game on travel teams
Is Travel Ball For You ?
Over the past decade or so , participation in travel teams has skyrocketed . But is travel ball right for your athlete ? Is your family ready for the commitment , or is it best to stick to school team sports ?
We asked Mark Fuller , former college coach and professional baseball player , for his thoughts .
What should families understand before committing to a travel team ?
It is demanding , and usually turns into more time than originally expected . Most seasons last 4-6 months and take up most weekends . Each family must decide how they want to spend their time and money ; do they want to give up Saturdays and church together on Sundays ? Are there other siblings that should be considered ? Somebody has to carpool the kids to the tournaments and sit until the tournament ends ( usually from early Saturday morning to late Sunday afternoon or evening ), and it ’ s sometimes not much fun to sit around a ballpark in 100 degree heat .
You must also consider the cost , including initial fees , hotels and meals , and gate costs just to name a few . Each season can reach into the thousands of dollars !
If you are a serious athlete with an interest in playing beyond high school , is there a benefit to being a part of a travel team over your high school team , or vice versa ?
I am old fashioned and believe in the high school team experience . If your athlete is fortunate enough to make the high school team and good enough to play at an elite level , then college recruiters will find them . However , I have seen a situation where the athlete was cut from his school team and wanted to play . He joined a travel team and was able to play and be seen by college coaches . In this case , it was a good decision to play travel ball .
Do you ever recommend that students try to do both high school and travel teams ?
I think it is dangerous to try and double up by playing both school ball and travel ball at the same time . The season is set up for high school players to take about a month break from school ball before summer travel ball begins .
What are some signs of a good travel team program vs . a bad one ? Are there warning signs you ' d say to look out for ?
All parents and players need is to be on a team that plays in good , competitive tournaments . These tournaments attract good players and college coaches .
Some teams will give you an initial cost , and then raise the amount when the summer rolls around . They will promise playing time , college coach exposure , and a variety of other guarantees they cannot follow through with to get the family of a good player to sign up . If it sounds like it ’ s too good to be true , it probably is .
Is there anything else you think athletes and their parents should know ?
Here is the question all travel parents must ask : Why are we doing this ? If your child is under the age of 15 , getting " exposure " to college coaches is not going to happen . There is not much of a benefit to playing at the youth age . All you are doing is playing a long season and putting unneeded wear and tear on your child ' s body . So , you really need to examine your motives before you jump in . The motives I have seen are usually focused on the parent and not the child .
Even though times have changed in some regard to recruiting , I still believe that if your athlete has the God-given skills to play past high school , you do not have to sacrifice the family and mortgage the house to get them " discovered ". Recruiting never stops , and coaches will find them .
With that being said , I do think playing on a competitive travel team at the appropriate age and at the appropriate time of year can be beneficial for a player to show their skills in front of college coaches .
Mark Fuller is a former pitcher and coach at Auburn University and a former professional baseball player for the NY Mets and CO Rockies . He is also a Certified Personal Trainer and Co-owner and Director at Sports Academy in Opelika .
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12 | Summer 2018 www . potentialmagazine . com