league ball? Why does the NCAA have different divisions? Why wouldn't girls softball attempt to model themselves in much the same manner?

I don't think you are a dumb kid. I think you are ignorant and somewhat of an elitist. I'm sure you know that many minor leaguers are drafted not because of what they have done, but what they have the potential to do in the future. Players are developed in the minor leagues....to prepare them for a shot at the major leagues. We provide the same opportunity.

[xxxYerOut]

I was about to jump into this fray, but I was suddenly reminded of the age-old philosophical conundrum (or maybe it's just a question I usually have to ask myself )--to wit: who is the bigger maroon, the dummy or the guy arguing with him?

K.I.S.S. - Mr Green (skarp). fray.. conundrum..? This board doesn't even have spell check and now you have us looking for the thesaurus and dictionary button...

[Demonboy]

I was about to jump into this fray, but I was suddenly reminded of the age-old philosophical conundrum (or maybe it's just a question I usually have to ask myself )--to wit: who is the bigger maroon, the dummy or the guy arguing with him?

K.I.S.S. - Mr Green (skarp). fray.. conundrum..? This board doesn't even have spell check and now you have us looking for the thesaurus and dictionary button...

Skarp is really Dennis Miller. His dd is not much of a player but she has a wonderful dry acerbic wit.

[Skarp]

I was about to jump into this fray, but I was suddenly reminded of the age-old philosophical conundrum (or maybe it's just a question I usually have to ask myself )--to wit: who is the bigger maroon, the dummy or the guy arguing with him?

K.I.S.S. - Mr Green (skarp). fray.. conundrum..? This board doesn't even have spell check and now you have us looking for the thesaurus and dictionary button...

Many here would do well to familiarize themselves with both, but I'd count it a victory if we could all just get their/there and your/you're figured out.

I like that little green feller.

[greenandblue]

Coach Gonzalez, thank you for your words, they hit the nail on the head. The watering down of teams has weakened travel ball so much, that I see it eventually self-destructing. Well, maybe I'd like to see it self destruct and go back to community, local teams.
My beef is that there is not one governing organization that all can play under. You have different organizations each weekend, different rules, and different "National" Champs. Put all teams under the same umbrella, and see who the actual National Champs are.
As for the purpose of playing "travel" ball, it is safe to say that most of the players on a team are there to have fun because they love the game, not because they are destined to play college. And if they knew that the chances of playing in college are soooo slim, they might enjoy the game more. And when I use the word "they", I'm talking about their parents.

Okay, I've vented enough, but again, thank you Coach Gonzalez for your words. You should post them on other website message boards too!!!!

[Fuddrules]

Coach Gonzalez, thank you for your words, they hit the nail on the head. The watering down of teams has weakened travel ball so much, that I see it eventually self-destructing.

So the fact that more girls are playing softball and more girls are attempting to play at a higher level (and play more often).....it's going to implode? Something doesn't make sense here.

[Sam]

Coach Gonzalez, thank you for your words, they hit the nail on the head. The watering down of teams has weakened travel ball so much, that I see it eventually self-destructing. Well, maybe I'd like to see it self destruct and go back to community, local teams.
My beef is that there is not one governing organization that all can play under. You have different organizations each weekend, different rules, and different "National" Champs. Put all teams under the same umbrella, and see who the actual National Champs are.
As for the purpose of playing "travel" ball, it is safe to say that most of the players on a team are there to have fun because they love the game, not because they are destined to play college. And if they knew that the chances of playing in college are soooo slim, they might enjoy the game more. And when I use the word "they", I'm talking about their parents.

Okay, I've vented enough, but again, thank you Coach Gonzalez for your words. You should post them on other website message boards too!!!!

Hey Kreskin,

What you are seeing is a virtual explosion in popularity. What you would like to see is these young athletes playing for 4 months and playing video games for 8 months, missing out on getting college educations so that they can stay home barefoot and pregnant. Xanadu. The different organizations and Nationals are american hallmarks...its called competition. The weak associations will not survive, the strong organizations that cater to their customers will thrive. Dumbing down the sport to include solely recreational ball is the single one thing that could destroy the sport.

No thanks. I'll continue to participate in and encourage the "destruction of the game."

[greenandblue]

The self destruction is going to be caused by too many "coaches" starting very average travel ball teams, which waters down the competition even more. Go back in time to when travel ball was for truly talented players only with real coaches, not parents that want to coach their DD's. That was competitive softball. Now it is not.

As for not wanting the players to have the chance to play,.....if there were more community and local leagues, then more players would be able to play, especially those that could never afford the costs of travel ball.

[jofus]

Well, our "local" league (little league) has way too many teams (altogether, not just softball) for the 2 fields that we have. The teams have 12 games scheduled, and then a couple playoff games. The girls good enough to make all stars get anywhere from 2 more games and up. So, maybe an average of 20 games a year if you make all stars.

My DD played probably close to 40 more games in 14U travel ball last year. She wants to play softball as much as she can, and I'm gonna do what I can to help that happen. The team she was on was a first year team, made up mainly of girls that her LL coach from a couple years ago invited to play for him, and was probably a below average team, to be honest. But, she got to play ball, and in our area, there aren't a lot of options. Plus, she improved from the experience, as an 11 year old playing up, and had fun doing it.

Most of her teammates from last year are trying out for high school ball now (my DD is only in 7th grade), and I don't even know if they will have a team after that, so we're looking for a new plan now.