I have a simple but direct message for all travel ball parents — little Johnny or little Suzy isn’t going pro.
It ain’t happening. Forget about it.
I have friends I respect whose kids have played — and some who now play — on travel baseball or softball teams. I have no real problem with the “tournament ball” culture. It’s here to stay while recreation league ball is slowly dying on the vine.
But I do have a problem with parents and coaches taking it too far, forgetting that it should all be about the betterment of the kids.
I am guessing the No. 1 reason parents push travel ball on their kids is so they have a better chance to improve their skill set. And if so, I am all for that.
Every parent who volunteers to coach rec league should be applauded. But often the only prerequisite to coaching at that level is the ability to raise a hand, your kid’s development as an athlete is left to potluck.
Travel ball can be a good thing as long as young pitchers aren’t being warn out, and the number of games played isn’t ridiculously high.
I’ve heard of 10-year-old travel ball teams that play 70 games in a summer and then practicing some during the winter. This can certainly get in the way of kids enjoying other sports and, more importantly, lead to baseball burnout.
Forget about your kid specializing in one sport. Most all college athletes played multiple sports in high school.
The daily grind can not only suck the fun out the game, it can be quite physically punishing, especially on young arms. It’s OK to let kids be kids sometimes.
The Greenwood Gators are the first travel team I remember. Led by coach Martin Tribble, the Gators started as a 12-year-old all-star team about 15 years ago. After playing for a state title, it then turned into a travel team just about the time USSSA baseball was becoming popular.
Of the 13 kids on that team, only about half went on to play high school baseball. Some of these kids were simply burned out. But the good news is that several who did went on to play at the junior college level.
Here’s a line I read while researching this controversial subject that sums it up: Don’t sacrifice your son’s childhood on the altar of the hope that he’s the next Derek Jeter.
I think kids should wait to age 13 or over to play travel ball. Mostly, because 75 percent of the kids who play youth sports drop out of baseball by age 14. Most of the kids who play at 12 years old and younger will never reach high school baseball.
Therefore, I would not want to spend all this money traveling until I was more sure my kid was going to take baseball seriously.
And don’t push your kids into it betting on him or her getting a college scholarship, especially at the Division I level. I’ve covered sports in this community for more than 25 years, and I can count the number of boys who have signed with Division I schools on one hand.
I’m betting you would be better off saving your money to help him with college expenses.
If you invest in your child, make sure it’s for the right reasons because college coaches won’t wind up beating down your door with offers.
Consider each D-I team is allowed a maximum of 11.7 baseball scholarships, and those scholarships can be divided up between players. The roster includes 35 players, 27 of whom can receive scholarship money.
The big winners in all this is those who put on the tournaments — which have become big money making ventures.
Everyone wants a quick fix, a magic pill, the secret to success. It isn’t out there in that form. There is no magic formula to produce the next Bryce Harper or Clayton Kershaw.
If there is a formula to improve the state of amateur baseball, it is by working hard, working practical and working smart. It also involves a little luck and good genetics from time to time. It isn’t as easy as simply playing against good competition.
If it were, everyone would develop into a very talented player with the ability to play at the highest of levels.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
