Choosing a Travel Team (Revisited 9-28-05)

It’s late September, and once again I’m receiving a ton of inquiries regarding travel teams (or club teams, whatever the designation) that are recruiting for next summer.

While this process should be relatively painless and above board, I hear horror stories from disgruntled parents who expected one thing and received another.

There are several things to consider when you are planning for summer baseball.

For starters, take the pulse of your high school coach. Depending on your situation, he may or may not like the idea of you playing on a summer travel team. Some coaches are very demanding of their players’ time in the summer or take a dim view of outside organizations. Know your situation beforehand and make sure that everyone knows what is going on and is supportive.

Secondly, it is imperative that you determine what your main goal is when it comes to summer baseball. There are several things to consider:

• Is player development your primary issue? If so are you seeking better competition, quality one on one coaching or all of the above?

Do your homework regarding the schedule and the history of the program. Try to learn something about the makeup of past teams and do your best to insure that your playing ability matches those of the players around you. Find some players who have played for these coaches in the past and take their pulse as to the experience.

• Is exposure your primary goal?

If your looking to get in front of college coaches in hopes of showcasing, you again need to do some due diligence. It is imperative that a player’s talent matches up with the audience he is performing in front of. This is one of the biggest mistakes I see people make and it is an expensive lesson most of the time.

Once again, check the schedule of the program. Are they playing in events that draw a  contingent of coaches and scouts? If you don’t know, do some homework (call me if need be). For example, if a team is pushing a tournament in Oklahoma as an exposure event and it is the same weekend as a huge national showcase, you’ll probably be very disappointed in the results. In addition, keep in mind that the amount and distance of your travel usually has no correlation to the attendance of college coaches at these events. You don’t need to travel the world to find quality exposure events.

• What is the track record of this organization?

If at all possible, talk to people who have played for this coach in the past. Find out if the organization met their goals and if they were seatisfied overall. Don’t rely on a teams alumni lists as references…..check them out.

• Know your budget and plan accordingly.

Despite what some may tell you, it really isn’t that difficult for most teams to figure out their schedule, develop a budget for travel, entry fees, uniforms, coaches expenses etc and come up with a dollar amount that can be relied on.

When it comes to money I would always insist on knowing the bottom dollar number before any agreement is signed. I would also plan on paying the full cost of the season and take any mention of fundraising with a huge grain of salt. If you can raise some money to help defray the cost consider it a bonus. Counting on fundraising efforts  as a certainty will always leave a bitter taste in your mouth.

The most common complaint I hear from parents is the blindside demand for money above what was agreed upon up front. Baseball is like anything else when it comes to financial issues. If it seems too good to be true it probably is.

As always feel free to contact me with any questions.

RB