Another Sobering Article about Youth Sports

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Jan 22, 2011
1,610
113
I don't know. Road trips are fun, and staying in a hotel together is great bonding time for the girls. From CA, going to MI for a weekend during the school year might be a bit too much for a MS'er, but during the summer, let's go!

They are a blast during the summer. My DD's team played in Yorba Linda and La Habra consecutive weekends in June while she was out of school, but most of her team were still in school until the Wednesday after the La Habra tournament. Half got home at 4AM, the other half took 6:30AM flights back to San Jose and went directly to school from the airport. We drove to Anaheim and did 4 days at Disneyland.


If you go to Michigan and are still looking a pitcher/utility player, let me know!
 
Feb 20, 2015
643
0
illinois
The money was going to get spent on something - DD's hobbies, my hobbies, DW's hobbies, vacations... Even if DD quits the game tomorrow, I will not consider one cent of it wasted. She is having awesome experiences, learning life lessons, making great friends, and developing into a strong and confident young woman. The investment is worth it just for those things. If she can pick up a scholarship to help pay for college, it's icing on the cake.

Could not agree more. My dd decided that she did not want to play in college. She did play her last two years of high school ball, but did not play travel the last two years. She started around the age of 9-10 playing softball. Between all the travel, team fees, equipement, shoes, etc, etc, etc, no telling how much we spent on it. Hell, I would love to just have the money back that we spent on sun flower seeds, and gatorade. Wouldn't change it for the world though. Love the time we spent at the ball fields, practicing, driving to tournaments, eating out with the teams, etc.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
The money was going to get spent on something - DD's hobbies, my hobbies, DW's hobbies, vacations... Even if DD quits the game tomorrow, I will not consider one cent of it wasted. She is having awesome experiences, learning life lessons, making great friends, and developing into a strong and confident young woman. The investment is worth it just for those things. If she can pick up a scholarship to help pay for college, it's icing on the cake.

Yes! I agree! I don't know if my DD will play in college. She is, IMO, very talented and if she wanted to I'm sure she could. But she's not all that interested in college in general right now. She just turned 12; she has lots of time to decide what she wants to do when she's 18. We pay for high quality pitching lessons because she loves to pitch, and she doesn't like playing low level ball. She likes to learn and be challenged. I wouldn't assume just because a kid is in piano lessons that her parents expect her to go on to get a scholarship to Julliard or something. Maybe it's because developing a skill and building on natural talent is a human drive.
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
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Orlando, FL
Getting a scholarship is only one of the many benefits of playing college softball. It is a totally different experience and college lifestyle. It is not for everyone but for those who have what it takes, they leave college with real life skills and a huge advantage over their peers.
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
Ok, so please forgive me. I going to add some reality to this whole, "we're just trying to get the kid a scholarship" notion. For some parents, it isn't about anything other than the ego trip and saying that their dd is better than someone else's dd. I've seen it so many times. The parents want to brag that their kid went to such and such on a full ride. We know most don't get that full ride but even knowing that most of us know, they still continue the lie. I am reminded of the dad in my area who's dd was going to the University of Texas. For three years he bragged about it. Then, when NLI day came around, he said that she didn't sign with all of the other girls because she might change her mind and go to UCLA. She would sign in the spring. Still, he continued to be so obnoxious. So obnoxious that the rumor was that, "he understood why my daughter took a D-II scholarship. Sometimes you have to take what you get." Of course the dd didn't play in college since he ran every college away with his demand for a full ride.

A part of what we all see is the heartache of some players coming home. Their parents can't pay the tuition at some of these schools and with the 25-30% athletic scholarships, they have to decide whether to run up a huge debt or to bring the dd home. This is happening right now to someone I know in our area.

Finally, we are blessed on this site with some parents who have made it through the experience and share their journey with their dds. Being forewarned is to be forearmed. I really do appreciate reading all of the stuff that members here post and it seems we have reasonable parents who have done or are doing their homework so that they don't get bounced around during the journey.
 
Jul 16, 2018
120
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my story -

This is specific to my son who plays baseball - I was/am just like any other parent and want their child to succeed. If their is one thing that I can remember growing up it was that Sports taught me alot about responsibility and work ethic even if I didnt realize it at that time. I will not be able to afford to send my kids to college period so I push athletics but as a tool with academics as I know a baseball/softball scholarship is peanuts. Full rides are available but he's not that player.

At 8 years old a coach "disinvited" him back because he was afraid of the ball. By age 13, he developed GIRD in his throwing shoulder because due to poor coaching (and me a dad who didnt take the time to understand right/wrong). At 13 I took him to "that coach" in the area with a bad reputation. Nobody likes the guy due to the way he coaches. He cusses like a sailor, he chews up and spits out kids that dont do things his way. And if I had to do it all over again I would have taken my son to him at an earlier age.
As a Freshman he tried out for his HS baseball team and the coach told him he was to slow and would never play for the school. So we took a chance and transferred him where he was starting on the Varsity team as a sophomore. He went from PO/chubby kid that plays first to starting Varsity as a 2B and can play anywhere on the diamond if you ask him. In fact he started learning how to catch at the beginning of August and has already seen game time this fall.

He's 5'10 weighs about 190. His scouting numbers read thanks but no thanks. We dont play the showcase tourneys that cost 1300 a pop to enter. The coach is a great networker and always has people out watching our kids. In fact WE dont even have to worry about the recruiting process because he handles it. He sends scouting reports, videos etc.

My point is this. His current coach like any other coach wants to win games. But he also understands that winning is secondary to development. You strike out 3-2/2 outs bases loaded - so what. You let a ground ball go between your legs - so what. In practice he's going to make sure that it doesnt happen again. My sons HS team went to state his sophmore year and he started at 2B in the game knowing damn well he was not ready for that kind of situation. BUT THATS THE FREAKING POINT.

I was just informed over the weekend that he does have an opportunity with a local juco. he needs to raise his GPA a smidge (currently at 3.3 and they want him to be at 3.5 - so because of that I assume he will receive little athletic money) When asked if the coaches have seen him play the answer was yes but it was during last season.
Let me tell you about my sons previous season. He seriously considered transferring back to his old school and quitting baseball. He's never had much "success" he strike outs more than he hits. His frying pan hands are SLOWLY becoming more dull and soft so he is good for 1-2 errors a game - every game. In fact he started his Junior campaign by guying 0 - 3 (games) and struck out each at bat. According to my sons coach - the college that wants him thinks he is only going to get better. He is a May birthday so he wont turn 18 until after his season. Physically he still has baby fat and will benefit greatly from a RS year.

STOP WORRYING ABOUT YOUR KIDS PLAYING A BALL OR GOLD BALL

Stop worrying about sending your kids cross country to play in PGF tournaments.

If you teach your child to play the game good things will happen. yes you want your child to play the best competition to get them ready for HS etc. But at 10 years old who really gives a FLYING fudge how many tournaments you won? Especially when those wins come at the expense of a childs development.
 
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
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“We’re trying to get college scholarships — that’s the only reason we are here,” Wyatt said. “The whole goal to get these girls in a school and some of it paid for.”

I just think that is a really weird statement. Maybe the culture of travel bb is different from travel sb. If I heard a travel sb parent or coach say that I would consider it a giant red flag. There are many, many things wrong with it.
 

Strike2

Allergic to BS
Nov 14, 2014
2,044
113
There are different ways to do softball, and in most places, several different levels of play. It's possible to play ball on a decent team against decent competition and gain all the benefits without expending thousands of dollars. In terms of scholarships, girl's softball seems very much like stepping into a casino. If you're very skilled and lucky, you might walk away with some money. Otherwise, most will leave their money in the building.

If you're playing for the fun, exercise, and learning to work to become good at something, a reasonable expense is easily justified. Some of the places that draw travel teams are even worth going to, and can be memorable family experiences. However, I see many who don't have much money at all spending a ridiculous amount on their kid's sports in the hopes of scholarships when there are state school full tuition waiver programs. I see kids who play for top travel teams and starters in very good HS programs ending up at JUCOs and obscure regional state colleges that wouldn't have been on their radar if not for the prospect of a place on the softball team.

I personally know a growing number of HS-aged players playing in knee braces and attempting to rehab from multiple shoulder surgeries. I see people coming out the other end of the their college playing experience with significant lifetime injuries, debt, and having to go back to school to learn a marketable skill. Even for the very best, the opportunities after college softball are very limited, and all but a handful need to find something else to do. Sometimes, playing in college is a fit and beneficial, but there's great potential to lose sight of the bigger picture and purpose of going. When you've expended ALL your time, energy, and resources pursuing ONE goal, having no where else to go in that pursuit at the age of 22 can take significant adjustment. College should be the means to an education that will lead to a better life, not the end-goal.
 
Last edited:
May 17, 2012
2,804
113
A lot of players have what it takes and decide not to play in college for whatever reason. While I agree that playing a sport in college is beneficial it's no more of an advantage than many other extracurricular activities (academic teams, internships, ROTC, student government, etc.).

I do respect the time and effort of being a student athlete but there are other paths as well. If you love softball go for it but I wish more parents understood there are other paths...
 
Oct 5, 2015
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I was talking to a friend who mentioned he had ran in to his cousin with 4 boys at a family event. Upon catching up on the various kid's sports, the cousin said that he had gotten the boys in to travel ball to keep them busy, avoid hanging with the wrong crowd, an unplanned pregnancy, etc. After seeing all the associated expenses, he said an unplanned pregnancy would have been cheaper.
 

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