re: Kirk Herbstreit slams Travel Ball culture

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was fortunate enough to play baseball on a very high D-1 level,

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And you are going to put your kids in modern dad coached rec ball? Remember, no need to lie on the internet

If you ar blessed to be in Dallas or Houston you maybe lucky enough not to have to

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St Amants team last year would have run ruled those championship teams from the 90s. dont let nostalgia warp your mind.

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Bull. St. Amants 90's teams would smoke last year's team.

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That's a little different than what some people are doing. There are absolutely people out there ramming their kids through travel league with hopes and dreams of a big league paycheck one day.

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100% but those people are very rare...about as rare as parents who think their kid is 100% going to be a CEO 1 day making 20 mil a year.

we can find extreme examples in almost every subset

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Having been blessed (cursed?) enough to play high school ball with people who ended up being decorated professional athletes, I can confidently say if your kid is THAT good, they're going to get found and they're going to get paid, barring career ending injury.

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I played with a bunch of those guys...outside of your freaks...its not really like that anymore. unless you a top 3-5 prospect in the state...you got to hustle to get offers and still have to play TB in the big tournaments or put up ungodly metrics.

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Kids who are true professional tier athletes are so far above and beyond everybody else that they can't be missed. All that BS about hard work and effort and all that is just that, BS. The athletes that I went to school with were going to the MLB draft or D1 football full rides with near zero effort.

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again..this isnt 20 years ago. not even close to how it works. Look how many guys in mlb that come from lower level colleges.

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So, go and have fun if travel ball is fun. Your kid is either professional material or he isn't, and that was determined when they were conceived, not when they made the roster for some elite travel squad.

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so what do you make of guys that didnt start in HS until senior year, went juco then finally got to D1 and 6 years later make the show? was that determined at birth?



i get what you are saying, but bringing up college or pro in relation to youth travel baseball is dumb. 99% of the parents out there are just trying to support their kid in his pursuits and give him a chance to make the HS team. Nothing more.

now sure there becomes a point where you have to have a conversation with your kid and say hey...you are 12 playing AA ball and hitting 0.187 and throwing 53...maybe baseball isnt the sport we spend our money on.

and look your kids commitment needs to match the level of your commitment from both a monetary and time/family time standpoint. If you have to beg your kid to practice individually at home, drag him to practice etc...might be time to reevaluate things.

In my 50’s and my wife of 29 years never had kids.

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Nope. Nice try. It’s obvious you’re one of over the top parents based on EVERY one of your posts

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wanna explain how?

because i tell you how it actually works and you dont want to hear it?

i support my kids and let them do as they want. my oldest doesnt even play baseball and i spend as much time helping him as I do the others.

i dont push any of my kids in training, in fact i 100% wish they would chill TF out.

do you really think i woke up one day and said....yep I want to give up all my weekends to go sit in the sun and spend arse loads of money

do you really think when im driving him every day Im like.....man cant wait to get home and spend the next 90 min in the garage hitting with the younger two and then go spend 90 min for the older 2 to lift weights and practice what they need to practice?

I sacrifice my time because i was put on this earth to serve others, mainly my family. That is my personality. I support my kids in thier passions and allow them to pursue them and supporting practicing with them if they choose.

I dont even bring up training, they do. I have had kids across the whole spectrum of baseball ability so I have seen both ends. I coached rec ball for over 7 years and have been doing the travel life for 6 years now so i have seen the full spectrum from national level kids to kids that are 12 and never even held a baseball bat before so I have a little experience on this.

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and??

who mentioned professionals? who said the goal isnt just to be a good HS player for many? to enjoy the hs experience before heading off to a BIG state school to enjoy that experience too?

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The quote you responded to from me was talking about the cream rising to the top. The best will find a way. The uber talented don't necessarily have to play travel ball.

You do you, if this is the life you want doing travel ball stuff for your kid go for it.

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The quote you responded to from me was talking about the cream rising to the top. The best will find a way. The uber talented don't necessarily have to play travel ball.

You do you, if this is the life you want doing travel ball stuff for your kid go for it.

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we wouldnt know because every uber talented kid is playing travel ball.

but i do agree everyone should do as they please. Im not trying to convince you to play travel.

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Dam Guide

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let’s say you have a good average high school level athlete as a son who wants to play baseball

You telling me the good parenting thing to do is say frick you play rec so I can have more time?

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bc my son is 21 years old and played travel ball at a higher than normal level from 7-14...I've seen more than enough to know the D3, JUCO and NAIA offers just werent worth it after being down to play in the DR, CUBA, PR and Cooperstown, knowing as a middle infielder he was a dime a dozen and didnt have a chance.......he chose an education instead and will be graduating from LSU in the spring and off to MED school........but I wish your little coach pitch travel ball team wins ALL the rings

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again if you are looking at it from an investment standpoint...well dont do that. college will not pay off even if its 100% full ride at an SEC school..it doesnt pay in terms of true ROI.

if you are looking at it as supporting your kid to pursue his goals, or as an experience that he loves or his supporting his goal of making the HS team....than yea play travel ball.

if your kid isnt 100% committed to getting better, isnt 100% committed to playing HS ball than stop playing. if he wants to play other sports and for some reason, travel ball doesnt support that then quit or find different org

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he chose an education instead and will be graduating from LSU in the spring and off to MED school........but I wish your little coach pitch travel ball team wins ALL the rings

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first off congrats to your son. second....playing those years more than likely helped with this and helped form him into a good well rounded adult.

and there is nothing wrong with choosing an education over playing in college. college ball is a full time job.

just like there is nothing wrong with choosing going to a big state school, like the SEC schools, over the more prestigious private schools, even over an ivy. Everyone values different expierences.

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So your son just wants to play golf and you make him play baseball, too?

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Yes. He is too young to specialize in a sport. He likes baseball a lot. I don’t think it’s right for him to give that up at this time. Team sports are healthy and I don’t let my 9 year old make his own decisions