Parents and Players
Many families feel anxious about the transition from Little League baseball to Travel Baseball Teams. They also have questions about how to find the best team for their child and what they can expect from their experience.
This post will cover everything you need to get started in youth Travel Baseball Teams. This post will help you answer all the above questions and decide if travel baseball is right for your child.
If your family includes a softball player, we recommend you read our article “What to Look for in a Travel Softball Team.” It covers the same information as a travel softball team and dives into my personal experiences as a college recruiter and elite-level amateur player.
What is Travel Baseball Teams?
It’s crucial to first understand what a team of Travel Baseball Teams players is and how they are organized.
Over the past 20 years, there have been tens to thousands of travel baseball clubs all over the country. In the 1990s, travel ball was still a rare experience that was only available to elite players from baseball-rich regions like Texas and California. Participation is considered a necessity by many talented players today to improve their skills and play against the best.
While Little League is the most popular organization for recreational youth baseball, there are many other organizations that host hundreds upon hundreds of tournaments every year. The most well-known and largest are the USSSA (United States Speciality Sports Association), AAU, Triple Crown Sports and Perfect Game. Many tournaments are organized by multiple organizations, so travel baseball teams often take part in them.
Travel Baseball Teams Competition Structure
Most travel baseball games are played in tournament format on weekends. These tournaments are possible to be held virtually anywhere but most often they are held at multi-field facilities located in easy-accessible travel hubs. Many Florida tournaments are held at Orlando, Florida, because it is centrally located, has many hotel rooms and is home to great baseball facilities. You should travel more if you live far from such a hub.
Pool play is the most common format for tournaments. This guarantees that each team will have a certain number of games before moving on to single elimination. Depending on their performance, a team could play between three and eight games during a two-day tournament.
Travel Baseball Teams are not required to participate in a certain number of tournaments. Each team chooses which tournaments it will enter, taking into account factors like age, skill level and cost.