coaches made the chioce 4 my daughter by: Anonymous
my daughter will make the switch to travel ball this spring after her first high school season her rec ball all star team won a travel ball tourney and went to 14u nationals in utah where she found out she can play against any travel ball player the confidence she gained going to nationals was very valuable i dont care where she plays its her decision her fall-winter rec ball coach made it clear that no travel ball players will be allowed to play rec ball anymore so she can no longer even think about doing both which is fine by me because my daughter should make the choice i hope she makes the varsity team as a freshman she is only 13 and we think in our small community she has a real good chance looking forward to finding the right travel team woodland calif parent
Jun 09, 2009 Rating
Both! by: Anonymous
My 10U daughter has played TB for 2 seasons now and continues w/her Rec team. She is a catcher and a phenominal hitter - and I agree the rec league is too slow for her (hitting) - she gets' excellent practice at catching (and to be honest our rec pitcher is better than her TB pitchers). I say let the child decide what she wants to do and what she can handle physically.
May 15, 2009 Rating
rec vs. travel by: Anonymous
Rec ball is good for the girls to have fun and play with their friends. Travel ball is WAY more competitve and most travel ball teams would put a whooping on a rec team (some of those girls only play cause daddy signed them up)
Plus playing down to rec level doesn't help out the player. If she knows she can throw a ball 60 mph to the 1B on her travel team with no issues but little Susie at 1B on the rec team can't really catch that well, she will have to slow down her throw, and who does that help.
Same with hitting. When you are facing 50-55mph pitchers, that throw 3 different pitches, how does that compare to lil Susie struggling to get the ball over the plate.
The rec league should be enthused about travel ball, but what i find is that most rec leagues get irritated with travel. Travel ball is the next step to college ball (even high school ball isn't all that good). The rec league should know their role in the softball food chain. Instead of getting mad that this girl is going to play travel, they shoul dbe like, "yes, we did a good job with this one and she got promoted". Imagine if the rec. leagues took pride in their players and their advancement to the next level, instead of being greedy and trying to hold them back for the leagues sake. Much nicer time for all parties involved.
Nov 25, 2008 Rating
TB VS REC by: Anonymous
Our daughter consistently plays up in rec ball, which allows her to still enjoy rec ball and the teams are typically on the same level as the weaker teams her tb team plays.
Oct 22, 2008 Rating
It should be her choice by: Beth
Hi,
My daughter had the benefit of having an excellent Rec League coach for several seasons, and well will mess him, but she began playing travel ball last season and opted to stop playing Rec. She also played high school ball. I gave her the choice, but I was glad when she chose to only do travel ball. My feeling is that you can't serve 2 masters and I totally believe in showing up to every practice. That would have been impossible. Just this fall season we never had a whole team to practice because half the girls on the team were playing Rec ball and opted to go to those practices and games instead. It was pretty frustrating.
Sep 20, 2008 Rating
My thoughts by: Amanda
I personally will agree with you. We have lost a lot of talent. In our community, most of the rec teams are better than the travel ball--or about the same. We have a lot of girls that play rec ball, travel ball, and play with their high school teams. I personally play rec ball and high school ball right now. We are thinking of starting a TB team, but I'm not sure if that'll work out. We are looking into more information now, but there is no way I'll give up rec ball. I live and breathe it, we are way more serious than most teams. All but one of the girls on my team (myself included) made all stars. In a county with five teams, that ought to tell you something.
Aug 17, 2008 Rating
TB vs. League play by: Anonymous
My daughter has played TB for 2 years now (she is 12) We don't play league ball for 2 reasons.... 1) she will be bored playing down, the slower pitching will screw up her batting (she can't hit a slow pitcher) and 2) traveling on the weekends and TB practice during the week, the isn't much time to play league, plus, I have a high school boy that plays baseball....not much time left
Mar 20, 2008 Rating
Travel Ball is better choice-for us by: RS in PA
My DD made the transition to TB easily because she had superior talent to the Rec Ball Players. When we were deciding, I aske her, "Do you want to be a big fish in a small pond or do you want to see if you can be a big fis in a bigger pond?" Her competitive side (12 years in gymnstics) made the decision easy. TB raises the level of a players game. They are palying with and against better players-they can't help but get better. Also, the risk of injury is grater in rec ball due to the players and coaches inexpeience.
GO WITH TRAVEL BALL EXCLUSIVELY-if your DD has the talent and drive
Feb 23, 2008 Rating
TB only by: Mayhemdad
My DD is only doing travel as her Rec coach thinks the Rec team comes first and I say TB comes first, already been through this with him so chose TB.I have 2 other DDs playing rec ball as they are just not as intense as the other when it comes to playing.The league they play in lost a lot of girls to TB as they want better competition then they are getting from the rec scene.But hey it is a parents and kids choice of which they want ot play or play both, neither is right or wrong IMO.
Jan 02, 2008 Rating
It depends by: CroBears
I would have liked for my daughter to continue rec ball, but the fact was that there was little competition or challenge. The last time that we went for tryouts, the coach told her that she would have to stop throwing so hard, because the girls were scared to catch it. As a serious ball player, that was just un-acceptable. If your local rec team has good players and your daughter wants to play, then by all means, go for it.
Dec 29, 2007 Rating
Hoping for a balance by: John A.
My daughter is going to be playing travel ball this spring for the first time but I plan to keep her in rec league as well. We'll evaluate it at the end of the season and see how it works out.
The main reason I'm going to do that is to provide some balance. Travel ball is obviously going to be a lot more intense than what we're used to in rec, so my hope is that by staying in rec as well she will use rec as a means to just have a good time without worrying about performance. We can also use rec to work on things in game situations.
