Youth sports has jumped the shark.
- Thread starter patdog
- Start date
I heard two dads tell someone at church yesterday they couldn’t make it to an event yesterday because their 5 year olds had fall ball practice. One of the kids can barely walk a straight line.
Went to a few 6U games this year to watch a family member. Whatever teams coach presses the base running rules more wins. That’s the number 1 factor. It is stupid that they play all stars
At that age, they shouldn’t be playing anyone outside of Jackson County. And no tournaments.
I agree, but don't tell their parents that.
Y’all clearly don’t have athletic ability in your family.
if you do, prove me wrong and enter my tournament. $11k per team. If you’re poor or have no credit, take your genetically weak offspring somewhere else.
if you do, prove me wrong and enter my tournament. $11k per team. If you’re poor or have no credit, take your genetically weak offspring somewhere else.
We had a coach in regular league with a kid who started playing travel ball on the weekends. Coach learned to press the base running rules. He got pissed when I told him he wasn’t teaching the kids a damn thing by telling them to run no matter what if the ball was not back to the pitcher yet. He knew the kids could barely throw and catch in practice and sure as hell couldn’t do it under the stress of a game.
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Bet he has zero 4U Second Weekend in August championship rings.
There is a “World Series” in about every 5th town you pass through. It’s ridiculous.
In Panama City Beach I think we have 5+ Softball World Series a Summer. These girls are ALL going D1 and will get 1million in NIL money you jealous hores
under 8 you should drive them to the park and drop them off for 3 hours where they learn fundamentals and have some scrimmage. No parents in the park. Under 6 you throw them on a field and let them choose up teams and play against each other. No coaches at all.
I feel like there was going to be more to this response. Did you fall asleep typing?
Look at the OG in the back leaning lmao. He’s either really older looking for 6 yo or just a more like 7-8 years old looking like the OG of the group. Haha
I replace my 2 year old’s bat with a mace then lock him in the basement for 12 hours
ReverseCowbell reading too much Hemingway
Travel baseball is accelerating downhill like a runaway freight train around here. New organizations popping up with the same people behind them making the same promises every year. Of course if there’s a parent wanting to sign a contract and a bank draft then I guess you can’t fault a business for being willing to take their money. Unfortunately most parents lose sight and seem to not understand they are dealing with a business that effectively operates like a legal pyramid scheme where the ones on the bottom keep the top together to win tournaments and star in the social media posts used to reel in more at the bottom.
That is how I grew up. Not a big fan of travel ball especially all year long and early age.
The kids aren’t the problem. The parents are. Yes I’m talking to you who let your kids get rings for beating the same kids they got beat against the last 10 weekends in a row
Sounds like your kid lost the last 11 weekends. But his walk up music was fire and uniform had all the drip. **
But how would their dads (and some moms) feel validated, significant, and athletic if they did that?
I know parents that are switching schools in the 5th/6th grade because they want their kids to be close to the high school program. Bunch of da*n loons. You’ve also got parents managing and running their kids Instagram accounts and creating content (lessons, training, games). Bizarro world
I didn't have T-ball when I was a kid, but my brother played it. All the kids who wanted to play showed up every Saturday morning, and they lined the kids up against the wall. They counted each kid 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4. All the 1's were on a team and played the 2's. Seemed to be good enough for that age group.
Now get off my lawn.
I know a high school baseball coach that has won a state title. He told me you would be better off letting your child play multiple sports when they are young and instead of dropping money on weekend tournaments go to the coach and just feild ground balls in the yard. He says he spends more time reteaching fundamentals now than he did 10 years ago.
The first part I’m actually ok with. Let’s say your kid likes baseball & is at least decent. His current school track isn’t a baseball school & doesn’t care about it. So you move to a school track that is good & has good coaches. The second part is just stupid.
Bingo, also the be number of teams I have seen start this year because parents go mad at the team they were on because little Johnny wasn’t getting treated right. I know 4 new teams this year alone that started this year because of kids parents getting mad. It is insane.
High school coach??? Pffffff.
Around here, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, golf....... the same hs coach will say the kids shouldn't do this or that, but his whole roster plays travel ball. Then the hs coach has an entire block of the school year to train for his sport only.
with all that said, travel ball in multiple sports is ridiculous. There needs to be a throttling back. But these hs coaches are full
Of $4!7 themselves.
Around here, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, golf....... the same hs coach will say the kids shouldn't do this or that, but his whole roster plays travel ball. Then the hs coach has an entire block of the school year to train for his sport only.
with all that said, travel ball in multiple sports is ridiculous. There needs to be a throttling back. But these hs coaches are full
Of $4!7 themselves.
Not to butt in on baseball but similar ...
Volleyball now, is year around. No break. Roughly, school ball starts practice in June and last until October. Club last November to June.
We had a very good hs/club player, that started as a freshman in HS, quit HS to focus on club and have a few rest months.
She is extremely driven and went to a number of college camps this summer. She will play college ball at D2 at least.
It will be interesting to see how that decision goes for her. Because the college coaches recruit the club circuit and are far more likely to see her there over a hs game. But do they care you didn't play HS? I don't know.
Volleyball now, is year around. No break. Roughly, school ball starts practice in June and last until October. Club last November to June.
We had a very good hs/club player, that started as a freshman in HS, quit HS to focus on club and have a few rest months.
She is extremely driven and went to a number of college camps this summer. She will play college ball at D2 at least.
It will be interesting to see how that decision goes for her. Because the college coaches recruit the club circuit and are far more likely to see her there over a hs game. But do they care you didn't play HS? I don't know.
And in addition to that, parents changing travel teams to align with the orgs that the high school coaches moonlight with to try to get an advantage when it comes to school tryouts. Whether real or perceived, that’s a potential conflict of interest that schools shouldn’t allow but turn a blind eye to.
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Which coincidentally, is exactly how much a youth baseball bat costs now.
My dad bought me a Greg "The Bull" Luzinski wooden Louisville Slugger bat in Little League and I thought I was in Heaven. I dare someone to lob that weak shitt in here with The Bull in my hand.
The moms around here are as bad (or worse) than the dads.
I've seen no less than a dozen AI-generated "commitment" graphics on social media lately for kids who are joining/made some travel org team.
Soccer is very similar. With soccer on the men's side, I am curios what the payoff is because a lot of schools don't offer men's soccer as a scholarship. Is it the hope to go to Europe one day?
Nope he won 10 weekends in a row but I threw the ring in the trash
What "should" happen flew out the window a long time ago. No point in even trying to stop the train now.
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