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re: The reality of travel baseball

Posted on 5/28/26 at 2:31 pm to
Posted by The Swindler
Baton Rouge, LA
Member since Aug 2018
152 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 2:31 pm to
How much are you willing to lose on this bet?
Posted by Oilfieldbiology
Member since Nov 2016
42321 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 2:34 pm to
quote:

Are some parents seriously saying shite like that about their kids before they even make it to double digit ages?


Yes. 100%. Absolutely.
Posted by bulletprooftiger
Member since Aug 2006
2487 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 2:35 pm to
quote:

Kids playing travel ball are a failure in fatherhood.


It depends on what the parent expects out of it. If a parent thinks they are raising the next MLB all-star, then you are correct. If a parent is giving their kid an outdoor activity, away from screens, and an opportunity to interact with peers with similar interests, then it is an excellent parenting move.
Posted by lsu777
Lake Charles
Member since Jan 2004
38112 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 2:36 pm to
quote:

not traveling hundreds of miles every week to go play


wtf are talking about? very very few teams travel more than an hour and especially not more than 2x per year. 99% of teams in LA do not travel more than an hour the whole season.

quote:

Academies and travel ball are different. Academies help develop players. The guy running the travel Ball league couldn’t care less about development, all he wants is your check.




you again have zero clue wtf you are talking about

when it comes to the academies in south america and the DR, those kids are taking from there homes at around 10-11 and put in academies where they live, go to school and play baseball for 7-8 hours per day. its all paid for because they sign a contract that they will give the academy 20% of all future earnings. sometimes more, sometimes less. but 20% is typical.

so yea they are about the check, plain and simple.
Posted by Oilfieldbiology
Member since Nov 2016
42321 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 2:37 pm to
quote:

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?


Because baseball is more skill and mental toughness oriented than basketball or football are. Also, baseball is a game of failure where an all world player at the youth level could fail 5/10 times at the plate.
Posted by lsu777
Lake Charles
Member since Jan 2004
38112 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 2:39 pm to
quote:

How much are you willing to lose on this bet?


if they were drafted in last 5 years....be pretty hard pressed to find many that didint. I know the last 2 years every single kid drafted did

everyone on LSU's roster did.

some might have played both but all played some form of travel
Posted by The Swindler
Baton Rouge, LA
Member since Aug 2018
152 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 2:47 pm to
His statement didn't bring up percentages, he said all played travel....simply not true there are plenty of stories of kids not playing travel ball and made it professionally. Im 40 years old, I am right after the travel ball birth. So majority that i saw make it 15 years ago were not products of travel ball. Yes that percentage has increased in the last 15 years
Posted by RoscoeHarper
Edmond, OK
Member since Aug 2011
4988 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 2:52 pm to
For players coming out of the US I'd love to see an example of a non-travel player in the past 5-10 years.
Posted by The Swindler
Baton Rouge, LA
Member since Aug 2018
152 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 2:53 pm to
That number is steadily increasing but at what age are you considering travel ball. 8-12 traveling to hammond or 15-18 traveling to SEC venues?
Posted by RoscoeHarper
Edmond, OK
Member since Aug 2011
4988 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 2:55 pm to
They both are
Posted by BeachDude022
Premium Elite Platinum TD Member
Member since Dec 2006
36435 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 2:58 pm to
I'm over this travel crap, honestly. My 12 year old is in travel hockey, and he's damn good, but I'm so tired of it. Last year we traveled to Colorado twice, Lake Placid, NY, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, and Toronto for tournaments. We're coming into his last year of it, thank God, because he wants to play high school JV next year and that's MUCH cheaper.

Plus, the parents are f*cking insane. They tend to forget this isn't the NHL and it's 12 year olds.

/rant

I feel better
This post was edited on 5/28/26 at 3:02 pm
Posted by TigerBaitOohHaHa
Member since Jan 2023
2085 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 3:09 pm to
we did travel baseball for years because at a certain age (13ish) there weren't enough kids left to play rec level and my son loved baseball. Most of the less athletic kids quit long ago and gradually teams fell apart as more and more kids went to travel teams. A self fulfilling cycle.

It was a huge pain in the arse, time consuming, sleep stealing, and expensive endeavor. I never once did it because I thought my son would play after high school. He just loved it. He loved the camaraderie and the competition. Some coaches were great and the teams cohesive. Others were total dickheads with over inflated egos. Either way my son learned discipline, discernment, and healthy habits that will carry on into adulthood. It was worth it for us.
Posted by Sofaking2
Member since Apr 2023
21356 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 3:18 pm to
quote:

Are some parents seriously saying shite like that about their kids before they even make it to double digit ages?

My oldest son was good enough to play college baseball at a JUCO or smaller college. Some of his friends at his baseball level went that route. My son had ambitions to go to medical school. He knew a Junior College/Community College associate’s degree was basically a joke. He put all his focus on academics and invested in his future post baseball. He realized it was time to leave that behind him.
This post was edited on 5/28/26 at 3:21 pm
Posted by Chad504boy
4 posts
Member since Feb 2005
179173 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 3:20 pm to
quote:

My oldest son was good enough to play college baseball at a JUCO or smaller college.
Posted by Sofaking2
Member since Apr 2023
21356 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 3:21 pm to
Ok he wasn’t, lol. He had to settle for being an MD. That’s more impressive to me anyway.
This post was edited on 5/28/26 at 3:23 pm
Posted by Chad504boy
4 posts
Member since Feb 2005
179173 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 3:23 pm to
quote:

He had to settle for being an MD.


hey there's people that can bat .350 and then there's nurses.
Posted by Sofaking2
Member since Apr 2023
21356 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 3:23 pm to
That’s funny, lol. Hahaha, you got me on that one.
This post was edited on 5/28/26 at 3:24 pm
Posted by Vacherie Saint
Member since Aug 2015
47638 posts
Posted on 5/28/26 at 3:27 pm to
Travel baseball, in its current form, is nothing more than a private, highly monetized version of rec ball.
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