Anonymous wrote:I think you are overthinkiing things. I ask my son what he wants to do, accept the spot or not. He is old enough to make a decision about what he wants to do. If he wants to put his time and energy towards travel soccer, great. We have only one kid and earn decent salaries, so why not? If he wanted to drop it and do something else, that would be ok too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids that play soccer will stop playing after high school or college, with the exception of a very few. Kids that play tennis and golf will continue to play as adults with better opportunities for networking.

Female. I started running marathons after I finished college soccer.

I taught Spin class in my free time. I have worked out 6 days per week— lifting weights, boot camp, Pilates, etc.

Soccer gave me lifelong fitness and a hard work ethic. And, I’m a pretty good tennis and golf player too. Competitive soccer carried over to competitiveness in other sports, training.

You should see the men in the golf course ..ha. It’s not like not playing golf in high school means you can’t pick up and play it at anytime.

Any sport will give you lifelong fitness and a hard work ethic, not just soccer. You might be a good tennis and soccer player but you are not as good as someone who plays tennis and golf competitively at a young age just like you did with soccer. Yes, you can pick up golf at anytime but you will not be good at it. There is a difference in driving the ball 300 yards versus 50 yards like those men you see on the golf course. The same goes with tennis.

Missing the point. You don't need to Tiger Frickin' Woods to NETWORK on a golf course or Nadal on the tennis court. Again, have you seen Trump or some of the Golf Club networkers

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids that play soccer will stop playing after high school or college, with the exception of a very few. Kids that play tennis and golf will continue to play as adults with better opportunities for networking.

Female. I started running marathons after I finished college soccer.

I taught Spin class in my free time. I have worked out 6 days per week— lifting weights, boot camp, Pilates, etc.

Soccer gave me lifelong fitness and a hard work ethic. And, I’m a pretty good tennis and golf player too. Competitive soccer carried over to competitiveness in other sports, training.

You should see the men in the golf course ..ha. It’s not like not playing golf in high school means you can’t pick up and play it at anytime.

Any sport will give you lifelong fitness and a hard work ethic, not just soccer. You might be a good tennis and soccer player but you are not as good as someone who plays tennis and golf competitively at a young age just like you did with soccer. Yes, you can pick up golf at anytime but you will not be good at it. There is a difference in driving the ball 300 yards versus 50 yards like those men you see on the golf course. The same goes with tennis.

Anonymous wrote:So kids should choose their passion based on future professional networking opportunities.

I have now heard everything.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids that play soccer will stop playing after high school or college, with the exception of a very few. Kids that play tennis and golf will continue to play as adults with better opportunities for networking.

Female. I started running marathons after I finished college soccer.

I taught Spin class in my free time. I have worked out 6 days per week— lifting weights, boot camp, Pilates, etc.

Soccer gave me lifelong fitness and a hard work ethic. And, I’m a pretty good tennis and golf player too. Competitive soccer carried over to competitiveness in other sports, training.

You should see the men in the golf course ..ha. It’s not like not playing golf in high school means you can’t pick up and play it at anytime.

Anonymous wrote:Most kids that play soccer will stop playing after high school or college, with the exception of a very few. Kids that play tennis and golf will continue to play as adults with better opportunities for networking.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My story is very similar to OP but zero regrets.

I'd rather have my kids playing sports (which they still love) learning discipline, commitment, being active and around other kids that love the sport, than all day at home doing nothing.

If only those weren’t the only two options. Oh, wait. They aren’t!

This. There are lots of ways for kids to play sports and be active, even at high levels, without being on travel sports teams that dominate and disrupt the entire family. Travel sports are, honestly, a scam. Kids can play in local leagues and school leagues. If they are talented and you have the means, you can invest in private training. You don’t need to be spending every weekend in hotels for your kid to develop skills and a love for the sport. You definitely don’t need to do this to help your kid be active!

The worst part is that often siblings of the kid on a travel team are stuck doing nothing on these trips while their sibling is playing. How is that any different than sitting around at home all day? You think being in a car and then sitting around hotel rooms and athletic complexes are better for these kids than being home? No.

Sports are great. Travel sports are dumb investments for sucker parents who are too insecure, obsessive, and competitive to see that they are a waste of time and money. When I meet a kid in travel sports, I lose respect for their parents. Maybe one in a thousand, or one in ten thousand, of these kids is so talented and invested in that sport it’s worth it. But otherwise? What a dumb thing to spend money and precious family years on.

Question- Do you "lose respect" to their face or just on an anonymous internet forum?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My story is very similar to OP but zero regrets.

I'd rather have my kids playing sports (which they still love) learning discipline, commitment, being active and around other kids that love the sport, than all day at home doing nothing.

If only those weren’t the only two options. Oh, wait. They aren’t!

This. There are lots of ways for kids to play sports and be active, even at high levels, without being on travel sports teams that dominate and disrupt the entire family. Travel sports are, honestly, a scam. Kids can play in local leagues and school leagues. If they are talented and you have the means, you can invest in private training. You don’t need to be spending every weekend in hotels for your kid to develop skills and a love for the sport. You definitely don’t need to do this to help your kid be active!

The worst part is that often siblings of the kid on a travel team are stuck doing nothing on these trips while their sibling is playing. How is that any different than sitting around at home all day? You think being in a car and then sitting around hotel rooms and athletic complexes are better for these kids than being home? No.

Sports are great. Travel sports are dumb investments for sucker parents who are too insecure, obsessive, and competitive to see that they are a waste of time and money. When I meet a kid in travel sports, I lose respect for their parents. Maybe one in a thousand, or one in ten thousand, of these kids is so talented and invested in that sport it’s worth it. But otherwise? What a dumb thing to spend money and precious family years on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is difficult for a person who has invested a lot of resources (time, energy, money) in an activity to admit that the resources were not well-spent. A person will defend their decisions so as to avoid the hit to their ego. It’s a very human reaction to criticism.

I find this response to any sort of criticism to be rhetorically useless. Saying "You only disagree with me because you did it or you paid for it" whether "it" is travel sports, dance, private school, theater, or whatever is just an attempt to shut down conversation entirely.

Life is a lot more complicated than this kind of black and white thinking. Sometimes people do indeed struggle with the concept of sunk cost. Sometimes, however, they genuinely disagree over assessment of value, and that's not just because they spent the money/time/etc. Sometimes people have complicated feelings and hold both regret and happiness at the same time.

Anyhow, people say stuff like what PP said all the time on DCUM about whatever activity or decision they disagree with, and it is facile and only intended to shut down conversation.

Anonymous wrote:Some people spend a lot of money on church every year. Others on cars. Some people take expensive vacations. Some on their children's activities. There are a million things I could name. Some will see these as wastes of money and energy. Those that enjoy these won't. People should try to not be so closed minded.