re: The benefits of playing travel ball 9 months a year

Co worker of mine son played in a 12u championship this weekend. Pitcher they faced threw 130 pitches. He said at least half of which were curve balls. That coach and the kids Dad should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.

Like I've said before, a lot of these parents are caught up in a machine and can't get out.

Here's the formula:

Phase 1
1. Coach gets a group of 4/5/6 year olds for rec t-ball at a moderate price... Something like $150-200ish.
2. Team gels. Kids make friends. Parents make friends.
3. Repeat

Phase 2
1. Coach moves team into rec/summer tournaments. Very light, occasional travel. Coach doesn't wanna scare the cash cow.
2. Team moves into tryouts but everybody makes it, etc. Price moves up a couple hundred bucks. Coach starts selling all the matching bags and logos and other bullshite.
3. Team gels. Kids make friends. Parents make friends.
4. Repeat

Phase 3
1. Rec season/light travel starts.
2. Practice moves to 2, 3 times a week.
3. Price jumps another couple hundred bucks.
4. Coach makes a cool $50K-ish or more on his side gig.

This all continues and next thing you know, your kid has worn out his arm and you've dropped $100K on a baseball career while you're living vicariously through them. You spend every weekend driving from Lafayette to Metairie and you have no life.

BTW I have a cousin in Katy that has made a living on all this. It's the same basic formula from Texas to Florida.

travel ball for any under high school level league is a money grab and parents living thru their kids,
travel ball should be limited to kids interested / talented enough to playing in college and juniors / seniors in high school, enough with this bs, let kids be kids...

No, my son smoked it in the side net (he's never missed in OT PKs). If he had missed it was game over...he was the last kid before sudden death started.

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What's the point of a child playing that much baseball? He getting paid or something?

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Kid's father living vicariously through his son, despite what may or may not be good for his health.

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brought the 9 year old to an ortho surgeon.

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Did you ask the coach first? What does some pencilneck college boy know about baseball? Give the kid some creatine and soak it in epsom salt and it'll be fine

He didn't lace it like he normally does, but he was nervous as hell. He didn't put up a shot that should have been blocked...like some of the other boys (on both sides) did.

ETA: That said, out of all of these medals y'alls team is the only team that didn't stick around to shake hands and say niceties at the ceremony. Only one ever.

You're right. I kinda felt bad for that but we wouldn't have done it if we won either. Out coach never does the awards deal except state cup.

I was standing to the right of f the goal and had a bad view...looked like it had good enough pace. I asked him how he hit it and he said he just wanted to make it. He can knuckle the shite out of a ball, so yea you're right that wasn't even close to "smoked" it for him.

He's #21.

You're son will have fun tending against him this summer.

I wish he'd been in the position to play better against y'all, but our team doesn't possess out of the back (why I said coaching was lacking), doesn't ever pass back into the middle, doesn't goal kick or throw into the middle...so it just leaves my son out there to fight for the ball...and against teams that knock it around well it's futile.

It was one of our first 11v11 tournaments and he's the only kid that can cover ground well enough to play the middle...so it is what it is.

Not sure if you've seen the football kicking videos I've posted, but he can thump it.

Is that supposed to be a lot of medals?