re: Is travel ball worth it? I dropped $15K on my kid’s team and he’s getting D1 looks

It 's about the kid. The kids' got to want it badly enough to do whatever is necessary to get there. It's not about how much money the parents spent on equip, fees, hotels, grub,etc. The kid has to want it and want it big.

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You mean wasted. Will very likely do NOTHING for his future and career. Travel ball play is a dime a dozen. Every weekend is some World Series and ring for every freaking team out there.

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I assume OP is a troll. If he has to pay $15K for his kid to enjoy baseball, then it’s already a waste. He either likes the sport or he doesn’t. But notice, he said it was worth it because of the D1 looks. It was never about the kid having fun, it’s about social media clout.

Fact is, the best of the best will be discovered regardless of travel ball. Braxtynn might be a stud on the Bayou Bengal Beasts. He may have a case full of rings. When the rubber meets the road, talent rises to the top. It’s the same reason why Latinos can be kickass at the professional level despite using hand me down equipment and a milk carton for a glove. Those kids are slowly making their way to American colleges too. Travel ball has peaked I think. The game is too global for suburban moms to be buying their kid a scholly.

I play in a pickup slow pitch softball league in Houston. We play on 250 ft fences, and men have to hit with a foamier feeling softball that doesn't go as far as a standard softball. I hit a bomb to left field last game.

If my Dad had spent all his retirement on giving me Travel Ball life, well I would've ended up same spot I am now. Still satisfying as hell rounding the bases after hitting a bomb even in rec leagues haha.

Stupid

Every penny if you can afford it and it doesn't stress you out financially. All sports are basically year round now, not just baseball. Im not talking about summer workouts etc for hs football.
OL camps, 7 on 7 all year round for skill players.
Camps of all kinds all the time, if your kid is above average he will get a look, if hes a special Talent then the NIL and big D1 schools will come calling thats for sure. To many camera's that fill EVERYTHING so its hard to fly under the radar especially if your a standout player on a decent fb team. They still have some that do slip by but not many. Theres also kids that develop really late in life in sports so theres that aspect as well.
With that said if you dont do this your kid will fall behind the other 20k plus kids in his state that play year round. Its your responsibility to give him the best edge/advantage as you can as a parent. Its so tiresome at times.
My son plays at a pretty Competitive HS in hattiesburg Ms. And besides his school training he goes to two other coaches at any given time. About 3 times weekly on top of school training. Then on sunday he goes and catches for alot of the local qbs in the area that Wyatt Davis a qb guru trains. Then i train him on top of that give or take 2 to 5 days a week doing something. I have given him a break this year and just started our training together this passed monday. Anyway it ls all worth it if thats what he wants and he goes that extra mile by himself.
Thats when a kid has fell in love with the game. Thats when he wakes himself up at 6am on Saturday to go train when he doesnt have to, its bc he wants to. When he gets home from track practice and goes and runs another mile without anyone telling them to. Thats where my son is at. The hard work has started to pay off bc he was a absolute clumsy goofy athlete for the longest time. Up until 6th grade he played center, not hes gonna either start at TE/Y reciever his sophomore year or get alot of playing time to show case his skills. Do it, its worth every penny

You know that saying “You can be whatever you want to be!”?

Yeah, not how life really works.

Others have said it. If the kid really wants to pursue it and enjoys it and you have the financial means to do so, sure. I could tell from tball that my son was more into the game and equipped to play the game much more than the others.

At 8, he was starting to pitch. By 9, he made our leagues 10u all star team and was their best pitcher. By 11, our head coach and us assistants decided it was time to step up the competition level and hit the travel circuit. We weren’t “elite”, but a handful of games over .500 each season. My son enjoyed it, up until about the middle of his 14u summer season. I could sense he wasn’t enjoying it as much. At the end of that season, he told me he was done. While disappointed, I understood. He then told me he wanted to take up golf. He and I now play when we want and don’t have to worry what a dozen other kids are doing.

Bottom line: it’s about him and his dreams.

My brother played D1 baseball but quit after his sophomore year because he knew he wasn’t MLB material and he wanted to focus on his chosen major and get on with life. D1 sports interferes with many majors. Didn’t use to be that way but it is now with the constant travel and training.

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That way, buddy can go to any school he wants, instead of being on scholly at East Middle Southwest State Technical College.

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This and the post below are so true. I’ve known some very smart kids to go to a podunk school just play ball. I’m talking crappy D2 at best. I feel like they could have just gone the academic route and graduated from a much more respected school. If playing a couple years and riding hot buses was fun and worth it, so be it.