In our last issue, we talked about the steps you take to get to the World Series after you win your berth. Read Part II in the series of what to do after you win your berth: Strategies to Make your Trip a Success.

So What is All the Pin Hoopla Anyway?
Generally, each player on each team brings a quantity of trading pins to trade with players on other teams on opening day. To estimate the number of pins you need, look up how many teams were in the World Series at your location last year, and get about 1/3 or 1/4 more pins than that number. (Teams from different age divisions trade between each other as well.) 50 or more pins per player is a good start.

Players need something on which to display their pins. Most teams use embroidered golf towels with grommets and hooks, but we've seen some teams display them on foamboard. Last year we used golf towels for display, but the players carried their pins during trading time in disposable plastic containers (such as Glad brand), just to make it quicker to get to the pins during the chaos.

Don't be the only team without pins. Pin trading is a big tradition on opening day, and all the teams participate. Your players will never forgive you if they are the only ones without pins to trade.

Practicing on Location
Let's face it, you didn't come all this way to fall flat on your face. You're going to want to practice at least a little while you are at the World Series. But it's easier said that done. Getting everyone together is often like herding cats, and finding a venue isn't always easy. But if you do a little leg work ahead of time, you'll make everything go much more smoothly.

1. Find a venue. Email the tournament director and ask him/her where the fields and batting cages are. Make a map available for your parents.
2. Set your dates and times. As soon as the schedule is released for the tournament, set your practice dates and times and notify your parents.
3. Be flexible. Other teams may be at that location when you arrive; it might rain; or half of your parents might decide they need to go to the casino instead. Be sure to have a plan B in case a practice doesn't work out.
4. Try your hotel. Bring a net and work out on the hotel grounds. Depending on the size of the grounds, you can do soft toss into the net, grounders, pitching and catching drills, and plain old catch.

In other words, if you were paying a $1000 charge, the hotel could put a hold on $3000, making those funds unavailable for three to 15 days. If you pay with the same card with which you reserved the room(s), the hold is released faster, but during the period that the hotel charge and the hold are both on the card, you may become overdrawn, or the combined charges might exceed your spending limit. There is nothing you or the hotel staff can do about this policy. It is something that the credit card companies (mainly Visa) and hotel companies have agreed upon together. If you have a team debit card, be sure to check with your hotel and ask about their policy on holding funds. The Federal Trade Commission has an article about this hold, or blocking, policy.

Ways around the debit card dilemma are to

• secure a team credit card (best method)
• obtain a cashier's check before you leave
• get set up for a wire transfer with the hotel (expensive and not always available)
• see if you can pay most of the hotel charges with a check a couple of weeks before you arrive (not always available or practical, given that you might not know how long you'll stay)

Saving Money
You can save money, of course, by driving instead of flying (depending on where your World Series is).

You can save even more money by bringing some of your own food. In every extended-stay tournament that we've attended, we have brought a cooler stocked with food (or filled a refrigerator if the room had one). You can keep a cooler in your room and bring nonperishable items with you, such as peanut butter, cereal, and granola bars. This helps tremendously with those snacks that the kids invariably want throughout the week, and it helps you control what they eat! The players need to play up to full capacity, and eating junk all week isn't going to help them!

We recommend that you bring at least a small cooler to keep carrot sticks or other vegetables and fruits that your player will eat, as well as milk or juice that will be hard to find late at night when those cravings set in during the week. Apples with peanut butter makes a great healthy snack that most kids love and doesn't even have to be refrigerated! Remember to bring a knife and paper plates! Each family can save well over $100 just by eating one meal a day in their room!

All Work and No Play Doesn't Work
Sure, you're there to play baseball. It's been your goal all year. But your players are kids; they are out of town in a strange hotel, and there is a sparkling pool full of noisy players from other teams just beckoning them to jump in. So what do you do?

• Find a happy medium. Schedule team swim time: at least an hour a day that the players get to get in the pool so they can quit thinking about it. Otherwise, it's all they'll think about!
• Bring an X-Box. Or two. Bring a video console with you to hook up to the hotel television. Hotels often have their own games available, but they charge for them. Bringing your own console will save you money over the week. Be sure to stock plenty of four-player games as well and enough controllers! Pawn shops and eBay are good sources for low-cost games. Beware that some hotels have their televisions protected so that you can't connect your game consoles. Call ahead to see if you need to bring your own small TV too. But remember, whoever has the game console has all the kids! Better ask for pizza donations from the other parents!
• Schedule team outings. Check with the tournament director or Chamber of Commerce to find the local attractions. You can usually count on Putt-Putt, go carts, and movies, and you might find paintball, museums, and other sporting events.
• Have a BBQ. Many hotels and most parks have BBQ grills where teams can have a potluck meal. Throw in a practice for good measure.

Basically, you want to keep the players busy enough that they have a good time and don't feel like they were tortured by being kept out of the pool by mean ogres. But you don't want them in the pool all the time in 90+ degree weather when they have to play baseball later on your nickel!

» Miss the first World Series article? View it in the Newsletter Archive.
  

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