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I’m writing this in the middle of West Virginia road-trippin with my mom headed to watch my favorite Tarheel compete in her senior weekend in Chapel Hill and I thought…wouldn't it be fun if I asked you questions about the GLORY days of travel ball and if it was ALLLL worth it?!
Here's a fun Q&A we had in the car where we relived the glory days and tips on what mom learned along the way of raising three D1 athletes:
- Words to describe travel ball life: crazy, fun and busy
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What’s your favorite memory from all of it?: Trips we took together…Colorado was our favorite (we stayed in a house in the mountains with the team, went hiking and then seeing all the coaches and scouts at games was so cool) — went white water rafting. Parents made meals for everyone…Team did the dishes after dinner. THE BEST.
“Those were our vacations”
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What do you miss most about travel ball days? - Watching you guys compete against great teams and finding ways to beat them…they were longgggg days, but so fun.
- How many miles did we put on our mini van? - 220,000 👀 ...we took that minivan EVERYWHERE!
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How did you make sure we were fed and hydrated all day at the ballpark!? - We had a parent Gatorade and water cooler with tons of gatorade, water and rags to keep the girls cool. --One family would take over it for the weekend and other fam's would constantly make sure it was stocked. Packed sandwiches, fruit — grapes, oranges, strawberries -- Gatorade, sunscreen (I SWEAR we were always putting on sunscreen!)…probably ate wayyy to much Subway (not an ad). Propped up tents for everyone to stay out of the sun all day. THE LIFE.
“We’d be so tired and had to drive allll the way home afterwards.”
(I don't remember that part because I was PASSED OUT lololol)
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Do you miss the tan lines you used to get? - No. But I miss lining up our folding chairs behind home plate, take shoes off and put our feet up on the backstop.
"It was hard with two of you in travel ball (I'm 5 years older than my middle sister) because dad would take one of you and I would take the other..."
- Is there anything you would’ve changed if you could? — NOPE.
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Do you feel like it was easier for the other two in travel ball after we went through it? - Hell yes.
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What's a memory you’ll never forget. — seeing you hit your home run against Alabama. Dad threw his hands up in the air and SPRINTED for the ball. (lololol) And my performance against UCLA. --Family in California was there and went 3-4 with a home run. Palm Springs and Costa Rica watching my middle sister play. That's just scratching the surface.
- What's one piece of advice you'd give to mom's in the heart travel ball? -- Let them play. Let them make their own mistakes...and don't baby them. College coaches don't want crazy parents and are watching YOU at these tournaments just as much as them.
- Any regrets? - Nope. You wouldn’t be able to do what you did if we hadn't.
Conversations like these remind me that the road was never easy...but it was always worth it.
I'm SO THANKFUL for my mama!
I hope you enjoyed the fun Q&A with my mom...and feel better about the crazy life WE lived out on the road, too! Sounds like we need to record a podcast episode soon and get it ALL out there! Good luck to all you mothers out there taking care of your babies and helping make their dreams happen.
We couldn't do it without you. <3
Happy Mother's Day!
Ashley B
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