Sabertooth
Footballguy
I think the regret is the money and time in terms of opportunity cost of other things.
The bolded can be seen in both a positive and negative light.
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Travel ball- how necessary? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter shadyridr
- Start date
The bolded can be seen in both a positive and negative light.
Opportunity cost of other things? Other vacations? Like I said if you aren't having fun going to tournaments and experiencing that as a vacation then travel sports aren't for you. If you take advantage of the opportunity to experience the areas you travel to see things you normally wouldn't then you are gaining memories just as good (if you enjoy such things) as any other vacation memories.
As far as the bolded goes, people gravitate to other people with similar likes and dislikes. I should have said all of his close friends instead of all of his friends. Friends become better friends if you travel together on vacations and share those type of experiences.
Grace Under Pressure
Footballguy
Sure, go for it and see what happens. I've had a lot of folks close to me do travel for baseball, soccer and lacrosse. They generally enjoyed it, although none of the kids ended up going beyond high school. My daughter is 8 and we're currently considering travel vs. rec soccer.
Speaking of high school, only scanned the replies and saw the typical scholarship/majors responses, but one thing to consider is that if he is good and likes ball, freshman year high school tryouts aren't entirely that far away. Kids will be doing travel ball, the batting cage, and probably some pro instruction. In the 5 boroughs, there are tons of travel ball opportunities that have tournaments in Jersey, Long Island, Westchester, etc. so you can drive there and back, maybe with one night in a hotel. The folks close to me that did travel sports, their kids generally always made the high school team. That's pretty cool in and of itself, if the kids want to do that.
Speaking of high school, only scanned the replies and saw the typical scholarship/majors responses, but one thing to consider is that if he is good and likes ball, freshman year high school tryouts aren't entirely that far away. Kids will be doing travel ball, the batting cage, and probably some pro instruction. In the 5 boroughs, there are tons of travel ball opportunities that have tournaments in Jersey, Long Island, Westchester, etc. so you can drive there and back, maybe with one night in a hotel. The folks close to me that did travel sports, their kids generally always made the high school team. That's pretty cool in and of itself, if the kids want to do that.
Sabertooth
Footballguy
I'm glad you had fun with it. Sounds like you have a well adjusted attitude about it. Sounds like you'd have been fine either way and made the most of it.
MAC_32
Footballguy
And there's the rub. It depends on where you are, but in order for it to potentially be part of his future his chances increase if he goes through this door. But does he really want to? Send him through this door too soon at the expense of another sport and it could prevent him from ever re-routing. Good luck answering this right now, but what will his range of goals be 3-5 years from now? Really that's more important than the right now. And not necessarily athletically either. But since the topic is sports, in today's game kids are being pushed to single sport at such an early age - no matter the sport. That's where the communication pipeline begins. Get some attention in travel ball and word starts to spread. This was also the case 20 years ago, but I think it's worse now - if you try to be a multi-sport athlete then unless you're a special talent then you won't play enough to keep up with the others in each sport and at some point you'll fade away. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing though. It just depends on the kid - what he's interested in now, where he excels, where he doesn't, and where his developmental curve goes from here.shadyridr said:
I don't know if that helps or not, but those are the sorts of things I'd be asking myself. In some ways I'm thankful my oldest doesn't have an athletic bone in his body. Uniquely gifted, but it's primarily book smarts right now. That's allowed me the benefit of time to really evaluate how a lot of these athletic programs run, so if our younger ones develop some athleticism maybe I'll feel more confident in any suggestions I make.
I am the Walrus
Footballguy
I think you said your son is 12. When my son was 12 I would have been saying all the things you're saying. But, now that it's all in my rear view mirror I have the opposite opinion. Besides my older son (the baseball player) I have a younger son involved in another sport. We didn't travel as a family because my wife had to stay behind to shuttle the younger boy back and forth.
So, travel ball turned out to be just the two of us doing the same thing over and over again, for about 9 years. When he was 12 it was still new and exciting. When he was 17, not so much. Instead, I started to dread the weekly ritual of taking off work Thur and Friday, driving half a day, staying in Motel 6's for 3 nights, spending nearly every waking hour at the ball park or in the hotel, and then doing it all over again from late May through early August.
And, then he jumped right into football in the fall, and then snowboarding in the winter (boarding is a varsity sport where we live). He never had a break.
Looking back, instead of travel ball I would have had him play community ball. We could have done far more things as a family, and he would have been able to do a lot more than just play baseball.
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RUSF18
Footballguy
And not saying Gally's kid feels the same way, but if you asked me if I was having an awesome time playing travel ball when I was 12, I would have said yes. But that was at least partially, if not nearly entirely, because I knew my father wanted me to be playing and also because I didn't really realize what else I was missing out on until I was a bit older.
jabarony
Footballguy
Along those lines, I'll say travel ball may be a necessary evil depending on your locale. My son played a few years of baseball - always rec. Assuming all the local kids his age stayed in rec, he'd probably be an average player. If the top 12 kids left to form a travel team, my son would be one of the better kids out there, but by no means a stud. Unfortunately about 20 more kids left to play travel ball B & C teams. That's where my son would be. But we didnt want the time commitment required for baseball. So all of a sudden my kid is in the top 2 or 3 kids in the league. Simply because he would not kick dirt, could catch the ball, and know what a force-out is. It was brutal to watch kids in the rec league who you could tell hated baseball (sports), but their parents signed them up anyways.Gally said:
My son hated throwing to first and the firstbaseman isn't there. He hated getting 2 atbats (sometimes 1) per game. He hated that his teammates didn't try.
Long story short. My kid doesnt play baseball anymore.
He plays rec basketball, but that's much more palatable. A lot more action, and the put-ball-in-hoop is much more engaging for those less-interested kids.
TripItUp
Footballguy
From somebody that lettered in three sports in high school and is still actively playing 4 sports into my 40s, my personal opinion is that youth sports has gone off the rails.
Parents trying to relive their life through their kids...it's pathetic and unfair to many of the kids.
I love sports and if I ever have children I don't even know that I want them competing in today's American environment...misplaced values all over the place.
Parents trying to relive their life through their kids...it's pathetic and unfair to many of the kids.
I love sports and if I ever have children I don't even know that I want them competing in today's American environment...misplaced values all over the place.
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shadyridr
Footballguy
So I guess that's the good thing for my son's little league. While all the good players seem to be on a travel team they also play in the rec league. Of course if there is a scheduling conflict the travel team wins out but more often than not the good kids are playing in both leagues (for now). That's why I didnt see the harm in keeping him in rec league at least one more year.
shadyridr
Footballguy
Also, I practice baseball with my son almost every day when the weather gets nicer and he was in indoor training all winter. So while maybe he wont get the experience playing on a travel team for now he is practicing all the time AND we have the bonding time which I dont want to miss out on. I also manage his LL team. Thats what its all about in my opinion. If he goes on a travel team, hes practicing without me, playing without me, and Im watching from the stands. We both miss that bonding time. I think Im happy with my choice no travel right now. Ive never been the type of person to keep up with the Jones'. I always do what I feel is right for our own situation.
TripItUp
Footballguy
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mozzy84
Footballguy
Its pretty fun actually (besides the ridiculous cost of everything), I think that the bolded part is pretty overblown, for the most part 80-90% of the parents are pretty normal, their was crazy parents when we were growing up too, you remember them. That said I wouldn't put my kid in travel baseball at 8 if you let me do it for free.
TripItUp
Footballguy
I'm sure it varies from region to region....talk of athletic scholarship at age 10 is ridiculous 99% of the time. How about the kid just does well in school and learns how to be a good human, that puts him ahead of 95% of his class in most instances...and will give him far more in life than an athletic scholarship, which is a pipedream for 99% of kids.
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comfortably numb
Footballguy
Peak
Footballguy
Many good advice and situations posted in here. Mine is similar to many here. My son started playing rec ball at 5, but by 8 he was above the rest of the talent on the team. He loved playing the game, but hated going to his team's games - if that makes sense. We would throw in the backyard, or drive over to a local park and just hold our own practice and he loved every minute of it. Once the skill level separated, that's when we started looking at travel teams. Like most have said, you need to do your homework on the team and the coaches. Many are out looking for a profit, or churn through players just to make a name for themselves. We were lucky enough to find a team and coach that is protective of the kids and won't put them in a bad situation just to win a game. He manages his pitch counts well, and gives everyone a chance. My son's team has been together since 8U (he's 12 now), and the team has won their league the last two years running, as well as a few tournaments. It's fun to watch the kids having fun while they play. It's a lot of work for the boys, but I've told my son many times that when the game stops being fun, that's when you know it's time to quit.
comfortably numb
Footballguy
What will his goals be in 3-5 years?
He'll be 11-13.
The only goal a kid has between 11-13 is how often he can crank his pecker per day.
Come on people.
Goals, scholarships, HS tryouts...let's let our 8-9 year olds be.... 8-9 years old
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
shadyridr
Footballguy
I always thought your avatar was a dog and for the first time I realized its a lego head.
comfortably numb
Footballguy
MAC_32
Footballguy
I agree, which is why I hate that those questions have become kinda necessary. I hate seeing kids these ages being guided towards playing a single sport like baseball from literally March-October. We're talking about moving and one of the reasons I'm dragging my feet is because our district doesn't. So many of our athletes play two or sometimes three of basketball from Nov-Feb, baseball April-July, and football Aug-Nov. I love seeing that balance. I think it'll benefit them as they get older. I don't see it from other schools though. We have girls basketball tournament games with both teams having literally no bench. Why? Volleyball started. In early February - it's from then until Thanksgiving. Basketball was simply there just to keep them active during the 2 month offseason. A similar story exists with football. We have 4 diamonds with a constantly full schedule. In September and October. All while the football teams that used to practice in the same park aren't practicing because they don't have enough players to practice because they're playing baseball. Baseball season goes from March-October, you either rest in between or use football/basketball as filler but skip when baseball interferes. And these aren't small schools either.
belljr
Footballguy
This is the biggest hurdle for many - Trust me I get it. People hear travel and they think OMG we have no lives, parents are crazy too much pressure on the kids. Trust me I was there. Are there people that go too far YUP. I hate todays youth landscape also but in reality I'm just playing the cards dealt. A "good travel team" at the young age SHOULD be teaching the game still. But with travel you definitely will practice and play more. As they get older you start to "ramp up". Its definitely not the same format as when I played but similar. You play league/all-stars when younger as I got older HS then Summer "legion ball". The difference is now fall is more prevalent. My 9 year was not deprived of being a 9 year old. Instead of 3 hours of softball a week it was ~10 at that age. She still had plenty of time to play, go on trips , play video games. As they get older sure she might miss a bday party or 2. And you might not going on as many trips but we still schedule something every year in August.
Sorry I went on. My answer to your actual post was this. My daughter is 12. 7th grade. This is the first year for school ball. 26 kids came out for 7th and 8th grade. I know most of the kids. I either coached them or their dads coached. During the winter my daughter was in a pitching clinic and so was a parent I knew. He says to me - why are you wasting all your time with club, let your kids be kids etc etc. I said we are. I asked him if he felt that way why did he bring his daughter to this clinic. And he says so she can get better and be ready for the rec league and school. I said I'm doing the same thing but just a little bit more.
His daughter did not make the team.
I always said this. If my kid was a genius at computers. I give her every opportunity to be as good as possible. A singer, math wiz whatever. She just shows the most potential and interest in softball.
YMMV - and I totally understand there are people out there that put a black eye on this. 8 is probably too young imo. But 9-10 its definitely something to consider. Doesn't mean its mandatory.
Maybe I have a healthier attitude than most with this I don't know. If my daughter ever said she wanted to quit, that ok by me. But she wants to play at least high school and I'm doing whatever I can to help her do that. Anything else after that is just gravy. If you looked at our rec league compared to 6-7 years ago - the competition level is wayyy down. And thats ok if thats what you want to do. But others just want kids to play at a level they can achieve my .02
belljr
Footballguy
If you have a travel coach that says they can't play other sports - they are doing the kids a disservice imo. We always say your in season sport is priority but at least make an effort to show up if you can (which isn't a problem with these kids)
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MAC_32
Footballguy
From what I've gathered, none of them "say" this. But, actions > words. Those that come to "optional" practices during the offseason play. Those that prioritize another seasonal sport don't. And I get this is expanding the scope beyond travel baseball because I'm not just talking about them, but I think it all falls under the same umbrella. You're not going to experience this everywhere, but it certainly exists with more youth sports than I want to admit.
belljr
Footballguy
@shadyridr I don't know your league calendar. Ours is age as of 1/1
So if hes still playing 8u or playing 10u. You don't need travel. If you keep working with him he will get better. A lot of rec kids don't have parent that work with them. They just show up for that time. So he definitely will be better. Make sure you teach him the mental part of the game also. Like looking for his pitch at a 2-0 vs 0-2 count etc etc. Teach him backing up plays, rotation etc in addition to his fundamentals.
If you find soon that he really isn't getting much out of it anymore (i mean the current level of play is not challenging enough, or the games are awful) Then it may be time to look around.
We've had kids start playing travel at 10-11-12. The older kids are obviously working on their own outside of the "regular" schedule. The older kids start out a little behind but they catch up.
There is nothing wrong with waiting. I don't know in your area but we also have different "levels" of travel competitive wise (i.e A,B,C or AAA, AA, A) so that is also an option to maybe start with a lower type travel team. In the end just make sure hes still having fun. Our team works their asses off but they all have fun
So if hes still playing 8u or playing 10u. You don't need travel. If you keep working with him he will get better. A lot of rec kids don't have parent that work with them. They just show up for that time. So he definitely will be better. Make sure you teach him the mental part of the game also. Like looking for his pitch at a 2-0 vs 0-2 count etc etc. Teach him backing up plays, rotation etc in addition to his fundamentals.
If you find soon that he really isn't getting much out of it anymore (i mean the current level of play is not challenging enough, or the games are awful) Then it may be time to look around.
We've had kids start playing travel at 10-11-12. The older kids are obviously working on their own outside of the "regular" schedule. The older kids start out a little behind but they catch up.
There is nothing wrong with waiting. I don't know in your area but we also have different "levels" of travel competitive wise (i.e A,B,C or AAA, AA, A) so that is also an option to maybe start with a lower type travel team. In the end just make sure hes still having fun. Our team works their asses off but they all have fun
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belljr
Footballguy
shadyridr
Footballguy
League calendar is as of 8/31 so he is playing in 9u right now. His division is Junior Minors. There are 7 teams in Junior Minors. Next year he can tryout for Majors. If he doesn't make Majors they have a division called Senior Minors. Both those divisions have 8 teams.
shadyridr
Footballguy
I dont coach travel. I coach little league. So its a little different for me. I get that parents have other priorities/sports. That being said, I wont lie and say its not annoying when half my team doesnt show up to practice because of flag football game or travel ball tournament. Nothing I can do about it though. I practice with who's there (including my son) and dont hold it against the players that doesnt show up. That being said, if a player doesnt constantly show up and isnt practicing on their own they are not gonna get better and more likely than not end up in the OF and hitting towards the end of the lineup because they arent getting the reps.
Kraft...
Footballguy
@shadyridr seems to me that your rec program is solid. As long as you feel your little guy is being challenged and improving I wouldn't rush into travel. Main reason my daughter went to club was because our town rec league was so terrible. I coached her all the way through and most years we could barely scrape four teams together, and that was ages 9-12 too, big difference in size and skill. We lost tons of girls to lacrosse. My older daughter is a lacrosse player so I can see the draw it's a fun active game. Makes me sad though since baseball was my first love sports wise.
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
I meant the days are long but the years are short, and that's true whether they play sports or not
That is definitely one of my concerns as well. I talk to him all the time about what he wants to do and how much he wants to play.
At this point I couldn't really drag my son away from the game. He plays wifflle ball in the backyard with neighbor kids every day. He pushes me to get to practice early. He watches every baseball game he can watch (all he wanted for his B-day and Christmas was to get the MLB ticket so he can watch every game). We cut the travel season down to make sure all the kids can play other sports without being interrupted. My son plays soccer and basketball as well as baseball. He loves them all.
I have been lucky in that I was able to play 2 yrs of college ball and have coached at the high school level for about 15 years before giving that up to coach my son in LL. I was able to get together with another similar minded dad to start our travel team which gives us a lot of control over how much we play and since we both believe kids should play multiple sports we are able to adjust our season around the other sports to allow everyone to play what they want. It also helps that my wife played college softball and my daughter likes to play as well. This definitely makes the travel a family experience that we all enjoy. We are lucky in this regard.
shadyridr
Footballguy
They are actually building a $5m stadium this year which I am looking forward to playing in
http://www.silive.com/sports/index.ssf/2018/04/sslls_long-awaited_field_of_dr.html#incart_river_index
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I wouldnt leave either
Zerp
Interdisciplinary Research
I'm clearly late to this thread. But have 2 daughters that 2-sported ages 6-11, winter rec basketball to stay in shape for fastpitch, then went club for fastpitch and netted D1 schollies. Some of the best times of my life. And a son that played rec for baseball and basketball ages 6-11, then club for both, then quit both at 13, and lettered in HS wrestling and lacrosse. It all seems to work itself out. Be happy to answer any questions about club life or the reality of college athletics [it's a job, up at 5:30 to lift, schedule classes around BP, team drills, tutors, make-up exams, planes, buses, weekends, you better love it, they cry for a month when it's time to hang up the cleats, etc].
dino259
Footballguy
Tonight is the first baseball practice for my 9U 3rd grader. Not really looking forward to it. I feel like I am not allowed/able to be involved as much as I have in the past. I also have a son in 11U 5th grade baseball. I have helped coach their teams for baseball, basketball, flag football, and soccer from ever since they started playing.
I have been more a part of my older son's teams as he has just been into more than his younger brother. He always wants to play catch or run through pass patterns or shoot left handed layups as a righty. I also had a good connection with another dad from the team that we co-coached everything. We live just outside of one town near another village. The village doesn't have it's own school so kids progress onto one of 3 different school districts. We have now fully converted over to the athletic programs of the town where my boys go to school. I wasn't sure how much I would be able to help coach on these teams as I wasn't part of them progressing up the grade levels. So long story short, new town with established coaches. However, with my oldest being a good player at everything it wasn't hard for him to make the teams or for me to be part of the staff to help coach the team.
My 3rd grader is quite as skill but is one of the bigger kids and is used to playing with and keeping up with his brother but just doesn't have the same focus. For his team last year it was an in house machine pitch team with 1st and 2nd graders. Some kids on the team could barely catch. My kid was in the top 4 or 5 on the team. Practice 1 night a week with 1 game per week. There were not a lot of outs made as it was hard to get the right group of kids in the right position in an effort to move everyone around. On this team I was an assistant with 2 other coaches (Coach A and Coach B). Coach A was the head coach. I always felt we could have done more skill specific drills as opposed to basic playing catch and grounders and then self scrimmage.
This year we went with travel as to not have to painfully watch the in house rec league. They had about 30 kids try out for the travel team. They ended up going with 2 teams of 13 kids as there are a lot of similar athletes in this grade. They split the teams equally which is good by me as none of these kids have played kid pitch yet (at least that I know of). So on my son's team, we have Coach A and Coach B's kids. There is also one of the best kids from last years team as well (Kid C). Kid C's dad did not coach or help last year. I believe he helped his daughter's team. For this year the head coach is Coach C. There are 3 assistants, Coach A and Coach B as well as another dad (Coach D). After receiving the first team email, I responded introducing myself and offering my help in anyway. I explain my past history of coaching and the fact that I also have another son I would be helping out with.
I received a response of - we will take you up on that help later in the year, we just want to start with the coaches we have. About 2 weeks later when the first couple of practices were announced, I responded again with my offer to help and my availability based on both kids schedule. I again received a response of pretty much thanks but we're good right now.
This dad, Coach C, also sent out a link to a specific pair of baseball pants as he wanted the boys to look like a real team. The boys should also have just a black belt as well as cleats of only certain colors. This week we also got an email about just black socks. School colors are black and orange so we have both. I just hope these coaches don't get over zealous and give the kids full opportunity at all positions and keep things fun. Probably more about losing some control and having less contact with the team. Just hope it isn't town politics and favoritism.
I have been more a part of my older son's teams as he has just been into more than his younger brother. He always wants to play catch or run through pass patterns or shoot left handed layups as a righty. I also had a good connection with another dad from the team that we co-coached everything. We live just outside of one town near another village. The village doesn't have it's own school so kids progress onto one of 3 different school districts. We have now fully converted over to the athletic programs of the town where my boys go to school. I wasn't sure how much I would be able to help coach on these teams as I wasn't part of them progressing up the grade levels. So long story short, new town with established coaches. However, with my oldest being a good player at everything it wasn't hard for him to make the teams or for me to be part of the staff to help coach the team.
My 3rd grader is quite as skill but is one of the bigger kids and is used to playing with and keeping up with his brother but just doesn't have the same focus. For his team last year it was an in house machine pitch team with 1st and 2nd graders. Some kids on the team could barely catch. My kid was in the top 4 or 5 on the team. Practice 1 night a week with 1 game per week. There were not a lot of outs made as it was hard to get the right group of kids in the right position in an effort to move everyone around. On this team I was an assistant with 2 other coaches (Coach A and Coach B). Coach A was the head coach. I always felt we could have done more skill specific drills as opposed to basic playing catch and grounders and then self scrimmage.
This year we went with travel as to not have to painfully watch the in house rec league. They had about 30 kids try out for the travel team. They ended up going with 2 teams of 13 kids as there are a lot of similar athletes in this grade. They split the teams equally which is good by me as none of these kids have played kid pitch yet (at least that I know of). So on my son's team, we have Coach A and Coach B's kids. There is also one of the best kids from last years team as well (Kid C). Kid C's dad did not coach or help last year. I believe he helped his daughter's team. For this year the head coach is Coach C. There are 3 assistants, Coach A and Coach B as well as another dad (Coach D). After receiving the first team email, I responded introducing myself and offering my help in anyway. I explain my past history of coaching and the fact that I also have another son I would be helping out with.
I received a response of - we will take you up on that help later in the year, we just want to start with the coaches we have. About 2 weeks later when the first couple of practices were announced, I responded again with my offer to help and my availability based on both kids schedule. I again received a response of pretty much thanks but we're good right now.
This dad, Coach C, also sent out a link to a specific pair of baseball pants as he wanted the boys to look like a real team. The boys should also have just a black belt as well as cleats of only certain colors. This week we also got an email about just black socks. School colors are black and orange so we have both. I just hope these coaches don't get over zealous and give the kids full opportunity at all positions and keep things fun. Probably more about losing some control and having less contact with the team. Just hope it isn't town politics and favoritism.
Bull Dozier
Footballguy
I haven't read the whole thread but this. There isn't a universal answer to this. It all depends on the kid, the choice in programs, the coaches in the different programs, price, time etc.
Baseball here in Minnesota is so different than in other areas, I have to believe the answer is going to be different than in states that get to play year round, or at least more than five month a year. I have seen some really good location teams go to national tournaments to get smoked by Texas and California teams that are playing baseball outside 12 months a year. We can't compete with that.
I say that only to lay the foundation that I can't imagine competitive kids not playing travel ball here in Minnesota. Granted, I'm not familiar with many programs officially part of LL (we have a Babe Ruth park down the street my kids played with for a few years, but I have grown to despise the way that program is run and I think their rules are stupid dumb). Locally, the travel program is the option most closely related to the high school program, so if they have desire to play high school ball, that is the option if you want your kids face in front of the high school coaches and have them known.
Around here, there is only one baseball season, so kids can't play on more than one team generally, other than the overlap between Babe Ruth and VFW.
Coaching is the biggest variable though. I loved our travel program experience for the most part, except my younger son had a horrible run of bad coaches. It is tough to find a coach who is more interested in developing players over winning games. Coaches get it in their head that it is travel ball, so it is all about winning, forgetting that they are coaching 9, 10, 11 year olds who are still developing physically and have a lot to learn about the game.
TL;DR
Edited to add i wouldn't give up the years I spent with my boys playing traveling for anything. Granted, I got to coach them, so it was quality time I was able to spend with my kids, not just the "baseball" experience for them.
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shadyridr
Footballguy
Im glad I waited. I think my son is officially "ready" now. Best fielder, 2nd best hitter, 2nd best pitcher on my team. Loves playing. Wants to practice every day after school. He also sees a swing coach that has made him a beast at the dish lately.
Sad our season is almost over. Looking forward to fall ball already and will look into the travel teams.
Sad our season is almost over. Looking forward to fall ball already and will look into the travel teams.
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
This is what it's all about, and what he'll have to remind himself/be reminded of from time to time the longer he sticks with it.
Keerock
Footballguy
I coached all 3 of my kids... my youngest just graduated HS. I coached his travel team from 8-17U. Every year I'd get kids (parents) who would move on to other teams because they were promised "better" coaching, more playing time, more competition. Every time I'd tell them... do what you feel is best for you and your son.
The top 5 kids on the HS Varsity team stayed with my team through 17U. 2 of them are going to play college ball. I believe this is due to the fact that they really love the game, not that I was a great coach. Every one of the kids that defected, quit baseball before HS Varsity. Now that all of these kids are graduating, I see them/their parents at grad events and they all say they wish they had stayed with our team. We emphasized fun, development, teamwork and sportsmanship. We didn't push for year round training, professional coaches, or ultra-high competition.
Point being... there are so very few kids that play at the next levels. Ensuring that they have fun playing with their friends and love the game is what is most important.
The top 5 kids on the HS Varsity team stayed with my team through 17U. 2 of them are going to play college ball. I believe this is due to the fact that they really love the game, not that I was a great coach. Every one of the kids that defected, quit baseball before HS Varsity. Now that all of these kids are graduating, I see them/their parents at grad events and they all say they wish they had stayed with our team. We emphasized fun, development, teamwork and sportsmanship. We didn't push for year round training, professional coaches, or ultra-high competition.
Point being... there are so very few kids that play at the next levels. Ensuring that they have fun playing with their friends and love the game is what is most important.
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Cowboysfan8
Footballguy
Yeah, I can see that. My youngest plays on a travel team now (10U). Always been a solid player, usually best on his team in LL. We had a great tournament team in LL where he played with the same kids starting when he was 7. Really cheap ($75) because it was basically an all star team for the age group and we could use the fields. Some parents and commissioners wanted to change things up (wanted their kids on best team/change from A and B to A1/A2). Anyway, the LL itself kept getting worse but our team stayed together until 10U even though we all almost left. A little under half of the top players (including my son) decided we wanted to just be a travel team so we joined a team in the fall. Funny thing is that most of the kids were our team or top teams we played all time. Fall ball is even worse at LL and my son didn’t want to play it again.
Anyway, glad we left, most parents still take it way to seriously changing teams paying thousands of dollars (ours is reasonable $700 for Fall), etc. My son likes his team and his coaches (paid) and I have no aspirations that he’s playing in college. Maybe he will but he’s too smart to go to a bad academic school to play baseball. We’ve always gone on spring breaks and this year will be the first year we’ve missed a day of vacation. We’ll meet my other sons and wife/3 other families on Sunday instead of Saturday. That’s as far as I’d go. Maybe he’ll fall out of love with it and I won’t care because it’s what he loves now but it’s not his future. I’ve seen quite a few kids who I know won’t “make it” spend more than a college education for travel ball. That’s insane.
Yep. It’s funny when people talk about friends and it is fun for the kids, well depending on parents. That said I think I like school sports better. My soon to be 8th grader plays lacrosse and football for the middle school and loves it. Not expensive, very little travel but it’s all his friends not kids he doesn’t see outside of a travel sport. He’s not a star so easier to not even think about travel just having fun with his friends. I think that’s a better social environment with more than just the sport being a commonality among the kids. I don’t regret my youngest playing on his travel team. It’s a little lower key and he goes to school with several of the kids so it’s much more local. I just can’t see getting ridiculously travel oriented that he wouldn’t play on his school team or heck decide he wants to play lacrosse or football. I think he’s more than good enough but then it’s not fun and since I went to a top 10 university I’m hoping he goes to a D1 school like UNC where he won’t be good enough. That said, maybe he’ll continue to love it and make it. I won’t squash any dream but let’s be honest, I’m not a former major leaguer with a son hitting HRs at Duke or Texas.
glvsav37
Footballguy
We are just starting with travel ice hockey this season with my youngest, 8. Honesty travel wouldn't have been in the picture if he wasn't goalie. But there are so few goalie positions available, I wanted him 'in the system' early so he can get the development needed to play the position as he gets older. Our association has 3 levels of travel, Major, Minor and Dev—each with their own level/frequency of travel and overall cost. I knew the kid who plays net for the major team, excellent kid, very solid goalie—that spot was locked up. Had a feeling about the position for minor was going to be another kid, and was content with dev for my son being he only started goalie full time in September. However, they made 2 minor teams and my son got one of them. So good news/bad news, he played well enough to make the mid level team, but now we will be traveling more and cost me about a grand more in dues.
Overall, my son loves it so far. He enjoyed playing out before, but I could tell he wasn't aggressive enough or developing in his stickhandling or shooting vs other kids his age. Once he asked to play net and got in there, it was 180 degree turn around. Now the kid has a little swagger in him on the ice that I've never seen in him at home. We got a helmet camera for him for a special thing he was playing in (Madison Square Garden between periods of FDNY/NYPD game) and it recorded him talking to himself from inside the mask....was really great to hear how he was verbalizing his thoughts.
Also good that they asked me to be an assit coach on his team. So i do get to spend a lot of time with him on the ice as well. We will see how it goes.
How do parents with other siblings handle it. My daughter, the oldest, is involved with sports, but not on a travel level. Its not fair to her for her too miss games or events if we are away?
Overall, my son loves it so far. He enjoyed playing out before, but I could tell he wasn't aggressive enough or developing in his stickhandling or shooting vs other kids his age. Once he asked to play net and got in there, it was 180 degree turn around. Now the kid has a little swagger in him on the ice that I've never seen in him at home. We got a helmet camera for him for a special thing he was playing in (Madison Square Garden between periods of FDNY/NYPD game) and it recorded him talking to himself from inside the mask....was really great to hear how he was verbalizing his thoughts.
Also good that they asked me to be an assit coach on his team. So i do get to spend a lot of time with him on the ice as well. We will see how it goes.
How do parents with other siblings handle it. My daughter, the oldest, is involved with sports, but not on a travel level. Its not fair to her for her too miss games or events if we are away?
SHIZNITTTT
Footballguy
Travel Ball, Competitive Ball, Elite Ball whatever it is called is lightyears ahead of Little League Baseball where my twins play. Comparing the two is laughable. My twins will play more games in a week than most little league teams play in a year. My twins were good enough to play on a little league team just enough to qualify for Little League World Series tryouts and eventually made the team. The level of competition even at the World Series is way less than travel ball for the same age. In fact, if you spend the time you can see that a lot of the better World Series teams are made up of travel teams and have manipulated the rules to gain an advantage. Fast forward to my twins 9th-grade year coming this fall and they both made the high school team, and I would say that the travel team they play for would hold their own very well against their varsity team. HC already told the parents DO NOT stop taking lessons and competing on your travel teams. Some of the bigger high schools are losing players to travel teams due to the coaches not wanting their players to get hurt. Most players in the high school division will earn a scholarship by being seen at a tournament outside of HS. Well unless you are throwing 95mph, or hitting 500ft homers.
With all that said if our kids didn't absolutely love baseball (which I hate by the way) we wouldn't spend the time, and considerable amounts of money on it. It is mind-boggling to people who don't live the life, and I have seen peoples faces go blank when the aspect of money and traveling is discussed. It is no more expensive than anything you do competitive for kids gymnastics, cheer, band, horse riding, ice skating, hockey, or travel basketball. Your kids are only kids once and if it makes them happy to play 10 games a week why not let them if you can afford the time and cost?
With all that said if our kids didn't absolutely love baseball (which I hate by the way) we wouldn't spend the time, and considerable amounts of money on it. It is mind-boggling to people who don't live the life, and I have seen peoples faces go blank when the aspect of money and traveling is discussed. It is no more expensive than anything you do competitive for kids gymnastics, cheer, band, horse riding, ice skating, hockey, or travel basketball. Your kids are only kids once and if it makes them happy to play 10 games a week why not let them if you can afford the time and cost?
Sabertooth
Footballguy
I've found that the travel softball girls have a very tight knit group and will not socialize with my daughter anymore. They've all lived on the same street since they were 4 or 5 but she's not cool anymore because she's a band kid and a "smart" kid now. That's my older daughter.
Just two night ago, two of the younger "travel kids" showed up and asked if my younger daughter (11) could come out and play. Being like 9:00 PM and very suspicious of them, I said she's in the shower and can't. They said, and I quote "oh ok, can we jump on your trampoline?" Of course I said no. They haven't been back.
That's my older daughter.Just two night ago, two of the younger "travel kids" showed up and asked if my younger daughter (11) could come out and play. Being like 9:00 PM and very suspicious of them, I said she's in the shower and can't. They said, and I quote "oh ok, can we jump on your trampoline?" Of course I said no. They haven't been back.
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
I can't really comment too much on LL, as it's basically non-existent where I live, but I have to imagine that the aspect of that chance to be on TV plays a part in folks signing up for LL as opposed to travel ball. Personally, I'm not a fan of the shorter basepaths, mound and rules on stealing, but I hope youth travel leagues will adopt their pitch count rules, which I think is a reason a lot of DADS choose travel ball over LL. I saw too many kids, some as young as 8, ruin their arms before they turned 12 because their dad/coach overused them.
As far as quality of your boys' travel team goes, wait until they're playing 16U-18U, you'll start to wonder how they would do against your local minor league teams; I know because I did.
Regarding HS ball, it's unfortunate now that with travel sports, varsity sports are taking a back seat. There was a kid on a rival HS team last year that was good enough to get drafted last year, but because the scouts had seen him on his showcase team, that was all he cared about, put forth minimal effort and gave zero respect to the HS coach (this was before the MLB draft, so it's hard to say whether or not he knew he was going to be drafted). My son was the exact opposite; I had a 'connection' at a local private school that was known for its baseball program, and in 6th or 7th grade, when I mentioned it to my son, he said that he wanted to go to the public school with all of his friends and play ball with them. Even though there's a world of difference between my son and this other kid talent-wise, HS ball didn't matter for either of them when it came to getting to what they perceived as their next level, yet one played like it mattered and helped his team go farther than they had previously during his 4 years there, and the other left his team to go from competing for a state championship to falling off the face of the earth. Last I heard was that he scuffled in rookie ball last Fall but has no stats from this year, so he may already be done.
Finally, your last paragraph was
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