Has there been any noticeable increase in the quality and skills of high school players since the proliferation of "travel" baseball for children?

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

If that was the case you would have high school teams playing in the little league world series with fake birth certificates.

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Most high school coaches would say no for the vast majority of kids.

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im 100% sure that if i went home tonight and asked either my 14-year old son (who plays local baseball, not travel) or my 11-year old daughter (who plays local fast-pitch, not travel) if they wanted to get in the car, drive 6 hours, participate in 3 or 4 tournament games with thier respective teams, stay at a hotel (hopefully with a pool), hang out with their friends, maybe hit some go-karts in the evenings, they would say fuck yeah, sign me up. that sounds like heaven to a kid that age who enjoys team sports.

The road trips I have had with my son are some of the most memorable times in our life. We have traveled to Des Moines, the Dells, and Louisville. We usually have to stay over two nights. The boys tend to run all over the hotel playing tag. They take advantage of the pool. We have team dinners. We attended minor league games in Des Moines and Louisville (saw Mark Prior pitch for Louisville Bats). Each tournament is about five or six games.

The boys that play travel baseball are very into the sport. We practice ten months out of the year. Every so often I ask my son if he is having fun and if he keeps wanting to play baseball. What I have found is that the boys enjoy one another's company.

Consider the alternative. Video games. TV. Less time with father and son. Less time around his teammates.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Sure that would be cool once. Ask them if they want to do that every weekend or most weekends for a long period of time.

Bingo. Same thing with my 14 and 13 year olds.....we are amazed at how much they enjoy sports.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Yes, some enjoy it and want to. It is not for all, like everything.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

Suburbs ruin yet another thing.

Rick loses again

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

They could play another sport part of the year.

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Of course it's not for everyone. Baseball is actually for very few kids. Most in house leagues will have 10-16 full teams at 9 years old. Look three years on, and they have a much lower participation rate. You may have two full travel teams by 12 years old. Most kids hate playing baseball or are not sufficiently skilled to play it at a higher level.

In the intermediate division, you are taking 6th-8th graders, and we are only able to fill three full teams. Over 80% of the kids are gone by 7th grade.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

That is not the alternative.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

That's what I would think.

Most do, the kids on our travel team are playing basketball now. We train two days a week indoors for baseball right now. My son used to play football, but I stopped that with all the concussion talk. We play fall baseball as a replacement.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

What is your alternative for what kids do in the summer? Do you have teenagers right now? They consume video games and tv as much as their parent allow.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

denis, you are undeniably a smart guy but you say some really weird things


You just said that kids have two choices: Travel sports or being lazy and then you make it seem like without travel sports you wouldnt be seeing your kid as much

I've asked a couple old timers this and they said the talent level hasn't changed because talent is talent but today's players are much better fundamentally than players in the past.

All teenagers or the few that you know?

One alternative would be a summer or after school job.

I'm intimately aware of the whole travel-industrial complex.

I'd like to see a comparison of enthusiasm, time and money spent on sport versus education in travel households.

You want to give that kid the best pathway to success outside of schooling...give the kid golf clubs.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I am simply saying that parents need to find activities to keeps kids busy in the summer. Their default mode is video games and tv. I know this from experience. By putting them in organized activities like baseball, it occupies a lot of their free time. That's all I am saying. I am sure others with teenagers will confirm the same thing about what teenagers (before they can drive) with their free time.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Agreed, but you think travel sports is the only activity? That's how you framed your post

My kids. I am speaking of my kids and their friends. They sit on ipads and Xboxes all day long, if you let them. 13 and 14 year olds cannot legally get jobs. My daughter volunteers at the animal shelter a few hours per week.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

That sounds like heaven until you do it a few times. It basically becomes a job.

At that age I wished I was good enough to play on a traveling team too. Once I got a lot better without it and played in high school I was pretty happy I didn't. I was pretty burnt out on playing sports after the last game of the season my senior year. I saw plenty of other kids who were on traveling teams get even more burnt out and quit before that.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Woman claims Evergren Park recruited her son to play in 2011 and she lives nowhere near the boundries

http://abc7chicago.com/sports/chicago-mom-claims-suburban-little-league-team-forged-residency/514122/

Especially for girls. Many title 9 scholarships.

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Elections have consequences.

Sure they can get jobs. You just need a permit in most cases.

You can definitely caddie at that age which I would highly recommend for both kids.

My son who is a Sophmore has always played 3 sports, baseball, football and basketball. There will be parts of each of those seasons to where he will be practicing other sports while a season is going on. I am not saying that is the way to do it, but for him it works, he loves it. He is also a very good student, if he wasn't the rest goes away.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

I am talking about my kids. My kids do not play instruments. They are too young for a paying job. They cannot drive yet. They are not avid book readers.

In the summer, they go to the pool, ride bikes with their friends, hang out at the mall, play basketball and hockey in the yard, and the like. But in the summer, you have to occupy 16 hours per day of their time. A large portion of that is passive tv and video games.

My son plays travel baseball, which is at least a six day per week commitment. We play 5-7 games per week. It is a great way to occupy his time. The entire family spends time together attending games. We love it.


On the jobs thing, anything they do we have to drive them around. My kids will have plenty of time in life to work. They are kids, and I want them to enjoy their childhood. I don't want them spending six hours on a golf course. You have to be 15 years old to get a workers permit.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

In the summer, I basically played basketball all day with my friends and sports at the local level. I can't imagine anything would have been improved by playing travel sports.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I thought you were being hyperbolic with the original statement but it appears you are serious.

The alternative to your trip to Shitkicker, Iowa, is a family vacation to somewhere with social and educational value.

Teenagers should have jobs. They really should not be indulged with developing games that ultimately have no relevance in life.

Younger kids go to camps. Some of the camps are sport camps. Other camps are not sport camps.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.