My kid was getting frustrated at rec baseball and he threw and hit the ball so much harder so we had him try out BCC select (kind of like MSI Classic soccer level), from there he was selected to all stars, they suggested travel and the rest is history (varsity baseball but decided not to try for college baseball).

It was a great progression and he learned a lot about sportsmanship, hard work, and yes, losing. Your kids need to know how to have grace under pressure and to be a good sport when they lose. Built a lot of grit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the mindset of parents who sign their pre-teens up for intense travel sports? Are they trying to keep up with the Jones'? Hoping their kid will get a baseball scholarship? Hoping their kid will be the next David Beckham? I just don't understand the appeal of an entire family sacrificing all of their weekend and weeknight time to these leagues. Patrice's multiple night s a week sometimes an hour away from home, tournaments lasting all weekend long four hours away, how do so many parents get sucked in?

Without reading any posts after this one and getting sucked into flame wars, OP I will say that the main reason people do this is because they really truly believe their kid has a shot at becoming a pro athlete or an Olympian. At least that has been my experience with friends and my kids' friends. I don't think people do it to keep up with the Joneses because most of the Joneses don't do travel sports. I agree that for 99% of families it's not a good investment of their time or money, but some people don't put a price on dreams or their kids' happiness. It's not my business.

Hmm, that's not really my experience at all. But maybe because DD's sport doesnt really have a pro league.

Every now and then you come across the parent that things their kid has D1 potential, but that's few and far between. Most understand that their girls want to make the HS team (maybe even varsity as a freshman), and maybe play in college (but probably not D1) and truly play select ball because they LOVE LOVE LOVE the sport. That's the real reason.

DD plays softball. So pro league is kind of a joke. It wasn't even an olympic sport this year. And its REALLY hard to go D1, and even if you do go D1, it's not UCLA or OK or Texas.

These girls do it because rec bores the hell out of them, and they want real competition. they truly love the sport

I coached travel softball teams for 15 years. Probably 250 kids at various stages. I coached at all levels, from brand-new 9U C teams all the way up to showcase "elite" A-level teams.

Maybe 60 of them play in college or will play in college. Maybe half of those play D1. Half of those again quit after one year in college. I can count the number of Power 5 players on one hand.

Yup, they play select because they want to be around other girls that feel the same way as them about the sport.

My daughter is now going into her 3rd year of B softball with aspirations to move up to A or Elite soon. And even then, she's really not thinking about college. Just about her current level of softball

Simple: Kid loves the sport and it keeps them off the street and out of trouble.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the mindset of parents who sign their pre-teens up for intense travel sports? Are they trying to keep up with the Jones'? Hoping their kid will get a baseball scholarship? Hoping their kid will be the next David Beckham? I just don't understand the appeal of an entire family sacrificing all of their weekend and weeknight time to these leagues. Patrice's multiple night s a week sometimes an hour away from home, tournaments lasting all weekend long four hours away, how do so many parents get sucked in?

Without reading any posts after this one and getting sucked into flame wars, OP I will say that the main reason people do this is because they really truly believe their kid has a shot at becoming a pro athlete or an Olympian. At least that has been my experience with friends and my kids' friends. I don't think people do it to keep up with the Joneses because most of the Joneses don't do travel sports. I agree that for 99% of families it's not a good investment of their time or money, but some people don't put a price on dreams or their kids' happiness. It's not my business.

Hmm, that's not really my experience at all. But maybe because DD's sport doesnt really have a pro league.

Every now and then you come across the parent that things their kid has D1 potential, but that's few and far between. Most understand that their girls want to make the HS team (maybe even varsity as a freshman), and maybe play in college (but probably not D1) and truly play select ball because they LOVE LOVE LOVE the sport. That's the real reason.

DD plays softball. So pro league is kind of a joke. It wasn't even an olympic sport this year. And its REALLY hard to go D1, and even if you do go D1, it's not UCLA or OK or Texas.

These girls do it because rec bores the hell out of them, and they want real competition. they truly love the sport

I coached travel softball teams for 15 years. Probably 250 kids at various stages. I coached at all levels, from brand-new 9U C teams all the way up to showcase "elite" A-level teams.

Maybe 60 of them play in college or will play in college. Maybe half of those play D1. Half of those again quit after one year in college. I can count the number of Power 5 players on one hand.

It probably goes without saying that at least 40% of the parents responding to this post fall into the category of this sports study.

https://footballscoop.com/news/study-nearly-40-young-athletes-dont-want-parents-games

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the mindset of parents who sign their pre-teens up for intense travel sports? Are they trying to keep up with the Jones'? Hoping their kid will get a baseball scholarship? Hoping their kid will be the next David Beckham? I just don't understand the appeal of an entire family sacrificing all of their weekend and weeknight time to these leagues. Patrice's multiple night s a week sometimes an hour away from home, tournaments lasting all weekend long four hours away, how do so many parents get sucked in?

Without reading any posts after this one and getting sucked into flame wars, OP I will say that the main reason people do this is because they really truly believe their kid has a shot at becoming a pro athlete or an Olympian. At least that has been my experience with friends and my kids' friends. I don't think people do it to keep up with the Joneses because most of the Joneses don't do travel sports. I agree that for 99% of families it's not a good investment of their time or money, but some people don't put a price on dreams or their kids' happiness. It's not my business.

Hmm, that's not really my experience at all. But maybe because DD's sport doesnt really have a pro league.

Every now and then you come across the parent that things their kid has D1 potential, but that's few and far between. Most understand that their girls want to make the HS team (maybe even varsity as a freshman), and maybe play in college (but probably not D1) and truly play select ball because they LOVE LOVE LOVE the sport. That's the real reason.

DD plays softball. So pro league is kind of a joke. It wasn't even an olympic sport this year. And its REALLY hard to go D1, and even if you do go D1, it's not UCLA or OK or Texas.

These girls do it because rec bores the hell out of them, and they want real competition. they truly love the sport

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the mindset of parents who sign their pre-teens up for intense travel sports? Are they trying to keep up with the Jones'? Hoping their kid will get a baseball scholarship? Hoping their kid will be the next David Beckham? I just don't understand the appeal of an entire family sacrificing all of their weekend and weeknight time to these leagues. Patrice's multiple night s a week sometimes an hour away from home, tournaments lasting all weekend long four hours away, how do so many parents get sucked in?

Without reading any posts after this one and getting sucked into flame wars, OP I will say that the main reason people do this is because they really truly believe their kid has a shot at becoming a pro athlete or an Olympian. At least that has been my experience with friends and my kids' friends. I don't think people do it to keep up with the Joneses because most of the Joneses don't do travel sports. I agree that for 99% of families it's not a good investment of their time or money, but some people don't put a price on dreams or their kids' happiness. It's not my business.

Your friends are not typical. Most absolutely are keeping up with the Joneses so their kid has some social capital and so they have a shot at making a HS team. Most do not believe their kid will go pro or be an Olympian.

Focusing on OP's comments being limited to travel sports that are intense, while neither I nor my children participated at that level, every member of my family (sibling/cousins) who has done so was able to use that sport either to get into a college that would have been unattainable and, for one, to play professionally.

Even with that context, I am overjoyed that my children are happiest with a travel experience that is relatively casual.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the mindset of parents who sign their pre-teens up for intense travel sports? Are they trying to keep up with the Jones'? Hoping their kid will get a baseball scholarship? Hoping their kid will be the next David Beckham? I just don't understand the appeal of an entire family sacrificing all of their weekend and weeknight time to these leagues. Patrice's multiple night s a week sometimes an hour away from home, tournaments lasting all weekend long four hours away, how do so many parents get sucked in?

Without reading any posts after this one and getting sucked into flame wars, OP I will say that the main reason people do this is because they really truly believe their kid has a shot at becoming a pro athlete or an Olympian. At least that has been my experience with friends and my kids' friends. I don't think people do it to keep up with the Joneses because most of the Joneses don't do travel sports. I agree that for 99% of families it's not a good investment of their time or money, but some people don't put a price on dreams or their kids' happiness. It's not my business.

You’re so full of shit

Anonymous wrote:What is the mindset of parents who sign their pre-teens up for intense travel sports? Are they trying to keep up with the Jones'? Hoping their kid will get a baseball scholarship? Hoping their kid will be the next David Beckham? I just don't understand the appeal of an entire family sacrificing all of their weekend and weeknight time to these leagues. Patrice's multiple night s a week sometimes an hour away from home, tournaments lasting all weekend long four hours away, how do so many parents get sucked in?

Without reading any posts after this one and getting sucked into flame wars, OP I will say that the main reason people do this is because they really truly believe their kid has a shot at becoming a pro athlete or an Olympian. At least that has been my experience with friends and my kids' friends. I don't think people do it to keep up with the Joneses because most of the Joneses don't do travel sports. I agree that for 99% of families it's not a good investment of their time or money, but some people don't put a price on dreams or their kids' happiness. It's not my business.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Should we start a thread “why do people continue to sign their kid up for rec team sports when the kid has little to no interest/skill and never improves?”

Wanting your child to get exercise and have a team experience with friends is a valid reason of course but at what age does that not fly? For example: low skill/low interest Lara is on the team with school friends because that’s “fun” but unlike 80-90% of the team she never improves. Those teammates are going to turn on her at some point because unless she brings something else amazing to the team, kids will not tolerate a charity case after a certain age.

It's rec, lots of kids aren't very good. My kids like schedules packed with sports, so they do rec when their teams aren't practicing and playing as much in the off season. It's just a fun way for kids of all abilities to play a game

No one expects kids to be amazing in rec. DS plays on a couple rec sports teams because that’s what works with his schedule. He is naturally athletic so dropping in and playing rec soccer in the fall and rec basketball in the winter is fine. When he was little it was all about the friend group. Fine.

I’m talking about the 14 year old whose parents continue to sign him up even though he clearly has no interest in the sport and literally still can’t catch a ball. The parents think it’s a way to stay connected with the friend group but in reality the boys now loathe this kid because when he’s on the court it’s an automatic turnover/it’s like playing a man down. If the kid cared or tried or improved ever maybe the boys would be more supportive and patience. But he doesn’t. As a result that’s playing out in social interactions off the court. I don’t understand why a parent would continue to put their child in this situation—can they not see this dynamic playing out?

Anonymous wrote:Should we start a thread “why do people continue to sign their kid up for rec team sports when the kid has little to no interest/skill and never improves?”

Wanting your child to get exercise and have a team experience with friends is a valid reason of course but at what age does that not fly? For example: low skill/low interest Lara is on the team with school friends because that’s “fun” but unlike 80-90% of the team she never improves. Those teammates are going to turn on her at some point because unless she brings something else amazing to the team, kids will not tolerate a charity case after a certain age.

It's rec, lots of kids aren't very good. My kids like schedules packed with sports, so they do rec when their teams aren't practicing and playing as much in the off season. It's just a fun way for kids of all abilities to play a game

Should we start a thread “why do people continue to sign their kid up for rec team sports when the kid has little to no interest/skill and never improves?”

Wanting your child to get exercise and have a team experience with friends is a valid reason of course but at what age does that not fly? For example: low skill/low interest Lara is on the team with school friends because that’s “fun” but unlike 80-90% of the team she never improves. Those teammates are going to turn on her at some point because unless she brings something else amazing to the team, kids will not tolerate a charity case after a certain age.

Why why why do people start all of these threads bashing travel sports?

Simply put: travel sports are not for everyone. “Travel team” means a wide range of things for different sports, age groups and areas. Families choose this path for lots of reasons but, while there’s no question that some parents are delusional, most of us are in it because our kid loves the sport, we love our kids, and it makes sense for our family. Yes our yard and house may not be up to standards but I’m willing to bet that our kid will remember his sports experiences from childhood vs the state of our yard/house. We reassess our commitment to the team/training every year and if at some point it becomes too much we’ll make a change. Sports take up a lot of time but we all love sports.

+ 1 to the PP who made the theater comment. I loathe drama/musical/theater. I understand that many, many people enjoy it. I don’t feel the need to disparage their choices.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids love it and have a ton of fun. We like the other parents and like watching the sport. What else would we do on weekend?

Nothing because you are boring and vapid

LOL. Yes, nothing more exciting than going to the Smithsonian AGAIN…

Your pea brain likes to booze at the hotel bar we get it

I can’t afford the hotel bar after all the other expenses! Party in the hotel room!

Sorry you don’t like fun, but I’m sure you’ll find your tribe somewhere.

It is a weird flex that you are saying you no longer know how to spend a weekend without watching a youth sporting event.

I am a travel parent, but if my kid weren't playing then the family would be out golfing, or kayaking, or camping, or any number of activities. Now that our kid can drive, we actually do some of those things without our kid and they go to their sporting events on their own.

Not really sure why you are bragging about the fact that you wouldn't have anything else to do.

Not sure where you got bragging? I just object to being called boring and vapid because I genuinely enjoy watching my kid play a sport he’s passionate about while hanging out with other adults I genuinely like.

Oh, wow, you go camping?!?! That’s just SO impressive. You haul yourself to the middle of the woods to sit around and do nothing and think that’s superior to hauling yourself to a field somewhere to sit around and do nothing. LOL.

And let’s be real, princess. You’re spending your average weekend cleaning your house and taking care of your yard, just like the rest of us.

No…actually we aren’t. However, once more you bragged that you don’t have anything else to do in your life nor I guess any interest or really anything interesting about you except watch your youth sports. Again…your words.

What’s your plan when it’s over? Doesn’t sound like you have one…maybe stalk some other kids’ sports games?

Sorry you don’t approve of how a random stranger spends their time. Also sorry that you’d rather play golf than spend your weekend with your kid now that he can drive. I guess it’s already over for you, huh? And your plan is to… golf? Sleep in a tent? Continue to pay other people to do your chores? What a fascinating, totally unique person you are!

I am most sorry, though, that you are unfamiliar with the concept of a figure of speech. Or hyperbole. Maybe spend some of your time (now that you no longer have to pretend to be interested in your own kid) taking a high school level English class. (FYI I’m not even the PP who said “what else would we do on a weekend?” but unlike you, I am clever enough to not take that statement literally.)

Don’t know how stupid you sound. Go spend more time at the hotel bar