Another Sobering Article about Youth Sports

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
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.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
I have no issue with spending money on youth sports. As others have said, it would be spent on something else anyway. But if someone is doing it solely based on the potential of a scholarship, I think they will end up disappointed. The 529 idea is a good one. Or even better, try spending the money on a tutor. There is far more academic $ available over athletic $. And that investment can provide results the rest of your child's life.
 
May 12, 2016
4,338
113
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.

Couldn't agree more... a lot of life experiences gained through this games as well, heartbreaks, accomplishments, failures, good and bad.. My DD plays for fun, but plays hard. She doesn't have a scope aimed at a college scholarship, and that's just fine with me.
 
Aug 12, 2014
644
43
That's cause in reality that's not what he means. What he means is: I love this, my kid loves this and my family enjoys it. But our friends and other family members don't understand so we will tie it directly to a scholarship so people don't think were more crazy then they already assume we are.

I think that's definitely true for a lot of players, but I've talked to some parents who have said honestly (as much as I could tell they were being honest, there was nothing to suggest otherwise) that they were only letting their DD/DS play on a travel/comp team to get a scholarship.
 
Jan 22, 2011
1,610
113
I have no issue with spending money on youth sports. As others have said, it would be spent on something else anyway. But if someone is doing it solely based on the potential of a scholarship, I think they will end up disappointed. The 529 idea is a good one. Or even better, try spending the money on a tutor. There is far more academic $ available over athletic $. And that investment can provide results the rest of your child's life.

Good point on tutor! I pay for two hours of tutoring for my daughter a week, but she usually just uses one when JH sports is in season. Was proud of her this afternoon when she called me and said she wanted to use her 2nd hour of tutoring this week.
 
Jan 22, 2011
1,610
113
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.

I agree with you Eric, but I think it is a little silly for teams that fly to places like Las Vegas and Michigan for tournaments during the school year as 6th and 7th graders.
 
Oct 27, 2017
174
43
Mom and I didn't do it for the scholarship, but DD did. She decided at 8 that she wanted to play college ball and pursued that dream to it's realization this fall.

She received a very good scholarship to a mid-major, but I probably still won't break even with all the $$ we've spent on lessons, uniforms, team dues, hotels, restaurants, car mileage, airplane tickets, etc. That said, it was well worth it. I've seen an extremely introverted and shy child grow into a strong, mature young lady that is ready to take on the world. Looking forward to the next few years of watching her live her dream.

This you cannot put a price tag on
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
I agree with you Eric, but I think it is a little silly for teams that fly to places like Las Vegas and Michigan for tournaments during the school year as 6th and 7th graders.

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!
 
May 12, 2016
4,338
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!

I'll see you at the Motor City show down in the summer of 2019 then, :).
 
May 12, 2016
4,338
113
Mom and I didn't do it for the scholarship, but DD did. She decided at 8 that she wanted to play college ball and pursued that dream to it's realization this fall.

She received a very good scholarship to a mid-major, but I probably still won't break even with all the $$ we've spent on lessons, uniforms, team dues, hotels, restaurants, car mileage, airplane tickets, etc. That said, it was well worth it. I've seen an extremely introverted and shy child grow into a strong, mature young lady that is ready to take on the world. Looking forward to the next few years of watching her live her dream.

Great post and congrats to your DD!!
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,468
Members
21,443
Latest member
sstop28
Top