Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Travel sports parents lie because they can’t come to terms with the last decade of carting their kids around was a complete waste.

I absolutely think it’s this. 100%.

Without touching the lying claim, what an odd take. How is spending time with your kid in a healthy physical activity a waste?

It’s the travel cost/time commitment that is the waste. It did absolutely nothing to get your kid into college - which is why most people do travel. If you want to spend time with your kid in a healthy physical activity, why aren’t you doing rec? It saves you thousands of dollars, and time spent traveling to tournaments and practice.

I mean if you want to blow thousands on travel for sh¡ts and giggles, have at it. But most people have a college goal in mind.

My kid did travel baseball because he loves the game. It didn't have a damn thing to do with colleges.

Ok. Then you’re one of the people that has money to waste on travel even though he could have played for much less. But you’re in the minority. At least around here.

Nope. Maybe 10% of his travel team is continuing at the collegiate level (not club) And I'm in Old Town. Rec and HS don't play a third as much as Travel and virtually all tournament play is travel related. Bottom line, if you want lots of at bats, you play travel.

It sounds like you don't know anything about this.

I have a kid that plays on a high level travel team (70% are D1 commits) and I don’t understand this whatsoever.

We told our kid after 8th grade that travel baseball was only in the cards if the plan was to play in college. If it isn’t, then what’s the point of spending thousands on team fees and travel?

Our kid thought about it and did try other sports in freshman and sophomore year as well, but decided he wanted to commit to baseball and put in the work. Talking to several D1 and D3 coaches and will be playing in several marquee tournaments as well…we will see what happens.

However, we weren’t investing all this money for a hobby. There really isn’t rec baseball at HS so it would have meant focusing on other sports or pursuing other interests, which he fully understood (and playing HS ball which is always an option in his case based on his HS).

That is absolute horse sh*t. Not even the Canes place 70% on D1 rosters. And if you are in the DC area, the 'elite' travel teams here place maybe 10% on D1 and another 20% on D3.

One thing is certaion about youth baseball though, the parents are the biggest liars of any sport by a country mile.

You can claim that all you want, but it’s true…and it’s also a national team with players coming from all over the East Coast. Some are Power 5 D1 but most are other D1.

Canes national teams are around 100% D1 because they won’t take you unless you are already committed.

Canes has a gazillion teams at each age group, so only their top 1-2 teams (which also draw from across the country) are the ones that are really elite.

Need any other schooling on travel teams?

You didn't school anyone, son. Name the DC ravel team that sends 70% of its players to D1.

Put up or shut up.

Are you dense? This is now the 3rd time I will mention it isn't a DC travel team. Go to the PG site and it's one of the 17u teams ranked in the Top 50 in the country. Sorry, not doxing kids because you don't understand how elite travel ball works.

We knew you were FOS.

Look...go play for your crappy travel team at some Dynamic tournament where even when you are playing on a college field, that college's coaches aren't even watching because they are at the real tournaments or watching college leagues for transfers. Patriot Park is and was great if you are playing 14u or 15u, but again, you won't find a college coach anywhere for those 16u or 17u PG and PBR tournaments which funnily enough are happening at the same time as the real tournaments in East Cobb, Hoover, Lakepoint, etc.. It's fine...you don't know any better.

FOS and angry. Sucks to be you.

That's funny...you just keep spiraling.

Buddy, the only one spiraling here is the angry fool arguing about a game with a ball. Please keep it up. We all enjoy laughing at you.

Yikes...you are spiraling deeper...seems like someone is getting agitated.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no such thing as an athletic full ride at D3 schools. Meaning, even if you are a D1 level athlete and want to attend, say, Randolph Macon College in Ashland, they simply can not come up with any scheme to get you 4 years for free.

- signed, father of a D1 athlete that actually wanted to go to a smaller school and be a student athlete.

NP. They can certainly give you extremely significant merit aid. My kid was awarded enough in merit aid that the private D3 was cheaper than instate.

That's simply false. You're not going to convince me because we tried every way possible for my kid to do this and the only 'free' offers at the end of the day were D1.

Your kid was either not good enough or not smart enough.

Wut? A kid who plays D1 isn't good enough to play D3? You ate a lot of crayons as a child, didn't you?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Travel sports parents lie because they can’t come to terms with the last decade of carting their kids around was a complete waste.

I absolutely think it’s this. 100%.

Without touching the lying claim, what an odd take. How is spending time with your kid in a healthy physical activity a waste?

It’s the travel cost/time commitment that is the waste. It did absolutely nothing to get your kid into college - which is why most people do travel. If you want to spend time with your kid in a healthy physical activity, why aren’t you doing rec? It saves you thousands of dollars, and time spent traveling to tournaments and practice.

I mean if you want to blow thousands on travel for sh¡ts and giggles, have at it. But most people have a college goal in mind.

My kid did travel baseball because he loves the game. It didn't have a damn thing to do with colleges.

Ok. Then you’re one of the people that has money to waste on travel even though he could have played for much less. But you’re in the minority. At least around here.

Nope. Maybe 10% of his travel team is continuing at the collegiate level (not club) And I'm in Old Town. Rec and HS don't play a third as much as Travel and virtually all tournament play is travel related. Bottom line, if you want lots of at bats, you play travel.

It sounds like you don't know anything about this.

I have a kid that plays on a high level travel team (70% are D1 commits) and I don’t understand this whatsoever.

We told our kid after 8th grade that travel baseball was only in the cards if the plan was to play in college. If it isn’t, then what’s the point of spending thousands on team fees and travel?

Our kid thought about it and did try other sports in freshman and sophomore year as well, but decided he wanted to commit to baseball and put in the work. Talking to several D1 and D3 coaches and will be playing in several marquee tournaments as well…we will see what happens.

However, we weren’t investing all this money for a hobby. There really isn’t rec baseball at HS so it would have meant focusing on other sports or pursuing other interests, which he fully understood (and playing HS ball which is always an option in his case based on his HS).

+1
These parents shelling out thousands per year because “we just love to see the joy on Larlos face when he plays!” are fooling no one.

You don't get around much. One of our DCs is super competitive. Played on a travel team with even MORE competitive kids. They had some tournament successes, trips to regionals, nationals, etc. There were a core group who wanted to play college, another core group who hoped to play in college, and another group who were competitive, but not really interested in playing college. DC was in last category. Perhaps because money isn't an issue, we never really thought about how much we were shelling out.

DC's HS team ended up winning state championship. Most of the girls had played travel at some point, perhaps through HS. That win probably meant more to DC than any of the club victories over the years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Travel sports parents lie because they can’t come to terms with the last decade of carting their kids around was a complete waste.

I absolutely think it’s this. 100%.

Without touching the lying claim, what an odd take. How is spending time with your kid in a healthy physical activity a waste?

It’s the travel cost/time commitment that is the waste. It did absolutely nothing to get your kid into college - which is why most people do travel. If you want to spend time with your kid in a healthy physical activity, why aren’t you doing rec? It saves you thousands of dollars, and time spent traveling to tournaments and practice.

I mean if you want to blow thousands on travel for sh¡ts and giggles, have at it. But most people have a college goal in mind.

My kid did travel baseball because he loves the game. It didn't have a damn thing to do with colleges.

Ok. Then you’re one of the people that has money to waste on travel even though he could have played for much less. But you’re in the minority. At least around here.

Nope. Maybe 10% of his travel team is continuing at the collegiate level (not club) And I'm in Old Town. Rec and HS don't play a third as much as Travel and virtually all tournament play is travel related. Bottom line, if you want lots of at bats, you play travel.

It sounds like you don't know anything about this.

I have a kid that plays on a high level travel team (70% are D1 commits) and I don’t understand this whatsoever.

We told our kid after 8th grade that travel baseball was only in the cards if the plan was to play in college. If it isn’t, then what’s the point of spending thousands on team fees and travel?

Our kid thought about it and did try other sports in freshman and sophomore year as well, but decided he wanted to commit to baseball and put in the work. Talking to several D1 and D3 coaches and will be playing in several marquee tournaments as well…we will see what happens.

However, we weren’t investing all this money for a hobby. There really isn’t rec baseball at HS so it would have meant focusing on other sports or pursuing other interests, which he fully understood (and playing HS ball which is always an option in his case based on his HS).

That is absolute horse sh*t. Not even the Canes place 70% on D1 rosters. And if you are in the DC area, the 'elite' travel teams here place maybe 10% on D1 and another 20% on D3.

One thing is certaion about youth baseball though, the parents are the biggest liars of any sport by a country mile.

You can claim that all you want, but it’s true…and it’s also a national team with players coming from all over the East Coast. Some are Power 5 D1 but most are other D1.

Canes national teams are around 100% D1 because they won’t take you unless you are already committed.

Canes has a gazillion teams at each age group, so only their top 1-2 teams (which also draw from across the country) are the ones that are really elite.

Need any other schooling on travel teams?

You didn't school anyone, son. Name the DC ravel team that sends 70% of its players to D1.

Put up or shut up.

Are you dense? This is now the 3rd time I will mention it isn't a DC travel team. Go to the PG site and it's one of the 17u teams ranked in the Top 50 in the country. Sorry, not doxing kids because you don't understand how elite travel ball works.

We knew you were FOS.

Look...go play for your crappy travel team at some Dynamic tournament where even when you are playing on a college field, that college's coaches aren't even watching because they are at the real tournaments or watching college leagues for transfers. Patriot Park is and was great if you are playing 14u or 15u, but again, you won't find a college coach anywhere for those 16u or 17u PG and PBR tournaments which funnily enough are happening at the same time as the real tournaments in East Cobb, Hoover, Lakepoint, etc.. It's fine...you don't know any better.

FOS and angry. Sucks to be you.

That's funny...you just keep spiraling.

Buddy, the only one spiraling here is the angry fool arguing about a game with a ball. Please keep it up. We all enjoy laughing at you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Literally anyone can walk on to these podunk private college teams. It means nothing. They don’t cut anyone.

These no-name D3 colleges would go bankrupt and close if they couldn’t bilk insecure washed up jock parents for 13th grade and the chance for their good not great kids to “play at the next level.” Outside of D1 and the handful of ritzy D3s, “the next level” at a random non-selective D3 is in facilities worse than their high school in front of maybe a couple dozen fans each event. It’s amateur hour.

I don't get why you are so bitter. What does it matter to you? Maybe that's what the kid wants to do. Perhaps training with a team and competing helps keep the kid in a mentally healthy mind set and out of other troubles.

Most of our DCs' friends opted for academics over athletics as did our DCs. One DC ended up on school team in a sport for which they do not recruit (only at D1 level). Other played travel from 8 years old, but decided in COVID that they didn't want to play in college. Occasionally there have been some regrets, but started a club team with others with similar backgrounds. FWIW, not all LACs have club teams unless students start one. Your comment regarding audience size is also interesting. IDK many sports that have more than a couple dozen fans at the collegiate level, save hoops, football, lax, and soccer. There are a lot more sports in college than those four.

As a former senior manager who did a lot of hiring, I found that a lot of folks who played team sports were often more suited for the push and pull on a team. The hire that was the most challenging was one who had been in a number of lead roles in plays/musicals from middle school on. I worked far far from the finance arena, but gave me insight to why managers hire so many sports bros.

And it is amateur hour, that's the point.

I'd like to know how many of the people on here hating on travel sports are paying for outside academic enrichment or coaching.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Travel sports parents lie because they can’t come to terms with the last decade of carting their kids around was a complete waste.

I absolutely think it’s this. 100%.

Without touching the lying claim, what an odd take. How is spending time with your kid in a healthy physical activity a waste?

It’s the travel cost/time commitment that is the waste. It did absolutely nothing to get your kid into college - which is why most people do travel. If you want to spend time with your kid in a healthy physical activity, why aren’t you doing rec? It saves you thousands of dollars, and time spent traveling to tournaments and practice.

I mean if you want to blow thousands on travel for sh¡ts and giggles, have at it. But most people have a college goal in mind.

My kid did travel baseball because he loves the game. It didn't have a damn thing to do with colleges.

Ok. Then you’re one of the people that has money to waste on travel even though he could have played for much less. But you’re in the minority. At least around here.

Nope. Maybe 10% of his travel team is continuing at the collegiate level (not club) And I'm in Old Town. Rec and HS don't play a third as much as Travel and virtually all tournament play is travel related. Bottom line, if you want lots of at bats, you play travel.

It sounds like you don't know anything about this.

I have a kid that plays on a high level travel team (70% are D1 commits) and I don’t understand this whatsoever.

We told our kid after 8th grade that travel baseball was only in the cards if the plan was to play in college. If it isn’t, then what’s the point of spending thousands on team fees and travel?

Our kid thought about it and did try other sports in freshman and sophomore year as well, but decided he wanted to commit to baseball and put in the work. Talking to several D1 and D3 coaches and will be playing in several marquee tournaments as well…we will see what happens.

However, we weren’t investing all this money for a hobby. There really isn’t rec baseball at HS so it would have meant focusing on other sports or pursuing other interests, which he fully understood (and playing HS ball which is always an option in his case based on his HS).

Because it’s fun. I realize that doing a sport for the pure joy is a concept you have never experienced and cannot possibly understand, but that is the answer. It’s fun.

So play rec. If you are doing the sport for pure joy, why would you spend thousands for the privilege?

Because if you love the sport you might want to become the best at it that you can, and play it as much as possible, and for some athletes and their families that might entail committing to something that is more ambitious or more frequent than club.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Travel sports parents lie because they can’t come to terms with the last decade of carting their kids around was a complete waste.

I absolutely think it’s this. 100%.

Without touching the lying claim, what an odd take. How is spending time with your kid in a healthy physical activity a waste?

It’s the travel cost/time commitment that is the waste. It did absolutely nothing to get your kid into college - which is why most people do travel. If you want to spend time with your kid in a healthy physical activity, why aren’t you doing rec? It saves you thousands of dollars, and time spent traveling to tournaments and practice.

I mean if you want to blow thousands on travel for sh¡ts and giggles, have at it. But most people have a college goal in mind.

My kid did travel baseball because he loves the game. It didn't have a damn thing to do with colleges.

Ok. Then you’re one of the people that has money to waste on travel even though he could have played for much less. But you’re in the minority. At least around here.

Nope. Maybe 10% of his travel team is continuing at the collegiate level (not club) And I'm in Old Town. Rec and HS don't play a third as much as Travel and virtually all tournament play is travel related. Bottom line, if you want lots of at bats, you play travel.

It sounds like you don't know anything about this.

I have a kid that plays on a high level travel team (70% are D1 commits) and I don’t understand this whatsoever.

We told our kid after 8th grade that travel baseball was only in the cards if the plan was to play in college. If it isn’t, then what’s the point of spending thousands on team fees and travel?

Our kid thought about it and did try other sports in freshman and sophomore year as well, but decided he wanted to commit to baseball and put in the work. Talking to several D1 and D3 coaches and will be playing in several marquee tournaments as well…we will see what happens.

However, we weren’t investing all this money for a hobby. There really isn’t rec baseball at HS so it would have meant focusing on other sports or pursuing other interests, which he fully understood (and playing HS ball which is always an option in his case based on his HS).

Because it’s fun. I realize that doing a sport for the pure joy is a concept you have never experienced and cannot possibly understand, but that is the answer. It’s fun.

So play rec. If you are doing the sport for pure joy, why would you spend thousands for the privilege?

I already asked this. Apparently there are zero rec baseball teams. Zero. You are obligated to pay thousands for travel to experience the joy.

There are few...but then just have your kid play another sport. At the least, have them try other sports at the same time and guess what, they may enjoy the other sport even more than baseball. Know a kid that started playing Ultimate while playing baseball...decided really liked that sport...dropped baseball and went on to play for the NCAA D1 team that finished 2nd in the country.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Travel sports parents lie because they can’t come to terms with the last decade of carting their kids around was a complete waste.

I absolutely think it’s this. 100%.

Without touching the lying claim, what an odd take. How is spending time with your kid in a healthy physical activity a waste?

It’s the travel cost/time commitment that is the waste. It did absolutely nothing to get your kid into college - which is why most people do travel. If you want to spend time with your kid in a healthy physical activity, why aren’t you doing rec? It saves you thousands of dollars, and time spent traveling to tournaments and practice.

I mean if you want to blow thousands on travel for sh¡ts and giggles, have at it. But most people have a college goal in mind.

My kid did travel baseball because he loves the game. It didn't have a damn thing to do with colleges.

Ok. Then you’re one of the people that has money to waste on travel even though he could have played for much less. But you’re in the minority. At least around here.

Nope. Maybe 10% of his travel team is continuing at the collegiate level (not club) And I'm in Old Town. Rec and HS don't play a third as much as Travel and virtually all tournament play is travel related. Bottom line, if you want lots of at bats, you play travel.

It sounds like you don't know anything about this.

I have a kid that plays on a high level travel team (70% are D1 commits) and I don’t understand this whatsoever.

We told our kid after 8th grade that travel baseball was only in the cards if the plan was to play in college. If it isn’t, then what’s the point of spending thousands on team fees and travel?

Our kid thought about it and did try other sports in freshman and sophomore year as well, but decided he wanted to commit to baseball and put in the work. Talking to several D1 and D3 coaches and will be playing in several marquee tournaments as well…we will see what happens.

However, we weren’t investing all this money for a hobby. There really isn’t rec baseball at HS so it would have meant focusing on other sports or pursuing other interests, which he fully understood (and playing HS ball which is always an option in his case based on his HS).

Because it’s fun. I realize that doing a sport for the pure joy is a concept you have never experienced and cannot possibly understand, but that is the answer. It’s fun.

So play rec. If you are doing the sport for pure joy, why would you spend thousands for the privilege?

I already asked this. Apparently there are zero rec baseball teams. Zero. You are obligated to pay thousands for travel to experience the joy.

DP but the fact that you refuse to acknowledge the answer doesn’t mean this question hasn’t already been answered, multiple times actually.

The quality of play in rec leagues doesn’t compare to that in travel, particularly as the kids get older. For a sport like baseball, if the other kids aren’t good the game isn’t actually fun, believe it or not. Kids who love to play would much rather strike out swinging against a talented pitcher than be walked or hit by a pitch, for example.

Not to mention it can be downright dangerous to have kids who are vastly more skilled playing with kids who aren’t that good. Have you ever even seen a baseball game? I would think this would be obvious.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Travel sports parents lie because they can’t come to terms with the last decade of carting their kids around was a complete waste.

I absolutely think it’s this. 100%.

Without touching the lying claim, what an odd take. How is spending time with your kid in a healthy physical activity a waste?

It’s the travel cost/time commitment that is the waste. It did absolutely nothing to get your kid into college - which is why most people do travel. If you want to spend time with your kid in a healthy physical activity, why aren’t you doing rec? It saves you thousands of dollars, and time spent traveling to tournaments and practice.

I mean if you want to blow thousands on travel for sh¡ts and giggles, have at it. But most people have a college goal in mind.

My kid did travel baseball because he loves the game. It didn't have a damn thing to do with colleges.

Ok. Then you’re one of the people that has money to waste on travel even though he could have played for much less. But you’re in the minority. At least around here.

Nope. Maybe 10% of his travel team is continuing at the collegiate level (not club) And I'm in Old Town. Rec and HS don't play a third as much as Travel and virtually all tournament play is travel related. Bottom line, if you want lots of at bats, you play travel.

It sounds like you don't know anything about this.

I have a kid that plays on a high level travel team (70% are D1 commits) and I don’t understand this whatsoever.

We told our kid after 8th grade that travel baseball was only in the cards if the plan was to play in college. If it isn’t, then what’s the point of spending thousands on team fees and travel?

Our kid thought about it and did try other sports in freshman and sophomore year as well, but decided he wanted to commit to baseball and put in the work. Talking to several D1 and D3 coaches and will be playing in several marquee tournaments as well…we will see what happens.

However, we weren’t investing all this money for a hobby. There really isn’t rec baseball at HS so it would have meant focusing on other sports or pursuing other interests, which he fully understood (and playing HS ball which is always an option in his case based on his HS).

Because it’s fun. I realize that doing a sport for the pure joy is a concept you have never experienced and cannot possibly understand, but that is the answer. It’s fun.

Name one other thing you kid does for "fun" that you spend thousands of dollars a year to participate.

Would you spend thousands per year for your kid to play paintball with a group every week? I bet your kid thinks that is fun too. If the answer is yes, then at least you are fine with whatever your kid does for fun.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Travel sports parents lie because they can’t come to terms with the last decade of carting their kids around was a complete waste.

I absolutely think it’s this. 100%.

Without touching the lying claim, what an odd take. How is spending time with your kid in a healthy physical activity a waste?

It’s the travel cost/time commitment that is the waste. It did absolutely nothing to get your kid into college - which is why most people do travel. If you want to spend time with your kid in a healthy physical activity, why aren’t you doing rec? It saves you thousands of dollars, and time spent traveling to tournaments and practice.

I mean if you want to blow thousands on travel for sh¡ts and giggles, have at it. But most people have a college goal in mind.

My kid did travel baseball because he loves the game. It didn't have a damn thing to do with colleges.

Ok. Then you’re one of the people that has money to waste on travel even though he could have played for much less. But you’re in the minority. At least around here.

Nope. Maybe 10% of his travel team is continuing at the collegiate level (not club) And I'm in Old Town. Rec and HS don't play a third as much as Travel and virtually all tournament play is travel related. Bottom line, if you want lots of at bats, you play travel.

It sounds like you don't know anything about this.

I have a kid that plays on a high level travel team (70% are D1 commits) and I don’t understand this whatsoever.

We told our kid after 8th grade that travel baseball was only in the cards if the plan was to play in college. If it isn’t, then what’s the point of spending thousands on team fees and travel?

Our kid thought about it and did try other sports in freshman and sophomore year as well, but decided he wanted to commit to baseball and put in the work. Talking to several D1 and D3 coaches and will be playing in several marquee tournaments as well…we will see what happens.

However, we weren’t investing all this money for a hobby. There really isn’t rec baseball at HS so it would have meant focusing on other sports or pursuing other interests, which he fully understood (and playing HS ball which is always an option in his case based on his HS).

Because it’s fun. I realize that doing a sport for the pure joy is a concept you have never experienced and cannot possibly understand, but that is the answer. It’s fun.

So play rec. If you are doing the sport for pure joy, why would you spend thousands for the privilege?

I already asked this. Apparently there are zero rec baseball teams. Zero. You are obligated to pay thousands for travel to experience the joy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Literally anyone can walk on to these podunk private college teams. It means nothing. They don’t cut anyone.

These no-name D3 colleges would go bankrupt and close if they couldn’t bilk insecure washed up jock parents for 13th grade and the chance for their good not great kids to “play at the next level.” Outside of D1 and the handful of ritzy D3s, “the next level” at a random non-selective D3 is in facilities worse than their high school in front of maybe a couple dozen fans each event. It’s amateur hour.

As a former D3 athlete, this is true, but so what? For a kid who loves sports and it’s a big part of their identity, it can be a great bridge to college.

I moved in 2 weeks early to practice with my fall sport team freshman year. My teammates filled many of the same social and emotional roles as my sorority sisters would come to fill in later years. It gave me access to upper class women as mentors and long bus rides to away meets to soak up their experience and advice. When many 18-19yr olds are testing the limits of being away from home by drinking, staying out all hours, and eating junk for most meals - I spent my freshman year sober, eating healthy, and coming home by 12am because of my weekend races or 7am workouts.

Were there faster women on my HS X-county team? Absolutely! Were there more people at my HS meets? Most definitely. Was it a waste of time? Not at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Travel sports parents lie because they can’t come to terms with the last decade of carting their kids around was a complete waste.

I absolutely think it’s this. 100%.

Without touching the lying claim, what an odd take. How is spending time with your kid in a healthy physical activity a waste?

It’s the travel cost/time commitment that is the waste. It did absolutely nothing to get your kid into college - which is why most people do travel. If you want to spend time with your kid in a healthy physical activity, why aren’t you doing rec? It saves you thousands of dollars, and time spent traveling to tournaments and practice.

I mean if you want to blow thousands on travel for sh¡ts and giggles, have at it. But most people have a college goal in mind.

My kid did travel baseball because he loves the game. It didn't have a damn thing to do with colleges.

Ok. Then you’re one of the people that has money to waste on travel even though he could have played for much less. But you’re in the minority. At least around here.

Nope. Maybe 10% of his travel team is continuing at the collegiate level (not club) And I'm in Old Town. Rec and HS don't play a third as much as Travel and virtually all tournament play is travel related. Bottom line, if you want lots of at bats, you play travel.

It sounds like you don't know anything about this.

I have a kid that plays on a high level travel team (70% are D1 commits) and I don’t understand this whatsoever.

We told our kid after 8th grade that travel baseball was only in the cards if the plan was to play in college. If it isn’t, then what’s the point of spending thousands on team fees and travel?

Our kid thought about it and did try other sports in freshman and sophomore year as well, but decided he wanted to commit to baseball and put in the work. Talking to several D1 and D3 coaches and will be playing in several marquee tournaments as well…we will see what happens.

However, we weren’t investing all this money for a hobby. There really isn’t rec baseball at HS so it would have meant focusing on other sports or pursuing other interests, which he fully understood (and playing HS ball which is always an option in his case based on his HS).

Because it’s fun. I realize that doing a sport for the pure joy is a concept you have never experienced and cannot possibly understand, but that is the answer. It’s fun.

So play rec. If you are doing the sport for pure joy, why would you spend thousands for the privilege?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Travel sports parents lie because they can’t come to terms with the last decade of carting their kids around was a complete waste.

I absolutely think it’s this. 100%.

Without touching the lying claim, what an odd take. How is spending time with your kid in a healthy physical activity a waste?

It’s the travel cost/time commitment that is the waste. It did absolutely nothing to get your kid into college - which is why most people do travel. If you want to spend time with your kid in a healthy physical activity, why aren’t you doing rec? It saves you thousands of dollars, and time spent traveling to tournaments and practice.

I mean if you want to blow thousands on travel for sh¡ts and giggles, have at it. But most people have a college goal in mind.

This is an utterly bizarre and utterly joyless outlook. I have kids who made it to college with significant funding, so technically worth it, and yet even my kids and I would never say that travel sports was for college.

The obsessed anti-athlete haters on DCUM are just so, so weird. I have come to the conclusion that they don’t actually know how to have fun, to do something for the love and enjoyment, so they have to see the world the way the PP does. They don’t understand joy, camaraderie, fitness, or any of the intangibles that sports brings.

Keep in mind that these people pour tremendous amounts of time, money, and resources into raising their kids, not to to be future well-functioning adults, but to be future college students. They simply can’t comprehend a parenting philosophy or strategy (or God forbid the lack of strategy or philosophy) that is not 100% focused on college admissions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Travel sports parents lie because they can’t come to terms with the last decade of carting their kids around was a complete waste.

I absolutely think it’s this. 100%.

Without touching the lying claim, what an odd take. How is spending time with your kid in a healthy physical activity a waste?

It’s the travel cost/time commitment that is the waste. It did absolutely nothing to get your kid into college - which is why most people do travel. If you want to spend time with your kid in a healthy physical activity, why aren’t you doing rec? It saves you thousands of dollars, and time spent traveling to tournaments and practice.

I mean if you want to blow thousands on travel for sh¡ts and giggles, have at it. But most people have a college goal in mind.

My kid did travel baseball because he loves the game. It didn't have a damn thing to do with colleges.

Ok. Then you’re one of the people that has money to waste on travel even though he could have played for much less. But you’re in the minority. At least around here.

Nope. Maybe 10% of his travel team is continuing at the collegiate level (not club) And I'm in Old Town. Rec and HS don't play a third as much as Travel and virtually all tournament play is travel related. Bottom line, if you want lots of at bats, you play travel.

It sounds like you don't know anything about this.

I have a kid that plays on a high level travel team (70% are D1 commits) and I don’t understand this whatsoever.

We told our kid after 8th grade that travel baseball was only in the cards if the plan was to play in college. If it isn’t, then what’s the point of spending thousands on team fees and travel?

Our kid thought about it and did try other sports in freshman and sophomore year as well, but decided he wanted to commit to baseball and put in the work. Talking to several D1 and D3 coaches and will be playing in several marquee tournaments as well…we will see what happens.

However, we weren’t investing all this money for a hobby. There really isn’t rec baseball at HS so it would have meant focusing on other sports or pursuing other interests, which he fully understood (and playing HS ball which is always an option in his case based on his HS).

That is absolute horse sh*t. Not even the Canes place 70% on D1 rosters. And if you are in the DC area, the 'elite' travel teams here place maybe 10% on D1 and another 20% on D3.

One thing is certaion about youth baseball though, the parents are the biggest liars of any sport by a country mile.

You can claim that all you want, but it’s true…and it’s also a national team with players coming from all over the East Coast. Some are Power 5 D1 but most are other D1.

Canes national teams are around 100% D1 because they won’t take you unless you are already committed.

Canes has a gazillion teams at each age group, so only their top 1-2 teams (which also draw from across the country) are the ones that are really elite.

Need any other schooling on travel teams?

You didn't school anyone, son. Name the DC ravel team that sends 70% of its players to D1.

Put up or shut up.

Are you dense? This is now the 3rd time I will mention it isn't a DC travel team. Go to the PG site and it's one of the 17u teams ranked in the Top 50 in the country. Sorry, not doxing kids because you don't understand how elite travel ball works.

We knew you were FOS.

Look...go play for your crappy travel team at some Dynamic tournament where even when you are playing on a college field, that college's coaches aren't even watching because they are at the real tournaments or watching college leagues for transfers. Patriot Park is and was great if you are playing 14u or 15u, but again, you won't find a college coach anywhere for those 16u or 17u PG and PBR tournaments which funnily enough are happening at the same time as the real tournaments in East Cobb, Hoover, Lakepoint, etc.. It's fine...you don't know any better.

FOS and angry. Sucks to be you.

That's funny...you just keep spiraling.

The PP is correct, though. There is no team that meets your description. You are lying.

Except there are many. Go look at Artillery or Canes National as just two examples.