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Message
Decline of little league baseball
Posted on 4/29/14 at 6:47 pm
Posted on 4/29/14 at 6:47 pm
Watching a game right now with 10 walks in the same inning! I can't help to wonder why these games get so much less competitive year by year!!!
13
Posted on 4/29/14 at 6:48 pm to Geaux11
Who you got money on?
Posted on 4/29/14 at 6:49 pm to Geaux11
Are they keeping score?
Posted on 4/29/14 at 6:49 pm to Geaux11
Travel ball has pulled the talent out of the leagues. Sucks.
Posted on 4/29/14 at 6:51 pm to NorthshoreTiger76
18-2...
Posted on 4/29/14 at 6:52 pm to JJ27
quote:
Travel ball has pulled the talent out of the leagues. Sucks.
Posted on 4/29/14 at 6:53 pm to Geaux11
Parents don't want their kids playing at low budget fields with bad competition, so they put them in Travel Ball.
It sucks, because I remember what the park in my town used to look like on a weekend. Packed, nowhere to park, and the stands were full. Now you won't find more than 5-6 people in the stands in just one field (of the 7 they have).
It's extremely depressing.
It sucks, because I remember what the park in my town used to look like on a weekend. Packed, nowhere to park, and the stands were full. Now you won't find more than 5-6 people in the stands in just one field (of the 7 they have).
It's extremely depressing.
Posted on 4/29/14 at 6:54 pm to Tiger1242
recreational baseball leagues are absolute shite unless you play up a year or two if you're kid is a good ballplayer.
Posted on 4/29/14 at 6:55 pm to Tiger1242
Tiger1242, you still working at the SPVV?
Posted on 4/29/14 at 7:01 pm to Chaz95
When I was growing up no one played travel ball... no one played select, everyone played in the local little league. We had 18-20 teams in our league, that's how many kids played little league in my area and everyone had a great time, no one talked about how bad the competition was, it was just for kids to have fun and enjoy baseball. We all had fun and would talk about it at school.
Now with travel ball and select teams that doesn't exist anymore unfortunately. Parents force their kids into travel ball and make it a year round chore and the kids hate baseball by the time they get to high school.
The argument I don't get is that parents send their kids to travel ball to play better competition so they can get better. At young ages baseball should be about having fun, learning the game, and fundamentals. If your kid has talent to make it past high school in baseball he will have it regardless of the competition he plays against when he is 8 years old. The thing that motivates a kid to become better at something is to enjoy it, so they want to get better on their own. If you are having them play baseball year round and make it like a full time job for them they won't enjoy it, and won't strive to get better unless by forcing them, which is negative reinforcement.
Now with travel ball and select teams that doesn't exist anymore unfortunately. Parents force their kids into travel ball and make it a year round chore and the kids hate baseball by the time they get to high school.
The argument I don't get is that parents send their kids to travel ball to play better competition so they can get better. At young ages baseball should be about having fun, learning the game, and fundamentals. If your kid has talent to make it past high school in baseball he will have it regardless of the competition he plays against when he is 8 years old. The thing that motivates a kid to become better at something is to enjoy it, so they want to get better on their own. If you are having them play baseball year round and make it like a full time job for them they won't enjoy it, and won't strive to get better unless by forcing them, which is negative reinforcement.
Posted on 4/29/14 at 7:06 pm to Geaux11
I went watch my young cousins play and was surprised at how bad it is. I guess select baseball has taken over.
Posted on 4/29/14 at 7:08 pm to goldennugget
I played dixie youth growing up. Every team had 2-3 allstar level players, 5-6 average players, and 2-3 scrubs. It made for a fun and competitive league. Of course all the good players were at pitcher, shortstop, etc, and the scrubs played right field, but it was like that on every team, so it was evenly matched.
ETA: and the kid who played in MLB from the league we played in was also the best basketball player and QB in our rec league. He made the majors because he was a great baseball player and a great athlete, not because he got more reps pitching at age 10.
ETA: and the kid who played in MLB from the league we played in was also the best basketball player and QB in our rec league. He made the majors because he was a great baseball player and a great athlete, not because he got more reps pitching at age 10.
This post was edited on 4/29/14 at 7:12 pm
Posted on 4/29/14 at 7:13 pm to Ric Flair
quote:
I played dixie youth growing up. Every team had 2-3 allstar level players, 5-6 average players, and 2-3 scrubs. It made for a fun and competitive league. Of course all the good players were at pitcher, shortstop, etc, and the scrubs played right field, but it was like that on every team, so it was evenly matched.
I agree, I miss that. I was a good player on my team when I was in 4th grade but played center field because my arm was so good, we would purposely overthrow 2nd base on base stealing attempts and I would throw them out at 3rd base. It worked about a dozen times before coaches caught on.
Anyway select/travel ball started to become big around here when I was 12 or so, and parents started putting their kids on travel teams. My parents couldn't afford it and I still played in rec ball until high school but I still loved it as well as the other kids who also couldn't afford to play travel or didn't want to. The pro-travel ball/anti-rec ball elitism was annoying though.
The funny thing is that in high school all the kids who played travel/select ball by that time either hated it or were just not that good. 2 guys from my high school team went onto play college ball... neither of them ever played travel ball while the dozen or so who did play travel ball didn't play past high school.
Point being if you have baseball talent you have baseball talent. It has nothing to do with the team you play on or the competition you face.
Posted on 4/29/14 at 7:18 pm to goldennugget
Local little leagues still allow too many variances to the rules, so those leagues will always have that stacked team to beats the other teams 15-0.
No one likes those games other than the boastful coaches.
No one likes those games other than the boastful coaches.
Posted on 4/29/14 at 7:22 pm to Chaz95
quote:
Tiger1242, you still working at the SPVV?
I still do lessons up there all the time. I'm back and forth from there and the other business associated with it. But I'm working on getting certified to teach and try and be a high school coach, tired of the weird hours
Posted on 4/29/14 at 7:36 pm to hendersonshands
quote:
I went watch my young cousins play and was surprised at how bad it is. I guess select baseball has taken over.
It has. My son still plays little league, because we're not prepared for the commitment for travel ball(we have 4 kids and would be difficult to manage). He's 10, and we have already had 3 separate travel ball coaches call us about him joining their team, and they're persistent, one even got pretty assholish when he finally realized we wouldn't allow it. It's crazy how they're going nuts, and basically recruiting 9 & 10 year olds.
To your comment about how bad play has become, last night the team my son was playing against had to forfeit, because they didn't have anyone who could pitch. Everyone they put in either hit our players or would throw "pitches" that were no where close to being hittable.
Posted on 4/29/14 at 8:45 pm to ZZTIGERS
Travel baseball and club soccer are now just money grabs. Charge kids 3-5k a year and make bank off parents who don't realize the coach has no clue what he is doing because his team is playing other teams with coaches who have no clue what they are doing. There are 354397245 baseball leagues too, and every kid thinks they are amazing at baseball because the talent is so spread out now, even crappy kids look good.
Posted on 4/29/14 at 8:51 pm to goldennugget
quote:
Now with travel ball and select teams that doesn't exist anymore unfortunately. Parents force their kids into travel ball and make it a year round chore and the kids hate baseball by the time they get to high school.
Every kid that plays travel ball hates baseball by the time they get to high school? Coulda fooled me...
Posted on 4/29/14 at 9:29 pm to Ric Flair
quote:
I played dixie youth growing up. Every team had 2-3 allstar level players, 5-6 average players, and 2-3 scrubs. It made for a fun and competitive league. Of course all the good players were at pitcher, shortstop, etc, and the scrubs played right field, but it was like that on every team, so it was evenly matched.
Same here. I laugh when parents. spend thousands a year preparing for the college scholarship. Even if he makes it, that 1/6 scholarship to an in state school was clearly worth the investment.
Also, look at MLB. You think all those Dominican kids played travel ball?
Posted on 4/29/14 at 9:32 pm to CyrustheVirus
We've seen some kids come back to Dixie Youth up here in NELA in both baseball and softball. Mostly because parents can't afford to keep up with the travel ball Joneses anymore.
Let's get real, most of travel ball is for the parents so they can put the sticker on their suv and wear some gear saying their kid plays travel ball......like someone said earlier, if the kid is good enough to play at the next level one day it won't really matter where they played a young age. Some of you will defend how "competetive" travel ball is, but the truth is it has become so watered down the last several years with mediocre talent because parents want to be in a clique!! I've talked to several families that have stopped traveling and all have said the same thing.
My 13 yo daughter is one of the best hitters for her age and she has played in one local tourney and that was only bc it was local. We have 2 younger kids and I told my wife we will not sacrifice financially for one of my children to do something that they can enjoy at the local Rec.....and FYI my daughter is nothing special athletically, she's a strong girl and loves to work on hitting at home with me....there's just no way anyone can convince me that playing year round and spending thousands while dragging my fam around the south on weekends is gonna make a difference
Let's get real, most of travel ball is for the parents so they can put the sticker on their suv and wear some gear saying their kid plays travel ball......like someone said earlier, if the kid is good enough to play at the next level one day it won't really matter where they played a young age. Some of you will defend how "competetive" travel ball is, but the truth is it has become so watered down the last several years with mediocre talent because parents want to be in a clique!! I've talked to several families that have stopped traveling and all have said the same thing.
My 13 yo daughter is one of the best hitters for her age and she has played in one local tourney and that was only bc it was local. We have 2 younger kids and I told my wife we will not sacrifice financially for one of my children to do something that they can enjoy at the local Rec.....and FYI my daughter is nothing special athletically, she's a strong girl and loves to work on hitting at home with me....there's just no way anyone can convince me that playing year round and spending thousands while dragging my fam around the south on weekends is gonna make a difference
This post was edited on 4/29/14 at 9:39 pm
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