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The reality of travel baseball
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:12 am
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:12 am
It’s supposed to be fun
Not a job or a lifestyle
Age 5: “He’s got a cannon.”
Age 6: “He’s the fastest kid out there. Coach said so.”
Age 7: “Rec ball isn’t challenging him anymore.”
Age 8: “We tried out for select. Obviously made it.”
Age 9: “$2,800 for the season. Plus uniforms. Plus tournaments. Plus hotels.”
Age 10: “Cooperstown is basically a family vacation, right?”
Age 11: “He needs a hitting guy. And a pitching guy. And probably a mental performance coach.”
Age 12: “I’m not a crazy sports parent. The OTHER parents are crazy.”
Age 13: “We changed schools. For academics. (And also baseball.)”
Age 14: “Showcases are a requirement at this age.”
Age 15: “Ya his ranking just ticked up. We’re cooking.”
Age 16: “He just needs to get seen by the right school.”
Age 17: “The D1 schools want him to walk on. He’ll earn a spot by sophomore year.”
Age 18: “Okay, D2 is actually really competitive.”
Age 19: “He’s redshirting. Strategic.”
Age 20: “He’s focusing on school now.”
Age 21: “You know what? He’s so much happier.”
Roughly 7% of high schoolers play in college.
About 1.5% of those get drafted.
Less than half of draftees ever play one day in the big leagues.
The odds of our kids going pro are somewhere between “struck by lightning” and “find a $100 in old shorts.”
I love youth sports (all my kids play a bunch of them) just keep a good perspective my friends. ??
Not a job or a lifestyle
Loading Twitter/X Embed...
If tweet fails to load, click here. Age 5: “He’s got a cannon.”
Age 6: “He’s the fastest kid out there. Coach said so.”
Age 7: “Rec ball isn’t challenging him anymore.”
Age 8: “We tried out for select. Obviously made it.”
Age 9: “$2,800 for the season. Plus uniforms. Plus tournaments. Plus hotels.”
Age 10: “Cooperstown is basically a family vacation, right?”
Age 11: “He needs a hitting guy. And a pitching guy. And probably a mental performance coach.”
Age 12: “I’m not a crazy sports parent. The OTHER parents are crazy.”
Age 13: “We changed schools. For academics. (And also baseball.)”
Age 14: “Showcases are a requirement at this age.”
Age 15: “Ya his ranking just ticked up. We’re cooking.”
Age 16: “He just needs to get seen by the right school.”
Age 17: “The D1 schools want him to walk on. He’ll earn a spot by sophomore year.”
Age 18: “Okay, D2 is actually really competitive.”
Age 19: “He’s redshirting. Strategic.”
Age 20: “He’s focusing on school now.”
Age 21: “You know what? He’s so much happier.”
Roughly 7% of high schoolers play in college.
About 1.5% of those get drafted.
Less than half of draftees ever play one day in the big leagues.
The odds of our kids going pro are somewhere between “struck by lightning” and “find a $100 in old shorts.”
I love youth sports (all my kids play a bunch of them) just keep a good perspective my friends. ??
30
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:14 am to supatigah
Private Equity taking over and making it more expensive doesn't help
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:14 am to supatigah
Are some parents seriously saying shite like that about their kids before they even make it to double digit ages? 
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:15 am to supatigah
Why do you pathetic losers obsess over what other people and their kids do?
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:16 am to supatigah
You don't see any kids playing baseball ever wanting to transition.
It's called ROI.
It's called ROI.
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:17 am to supatigah
Age 16-1/2,:" Tommy John's Surgery"
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:17 am to jdd48
quote:
Are some parents seriously saying shite like that about their kids before they even make it to double digit ages?
You haven't seen all the 8u travel ball teams with their world series rings?
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:17 am to supatigah
"my kids made varsity rosters, played ball and made happy life memories through their dedication and striving to be the best they could be"
why is this answer not enough for the haters?
why is this answer not enough for the haters?
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:18 am to SlowFlowPro
I thought my AAU team was living when the aunties would show up with uncrustables and kool aid jammers.
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:19 am to supatigah
I have been out of the youth sports world for a long time so i am out the loop. Are other sports just more cut and dry: you sooner realize you aren’t very good and just move on? With baseball do you keep pursing this false hope by jumping around to different travel teams and paying for hitting coaches? Do the mental gymnastics end quicker for football and basketball?
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:20 am to supatigah
We put our son in softball and it gives him a competitive advantage
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:20 am to Babewinkelman
quote:
Age 16-1/2,:" Tommy John's Surgery"
My teammate Braxxtyn had to do that.
I'd have made the Show if I didn't suck at defense.
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:22 am to supatigah
quote:
Age 11: “He needs a hitting guy. And a pitching guy. And probably a mental performance coach.”
This is why he's not D1. Should have started this at 6
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:22 am to supatigah
I'm not a parent so I don't have to worry about this but I'm willing to bet that every single American born MLB player (including minor leagues)has played travel ball
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:24 am to supatigah
quote:
The reality of travel baseballby
Tiger777’s bat signal
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:26 am to supatigah
Travel ball is the next thing to women buying Hummer trucks. Coaches saw the potential money grab.
Kids playing travel ball are a failure in fatherhood. There’s a kid living in a tent in Mexico that’s better than your kid and all the money your bragging to coworkers about spending.
Kids playing travel ball are a failure in fatherhood. There’s a kid living in a tent in Mexico that’s better than your kid and all the money your bragging to coworkers about spending.
This post was edited on 5/28/26 at 11:32 am
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:27 am to supatigah
quote:
Roughly 7% of high schoolers play in college. About 1.5% of those get drafted.
Travel baseball obviously gets shite on around here and most of it is well deserved. However comments like college stats and drafted are widely overblown.
From my experience for the most part travel ball parents aren't concerned about college or pros, but instead are trying to put their kids in a position to make their high school team.
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:27 am to supatigah
When our son fell in love with travel basketball, so did we! No rainouts, AC gyms, travel distance reduced, etc.
Played it (and football) thru HS. Plays college football now.
Down with travel baseball!
Played it (and football) thru HS. Plays college football now.
Down with travel baseball!
This post was edited on 5/28/26 at 11:49 am
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:27 am to supatigah
My son played rec ball with his friends. The kid who lives across the street from us also played rec ball until they were about 9 or 10, then his dad moved him to a travel ball team. His dad and I had coached their rec teams together up to that point.
He went from being a normal kid who you’d see playing outside with the other little boys in the neighborhood on typical afternoons to hardly ever playing with the other boys. Instead he’d either be gone to a tournament in some town in Arkansas or at practice. If they weren’t at practice, he was with his personal batting coach at the cages, or his personal pitching coach at the ball field. I’ve often wondered just how much his dad spent on travel ball.
When the boys got to HS, he played varsity, I think he made the all-county team his senior year. No schools even looked at him, much less made any offers. After high school he went to work for the city at the water treatment plant.
He went from being a normal kid who you’d see playing outside with the other little boys in the neighborhood on typical afternoons to hardly ever playing with the other boys. Instead he’d either be gone to a tournament in some town in Arkansas or at practice. If they weren’t at practice, he was with his personal batting coach at the cages, or his personal pitching coach at the ball field. I’ve often wondered just how much his dad spent on travel ball.
When the boys got to HS, he played varsity, I think he made the all-county team his senior year. No schools even looked at him, much less made any offers. After high school he went to work for the city at the water treatment plant.
Posted on 5/28/26 at 11:29 am to supatigah
My wife and I are having to cross this bridge with our 6 year old daughter who just got asked to try out for the travel dance team
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