Back to Good Sports Home

A Road Map to a Good Travel Team Experience

As seen in Sports Illustrated September 30, 2002

Posted: Wednesday June 22, 2005

Playing on a travel team can be a wonderful experience for a young athlete. Kids usually go through a series of tryouts to make these all-star-like squads, where they get to compete alongside other same-age athletes who share their passion and abilities. With good coaching and instruction they can really blossom in travel programs.

No wonder, then, that travel teams are so popular. Many communities have them for sports such as soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball and softball. Some start with children as young as seven, and many go through age 18.

But in addition to the usual concerns parents have whenever their kids play sports, highly competitive travel teams present unique issues you or your child might not have considered. To help you identify and understand these potential problems, here are questions to ask a travel coach:

What’s your philosophy on playing time? When the local parks and recreation department runs a league, it often has minimum playing-time standards. But parents or coaches with no affiliation to the rec department usually organize travel teams, and they might not have any such requirements. If the travel coach tells you everyone on the team will get equal playing time, you’re off to a good start. If, however, the coach says she wants to win, and to do so she’s going to give the bulk of the playing time to the better athletes, then you must consider whether your child will play enough to thrive on the team.

What are your credentials? Unlike the many school or rec department personnel certified as coaches or physical education instructors, just about anyone can be a travel coach. That means you’ll want to find out whether he has any background working with youngsters. Parents with kids who have played on the team before can give you good information about the coach and the way he runs the team. Make sure you talk to them before you and your child make any decisions.

What’s the time commitment? Many travel teams have five- or six-month schedules that often coincide with the school year. So along with the important issue of possible burnout for an athlete always on the go, schedule conflicts could arise. The typical travel season includes one or two practices during the week with games on weekends, even holidays. Of course travel coaches expect their players to make every game and practice. If this is going to be a problem for your child, talk to the coach. (Also consider your own schedule because driving to games can sometimes take up to a few hours each way.)

How many kids will make the team? Based on the coach’s answer, does your child have enough of a chance to make the team to justify the investment it would take? And while you hope the coaches would fairly decide which players they’ll keep, you have no guarantee. The coaches’ kids could get preferential treatment, further shrinking the number of “available” roster spots.

What about the cost? Signing up for the local youth league might require $50, but a travel team can charge a few hundred for uniforms, refs, field fees and tournament dues. And it can get even more expensive. A travel hockey team, for example, might cost a couple thousand dollars with the added expense of having to rent weekly ice time in the local rink.

Will my kid have fun? This ultimately is the most important question, and you should think twice if the coach responds by saying, “If the kids win, they’ll have lots of fun.” That philosophy should always raise a red flag about any coach.

Back to top

Back to Good Sports Home