Anonymous wrote:I'm someone who would never do club/travel with my kids so I can't say for sure. But, I think it's for a status symbol or college resume building. Maybe parents are trying to live through their kids.

Wrong. I used to say I would never do travel/club. My oldest was on the good side of average as an athlete. But then my younger one naturally excelled and took sports seriously from an early age. In second grade, most kids, as another poster said, are literally there for the snacks. Or because their parents make them do sports. They don't care about the game or learning or winning or anything. When you have a kid who does care--a lot--this gets super frustrating for them. We waited until 5th grade because I had been really against it, but had we not moved to travel in 5th for her primary sport, she would have quit entirely. She was miserable in her sport in 4th grade. She is now in 8th grade and for the first time we are talking about whether she wants to play in college. That was never the goal for us. I would still say 2nd grade is early, but especially if those kids are second or third kids in their family, I can see how families would go in that direction.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At that age, no. But sadly we found that eventually enough leave for club/travel that the only families left in rec are either very flaky or their kids are unathletic or brand new to the sport. That’s no fun for a kid who takes it seriously and has played for 4 years. By middle school we caved because it was killing her love of the sport to play with kids who did not care.

+1. This is a very common scenario.

+2
I am about to dive into club softball because I cannot take another year of my kid carrying the team and her dealing with disappointment as kids just do bare minimum or not even try.

The dozens of posts about having kids not caring or not trying is bull. I’m sure there are kids there that don’t to be there and their mothers forced them. But the kids who like sports but are new to the game or are having difficulty catching on are trying their hardest. And I doubt your kid is carrying a whole team. I’ve seen enough of these rec leagues to understand that there are usually a handful of kids that have it down, kids who struggle, kids who are timid and too scared to do anything but hang around the edges.

No offense to these kids, but by middle school most decent players want to move on from this. In 12u rec, half of our softball team still couldn’t field an easy grounder and make a competent throw to first base. They still didn’t know when were obvious moments to steal, or the difference between a force or tag play. This is really really basic stuff. And this is why people leave. Not because we have our eye on college scholarships. It’s not that deep.

Wow, your experience is so utterly different from ours in 12U rec. Makes me sad. But I've seen it at other age levels due honestly to girls heading to travel who are just getting utterly stomped being there. So I know how it happens.

PP you are quoting. Not getting "stomped" in travel. C level travel is effectively the same as all stars/rec plus, but with a longer season. The playing level is good without being cutthroat. And our rec league didn't have "rec plus" anyway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm someone who would never do club/travel with my kids so I can't say for sure. But, I think it's for a status symbol or college resume building. Maybe parents are trying to live through their kids.

I think it's a keeping up with the Joneses thing for a lot of families, and for others they just think their kid has a lot of potential and could maybe even have a career as an athlete, or an Olympian who makes a living off endorsing products.

Most career athletes start very young nowadays, so if you don't start your kids young, you are probably closing that door. There's nothing wrong with closing that door for your child. A lot of doors are already closed.

This has not been my experience at all. Most of the parents we have met in travel have no illusions about their kids playing in college, and the cost of travel just isn't a big deal to them. Travel is just an overall better experience than Rec (I'll say starting in middle school, rec in elementary is fine because most families haven't left yet at that point.) We ultimately left Rec because families didn't prioritize showing up to games and practices and every year several new kids would add to the team and have no clue what to do. This is fine in 2nd. Its pretty frustrating in 6th to play softball or baseball with kids who can't field an easy grounder and don't know what a force is.

This is all smoke and mirrors

How so? Most rec leagues are decimated by 14u, if not 12u. What experienced middle schooler wants to play on a team full of newbies? I'm not exactly sure what you think is a "status symbol" about something that costs $2400/year.

Our kids are in the one rec league in softball in our area that attracts all the high school players who don't play travel for whatever reason. We are very happy with that, because it means the level of play will continue to be OK for my oldest, who is just approaching high school. The presence of a strong rec+ (not-quite-travel) program helps.

Yeah, there is nothing like this within a 30 minute radius of us. And our rec teams played all the other town's rec teams, and their level of play was the same as ours.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At that age, no. But sadly we found that eventually enough leave for club/travel that the only families left in rec are either very flaky or their kids are unathletic or brand new to the sport. That’s no fun for a kid who takes it seriously and has played for 4 years. By middle school we caved because it was killing her love of the sport to play with kids who did not care.

+1. This is a very common scenario.

+2
I am about to dive into club softball because I cannot take another year of my kid carrying the team and her dealing with disappointment as kids just do bare minimum or not even try.

The dozens of posts about having kids not caring or not trying is bull. I’m sure there are kids there that don’t to be there and their mothers forced them. But the kids who like sports but are new to the game or are having difficulty catching on are trying their hardest. And I doubt your kid is carrying a whole team. I’ve seen enough of these rec leagues to understand that there are usually a handful of kids that have it down, kids who struggle, kids who are timid and too scared to do anything but hang around the edges.

No offense to these kids, but by middle school most decent players want to move on from this. In 12u rec, half of our softball team still couldn’t field an easy grounder and make a competent throw to first base. They still didn’t know when were obvious moments to steal, or the difference between a force or tag play. This is really really basic stuff. And this is why people leave. Not because we have our eye on college scholarships. It’s not that deep.

Wow, your experience is so utterly different from ours in 12U rec. Makes me sad. But I've seen it at other age levels due honestly to girls heading to travel who are just getting utterly stomped being there. So I know how it happens.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm someone who would never do club/travel with my kids so I can't say for sure. But, I think it's for a status symbol or college resume building. Maybe parents are trying to live through their kids.

I think it's a keeping up with the Joneses thing for a lot of families, and for others they just think their kid has a lot of potential and could maybe even have a career as an athlete, or an Olympian who makes a living off endorsing products.

Most career athletes start very young nowadays, so if you don't start your kids young, you are probably closing that door. There's nothing wrong with closing that door for your child. A lot of doors are already closed.

This has not been my experience at all. Most of the parents we have met in travel have no illusions about their kids playing in college, and the cost of travel just isn't a big deal to them. Travel is just an overall better experience than Rec (I'll say starting in middle school, rec in elementary is fine because most families haven't left yet at that point.) We ultimately left Rec because families didn't prioritize showing up to games and practices and every year several new kids would add to the team and have no clue what to do. This is fine in 2nd. Its pretty frustrating in 6th to play softball or baseball with kids who can't field an easy grounder and don't know what a force is.

This is all smoke and mirrors

How so? Most rec leagues are decimated by 14u, if not 12u. What experienced middle schooler wants to play on a team full of newbies? I'm not exactly sure what you think is a "status symbol" about something that costs $2400/year.

Our kids are in the one rec league in softball in our area that attracts all the high school players who don't play travel for whatever reason. We are very happy with that, because it means the level of play will continue to be OK for my oldest, who is just approaching high school. The presence of a strong rec+ (not-quite-travel) program helps.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At that age, no. But sadly we found that eventually enough leave for club/travel that the only families left in rec are either very flaky or their kids are unathletic or brand new to the sport. That’s no fun for a kid who takes it seriously and has played for 4 years. By middle school we caved because it was killing her love of the sport to play with kids who did not care.

+1. This is a very common scenario.

+2
I am about to dive into club softball because I cannot take another year of my kid carrying the team and her dealing with disappointment as kids just do bare minimum or not even try.

The dozens of posts about having kids not caring or not trying is bull. I’m sure there are kids there that don’t to be there and their mothers forced them. But the kids who like sports but are new to the game or are having difficulty catching on are trying their hardest. And I doubt your kid is carrying a whole team. I’ve seen enough of these rec leagues to understand that there are usually a handful of kids that have it down, kids who struggle, kids who are timid and too scared to do anything but hang around the edges.

No offense to these kids, but by middle school most decent players want to move on from this. In 12u rec, half of our softball team still couldn’t field an easy grounder and make a competent throw to first base. They still didn’t know when were obvious moments to steal, or the difference between a force or tag play. This is really really basic stuff. And this is why people leave. Not because we have our eye on college scholarships. It’s not that deep.

12 okay. Second grade less so

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At that age, no. But sadly we found that eventually enough leave for club/travel that the only families left in rec are either very flaky or their kids are unathletic or brand new to the sport. That’s no fun for a kid who takes it seriously and has played for 4 years. By middle school we caved because it was killing her love of the sport to play with kids who did not care.

+1. This is a very common scenario.

+2
I am about to dive into club softball because I cannot take another year of my kid carrying the team and her dealing with disappointment as kids just do bare minimum or not even try.

The dozens of posts about having kids not caring or not trying is bull. I’m sure there are kids there that don’t to be there and their mothers forced them. But the kids who like sports but are new to the game or are having difficulty catching on are trying their hardest. And I doubt your kid is carrying a whole team. I’ve seen enough of these rec leagues to understand that there are usually a handful of kids that have it down, kids who struggle, kids who are timid and too scared to do anything but hang around the edges.

No offense to these kids, but by middle school most decent players want to move on from this. In 12u rec, half of our softball team still couldn’t field an easy grounder and make a competent throw to first base. They still didn’t know when were obvious moments to steal, or the difference between a force or tag play. This is really really basic stuff. And this is why people leave. Not because we have our eye on college scholarships. It’s not that deep.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting so on this thread we have future d1 scholarship athletes and olympians

Most posters seem to be saying quite the opposite. No one on our travel team thinks their kid is playing in college.

Oh I definitely think given the track record multiple kids on my son’s club team will be playing d1 and 2 lacrosse. They have recruitments every year including siblings of kids on the team. I doubt there is any scholarship money though and I don’t think the parents need it.z

Lacrosse isn’t that hard to play for college. I have family members who got D1 scholarships after playing high school only and the went pro for a tiny paycheck. Also football and hockey with the hockey players putting much more time into their training.

I know quite a few college athletes, a percentage that went pro. What I didn’t see were kids who were straight A students in all the AP classes who were also D1 athletes. Yet I’ve never seen a poster whose child is on track to play in college D1 acknowledge that their grades are average.

You sound completely out of date for both the sport and current athlete gpa’s and regardless, that post was about the likelihood of recruiting as if it doesn’t happen.

It most definitely does.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At that age, no. But sadly we found that eventually enough leave for club/travel that the only families left in rec are either very flaky or their kids are unathletic or brand new to the sport. That’s no fun for a kid who takes it seriously and has played for 4 years. By middle school we caved because it was killing her love of the sport to play with kids who did not care.

+1. This is a very common scenario.

+2
I am about to dive into club softball because I cannot take another year of my kid carrying the team and her dealing with disappointment as kids just do bare minimum or not even try.

What a bunch a baloney

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At that age, no. But sadly we found that eventually enough leave for club/travel that the only families left in rec are either very flaky or their kids are unathletic or brand new to the sport. That’s no fun for a kid who takes it seriously and has played for 4 years. By middle school we caved because it was killing her love of the sport to play with kids who did not care.

+1. This is a very common scenario.

+2
I am about to dive into club softball because I cannot take another year of my kid carrying the team and her dealing with disappointment as kids just do bare minimum or not even try.

The dozens of posts about having kids not caring or not trying is bull. I’m sure there are kids there that don’t to be there and their mothers forced them. But the kids who like sports but are new to the game or are having difficulty catching on are trying their hardest. And I doubt your kid is carrying a whole team. I’ve seen enough of these rec leagues to understand that there are usually a handful of kids that have it down, kids who struggle, kids who are timid and too scared to do anything but hang around the edges.

DP. It's different than just trying hard at practices and the games. I have 3 DCs who played the same rec league sport for years. Two of them fully participated in every practice and tried hard to win every game. The third did all of those things, plus practiced on her own most days and consistently asked to sign up for clinics to get better. That's what PPs are talking about.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At that age, no. But sadly we found that eventually enough leave for club/travel that the only families left in rec are either very flaky or their kids are unathletic or brand new to the sport. That’s no fun for a kid who takes it seriously and has played for 4 years. By middle school we caved because it was killing her love of the sport to play with kids who did not care.

+1. This is a very common scenario.

+2
I am about to dive into club softball because I cannot take another year of my kid carrying the team and her dealing with disappointment as kids just do bare minimum or not even try.

The dozens of posts about having kids not caring or not trying is bull. I’m sure there are kids there that don’t to be there and their mothers forced them. But the kids who like sports but are new to the game or are having difficulty catching on are trying their hardest. And I doubt your kid is carrying a whole team. I’ve seen enough of these rec leagues to understand that there are usually a handful of kids that have it down, kids who struggle, kids who are timid and too scared to do anything but hang around the edges.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At that age, no. But sadly we found that eventually enough leave for club/travel that the only families left in rec are either very flaky or their kids are unathletic or brand new to the sport. That’s no fun for a kid who takes it seriously and has played for 4 years. By middle school we caved because it was killing her love of the sport to play with kids who did not care.

+1. This is a very common scenario.

+2
I am about to dive into club softball because I cannot take another year of my kid carrying the team and her dealing with disappointment as kids just do bare minimum or not even try.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting so on this thread we have future d1 scholarship athletes and olympians

You definitely have former D1 scholarship athletes, most likely some parents of future D1 scholarship athletes, and maybe parents of an Olympian or two.

I don’t see too many posters discussing any specific experiences or what sport they played in college. Posters who have children in sports would love to hear them. A lot of people say “in my sport”. Who talks like that?

Because it’s some obscure sport like rowing

Golf and running. The golfer could've played another sport in college, too, but only golf came with a full scholarship.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting so on this thread we have future d1 scholarship athletes and olympians

Most posters seem to be saying quite the opposite. No one on our travel team thinks their kid is playing in college.

Oh I definitely think given the track record multiple kids on my son’s club team will be playing d1 and 2 lacrosse. They have recruitments every year including siblings of kids on the team. I doubt there is any scholarship money though and I don’t think the parents need it.z

Lax Bro?

Really poor form to target kids with derogatory phrases. These are dedicated high school athletes not caricatures.

So yes?

What is your problem? Seriously? Are you incapable of discussing club sports without going after young men who enjoy a sport you don’t?

LAX LYFE!

Grow up.

Brewskies, mullets and LAX. The LFYE

More like hockey players in the 80s.

I forgot to add on my last post that my niece never did club sports but was able to play varsity basketball. She didn’t love it but my sister said you have to pick an activity. She chose basketball, she’s 5’10” which probably helped and she was capable. She played JV for two years and varsity for two years. No interest at all to play in college and never picked up a basketball since graduating high school.

Kids should play young if they want to, not because their parent thinks it gives them an edge. Too much too early and you risk burnout or not making a high school team even though they started private coaching at 3 years old.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting so on this thread we have future d1 scholarship athletes and olympians

Most posters seem to be saying quite the opposite. No one on our travel team thinks their kid is playing in college.

Oh I definitely think given the track record multiple kids on my son’s club team will be playing d1 and 2 lacrosse. They have recruitments every year including siblings of kids on the team. I doubt there is any scholarship money though and I don’t think the parents need it.z

Lacrosse isn’t that hard to play for college. I have family members who got D1 scholarships after playing high school only and the went pro for a tiny paycheck. Also football and hockey with the hockey players putting much more time into their training.

I know quite a few college athletes, a percentage that went pro. What I didn’t see were kids who were straight A students in all the AP classes who were also D1 athletes. Yet I’ve never seen a poster whose child is on track to play in college D1 acknowledge that their grades are average.