I don't get it and I never will.

So I was out last night and this guy my friend knows was there. Telling us his son plays AAA hockey and travels all over the country playing tournaments. Said he spent upwards of 20k last season. Also told me that if you kid hasn't "made it" by 12, their chances of playing high level hockey are over.

What is the end game with this? Even if you are looking for a college scholarship you will pay more in travel coasts then you will for actual school..

_________________

Keeps the kids out of trouble as they go through adolescence, if they stick with it all the way through high school.

I have a huge problem with how kids get pushed into specializing in one sport so early in life.

Many kids are completely burnt out on a sport before their bodies have come close to maturing.

I also call bullshit on the "if he hasn't made it by 12, he never will" comment. If a kid can play, he'll get his shot.

_________________

I think we talked about this in another thread. Kids sports have gone completely insane. As some here know, I have my daughter in a dance activity which, thankfully, she isn't elite at. Otherwise, she would be required to buy a $1-5,000 dress each year and I would have travel costs in excess of $5,000 a year. Add in all the other costs and you can easily reach $15,000+.

_________________

My younger son played baseball with a fantastic young athlete from 7 years old on up- the other boy was smaller like my son, but best player on every team. He got into hockey by 10-12 years, and moved on to Canada and the Junior leagues. Gave up on all other sports, played year around. His Dad started working at the plant with me a couple years ago, so I could keep up with him better. Just gave up hockey for good this summer at age 20, bad shoulder is keeping him from moving up and causing cronic pain from the punishment. He is trying college, after about 8 years of team schooling...

Fuck I'm not looking forward to this. My
Wife and I gotta keep our kids active in more than one sport. I dread the specialization of amateur athletics.

_________________

Tattoo removal surgery costs more.

Some organizations tack on fees to the other teams in the program to defray the costs for the best teams they have. To some degree, there is just no getting around hockey being expensive.

It's crazy and sad what has happened to kids extra curricular activities. Parents are crazy and feel their kids have to have the best whatever that means and in the end it's all a big money grab. So stupid.

The 20k is clearly inclusive of all the hotels and meals out. A bit of humble brag going on there.

There is no end to it. It may sound crazy, but it's a hell of a lot better than letting your kids play video games all day. And plenty of kids don't have a dad around to even spend time on sports.

It's a competitive world, and the ones with the most talent and most practice will be the best at their activity of choice.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

Travel baseball does the same shit. The "elite" and "premier" teams pay for the top team which is free. Then they brainwash the kids by saying they're "family" while they abuse the fuck out of them chasing summer tournament rings so they can put in on their website to attract more kids. I fucking hate those travel team mother fuckers

There are plenty of extracurriculars that keep kids from playing video games all day but don't cost $20,000 a year. And at some point along the way, what's wrong with playing video games all day? That can't be one's entire childhood, but kids have to be kids.

_________________

The world needs ditch diggers too, Danny

_________________

A lot of parents think they can pay their way to their kids getting good.

_________________

Our QB just committed to play baseball at a D1 school. He managed to do this without playing fall baseball or attending 75,000 "showcases". He does play travel ball in summer but that is it.

_________________

The biggest scam of it all is they lead the family and player to believe that they will be in a better position to get a major college scholarship.

That may happen occasionally, but if you are good enough the schools will find you whether you do big time travel ball or not.

I have a good friend who is caught up in this right now with his daughter and softball. He is convinced she is going to either Tennessee or Missouri for softball. And it just is not happening. She is good and will probably have opportunities to play at a small school, but there is such a small percentage of kids that go play any college sports at big time college programs that your chances are astronomical.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Expensive travel sports are the real "pussification of America." When I was a kid the best players naturally rose to the top due to everyone having the same opportunity to play and practice. Usually the best players were giant pricks and so were their parents and they let you know just how bad you sucked. This gave everyone a realistic view of their own abilities and shortcomings. Now the guys and girls whose parents drop $20k have this warped view that they're actually better, because Joe-sixpack's kid can't afford the same opportunities. Eventually a lot get found out, but at least they learn the valuable lesson that money can buy opportunity, and besides if their parents can already drop $20k on sports, they'll probably have plenty of other bought opportunities.

My cousin's kid is on this course. I think he is only 10 but he is now on some Chicago team that does quite a bit of traveling. Everytime I hear about him I roll my eyes. One time it was about how he was blocking shots at age 8 to win some tournament and he broke his arm blocking the shot.... What in the hell is an 8 year old doing laying on grenades to win some meaningless kids tournament. I really don't think they have the cash for this so now all kinds of family members are sponsoring the travel team costs.

_________________
That's my purse! I don't know you!

Ask if they'll chip in for my kid.

Agreed. I've seen this with AAU basketball. The kids whose parents can afford it have a sense of entitlement because their parents can afford to pay for them to play. They even attempt to leverage AAU against their high school teams. "My son played well in AAU" so why can't he seem to play well here?

Later they attempt to make an issue out of the amount of time and money invested as if that is the high school coach's problem.

The AAU culture is always about finding the right fit so they continue to switch teams in search of the best situation. The question of whether or not the kid is good enough is never raised. In its place is the constant questioning of coaching that the kid receives.

_________________

I think there is a rule for travel hockey that you can only go to one other organization. It's kind of a pisser but I see why it's there.

some of the guys i played basketball with in junior high and a brief stint of high school ball before i lost my ride would go to hoops summer camps.

we were encouraged to go by the school's AD and the various basketball coaches. and, if you went to the summer camps, seems like you got to start. which was a big deal. being a starter. i never went to the summer camps.

best shooter in our school, on our teams, in pickup games throughout school was this kid who had moved into the area cuz his parents took over a track close to the school. he'd go to the school and shoot jumpers almost daily. great shooter. he never went to camp. didn't start. lefty with a weird, wind-up shot that he seemed to shoot from next-to-almost-behind his head, like his right arm would circle his head to meet up with his left hand holding the ball--ending up looking like he was the "P" in a really bad speller's attempt at doing the YMCA. but the coaches left his shot alone, eventually gave him decent minutes; but would sit and shake their heads at his ugly shooting form whenever he was in the game (which I got to witness cuz I was almost exclusively on the damn bench).

have the kid take up fencing, good chance of getting a scholarship for it to a decent school.

sounds like a racist price-point to me, tbh.

_________________

This shit is going to kill hockey. We'll never have a Bryan Trottier or Joey Mullen again, guys who grew up poor as shit improvising their way through childhood till they got their shot. Gonna be a whole damn league full of Aiden, Braden, Caden, and Jaden. You gotta be able to play the game; it can't exist as nothing but semi-popular TV show The NHL or it's going to shrivel up and die.

_________________

Who dat?

Daughter is 13. Catcher. Damn good for her age. Traveling teams always saying we will take her. No fucking way.$7000 pissed away on softball and BS. She will be better in HS without the stress and travel. She does not look the part of catcher though. 95 LBS wet but can gun you down in a quick minute if you flinch. And nothing gets by her. Hits .400 as well. Her mother and I were pitchers so where she got the I wanna catch shit from is beyond me.

I had you pegged as a catcher.

_________________

Scooter should cowboy up and pay the $20K to get his daughter on a traveling hockey team as a goalie too.

Travel sports is just a vanity project for parents. 5thats how they get away with charging so much. For 99 percent of kids the money and time could be spent so much better. Put the money in a college fund. By the time you are 18 no one cares that you were an above average child baseball player.

_________________
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!