By Annie Ewry
Some people have the idea that travel sports and school sports are relatively the same, but when you talk to the players they have something different to say.
“Travel is a lot more relaxed,” baseball player Gavin Case said. “You can kind of do whatever you want.”
Travel sports is something that you choose and pay to do, so travel coaches generally try to make it as fun and enjoyable as possible.
School sports often have a different aspect.
“I try to be more laid back during travel ball, but for school ball we need to win every game,” JV baseball coach Jacob Van Pelt said.
When comparing travel sports and school sports to each other you may realize that travel seems more fun and less serious.
Van Pelt says that during the school season for baseball he is serious. His goal is to win every game and make it to sectionals, then regionals and so on.
During a school ball game you have to be able to adapt and do anything you can to win in the situation.
Travel ball you’re more or less playing for the enjoyment of the game. Winning is just another aspect.
“I like travel just because I get to hang out with friends from different schools that I don’t see a lot,” freshman baseball player Graham Sieber said.
A big part of having a sports team that plays well together is the relationships that are made among the players.
School teams are limited to seeing your teammates at school, practices and games. On the other hand, in travel sports, you’re able to spend an entire day with your teammates outside of the games.
For freshman volleyball player Kyra Murry the best part of playing club volleyball is eating food at new places and spending time with her teammates.
Kyra said she enjoys club and school volleyball both the same, but for different reasons. She said she likes how close she is with everyone on the school team and how she’s able to be so involved with the coach. For club she likes that she can branch out, make new friends and see new places.
Everyone has their own opinions, especially if they play both school and travel sports.
“I like travel ball more because it helps you get better, it’s all year around, and you have more opportunities to get better than at school,” freshman volleyball player Sophie Overholt said.
Sophie says she likes the intensity of travel volleyball and says she gets to play people at different skill levels than her. School is limited to people who are around the same skill level.
She said school ball can get repetitive having practice every day after school.
Sophie says she feels more pressure in school because her position can get taken so easily. Therefore she has to work harder during school ball to make sure she secures her position.
Some athletes like the feeling of having to work harder, but others like to be able to just play the sport without having the stress and pressure.
Although, with all sports, travel or school, there’s always going to be that little bit of pressure before a game or stress right before a play.
“I feel more pressure in school ball because I feel like there’s a lot more that could go wrong,” junior basketball player Lucas Bragg said.
He says he feels like there is much more to lose during school ball because you’re playing to move on and advance.
Travel ball is year round while school ball is only for a few months each season.
“I think travel ball definitely helped prepare me for high school basketball because of the competition I played against,” freshman basketball player Ryan Lynch said.
Ryan played as the only freshman on the varsity basketball team this season. He says that playing travel basketball against bigger and better players throughout the rest of the year helped keep him in shape and get him ready for the upcoming school season.
“I like school ball better because I’m closer with my teammates on school vs. travel,” Ryan said.
Everyone has a different perspective when it comes to playing sports for both school teams and travel teams.
