re: And the travel ball cliche kicks it up a notch...

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bs. ripken baseball has the view. you're higher up and can see all the big mountains.

wf, you're pretty much at the bottom of a big hill up against it. i know what you mean but the ripken view is pimp.

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i liked them both.

preferred ripken at night, WF during the day. ill say this...that world series is way better than a beach world series. i would never mix beach and baseball, frick that



you been to shipyard in SC?

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What??? i thought he was joking..

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frick no...they have plenty of places in destin and places like Tourquise place in OB that can cost more than 6k. penthouse is like 1500-2k a night. has 4 bedrooms, 5 baths and is like 4k sf.

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And it isn't just baseball. It's basketball, soccer, swim, cheerleading.

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Don't you dare leave out ice hockey! A friend was dating a divorced Dad and she told me about a trip they were going to take from North Carolina (a bastion of Ice hockey) to the D.C. metro area for a tournament. Then a couple of weeks later, another tournament in another state. And on and on.
My WTF moment came when I asked was this going to get him a college scholarship to play ice hockey?'
She said they hadn't even mentioned that because kid was in the 3rd grade.

Fast forward many years. Kid didn't even try for a scholarship, dropped out of college his freshman year. Moved to Denver where he's a bar tender and enjoying smoking and toking.

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Kid didn't even try for a scholarship, dropped out of college his freshman year. Moved to Denver where he's a bar tender and enjoying smoking and toking

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The likely outcome for the son of every baw in here pushing them to play travel ball.

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And therein lies one of the problems. Most normal people, aren't balling out of control. My wife and I aren't destitute, we both make a good salary, but as i stated, there are a litany of things that make travel sports stupid, and what you mentioned is 1 of them, in my opinion.

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it doesnt have to cost that. like i said, you can spend 1200 or so on a team in BR area that never leaves the area and plays 8 tournaments or so a year

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your kid will definitely be playing at LSU

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I have no such dreams or delusions. my kids are really good but there is no way to tell if they will ever be that good until HS. just to be good enough to make a juco team is an accomplishment

i also have no qualms about scholarships or delusions about them. that why i require a 4.0 in the house to play. because they are capable and that is what really matters. its also why i require catholic school until atleast 8th grade and why we always make it to church

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has to play travel ball now to even stand a chance at playing at any high school, everyone puts their kids in travel ball

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but that pretty much is the case because 12 games and then not picking up a bat or ball for next 9 months doesnt work for skil development. doesnt have to be 10 hours a week in off season but 3 hours of practice in off season is pretty much the minimum it takes to keep up on a skill level



i get your complaints...i promise i do. i understand not everyone can afford it and somewhat hate what it has become

its more of a symptom of where HS baseball has gone. the skill level has gotten so good that you have to be really really good just to make the team.

and in Louisiana only taking about 10-12 kids max even at the biggest schools. so no room to take developmental kids.
now texas has it right. the big schools there have 2-3 fields and 2-3 coaching staffs and take like 35-40 freshman and allow them to develop. LA is poor as a state and doesnt have that luxury

this puts pressure on the kids to develop early. example, last year barbe took 6-7 in zone and 2 out of zone kids. Do you understand how good you got to be to even be one of those 9 kids? Catholic and WM are the same way. the AP schools are similar, 10-12 kids.

so i get it and i feel for those who have to make the decision for financial reasons

also you realize many teams do fund raisers, pay by the month and sponsors right?

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jaxon and jackson gonna be pissed. (not even lying, real team names )

catching a royals game on way up.

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yea they are softball fields from what i understand. hot dry and dusty

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club volleyball is hardcore. choose your damn sport. hardcore.

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yep every sport is like this. dunno the obsession with travel baseball for the ot

basketball- aau
travel volleyball
competition cheer and dance
7v7 travel football
lacrosse
hockey(might be the most competitive and most $$)
rodeo
swimming
softball


even competitive band like show choir and other things can get crazy expensive.

for all those that dont want to play the travel game....football team usually doesnt cut. get your son to play that or figure out an instrument and learn to be in band or just learn to hunt and fish(cost more than travel sports)


quesiton for the BAWS of the OT.....how come its ok to spend 2k on a duck lease, 1k on deer lease and take an out of state trip hunting that cost 3-4k but not ok to spend 2k on travel baseball for your kid?

You called kids "fig" for not being into travel ball. That's top level douchebag behavior.

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You called kids "fig" for not being into travel ball. That's top level douchebag behavior.

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no just his. he was being a douche so i was being one back.

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no just his. he was being a douche so i was being one back.

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Calling any kid a fig for not liking sports enough is just pathetic. You're an adult talking shite about a kid. Take a second and think about what kind of small-dicked loser does that.