Are travel sports bad for community?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think in some cases travel sports can create a stronger community.

+1. I’m much closer with the travel families than my neighbors.

But that’s a problem

Says who? You really don't see how/why travel sport families of a particular sport will likely have more in common than people who have homes near each other?

I don't know if it's a problem or not but reality is these relationships with travel families are a moment in time. Ask me how I know. Wait until your kid doesn't make the team or needs to switch teams or just ages out. Your strong community won't be so strong. The travel community is a community of convenience.

Wait until your neighbor kids have a falling out and don't want to be around each other anymore. That's not good for the neighborhood community either. Or your formerly good neighbor friends have a party and don't invite you but you can see all the cars and hear the activity. These are from posts here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the travel sports community is one type of community and having various communities is a healthy thing.

The problem I see with the travel sports community is that it’s limited to players whose parents have enough disposable income to pay and enough free time to do all that travel. Very insular.

Wealthy people will find ways to gather and exclude others no matter what. County clubs, golf clubs, vacation homes, private schools, real estate zoning and gates communities. Travel sports is the tip of the iceberg and I imagine teams manage to find money for really exceptional players.

Exactly. UMC to wealthy parents ensuring their kids are safely in their bubble.

With a token poor kid here or there for that feel good factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think in some cases travel sports can create a stronger community.

+1. I’m much closer with the travel families than my neighbors.

But that’s a problem

Says who? You really don't see how/why travel sport families of a particular sport will likely have more in common than people who have homes near each other?

I don't know if it's a problem or not but reality is these relationships with travel families are a moment in time. Ask me how I know. Wait until your kid doesn't make the team or needs to switch teams or just ages out. Your strong community won't be so strong. The travel community is a community of convenience.

Wait until your neighbor kids have a falling out and don't want to be around each other anymore. That's not good for the neighborhood community either. Or your formerly good neighbor friends have a party and don't invite you but you can see all the cars and hear the activity. These are from posts here.

None of that is guaranteed to happen though. And I think the neighborhood scene is good for kids and teens. It's something that they don't get usually these days

[Anonymous]

If my kid wasn't playing a travel sport, he would be gaming. So no big loss to the community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the travel sports community is one type of community and having various communities is a healthy thing.

The problem I see with the travel sports community is that it’s limited to players whose parents have enough disposable income to pay and enough free time to do all that travel. Very insular.

Wealthy people will find ways to gather and exclude others no matter what. County clubs, golf clubs, vacation homes, private schools, real estate zoning and gates communities. Travel sports is the tip of the iceberg and I imagine teams manage to find money for really exceptional players.

Exactly. UMC to wealthy parents ensuring their kids are safely in their bubble.

With a token poor kid here or there for that feel good factor.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If my kid wasn't playing a travel sport, he would be gaming. So no big loss to the community.

I really don't understand this at all. First of all, I don't understand why kids like screens so much instead of hanging out in person. But, also if your kid games too much, stop them from gaming so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think in some cases travel sports can create a stronger community.

+1. I’m much closer with the travel families than my neighbors.

But that’s a problem

Says who? You really don't see how/why travel sport families of a particular sport will likely have more in common than people who have homes near each other?

I don't know if it's a problem or not but reality is these relationships with travel families are a moment in time. Ask me how I know. Wait until your kid doesn't make the team or needs to switch teams or just ages out. Your strong community won't be so strong. The travel community is a community of convenience.

Wait until your neighbor kids have a falling out and don't want to be around each other anymore. That's not good for the neighborhood community either. Or your formerly good neighbor friends have a party and don't invite you but you can see all the cars and hear the activity. These are from posts here.

None of that is guaranteed to happen though. And I think the neighborhood scene is good for kids and teens. It's something that they don't get usually these days

Nor is every kid going to get cut from the team. You build your own community however you see fit whether its the neighbors, sports team, cultural group, church, family, your old high school friends, etc. I know people who never have time for other friends because they are constantly with their own family. Their kids won't attend school friends birthday parties b/c they always have some family stuff to attend. How does that benefit the wider community?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my kid wasn't playing a travel sport, he would be gaming. So no big loss to the community.

I really don't understand this at all. First of all, I don't understand why kids like screens so much instead of hanging out in person. But, also if your kid games too much, stop them from gaming so much.

Gaming is done with their friends. You actually play with your friends. Travel is a forced play group with a toxic social environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s up with all the travel sports trolling lately?

+1 Let it go, people. Travel teams are a great option for some kids/families. Not all travel teams/sports are toxic. Like everything in life, it's about finding the right balance for your kid/family. Clearly, there are some bad programs and, obviously, it's not for everyone, but enough with the travel sports hate.

A more productive conversation related to travel sports might be how to move away from a "year-round season" model, which asks kids to prioritize that sport 365 days a year and inevitably leads to kids "specializing" in one sport much, much earlier than 30+ years ago. Growing up in the 1980s, there was a defined season for each sport, and most athletic kids played a different sport in the fall, winter, spring, and summer. You may have had some workouts with teams from other sports in the "off-season," but there was a definite "season" and "off-season" for each sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my kid wasn't playing a travel sport, he would be gaming. So no big loss to the community.

I really don't understand this at all. First of all, I don't understand why kids like screens so much instead of hanging out in person. But, also if your kid games too much, stop them from gaming so much.

Gaming is done with their friends. You actually play with your friends. Travel is a forced play group with a toxic social environment.

Gaming can be done with friends, but I'm willing to be most kids hole up in their rooms and game solo. Not entirely bad, but kids do need to socialize with friends in person more.

[Anonymous]

None of these clowns will be any good

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the travel sports community is one type of community and having various communities is a healthy thing.

The problem I see with the travel sports community is that it’s limited to players whose parents have enough disposable income to pay and enough free time to do all that travel. Very insular.

Wealthy people will find ways to gather and exclude others no matter what. County clubs, golf clubs, vacation homes, private schools, real estate zoning and gates communities. Travel sports is the tip of the iceberg and I imagine teams manage to find money for really exceptional players.

Sigh. There’s always someone. Our travel experience was the exact opposite — a great way to get to know a mix of kids and families. Less wealthy, public school, private school, bunch of different races/ethnicities. It was actually one of the best ways to get to know each other because it was about the sport, not where you lived or how much money you have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could make the same argument for cars, air conditioning, long distance grandparents, lack of sidewalks, etc

and private school

This. Arguable, private school is more anti-community than travel sports. All my kids are in travel but go to local public school, which is where they spend the vast majority of their day. They walk to school with friends, hang out together outside, and then head to sports around 5P. Why anyone is angry about this is beyond me?

PS - I'm not anti-private school. I just don't understand the OPs angst.

You assume that all communities are similar to yours. In my community, most kids can't walk to school. Their elementary was redistricted twice, and the community was divided further between three middle schools and then three different high schools. It gets hard to maintain relationships when everyone is running around and working around different schools' schedules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the travel sports community is one type of community and having various communities is a healthy thing.

The problem I see with the travel sports community is that it’s limited to players whose parents have enough disposable income to pay and enough free time to do all that travel. Very insular.

Wealthy people will find ways to gather and exclude others no matter what. County clubs, golf clubs, vacation homes, private schools, real estate zoning and gates communities. Travel sports is the tip of the iceberg and I imagine teams manage to find money for really exceptional players.

Sigh. There’s always someone. Our travel experience was the exact opposite — a great way to get to know a mix of kids and families. Less wealthy, public school, private school, bunch of different races/ethnicities. It was actually one of the best ways to get to know each other because it was about the sport, not where you lived or how much money you have.

“Less wealthy”

Really?

[Anonymous]

My kids have nothing in common with most of the kids in our neighborhood, so I am glad that they have multiple circles of friends in the area from their travel/club sports who they hang out with (either team-related or during their free time).