Softball scholarships a pricey pursuit for elite travel teams

[Strohbro]

This is a great article from the Tampa Bay Times

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/soft...pricey-pursuit-for-elite-travel-teams/2333442

 

[steve77621]

Great article, a must read for all parents and players. Thank you strohbro

 

[wow]

Indeed good article. I have said it before and will again. This is a money pit. Be prepared to make decisions, financially. If you are looing for a return on invested capital (ROIC) fastpitch is not the place. You have to do your research and find "Max Pain" financially and do not expect anything in return. I mean nothing. Competition is not always at the highest level events, Just because you pay a lot of money does not mean the organization is better, and there is no correlation between how much money you spend and your odds of getting a scholarship. So best advice is spend the money like you would in Vegas, take only what you're willing to loose. At the end of the day its a lottery ticket!\

I am not saying hard work, being in the right events, and playing with a great orgs doesn't help but those are the starting points and price of admission. That's just what it takes to increase yr chances of being seen.

Enjoy the experience, cherish the friendships, and don't take anything anyone says to personally.

 

[DoubleTheFun]

Great article!
If you are in it for the potential monetary ROI, you will be considered a fantastic success to get maybe 10-25% return on the total spent (assuming average travel ball "career" adding up the costs from 10U to 18U).
If you are in it to invest in your daughter in what is hopefully a life-long process of learning and refining skills like teamwork, communication, competition, leadership, work ethic, humility, physical health, etc., and want to spend your spare time together, then it is worth every penny.
To accomplish the former and the latter...even better.

 

[CoachTEA]

Great article!
If you are in it for the potential monetary ROI, you will be considered a fantastic success to get maybe 10-25% return on the total spent (assuming average travel ball "career" adding up the costs from 10U to 18U).
If you are in it to invest in your daughter in what is hopefully a life-long process of learning and refining skills like teamwork, communication, competition, leadership, work ethic, humility, physical health, etc., and want to spend your spare time together, then it is worth every penny.
To accomplish the former and the latter...even better.

Well said! If I look at the money I "invested" in Speed, Strength, and Agility, and Hitting Lessons and Pitching Lessons (for High School Only) and Defensive Skills (excellent training by Chris Miner) and Camps and Hotels and Meals and Equipment, I am way, way in the hole. BUT we had a great time in the process...

 

[HITTER23]

My fastpitch DD is home this weekend with her husband , shes grown and out of college, has lived in Korea for 2 years, seen the world, owns a home, and has matured into a fantastic woman.

My point is the money you spend on travel ball shouldn't totally be looked at as a investment, youre never going to get all that you've put in financially. First and foremost, You're paying for the enjoyment of the experience with your DD , you could do the same with another sport, camping, 4H, whatever. If she's fortunate enough to get some scholarship money out of you spending your summers with her, its icing on the cake.

Bottom line is, I would pay twice as much as i did back then just for the chance to do all over again...

 

[lewam3]

My fastpitch DD is home this weekend with her husband , shes grown and out of college, has lived in Korea for 2 years, seen the world, owns a home, and has matured into a fantastic woman.

My point is the money you spend on travel ball shouldn't totally be looked at as a investment, youre never going to get all that you've put in financially. First and foremost, You're paying for the enjoyment of the experience with your DD , you could do the same with another sport, camping, 4H, whatever. If she's fortunate enough to get some scholarship money out of you spending your summers with her, its icing on the cake.

Bottom line is, I would pay twice as much as i did back then just for the chance to do all over again...

My sentiments exactly. Thanks for that awesome post Chris.

 

[Byers]

Absolutely. You show me anyone that spends more quality time with their daughters. I'm not gonna lie, I was hoping my daughters would get scholarships and luckily they did get money to play a sport they love in college. But the experiences gained far out weights the money spent.

 

[CARDS]

Here is a clip from the story from the USF Head coach...

Eriksen, who is entering his 22nd season at USF, said he prefers attending smaller qualifying tournaments where teams are playing strictly for something at stake. He also encourages players to attend his camp to have more time to evaluate potential recruits.

"These parents spend all this money on these tournaments and for what?" Eriksen said. "I call it the Disney effect. You'll do anything to see your kid smile, even pay $150 to go to Disney World. This is the same thing except on a much larger scale.

"It's preying on hopes and dreams. Every time I see one of these big showcase events pop up I just want to stand up and scream 'Bernie Madoff'."

While we did have a couple ladies get noticed during summer events most of our ladies got noticed at a school camp/combine or fall event...Then the college coach and our player followed up and stayed in touch during our summer events

 

[Fairman]

I was able to spend significant time with my daughters, no boys, no hair, no clothes just a 5:00AM wake-up to get to an 8:00AM game.

To play, my girls had to learn skills through dedication and hard work, To win they had to learn grit.
To be successful they had to learn to budget their time, they had to keep their academics in the forefront, they had to focus, but most important they had to take the risk.

We protect our DD's from failure except when they play this game and failure is the rule.
They learned to be resilient, to publicly fail and still deliver the next pitch, take the next cut, to risk it all on this pitch, this moment.

Both played college ball and both received significant academic money (with some athletic money). Probably not enough to breakeven in any economic measurement but because of softball they had the fortitude, the grit and the passion to power through their college experience and establish successful life paths. Neither had the gifts to play at a D-1 level but both made contributions to their respective D-3 and NAIA teams. They understood that there wasn't a million dollar illusion at the end of college but they played anyway, for the love of the game, for the competition, for the the team.

We played a regional travel-ball schedule on second level teams and did not go to California, Colorado or Georgia and did NOT spend the amounts of money that this article references. They applied and attending schools based on their academic needs. Playing college softball was a bonus.

 

[Run26]

For all you up and coming TB parents - here are a couple of pointers to make your life a little better.

1. Let the coach coach. Just find a nice spot in the grass somewhere and take it all in - This will not last forever
2. Encourage your daughter when things aren't going her way - This will not last forever
3. Do not be afraid to push your daughter when things aren't going her way - This will not last forever
4. Make friends with your travel ball parents - This will not last forever
5. Talk with your daughter on those long drives to and from the tournaments - This will not last forever
6. Take the time to tell her you are enjoying this experience - This will not last forever
7. Tell her you love her - This will last forever

Stop chasing the money and concentrate on chasing her. All of the rest will take care of itself. I miss those long miles of pavement and dirt. It was without a doubt the best years of our lives.

 

[yossarian]

Awesome comment!

For all you up and coming TB parents - here are a couple of pointers to make your life a little better.

1. Let the coach coach. Just find a nice spot in the grass somewhere and take it all in - This will not last forever
2. Encourage your daughter when things aren't going her way - This will not last forever
3. Do not be afraid to push your daughter when things aren't going her way - This will not last forever
4. Make friends with your travel ball parents - This will not last forever
5. Talk with your daughter on those long drives to and from the tournaments - This will not last forever
6. Take the time to tell her you are enjoying this experience - This will not last forever
7. Tell her you love her - This will last forever

Stop chasing the money and concentrate on chasing her. All of the rest will take care of itself. I miss those long miles of pavement and dirt. It was without a doubt the best years of our lives.

 

[wow]

"It's preying on hopes and dreams. Every time I see one of these big showcase events pop up I just want to stand up and scream 'Bernie Madoff'."

I say Ponzi Scheme all the time! But the reality is its Caveat emptor. Know what your getting into and be realistic. Don't let a organization/coach tell you what you can/cant do. Play where you can afford and the level you want. Don't blindly follow any used car salesman's. Play at the highest level you can. Don't be afraid of failure, expect it to be hard. If you win every game your not in the right events. But NEVER feel like you have to spend $3000 every week!

 

[DW@SBC]

Travel softball is a fraction of the cost of competitive dance.