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A Conversation With Coach Tim Estes
2014 Season Preview

The Travelers finished strong at the USSSA World Series in 2013. That has to give you a great deal of confidence going into 2014:

"Absolutely. When we beat the Bullpen Braves, a very good baseball team, something registered with our kids and they realized that this brand of baseball works and works at a high level. They started to believe and have more confidence in themselves and our system, and we played great baseball. If we can carry that momentum forward, I like our chances in 2014."

You are playing some Fall tournaments. What is the purpose for Fall baseball?

"We are playing in four tournaments this Fall to try and keep these guys thinking baseball. It works out to about one tournament a month, so it's not much but enough to stay mentally sharp. Then, we'll take off until at least March or April so that the kids can concentrate on school baseball. I try not to "bump heads" with the school teams. This allows our kids to focus on one team at a time."

You picked up a new player. Tell us about Chandler Davis:

"Yes. Zach Britt moved to Augusta, so we had a roster spot to fill, and Chandler was a kid that I originally tried to recruit onto our team. He has close ties with us in that his mom is from here, his dad played and coached at Georgia Southwestern and his grandparents live here. Chandler is a tremendous athlete and a versatile player. He has a strong arm and will play both short stop and catcher. He also pitches and provides us with power from the left side at the plate. My hope is that he can anchor our #4 spot in the batting order and protect Clint Sellars, who hits in the #3 hole. Chandler will get a chance to drive in a lot of runs. Along with his talent, he fits right in with the chemistry of this team."

Are you looking for any other players?"

"Yes and No...We're very thin in the outfield, so if we could find a really good outfielder that also hits for a high average, we might have to take a look at him. I'm always looking for a left handed pitcher only, but those are hard to find. I'm very comfortable with the players we have now and want to get those guys as much playing time as possible, but if the right situation came along, we'd look at adding the two types of players that I mentioned."

Tell us about your 2014 Spring/Summer schedule:

"It will be similar to what we did in 2013. Most of our events will be played in this area of Georgia. I'm also trying to put together our own tournament at Georgia Southwestern for the summer, so hopefully some of our home fans can get to see us play here this summer. We will again be a part of USSSA Baseball and will play in their State Tournament and hopefully earn a spot in the World Series."

Looking down the road a few years, what do you see for this team and the program?

"This team has the potential to be a National power if we will stay focused and grounded and everyone dedicates themselves to staying with us. Each season there will be some changes. Some of our guys may lose interest in baseball as we progress to the higher age divisions (Carfumes and Perfumes) seem to get a few of them at 16. There are a couple of guys who may just be "Pitcher Only" material as they get older and you never know how they will accept that role or if they will accept that role. So it's hard to predict right now how we'll be in two years, but we have the nucleus to be very strong. As for the program, we have a lot of people interested in us starting another team in the Fall of 2014, so that we would have a 13 & under and a 15 & under team in the Fall of 2014. We'll just have to wait and see. If we have the right coaches, parents and players to do that, I'd be more than willing to see it happen. What I don't want to do is get too big too fast. We need to keep our focus on developing mainly local players and keeping the cost down as much as possible. The formula we have used for 15 years has worked, and I want to keep it that way."

What should people know about the Americus Travelers?

"I just want people to know that we're not trying to be something we're not...and we're not trying to be something that someone else already is! This program is about developing players from the Southwest Georgia area and conducting ourselves the right way. There's always going to be more talented programs out there, but I hope you won't find a more classy, honest program out there."