re: Parents detail spending $16k per year on JaXXXons travel ball career

The stereotype names are pretty comical. I copied this from an update on a local college team -

“ Two freshman we expect to start on opening day are Baylor Roberts (shortstop) and Austin Pierzynski (catcher). Being at 2 premium positions how quickly they adjust to division 1 baseball will be a key factor in our team's success.

On the mound Mason Steele will open in the weekend rotation alongside of Braxton and Chase.”

Baylor, Austin, Mason, Braxton and Chase

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they are in the pros. Almost all of the American players in the mlb today played travel ball. Thats doesn’t mean they did this dumb shite but if you know a kid that’s 13 and plays high level baseball he plays travel ball. I’m sure you can find an example of someone who didn’t but the exception proves the rule.

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He was referring to the names of said kids. Why aren’t there a bunch of Hayden’s, Zayden, Jaxxn etc since those types of names have been so popular in travel ball.

Funny how we never see any of these stupid arse travel ball names showing up in the Majors.

Lots of Julios, Pedros, and Jesuses that learned to ball for about $50 per year though.

I played in the minor leagues for awhile. I eventually got physically outclassed by the younger crop, domestic and foreign.

I was mentally addicted to baseball and throwing since I could walk, and it never went away. My parents were clueless about baseball. They just signed me up for little league, then I made all star teams and eventually got recruited by PAC 10 and MWC teams out west. I was in the area code system, look it up. Aside from being an addict, I had some physical advantages, being athletic.

I was BSing with a guy who once made the Astros 40 man out of spring training one year, but never made it to the bigs. He has 2 sons that are just now getting interested in baseball around 8 and 10. We agreed on the conclusion that his kids are not growing up like he did, and if they wanted to get more involved in the game, he'd then start training them and looking and local travel clubs, nothing expensive.

If you have thousands of dollars to spend on travel ball, it is much better utilized on private instruction and learning to move efficiently on the field, hitting, etc.

Some travel teams have their own facilities with good coaching, that fine, but I've seen those kids burn out after 1-2 years of college.

The best catcher I played with in my youth couldn't get out of AA. The best shortstop I ever played with, played at Arizona State and never played pro.

It's a bitch of a career choice/plan.

I once watched a future #1 overall pick drive a ball through a cage net off a bat that sounded like a gun shot. That's what it really looks like up close.

I've also seen an alcoholic, 6'5 300lb redneck with zero work ethic make generational money because he could throw 100 mph on old jugs guns. Just physically built for the game demands.

Also, I highly recommend reading Josh Hamilton's book, Beyond Belief.

If your kid just really likes to play and enjoys being on his travel teams, go for it! It's a great way to grow up and learn life lessons.

It amazes me how much parents are spending just so they can live through their offspring. A few months ago I ran across a show about sorority rush. Parents are spending thousands on advisors and different outfits for each rush event. This lady looks just like most of them.

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literally makes kids slower in the power sports..

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I don’t think soccer, a sport that involves running non stop, falls into that category, chief

Glad I was apart of the last group of kids that did the full progression from rec ball to all star ball to middle school and high school ball. All parish sponsored. It wasn't until right around high school that the former version of what is currently called travel ball has morphed into.

Kids my age used to play multiple sports, seasonally. Football in the fall, basketball in the winter, soccer between those. Baseball in the spring/summer

yeah I did the same thing, exactly. in the 1990s. People have to come and try to squeeze every penny they can out of everything and that ruins it.

It’s a sad state of affairs for youth sports these days. Really disgusts me

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not who can jog really slow the longest

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Have you ever seen a cross country race? Chief?