Very interesting article. ...... Truth about Travel Ball........ Over the past ten-fifteen years there seems to be a push in the sport of baseball to be a member of a travel baseball team. I have traveled throughout the country recruiting players for a junior college baseball program in the southwest. I have been to New York, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio, and Colorado to name a few states. It seems everywhere you go there are elite travel teams. As a Division I junior college baseball coach I really didn’t feel like the talent level was overwhelmingly great. Parents spend thousands of dollars to make sure their son becomes a part of one of these teams. They travel near and far to watch them play, pay for uniform costs, pay for nights in hotels, in the hopes of obtaining a baseball scholarship to help with the cost of their education. At least, that’s what I would think. Many tell me that it is about exposure. Some will say it’s about getting to play in game conditions. Some will say it’s to get them seen by professional scouts. When they aren’t paying for the costs involved in going to tournaments they are paying for individual instruction from some hitting or pitching guru. So I have to ask the question, is all of this really necessary? My thoughts as a former Division I baseball player, professional baseball player, high school coach, NCAA Division II baseball coach, and a NJCAA Division I baseball coach the answer is, No. I grew up in a small town of 5,000 people. We had the local little league with about nine to ten teams. At the end of the season, if you were good enough, you were selected for the all-star team. That team traveled to some nearby tournaments with other all-star teams and competed. There was a sense of pride among the community when their local team was playing and everyone would come out to watch. Where has that type of mentality gone? We were always told that if you were good enough the scouts would find you. My parents didn’t have to go in debt to send me all over to play baseball. My brother and I both played Division I baseball. My brother and I walked-on, made the team, and earned a scholarship at the school we attended. We really didn’t travel much more than an hour from our hometown to make this happen. I have yet to hear a valid reason why parents today feel the need to travel across the United States from East to West and North to South to parade their son’s baseball talents. In all reality, all they are doing is trying to buy a baseball scholarship. With the money spent on this endeavor they could just open an account and start putting money in it each paycheck and have a solid nest egg to send that child off to the college of his choice. If he somehow through his playing ability is offered a scholarship, then that’s a bonus. The statistics will tell you the percentages that your son has of earning a baseball scholarship. Numbers don’t lie. I am not trying to burst any bubbles, just trying to open some eyes to the realties of big time baseball. Dr. Bret Skimmermach Scout Division 1 Baseball
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 20:26:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015