Travel Ball is Killing Rec Ball

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Apr 6, 2017
328
28
I'd say in the grand scheme of things I'd rather see rec survive. That's where games are mostly played around here. I blame Rec and travel organizations for the problem but of course parents are the root cause.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Taking a chance of dying on the hill was worth it when the change in culture was to leave rec to go to tb then I take it? Yes she could easily go play on a low level travel softball team that would put up with her playing other sports (ridiculous to even have type that about a ten year old) but it’s not worth the $800-1000 to play that level at ten years old. Maybe by the time she’s 13-14 and decided softball is her favorite or top two we’ll see. While she’s a lil 4th grader though sure be swell to be able to play rec ball.


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You are right man, all of us that had our kids play TB at 10U so that they could enjoy themselves and perhaps be challenged a bit more than they would in Rec are not only horrible parents but also deplorable humans. We get it, your DD, who has more physical talent in her little toe than all of our DD's combined, is entitled to be able to play competitive softball for little to no cost. Did I get that all correct? What do I win?
 

J.Galt

Banned
Feb 8, 2019
135
28
She’s not wrong and it’s bc a lot of the girls that like playing and try hard (whether they are great or not) aren’t there anymore. They are on low level travel teams. Imagine a rec league with decent kids that majority want to be there, they practice 2-3 times a week, the dads/moms that know the sport coaching (coach tb but won’t coach rec lol). It’s not fantasy. It was rec league before all these low level travel popped up. Don’t say it’s not possible either. It’s still this way in rec football. 3 practices a week game on weekend. Dads involved that played beyond high school and really know the sport at a high level. In our little town of 35k people the rec team my son plays for each age division team has at least one coach on staff that played past high school and we are fighting this same stupid battle of travel football teams springing up wanting to take kids all the way down to 5 yrs old on the road to play games. It’s just stupid. Don’t show up to football practice you don’t play on Sunday. Takes care of kids that only show up on game day. Kids aren’t very good or young ones at the age group that need meaningful game time? Give em their own two inning game before real game or schedule their own scrimmage game during a practice day. This stuff isn’t hard it goes on every week in rec football.


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I could imagine Kate Upton is my girlfriend but that wont ever make it so.
Pop Warner/JAAF/AYF essentially are travel leagues for football. Your tiny town doesn't have a youth football league made up of 6 teams playing each other over and over. They get in their cars and drive to the next town to play vs its kids
Football is different as even in the professional leagues the teams play just once a week and it doesn't actually provide an apples to apples comparison with softball
The park and rec leagues for softball are more casual, they're more for the people who don't want to involve their lives around youth sports and because of that they will stick around and survive a while longer. But just as it isn't fair to ask those more casual players and their families to go to hitting, fielding, pitching and strength and conditioning coaches every week and then play a handful of games on the weekend, it is also not fair to ask a player and their family who are willing to do all of that to play on a team with players that leave their bat and glove in their moms trunk and never touch the things between games
It's sort of the old adage about their being a butt for every seat in the design of cars, while Id never drive a minivan or a prius, there are people out there who would....There is a team with the commitment level expectation for every player and family out there
 
Mar 21, 2019
137
28
I'd say in the grand scheme of things I'd rather see rec survive. That's where games are mostly played around here. I blame Rec and travel organizations for the problem but of course parents are the root cause.

I agree with this completely.


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Mar 21, 2019
137
28
You are right man, all of us that had our kids play TB at 10U so that they could enjoy themselves and perhaps be challenged a bit more than they would in Rec are not only horrible parents but also deplorable humans. We get it, your DD, who has more physical talent in her little toe than all of our DD's combined, is entitled to be able to play competitive softball for little to no cost. Did I get that all correct? What do I win?

Nope not even close to correct. She doesn’t at least not to me but I’m pretty realistic about my kids athletic ability. I don’t consider her a prodigy’s at all I don’t think she could remotely play on a team that travels nationally. Been working to fix a loopy swing, proper throwing mechanics every time not just sometimes and side to side movement to block errant pitches. What she can do is throw and catch and generally makes contact. She understands the game fairly well and tries her hardest. To me that’s not remotely special and I don’t think she’s special for being down and ready if she plays the field or knowing which bag to throw to to get an out when she fields it or cover if it doesn’t get hit to her.


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May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
I'd say in the grand scheme of things I'd rather see rec survive. That's where games are mostly played around here. I blame Rec and travel organizations for the problem but of course parents are the root cause.

Both rec and travel are needed. How things get muddied up in the middle has a lot of factors, including those you indicate.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
I don’t think she’s special for being down and ready if she plays the field or knowing which bag to throw to to get an out when she fields it or cover if it doesn’t get hit to her.
Agree. As I said before, my kid wasn't going to have fun playing kid pitch rec because of the level so I moved her..not because I thought she was anything special. Plus I have personal experience about how little being "special" at 8-14 YO means in the grand scheme of things.
 
Mar 21, 2019
137
28
I could imagine Kate Upton is my girlfriend but that wont ever make it so.
Pop Warner/JAAF/AYF essentially are travel leagues for football. Your tiny town doesn't have a youth football league made up of 6 teams playing each other over and over. They get in their cars and drive to the next town to play vs its kids
Football is different as even in the professional leagues the teams play just once a week and it doesn't actually provide an apples to apples comparison with softball
The park and rec leagues for softball are more casual, they're more for the people who don't want to involve their lives around youth sports and because of that they will stick around and survive a while longer. But just as it isn't fair to ask those more casual players and their families to go to hitting, fielding, pitching and strength and conditioning coaches every week and then play a handful of games on the weekend, it is also not fair to ask a player and their family who are willing to do all of that to play on a team with players that leave their bat and glove in their moms trunk and never touch the things between games
It's sort of the old adage about their being a butt for every seat in the design of cars, while Id never drive a minivan or a prius, there are people out there who would....There is a team with the commitment level expectation for every player and family out there

Well that’s false. There’s 4 teams in the league and yes they just play each other and no they don’t travel. There used to be more teams but some got tired of one organization winning consistently so they left to travel outside of town and lose in other leagues. Brilliant decision making. If you can’t win your own league let’s drive a lil bit to lose somewhere else lol. Why’s it ok to expect kids to work to get on the field more in rec football but not softball? There’s no guaranteed playing time in rec football yeah they mostly all get in at some point but it’s not always equal time.


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Mar 21, 2019
137
28
Agree. As I said before, my kid wasn't going to have fun playing kid pitch rec because of the level so I moved her..not because I thought she was anything special. Plus I have personal experience about how little being "special" at 8-14 YO means in the grand scheme of things.

You agree yet I’ve seen these low level teams that’s really all it takes. Effort. Down and ready understand the game and competent (not great) at throwing and catching. Sorry if I find it stupid to have to pay $800-1000 to play with kids at that level which is moderate imo.


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Mar 21, 2019
137
28
And yes kids deserve to play competitive games at the rec level. Why would anyone not expect that? What’s the point of playing if you’re not competing trying your hardest to win? It’s a game they keep score might as well try to win.


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