How far are you willing to travel for

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Depends on DD goals. Does she play to be the high school star? Does she want to play with average players, or be surrounded by above average players to make herself better? Does she want to play at college level? If so, D-I or D-III? Is she going to be happy working out 6 days a week knowing her team mates don't work at all? Or vice versa? I know many think that Slammers are a little over the top, to me they exemplify what travel is and should be about, though not for everyone, no reason to bash 'em or their decisions.. If you want to talk crazy, how about buying a 5yo a $450 cell phone!!

Not to argue... just some clarification on the "over the top Slammers".... Practice a lot, yes... travel a lot of miles to practice... no.

Slammers always have been, and still are predominantly (75%) "local" girls. The past couple of years, the Slammers were all Stark County kids with the longest drive to practice being about 15-20 minutes. Slammers did expand their geographic "reach" this year with a couple of (very nice ) additions.

Personally, I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity in our "back yard". If it was a 100 mile drive to practice, I can't say for sure that we'd hack it. Also fairly certain it would not have gone as well as it did for the team through the younger years if we had been more geographcally spread out.

 

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In life, we all want the best for our children. I simply believe my daughter has joined a team that will help her to become the best ball player she can be. That is her desire, as frankly after 1 summer of travel, she was ready to give it up for other sports seeing how "IFFY" each weeks experience was playing too many Rec Teams and at 12 understanding the amount/Lack of Quality Coach/Instructers in the game is also limited. Not wanting her to leave the sport before seeing her potential, we drove 240 miles to witness first hand what is believed to be the best team in Ohio. In ten minutes, it was obvious to her there was a level in which she could be interested, dedicated, and challenged and she immediately advised she would do what it takes to be there.

For a little more money, she has an exponentially HIGHER QUALITY EXPERIENCE, and the possibility of reaching her FULL POTENTIAL, which many would consider PRICELESS. I've already seen her improve more in six weeks, then you see other athletes improve in a season. She is thrilled to be learning tons, and competing at levels that force her to grow/train mentally and physically.

How is this different then picking the schools our children attend. Do we pick the closest/cheapest college that provides marginal experience and potential, or do we seek out the best college that suites our childs personal skills, goals, and dreams.

Why compromise here? This is another great forum to teach our Children how to reach their potential, or even identify what it is and whether they are willing to work hard enough to reach it. Fast Pitch is a life experience, that can / will prepare them for other opportunities and all the planning, decisions, victories, defeats, and short comings facing them down the road. Drink it up, and enjoy, as our daughters & families all have our OWN personal needs and desires. For us, it's all about the people we CHOOSE to surround ourselves with and the extra travel is proving worthwhile as my daughter is still maintaining 4.0 and we've met some of the nicest people on the planet. Those that aim high, achieve high. And remember birds of a feather.....^_^

 

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Since Hitter1 and a few others wonder why I would drive 200 miles for my dd's new team I will try and answer some of your questions, first, there are no hiden secrets. We made the decision to try out for one of the top 12u teams in the state and my dd was fortunate to have been selected. True, there are plenty of 12u teams closer to Northeast Ohio we could have tried out for. Our decision to play this far from home did not come without some thought. My dd is not the kind of girl that is happy just playing, she wants to surround herself with others and a coaching staff that takes the game as serious as she does. Until you witness first hand what a quality organization can offer it may be hard to understand, I'm not trying to offend anyone with that statement. You are way off base if you wonder how much can be accomplished in practicing every two weeks, as others have said, each girl is expected to practice on there own. Practice time is not wasted, each girl knows the game very well. As far as the gas and travel time, that doesn't bother me at all, it costs me $60.00 round trip. We accually enjoy the time together in the car, dd does her homework and we have some quality time as a family talking softball and anything else that might come to mind. Its not for everyone, thats what I enjoy, we don't go on vacations, softball is our vacation. I could spend my money on other things that would not bring as much joy in our lives as softball does, as long as she is having fun I will support her.

 

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Not to hijack but I have a question for those who travel these long distances......not criticizing just asking. How many of you have other children.....younger children? I have 2 younger and they miss out on a lot in the summer or we are never together as a family because of travel ball and our team is not far from home. We got lucky. We have found the perfect match for my daughter this year, they say the 3rd times a charm well worked for us and to boot it is only 15 minutes away and 1/2 hour for winter fielding practices.

 

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I have 3 daughters and all of them play travel ball. In the summer during the week they swim, ride bikes, fish, go camping, stay at friends houses, etc...just like every other kid. But just about every weekend, they get to travel to different towns, stay in hotels, play with their other friends, do team activities, play softball, etc......which the other kids don't get to experience. We get a little vacation to a different town EVERY weekend instead of a big vacation once a year. The only thing they miss out on is getting bored and watching TV.

 

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See they are all in travel ball that is different. They enjoy the weekends then. My younger two don't enjoy it. Other than the hotel trips.....as long as there is a pool. My son 10, gets so bored it isn't even funny. My youngest daughter 7 hates softball but does have a friend with the team this year so is better about it. I am just glad that we were lucky enough to findthe perfect fit close to home. Where I can drop her off and come back if I need to do something with one of the other two. Sometimes I feel really bad that their lives revolve around my oldest's softball schedule. It is the first thing that my son asks every day. Do we have to go to softball tonight? Makes it hard for him with friends during tournaments nobody ever wants to come stay and hang out at the ball fields in the rain/heat/whatever all day...... I wish I had it so good...........

 

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It looks that the few that think we are "crazy" or "nuts" on here are in the minority with that thinking. Im reading over alot of these any I am seeing MANY excellent points. The ones that dont agree with this took some hard shots while the majority just easily explained their line of thinking.

Points that has been brought up by other posters that I didnt include last night (due to trying to keep the post somewhat not being a short novel). We have 3 other kids. When they want to come and stay at a hotel or do things around the city we are at, they will come and of course take advantage of the swimming pool. The wife and I would take turns with one being at the game and one staying back at the hotel if needed. If the park had a nice playground they would come and again we would take turns.
If the kids didnt feel like traveling that weekend I had many people that would babysit them, including boths sides of grandparents and great-grandparents. My boy plays ball twice a week and never missed a game. Our little girl is in gymnastics and t-ball and we dont miss any of that. Believe me we make sure we spend enough time with all of our kids!

As for the practice thing since we lived so far this past summer. We did make practice 2 weekends during the summer in Cincinnati. Our former coach Doug A. understood the time and travel (and gas situation) and told us "just because you dont live in Cincy,dont mean you cant play in Cincy". He did not require us to make the practices. What he asked of us is that our daughter practiced during the week and stayed on her game (like others had mentioned on here). Luckily for us our daughter plays in a summer league where she had 2 games a week, including 1 practice a week with her Norwalk team.

If a strong/excellent team ask your daughter to play and you know she will haft to play at her top of the game against strong competition, why would you not want to?
Yes some parents are really not into the travel thing and just a few local tournaments will do. Hey that is fine if that is what floats theirs and their daughters boat. But why come on here and blast the ones that want a better situation and game for their daughter, while the daughter is on board 100%

 

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Bear: Sorry for the length. I just had to get it out.

All long distance travelers, whatever situation suits you best, and as said, makes your dd happiest, is what's right for you. I did not intend to offer personal criticism in any way.

My frustration is that I see very talented kids in this region seeking longer and longer distance opportunities when there is proof that more localized programs can work at a highly competitive level. Some of the posters here have expressed how competitive their teams are without having players come from very far away. Check the Sapphires and the Sundogs rosters. It's terrific how they've been able to support their communities and school programs with their summer program.

And to be clear, I'm all for long distance travel to tournaments to face the best competition and be where the college coaches are. I never said anything about facing more local or rec-like competition. This is about how these teams are built, and why the reach for these teams can go so far when there is talent in their own backyard? The system is saturated with start ups and failures all due to a "me first" mentality. Isn't there always a better player somewhere if you look long enough and far enough away? At what point do we stop and say let's develop what we have right here? And at what point do the more powerful, better marketed organizations stop their search? If a coach from LA approached you and your 12-year-old, would you hop on the next plane?

Why do I care so much about staying with a "home" team? Maybe I am too logical about it, as has been suggested, or have the interests of a younger non-softball playing daughter in mind (also suggested) when I consider the time factor involved. But it's certainly not a fear for playing with the best. My dd has faced Sito, Knerem, Meredith and Dill among others and has fared pretty well. These were high school experiences that in her lifetime will likely turn out to be more memorable to her than most of her tournament experiences. Why? Because she's on a team that can meet and practice and play every day during the HS season. She's playing with and for other kids she cares about that live in her community. I think those things are important to the sport too and can get lost with these organizations that set out to get the best kids no matter how far away. And as parents, as long as we continue to travel these distances to seek greener pastures, the cycle of recruiting, team start ups and failures, and low or no community involvement will persist.

Call me na?ve, uniformed, scared of competition...whatever, I just think that sometimes we lose sight of what not only may be better for the game, but better for our teams, communities and schools. This forum is full of 1000+ members, many of which do not bother to post. So if it appears that there is widespread support for long distance travel, I would argue that you're not dealing with the thousands of kids and parents that make up these hundreds of tournament teams. Many don't know or care about OFC and the opinions expressed here. As of today, I'm going back to being one of those.

 

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Amen! Couldn't have said it better myself. Your comments really hit the mark.

 

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I would say consider yourself lucky that you were able to develop the talent in your area to keep your daughter local, but we are all not blessed with that situation. We have tried to field a competitive team with kids from our area, but there just isn't the desire, talent, or parental commitment needed to be successful. We live in a small town surrounded by small towns where fastpitch softball just isn't that popular. Some people HAVE to travel to find the level of competition their daughters thrive at. If it makes you mad that others are willing to make that commitment and the opinions of most (and yes, most people on this site are VERY serious about fastpitch softball) people who use the OFC really irritate you, than you should go back to being one of the herd who are there just for the exercise and don't care who coaches or how much is learned. That is fine for alot of people. But THIS site is for those of us who are willing to go the extra mile to see our daughters thrive so I would say if our thinking offends you, don't use the site, what did you expect it to be about, throwing drills and coaching tips??

 

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A couple thoughts ...
We coached a local travel team and our daughter played for us the last 4 years. Our daughter was really unhappy with softball through this. Players would miss practice, come off the field laughing and happy not even noticing they had just lost a game, show up late to tournies, etc. She always felt like her and possibly 1 or 2 others were the only ones that took it seriously. Now granted we live in a small area so we weren't drawing girls from something like the Columbus area, most all girls were from the same school district. To make a long story short, I had a choice...continue on this path with my daughter unhappy, loving softball but not feeling like she was getting the real experience, or find her another team. We found another team, we travel a long way to practice, but ya know what...when we get to practice, the whole team is there. Every girl there has her energy and attitude about softball and they are of equal talent. And the biggest and most important factor is that she is Happy! In all honesty I would travel even farther if it meant seeing her this happy.
As for siblings, we are lucky, she has an older brother by 3 years and he loves going to the ball park to support her, even brings some of his friends to the ball park to cheer her on also as location and time permits. Just as she loves going to his football games to support him. We make every weekend a family vacation as much as possible, and our team very much promotes a family atmosphere where everyone gets together, has meals together, plays games etc... This helps a lot!

 

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Interesting.... It seems many posters feel the need to defend their decision to travel, or convince others as to what is right, wrong, or best for softball, etc...

However, it's not a "one size fits all" scenario. Everyone has their own goals and expectations. If I don't want to eat the garbage they serve at McDonalds, should I have to eat it because it's right down the street and my neighbor loves the stuff? I don't think so... Maybe they're both fine restaurants but the closer one doesn't serve steak. If I prefer steak and want to drive a little further to get it, and can afford to do so, why not?

Numerous factors go into choosing a team. Travel is just one. Bottom line, parents will, and should, do what is best for their children and their families. If they believe it is to travel 200+ miles for what they feel is a better opportunity to get the return they want from their investment of time and money, who is to say that is not what is best?

 

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I think from all the posts on this the common theme is simply what team and where meets your DD's expectations.

 

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I have to admit that I started this thread seeking answers to justify the responses I am getting on the Poll I started (http://www.game-ex.com/vb3/showthread.php?t=12267).

There seems to be a significant amout of new teams/orgs started due to geographic location. I was curious as to what that exactly meant. I can honestly say that I am no more clearer on the responses than I was before. Although, I believe that this thread has taken on a life of it's own. Very good discussion.

 

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Here is what I'm seeing....There are quite a few teams around each metro. area, and fewer as you head into the more rural areas. The influx of new teams and organizations has indeed diluted the pool somewhat, but I don't feel it is a bad thing. What it is creating is a better pool to choose from, and the bigger/better teams (which there are fewer of) are gobbling up this new talent, which creates a lot of movement among the top teams. The trickle down effect is that players that once could make these teams can no longer do so, and have to travel farther to get on a better team, because there just aren't enough of the better teams to go around. I know of someone that is now traveling 2 1/2 hours to play on a team.

 

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Hitter1, I hope you are not offended and quit posting, good discussion here( and besides it sure beats talking politics). I understand your reasoning in wanting to develope local talent, we played local for the first 4 years. The problem with small communities is there is not a big enough pool of girls to choose from. I've witnessed first hand teams trying to do this with no success. Factors that seem to present problems, not all girls on the team have the same work ethics, not all take the game serious, some just want to be with friends, etc. It is human nature that if you are going to invest all the time and money in playing travel that people want to see success, if not they would probably just stay in rec ball.

 

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Gunners...better get that illegal pitch (leap) taken care of before summer.;& lol

 

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Good one L.K. we'll have to work on that, although she probably won't be pitching much on her new team.(lol)

 

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We have always traveled at least one hour for our daughters. My oldest played on a team two hours away and also to hitting lessons in the same area. Why? Well, it was the best team for her where she would get the college exposure that the director of her previous fastpitch organization suggested she needed. Was it worth it? Well, when she graduates, assuming nothing changes, she should owe less than $8,000 for college.

Actually, that distance doesn't seem very far. We now drive 5 1/2 hours to watch her play in college.

As to why we drive two hours to hitting lessons for both daughters? Well, we wanted the best, and Howard Carrier lives two hours away from us. My oldest daughter still drives to Howard's house to get hitting lessons on her way to and from college.

 

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I would say consider yourself lucky that you were able to develop the talent in your area to keep your daughter local, but we are all not blessed with that situation. We have tried to field a competitive team with kids from our area, but there just isn't the desire, talent, or parental commitment needed to be successful. We live in a small town surrounded by small towns where fastpitch softball just isn't that popular. Some people HAVE to travel to find the level of competition their daughters thrive at. If it makes you mad that others are willing to make that commitment and the opinions of most (and yes, most people on this site are VERY serious about fastpitch softball) people who use the OFC really irritate you, than you should go back to being one of the herd who are there just for the exercise and don't care who coaches or how much is learned. That is fine for alot of people. But THIS site is for those of us who are willing to go the extra mile to see our daughters thrive so I would say if our thinking offends you, don't use the site, what did you expect it to be about, throwing drills and coaching tips??

Very WELL said