Frequently Asked Questions

These questions are separated into general questions about travel baseball and specific questions about IYG Baseball.

General Questions about Travel baseball

What is the difference between little league (rec ball) and travel ball?
- In our opinion little league (rec ball) is a great atmosphere to play the game of baseball. Little League is where most players start their baseball careers. Most of the coaches in little league are volunteer. Most little leagues have playing rules where players must play a certain amount of innings. It’s a great way to experience the game , make friends and be part of a community.
-Travel baseball/softball is an atmosphere for players who want to take their game to the next level. Most travel ball coaches are compensated for their time and have coaching and playing experience at various levels of the game. There are no innings played rules in travel ball. Games are usually on the weekends or Friday-Sunday and are in the form of tournaments. There are usually multiple games per day in travel ball. Players can play on the travel team of their choosing and where they live has no bearing on what organization they play for. Travel baseball is usually recommended for the players who want to push themselves a bit further in the sport.

Are all travel ball organizations the same?
- Absolutely not. You will have to do your research as a family to find the best fit for you. We recommend attending multiple tryouts to see where your son or daughter has the best experience. Ask ask many questions to the coaches or owners as you can to find out what the experience is going to be like for your son/daughter. Decide what you, as a family, are looking for for your son/daughter. Winning a ton of tournaments, development or a mixture of both.

What is Showcase travel ball?
-Showcase travel ball is for players who want to play baseball/softball at a very high level. These teams are usually for high school players looking to play in college. These teams are designed to showcase talent to college coaches at select tournaments through the Fall and Summer seasons. The summer season is the big season for showcase travel tournaments. Showcase tournaments sometimes require a lot of travel, especially the big time national tournaments. There are many different showcase teams in the area depending on what level of player you are. These range from the travel teams that carry Junior College-Division III prospects all the way up to your Division I or potential high school draft pick prospects. The types of players that make up a team will usually determine which tournaments you play in or are invited to.

Questions specific to IYG

What type of organization is IYG?
-We are a development first travel baseball and softball organization. Meaning, we focus on the overall development of the player first. We treat all of our players the same regardless of talent level. Trophies are great, but they are not the end all be all for us. Our coaches truly want your son/daughter to get better in preparation for local school ball or college. We offer a tremendous amount of opportunity for your player to improve their skills. Contact us to find out all of those opportunities.

Where are tournaments held?
-Most of our tournaments are local to the Richmond area. There is a lot of good competition in Richmond. Depending on the team we have, we have been known to travel to Eastern VA, Northern VA and Northern and Central NC with our younger teams (10U-14U). Our Showcase teams can travel to where the tournaments are being held, that could potentially be out of state with overnight stays.

What is the commitment level for players at IYG?
-For the most part. The minimum commitment level is 2 practices per week and tournaments twice per month. It very much depends on what type of player you are or want to be. We offer ways to develop your skills 7 days per week. How much you take advantage of, is up to you.

Can you play rec ball and travel ball at the same time?
-Yes. We obviously ask travel ball to take priority over rec ball because we have small rosters that require players to attend practices and games. You are also paying for the travel experience.

Can you play another sport and travel ball?
-Yes. We encourage our players to be multi sport athletes. We understand you may have a commitment to play another sport and we will work with those schedules the best we can. We obviously ask travel ball games to take priority over other sport practices. Once players get to the high school level, they will start figuring out which sports they want to specialize in and which sports they are more successful in. This is the time to start to really dial in the sport you think you will be playing in college.

How big are your rosters?
-Our roster sizes at the 10U-14U ages are typically 11-12 players. Our rosters at the Showcase level are higher due to the demand of the showcase schedule. We can carry 15+ players on those rosters.

What is your take on “daddy” ball?
-We get this question a lot. We aren’t too fond of the term “daddy’ ball as there are many great parent coaches out there. Parents that have a lot of baseball experience and would do well being the Head Coach of a team their son plays on. However, we try our best to separate the parents from head coaches at IYG Baseball. We may ask parents who have experience and a coaching background to help some of our teams. All of our head coaches will have baseball coaching experience and/or played baseball at a high level whether they are a parent or not.