Agree or disagree? Kids should only play travel sports if they have college or pro potential

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:While I have always admired highly athletic kids and wish them the best, I am just so glad that mine never fell into that category. The commitment required for travel sports sounds exhausting, and many of the parents seem insufferable. And for what? The vast majority of the kids end up putting the sport largely behind them, more often than not before college. I just don't get the appeal.

I don’t understand why people care so much about what other kids do. But I’ll bite..our kids enjoyed travel sports because they loved their sport, got frustrated in rec when kids missed games and practice at the drop of a hat, liked the competitive nature and overall higher skill and commitment levels in travel. None of them had any interest or desire to play in college. But they made great friends, stayed fit, and had great time management skills which served them well in high school and college.

Why isn’t the same disdain shown to non athletic extracurriculars? It gets old.

I wouldn't say I have disdain for travel sports or other highly competitive expensive exracurriculars, but I would never let my child do them. Money aside, these activities are intense abd really don't allow kids to be kids and have a childhood. I don't want my child so busy that they do not have time for much else.

So if your kid developed a particular passion that they loved enough to put the time in to improve, be it music or sports or whatever, you'd discourage it?

Possibly, but its not like im putting a blanket ban on all activities or sometjing.. I'm not 100% sure. Do you really let your kids do whatever they wabt? No limitations anywhere? I think travel or high competitive activities are way too expensive and a time suck, not just for me, but for my kids. Like I said, I think for kids 14 and under free time and free play ate very important.

14 is too late to jump on the competitive sports bandwagon. If you wait that long, it's long over.

Then it's over. I'll listen to my kid and discuss things with them, but at the end of the day kids don't get to do everything they want.

Okay... why you are even posting on here then? You're clearly not an athlete yourself, nor will your kid(s) ever have a shot at being a successful athlete, so this board isn't for you. Do you have some kind of inferiority complex over it?

In my experience the people who have distain for travel sports without ever having participated in it are not athletic themselves and their kids aren’t athletic either. They think that everyone doing travel sports is just being duped into it. They can’t fathom that some (not all) kids have actual talent and high interest, and are better served by playing at a more competitive level. It’s like they’re unable to see it because their own child does not display those abilities and they think other kids can’t possibly be that much better than their own child at a young age. Newsflash: some kids are really good athletes from a young age. Travel sports are a good fit for them. Some of them will stick with it, some of them will not. If you don’t want to participate in then don’t take your kid to tryouts. No need for sour grapes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While I have always admired highly athletic kids and wish them the best, I am just so glad that mine never fell into that category. The commitment required for travel sports sounds exhausting, and many of the parents seem insufferable. And for what? The vast majority of the kids end up putting the sport largely behind them, more often than not before college. I just don't get the appeal.

I don’t understand why people care so much about what other kids do. But I’ll bite..our kids enjoyed travel sports because they loved their sport, got frustrated in rec when kids missed games and practice at the drop of a hat, liked the competitive nature and overall higher skill and commitment levels in travel. None of them had any interest or desire to play in college. But they made great friends, stayed fit, and had great time management skills which served them well in high school and college.

Why isn’t the same disdain shown to non athletic extracurriculars? It gets old.

I wouldn't say I have disdain for travel sports or other highly competitive expensive exracurriculars, but I would never let my child do them. Money aside, these activities are intense abd really don't allow kids to be kids and have a childhood. I don't want my child so busy that they do not have time for much else.

So if your kid developed a particular passion that they loved enough to put the time in to improve, be it music or sports or whatever, you'd discourage it?

Possibly, but its not like im putting a blanket ban on all activities or sometjing.. I'm not 100% sure. Do you really let your kids do whatever they wabt? No limitations anywhere? I think travel or high competitive activities are way too expensive and a time suck, not just for me, but for my kids. Like I said, I think for kids 14 and under free time and free play ate very important.

14 is too late to jump on the competitive sports bandwagon. If you wait that long, it's long over.

Then it's over. I'll listen to my kid and discuss things with them, but at the end of the day kids don't get to do everything they want.

It's also going to be fun because all of that "free time" will be spent on devices. Do you think 14 year olds are playing at the park?

Why not? 14 and under are kids. I absolutely expect then to be kids, what wrong with that? Devices arent big at my house, so that's a non issue

You sound very naive. Keep telling yourself your 14 year old is so different from any other kid that age and won’t want to sit around playing on a phone or on video games. That is what “hanging out” turns into. Your influence on your kids will wane and peer influences will become very important in adolescence. That’s how development works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While I have always admired highly athletic kids and wish them the best, I am just so glad that mine never fell into that category. The commitment required for travel sports sounds exhausting, and many of the parents seem insufferable. And for what? The vast majority of the kids end up putting the sport largely behind them, more often than not before college. I just don't get the appeal.

I don’t understand why people care so much about what other kids do. But I’ll bite..our kids enjoyed travel sports because they loved their sport, got frustrated in rec when kids missed games and practice at the drop of a hat, liked the competitive nature and overall higher skill and commitment levels in travel. None of them had any interest or desire to play in college. But they made great friends, stayed fit, and had great time management skills which served them well in high school and college.

Why isn’t the same disdain shown to non athletic extracurriculars? It gets old.

I wouldn't say I have disdain for travel sports or other highly competitive expensive exracurriculars, but I would never let my child do them. Money aside, these activities are intense abd really don't allow kids to be kids and have a childhood. I don't want my child so busy that they do not have time for much else.

So if your kid developed a particular passion that they loved enough to put the time in to improve, be it music or sports or whatever, you'd discourage it?

Possibly, but its not like im putting a blanket ban on all activities or sometjing.. I'm not 100% sure. Do you really let your kids do whatever they wabt? No limitations anywhere? I think travel or high competitive activities are way too expensive and a time suck, not just for me, but for my kids. Like I said, I think for kids 14 and under free time and free play ate very important.

14 is too late to jump on the competitive sports bandwagon. If you wait that long, it's long over.

Then it's over. I'll listen to my kid and discuss things with them, but at the end of the day kids don't get to do everything they want.

It's also going to be fun because all of that "free time" will be spent on devices. Do you think 14 year olds are playing at the park?

Why not? 14 and under are kids. I absolutely expect then to be kids, what wrong with that? Devices arent big at my house, so that's a non issue

You sound very naive. Keep telling yourself your 14 year old is so different from any other kid that age and won’t want to sit around playing on a phone or on video games. That is what “hanging out” turns into. Your influence on your kids will wane and peer influences will become very important in adolescence. That’s how development works.

um ok.. I was 14 and I know what I was like. Yes, it's different with all the tech now, bit all of that is controllable. Quit assuming all 14 year olds are all the same. All I wanted to do at that age was be a kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While I have always admired highly athletic kids and wish them the best, I am just so glad that mine never fell into that category. The commitment required for travel sports sounds exhausting, and many of the parents seem insufferable. And for what? The vast majority of the kids end up putting the sport largely behind them, more often than not before college. I just don't get the appeal.

I don’t understand why people care so much about what other kids do. But I’ll bite..our kids enjoyed travel sports because they loved their sport, got frustrated in rec when kids missed games and practice at the drop of a hat, liked the competitive nature and overall higher skill and commitment levels in travel. None of them had any interest or desire to play in college. But they made great friends, stayed fit, and had great time management skills which served them well in high school and college.

Why isn’t the same disdain shown to non athletic extracurriculars? It gets old.

I wouldn't say I have disdain for travel sports or other highly competitive expensive exracurriculars, but I would never let my child do them. Money aside, these activities are intense abd really don't allow kids to be kids and have a childhood. I don't want my child so busy that they do not have time for much else.

So if your kid developed a particular passion that they loved enough to put the time in to improve, be it music or sports or whatever, you'd discourage it?

Possibly, but its not like im putting a blanket ban on all activities or sometjing.. I'm not 100% sure. Do you really let your kids do whatever they wabt? No limitations anywhere? I think travel or high competitive activities are way too expensive and a time suck, not just for me, but for my kids. Like I said, I think for kids 14 and under free time and free play ate very important.

14 is too late to jump on the competitive sports bandwagon. If you wait that long, it's long over.

Then it's over. I'll listen to my kid and discuss things with them, but at the end of the day kids don't get to do everything they want.

It's also going to be fun because all of that "free time" will be spent on devices. Do you think 14 year olds are playing at the park?

Why not? 14 and under are kids. I absolutely expect then to be kids, what wrong with that? Devices arent big at my house, so that's a non issue

You sound very naive. Keep telling yourself your 14 year old is so different from any other kid that age and won’t want to sit around playing on a phone or on video games. That is what “hanging out” turns into. Your influence on your kids will wane and peer influences will become very important in adolescence. That’s how development works.

um ok.. I was 14 and I know what I was like. Yes, it's different with all the tech now, bit all of that is controllable. Quit assuming all 14 year olds are all the same. All I wanted to do at that age was be a kid.

LOL. I have visions of this poster being my ex boyfriend, who would totally say these things. All he did at 14 was get high and drunk. By 16 he was in and out of rehab. I can see him looking back through rose colored glasses on a "childhood" at 14 that involved playing in the park with his friends while all the other suckers were out wasting their lives on such ridiculous things as travel sports. I dated him briefly when I was in college (and he obviously was not) because his laid back attitude appealed to me for a hot minute. Anyway, I imagine him sitting in his living room smoking a bong right now and posting these things about why his 10-year old shouldn't waste away his childhood playing on the travel soccer team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While I have always admired highly athletic kids and wish them the best, I am just so glad that mine never fell into that category. The commitment required for travel sports sounds exhausting, and many of the parents seem insufferable. And for what? The vast majority of the kids end up putting the sport largely behind them, more often than not before college. I just don't get the appeal.

I don’t understand why people care so much about what other kids do. But I’ll bite..our kids enjoyed travel sports because they loved their sport, got frustrated in rec when kids missed games and practice at the drop of a hat, liked the competitive nature and overall higher skill and commitment levels in travel. None of them had any interest or desire to play in college. But they made great friends, stayed fit, and had great time management skills which served them well in high school and college.

Why isn’t the same disdain shown to non athletic extracurriculars? It gets old.

I wouldn't say I have disdain for travel sports or other highly competitive expensive exracurriculars, but I would never let my child do them. Money aside, these activities are intense abd really don't allow kids to be kids and have a childhood. I don't want my child so busy that they do not have time for much else.

So if your kid developed a particular passion that they loved enough to put the time in to improve, be it music or sports or whatever, you'd discourage it?

Possibly, but its not like im putting a blanket ban on all activities or sometjing.. I'm not 100% sure. Do you really let your kids do whatever they wabt? No limitations anywhere? I think travel or high competitive activities are way too expensive and a time suck, not just for me, but for my kids. Like I said, I think for kids 14 and under free time and free play ate very important.

14 is too late to jump on the competitive sports bandwagon. If you wait that long, it's long over.

Then it's over. I'll listen to my kid and discuss things with them, but at the end of the day kids don't get to do everything they want.

It's also going to be fun because all of that "free time" will be spent on devices. Do you think 14 year olds are playing at the park?

Why not? 14 and under are kids. I absolutely expect then to be kids, what wrong with that? Devices arent big at my house, so that's a non issue

You sound very naive. Keep telling yourself your 14 year old is so different from any other kid that age and won’t want to sit around playing on a phone or on video games. That is what “hanging out” turns into. Your influence on your kids will wane and peer influences will become very important in adolescence. That’s how development works.

um ok.. I was 14 and I know what I was like. Yes, it's different with all the tech now, bit all of that is controllable. Quit assuming all 14 year olds are all the same. All I wanted to do at that age was be a kid.

LOL. I have visions of this poster being my ex boyfriend, who would totally say these things. All he did at 14 was get high and drunk. By 16 he was in and out of rehab. I can see him looking back through rose colored glasses on a "childhood" at 14 that involved playing in the park with his friends while all the other suckers were out wasting their lives on such ridiculous things as travel sports. I dated him briefly when I was in college (and he obviously was not) because his laid back attitude appealed to me for a hot minute. Anyway, I imagine him sitting in his living room smoking a bong right now and posting these things about why his 10-year old shouldn't waste away his childhood playing on the travel soccer team.

I've never done a drug in my life and I don't drink.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While I have always admired highly athletic kids and wish them the best, I am just so glad that mine never fell into that category. The commitment required for travel sports sounds exhausting, and many of the parents seem insufferable. And for what? The vast majority of the kids end up putting the sport largely behind them, more often than not before college. I just don't get the appeal.

I don’t understand why people care so much about what other kids do. But I’ll bite..our kids enjoyed travel sports because they loved their sport, got frustrated in rec when kids missed games and practice at the drop of a hat, liked the competitive nature and overall higher skill and commitment levels in travel. None of them had any interest or desire to play in college. But they made great friends, stayed fit, and had great time management skills which served them well in high school and college.

Why isn’t the same disdain shown to non athletic extracurriculars? It gets old.

I wouldn't say I have disdain for travel sports or other highly competitive expensive exracurriculars, but I would never let my child do them. Money aside, these activities are intense abd really don't allow kids to be kids and have a childhood. I don't want my child so busy that they do not have time for much else.

So if your kid developed a particular passion that they loved enough to put the time in to improve, be it music or sports or whatever, you'd discourage it?

Possibly, but its not like im putting a blanket ban on all activities or sometjing.. I'm not 100% sure. Do you really let your kids do whatever they wabt? No limitations anywhere? I think travel or high competitive activities are way too expensive and a time suck, not just for me, but for my kids. Like I said, I think for kids 14 and under free time and free play ate very important.

14 is too late to jump on the competitive sports bandwagon. If you wait that long, it's long over.

Then it's over. I'll listen to my kid and discuss things with them, but at the end of the day kids don't get to do everything they want.

Okay... why you are even posting on here then? You're clearly not an athlete yourself, nor will your kid(s) ever have a shot at being a successful athlete, so this board isn't for you. Do you have some kind of inferiority complex over it?

In my experience the people who have distain for travel sports without ever having participated in it are not athletic themselves and their kids aren’t athletic either. They think that everyone doing travel sports is just being duped into it. They can’t fathom that some (not all) kids have actual talent and high interest, and are better served by playing at a more competitive level. It’s like they’re unable to see it because their own child does not display those abilities and they think other kids can’t possibly be that much better than their own child at a young age. Newsflash: some kids are really good athletes from a young age. Travel sports are a good fit for them. Some of them will stick with it, some of them will not. If you don’t want to participate in then don’t take your kid to tryouts. No need for sour grapes.

What sour grapes? People have different opinions that's all. This is a public forum to voice different views and opinions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While I have always admired highly athletic kids and wish them the best, I am just so glad that mine never fell into that category. The commitment required for travel sports sounds exhausting, and many of the parents seem insufferable. And for what? The vast majority of the kids end up putting the sport largely behind them, more often than not before college. I just don't get the appeal.

I don’t understand why people care so much about what other kids do. But I’ll bite..our kids enjoyed travel sports because they loved their sport, got frustrated in rec when kids missed games and practice at the drop of a hat, liked the competitive nature and overall higher skill and commitment levels in travel. None of them had any interest or desire to play in college. But they made great friends, stayed fit, and had great time management skills which served them well in high school and college.

Why isn’t the same disdain shown to non athletic extracurriculars? It gets old.

I wouldn't say I have disdain for travel sports or other highly competitive expensive exracurriculars, but I would never let my child do them. Money aside, these activities are intense abd really don't allow kids to be kids and have a childhood. I don't want my child so busy that they do not have time for much else.

So if your kid developed a particular passion that they loved enough to put the time in to improve, be it music or sports or whatever, you'd discourage it?

Possibly, but its not like im putting a blanket ban on all activities or sometjing.. I'm not 100% sure. Do you really let your kids do whatever they wabt? No limitations anywhere? I think travel or high competitive activities are way too expensive and a time suck, not just for me, but for my kids. Like I said, I think for kids 14 and under free time and free play ate very important.

14 is too late to jump on the competitive sports bandwagon. If you wait that long, it's long over.

Then it's over. I'll listen to my kid and discuss things with them, but at the end of the day kids don't get to do everything they want.

It's also going to be fun because all of that "free time" will be spent on devices. Do you think 14 year olds are playing at the park?

Why not? 14 and under are kids. I absolutely expect then to be kids, what wrong with that? Devices arent big at my house, so that's a non issue

Sure, every 13 year old with no extra curriculars focusing on being a kid avoids just playing video games and texting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While I have always admired highly athletic kids and wish them the best, I am just so glad that mine never fell into that category. The commitment required for travel sports sounds exhausting, and many of the parents seem insufferable. And for what? The vast majority of the kids end up putting the sport largely behind them, more often than not before college. I just don't get the appeal.

I don’t understand why people care so much about what other kids do. But I’ll bite..our kids enjoyed travel sports because they loved their sport, got frustrated in rec when kids missed games and practice at the drop of a hat, liked the competitive nature and overall higher skill and commitment levels in travel. None of them had any interest or desire to play in college. But they made great friends, stayed fit, and had great time management skills which served them well in high school and college.

Why isn’t the same disdain shown to non athletic extracurriculars? It gets old.

I wouldn't say I have disdain for travel sports or other highly competitive expensive exracurriculars, but I would never let my child do them. Money aside, these activities are intense abd really don't allow kids to be kids and have a childhood. I don't want my child so busy that they do not have time for much else.

So if your kid developed a particular passion that they loved enough to put the time in to improve, be it music or sports or whatever, you'd discourage it?

Possibly, but its not like im putting a blanket ban on all activities or sometjing.. I'm not 100% sure. Do you really let your kids do whatever they wabt? No limitations anywhere? I think travel or high competitive activities are way too expensive and a time suck, not just for me, but for my kids. Like I said, I think for kids 14 and under free time and free play ate very important.

14 is too late to jump on the competitive sports bandwagon. If you wait that long, it's long over.

Then it's over. I'll listen to my kid and discuss things with them, but at the end of the day kids don't get to do everything they want.

It's also going to be fun because all of that "free time" will be spent on devices. Do you think 14 year olds are playing at the park?

Why not? 14 and under are kids. I absolutely expect then to be kids, what wrong with that? Devices arent big at my house, so that's a non issue

Sure, every 13 year old with no extra curriculars focusing on being a kid avoids just playing video games and texting

So are you saying imposing limits doesn't work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't do travel sports period, but I can't imagine a kid actually wanting unless they had those goals.

My kids both love it and neither will likely play in college. One may get lucky and sneak onto a DIII, but probably not. They do love playing for their high school and there are no none travel players on their high school teams

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While I have always admired highly athletic kids and wish them the best, I am just so glad that mine never fell into that category. The commitment required for travel sports sounds exhausting, and many of the parents seem insufferable. And for what? The vast majority of the kids end up putting the sport largely behind them, more often than not before college. I just don't get the appeal.

I don’t understand why people care so much about what other kids do. But I’ll bite..our kids enjoyed travel sports because they loved their sport, got frustrated in rec when kids missed games and practice at the drop of a hat, liked the competitive nature and overall higher skill and commitment levels in travel. None of them had any interest or desire to play in college. But they made great friends, stayed fit, and had great time management skills which served them well in high school and college.

Why isn’t the same disdain shown to non athletic extracurriculars? It gets old.

I wouldn't say I have disdain for travel sports or other highly competitive expensive exracurriculars, but I would never let my child do them. Money aside, these activities are intense abd really don't allow kids to be kids and have a childhood. I don't want my child so busy that they do not have time for much else.

So if your kid developed a particular passion that they loved enough to put the time in to improve, be it music or sports or whatever, you'd discourage it?

Possibly, but its not like im putting a blanket ban on all activities or sometjing.. I'm not 100% sure. Do you really let your kids do whatever they wabt? No limitations anywhere? I think travel or high competitive activities are way too expensive and a time suck, not just for me, but for my kids. Like I said, I think for kids 14 and under free time and free play ate very important.

14 is too late to jump on the competitive sports bandwagon. If you wait that long, it's long over.

Then it's over. I'll listen to my kid and discuss things with them, but at the end of the day kids don't get to do everything they want.

It's also going to be fun because all of that "free time" will be spent on devices. Do you think 14 year olds are playing at the park?

Why not? 14 and under are kids. I absolutely expect then to be kids, what wrong with that? Devices arent big at my house, so that's a non issue

Sure, every 13 year old with no extra curriculars focusing on being a kid avoids just playing video games and texting

So are you saying imposing limits doesn't work?

So you don't want your kid to just be a kid and enjoy the freedom of childhood? How many teenagers do you see at playgrounds?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While I have always admired highly athletic kids and wish them the best, I am just so glad that mine never fell into that category. The commitment required for travel sports sounds exhausting, and many of the parents seem insufferable. And for what? The vast majority of the kids end up putting the sport largely behind them, more often than not before college. I just don't get the appeal.

I don’t understand why people care so much about what other kids do. But I’ll bite..our kids enjoyed travel sports because they loved their sport, got frustrated in rec when kids missed games and practice at the drop of a hat, liked the competitive nature and overall higher skill and commitment levels in travel. None of them had any interest or desire to play in college. But they made great friends, stayed fit, and had great time management skills which served them well in high school and college.

Why isn’t the same disdain shown to non athletic extracurriculars? It gets old.

I wouldn't say I have disdain for travel sports or other highly competitive expensive exracurriculars, but I would never let my child do them. Money aside, these activities are intense abd really don't allow kids to be kids and have a childhood. I don't want my child so busy that they do not have time for much else.

So if your kid developed a particular passion that they loved enough to put the time in to improve, be it music or sports or whatever, you'd discourage it?

Possibly, but its not like im putting a blanket ban on all activities or sometjing.. I'm not 100% sure. Do you really let your kids do whatever they wabt? No limitations anywhere? I think travel or high competitive activities are way too expensive and a time suck, not just for me, but for my kids. Like I said, I think for kids 14 and under free time and free play ate very important.

14 is too late to jump on the competitive sports bandwagon. If you wait that long, it's long over.

Then it's over. I'll listen to my kid and discuss things with them, but at the end of the day kids don't get to do everything they want.

Okay... why you are even posting on here then? You're clearly not an athlete yourself, nor will your kid(s) ever have a shot at being a successful athlete, so this board isn't for you. Do you have some kind of inferiority complex over it?

In my experience the people who have distain for travel sports without ever having participated in it are not athletic themselves and their kids aren’t athletic either. They think that everyone doing travel sports is just being duped into it. They can’t fathom that some (not all) kids have actual talent and high interest, and are better served by playing at a more competitive level. It’s like they’re unable to see it because their own child does not display those abilities and they think other kids can’t possibly be that much better than their own child at a young age. Newsflash: some kids are really good athletes from a young age. Travel sports are a good fit for them. Some of them will stick with it, some of them will not. If you don’t want to participate in then don’t take your kid to tryouts. No need for sour grapes.

I have disdain for travel sports because my sibling played travel baseball growing up and I got dragged to practically every game. It was my family's life. I got to see up close how mentally unhealthy a lot of the parents (including mine) were. They were obsessed with baseball, obsessed w/ their kids' involvement in baseball, obsessed w/ their kids' future prospects playing baseball. I'm not just bitter because the focus was always on my sibling and not me but also because no one could seem to ever talk about anything else other than the sport. Some of the kids (including my brother) clearly really loved playing and wanted to be there. Some of the kids were clearly just doing it because their parents wanted them to. It was sad to see.

If one of my kids really showed interest in a sport and really wanted to play at that level, I would let them try it out but I would do things differently than my parents did. For one thing, I wouldn't force my other kid to go to all the games. For another, I wouldn't allow my family's every waking moment to be spent talking about the sport. For another, I wouldn't let myself get to wrapped up in the sport culture that I lost sight of everything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While I have always admired highly athletic kids and wish them the best, I am just so glad that mine never fell into that category. The commitment required for travel sports sounds exhausting, and many of the parents seem insufferable. And for what? The vast majority of the kids end up putting the sport largely behind them, more often than not before college. I just don't get the appeal.

I don’t understand why people care so much about what other kids do. But I’ll bite..our kids enjoyed travel sports because they loved their sport, got frustrated in rec when kids missed games and practice at the drop of a hat, liked the competitive nature and overall higher skill and commitment levels in travel. None of them had any interest or desire to play in college. But they made great friends, stayed fit, and had great time management skills which served them well in high school and college.

Why isn’t the same disdain shown to non athletic extracurriculars? It gets old.

I wouldn't say I have disdain for travel sports or other highly competitive expensive exracurriculars, but I would never let my child do them. Money aside, these activities are intense abd really don't allow kids to be kids and have a childhood. I don't want my child so busy that they do not have time for much else.

So if your kid developed a particular passion that they loved enough to put the time in to improve, be it music or sports or whatever, you'd discourage it?

Possibly, but its not like im putting a blanket ban on all activities or sometjing.. I'm not 100% sure. Do you really let your kids do whatever they wabt? No limitations anywhere? I think travel or high competitive activities are way too expensive and a time suck, not just for me, but for my kids. Like I said, I think for kids 14 and under free time and free play ate very important.

Well, your exact words were, "I'd never let my kid do them," so that certainly sounded like a ban on anything you consider "highly competitive," whatever that might be.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:While I have always admired highly athletic kids and wish them the best, I am just so glad that mine never fell into that category. The commitment required for travel sports sounds exhausting, and many of the parents seem insufferable. And for what? The vast majority of the kids end up putting the sport largely behind them, more often than not before college. I just don't get the appeal.

I don’t understand why people care so much about what other kids do. But I’ll bite..our kids enjoyed travel sports because they loved their sport, got frustrated in rec when kids missed games and practice at the drop of a hat, liked the competitive nature and overall higher skill and commitment levels in travel. None of them had any interest or desire to play in college. But they made great friends, stayed fit, and had great time management skills which served them well in high school and college.

Why isn’t the same disdain shown to non athletic extracurriculars? It gets old.

I wouldn't say I have disdain for travel sports or other highly competitive expensive exracurriculars, but I would never let my child do them. Money aside, these activities are intense abd really don't allow kids to be kids and have a childhood. I don't want my child so busy that they do not have time for much else.

So if your kid developed a particular passion that they loved enough to put the time in to improve, be it music or sports or whatever, you'd discourage it?

Possibly, but its not like im putting a blanket ban on all activities or sometjing.. I'm not 100% sure. Do you really let your kids do whatever they wabt? No limitations anywhere? I think travel or high competitive activities are way too expensive and a time suck, not just for me, but for my kids. Like I said, I think for kids 14 and under free time and free play ate very important.

14 is too late to jump on the competitive sports bandwagon. If you wait that long, it's long over.

Then it's over. I'll listen to my kid and discuss things with them, but at the end of the day kids don't get to do everything they want.

It's also going to be fun because all of that "free time" will be spent on devices. Do you think 14 year olds are playing at the park?

Why not? 14 and under are kids. I absolutely expect then to be kids, what wrong with that? Devices arent big at my house, so that's a non issue

Sure, every 13 year old with no extra curriculars focusing on being a kid avoids just playing video games and texting

So are you saying imposing limits doesn't work?

So you don't want your kid to just be a kid and enjoy the freedom of childhood? How many teenagers do you see at playgrounds?

Of course I want them to be kids and enjoy their childhoods. That's why I won't let them veg on screens all the time or overschedule them. I also find it sad when young kids are over it and don't go outside atcall.

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Anonymous wrote:While I have always admired highly athletic kids and wish them the best, I am just so glad that mine never fell into that category. The commitment required for travel sports sounds exhausting, and many of the parents seem insufferable. And for what? The vast majority of the kids end up putting the sport largely behind them, more often than not before college. I just don't get the appeal.

I don’t understand why people care so much about what other kids do. But I’ll bite..our kids enjoyed travel sports because they loved their sport, got frustrated in rec when kids missed games and practice at the drop of a hat, liked the competitive nature and overall higher skill and commitment levels in travel. None of them had any interest or desire to play in college. But they made great friends, stayed fit, and had great time management skills which served them well in high school and college.

Why isn’t the same disdain shown to non athletic extracurriculars? It gets old.

I wouldn't say I have disdain for travel sports or other highly competitive expensive exracurriculars, but I would never let my child do them. Money aside, these activities are intense abd really don't allow kids to be kids and have a childhood. I don't want my child so busy that they do not have time for much else.

So if your kid developed a particular passion that they loved enough to put the time in to improve, be it music or sports or whatever, you'd discourage it?

Possibly, but its not like im putting a blanket ban on all activities or sometjing.. I'm not 100% sure. Do you really let your kids do whatever they wabt? No limitations anywhere? I think travel or high competitive activities are way too expensive and a time suck, not just for me, but for my kids. Like I said, I think for kids 14 and under free time and free play ate very important.

14 is too late to jump on the competitive sports bandwagon. If you wait that long, it's long over.

Then it's over. I'll listen to my kid and discuss things with them, but at the end of the day kids don't get to do everything they want.

It's also going to be fun because all of that "free time" will be spent on devices. Do you think 14 year olds are playing at the park?

Why not? 14 and under are kids. I absolutely expect then to be kids, what wrong with that? Devices arent big at my house, so that's a non issue

You sound very naive. Keep telling yourself your 14 year old is so different from any other kid that age and won’t want to sit around playing on a phone or on video games. That is what “hanging out” turns into. Your influence on your kids will wane and peer influences will become very important in adolescence. That’s how development works.

um ok.. I was 14 and I know what I was like. Yes, it's different with all the tech now, bit all of that is controllable. Quit assuming all 14 year olds are all the same. All I wanted to do at that age was be a kid.

But what does your kid want? Are you assuming your kid wants the same thing as you wanted as a kid? I'm assuming your kids have not shown any intense interest or talent for sport they may have already tried because if they did, you would not be making the decision to say, "nah....they can try travel at 14" so easily. Sure, there are a few parents who really push their kids to do travel sports (usually the crazy parents), but at the end of the day, this thread shows me that parents put their kids in travel because the kids want to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our kids play travel sports because DH and I both played travel sports then a college sport, so for us it is just a lifestyle that we love and are comfortable with spending our time and money to support. Ironically, our youngest son chose about the only 2 sports that neither of us played growing up (ice hockey and lacrosse), so we're having fun learning along the way, but the level of athleticism and parental commitment required is the same across most sports (though hockey is really expensive). Older kids played travel sports then D1 and D3 athletics (no scholarship for either). Wouldn't change it for the world. We just love sports.

Translation: we like it, so we forced it on our kids.