re: Hold up...kids get rings for winning travel ball tournaments

It's always funny to me that people have such a problem with tourney ball. ...and you can always tell the ones that don't have kids that play ball or will not play ball.

Now, if my kid loves ball and WANTS to play it, I'll probably let him play whatever he wants.

But I'm sure the self-righteous anti-tourney ball posters will have an issue with that.

Good thread. My 8 year old son has been playing rec ball since age 5 but has had the unfortunate circumstance of having a dad who has been undergoing cancer treatment during baseball season for the last two of those years. As a result, I haven't been able to work with him with much one on one attention and he has been on the slow end of development.

This season,however, I am cancer free for the 1st time in a while and have devoted much time to catching him up. Working on all fundamentals. Working about an hour a day, I have seen him improve from very weak throws to using correct form and good throws. His understanding of hitting fundamentals has also improved. His team recently completed their last pre-season practice and will have the 1st game on Thursday. My honest assessment of him right now is that he is about middle of the pack on his team and that makes me proud.

My perspective is that I am blessed to be alive and watch him have fun with a game I love. Watching him learn to love the game himself. I have no fantasy of him ever being great at this game.....but,who knows? I want him to progress to be as good as his ability and drive will carry him. I have been given a reprieve(hopefully a very long one) to watch my son grow and experience life and play a game.

But but but! It's about fairness! Stop keeping scores in HS!

again, who cares?

There are little girls that compete and travel all over the state and country in gymnastics, softball, cheer-leading, volleyball, swimming, barrel racing and equestrian. Where are your "fun facts" to throw out there that say these little girls will never amount to anything?

There are little boys that travel around the state playing soccer, basketball, etc, where are those "fun facts" regarding these kids?

What is it about baseball that rustles so many jimmies? If my little girl decides that she wants to play travel softball, does that mean me or my wife are trying to relive our high school softball career through her when neither one of us played softball?

My son plays travel soccer as well, where is your argument that I'm trying to relive my glory days when in fact I didnt know the first thing about soccer up until about 2 years ago and I still have not a clue about a lot of things.

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Given the above numbers spending the amount of time and money travel ball requires for kids that haven't even become teenagers is hard to believe. For the large majority of the kids there are other avenues that would serve them much better in life.

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why does it concern you what I spend my money on and how can you tell me what avenues my kids should take to have a better life?


Question for you, how many kids do you have and what are their ages?

that's a difficult question to answer. It depends, and what I spend could be more or less than what someone else spends.

I will put it to you this way, It only cost me $500 to be a part of the team that he's on and that includes uniforms and and bat bags. I know some people that spend $1800 just be be part of the team.

The travel expenses can vary depending on where you travel to, how long you stay, how many tournaments you go to that require you to stay the weekend. We only "travel to about 2-3 overnight tournaments a year and 2 of those are for State and the World Series in which I write that off as a vacation expense. All of our other tourneys are with in an hour so we drive back and forth.

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tgrbaitn08

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Agreed. I cannot say the same for many other parents, but my son plays travel/select baseball because he loves the sport and is blessed enough to play it well at the highest level for his age group. He would get bored playing rec ball because the competition is not as good. It has absolutely nothing to do with me reliving my youth through him. I just want to give him the opportunities in life that I did not have. If he gets a college scholarship in this sport, great! If not, he's still my son and I will be proud of him.

Kid from St. Amant threw 138 pitches in a game against Catholic High a couple of weeks ago....l

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Posted by Message
Fusaichi Pegasus
Hold up...kids get rings for winning travel ball tournaments
is lemons still at sta?

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No

there are plenty of fine baseball teams with outstanding coaches in the nation, and i think it's awesome to see them develop into outstanding baseball players even at 10 to 11 years old. my boy has learned more about the game he loves in his experience and has surpassed my knowledge exponentially at his age.

baseball is definitely one of those sports that you have a distinct advantage if you start playing with a good club when you are young. i have seen plenty of baseball, and i have no doubt that opportunities exist for kids with brains, talent and effort.

if he gains nothing more than an improved confidence and understanding of his role in a team sport at the highest level in his age group, i will pleased.

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No sport should be year round

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Who plays year round? Nephew played in a top organization and they'd play 10-11 tournaments a year between February and end of August. Every kid was done in time for basketball and none played league ball.