re: Do 90% of these kids really need to be on these competitive travel ball teams?

MS. He goes to an all boys school that’s 7-12th grade.

It won’t be going away. Anything remotely tied to it is going to push for more exposure of the travel/select youth sports world. Travel trailers, hospitality industry, local governments, buying advertisements for the middle to upper class, and so on. I wouldn’t be surprised the IMG academy is scouting locations for each region of the country to draw kids away from travel ball. My2cents.

Dude is acting like he's cracking heads at middle linebacker as a sophomore

Hey, however you can make an SEC team…

ETA: No amount of sports a year is going to turn most people’s kids into an SEC linebacker.

quote:

---

It’s about the money everyone makes money in travel ball

---

Thank you!

quote:

---

nobody is young, im 40, im a man as gundy would say

nobody said it was for everyone. you just complain about things talking about you started playing in the 70s.

---

Again, the 79s stuff was anecdotal, I also included my experiences with every single travel ball parent I have even known including those I know at this moment.

quote:

---

really? mother fricker i have better things to do than worry about spelling.

what is your deal lately with grammer? you trying to make up for the last decade or what?

---

Based on some of your responses in this thread and how emotional you are about it... I feel like this is you:

quote:

---

Yes I realize this. I was one of those kids who lived and breathed the game... still do. But I didn't have to play travel ball or 50+ games a year to enjoy it as an 8 year old.

---

ok and?

quote:

---

Kids don't have access to hunting, fishing, or golf..."but most of the kids I know do." That is a hell of a self disputing argument.

---

no meaning I’m upper middle class...most people i know have boats, hunting camps and can afford to play golf.

many lower income families cant. also not every state is like Louisiana when it comes to hunting and fishing. plenty of kids in Houston or Dallas have parents that have never thought of going hunting and fishing.

also plenty of parents that don’t and never have played golf and plenty of kids who don’t like hunting, fishing and golf.

quote:

---

This includes hotels, food, gas, team fees, entries for you and your spouse and kids to watch, concessions etc?

---

that includes team fees and uniforms and 2k is on the high end of that.

you don’t have to stay in hotels bro. they have some tournament within an hour drive of anyone in south LA every single weekend. you don’t have to play every weekend.

entries are 10 per adult and you dont have to do concessions. eat before and keep drinks in the car if you aer that poor.


no i didnt include gas

but frankly i dotn give a frick. its a drop in the bucket. if that kind of money bothers you then maybe stop worrying about how others spend theirs and focus on getting a better job.

who gives a shite if its 10k? its not your money!!

quote:

---

How would I know? I guess I don't know. But I DO know that relatives and friends that have older children in travel ball all say the same thing when we invite them to the lake, crawfish boils, birthday parties, events at church... "We cant... we are playing in Ruston/Sterlington/Carencro/fill in the blank, that weekend." But again... I'm not disparaging anything you do with your family bud, I simply stated the statistics that are currently available.

---

ummm ever think maybe its just that weakened? they play 10-12 weekends from march until end of June. so 12 or so out of 17 and that is max for most teams as most aren’t doing that many. you can go look at the teams on the USSSA, PG and 2d sites for yourself. your statistics are anecdotal evidence at best. go look at the sites and see for yourself.

quote:

---

However, since you are a part of that lifestyle... can you tell me how it benefits a kid who is 8 years old to play travel ball over rec league?

---

i can tell you for a kid playing AAA 8u....he literally will be heads and shoulders above any kid that plays only rec at that time. its why rec only kids have an extremely hard time making anything above a AA level team come 9u.

quote:

---

Are the bases shorter or longer in distance causing a need for either a stronger throw or quicker release?

---

they are playing against kids that actually know how to run the bases.

quote:

---

Do the kids who play 8U travel ball run faster than the normal 8 year old?

---

they are certainly better at running the bases

quote:

---

What benefit do they get that will translate to their high school careers 7 years down the road?

---

So let me get this out of the way

1) you are not making a quality HS team in South Louisiana without playing high level travel ball, talking high end AAA and majors teams, at 13 and 14.

you aren’t making a good or even decent 13/14 team unless you have been playing on good 10-12 teams.

so yea it matters. if you want to think otherwise...have fun with your kids/grandkids being done with baseball after 12. good luck with that.

quote:

---

To their college career 10-11 years down the road?

---

nobody cares about college man. this is about supporting my kids doing something they love.

quote:

---

Will the competition that a kid plays against this weekend in one of the many "World Series" tournaments taking place across this great nation help them in any tangible way?

---

the world series comment shows how clueless you are.

but absolutely learning to field extremely hard hit ground balls, long fly balls, line drives, hit the ball in the gap knowing I can’t hit an infield pop fly for a hit....yea it helps.

quote:

---

As someone who is involved in it to such a level that you are; a level that has you emotionally invested in this argument against someone who dared share stats on a message board... can you explain the benefit? This is your chance to convert me and many others who are reading this. Evangelize for us... bring us to the light... show us the errors of our way.

---

I’m trying to educate you and many of the other dumbasses on here is all.





i can boil it down real simple for you

1) stop worrying about how other people spend their money or thinking its zero sum of either travel ball or funding education. plenty of us can do both or just write the check for college

2) you aren’t making a quality HS team in this state that is 3a and above unless you been playing travel ball. especially the really good 5a balls. the 4 5a publics that played in Sulphur....100% travel ball kids. the 4 Div. 1 and 2 select schools....100% travel ball kids.

3) the longer you wait...the more you are falling behind and the harder it is to get on a high-level team. longer you are not on a high-level team, further you are falling behind. sorry just are and just the way it is. Baseball is a skill driven sport more so than the likes of football. it requires lots of skill that takes time to develop.


it is what it is



but let me ask you a question....would you have this same kind of attitude if a kid decided to play AAU basketball only because it was only sport he liked?

what if a kid only like hunting and fishing...is that ok?

what about golf? If a kid plays it 5-6 days a week is that a problem for you? same with tennis? because that’s what the best in those sports did

what about football only kids in MS & HS....is that ok?

lacrosse kids only?

my question why is it only travel baseball that’s bad? I never ever see threads on here or the OT about AAU basketball being a problem. or bitching about nephews that are really into tournament fishing not being able to come to the crawfish boil.

sure as frick don’t see any bitching about a kid playing too much golf and only golf and same for tennis.

and why is it the only ones bitching about travel ball are those not involved? Don’t ever see post from people whose kids went through it and now play HS baseball bitching about it being a scam, why is that? why only outsiders bitching about it and worrying about how people spend their money?


and lets just say a kid only plays baseball, he has tried other sports but only likes baseball and has dreams and goals....is it being a bad parent to support the kid in doing what he loves and encouraging him to outwork others to try in be the best if that’s what he wants? is it ok if i do that with my other kids in other sports....just not ok for the ones that like baseball best...right?

in the end it comes down to this...everyone complaining is worried them or their kids or their grandkids are being left behind and are jealous. its why the money thing comes up so often, but little hint...almost every team offers fundraising and sponsorships. just have to work for them.

All these haters have never donned a pair of sweet white oakleys or pit vipers and camo cargo pants with socks up to the knees. They will never get it.