The expensive toll of travel sports

I have been playing softball since I was seven years old and a year  later, I started travel softball. On my current team, I get about a one week break after our final tournament, Premier Girls Fastpitch (PGF), in Huntington Beach, CA, before we start up again for the fall season. Between the fall and winter seasons, we get about two weeks to relax. That is not nearly enough time to rest and take a break from such a mentally challenging sport based on failure.

Playing at the college level for any sport is an incredible feat to achieve, regardless if the level is Division 1 or junior college. The recruitment process may be about a year and a half depending on how early it is started, but the hard work that goes into the process is undeniable.

Colleges most likely will not scout at high school varsity softball games, but they certainly do at travel ball games. Hopefully, if they see my email requesting them to visit me, they will come watch my travel games. It is extremely frustrating because getting recruited is luck of the draw. I could be the best player in the world but still have to rely on the school seeing my invitation. This is because not every high school has a highly competitive varsity team. College athletes are the best of the best, not counting professional athletes, so recruiters only go to competitive tournaments to scout recruits. Travel ball teams are made up of the most talented athletes, with high standards to compete in A-ball tournaments, therefore, college scouts and coaches are more inclined to watch those games.

Getting recruited is not supposed to be an easy feat to accomplish, no matter what level one plans to play at. The point of recruitment is to put in the work with emails and work on your swing. The problem I have with this is the burnout. The fall season is the hardest for me because I play Flag Football for San Marin in the fall, while also playing travel softball. I am old enough to be getting recruited, and it is hours of work per week. Emailing schools on top of homework, studying, getting my own work in to improve my softball skills, and having high school practice is too much for a high school student to juggle. The expectation placed on high schoolers around my age is ridiculous. We are supposed to complete all of our homework, which is at least three hours each night for me, work out, work on our craft, go to practice, and after all of that, still be able to sleep eight hours. I have a very hard time finding motivation to complete every task because it gets to a point where I am so incredibly tired and do not have the energy to check off my to-do list.

I love my sport and my team and would never quit on my own. I am incredibly grateful to be able to play travel ball, but the expectation of getting everything done in a healthy routine, held for any student athlete, needs to be lowered. The recruiting process needs to be more accessible to people who cannot afford to pay the prices of high-level ball.