Today, many parents are shelling out tens of thousands of
dollars for their kids to play youth sports.
They are filled with hopes and dreams of their player continuing their
career in a major college or even the pros.
Unfortunately, there are many organizations and recruiters taking
advantage of these families and not thinking twice about it.
In 1995 a coach by the name of John Wardlow identified the
need of a team that would put the emphasis on player development versus winning
trophies. He provided a team, to the
Dallas/Ft. Worth area, which was both affordable and competitive alike. Before handing over the reins to Kyle Bennett
(current Head Coach for Texas Travelers Gold) he personally placed over 185
girls into collegiate programs.
Today, Bennett and his coaching staff continue to provide
the same opportunities for their players.
In addition to the Texas Travelers Gold Team, the organization also has
2 other teams in the Dallas Ft. Worth area that adhere to the same principles
Wardlow set forth.
In 2017, USA Softball identified the top 360 players in the
country. Teams would be comprised of the
best players in 10 regions across the United States and they would compete
against each other in Oklahoma City where the Women’s Softball College World Series
is played each year. The Texas Travelers
Gold Team had five players (Elizabeth Schaefer, Madison McClarity, Macy Graf,
Kaydee Bennett and Macy Hamilton) chosen to be USA All-Americans. The girls’ hard work on the field was a major
reason that their Region 5 team made it to the finals of the prestigious
tournament.
Currently, each of the Texas Travelers Gold players are
already having detailed conversations with colleges such as Baylor, Texas Tech,
Oklahoma State, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Harding, Tarleton,
University of Houston, Texas A&M and several more. This is pretty significant especially since
all of the players are in 8th grade, except for two. (One in 7th grade and the other is
in 9th). That’s right, the
majority of the team will not graduate high school for another 5 years! Most of the players are already playing on
the Varsity Team of their high school’s Fall Ball Team.
Every large organization has approached the Texas Travelers
Gold Team to become part of their organization, but the Travelers enjoy the
benefits of being independent allowing the coaches to focus on each player’s
individual needs. The Travelers continue
to compete at PGF, ASA, Triple Crown, USSSA and other highly touted events
while placing at or near the top in each.
The Texas Travelers will continue to do what is right for
their players and their players’ families.
They will continue to develop their kids to play at the highest level
across the country. The organization
will play in front of many colleges over the next several years allowing the
entire team to pursue their dream of playing college softball.
Colleges will absolutely love the players they are getting
from the Travelers organization. The
type of player the Texas Travelers Gold has on their squad is one who is very
hard working and competitive. All of the
girls are multisport athletes and have the highest grades in their class. (Four girls play Club Volleyball at a
National Level and one plays AAU Basketball).
Several players enjoy singing and playing instruments and a few of the
players are bilingual.
Each player has a personal position coach as well as a
speed/agility coach. The Texas Travelers
Gold Players are truly the best of the best at their positions. Colleges will be very excited to sign these
kids as the organization and family have not only prepared them for the
challenges on the field, but also outside the lines.
The Texas Travelers Gold Team consist of 7 players that often
hit a home run when they step up to the plate.
They have a defense that regularly turns double plays. Their outfield is known for diving into foul
territory robbing at bats from opposing teams.
The catchers are true captains on the field daring runners to try to
take an extra base. The pitching staff
is second to none throwing all types of pitches and have a range with a
fastball from low 60’s with change ups in the high 30’s to low 40’s. Two players are close to 6’0” and most
players are faster than the average freshman collegiate softball player at their
position.
This is a team that colleges will want to continue to
follow, and good teams will want to play against if they are looking for the
strongest competition. The Texas
Travelers Gold team will continue to accept the challenges of being an independent
organization, but will continue to do what’s right by their players and the
colleges those players will be attending.
For more information about the Texas Travelers visit, www.TexasTravelersSoftball.com
