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Life Lessons Life Lesson #62: Travelball - To Play or Not to Play A quick overview of a tough family decision July, 2009 was the first tryouts for members of Team Lifeletics. What was planned to be the most comprehensive competitive baseball program in Southern California has established itself as a fun, exciting and challenging program. In researching and developing the program for the previous year calendar year, I put a lot of thought into why an athlete and family might play Travelball and thought it was a good topic for discussion. We could discuss this issue for hours on end and I’ve highlighted reasons to be careful in previous Life Lessons. For this article, I’ve compiled several pages of notes on some of the key issues related to Travelball, and I’ll highlight them now. Preparation for High School Baseball By far the biggest reason we determined for playing competitive baseball is to maximize the chances of making a high school team. Each year it gets more and more difficult to make that team, and playing competitive baseball at 12-14 years of age really helps to put athletes in a good position to compete for a spot. For this reason, Lifeletics employs high school coaches (or above) for competitive teams as young as 9 years old. We feel that offering kids experience playing in a system, with high school and college coaches, best prepares young athletes for the high school level. Get them accustomed to the workouts, environment and behaviors related to high school baseball, and then leave the rest up to the athlete. It is a reality, good or bad, that there can be politics involved in this as well. If the local high school has a feeder system, playing on that team does not mean that your athlete will definitely make the high school squad. But it does mean that the high school coaches will at least know more about you as a player, and that can go a long way when making cuts. As we’ve become more established in our area, our staff has developed close relationships with most of the local high school coaches. This results in clear communication lines and positive association. Development and Skill Training Travelball provides a unique opportunity for advanced training. Team Lifeletics offers weekly skill training workouts with professional pitching, hitting and speed/agility instructors. When practicing on the field, travelball provides a different experience than local recreation leagues do. The balance of both recreation and competitive practice structures over the course of a calendar year can make a nice developmental recipe. Just be careful not to play too much baseball! Enhanced Competition In theory, club baseball is designed for the elite athlete to experience playing against the top competition in an area. With little restriction towards joining the competitive baseball circuit, this talent level has decreased in recent years. That being said, competitive baseball often provides athletes the opportunity to play “big-league baseball.” Off-Season Work Travelball provides a constructive method to train during the off-season. With the increase in baseball training as a profession, travelball teams can now workout later in the evenings and train regardless of weather. Games are primarily on Sundays and with proper planning, families can make the necessary arrangements to be present for most of the tournament schedules. Growing up, I played multiple sports through high school. I can vividly remember when both soccer and basketball were practicing at the same park (baseball practiced somewhere else ;-). Dropped off early afternoon, I had my backpack with two sets of shoes, a water jug and a granola bar. Granted, this was the case where the practices didn’t overlap and I could pull it off. But it proves the point that you can focus on one sport, while still getting your work done on the other sport. At the high school level, I can remember playing in a Tuesday night winter baseball league during basketball season. Playing on the hoops team also meant spending Sunday afternoons at the cages taking swings and at the field taking ground balls. Being a baseball player didn’t mean I couldn’t play basketball. It just meant that I had to get my work in when not “in season.” Fun Let’s not forget that many athletes simply love to play the game. I always think it’s important that we monitor just how much baseball they play, so that they KEEP that love of the game. Travelball offers some unique experiences that kids love. Locally, athletes love to play games at replica ball parks (mini Fenway or Yankee Stadium). Tournament formats allow for the rush of playing two games in an afternoon, and putting on enhanced pressure to perform. Our goal is to provide these experiences without taking away the enjoyment of Pony or Little league, and so our program will shut down ages 9-12 through the spring season. Travel Finally, competitive baseball can provide memories of a lifetime on trips away from home. I’ve heard a lot about the Cooperstown trips, and look forward to learning more as Lifeletics jumps into Travelball. Older ages enjoy playing at the Junior Olympics in Arizona and taking trips to Florida among other places. Competitive baseball has solidified itself as a real part of the baseball scene. I believe, if done correctly and without excess, competitive baseball can place athletes in an optimal position to try and make a high school squad. In the end, the athlete must step up and earn his spot. However, the balance of recreational league baseball and competitive travelball can help to develop the complete player. |
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