Madison McClarity Throwback Thursday Softball Spotlight

Madison is one of the newest members of the Texas Travelers splitting time with her Arkansas team and the Travelers.  She is from a very athletic family and is making a name for herself with her athletic play and personal accolades on the field.  Pictured is Madison or “D” as she is known by her Texas Traveler softball teammates hitting the game winning hit for the 04 Arkansas Wild Thangs against the Texas Shock in the 2013 IFA-VTD World Series 8U tournament in Coppell, Texas.

Madison can be seen playing first base and pitcher for the Texas Travelers as she has quickly found a home for the Mesquite based softball club.

The 04 Texas Travelers organization exists for the specific purpose of developing a competitive youth fast-pitch softball program whose goals are to develop players capable of competing at the highest levels in the country with the demonstrated skills necessary to earn a college scholarship. Our dedicated coaches and volunteer staff facilitate our athlete’s growth by conducting challenging practices and scheduling the highest level of competitive activity available. However, reaching these goals must be accomplished within the proper framework by instilling character, self-esteem, confidence and sportsmanship with the young athlete.

Achievement of these lofty and worthwhile objectives within the appropriate environment can only be reached through the mature behavior and exemplary conduct of the coaches and parents of the Club. Their relationship with the players must be of the highest ethical and moral standards and be based upon concern and just principles that ensure equitable treatment will prevail in all circumstances.

An aggressive desire for victory combined with the procedural and graduated development of softball skills through exceptional coaching and advanced training techniques is of paramount importance. Nevertheless, everyone should realize that, fast-pitch softball is only a game and is the forum we use to help our athletes mature into responsible adults.

The 04 Texas Travelers play ASA Softball, and plan to compete in ASA Nationals for 2015. The strong North Texas Softball Club has won at IFA-VTD, USSSA, and ASA levels and continues its push to become the 2015 ASA National Champion held in Normal, Illinois. In addition to playing in the ASA National Tourney; the Texas Travelers will also play in each of the national Qualifier Texas Challenge Series, and the Hall of Fame Softball Tournament in Oklahoma City. The team is a fully funded endorsed softball team that intends on continuing its great success in the softball world.

For more information about the 04 Texas Travelers contact Coach Kyle Bennett at 972.679.7702 or follow The Texas Travelers on Facebook.  The Texas Travelers are a 10 U 2004 team that plays ASA competitive softball.  To follow particular players, games, practices or see any other information about the North Texas Select Softball team visit: 04 Texas Travelers News Site.

The Anticipation of the First Pitch

As parents, we spend our days waking up early carting the kids to school and then fighting traffic to go to jobs just to become worn down by the day to day trials and tribulations.  Around 5 o’clock we get ready to come back home and jump into the same traffic going the other way.  Many of us try to make it back home in time just to jump in the car (while we are eating what we call our dinner) and take our young star athletes to practice.  For those of us with multiple kids, the schedule can become quite entertaining and never a lack of drama.  Why do we do it?

There are several reasons we put ourselves and family through this grind, and without getting into Freudian concepts, I will share the simple reason.  We are preparing for the weekend stage.  Yes, it is tournament time, and for the Texas Travelers, it will be a six month journey to the ASA National Championship in Normal, Illinois.

This Saturday, March 14 and Sunday, March 15, the Texas Travelers will play in the Ides of March 10U Softball Tournament at the Warren Sports Complex in Frisco, Texas.  The softball tournament has 16 teams (with 7 on the waiting list) that are registered to play.  In addition to the 04 Texas Travelers, the 04 Texas Glory Blue, 04 Texas Glory, 05/06 Texas Glory, Oklahoma Angels 04, Wolfpack, Black Widows 2004, Texas Elite LeClair, MVPz 04, D1 Softball, Wicked, Oklahoma CRUE, 04 Black Widows, Firecrackers DFW Rivera, Midwest Elite 05, and Texas Twist will be competing in the USSSA Tournament.  The softball tournament will consist of 4 Pool Play Games and then single elimination Bracket Play on Sunday.

The Texas Travelers are scheduled to play the 04 Texas Glory Blue Saturday at 8 AM, Oklahoma CRUE Saturday at 11 AM, Texas Twist Saturday at 3:30 PM and Texas Elite LeClair Sunday at 9:30 AM for Pool Play.  Bracket play in the Gold Division will begin at 11 AM on Sunday.  If all goes the way the Texas Travelers plan, the championship game will take place at 5 PM on Sunday.

For many of us parents, Softball Season is a time that allows us to escape from the day to day realities of life!  It is a time, we can sit back in the stands and enjoy the comradery of our softball family.  We get to see the end result of the hard work our daughters’ have put forth over the past year.  There is nothing more exciting than the anticipation of the first pitch of the tournament.

However, did you ever take a moment to think about what is going through the mind of your 10 year-old daughter?

The pitcher is standing on the mound after warming up for the past hour.  She receives the call from the catcher and must hit that spot with pinpoint accuracy.  Is she confident in her team to make the play?  Is her adrenalin so high that she hits the velocity she expects?  Does she worry about the batter? All eyes are on her as she goes through her windup and releases the ball.

How about the fielders?  They too have gone through warmups the past hour.  Are they in the proper position to play a hit?  Where will they move if the ball is hit to another player?  Will they backup their teammate or cover the bag ready to receive the throw?  What if the ball is hit to them?  Will they make the play?

Don’t forget about the first batter.  She has been watching the pitcher in warmups.  She is judging her swing to the speed of the pitcher.  Is she confident she will put a ball in play?  Does she worry about striking out?  Her goal is to make it to first and her the umpire yell, “Safe.”

Everyone wants to succeed.  Everyone wants to win the game.  However, like life, not everything goes our way.  So, how will your daughter act after a victory?  How will she act during defeat?  How will they be judged?  What kind of attitude will the parents have in the stands?  What lessons will be taught?

The Texas Travelers would like to wish all teams’ good luck and have a safe tournament.  We look forward to competing with you on the field.

For more information about the 04 Texas Travelers contact Coach Kyle Bennett at 972.679.7702 or follow The Texas Travelers on Facebook.  The Texas Travelers are a 10 U 2004 team that plays ASA competitive softball.  To follow particular players, games, practices or see any other information about the North Texas Select Softball team visit: 04 Texas Travelers News Site.

Your Daughter isn’t Good Enough to Play

Recently at a church service, the preacher stated, “Fathers, I’m talking to you right now.  Your kid will not turn pro!”  Now he said this because all too often, we (me included) would miss his Sunday message due to a softball or baseball tournament.  However, although he was telling us we should not be missing church for just any reason, he wasn’t lying about our kids turning pro.  The odds of your son or daughter turning pro are next to impossible.  In a post, “North Texas Select Softball Teams”, there are detail facts about the likelihood of your daughter earning a college scholarship in softball.  Once you read how slim the chances of your daughter even making it to college on an athletic scholarship, continue to read this blog to fully understand how right my preacher was about your kids making a profession out of the sport they play.

Let’s start out with men’s baseball.  The odds of playing professional in the MLB are the highest among all sports.  According to the NCAA, 11.6% of college players play professionally, and .6% of high school players jumped directly to the pros.  There were 806 total draftees out of a pool of 471,025 high school players and 31,264 collegiate baseball players.  Now, you may be thinking this 11.6% of collegiate players make it to the Major League squad, but these numbers include the hundreds of minor league and independent league teams.

The most popular sport in Texas is football.  Of the 1,108,441 high school players and 67,887 college players each year, there are only 255 draftees.  That is a mere 1.7% of college players and .08% of high school players who have the ability to play on Sunday in front of millions.

Men’s basketball only has 48 draftees each year out of 545,844 high school players and 17,500 college players for a 1.2% chance out of college and .03% chance out of high school.

Women’s basketball is not any better with .09% of college players playing professionally and .03% of high school athletes.

Soccer has 1% of college players making it to the pro and .04% of high school players.

Now, since this blog sits in a softball forum, let’s talk about the odds of your daughter playing this great sport at any level.

Everyone who knows anything about softball has heard of Jennie Finch.  Ms. Finch played for the USA Gold Medal Team in 2004 and helped the United States bring home the Silver in 2008 Olympic Games.  She was a star and one of the best collegiate softball pitchers for the University of Arizona from 1999 to 2002 with a career ERA of 1.08 and striking out over 1000 softball batters.  In 2000, Finch set an NCAA record with a perfect season capped with the National Championship as well as being named MVP for the series.  Jennie Finch was drafted by the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) team, Chicago Bandits in 2005 where she pitched until 2010.  Now, Finch has made a career out of softball earning over $500,000 a year in endorsements but she is the exception to reality.

As of today, the USA National Team is considered the top team in the World for softball.  Currently there are 18 women who wear the uniform for the 2015 USA Softball Women’s National Team.  So out of 30,874 active participants at the college level that gives your daughter a whopping .000583% chance of being showcased as one of the very best on the diamond.

So let’s say your daughter is shooting for the best and comes up a little short.  That’s not a bad thing right?  What are the odds of your daughter playing college softball?  In 2014, there were 1679 colleges that sponsored varsity Softball teams.  There are 295 NCAA I, 284 NCAA II, 416 NCAA III, 193 NAIA, 357 NJCAA and 134 other divisions to meet this number of schools.  The average team size is 18 players.  Now, here is the jarring numbers that will show you just how good you have to be to play at the college level.  There are around 371,891 women high school softball players.  That means there is an 8.3% chance of a high school player competing in college.  So now pick your favorite college team.  Your daughter has less than a .0000134% chance of playing for them give or take a couple of thousands of a percentage points.

Now let’s look at the chances of your daughter playing in high school.  It’s pretty simple to figure out.  Take the number of high school players on the Varsity Team.  Let’s say it is 15 to be safe.  Now add up how many girls are playing Select Softball, Rec Softball in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade in your town.  Each year, the seniors will graduate.  However, the 8th graders will be competing for a varsity spot as a freshman.   If they don’t make it on varsity they will be placed on the junior varsity team and compete for a spot the next year (and so on).  However, now the 7th graders will be coming up as well in 2 years.  If the 8th graders (who are now 10th graders) improve- they will be on the team along with the girls who already made the team as a freshman.  Don’t forget- there were already freshman, sophomores and juniors who were already on the team so there are only so many spots to have.

This blog is not meant to discourage your daughter from playing softball.  It is meant for you as a parent to put into perspective the opportunity and how thankful you should be to have a daughter who plays this exciting sport.  This blog is intended for you to enhance her experience and help give her memories that will last a lifetime.  In addition, if she has the talent to continue to play, this should serve you as a warning not to mess up her chances.

The sad thing that the above statistics don’t show are this…There are great girls who have above average talent who do not continue to progress making the top teams otherwise they would qualify for.  Why?

It’s because of you!  Yes, you the parents!  Your kid doesn’t suck!  You do!

So, now I have lost half of my readers because of the statement hit below the belt.  Yes, it was meant to be impactful; however, when we look at it closely, we will find out how true it is.

As an assistant coach for one of the top 04 select travel softball teams in Texas, I get to be around a great softball family with great parents.  However, any coach in youth sports will tell you horror stories about parents who ruin opportunities for their daughter (or son in football, baseball, basketball soccer- you enter the sport and it fits).

Recently, a girl tried out for our team.  She was a good player.  She was a good pitcher.  She had a sweet personality.  We wanted her to play for our team.  (Those of you who know softball is that good pitchers are very hard to come by, and become a huge commodity in the world of select softball.  It doesn’t mean they are the most important person on the team, but they are very valued as they can be the difference maker of a good team versus a great team because they are involved in every play of the game.)  So the story goes, she came to a tryout.  She performed well enough to catch all of the coaches’ attention.  It wasn’t anything spectacular, but her performance was good enough to become a solid option at multiple positions on the team including one of the pitchers.

Here is where it went south of great.  Before the girl was offered an opportunity to comeback for another tryout, the dad stated he wanted his daughter to pitch every other game.  He wanted her to play the infield if she wasn’t on the mound.  He wanted her to bat in one of the first four spots.

As you can imagine, we didn’t add her to our squad.  Now, she didn’t have a problem with finding another team, but she missed out on an opportunity to be with this team.  Yes, I am biased.  I feel we have some of the most dynamic players with great personalities and strong values.  They are a very talented group of girls who excel in many things in addition to softball.  The parents are a pleasure to be around and in every sense, it is a great family atmosphere playing a fun game.

My point is, however, she will hit a road block in her progression one day because of her father.  This was 10U softball.  There are hundreds of teams in North Texas and she is sure to find one that will meet her father’s playing time and position criteria for his daughter.  However, as you have read above, the odds of playing at a high level become harder and harder the older you get.  High School Varsity coaches have a strong talent pool.  College coaches have a stronger talent pool.  Each level, the talent pool is better and plentiful.  It is hard enough for talented players to make these teams.  Now add the parents into the mix and it can be disastrous for your child to play a great game!

It has everything to do with you.

So now that we have established this blog isn’t about the odds of your daughter playing for college or even at a higher level, let’s talk about some disturbing trends among parents and their relationships with their children.  Let’s see if you fall into any of these categories or have made some of these mistakes.

Hopefully it isn’t too late for you, and maybe we can keep your daughter from hating you by the time she is 16!

Many parents over value the talent of their child, cannot separate the emotions they feel during the game with that of their child’s, find it necessary to inject their opinions and/or suggestions for the team because the pay money to be part of the organization, and severely hinder and stunt their child’s progress and passion for the sport they play.

So why and what are the reasons parents tend to screw up?  Check out to see if you are one of these parents:

Parents Favorite Sport

Your child will only go as far as they love what they do.  This not only applies to sports but life in general.  Support what they love and are interested in, not what you think they should be involved in.  You had a childhood already so now let your kid have theirs.  Allow them to play multiple sports and find the one they truly love.

Glory Day Star

You weren't that good of a player (i.e. high school sports). Most parents have an idea that they excelled in the sport they competed in high school.  However, hindsight is 20/20.  In the grand scheme of things you really weren't that great so stop telling your kid you were.  They don't need to live up to your lies.

Backstage Mom (or Dad)

Leave your child alone during competition.  Your child is out on the field competing and does not need any added pressure from you telling them what they should or should not do.  Save it for after the game, and if it is not constructive, keep it to yourself.  Your insights on their play are usually driven by emotion and passion and typically come off as confrontational.  They have enough pressure as it is, they don't need more from you.

Wanna be Bench Coach

Let the coaches’ coach.  Did you sign up to coach?  Did you volunteer your time away from your family to help others?  If not, you don't have a say.  Yes, you may have coached Rec league or "daddy ball" but in no way does that qualify you to give suggestions as far as lineup, playing time, and direction of team.  If you don't like it, leave.    You don't have to stay and have every right to go somewhere else.  If that's how you feel, then leave rather than be a distraction to the team?  (And typically this element comes from parents whose child is the least talented).

Stress Bucket

Let your child enjoy the process.  Sports are a never ending process of learning, whether it be social or fundamental.  There's an inherent value to the social and fundamental construct of sports.  These early years of athletics can be unbelievably valuable for your child's social abilities in the future.  Stop stressing out over every detail.  Enjoy the successes and learn from the failures.  How your child reacts to both will pave the attitude they have in the future.

Colin Young, who was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 9th round of the 1999 MLB June Amateur Draft, was the inspiration for this blog and details these suggestions and descriptions of parents who help their children fail in sports.

Young states, “People often ask what my parents' role was in my climb to professional baseball.  I tell those people that my parents were supportive of my love of baseball and gave me every opportunity to succeed.  My father was a football coach and knew nothing of baseball and my mother did not play sports in high school.  Whether I played a great game or terrible game, my parents always treated me with support and love.  They never "pushed" me in any way and anything that I accomplished was because of my own desires and their support. They had complete trust in my coaches and I was very lucky to have great ones along the way.  So, when you look at your child and you see a major league baseball player or professional football player, understand that they may think of themselves as something very very different.  It's not about you, and if it is, it's probably the reason your kid sucks.  Parents: don't be the reason for your kid's failures, they're under enough pressure already.”

For more information about the 04 Texas Travelers contact Coach Kyle Bennett at 972.679.7702 or follow The Texas Travelers on Facebook.  The Texas Travelers are a 10 U 2004 team that plays ASA competitive softball.  To follow particular players, games, practices or see any other information about the North Texas Select Softball team visit: 04 Texas Travelers News Site.

The Pursuit of Excellence

Bear Bryant once said, “It’s not the will to win that matters- everyone has that.  It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”

Preparing to win in softball takes a lot more than just showing up to practice or participating in hitting or pitching lessons.

The 04 Texas Travelers will be playing in the 2015 ASA Nationals in Normal, Illinois and have the goal to win the championship.  On their path, the North Texas Select Softball Team will be competing in Turf Wars in Birmingham, Alabama, Dallas ASA Preview, Stage 1-3 Texas Challenge Series (in DFW, College Station, and Houston), Hall of Fame Qualifier (Fort Worth), and the Hall of Fame Series in Oklahoma City in addition to numerous other softball tournaments in North and East Texas.

To prepare for these challenges, the softball girls and their family have committed to becoming the best.  They are not just talking about being the best, but truly making the commitment and sacrifices it takes to becoming the best girls’ softball team in America.

The Travelers understand the meaning of team.  Each girl plays multiple positions on the field and look forward to playing the position that the team needs them at.  This is not the norm.  Many softball teams across North Texas have their girls at selected positions and the parents or girls get upset if they are not playing the position they want to play or think they should be at.  With the Texas Travelers, each position on the softball field is the most important position.  The girls and parents of the softball girls understand this.

Since the attitude of the Texas Travelers Softball family is in line with the team philosophy; practices are very precise and crisp giving these girls a strong softball skills adding tremendous value to the team and their future as softball players.

Every Friday, the girls have hitting practice at longtime softball legendary coach John Wardlow’s facility in Seagoville, Texas just outside of Dallas.  On Sunday’s, the Texas Travelers have partnered with strength, conditioning, speed and agility coach Reggie Smith Sr to put the girls through a 2 ½ hour intense training.  These are the same drills he puts his NFL and Collegiate prospects through.  After the workout with Coach Smith; the girls head over to Mesquite High School’s softball field and finish the day with another 2 ½ hours of field time.  There, they practice game situations and other softball developmental skills.

In addition to the team activities, each girl has private lessons whether it be hitting, fielding, pitching or a combination of the three.  Also, all of the girls play on league teams.  Several of the 10u girls are playing on 12u and 14u league teams in order to keep the competition at a high level.

One of the goals for the coaching staff of The Texas Travelers is to prepare each of the girls to become 4-year starters on their high school varsity teams as well as prepare them to have the ability to obtain D1 Scholarships.

The strong North Texas Softball Club has won at IFA-VTD, USSSA, and ASA levels and continues its push to become the 2015 ASA National Champion held in Normal, Illinois.  The team is a fully funded endorsed softball team that intends on continuing its great success in the softball world.

For more information about the Texas Travelers Girls Select Softball Team contact Coach Kyle Bennett at 972.679.7702 or visit their Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/04-Texas-Travelers/774587365960430.

North Texas Select Softball Teams

There are many North Texas Select Softball teams, and finding the right team for your daughter can be instrumental in her development as she gets older.  As the author of this blog, I feel it is important to share with you that I am an assistant coach of my daughter’s softball team and will be sharing opinions that may or may not be in line with your opinion.  This blog is intended to help other parents who are trying to find the right team to put their daughter to give her a great experience and help her develop as a softball player.  This is also intended for parents who feel that league play or rec play is not preparing their daughter for the level of competition they desire.  Most importantly this blog is intended to help give you some insight when looking for the right softball team for your daughter and share my personal experience.

A little background of my story is important to let you understand what I was looking for when finding the right select softball team for my daughter.

I had always been involved with my son in football, basketball and baseball.  My son was playing at a high level in select football so I fully understood the commitment a player would need to make when playing Select Sports of any kind.  My daughter was 7 at the time and started showing interest in girls’ softball.  She loved to dance, sing and wanted to be a cheerleader.  However, she also liked sports and tried to play everything her brother played. 

She had a cousin who was playing, and we decided to let her play for that team.  This team was a group of local girls who had parents who put together a select 8 and under team.  The girls on the team were athletic, and the parents were coaching the team.  All of the positions were set and as you can imagine as an outsider (or newcomer) was probably not going to get the most notable position on the team.  That didn’t deter us because I didn’t know if my daughter would like to play softball and we didn’t really know much about the sport. 

The Fall Season with that same team was a different story.  She was going to be turning 8 during the next Spring/Summer season and the head coach said that anyone wanting to pitch had to take pitching lessons to get to pitch in the Fall.  My daughter came to me at the end of the first season and said she wanted to pitch.  After letting her show me that she might have some ability to pitch, I hired a pitching coach to take her under his wing.  That Fall season she was never given the opportunity to pitch although the team lost big every game. 

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we quickly sought out a team to give her an opportunity to get some experience.  This led us back to Rec Ball and my daughter found a lot of mound time to develop as a pitcher.  After a Fall, Spring and Summer Season of Rec Softball, she was now playing strong enough as a pitcher, first baseman and hitter to look for a team that would be a good fit for our family’s needs.  We were about to take our second attempt at Select Softball in North Texas.

Before getting back into Select Softball, I had a talk with my daughter about commitment to the sport and the sacrifices she would have to make playing at a higher level.  Select Softball teams in North Texas play year around with the exception of December and January when there is potentially bad weather.  Also, I am a firm believer to allow your child to play multiple sports and participate in as many church and school activities as possible.  Therefore, she would have conflicts and not be able to make certain events, birthday parties, or other typical activities.  (Of course, she is still a little girl and there is a lot of effort to not miss out on anything.)  Select Softball requires making team practices, playing out-of-town tournaments on Saturdays, Sundays and sometimes Fridays.  In addition to team activities, a player who wants to be a contributor to a team must also practice on their own.  For example, my daughter has pitching lessons once a week, team practices twice a week, and then works out on her own (with me) the other three days.  We usually take off one day a week from softball.  That said, our vacation time as a family is very limited because of our commitment to softball.  However, for those of you that think we are over committed to Select Softball- our family still allows her to be a kid!

Now that she understood the commitment she would be making (as much as a 9 year-old could) it was time to find the right Select Softball Team in North Texas.

We also defined our personal goals of what we want sports to help my daughter with.  I think anyone considering Select sports- has a goal to earn a college scholarship.  However, I will discuss the slim chances of this happening later in the blog.  We defined our goals as keeping our child healthy, pushing her to her limits, learning skills that will carry over into other aspects of her life, and the old cliché of having fun with the limited time most people have playing sports as a kid.  (She doesn’t think much about this as I do, but she does want to have fun and compete at a high level.)

We made the decision to try out for several teams in North Texas.  This would give us an opportunity to find the right team for her and make sure she was the right fit for the team.

The first criteria we had would be to find a team that was open to development of a player.  This would be my daughter’s first year in 10U softball which means she was the youngest of the group and would have some 11 year-olds playing on her team.  We wanted to make sure she would get an opportunity to play.  Now my daughter was a pitcher, but she also played first base and outfield.  We didn’t want her on a team where she only watched from the bench.  We also understood that there may be times she would find herself on the bench and understood that as well.

Without naming the teams we tried out for (because they might be the best team for another girl) I will only tell you our experience.

The first team we tried out for seemed a lot like her first experience in select softball.  The team wasn’t coached by parents of the girls, but it was already established.  She had a very good tryout and looked to be the strongest pitcher of the bunch.  However, the head coach made a decision not to place her on his “A” team as his two pitchers were what he wanted to go with.  Therefore, she would be playing on the “B” team.

Another team was part of a very large organization in the Softball World.  They wanted her on their team, but something just didn’t seem right.  To me, it seemed like she was just another number in a large organization.  They touted how they could get her exposed to college scouts and they would talk about all of the great players who have come through the organization.  Then they started talking about the price.  I didn’t really understand where my money would be going and how it would be benefiting my daughter.  You see- she wasn’t even 10 yet!  I just couldn’t drink that cool-aide.  Upon further research, I noticed some of the players they talked about might have only spent a season at the most in the organization.  They didn’t develop that player.  That player just happened to play in the organization at that time.  I also felt, that if my daughter is good enough to play college ball at some point- I can help get her exposed to colleges by taking trips, sending tape and even using a phone to make a call.

We even had teams without seeing her say “Yes, come out and we have a spot.”  We had teams that said, “Send a video, and we will try to find her a place to play but we already have our starting pitchers”.  

I was upset at that because I wanted a team that made a decision on a player by seeing her and identifying if she was a fit for the team or not.

Finally, a colleague of mine who had a lot of experience in the Select World of Softball and has a very talented softball player of his own made a call on behalf of my daughter.  He got her a tryout with the team she is on now.  I have to say, my daughter did not have a great tryout that first time with this team.  As a matter of fact, I am surprised they even invited her back for another look.  She was nervous.  She might have pitched a strike every 10^th pitch, but they did invite her back for another look.  (Later, I as I got to really know the head coach- I asked him what he saw in her.  He laughed and said, “It was that every 10^th pitch that was something special.”  He then said, some people just can’t see the forest through the trees.”  This coach has picked up several players on this team that were in the same situation as my daughter at one time or another.)  I’m glad they did because this was also an opportunity for us to give them another look as well.  It was an older team (which means she played with girls a year older but still at the 10U level).  We saw it as an opportunity for her to get key playing time, but not have to be a star or the one carrying the team.  This team met our first criteria of a Select Team in North Texas.

Second criteria was the parents and their girls.  You see, in Select Softball you spend almost every weekend of the year on the fields.  You see these families more than you see your own extended family.  These would be people you have to get along with.  A requirement of this team for us would be strong values.  We looked at how the girls treated each other, how the parents talked with us, and yes- how they looked.  Were they people we would want to get to know and actually become friends with?  Did they have the same values as us?  I didn’t just want to have a girls’ softball player, but I was also raising a young woman and it is important to be around people she can look up to and other girls she can be friends with.  A lot of teams we looked at have great families which I am glad for.  This team completely met this criteria.  There are no clicks as everyone communicates with everyone through the week.

The third criteria was the coaching.  Now some may be wondering why this isn’t the first criteria.  It’s pretty simple.  In sports, your coach is only going to be with you for a select number of hours during the week.  No matter how many practices or games you play there are many more hours away from the team that you will have to work out on your own than you are with the coaches.  Therefore, as long as I put her with a good hitting coach and pitching coach and she practices on her own; a coaching staff couldn’t really screw her up that bad.  So, what did I look for in a coaching staff?  The first thing was did they care about the girls like the girls were their own daughter?  I don’t care if the coach had a daughter on the team or not.  I cared if they cared about my daughter.  As a parent, you can talk to someone and see this quality.  Next, I looked at their organizational skills.  Were the practices a lot of sitting and goofing off or was the practice fluid?  Was their discipline on the team?  I am a firm believer in you perform how you practice.  Then, I looked at communication.  Finally, I wanted to see if they were giving instruction that I wasn’t providing on my own.  I looked at the accessibility of experts or those who had “skins on the wall” in softball.  These coaches pushed the girls to their limits and then when they met those limits they pushed them further.

My fourth criteria was the team goals.  I understand this may change from year to year, but I wanted to make sure the team goals were in line with my daughter and my goals for her.  I wanted to see if the team goals would help or hinder the development of my daughter as a softball player.  This is important when choosing a team.  It was important that the team actually had a team goal.  Did the team want to find tournaments they could easily win to bring home a trophy or did the team want to compete at a high level?  Did the team want to travel or only play local tournaments?  Did the team want to work to achieve a lofty goal?  Asking these questions and identifying if your goals are aligned with the team will help tremendously in the longevity of your participation with the team.  The team goals are to play at the highest level of competition that they are able to compete against.

Cost was my final criteria when looking to find a team in North Texas for Softball.  The odds of playing collegiate ball are very slim.  As a matter of fact there are 1679 colleges that sponsored varsity Softball teams in 2014.  There are 295 NCAA I, 284 NCAA II, 416 NCAA III, 193 NAIA, 357 NJCAA and 134 other divisions to meet the total of 1679 college opportunities.  Of these schools, the average team size is 18 players.  The average scholarship limit for each team is 12 scholarships for each team.  Some athletes receive full awards, some receive a partial scholarship and many receive none.

There are 371,891 women high school softball players.  There are only 30,874 college softball players.  That means there is an 8.3% chance of a high school player competing in college.

The average “moderate” cost of an in-state college is $22,826 while a moderate budget at a private college averaged $44,750 for the 2013-2014 academic year.

These numbers don’t include housing, food, transportation, books or other “fees” of the college experience.

During our search for a Select Softball Team, I found some teams charging $250-$400 for uniforms.  I found fees ranging from $250 one-time fees to as much as $250 per month.  There is also cost for travel, equipment, medical and other miscellaneous expenses.

With the odds at 8% of my daughter playing college softball and much lower for getting a “full-ride” I did not put a lot of stock in teams that used this as a selling point when they tried to recruit her to their organization.  They also tended to be the teams that were charging $250 per month.  At that rate, I would have paid $24,000 in fees by the time my daughter was a senior in high school for a less than 8% chance of her playing college softball and much less getting a “full-ride” playing college softball.

Therefore, I had to look at a reasonable cost as I look at my daughter playing Select Softball as an entertainment expense.  This would be an opportunity for me to spend quality time with her while being active in a sport she loves and I have grown to love.

In the end, my daughter and I found a team we have grown to love.  The team has great parents and wonderful girls on the team.  The team practices about 35 minutes away from our hometown of Rockwall, Texas in Mesquite, Texas which is about 25 minutes from downtown Dallas.  We love the coaching (they truly care for my daughter as much as they would if she were their own daughter) and the unique opportunities such as working out with former collegiate players, NFL trainers, and others who have “specialties in life” that give her another perspective of what the world has to offer.  The team has a lofty goal of winning ASA Nationals in Normal, Illinois for 2015 and plays many tournaments to prepare for this task.  And as for the cost, before the team was sponsored and became a fully funded team, the cost was only the ASA registration fee and uniform.  Of course, it is a bonus that because of the team’s success it has now become fully funded.  The practices are intense and the instruction is precise.  The girls on the team have lofty goals that are in line with my daughter’s goals.  My daughter (remember she did not have a great tryout the first time they saw her) was given an opportunity to earn a spot on the team.  She continues to work hard and truly thinks of the 04 Texas Travelers as a family.

For more information about the 04 Texas Travelers contact Coach Kyle Bennett at 972.679.7702 or follow TheTexas Travelers on Facebook.  The Texas Travelers are a 10 U 2004 team that plays ASA competitive softball.  To follow particular players, games, practices or see any other information about the North Texas Select Softball team visit: http://www.deliverymaxx.com/Dallas-Texas/Girls-Select-Softball-reviews/04-Texas-Travelers-E351