In the past year or so I’ve gone back and forth about writing something on our blog in defense of the good people or good programs in Travel Ball. I usually try to be as non-confrontational as possible but I’ve seen a bunch of articles recently from people who I believe just don’t get it…..
As mentioned, For the past couple years I’ve seen some articles floating around social media bashing travel ball. Some of those articles weren’t bashing however, some were intelligent articles that give you both sides to it (good and bad) and some just opinionated and biased. I guess what bothers me is the generalization people or other coaches make in the articles that bash travel ball. They lump everyone good or bad together. I don’t take those articles personal because I believe in what we do and we don’t make false promises to kids and families but I’ve seen a trend of articles like “The problem with Travel Ball” or “How Travel Ball Steals your money” and I think it’s important to understand that the people who are writing these articles are either people that aren’t deeply rooted into today’s travel ball (looking from the outside) or people that have been burned by a travel ball coach. Unfortunately, like in anything, there are bad people that do lie to kids and parents. It’s not just in baseball, but also in life. Insurance companies, cable companies, realtors, sales etc. In every profession there are honest people and there are those that lie.
In the news recently there has been a big debate on Police violence. Some cops used excessive violence and some followed protocol. Do I think all cops are bad? Hell no. I am not stupid enough to think that. I am also not stupid enough to generalize. I won’t generalize an entire industry based on what a corrupt company or person does. That’s the problem with the articles I’ve read recently.
In the most recent article that I read bashing travel ball came from an “High School Academy” although I don’t know their exact price for “tuition” normally you’d spend around $60,000.00 for your son to go to “an academy” or HS with no prom, no senior night, no student body, and no community involvement. You certainly aren’t building social skills or dealing with problems that a normal teenager will have to deal with at those academy’s. It’s basically go to “class” from 8am -12pm then go “train” with their so called “professional” instructors until 6pm or so and then go back to your dorm and do it all over again the next day. After your senior year, if they didn’t find you a college to attend, don’t worry because they have a “post grad program” that for an additional $60,000.00 or so your son can continue playing baseball past high school with them.
Do I want my son doing this? Probably not. I wasn’t ready to move out of my house at 18 let alone 15 or 16. I want my son going through similar social situations I had to go through as a kid. I want him to learn about different people and cultures. I want him to have to deal with heartbreak. Hell, I thought I was going to marry my girlfriend from high school (thank god I didn’t). I want him to learn about the real world. Not live in a bubble that the only thing he is going to do is play baseball. I honestly don’t care if he plays baseball or not. I’ve lived my baseball dream and currently still living it by staying involved with the game. All of these experiences that I went through as a young adult molded me into the person I am today. By no means do I think that I am better than anyone, I just know I would have made a lot more mistakes in life if I didn’t go through some of the things I went through as a teen. Even with this being said, I am not bashing those “HS Academy’s” because there are some good ones and your son may benefit from them and it might be the best thing for him for several reasons. However, I am not going to sit here and write blogs on how these “HS Academy’s” are a rip off, or horror stories I’ve heard or how most kids transfer out of that Academy. Not many kids survive multiple years in that environment. This is the only time I am speaking on this subject because I feel I have to stick up for the good people in travel ball (Yes there are a few out there).
Another thing that I found interesting looking at my facebook feed and twitter timeline that most of the people that shared this story are High School coaches or other people that have some type of involvement in amateur baseball outside of travel ball. Elite Squad has well over 30 coaches that coach both “travel ball” and at their respective high school. None of them share these stories, nor the parents in our program that I have on social media. I am assuming they didn’t share this story because they know exactly how much we do for our players. One of our coaches shares his own story often with other people and I smile every time he does. He’s said it at least 5 times while I was present:
“Before I joined Elite Squad I was just like most HS coaches. I didn’t think there was a need and didn’t agree with Travel Ball, but since I let my players play with them and the next year I started coaching with them, I can honestly say it’s so important for these kids to play with them and I see how much they do for these kids recruiting and exposure wise.”
Obviously it brings a smile to my face because he was a person who was skeptical and now sees the value for his high school players to be a part of it. Not only that, he has become a very close friend who takes so much pride in coaching in our organization. He takes players to and from tournaments, lets them sleep in their hotel rooms because the parents can’t afford it. He even drove one of the players from Atlanta after a tournament to Mississippi State University where the player took his visit and committed and is now starting as a freshman. I don’t see articles written about coaches like him. Just negative articles. Articles like the one I just read make me upset for people like him and everyone else that bust their ass to help get kids into college. I honestly believe most of the people writing articles like the one I just read are just generalizing an entire industry for an ulterior motive.
Something else that I found amusing was one of the people that shared the most recent article helps run a “recruiting service” and often times calls myself and other coaches to recruit players for his service. I found this strange and awkward, but again just because they shared the recent article doesn’t mean they are specifically talking about us. I just don’t see them posting the positive stuff and its bothersome when they are the ones that come to you for help with players or advice for their service.
Some of the most active people to speak out against travel ball has been High School Coaches. I guarantee you if you to talk to College Coaches and they will have a completely different view however. “Travel ball” has made these players a lot easier to access or watch them play by hosting national tournaments like the ones that Perfect Game operate. If you are trying to get the very best talent in the country you can either travel endlessly during the fall and spring season and you still won’t be able to watch everyone or you can attend a tournament in the summer, in one city, and watch thousands of players walk through the gates and watch them perform. There really is no debate in terms of efficiency and exposure. However, you still have your high school coaches that are totally against it. I have some theories as to why some are against travel ball:
- Devalues them and their program. When I was playing for my high school (graduated in 2001) nothing else mattered. There was barely any travel ball, showcases and I don’t even know if colleges ran prospect camps. Between those 3 things there is something going on pretty much every weekend in the fall. Taking their time away from school fall ball. It makes them feel as if travel ball is getting in the way of what they are trying to do or build. Although a player may be going to a showcase or camp on their own, they lump that in with travel ball.
- Ego: Recruiting has obviously changed dramatically since I played. It was basically left to the HS coach to get you into college. They handled everything. Which is good if he really liked you, if he didn’t oh well. Back then my coaches mentality was “If you’re good enough they will find you”. Still til this day I hear people say that and I laugh. It maybe true to the 10% of players that are no doubters, but what about the kid that goes to school in Miami and commits to Division 1 Charleston Southern University in South Carolina. You think they “Found him” at a HS fall or spring game in Homestead? Oh, you mean they found the time in between:
Traveling for an away series on Thursday, coming back Sunday night, Monday (off day with family) Tuesday practice to get ready for their midweek game on Wednesday and then doing it all over again Thursday.
As you can see it isn’t as easy as “they’ll find you”. Back then all phone calls also went through the HS coach. That doesn’t happen anymore. Often kids commit without even talking to their HS coach. Not saying this is right but some kids get attached to their travel coach who has coached them since they were 13 years old and use them for advice. I’ve heard a coach tell me, “the reason why that player is going to ____________ University is because I made a phone call” when I’ve actually been there physically from the time the player and the University first spoke on the phone to the day he committed. Personally, I don’t care “who is responsible” for his commitment. I am glad he accomplished that goal of his. Take the credit if it feeds your ego because after all, you are a big part of it. He’s with you for 9 months out of the year. Which is even more of a reason to work hand in hand with his travel team. Not sit there and bash it. You think kids like going to practice to hear you bashing his travel team that he’s played with since he was 12-13? Some of his best friends and times of his life happened while he was playing for them. HS coaches should be supportive of it and know that he’s going to give you everything he has while he is in your uniform like he does with us. The last thing we do in our organization is bash HS programs. Maybe because I was a former HS head coach and I know exactly what goes in to building a program or the fact that we have 24 HS coaches on staff. Either way, you wonder why kids transfer out of your program? You got the answer. Practice is supposed to be about learning and getting better, not to debate you on your views of travel ball.
By the way, that kid that committed to Charleston Southern was on our so called “B” team as that article I read was bashing. That same B team had kids committed to University of Miami, Auburn University, Northwestern, Jacksonville University, to name a few. Oh, and also that so called “B” team won the 17u Perfect Game BCS Championships with a
bunch of “A” teams in it this past summer. The whole A and B thing is stupid to me because at least with us, our organization isn’t set up that way but I am just proving a point how generalizing and sharing these stories without having knowledge is ignorant and maybe why we are the way we are as a society. Bunch of opinionated people that like to complain just because other people are complaining or as I mentioned, for an ulterior motive. Their idea of making their product/service better is by putting what others do down.
- Money: This to me, like in almost anything in life is the biggest issue or problem people have. No different with HS coaches. I think we could all agree that teaching is probably the most underpaid profession in our country. Most HS coaches teach at their school. They use the fall and or summer seasons to supplement their income since they do not get paid directly from the school for coaching during this time. It is perfectly legal and they have the right to do so in Florida. However, they do not like the fact that players choose to play with “travel ball organizations” over them. It could be because of their ego’s but I personally feel it is also because it hurts their pockets. It’s well known that some schools charge $600 – $700 for a 15 game schedule over the fall season and “training” by their coaches a couple times a week and then in the summer they charge over $1,000.00 for a 25 game schedule (that at least half of the games and practices will get rained out because we live in Florida) and they may join a local tournament with no colleges in attendance but its ok because they are stressing “development”. Here’s the thing coach, you have my son from August to June to develop him. When the summer comes around I want to take what you have worked with him on and go showcase that to the hundreds of college coaches that didn’t come to our spring games. I don’t understand the problem with that? Oh, because if my Johnny doesn’t play summer with you, you can’t pay the assistant coaches. Got it.
I also know for a fact, that there are High Schools that are charging their OWN PLAYERS for lessons on the side but these HS coaches are going to turn around and complain the about money their kids spend on summer ball for one common reason….Because they aren’t spending it on them or their program. Obviously myself and I am sure others have a huge problem with this morally. That’s like my SS asking me to hit him extra grounders after practice but in turn I ask him for $30 bucks for my time spent with him. Unacceptable. But where are the articles being written or shared about this? Parents won’t do it because transferring schools isn’t as easy as just finding a new travel team. A lot less emotion goes into finding a new team as opposed to transferring from a school that a whole generation of your family has graduated from. It’s not my intention at all but there will be some HS coaches pissed off after they read this cause they feel I am attacking or making this travel vs High School. Don’t be, I’m just generalizing the same way the articles against travel ball have. There is a place for both and there are some really good coaches that do right by the kids. I know of at least 30 of them.
I can speak on a personal level to this subject as well. My brother and I are 8 years apart. I took over a local HS program when I was just 23 years old who was years away from being any good or at least respectable. At that time I asked my brother to leave a prominent baseball school to come and be part of something I was building. Against his will, my parents made him and he did. Without summer ball, he wouldn’t have been seen by the University that offered him the scholarship when he was a rising Senior that summer. I’ll never forget the day they first saw him in Fort Myers at a Perfect Game event. Without us playing in that event they would have never seen him. They never saw any of his high school games but they followed him that week and the rest of the summer and the offer came shortly after. I think every parent whose kid has signed with a University that isn’t local can vouch for stories like these. Even those that parents that their kids are playing at a local University will admit they were seen playing travel ball first.
Listen, travel ball is expensive. I should know. I am the one that pays for the tournaments, uniforms, travel for coaches, equipment, field rental etc. However, it is an investment in your son’s future. In any type of investment, it’s important to do your research. Talk to people, players, families and see how it worked out for them. Anyone who makes an investment without doing their research, the odds are stacked against them. Same thing with travel ball.
Glad I got this off my chest cause it’s something that I think needed to be said for the good people in baseball. Travel Ball isnt perfect but neither is High School Ball. However, not everyone is out to rip you off. I know in our organization we make very little promises and are upfront with everything we do. We never guarantee a scholarship because so many factors play into that. However, we do guarantee we will do everything we can to help facilitate exposure and reaching out to college coaches for your son. However, at the end of the day it is about performance and that is out of everyone’s control other than the player and what he puts into it.
For 10% percent of all students they don’t need SAT prep to score well on the test and get accepted into the college of their choice. The same way that the 10% of baseball players don’t need travel ball for exposure and go to their dream university. However, if you fall into the 90% for either one of these, better start studying.
Just for fun, if you don’t think these kids take pride in who they play for or they don’t play for anything over the summer, just selfish, showcase baseball here are a couple clips to show you how much they invest into winning, getting better and love playing this game while they are with us.
https://vine.co/v/evmHrlql3uV
