For many families, youth sports starts out as a small, local activity that can help kids and parents make friends with people in their communities. That’s all well and good, and it can remain as such if your child doesn’t really feel like branching out or moving to higher levels of athletic competition. However, if your child is the type that wants to find higher levels of play, they are going to want to try something more serious, perhaps like a travel sports team.

Joining a travel sports team can be an exciting step in a child’s athletic journey. It can introduce kids to new elements of the youth sports experience; new people, personalities, coaching styles, responsibilities, and of course, higher levels of competition. Such new experiences can feel both thrilling and overwhelming for the child and their parents, but the most difficult learning curve often comes from another new element of these sports: travel tournaments.

In this article, we will discuss travel events and how they benefit youth athletes more than parents might realize. We will explain how they provide children with opportunities to improve their skills, build friendships, and experience teamwork in new environments. At the same time, we would like to underscore how they also require families to prepare for busy schedules, travel logistics, and expenses they may not have anticipated.

What Is a Travel Tournament?

It doesn’t matter whether your kid is playing soccer, baseball, volleyball, basketball, hockey, track, or another youth sport, there is likely a travel program available to them. Indeed, travel tournaments have become a major part of competitive youth athletics in recent years. But what exactly is a travel tournament?

For starters, it isn’t just one “away game,” likes some parents might be thinking. In most cases, a travel tournament is a multi-game event where teams compete against one another. Those teams, clubs, and/or leagues hail from different cities, regions, and at times, even states. These events are designed to expose athletes to stronger competition and broader life experiences through the lens of sports.

These tournaments are not done in the space of an afternoon, either. Travel tournaments will often take place over an entire weekend, a holiday break, or in the summer, over the course of many days. The games are as quick as they need to be and teams may play several games within a short period of time, before advancing into playoff rounds or championship brackets.

Expect Busy Schedules

Be waned, parents, the first thing you’re going to have to prepare for when it comes to travel tournaments, is how packed your schedule is about to get. Not only will you have to account for travel time when going to said tournament, you’re also likely to have a jam-packed day of events starting quite early in the morning.

Games at travel tournaments often begin early in the morning and run all day until late at night. There is often very little downtime between the matches, which means meals, rest, and socialization are going to be squeezed into those sparse durations.

Also, don’t be surprised if schedules change unexpectedly before or during the actual event itself. These changes might be brought on because of weather delays, overtime games, or even the current tournament standing; you honestly never know what’s gonna shift things around. Thus, parents will need to be flexible, even if they plan ahead. Regardless, staying organized from the get-go will certainly help reduce everybody’s stress level.

Travel Often Means Long Days

Long days and nights are part and parcel to travel tournaments, we’re sorry to say. In fact, even when the tournament grounds are only a few hours away, travel sports can involve pretty lengthy days. Families may have to spend hours on the road, before getting to a tournament where they need to wait for certain periods between games. At the same time, parents need to manage mealtimes, hotel check-ins, and sleep schedules.

These long days would make anyone ornery and children are particularly prone to becoming physically and emotionally exhausted after a few days of this. Heck, they can become moody after just a day or playing multiple games in a short time. Parents will need to check their own patience and resolve, and should be prepared for weekends that feel very active, emotionally-charged, and fast-paced.

Hotels and Overnight Stays

Because of the distance and the number of people that attend travel tournaments from all over, many events require overnight stays. Parents should be wary that the hotels nearest the tournament venues often fill quickly, so it pays to book your family’s accommodations well in advance.

It should also be noted that some travel weekends may involve shared hotel spaces, team dinners with kids, coaches, and other parents, and late-night gatherings of the same. These are all great bonding experiences but parents will need to sometimes cut-off the fun if they want their young athletes (and themselves) to get enough rest for the following day.

Tournament Costs Can Add Up

By now, you’ve probably cottoned-on to the idea that travel tournaments aren’t cheap. Costs may include not only accommodations, gas, airfare, and meals, but tournament entry fees, team uniforms, and even equipment. Note that some tournament venues might even have additional fees for parking or separate, unrelated activities. Just be aware of the financial and scheduling concerns before you sign up for something like this.

Competition Levels Are Often Higher

Travel tournaments are fun but they almost always involve stronger competition than local recreational leagues. Your child will sometimes face teams and players with advanced skills or more experience. It’s intimidating, but its a good chance for them to see what’s out there and experience other types of players, coaching styles, and levels of competition.

Team Bonding Becomes a Bigger Part of Sports

One positive aspect of travel tournaments is the opportunity for the teammates to bond with one another. Children often build strong friendships through the shared experiences of traveling together, dining together, and hanging out outside the games themselves. In many ways, these experiences can be leveraged to help athletes feel more connected to teammates and improve communication on the field or court.

Parents also get the chance to socialize with other parents and coaches. They can spend time with their kids and make new friends and find kindred spirits in other stressed parents.

Cultured Athlete Says…

As you can see, travel sports tournaments can be daunting in concept, but the benefits they offer young athletes are well worth the added stress they might place on families. Traveling to play sports can be exciting, exhausting, and rewarding in equal measure. Through travel play, children gain myriad opportunities to grow athletically, socially, and mentally.

For parents, the key to getting through a travel season lies in preparation and perspective; these two elements are the key to finding success and remaining calm. By understanding the time commitment, financial costs, emotional challenges, and physical demands of this new level of sports, parents can more easily navigate their inherent difficulties.

Ultimately, the growth your children experiences, relationships they form, resilience they cultivate, and the memories they make, will be things they carry with them their whole lives; long after that weekend baseball trip has faded their mind.