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re: Rec baseball is slowly creeping toward extinction in my area
Posted on 4/13/26 at 9:06 am to CatfishJohn
Posted on 4/13/26 at 9:06 am to CatfishJohn
quote:
“travel ball” groups that play together year round in various leagues and don’t play other sports. We’re talking 8 year olds. They have mullets and swaggy clothes and stupid names and redneck parents. They’re also good as shite.
This epidemic is all over the country. Sad thing is that these parents will get more satisfaction out of having a dominant 8 year old than at any other point in their life. Overwhelmingly these young "phenoms" flame out by highschool, or maybe go to a JUCO, and then wind up settling down within 20 miles of their hometown.
But don't try to tell these parents, because they are too narrow minded to think that there is more to life than wearing pink arm bands, necklaces, and winning baseball games at 8 years old.
quote:
We just laugh about it, get our arse kicked by those couple of teams, play competitively against the rest, and go play a different sport every couple months
This is the common sense way, and the way I was brought up. We played different sports every season and had fun. Who cares if we didn't win a world series every weekend
0
Posted on 4/13/26 at 9:10 am to elmo 57
quote:This is just a lazy sad internet trope
Travel ball has all these kids and I am talking high school thinking they will be playing at LSU.
“Travel” ball is simply kids playing on a team with their friends at a tournament 15 minutes from their house and trying to improve for high school baseball instead of a random team put together in rec where half the players are their for parent babysitting
Posted on 4/13/26 at 9:16 am to lsupride87
quote:
This is just a lazy sad internet trope
“Travel” ball is simply kids playing on a team with their friends at a tournament 15 minutes from their house and trying to improve for high school baseball instead of a random team put together in rec where half the players are their for parent babysitting
no man...all the parents think their kids are going pro, they fly all over the country and they dont play with any friends.....you dont know wtf you are talking about...the kid less posters of the MSB said so
Posted on 4/13/26 at 9:17 am to SlowFlowPro
quote:
Hockey, dancing, and gymnastics are the most insane, I believe.
Those are insane, having a girl who does equestrian makes those look like nothing.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 9:27 am to glassman
quote:
Those are insane, having a girl who does equestrian makes those look like nothing.
We called them "horse girls" growing up. Special breed of person.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 9:29 am to theGarnetWay
quote:
Local Mexican restuarant
Local Dodge dealership
Local building contractor.
Simpler times. You dont want to know what we paid to sponsor a field at Traction
Posted on 4/13/26 at 10:34 am to CastleBravo
quote:
i have 2 daughters and I thought volleyball was bad.
How much will this hurt me in a few years?
I had 2 daughters playing rec volleyball right now (9/10 and 7/8) and both are in the upper half of players in respective leagues.
Will I be able to remain in rec leagues through 13 or is volleyball trending in the same direction as baseball?
Posted on 4/13/26 at 10:48 am to John Casey
quote:
Will I be able to remain in rec leagues through 13 or is volleyball trending in the same direction as baseball?
this can't be a serious question. rec volleyball is trash. club is a must if you want your kid to develop and play worthy competition.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 11:00 am to Chad504boy
quote:
this can't be a serious question. rec volleyball is trash. club is a must if you want your kid to develop and play worthy competition.
Sounds like I should have set the limit at 11 and not 13, lol.
Generally, yes, rec leagues can be trash. The rec league we are currently in has 12 teams with about half the teams being average to above average, resulting in some competitive games.
I initially thought I would have to move to a club team at 10, but after this rec season, was thinking I could delay for a bit since the league is fairly decent and doesn’t cost a fortune.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 11:12 am to John Casey
do yourself a favor and go watch a 10 or 11u club match and the go watch whatever school your girls will go to and see which do you think will be able to get them ready to make the HS team
Posted on 4/13/26 at 11:19 am to SlowFlowPro
quote:
If they all played rec, the population of good kids would be present.
Of course rec is going to be filled with kids who suck when all the mid-good kids are in travel ball
I’m just curious, what’s the alternative at this point?
Everyone here knows it’s mostly about money.
This tournament format started with men’s softball leagues. A lot of those guys got older, couldn’t play and started throwing tournaments for kids on the weekends and it took off from there.
It’s a better format. The money sucks, but it comes with the territory.
What do you want parents to do? If you legit want your kid to at least improve and be somewhat competent, what should happen?
Anyone have any other suggestions? I’d love to hear them.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 11:21 am to lsu777
quote:
no man...all the parents think their kids are going pro, they fly all over the country and they dont play with any friends.....you dont know wtf you are talking about...the kid less posters of the MSB said so
I started this thread based on what I’m seeing with my grandson, but my sons played. My oldest played about three seasons of travel ball when it was just taking off. From my experience then:
Tournaments were in no way 15 minutes from home. We live in northern Tangipahoa Parish and we were traveling to Gulfport, MS three weekends out of the month for tournaments. Very expensive for a teacher/coach and dental hygienist when each tournament required two night hotel stays and everything that goes along with it for a family of four.
When he was nine, that son adored playing and watching baseball. By 13, not so much. We always asked him if he wanted to play, and he always said yes, but by the time he finished that last season of travel ball, the enthusiasm just wasn’t there anymore. He went on to play high school baseball and football, but football eventually became his passion.
In summary, the expense and diminished love of the game far outweighed any positives that he got from playing travel ball.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 11:27 am to lsu777
quote:
do yourself a favor and go watch a 10 or 11u club match and the go watch whatever school your girls will go to and see which do you think will be able to get them ready to make the HS team
I don’t doubt there is a huge difference because you can see the huge talent gaps in rec play between the top half of the players in the league and the bottom half of the players.
Part of my problem is wanting my girls to get competitive play at multiple sports and sucks that we will have to choose between soccer and volleyball, already.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 11:30 am to chinese58
quote:
The biggest difference I see is that there are no longer vacant lots where kids to play sandlot ball.
Pfft. There are a minimum of 6 kids a day in my yard playing wiffle ball. MINIMUM. I have no grass left where they pitch and hit from but I don’t mind. I love it. I know I’ll miss it when it’s done, and I know that it’ll be here before I know it.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 11:33 am to John Casey
You don't have to choose really. My oldest is on a triple A squad and just made his middle school football and basketball teams last week. We were in Atlanta this weekend playing some true top notch talent from all over the southeast and speaking with the other coaches and dads all of those kids played multiple sports too. It's not an either/or argument.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 11:37 am to lsu777
quote:
guess same type of people who get mad if a kid chooses to go to a better private school....god forbid that they choose something better. Cant be having people feeling like they are getting left behind.
Or the same people that have $75k fishing boat rigs to head out on the weekends.
Or thousands and thousands of dollars of duck hunting equipment to go sit out in the 35°, blowing 20 mph weather in the muck and mud for 9 hours so they can watch two birds fly over them and hope for the best.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 12:17 pm to Prominentwon
quote:
I’m just curious, what’s the alternative at this point?
Everyone here knows it’s mostly about money.
I honestly don't know.
It's not just baseball, either.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 2:38 pm to High C
quote:
I started this thread based on what I’m seeing with my grandson, but my sons played. My oldest played about three seasons of travel ball when it was just taking off. From my experience then:
Tournaments were in no way 15 minutes from home. We live in northern Tangipahoa Parish and we were traveling to Gulfport, MS three weekends out of the month for tournaments. Very expensive for a teacher/coach and dental hygienist when each tournament required two night hotel stays and everything that goes along with it for a family of four.
ever think that maybe something have changed in the last decade and a half or more?
in louisiana there are tournaments every single weekend in nola, BR, lafayette and LC just along i-10. unless you are the 1 majors teams in a LC, no real reason to travel more than an hour really more than once per year and even then you are only going to BR or houston
quote:
When he was nine, that son adored playing and watching baseball. By 13, not so much. We always asked him if he wanted to play, and he always said yes, but by the time he finished that last season of travel ball, the enthusiasm just wasn’t there anymore. He went on to play high school baseball and football, but football eventually became his passion.
cool, again that is not every kid. some kids want to play every weekend no matter what. many kids dont get a diminished love of the game.
sometime their interest change though as they get older or they realize that to be really good at baseball it takes a ton of work. and sometimes a pretty blonde in a tennis skirt does the trick.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 2:39 pm to John Casey
quote:
I don’t doubt there is a huge difference because you can see the huge talent gaps in rec play between the top half of the players in the league and the bottom half of the players.
Part of my problem is wanting my girls to get competitive play at multiple sports and sucks that we will have to choose between soccer and volleyball, already.
man my boys play plenty of other sports. kids on our team all play multiple sports. dunno where the idea of travel kids dont play other sports comes from. now if they are the same season....thats not easy for sure.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 2:44 pm to Prominentwon
quote:
Or the same people that have $75k fishing boat rigs to head out on the weekends.
Or thousands and thousands of dollars of duck hunting equipment to go sit out in the 35°, blowing 20 mph weather in the muck and mud for 9 hours so they can watch two birds fly over them and hope for the best.
yea dont forget....you cant have anything interfere with the duck camp and drinking beer. because cant put a price on hunting your own meat
and look i grew up duck hunting every weekend in season, deer hunted a ton, fished a ton. so i get its fun but the high almighty attitude of some is annoying AF
but hey didnt you know...travel kids never fish, they never get to play with friends, they never play whiffle ball either. thats why i saw you buying out the whole store the other day....cause it never happens right?
:rotflmao: didnt you know they never play other sports either...so you must be lying about all that youth football coaching you do too :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
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