Travel Ball vs. Junior High Club Ball

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What is everyones feelings on this subject. It is a good thing for the schools that do not have a lot of girls playing travel ball. But, on the other hand how would this benefit a girl that has played at least 2 or 3 years of travel ball? Do you put your travel player in this mix so she can be a part of her future high school team. Will it be good or bad for a girl that plays travel ball? Would this be considered to be "playing down" or are these JR High Club leagues competitve?

 

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Depends on the competition in your area. Our Jr. High team is made up mostly of girls that play travel also. I think they truly benefit from being involved in as many game situations as possible. I think it's a good way to help prepare for the summer season.

 

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I don't see how any level of ball can be detrimental to a players development. If they are out there throwing, catching, hitting and running, she is still developing her skills, and the exercise alone, she is getting, is worth it to me.

 

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Playing Jr. High ball can and should benefit everyone involved. At Anthony Wayne, we entered into Jr. High ball about 6 years ago with just one gold team. The last 4 years and I'll assume this year upcoming we will have gold and silver teams. Travel players are not that all special that they can't understand the glaring importance of playing with girls in their community that they will in some cases be sharing the High School field. In our case, it has encouraged more players to seek out travel teams, get more experience, and be more prepared to play in High School. Make no mistake, Jr. High ball is not the same as travel, but can be extremely beneficial to the overall improvement of your community's softball program.

 

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we wrestled with this, we kept our dd out of junior high ball for her 7th grade year to play travel, she played her 8th grade year, and all i can tell you is it was painful to watch compared to travel, your dd just needs to be told and understand that she needs to make the others play to her level,, do not drop hers to theirs and pick up a bunch of bad habits

 

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As one of the posters stated, if trying to help build a competitive high school team is any part of the equation, then a girl should play jr. high ball. ?If 2-3 key girls don't play, the team can go down the tubes competitively and you may lose girls permanently who would end up being contirbutors at the high school level. ?Also, I think often times the best players are also among the most popular girls, and once again, if they don't play, you end up losing some of the next tier of girls.

 

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No middle school ball in our area, so girls had no choice but to play travel. I always thought it was a good thing because it allowed them the opportunity to run middle school track.

 

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There is no difference in this and "Travel Ball vs. High School Team". JoeA once again hit it on the head, if the better players play, it upgrades the team and keeps more girls interested.
When the Jr. High program started in NW Ohio 6 years ago with 20 teams, it jumped to 53 teams the second year and up to 72 Jr. high teams (plus 20 teams that formed a separate league) last year. Obviously it works for alot of kids.

 

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girls are going to want to play school ball
1 is their friends
2 is, bt time they get to high school, those district and state playoff trophies mean a lot...not to say that an NSA berth or winning the Delaware Jug and taking a pic for the team website isnt fulfilling, but ask around, would you rather win a state championship, or a tourney (unless it's a national), the answer is going to be state --mind you, not ALL, but probably in the majority
3, if a girl is THAT good and cant handle playing with the peons, they at least have some fun and keep working on getting better..it beats having a holier than thouh attitude

 

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This is a win-win situation. School-club ball during the week, travel ball on the weekends. If you are lucky, the club coach is also a travel coach. The girls get live pitching, mostly good, and then get to hone their skills on defense. One word of caution....the base running tactics are definately different in MS than travel. Try to run the bases in travel like you do in MS and you will be thrown out.

Enjoy the time.

 

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DD is now a senior in HS with a full scholarship for college to play ball......her MS had a softball team...she choose not to play her seventh grade year....played travel all spring and that summer her team won NSA Nationals.....Eighth grade we were told that the High School coach would really like her to play middle school ball, so she did, it was a good decision , she got to know her teammates and we knew she would be the Varsity Pitcher her freshman year which she was....Our school never really had a strong softball program before but over the last 4 years they have manage to win their conference for the first time in 10 years and that time was the only time...they have made it to post season play twice....and now becasue of the "success" DD and her teammates have had, we have more kids playing travel and had enough tryout to actually field a freshman team....so basically a win- win......And DD has enjoyed the accolates of her peers and coaches with many awards up to and including All Ohio......better than all the trophys in the world ...short of her National Championship one....
So yes , I do think if you have a middle school program you should participate in it, becasue it may be the only chance for you DD to play a sport she loves with her school friends, and it also builds patience and tolerance for the teammate that may be less skilled but you learn they are doing their best, beside DD has a chance to be a role model and maybe even share their skills and knowledge.....we were blessed with HS coaches that have recognized what a top travel ball player can contribute to the team as fair as knowledge and example...

 

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Jr. High age girls(5-8th grade) who play travel ball in the summer do not get a whole lot of opportunity to pitch in the cold. We realized that our dd who can pitch all day in 90 degree weather had not, so therefore could not handle pitching in cold weather. We made her play on the Jr. High team last year to mostly prepare her for high school pitching(NWO COLD). She's getting over her "I can't pitch in the cold" attitude. One more year of Jr. High ball is what she NEEDS. The way I see it- she's 12 pitching games ahead when travel ball tournaments start. Also, she is playing with the girls she will play with in high school. Again win-win situation.

 

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Great posts by everyone. Kids get to play with their school friends and learn how to deal with critical statements from friends and also how to deal with being a leader. All in all, preparing them for High School when the local paper or radio station (Like in my neck of the woods) approaches them after every High School game with a barrage of questions which will end up in print or on the radio eventually. I wouldn't put middle school ball as a win win situation. It's about getting better and encouraging teammates to try their best. It's about representing your community and doing the best you can. If you choose to sit out, your missing a lot and putting an "X" on your player by the High School coach. They need kids who want to play no matter what. It's time to leave the ego thing behind. Everyone needs to help each other. Parents and teammates. Club or school sanctioned. Makes no difference.

I have had the chance to coach many middle school teams and the most exciting time was when little susie that was a sure out every time at bat crushed one to left field fence and we scored 3 runs to win. Throw in the ice cream cones at the dairy freeze afterwards and little Susie being a changed person for life and a hero in everyones eyes. Wow. That is priceless.

Jeff Klopfer
Classics 14U

 

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Just remember, your DD is only in school for a short period of time. Those years go by in a flash, and if she passes up school ball, she can't go back for a re-do. Jr. High ball should be about memories and having fun, and not all about winning. Focus on being a contributor and leader, and the rest will fall into place. IMO, there's far too much emphasis on winning games, and not enough emphasis on teaching kids how to be winners.

 

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Are there regulations for Jr High/Middle School teams similar to the OHSAA regs for grades 9-12? ?Can Jr High players practice with their travel team during their JH softball season? ?Can they participate in tournaments with their travel team during the school season? ?Does it depend on club vs a more formally sanctioned school team? ?Do schools typically have their own regulations for JH/MS teams?

 

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Are there regulations for Jr High/Middle School teams similar to the OHSAA regs for grades 9-12? ?Can Jr High players practice with their travel team during their JH softball season? ?Can they participate in tournaments with their travel team during the school season? ?Does it depend on club vs a more formally sanctioned school team? ?Do schools typically have their own regulations for JH/MS teams?

If they are a OHSAA sanctioned JH/MS team, they have to follow the same rules as HS teams do. If they are not sanctioned by OHSAA, then the team and players may do whatever they please, when it comes to practice, tournaments, traveling, etc.

 

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Heck I would be happy if our city even had that option. No JH club ball where I am at.

 

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I recommend that girls play Jr High ball on a club team. Here in Greenville we have three teams and we encourage players of all levels to come out and play. The compitition level does not always meet the expecatations of players and parents who have played high level travel ball but I have noticed that many of those players still like to be involved because it is benifiting thier local school. I have also noticed many of the travel ball players helping those who have not played on that level and maybe a star is born. We even alow 6th graders to participtate as well. Typically they play home games only but at least they get used to the program.

By doing a club team you can schedule as many games as you want. Our teams schedule around 20 games each, including a few saturday tournaments. It may effect thier travel teams from being able to get into an early season tournament but when you balance it all out I think that the Jr High expereince is worthwhile.

We never had a Jr High program until 5 years ago and I can tell a clear difference in the players interest in softball in our area. We will have 45 to 60 players come out for the tryouts for Jr High teams, and that makes for better program overall. Not every player out there has been exposed to travel ball but if they can mix with those who do during Jr. High ball then maybe we can find that player that may have otherwise been missed.

 

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I'm really happy to read so many posts supporting their Jr. High programs. And by the way Ohio Wave, hasn't Greenville been having some success on the State level? I think Jr. High ball is a great addition to summer rec and travel ball. Girls just can't get enough reps at the plate and their positions. For us it was simply an additional 14 - 16 games as Fall Ball is an additional 14.

 

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Thunder_Road it's clear that getting more players involved at all of the levels that you have mentioned is a big help. The real challenge is getting coaches at these levels who are willing to learn the game and get the players started on the right track. This is where the concentration should be for Jr. High ball in my opinion. If the coaches are knowledgable then the parents and players will see that, and they will be willing to work. If you just throw a willing parent at a team who is not familiar with the game (at least a little bit) then the experience alone will not be enough to keep players around. This is especially true when you have good travel players playing for thier Jr. High teams and they know more then the coach handling the team.

Just be sure to get some people involved that know how to teach the game. This is very important in this sport. Your HS coach should help with this if they are serious about thier program.


Good Luck.