Should Travel Ball even exist? Is it egalitarian?

[sluggers]

There have been some discussion in another thread as to whether travel ball is good or bad. Is it elitist? Is is egalitarian? Is it expensive and stupid?

(I was a little surprised to be honest. I wonder if this is somehow tied to the backlash against "elitism". It always seems odd that someone who hate elitists also also hates communists. After all, "communism" is based on expunging all elitists. So, the only society without elitists would be a perfect communist society. But, I digress...)

 

[crystlemc]

Well, I think this kind of goes along with a socialist mindset. If things are "unfair", and then spread out or adjusted to make them fair, what is the incentive to work harder? For example, if myself and 5 other people all have the same job, and I work my heiney off, they don't, but we all make the same amount of money, get the same raises..... where is my motivation to continue to work hard? There is none.

 

[quincy]

I do not think TB should exist to the level it has become, Little League baseball is the same way.

My DD is trying to find her way in the world. She is involved in a lot of different sports and activates.

TB seems to require a 100% commitment, I will not allow that.

 

[crystlemc]

Quincy, I can respect you wanting to let your daughter experience different sports and activities. However, just because that is your choice doesn't mean TB in it's current form should be eliminated. Some of our daughters, mine included, would choose this level of commitment. She obviously has. If, eventually, she chooses to leave TB behind, that is her choice, but it should be one she should have the right and ability to make. Taking that choice away is unacceptable to me.

 

[Sparky Guy]

As long as there are humans they will want to compete at all different levels. If all your daughter wants to do is to draw faces in the dirt and worry about what flavor ice cream cone she'll have after the game then there are levels for her. If your daughter enjoys being pushed to be her very best at something then travel serves its purpose. As with anything from collecting coins to Elvis-faced potatoes people will spend in direct correlation with their interest in a particular activity.

Not every activity is for everyone. I wouldn't spend a dime on soccer, beauty pageants or a show dog. They have no value to me personally, but there are others who spend obscene amounts of money on these things.

So, to answer your question about travel being elitist the answer is no. It serves the interest a particular group of people. Nothing more, nothing less. The same can be said about any other sport, band, pageant, music or academic activity.

 

[starsnuffer]

Most people will tend to support and say positive things about whatever they choose to spend their money on, be it a product like a car or a toothbrush, or an activity. People will also tend to say negative things about what they choose NOT to spend their money on.

What you are going to get out of this thread is that people who participate in TB will say positive things, and people who do not will say negative things about TB.

In the end we will have to be satisfied that no one is required to participate in one sport, any sports, or any of the various incarnations of said sports in order to retain their certificate of humanity. If TB is for you, great do it. If TB is not for you, great, don't do it.

Inevitably you will get a subset of people who are bitter about the time and money required to participate in a given thing, but these people usually neglect to understand that there are pre-requisites to participate in a given thing (namely time and money) and believe that one person's surplus of time and/or money and another person's deficit of time and/or money is "unfair".

I could dive deeper into what "unfair" means to different people and give ample examples of why "fairness" is not included in the the package one is given upon being born, but I do not believe that is necessary as it is (un)common sense.

-W

 

[Bishop]

Nice Quincy. Because something doesn't meet your families individual needs it should be abolished? Wow.

My kid loves softball. She doesn't really care about other sports even though I push her to participate in another, she humors me. Her other interests don't conflict with the travel schedule. She and I, and to a degree her mother enjoy playing travel ball with the organization we play with.

I don't see where your position is any more valid than an elitist. Actually, it is less valid. The elitist tells people who don't to participate at that high level of commitment, 'That's fine, don't participate at this level.' You are telling people who want to participate in something at that level of commitment that they should not be able to. Or did I misunderstand your comment?

 

[CoachAl]

can't really comment on the elitist question...not even sure i understand it. i will, however, say there is a "dirtly little secret" out there in the travel team world (not just softball) that rarely gets mentioned or discussed. with younger kids especially (talking way before high school) they rarely stick with the sport they have been so competitive in and by the time they get to high school, many have lost interest altogether. I've seen this happen with softball first hand. There was even a study done on this very thing about 10 years ago by a sports pyschologist. As I recall, the focus of that was on gymnastics but it did make reference to other sports as well where parents and very young kids are committing to practicing multiple nights a week, year around and traveling hundreds of miles to compete in events.

Bottom line, these kids were simply burned out by the time they reached the age where all that hard work was really supposed to start paying off. Keep in mind this is not ALL kids, but many! IMO, parents and coaches are forcing kids to get way to serious about one thing way too soon.

As a coach I do push our players to be their best and I do expect them to perform at a high level. But, I also encourage them to pursue other sports and other interests and even take time away from softball between seasons. This approach may not work for everyone, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[MTR]

Quincy, I can respect you wanting to let your daughter experience different sports and activities. However, just because that is your choice doesn't mean TB in it's current form should be eliminated. Some of our daughters, mine included, would choose this level of commitment. She obviously has. If, eventually, she chooses to leave TB behind, that is her choice, but it should be one she should have the right and ability to make. Taking that choice away is unacceptable to me.

I've heard this before. I don't think anyone is talking about eliminating anything. However, I agree the game has gotten out of hand.

I have a friend who chased the carrot starting when his daughter was around 10. Played with a team based two states away that, "if you wanted your daughter to get a scholarship, you had to play with this level of team"! For 8 years they travelled thousands of miles nearly three months a year.

It did pay off as his daughter got a full ride (not as common any more as some think) at a Div I school. When asked if he would do it again, he said absolutely not. His financial advisor told him if he had started putting that money away when she started playing ball, he could have paid for her education with money left over and softball would have been icing on the cake.

The usual response is that "I wouldn't deprive my DD of that experience" yada, yada, yada, because she enjoyed playing. Problem is, no one said anything about depriving anyone of playing ball, just not going crazy with the money that could have been used for other things the family could have used.

Again, it is just opinion, but not one that should be discounted any more than those who believe the TB game is fine as is.

 

[Sparky Guy]

Bottom line, these kids were simply burned out by the time they reached the age where all that hard work was really supposed to start paying off. Keep in mind this is not ALL kids, but many! IMO, parents and coaches are forcing kids to get way to serious about one thing way too soon.

I wouldn't say all these kids are all burned out. What happens is, life. Kids interests change as they grow older. They get jobs. They want cars. They are more interested in boyfriends and such. And this is true of any sport or non-sporting activity. Each year X number of kids in any activity give it up for one reason or another. The best analogy I can think of is, and I'll use softball as an example, is a pyramid. At the base would be the youngest kids playing rec, travel and any other level. Each year as you move up more and more kids stop playing. Those who do keep playing all the way through college and beyond are the absolutely dedicated girls. They also happen to be some the better players to play the game. The same would apply to playing an instrument. How many kids keep playing all the way through college and beyond compared to the number who start playing.