My 8 year old son (will be 9 in June) has been playing baseball for 4 years for our local little league. He was never really good at it so it was always just a fun thing. But something funny happened last year. He got good. Maybe not the best player on the team but maybe the 3rd best. His fielding is fantastic, hitting is decent, and he pitches. Travel was never even on my mind until this spring. I thought about it but ultimately decided not to pursue it yet because he also plays flag football. I didn't want to burn him out on little league, travel ball, AND flag football. He really likes playing baseball now because he's good at it but I do think if he played too much it would burn him out. Not sure he "loves" it yet. That being said, almost all the good players in his division also play on a travel team. Its insane. Where do people find the time? So while it may be too late to get him on a travel team this spring, I think a travel fall team is definitely in the cards. So am I hurting him by not having him on a travel team?
Good news 1: Your question has been answered: No, you're not hurting him by not playing travel ball at 8/9, and to apply a true cliche here, if he's good enough, he'll be noticed.
Good news 2: Thanks to the many replies you've gotten already, you'll be spared my long-winded response.
Bad news 1: You/he WILL HAVE TO put in a lot of 'extra' work the longer he wants to play. Some of it is costly, a lot of it doesn't have to be.
Bad news 2: I will still give you my .02, since this is one of the few topics I'm passionate about and can speak fairly knowledgeably on.
Anyway, getting into baseball is tough because the game itself is built on failure and even the most diligent worker isn't guaranteed any amount of success. It creates a climate where folks looking to cash in on your anxieties vis a vis your kid's future can make a killing, but most can be sniffed out and will eventually lose business when word gets out that they don't deliver on what they promise. It is a tremendous commitment of time, money and emotions, but if you don't look for "return on investment" in terms of money/educational opportunities but rather creating memories and building character among other intangibles, then hopefully you see the cost in a different light. For example, one of the more expensive things my son's travel team did was at age 12, when they went to Cooperstown for week-long 'tournament', and I can't put a price tag on the memories we both had there.
You made a comment that I hope you return to often: Not sure if he "loves" it yet. That should be the driving force behind all of this, and that's what you go to when you or others start to count the cost. My son took to the game before he was old enough to play for any organization(one of my favorite memories with him was playing wiffleball with him from when he was about 2 in the courtyard of the condo complex we lived in), and to this day, when he plays the game as a freshman in college, he lights up more than he does anywhere else, except maybe when he's hanging out with his friends, most of whom he met playing with and against when he was growing up. For that reason, I will never regret any of the time or money we spent on baseball over the years.
I feel I could go on, but again, you have a lot of good replies on both sides of the issue to chew on. Bottom line, if he loves it--and you'll get a sense of that by watching him play--proceed full speed ahead and try to enjoy every minute. My son was on the same travel team the bulk of his years up to age 13. They were pretty mediocre record-wise and got absolutely pummeled more times than I care to remember, but now I even look back on those games with a certain fondness, because even when it was bad, my son was still doing something he truly loved and that made it all worthwhile.
