Do the social aspects improve their values and stimulate great discussions at home, or lead them away from family?). With travel ball, there is minimal time to recover from errors. Wake up at 5 a.m., get in the car and fall asleep for the whole drive there. Having coached both my sons in travel an rec ball, and being on the board of our local rec league, serving as president for several years. Here are a few of the factors you should consider when evaluating your options and picking a team. Many of the families on our team actually make it a family affair. Of course our children have bents that we want to nurture, encourage and help them develop, but lets make sure we arent pursuing our own agenda. Several dads had told me that they were leaving rec ball for a low-key travel ball team, or that they were adding a low-key travel ball team on top of the rec ball their son was playing. Really great article Dr. Hamilton! On the low end, a $500 budget may be enough to cover your team fees and play in local tournaments with lesser competition. Look for positive, fair-minded coaching. This is the one your wife wants you to care about. I also grew up watching sports slowly take over Sundays as the team practices/warmups got earlier and earlier until they happened during church times. 2023 Dotdash Media, Inc. All rights reserved, Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Not criticizing anyone not on same path, but if they want it, you wont stop them. Picture this. You accept the fact that today you will be cold, wet, sleepy, and possibly moody. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | FUTURESLASH CORP. Get two articles delivered to your inbox each week. I think this causes too many parents to look at travel ball as rec league 2.0. It also gave her a place to play when a local rec option was not available and softball was her #1 choice. (Matthew 6:33) I pray that many folks take heed of what you shared. And for the good of rec ball leagues everywhere, for the good of your family, and for the good of your kids, I would urge you to avoid travel ball until the kid is old enough to commit to a more demanding regimen. No doubt there are exceptions, but I havent personally witnessed one. That would inevitably awaken the competitive impulse, leading to more practices, more effort expended, and the gradual creep to a higher key. After establishing a manageable budget for your softball team, you need to start promoting your program and recruiting players. The three year old is already all in and ready to play. I hear this quite a bit. For them, it was a matter of priorities. Cost: Figure out what your family can afford before you even start looking at options. My son started disliking baseball at 9 years old because the boys in rec wouldnt hit a cut off, and dropped the ball so often. And, of course, traveling can be a great way for both families and teams to bond through shared experiences, like meals or just swimming in the hotel pool. She got to have some really good conversations with the moms who really didnt understand the philosophy behind Upward as a result. Reduces boredom Cons Expensive Increased risk for injury Potential for burnout Time-consuming Pros Young athletes can reach a point where they are bored with rec league play. The specific answer varies, but the typical range of cost for participating in travel baseball is between $500 and $2,500 per year. This is related to the previous: the best players leave the rec league for travel ball, and then the mediocre players get tempted to do so, and then all the kids get burnt out and stop playing baseball. I literally could keep going and going. What will travel ball mean for your marriage? My weekend routine typically looked something like this for travel ball: In other words, its a lot of time on the road. We dont win Non-Christians by loving them more than we love God and his glory. I enjoyed your article and the discussion following it. Verywell Family's content is for informational and educational purposes only. I wanted to play at the highest level I could, and they were willing to sacrifice to make that happen. My son excels in travel ball and weve started a bible devotion for the boys before every tournament. Usually, these teams are part of a private or club sports program, not a recreational league or one affiliated with a school. Totally agree with your article. For us, travel has been amazing. Also, keep in mind that many tournament teams have monthly dues of around $200 to play on the team and have access to their training facility. As a long-term pastor Ive watched parents who were convinced their sons would benefit by travel ball deeply regret their decisions a decade later. A majority of these tournaments are qualifiers for the organizations national tournament, where the top teams from different regions compete in one location. SAVE 25% ON ALL HER MUST HAVES - 25% OFF SITEWIDE ALL REGULAR PRICED ITEMS. It was good for us a s a family although the wallet didnt think so. These coaches have years of experience, and often played many years themselves. Well always innovate to do whats best. What Is Travel Ball Softball? - SportsRec . Does she want to be challenged? Get involved with the sports governing board and voice your opinion. Bottom line: give your kids a childhood theyll want to replicate with their own children not one theyll react against. Catherine Holecko is an experienced freelance writer and editor who specializes in pregnancy, parenting, health and fitness. Cheer them on and let them entertain you. Kids come out of high school where it seems that every game mattered, to a travel ball season where if you go 5-0 or 0-5 it doesn't matter. Uber competitive athletics is going to end for 99.9 percent of kids/young adults. It is generally agreed that softball developed from a game called indoor baseball, first played in Chicago in 1887. Solving the Umpire Shortage in Youth Sports Requires a Team Approach I imagine that we could have lived a little more comfortably had I not been playing softball. Many programs are run as a tight ship, with the goal of teaching and preparing their athletes for what college ball will be like: fast paced practices and a strong emphasis on execution. PAY FOR QUALITY UMPIRES, make sure you have enough umpires for all games and have them supported by all involved. They are the parents that are always visiting the dugout during the games. Now, this doesnt mean that her coach and teammates like it, but we have found that our commitment has opened the door for spiritual conversations. We enjoyed Upward for what it was and knew that it wasnt hugely competitive (for the most part). This is a an uncomfortable topic to address given that you are . Having said that, below are the top reasons your daughter should not play travel softball. Tell him he's great and anything is possible if you put your mind to it, but don't let him be an entitled little asshole out there on the field, because that's your fault! My sons high school teammate played in the minors for several years before being cut and at age 26, he is just now finishing college and trying to figure out what to do with his life. I had my schedule back. We all need to be careful that identifying with just one sport and spending most of our time with it can deter a child from gaining skills, interests and appreciation for other activities and knowledge. I agree with some that was said. These reflections grow out of my own experience playing and coaching and watching other families. For example, when you look at a solid team of 12u girls and there is that one girl that is nowhere near the level of the rest of the team. Most importantly, let it be her decision, and make sure she knows youll support that decision (even if its not what you think is best). Thankfully, this was a better fit for all of us. Whos forcing their kid to play??!! If you are traveling every weekend, or most of them, for a Friday, Saturday, Sunday tournament, what happens to non-sport family time? 113. whack said: Mid 30's there was travel ball when I played but not the ridiculous amount of them as there are now to where it's hard to even field rec teams. Listed below are six of the pitching injuries that athletes tend to experience. The physical and mental challenges of pursuing more than one sport is healthy in every respect. In raising our children in a world where developing a one-sport athlete is pushed to the extreme, we both were counter-culture, and we have happy, well-adjusted kids now, all of whom continue to pursue fitness as a lifestyle. Your marriage matters a lot more than some sport your kid plays. Travel Softball Rankings. Maybe take up your buddys offer to go play golf or go fishing. Focusing on winning games is short-sighted and ignorant. In return, the Breakers Labs organization is committed to working with each Student-Athlete to . While rec ball was enjoyable, the ever changing pool of players, coaches and parents made for inconsistent experiences for my daughter, some good and some bad. Softball Leagues + Travel Softball Teams - Lakeland Mom 7. I have also read some of your other works and have learned much from them and enjoyed reading them. But my friend who suggested that I do this also told me what was going to happen: he said I needed to understand that the other travel ball teams werent going to be low-key, so we would get pummeled at tournaments and probably lose every game. The gods of baseball punished me for my lack of devotion. Our son never felt like he missed out on anything; he was too busy playing other sports and doing other activities. Kids need to see that Jesus and his church are more important to their parents even than baseball. Because the goal of this type of program is to prepare the athlete for college athletics, the teams want to win. Exactly how much depends on the level of competition your daughter is looking for. What are you waiting for? Does she want to be on a team that beats everyone 10-0? These teams expect you to take the game seriously: 15 minutes early is on time; you walk into a tournament in an orderly fashion; and you recognize that while theres a time and place to be goofy, youre there to get better at softball. Thats commendable, but I suspect that those tournaments dont always start the Sunday games at times that make finding a worship service possible. It is no wonder so many of our children leave the church when they go to college. The nature of sport is that participants will learn in the course of their play, practice, games or meets, all about discipline, perseverance, punctuality, teamwork, goal-setting, how to handle disagreements, disappointment and failure, as well as success and recognition. I hoped that I would get information like yours Jason. Thanks for posting this. They use evangelism as a spiritual reason for not being in church. Glad to see you are faithful (and a baptist!). He was so upset. Softball teaches you how to communicate with those who are in authoritative positions about something you really want. So, during pool play, playing time tends to be more evenly distributed in order to give everyone game experience (as well as the opportunity to be noticed by college coaches, when the time comes for that). With our current circumstances, it would be extremely hard with our job schedule to juggle two girls practices and tournaments with everything else. (No wonder God calls us to pray without ceasing!). I have coached in a recreation league for almost five years, and now my eleven-year-old daughter is in soccer travel ball. First, not all travel ball destroys a childs love for the game. A strong brand can help your team with credibility and bring some excitement to your program. I give you a big Amen! Jim, It all depends on what attitude you approach it with. Ideally, you dont want to have parents serving as coaches. She excelled once she wasnt under my leadership and under the leadership of a professional. My arm hurt all the time, and I wasnt a pitcher. As parents, however, we can sometimes unknowingly pressure our kids to continuing pursuing things at a higher level because we want it for them, not because they want it, and we proverbially try to put a square peg into a round hole. Those were the programs I kept going back to. What are they learning? While you make some great points, let me provide an alternate perspective, even if I appear at present to be the lone dissenting voice. I do not feel we will ever look back on our decision to say no to travel ball. No zoning restrictions. If youre in Louisville, come check us out at www.KenwoodBaptistChurch.com. We must show them how to live well so that they may flourish and worship what is enduring. . Here are 10 reasons I think you should keep your kid in the rec league rather than quitting it for travel ball. Also, since most teams only have one practice per week, theres an expectation that additional work is being done outside of practice. Have a frank family conversation about these sacrifices and whether you are willing to make them. I was sad when the team cut me from the roster, but I was also relieved. Problem 1: Specializing to get a head start We are in such a rush to do more, more, more at younger and younger ages, and as a result, our children are getting injured at an unprecedented rate.
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