What is Travel Baseball?

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First, it’s important to understand what a travel baseball team is and how travel baseball is organized. 

There are tens of thousands of travel baseball teams around the country, and their popularity has exploded over the past two decades. As recently as the 1990s, travel baseball was a niche experience limited mostly to elite players in baseball-rich areas like Texas and California. Today, participation is seen by many as a near necessity for talented players to develop their skills and hone their game against the best competition they can find. 

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Whereas Little League is the dominant organization when it comes to recreational youth baseball, there are multiple organizations throughout the country that host hundreds of travel tournaments each year. Some of the biggest and most popular are USSSA (United States Specialty Sports Association), NCS (National Championship Sports), Triple Crown Sports, and Perfect Game. Travel baseball teams often participate in tournaments organized by more than one of those organizations.

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What is the Travel Baseball Competition Structure?

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Virtually all travel baseball games are played on weekends in a tournament format. Those tournaments can theoretically be held anywhere but are frequently held at multi-field facilities in easily accessible travel hubs. EBC will typically be entering tournaments that are within driving distance of the Sacramento Regional and possibly traveling out of state once a year. There is no set number of tournaments a team must participate in. Each team decides which tournaments to enter on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration factors such as age level, skill level, and cost. 

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If one of the Elite Baseball Club teams qualifies for regional and national championships, which are invite-only, EBC would participate in those high-level tournaments.  For example, USSSA (which we are registered) hosts “qualifier” tournaments, where the winner of the championship game (and sometimes the runner-up) can earn a bid to the USSSA national tournament.

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Most tournaments begin with pool play, meaning that teams are guaranteed a number of games before heading into single elimination. Depending on their performance, a team can expect to play anywhere from three to eight games over the course of a two-day or three-day tournament.

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What does it cost to play?

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Elite Baseball Club strives to make travel ball affordable. The program costs are outlined below:

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Player Fee - $160.00 per month

Uniform Package  - $550.00 (This is an approximate number and depends on the package we select)

Tournament Fees - $0.00 - $100.00 per tournament (teams typically play 1 to 2 a month)

Travel Expense - This all depends on where we play, if hotels are needed, gas, food, etc. 

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Our organization is committed to keeping costs down. We will hold several fundraisers to cover the cost of tournaments. Please keep in mind that you and your players will have to commit to making the fundraisers successful. 

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What is the time commitment?

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Travel Baseball can be time-consuming. EBC will likely hold two to three practices per week, depending on the team. EBC Teams will often have either a Saturday or Sunday game (friendly with neighboring baseball clubs) or be participating in tournaments that can extend to both Saturday and Sunday. 

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