Hi folks,

My son is only 8, so I'm not on here thinking scouts, scholarships or anything of the sort. I just want my son to have the best experience with baseball, which he eats/sleeps/breathes. He has been happy playing rec ball, and doing summer all-stars, but lately has been asking about travel ball because quite a few of his friends that he has played with in the past have moved to travel. When I explained the differrence between travel and rec, his eyes lit up and says that it sounds like fun.

Here's the question. How long should we stay in rec ball before switching over to travel? If we stay in rec for too long and all the travel teams are established, won't it be harder for him to get on a (successful) team? Someone suggested trying to find a more laid back travel team for now, then in a few years switch to East Cobb, but aren't the older teams at E.C. difficult to get a spot on? Overall the rec experience has been good for him, but the older he gets the more frustrated he is getting with the boys who don't go to practice, or if they do do, don't try, but get to play the exact amount as he does, while he is working his rear end off. What is the intensity like on the younger EC teams compared to the teams from the other parks?

I have been trying to research different parks teams, and the amount of tournaments they compete in and as much information that I can find, that way come July/August, I will know what options I can give my son.

Thanks everyone.

My son switched at 10. Yes it is harder to break in but that could be true at 8 as well. Existing travel teams have usually developed friends ships at the younger ages and it may not be as much about talent unless your son really stands out.
The travel teams usually have better coaching but not always especially at younger age. Lots of daddy ball where Rec usually has rules about playing time and position that your son will play. The rec ball tends to be more about fun and giving the kids a chance.
I personally don't think it is necessary until your son is 12+ and only if the coaching is better. I have seen guys start travel at 16-17 and do very well.

It is according to level of play. My son is playing travel ball at 7. I see you are from Georgia. There are a lot of travel teams there that play at 6 and up. It provides a better level of ball normally with better coaching and almost all of the kids want to be there.

Not sure that there are travel teams at 6 but there are travel teams that play Ontario Baseball and then there are elite teams. They generally start at about 14-15. The city travel teams are usually not that good so most kids want to play elite at around 14-15. That is where the better coaching is usually but not always. The elite teams play in the US while the OBA teams play locally. There is a huge difference in costs. OBA teams might travel 200 miles max where elite teams can go to the south and all over. It is more like college ball in that they spend time in hotels and spend much more on player development.

Depending on the competitiveness of the rec league you are in, I think it doesn't matter all that much until the kid is around 11 or 12. That's when we began playing travel because we outgrew the rec league near us, and I don't think it would have mattered if we'd started earlier than that. Also not all travel ball is equal--some isn't as good as a really competitive rec, some is much better. If your boy is a good rec player, ask if he can play up an age group. That may satisfy him without having to leap into the huge commitment of time and money required by travel ball. Plenty of time for that, and plenty of teams in GA looking for good players every year. You won't be left behind so don't feel rushed.

What part of GA do you live in?

Bobblehead: Here in GA, there is no distinction between travel and elite. Any team that doesn't play out of a single park (or a single league) is considered a travel team. Most often they are independent of league affiliations. Some travel teams are more "elite" than others, but there aren't separate distinctions. Usually the level of play is determined by the coach and appropriate tournaments are entered based on talent of team. Some travel locally (within the state) others travel regionally (in the SE USA), others travel nationally or internationally.

I have to agree with Bobblehead and quill on this one. Age of 12 up should be when you start looking for a travel team for your son. But as mentioned, the term travel team can be so misleading. My son's first travel team at age 13 turned into the Amityville horror in so many ways. The first and foremost was the 2 Daddy's that coached the team. Need I say more about that? The chances that a kid can get on a legitimate travel team increases if the coaches (Dad's or not) have played at minimum some college ball and can teach what they learned, IMO. While we played East Cobb ball for the competitiveness, they are not the only circus in town anymore with great teams.

Back to your son. He is only 8. And you being his Dad can probably see him do things that other teammates can't, blah, blah, blah but that doesn't necessarily mean he's ready for a more serious type team. At age 8 you could throw 99% of all the 8yr old boys in a pot, stir them up and you won't be able to tell the stars from the duds. The best can actually catch a ball and throw it 10 feet further. I've been here and got the t-shirt which is why I know this. Like quill said, see if he can play up in age (which is not always the best choice either) but it will save you lots of deniro(?) that you don't necessarily need to be dishing out at this point.

Let him be a boy for now. Out of 12 boys on my son's 11/12yr old All Star team only he and 1 other boy is now playing as Seniors on the varsity high school team. Why? The other 10 suffered burnout somewhere along the way and quit.

I think Jeff Connell said it best when he said it depends on the "level" of play. When to switch to a better team isn't nearly dependent on age as it is on talent. Quillgirl is right too when she says all travel teams are not better than good rec teams. This varies greatly in different parts of the US. Bottom line you have to match your son's talent with a team. The competitive nature of the better player demands they play with (and against) talent equal to themselves or they tend to get complacent. Your son is experiencing some of this when you say:

quote:

the older he gets the more frustrated he is getting with the boys who don't go to practice, or if they do do, don't try, but get to play the exact amount as he does, while he is working his rear end off.

I moved my son at 11 (to a 13u) travel team and was amazed at the increase in his desire to play and the satisfaction he got from playing at the higher level. As I look back I think I would have moved him earlier but there were no younger teams at this time. I'm not advocating that all parents of 6-8 year old players "push" their sons onto competitive travel teams but at the same time I feel as if many young players thrive on the greater challenge and should be given that opportunity. If he's getting frustrated than he needs to find a better team.
Fungo

I agree with a lot of what everyone has said. The original thought against having my son try out last fall for the travel team was that I didn't want him to "burn out" too early, but, he is getting a different kind of burn out with some of the kids he plays with now.

quote:

At age 8 you could throw 99% of all the 8yr old boys in a pot, stir them up and you won't be able to tell the stars from the duds. The best can actually catch a ball and throw it 10 feet further.

YoungGunDad, you'd be amazed at the varying levels of talent in the 8 year old pool right now. I'm not saying my son is the best player out there, he's not. But he is good and can hold his own. He has the head and the heart for it, and I don't want to see him lose that.

We've thought about playing up a year, and while he's a big kid, and could be competitive with the older kids, we would still have the issue with the boys who are just "there" and don't even want to try.

There have been many great responses, thanks everyone. Keep them coming!

I think 10 or 11 is the ideal time to get a kid involved with travel baseball, and then only with a local park where the travel and program is not too intense on the child or on the parents.

My first experience with travel ball was with my oldest son at age 9. He was on a team that played an 'in park' schedule against teams in the rec league but also had the field on Sundays to schedule a double header against whomever the wanted and this worked just fine. They would travel on alternate Sundays to other parks for a doubleheader. This along with 1 or 2 tournaments made it feel like travel even though in some ways it was 'travel lite'. He gradually move into more competive leagues, first at 11/12 and then made another jump at 15.

My younger sons followed their older brother into travel ball starting at age 9 also and were on teams playing a ten tournament schedule and some weekday pickup games, and in retrospect this was probably too mcuh. Between the weekend and weekday travel they played 45 games or so. This was maybe the right amount of games (two less tournaments or 6 or 7 less games probably would have been better)but might have been better if they travelled more locally.

If I had it to do over again I would have still started my kids in travel ball at age 10 but with something more subdued - local, less competitive travel ball teams. Then at age 12 or 13 get them involved with more competitive teams.

I know what you're saying about a different kind of burnout - get him with some kids with a similar skill level so he won't have to take something off of his throws so the other kids can catch it and so that kids can't make a home run out of a ground ball single through the right side.

Ultimately, I don't think the premier or elite programs offer a great deal more as long as he has a good coach or two on the team that he is on. It is mainly about skill development and having fun. It is sometimes easy for things to become too competitive before you realize it.

Good luck with your decision.

Elite ball here is very intense and is all year around. Usually better coaches and big budgets. They travel to the US and even play against top D1 college teams at the 18yo level Cost a small fortune and play top US teams .
OBA or city ball is not nearly as competetive and udually coaches are Dads who voluteer. 10 years ago or so it was very good ball but the elite teams drew the best players away from them.
Rec ball here is for fun and they now travel short distances to play other teams since registration dropped off a few years ago. The senior rec ball has picked up for guys who still want to play.
We also have 3 senior leagues that vary in caliber as well. The top league is full of ex pros/college players and is very intense. The next level down is also very good and has a few ex pros/college players. Not quite as intense. The last league is also very good and is only a couple years old. It has grown steadily and has players who don't want to travel too much. It is a level above senior rec ball and is also about fun.
We are lucky we have so many leagues to play in after college or pro.
My son asked to play travel ball at around age 9 so we made the move. He played elite ball at around age 14 playing 16U and there was no comparison. I am sure that in some areas of places like Georgia there are some fairly good rec leagues. We only played the elite teams like teams from East Cobb.

travel - what does that mean? If you've seen my post "Thanks Coach", some would say that the Thunder was a travel team. We played against some teams that made us look like a pure league team. Get your son on a team that will teach him to play. If your son learns and can perform he'll be ok if he waits till in high school to play high level competition, and if his fundamentals are good enough, someone will want him. Sure, play against good competition, but you don't have to spend a fortune to do that. A few tournaments here and there can show your kid what he is up against. I know one kid who NEVER played anything but rec ball until high school. He never played summer ball. He will be pitching in college next year.

Bottom line, don't buy into the hype. I only know one kid who drew interest prior to his junior year in high school. Remember, very few kids go in the draft. Most will play something other than D1 or pro ball.