Jacob Turner spelled out the Travel Ball madness in a rather humorous tweet.
A PARENT’S JOURNEY THROUGH YOUTH SPORTS: Age 5: “He’s got a cannon.” Age 6: “He’s the fastest kid out there. Coach said so.” Age 7: “Rec ball isn’t challenging him anymore.” Age 8: “We tried out for select. Obviously made it.” Age 9: “$2,800 for the season. Plus uniforms. Plus tournaments. Plus hotels.” Age 10: “Cooperstown is basically a family vacation, right?” Age 11: “He needs a hitting guy. And a pitching guy. And probably a mental performance coach.” Age 12: “I’m not a crazy sports parent. The OTHER parents are crazy.” Age 13: “We changed schools. For academics. (And also baseball.)” Age 14: “Showcases are a requirement at this age.” Age 15: “Ya his ranking just ticked up. We’re cooking.” Age 16: “He just needs to get seen by the right school.” Age 17: “The D1 schools want him to walk on. He’ll earn a spot by sophomore year.” Age 18: “Okay, D2 is actually really competitive.” Age 19: “He’s redshirting. Strategic.” Age 20: “He’s focusing on school now.” Age 21: “You know what? He’s so much happier.” Roughly 7% of high schoolers play in college. About 1.5% of those get drafted. Less than half of draftees ever play one day in the big leagues. The odds of our kids going pro are somewhere between “struck by lightning” and “find a $100 in old shorts.” I love youth sports (all my kids play a bunch of them) just keep a good perspective my friends. ✌️
9 comments:
One of mine was very competitive at JA and was an SEC 'scholarshipped' athlete at Ole Miss. He studied enough to later make a living in his major.
God bless the parents who are wise enough to see through the bull$h!+ and refuse to be taken in by a fantasy.
You only have a few years to make yourself some memories son!!!!!
The whole travel ball thing has ruined children's sports. I know... I am a poor and cant afford it........blah blah.....but you could go to the ballpark by tommys trading post or wherever in 1994 on a Friday or Saturday night and it was hopping!!!!!
Kids living it up playing semi free rec league sports
Now......ballparks are largely dead and the kids who do play rec are few and far between
just doesn't look fun anymore, and no my child is 11 and we don't play travel ball
but again as some of these commenters would say I am one of the poors
Travel ball is some of the best family time you’ll ever get in this day and age. As long as the parents keep it in perspective, it’s great. The assumption that they’re all chasing scholarships is wrong. Most know the odds. They just enjoy it.
Yep..
That is hilarious. Travel ball parents can come up with some doozies in order not to admit to themselves they’re using their kids to live out their own sports fantasies. I’ve seen a lot of kids define themselves as upper crust baseball and soccer players, only to give it up when they realize they aren’t quite as good as mommy and daddy have been telling them.
3:20, I get what you're saying. I've seen 2 different generations in baseball. One---travel ball, regular team ball, school ball. Kid told his Dad--that's it, love baseball but need a break. Thank God they listened, took a year off, did other stuff, he did go back and play, full scholarship to college. Fortunately, he took studies seriously, had a great job now, married with kids.
That same boy has his son in baseball but they don't do travel ball. School ball, different leagues. And they do tons of stuff outside of baseball.
No idea how folks afford travel ball.
Travel baseball in particular may be the single most insane "investment" a parent can make. Baseball at the collegiate level is wildly underfunded, with just 11.7 scholarships for a squad of 35 players at the D1 level.
If you're good enough for D1 in football or basketball, you get your education paid for. Even if you're not a star, you also have a shot at some NIL money because those sports are net revenue generators. Still a longshot bet for most HS kids, but the payoff for the top 3% or so is pretty clear.
Good enough for D1 in baseball, and you're still probably writing a hefty tuition check, with very likely zero NIL outside the SEC, for the privilege of a 98% chance of never getting drafted.
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