More Travel Team Considerations (Part 2)

Here's an important thing to consider when evaluating a travel team.

The Coach's demeanor

Do some scouting of your own to determine the coach's sideline behavior during games.  Is he a yeller and a screamer? Does he vent his wrath on individual kids if they make a mistake? Does he offer lots of praise, or is he just critical? How does the coach interact with the umpires?  Is he out of control with the officials, or does he exhibit good sportsmanship at all times?

Most top college and high school coaches follow the "5-to-1" ratio when it comes to motivating kids today.  That means 5 parts praise to 1 part criticism.  Kids today -- especially young athletes on travel teams -- need lots and lots of praise from the coach if they are going to perform well.  Critical comments should be minimal, and should be couched in very non-threatening terms.

Unfortunately too many travel team coaches see themselves as disciples of the legendary pro football coach Vince Lombardi.  The myths about Lombardi portray him as a hard-driving no-nonsense disciplinarian.  Too many travel team coaches feel that's the best way to approach kids: be loud, be demanding, and don't be afraid to single a kid out during a game for making a mistake.

This is, as you might imagine, the absolute worst way to work with kids today.  Kids don't want to be criticized, they don't want to be yelled at, and they don't want to be humiliated in front of their parents and teammates during a game.  If the coach of your child's travel team has the reputation for being this way, again, you had better think twice as to whether your child is ready for this kind of "tough guy" approach.  The truth is, most kids aren't.

Considering a Travel Team? Here's Some Points to Consider (Part 1)

This should never be a decision entered into lightly (for the sake of your player's happiness and love of the sport).  For starters, if you feel that your kid is ready and eager to try out for a travel team, take the time to ask questions of other parents in your community whose own kids have played for that travel team in previous years.  Most of the time these parents will not only be glad to answer your questions, but they'll often provide details about matters you may not think to ask about.  Listen carefully to these parents' comments, and take notes -- they can give you invaluable info about the time commitment, financial expense, the head coach, assistant coaches, other parents, the competition, etc.

And remember, the more parents you contact and the more opinions you can find, the better informed you'll be about whether this is the right step for your child.  Sometimes, especially if the youngster is athletically talented but has not yet gone through a growth spurt yet, playing on a travel team where they are going to be one of the smaller athletes will not be good for their sense of self-confidence or self-esteem.  If so, there's nothing wrong with letting another year go by (and letting them grow some more).

Why this advice?  Because most travel team coaches prefer to play the youngsters who are physically larger than their peers.  Makes no difference what the sport is, or how much athletic skill the larger child may have in relation to the smaller athlete.  There's an old saying in sports, "The big kids have to show that they can't -- and the little kids have to show that they can."

(excerpted from The Sports Parenting Edge, by Rick Wolff)