Travel FAQ's

Travel baseball and softball is competitive. Travel teams play competitive schedules. Although teaching is always a focus, travel teams will play to win. At the younger levels, some intramural teams play in non-competitive Divisions or in competitive Divisions where the focus is clearly on teaching fundamentals. Travel is different. During the travel season, your child may not get a "turn" to play a particular position and may not play as many innings per game as some other players. Playing time and positioning is at the sole discretion of the travel team manager. 

Baseball - Travel teams begin at age 7. 

Softball  - Travel teams begin at 8u. (Little League 7 and 8 year old girls). 

Baseball - The Plainview Baseball travel age year runs from May 1 thru August 30th.  There is at least one baseball team at each age level 7-12. 

When your child decides to try out for a travel team, you have to understand it is a choice not to be taken lightly both as an individual player and as a family.

Typically A teams play 4-5 times a week consisting of possibly two practices and three games per week or a combination of both. Possibly 25-40 games
Typically B teams play 3-5 times a week consisting of possibly two practices and two games per week or a combination of both. Possibly 20-30 games

Our travel teams now play year-round. The season begins in the summer which is the most intense of the seasons. The teams then play in the fall, usually just on the weekends. During the winter, the team will work out once per week, usually from January-March. Teams may play in a pre-season tournament in March. Once the intramural season begins, the travel teams will practice once per week. They also may take part in a competitive league on Sundays and play in a Memorial Day tournament. 

Practices typically begin 6pm during the week and various times on the weekend depending on a polling of the players and, the coaching staff availability. Games during the week may start approximately at 5:45 and during the weekend can occur as early as 8am depending on the league or tournament the team is registered in.

Most teams stay local and play mostly on Long Island. 

10U or above may play a weekend tournament such as:

Cal Ripken - MD

Rehoboth Beach - DE

Triple Crown - CT

Diamond Nation - NJ

Here are some typical tournament/leagues:

Boys 7U/8U/9U:

Long Island Hot Stove

East Coast Baseball

NJBL

PLL Tournament 

John Walker Tournament

East Meadow Tournament

10U/11U/12U:

Williamsport

Bethpage July 4th NJBL LSWAA Glen Cove Bethpage 

Baseball Heaven-Yaphank

Diamond Nation 

Cal Ripken

Rehoboth Beach Triple Crown Cooperstown (12U only) 

Girls 8u:

East Meadow 8u Futures Tournament 

East Meadow Summer Sizzle Girls 

10u/12u:

 Williamsport 

East Meadow Summer Sizzle 

Glen Cove 

NJBL

If your child goes to sleep away camp for several weeks during the summer, he/she will not be able to make the commitment to the team.

If your child goes to a sports day camp or regular day camp, there is no reason that he or she cannot make the practices and games at 5:45 or 6:00pm. As the children get older and choose to go to teen travel camp, then it may become an issue for your children to make the commitment. 

We want all travel players committed to the program. Having said that, if it's a one time thing it needs to be discussed upfront with that particular manager. If you have a summer home and plan on going away every weekend, then travel is not going to work for you or the team

Boys 7, 8 and 9 year old teams usually begin end of June or early July. Boys 10, 11 and 12 year old teams usually begin with the Williamsport Tournament which starts approximately the third week of June. Girls 8 year old team begins last weekend of June. Girls 10 and 12 usually begin with Williamsport third week of June if they enter.

Depending on the Manager, and on team, usually by mid-August the Summer season is winding down for the team. However depending on the interest level of the team and parents the team may enter a Labor Day tournament. The fall season begins after Labor Day and runs through the end of October. All players are required to play the Summer and Fall seasons

It will depend on the following criteria:

(1) sufficient number of players with competitive abilities 

(2) sufficient number of players with pitching ability 

(3) availability of a manager for secondary team.

PLL wishes to accommodate the needs of children and will do so provided we can enter such a team into an environment that will provide them with both an enjoyable and positive experience.

Baseball: at the younger ages we encourage managers to take more players - suggested number is 12-13. At the older ages it is usually 11-12 players per team. 

Softball:  Softball is a very fluid situation and really depends on the number of girls who show up for tryouts.

Each Plainview travel team will be created upon the expanded age groups defined.

12u: Birth dates - May 1,2012-August 31,2013

11u: Birth dates - September 1,2013-August 31,2014:

10u: Birth dates - September 1,2014-August 31,2015:

9u: Birth dates - September 1,2015-August 31,2016:

8u: Birth dates - September 1,2016-August 31,2017:

7u: Birth dates - September 1,2017-August 31,2018:

We run our travel teams based on skill level, not on the commitment level, so we cannot allow players to request to be just considered for the B team. The "Blue" Team schedule is more intensive but we expect the same level of commitment from our "Grey"  teams as we do from our "Blue" teams even with the reduced "Grey" team schedule.

Travel Managers are selected from the current pool of Manager in the intramural season. It is highly recommended that a Manager's child have a significant chance of being selected for the Travel team based on his/her merits. Each Travel Manager candidate that requests to be a manager is interviewed and recommendations are made to the PLL based on the following criteria:

• Baseball/softball knowledge
• Coaching experience
• Availability for all Travel related activities
• Satisfactory history with PLL 

All Manager and coach selections must be approved by the PLL President. Once a manager is selected, he/she will remain with the team as it ages unless removed, for cause, by the President.

While it would seem obvious that the best baseball players would make the Travel Team, or for that matter the "Blue"  team, this is not always the case. The selection process involves the evaluation of many tangibles and intangibles. Some of these include:

• Baseball Talent and Ability - Evaluated at the tryout and past performance on travel teams and intramurals. 

• Past Performance - Players that have proven to succeed in their respective levels in earlier seasons will be provided greater preference over players that have not succeeded or played at that level.  We will not penalize a player for a "bad" tryout if the player has shown to regularly succeed at his level.

• Winter Training - Winter training is a factor in team formation. If a player continues to miss winter training or is underperforming at winter training, he may lose his placement on a team to another player. 

• Athleticism and ability to improve - More athletic players and players that have strong baseball foundational skills and the potential to improve are given greater preference. With practice and additional skills training, these players usually out-perform the less athletic player.

• Team Composition - At the older age groups, we consider total team composition in order to form a well balanced team. We need to make sure we have enough players on a roster that can sufficiently cover all positions. At the younger age groups, we place less emphasis on this as we encourage managers to experiment players at several different positions in order to verify where a player has an aptitude for a particular position.

• Eligibility - Any player trying out for a travel team must enroll in the Spring Intramural Season and is required to play at least 75% of all intramural games.

• "Coachability" - If a child has shown an inability to follow direction, lacks focus, or has been a behavioral problem, he/she might not be selected, even if he/she is one of the best players in the division. Conversely, a child who shows a strong willingness to learn and improve, but is not one of the top players, might be selected.

• Sportsmanship: A child who has exhibited a lack of sportsmanship towards his/her teammates, opponents, coaches or parents may be excluded from consideration. Additionally, if a parent has exhibited a lack of sportsmanship toward players, coaches, other parents or umpires, the parent's child may be excluded from consideration.

• Commitment: If a child has shown prior disregard for practice and/or game dates he/she might not be selected, even if he/she is one of the best players in the division.

• Parental issues: We consider parents/guardians' on and off-field behavior. Parents are expected to be supportive of the team and the team's coaching staff and their coaching decisions. If a parent has known behavior issues, it can affect the child's selection to a travel team. 

There is no guarantee of any playing time and no guarantee as to which field position a player will play; There is also no guarantee of position in batting order. In each and every case above the Travel manager determines each player's participation.

This amount varies based on the number of players that are selected for each team. Every player pays their share of the team expenses. For example, if there are 12 players, each player pays 1/12 of the total budget of the team. Budgets of teams shall include but not limited to: 

• Uniforms (personalized) 
• Administrative travel costs
• Baseballs (game and practice)
• Tournament Fees
• League Fees
• Various Equipment (hit stick or net)
• Landscaping - Our fields are maintained by a private independent landscaper

Fees can range from 450-1000 or more, depending on the age group. The 12 year old team will have an additional cost of 1,200 or more for the Cooperstown 7-day trip. In some cases, teams fund raise to help alleviate the cost per each child. If you have a financial hardship, you can always approach the PLL to confidentially discuss the hardship. Only the PLL President can grant a waiver/reduction of fee and may request documentation to support the request.

Summer Travel is a separate season and payment is expected to be made shortly after being selected to the team. A payment plan will be set up with a deposit made upon selection to the travel team and periodic payments for the rest of the season. Uniforms will not be distributed until player issues payment to the PLL. Payments will be made on the PLL website

Fall Travel is a separate season and all travel team players are expected to participate. Children who are on the Summer Team are automatically carried into the Fall provided they can commit to the Fall Season. Some players like to play other sports in the Fall. If the "Blue" Team requires more players due to the inability to field a team in the Fall, they must first go to the "Grey" team to fill their roster. If there is no "Grey" team, then the "Blue" team must go to the most previous registered spring intramural player of travel ability to fill their roster. NO player may be registered on two travel rosters Players may not tryout out specifically for a Fall travel team.

If you are unhappy with the selection process, you will need to discuss the issues with the team manager.