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PostPosted: 23 Apr 2010, 13:56 

Posts: 21
You all were very helpful when I posted here last month asking about my daughter's playing time on her girls middle school team. Thank you again. We ended up having a very good season, despite my concerns about her playing time at the start of the season. She ended up starting the majority of the games, and the team is undefeated going into next week's playoffs.

Now I need advice on another matter. I am told by her coaches that she should start playing travel ball. There are two travel teams in our area that I would consider for her--one is an all-girls team, and one is co-ed. The all-girls team is offering a day camp this summer that I will enroll her in to get a feel for the program, and the co-ed team is coached by two coaches whom we already know and who are eager to develop her skills. I don't know how competitive the girls' team is, but I do know that the co-ed team is competitive.

She's entering 7th grade in the fall, which is when we'd start the travel team. My feeling is that at the 7/8th grade level, she would benefit from playing with and against boys, like she has been doing at her rec league at the Y.

Any thoughts on the matter are appreciated--thanks!


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PostPosted: 24 Apr 2010, 08:01 
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This is a tough call too. Not knowing your daughter, how well she can play vs boys at her age, not knowing her skill levels and how the boys are going to take to this idea. How about this.... HOW are the girls her age going to treat her when it comes time to play school ball? Are they going to be thinking... she was too good to play with us this summer?
There is more to this than just playing basketball. Travel teams want to win more than they care about developing skills... I might be wrong with these coaches you are talking about.
IF this was me I would be thinking about the long term for your daughter, she is going to have to play on the girls teams when she gets to 7th & 8th grade and certainly at the high school level. AND while she might get a little better coaching with the co ed team, is that better for her. Question? Are there any other girls playing with the boys team? What does your daughter want to do? Where does she want to play? Has she thought about how she is going to be accepted on this team and when she goes back to school?
Playing against better talent will make you better, I agree... but unless she has D1 potential I would be thinking more about the psycholigical ramifications if this were me. JMO


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PostPosted: 24 Apr 2010, 08:04 
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Sit down with your daughter and list the Pros and Cons of both programs - and what it might be like as she has to go back and play with the girls teams. You can guide her but she needs to think about these things... it has to be her decision.

Do some investigating of both these teams and make an informed decision.

Girls are different than boys... In order for girls to play well they have to be happy.... in order for boys to be happy they have to win.


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PostPosted: 24 Apr 2010, 09:42 

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Thanks for the feedback, Coach Sar.

To answer your questions:

Yes there are other girls on the co-ed travel team--I'm just not sure how many.

My daughter has played with primarily boys in her rec league, some several years older than she and very good, and these boys respect her and trust her with the ball. She is accepted as "one of them".

She is better than all of the boys her age at the Y who do not play travel ball, and about the same level as the ones her age who do play travel ball and also play at the Y.

Her middle school team (7th gr, which she was on as a 6th grader) was all girls. From the start of that, she said it was much easier than playing with the boys.

She made it onto one of the local all girls travel team, which several of her school teammates are on (none of them play on a co-ed team), but neither she nor I liked the coach at all. Not a good fit in any way. When these same girls heard about her possible playing for the co-ed team, they did hassle her, but these girls will be moving up to a separate 8th grade team at school next year and won't be playing with her.

We will be checking out another girls travel team via their summer camp, so that will help with the decision process.

I don't know much about basketball, but I have been told by several coaches that she is extremely good for her age (especially considering she's only played for a year, with almost all of it in rec league) and that she has tremendous potential going into high school. They have also pointed out her "coachability" as a big asset. She is very serious about the game--she is an intense kid to begin with, naturally athletic, with a lot of "stick-with-it-ness" in her personality. So I want to make sure I'm getting her down the right path to achieve her goals. I'm just not sure what that path is. Everyone tells me she has to play travel ball b/c that's where the scouts go nowadays.

We are starting private coaching for her next month as well.


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PostPosted: 24 Apr 2010, 18:11 
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I wouldn't worry to much about Scouts right now ... what I would be worrying about is finding a place where she can learn how to play the game, work on fundamentals (which is much more important than any W) and primarily to have fun.

Going to the camp and private coaching sounds like a GREAT plan. Does the high school in your area offer a summer camp for kids her age? I would definately look into that if I were you.

I hope she can find some place where she will have fun and learn the game. Good luck.


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PostPosted: 24 Apr 2010, 20:20 

Posts: 21
RE: the scouts. I meant at the HS level. I've been told they don't scout the high schools as much as they used to and instead go to travel tournaments. We were sort of thinking ahead.

The local HS doesn't have a camp, but we live in a large metro area where there are a lot of camps available. It's just a matter of finding the right one.

Thanks again for your advice--I really appreciate it!


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PostPosted: 25 Apr 2010, 06:22 
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You might be right about the scouts.... they can to go tourneys and see a lot of kids... but when push comes to shove, the good scouts will find a PLAYER.

IF this were my daughter and I felt like she can play.... and she is only going into 7th grade.... I would make sure that right now she is being taught a lot of fundamentals along with getting some game experience...So, find the Camps that TEACH.... along with playing some games.

Goals.....1- Making the 8th grade team and being successful 2- Making the high school team and the Varsity as an underclassmen, NOT necessarily as a freshman 3- Hopefully getting a scholarship to a good college (regardless of the level D1 - D2)

The most important thing is this...... Does your daughter WANT to do all of this? Both of you have to be on the same page here.... she should take some ownership in planning all of this..... AND - Make sure that she is having FUN while doing this. I hope this helps and good luck.


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PostPosted: 25 Apr 2010, 06:35 
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Location: New Britain, CT.
I can understand girls and boys playing basketball together at early youth park and rec leagues. As the players get older and the games get more physical I'm just not comfortable with co-ed ball at your daughters age (7th grade).
Boys are so much more stronger, more aggressive and physical by nature. As they mix and mesh together in games and drills there is a lot of body contact with boxing out, hard screens, taking charges and rolling on the ground fighting for loose balls...I guess I'm just not crazy about this physical contact....maybe I'm old fashioned. I also believe the risk for injuries for girls playing with/against boys increases.

I've coached both boys and girls travel ball with both my son and recently my daughter. I have never seen a coed travel team. There were times when my girls team had a fun scrimmage against the boys team and the girls were a little silly at first but they soon got over it.

But maybe I'm wrong....it certainly worked for Diana Taurasi who played vs boys all through her youth.

Best of Luck

Coach A


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PostPosted: 25 Apr 2010, 09:40 

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Coach A wrote:
As the players get older and the games get more physical I'm just not comfortable with co-ed ball at your daughters age (7th grade).


I worry about that, too, as she is only 5' 0" and 85 lbs. She's already tiny compared to the girls she has played during MS games.

Coach A wrote:
Goals.....1- Making the 8th grade team and being successful 2- Making the high school team and the Varsity as an underclassmen, NOT necessarily as a freshman 3- Hopefully getting a scholarship to a good college (regardless of the level D1 - D2)


I absolutely agree--I keep telling her "one team at a time".

Coach Sar wrote:
The most important thing is this...... Does your daughter WANT to do all of this? Both of you have to be on the same page here.... she should take some ownership in planning all of this


LOL, not only does she want this, she has been planning which D1 college she wants to play at and is determined to play for the L.A. Sparks. Like I said, she's intense. This desire is all her doing, I played down her expectations until a few months ago, when it started to become apparent that she has a lot of talent. I hadn't thought anything of it until we had several coaches tell us that her skills and ball handling are far beyond the level of an 11 year old girl who has played a year of rec ball and two months of MS ball. So I've been trying to figure out the best path for her to develop her skills to meet her goals, which has been a trick since I know nothing about bball or team sports. But mastering the fundamentals is obviously key, so we're going to focus on that first.


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PostPosted: 25 Apr 2010, 10:02 
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This is pretty intense for an 11 year old :-)


Post subject: Re: Travel ball for girls--is coed better?

Coach A wrote:
As the players get older and the games get more physical I'm just not comfortable with co-ed ball at your daughters age (7th grade).


I worry about that, too, as she is only 5' 0" and 85 lbs. She's already tiny compared to the girls she has played during MS games.


Coach A wrote:
Goals.....1- Making the 8th grade team and being successful 2- Making the high school team and the Varsity as an underclassmen, NOT necessarily as a freshman 3- Hopefully getting a scholarship to a good college (regardless of the level D1 - D2)


I absolutely agree--I keep telling her "one team at a time".


Coach Sar wrote:
The most important thing is this...... Does your daughter WANT to do all of this? Both of you have to be on the same page here.... she should take some ownership in planning all of this


LOL, not only does she want this, she has been planning which D1 college she wants to play at and is determined to play for the L.A. Sparks. Like I said, she's intense. This desire is all her doing, I played down her expectations until a few months ago, when it started to become apparent that she has a lot of talent. I hadn't thought anything of it until we had several coaches tell us that her skills and ball handling are far beyond the level of an 11 year old girl who has played a year of rec ball and two months of MS ball. So I've been trying to figure out the best path for her to develop her skills to meet her goals, which has been a trick since I know nothing about bball or team sports. But mastering the fundamentals is obviously key, so we're going to focus on that first.

Pretty simple game plan then..... find someone / someplace that will focus on teaching her fundamentals. She has a lot to learn.... and from what you say, she is ready to do it all. Good luck, I wish you both well.


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