While you're here...I made this video about things you see in the MLB that do NOT work in Youth Baseball. Check it out 👉 ua-cam.com/video/pxWB0Jd6GC0/v-deo.html
AMEN!!! I’m a 3 sport sports official. The damage being done to players, families and communities is OUTRAGEOUS. Tournament organizers have. “CONAN syndrome”, of raping and pillaging” the village. Paid parking ( per person!), no coolers, astronomical fees, bad fees and in a lot of cases, terrible officials. They are only about the $$$$. He is absolutely correct. Take back the game from greedy corporations !!!
Gate fees and no outside food or drinks too! The shiny Perfect Game merch table, Marucci and Easton selling bats, gloves, and other accessories, hotel fees, eating at restaurants, travel time, gas, and tolls. Missing work!
I live in Southern California and there are teams that still feel a need to travel out of state for a tournament. I'm like bro, we're a baseball hotbed, why you going out of state to play other Southern California teams.
@@klyles70 same, travel clubs around every corner, and still some really decent rec ball organizations. Traveling out of state once or twice a year still fun though.
We are fortunate in that almost all of our tournaments are less than an hour away, and we play every other weekend. We play mostly local teams. Sometimes, a team from out of town with no record will come in as AA and whip everyone. We look them up and they are AAA or Majors in the league they come from and are looking to come beat up on some AA teams.
problem for us was competition. Living in the northwest, we have crappy weather for softball. There are only a few teams that were worth playing. We were a high level team that would slaughter the normal local teams and would not improve our players. We had to travel to tournaments with other high level teams to get that competiton
competition quality certainly can vary based on geography, yes, but I do think people overestimate the value of high-quality competition in youth sports. Fun and reps and competition can be had even against mid-level teams. And games against lesser opponents can be used by coaches as ways to focus on less-developed skills, since the situations are less pressure-packed. Example: when my pitchers were dominating a team, we'd regroup and talk about throwing more changeups, working more on their lesser-stuff, being quicker to the plate, etc. - things that they could test in these low-pressure games without worry.
Our rep baseball system in Toronto, Canada, is made up of many associations or clubs that play in each other, all within 20 or fewer miles of each other. There are tiers of A, AA, and AAA, and over-15s have an elite level. We usually play 2-3 tournaments a year in Ontario. Our fees are around 2K per year, which includes 1-2 days a week indoors in the winter. Doesn't the US have anything like this?
Totally agree. That said, we're blessed to live just north of Houston which is a tournament mecca every weekend. So for us 'travel ball' happens to be local ball. I don't understand how some of the teams we see from far away, even other texas towns, can handle that much travel.
We are really lucky that here in Metro Phoenix, our boy's club team plays 2 tournaments a month in town. Even those can be rough, as they're 30+ miles from home, but we are home mid afternoon and dont have to do the hotel thing. playing in games is cool, but the relationships, mental fortitude and skill are all built at practice.
ive started putting my little bracelet on loose so when we leave i toss it to parents just coming into the park so they dont need to pay. Especially if we are the early games
Great video. We play local tournaments (within hour drive of DC) and travel once or twice a year. The VC money coming into this is insane, and a total scam. Check out what is happening in Lacrosse. Absolutely gross.
yeah the VC money is bad news - just like the big apartment buildings, the way they keep driving up revenue is by raising prices in concert with others instead of competing, and nickeling and diming people every possible way they can. A new era of fees are coming.
Wow, great topic. I was involved in my local rec league. Saw all of this. So many different variables here but I'll stick to one thing that was a big obstacle. The rec leagues themselves . We were a small town rec league affiliated with a big name league. The trouble was getting enough teams to play against in softball. The larger towns around us were in a different rec leagues and we could not play them. Our big name rec league would not allow us to do that. This apparent lack of competition drove some parent to travel ball. That only made our situation worse. Less girls to make teams with.
Yeah I'm with you on this. I'm okay with kids being able to play in a tournament or two but the league they play in shouldn't be "the Midwest regional League".
I feel like everybody hates this is the model, but everyone feels they NEED to have their kid on a travel team or they'll be "left behind" due to the "better competition" at travel ball tournaments. Just make local teams play other local teams like in high school season. No need to travel hours away or fly to Florida. Your local teams don't have to all play in-house. Adding to the expense... teams get a new uniform (2 sets) every year. I guess the screen printed T-shirts and same gray pants we used way back when aren't good enough now. lol
I am a coach of a 13u travel baseball and i made it clear that we will only have one out of state tournament per year and thats how its been since 11u. people think that there kid is not getting to play the best competition if we dont travel
Great points and great video. Imagine if parents spent that money instead on strength and conditioning, pitching and hitting lessons for their kids. We’d have better athletes, less chaotic families and happier kids no question. Parents need to remember this isn’t about them or improving their Instagram photos. It’s about their kids having fun and improving.
100%. And just freeing everyone up - adults as much as the kids - to simply be home more. Home on the couch 45 minutes after a game. Home on the weekends to grill out and have...lives. Rather than being stuck in hotels eating expensive, unhealthy food and running up a huge travel bill.
Great Idea @DanBlewett but the local fields around us are all booked a year ahead and have to be a part of a committee to run any kind of Event. (Even if no cover charge). They will only rent a field to a team for Practice/Scrimmage use because of all the tournament organizers who have first dibs on weekends.
But the thing is experience and different skill levels, some states or city’s are just known for better baseball and others like to travel to different areas and test they’re skills
sounds very rough. Is this a northern state problem? Im in florida, and in 10U. we do travel year round never have to drive more than 2 hours. Tournament costs are 350 a team on average, also every weekend there are at least 2-3 tournament available within a 2 hour drive
I find little to disagree with, but it might be worth some consideration on why things moved from community based play to travel based play. Yes, there is a profit motive in these tournament organizers, but they are also catering to parents who were looking for something other than their local teams, which often were captured by poorly run organizations and local politics in team formation.
fair point. Tournaments were exciting back then. A one-off thing you got to participate in if your team won the local league or whatever. And so we collectively asked for more of it until we realized we didn't want this much, and now we can't go back.
I'll agree w u to a point here. That's why we went travel. We're not hugely competitive, but the local youth league was a trophy for everyone, don't keep score, basically don't let a kid strike out unless he goes down swinging. My son is talented for a 9yo and wanted to play baseball. It was one or the other. For all its warts, we're happier at travel.
@@ThatLoudDad-io2gu That's a tough chicken-or-egg situation. Local youth leagues can absolutely be like that (ours is sort of like that); but if talented, interested kids don't play there, there's little incentive to change. But having coached in a local league, I can agree that local leagues can be tough for families because of the wide variance in investment. In an ideal world, a local league offers development opportunities for every kid who wants to play and also identifies players with talent and desire to play more competitively and gives them those avenues. But doing that takes coaches and league admins who are knowledgeable, dedicated, and aligned in that purpose. Which, thinking about it, takes a community, rather than just a program; and I think that's part of what Dan's getting at.
there isn't a gate like there used to be - when I was a kid, if I didn't make the travel team for my age group, I didn't play travel. That was it. There's pros and cons to that, too, though.
First it was recreational sports. This was taken over and ruined by travel, then travel was taken over by tournaments. Hopefully it all goes back to the beginning. Recreational. Some kids just want to play regardless of age or skill. If a kid has no chance to get on the field due to newness or age, you may be missing out on a future gem...
I dont think it's been only recreational for 50+ years. There's always been levels, even 30 years ago when I was a kid - there was a big skill difference between rec ball and travel ball, even then without the academies and lots of lessons. BUT, now that gap in skill level between rec and travel is huge to the point where rec struggles to exist.
@@DanBlewettabsolutely. And that ruins the sport for newbies who might be older (12,13yo) or kids who aren’t terribly athletic but want to play. When you add in rec teams bringing in ringers, it’s very disheartening to the players and coaches trying to do the right thing. Rec IS struggling and has been for a few years now, unfortunately.
We see that tournament ball and community baseball coexist. We have a community league for 13-16 year olds. They play during the week. Then, many of the same kids play tournament teams on the weekend. This gives the kids who are looking for rec ball a home and the tournament seekers a home. My kid is a catcher and a pitcher who plays two teams. What I don’t like is the shear wear and tear on the kids. My kid pitches and catches. Very difficult to balance arm health against play time.
Sadly, it is rarely about baseball and development these days. It is more about ego maniacs, making money and collecting plastic trophies. Why are these so called coaches/programs being tolerated, acting like baby adults that are terrible role models. We can do better. Wonderful video!
I think there are a lot of good, well-meaning coaches out there still, but it's human nature to focus on the bad stuff more than the good - we all do that. Yet, we all should continue to try to band together and speak up for a better future, and I think part of that means a shift back to more local sports and fewer tournaments.
Dan- Thank you for the reply and the positive words of wisdom. A lot of us care about this game and what the future holds especially for our young players and their experiences moving forward. . We were brought up to give more to the game than take and I see too much taking lately. All the best moving forward.
speak up, encourage other parents to do so as well. Be persistent. tell your organization you'd prefer to stay local for more tournaments. Many communities are already doing this. There are local fields. There are local umpires. There are local teams. It's not the only way, they've just convinced you that it is.
One problem we face in my local organization is, the traveling local team usually destroys the other teams. Because they have more sponsor people with money, getting them trainers etc. I know if a kid wants to play they will play and be good no matter what, but if they are rookies and get destroyed and they were just trying baseball, most won’t come back to play next year…
understood, but I'd say that's more of a rarity. Yes there are some very good teams that pull from all over the country, but just because they stick out in one's memory doesn't make them as prevalent as they seem. It's still a bell-curve of team quality. And even then, do those teams have more fun than a local team where the kids all know each other and grow up together? What IS the point of being on a sports team?...
@@DanBlewett First, great video. And that last question is perfect--I wonder how different kids would answer that than parents. The whole industry seems driven by anxiety, playing on parents' desire to set their children up for success (which generally translates to college scholarships). Understanding things may not be universal, what's the temperature like with the travel programs you're familiar with--are program leaders looking for more local opportunities, or are there incentives for programs to participate in the tournament model?
In addition, there are rec organizations that stack teams if they have more than one team, or add in travel players (who aren’t actually on their roster) to “get that win.” Coaches’ egos can be just as big as the parents’ egos, which is the wrong thing to teach whatever level the kids are at. There were times in which teams would not lose a game two years straight. Manipulation was rampant. Smaller organizations never stood a chance. I’ve seen an 18u travel team who had a 20 year old pitcher on their roster.
Tourney baseball is 100% a racket. Vast majority of player, parents, and coaches don't know any better. Only teams this might make sense for would be rural area teams looking for better competition. Useless or even counterproductive for scouting and exposure purposes. Bad for baseball with all the middlemen in tourney orgs and travel team orgs ripping off money and failing to develop players.
Do all these games help a player get significantly better? Baseball seems very game-heavy. My sport was swimming and it was a lot more practice-based. It was almost all hard practices for three months and then we would taper down for one big meet where the hard work paid off and you swam personal best times. Then the cycle would repeat. I want my kid practicing more but we just do local little league in the fall and spring. And I practice with him once or twice a week in the off season. Even local tournaments seem too time consuming. I don’t want baseball consuming our weekends. Will my son be able to keep up with the club ball kids with this approach? He is 9.
@ Yes, and you swim a lot more mileage in practice than in a meet. In baseball, you get a lot more reps in practice than in a game. I can hit 30 ground balls and 30 pop flys to my kid, and pitch him 60 balls. In a game, he may only get one or two balls hit to him, and only see 10 pitches at bat. So I value practice more than games. Thank you.
Im a new parent with a 4 that just started Tee Ball. No way im doing to travel team boondoggle. I cant justify 10-20k per year on a hopes for a scholarship shen i cannjust out that money on a college savings account
well, 4 is much too young for organized sports in my opinion, but you just have to see how it goes. Travel doesn't cost 10-20K per year - that's a stretch. And your kid might end up loving a sport, being good at it, and wanting the experience travel has to offer. Don't axe their dreams before they start. But DO make smart choices for your kid and your family.
They're just learning the super basics at the local park. Calling it organized would be a stretch lol. they're just having fun. I saw this years ago and it was really eye opening. ua-cam.com/video/9ATwFkYpVys/v-deo.htmlsi=ScMfwEVW8bNGsVk1 I live in Los Angles and some friends with older kids do spend north of $10k annually on their kids sports. Registration, travel, equipment, personal coaches, sports academy, etc. Like i said, im a new parent and idk what im doing. From a financial standpoint, i dont see myself investing that much hoping to get a lottery ticket out of my son.
play with your kid in the backyard. all the time. that's the #1 thing that former college and pro players do with their kids, why they develop a similar passion and skill level. Its not about starting organized stuff early. It's about playing in the backyard. Plastic bat and plastic ball, pitch and throw and catch and make it fun.
holy s**t I just looked you up quick (this isn't my first time watching your videos) and I just saw you have a degree in philosophy??? That's very impressive
Good message but as a reality check I'll offer this observation...some parents have their kids playing 6 and 7 days a week of youth sports. They want their kids to be a star so bad, they take the balance out of their kids live at 8, 9, 10 years old.
I mean thats true of course, but a lot of it keeps being perpetuated because people think it's what's necessary. And thats exactly why I'm trying to get the word out (I have a video upcoming about when to sign your kids up for sports....and I think 7, 6, 5 years old is way too young.
@DanBlewett I'm looking forward to that one. I signed my 5 year old up for coach pitch tee ball and basketball so he can hang out with other boys his age (he's the middle child and has two sisters), but I would rather just play wiffle ball in the back yard or shoot hoops in the driveway at his age. I also think it's nuts that in a couple of years there are leagues he can play in that have 50 games a year and travel for tournaments. This is from a former college baseball player that thinks that's too much.
Probably where you are. Legion still exists in the upper Midwest but our kids often play against Travel teams. There are too many players for the legion system. My son is a catcher for a 14U team for post 307 in SD. They play almost entirely local. For the competition, I would like him to play for a travel team but time and money is too much. It’s really sad because I know my son would thrive as a ball player with them. One thing that irritates me is their selling point “we can get your son in front of scouts.” No scout is interested in 14U players. Probably not even most 16U. New NCAA rules are that a college scout or coach cannot talk to a player until September 1st of their junior year. I don’t think most parents know this. I’m just trying to figure out a good path for my kid because he works hard.
Yeah, it certainly depends, but it's clearly been a dying brand for quite a long time. I lived in the midwest from 2010-2019. Legion existed there in the same way Macy's still exists. It's just not really a realistic suggestion for the overwhelming majority - the brand isn't coming back to prominence, it's on the long tail decline to being completely gone (also like Macy's). Not a good thing, but that seems to be reality. Ultimately, your kid just needs to be a good player, and email schools himself with video and his information - that's all it really takes if he's got the ability.
@@DanBlewett - I agree. My son is currently rostered on a travel team and I think after he is done with 14U, he’ll be more active with the travel team. What got my attention about your video was the local coach who wanted to watch one of your pitchers in game. The travel team my son is rostered on plays is California & Arizona. Yet,the majority of players who committed, are going to play at local schools. So - my kid has a guaranteed catching spot- to catch at the varsity level but I have a tough time wrapping my brain around traveling to San Diego.
Yo! You're speaking my language. I had a son that played travel baseball, and my daughter has been playing softball for the past 6 years. I think the softball format is worse than baseball. For softball, you have these 1 day tournaments, and you're there all day, especially if you're winning (not a bad thing, I know). It's exhausting for the girls, the coaches and the parents. Even for 2 day tournaments, they somehow manage to make it all day. No one is served by playing 1 hour 3 inning games, maybe 4-5 innings in bracket. The orgs like Top Gun, USSSA etc. seem to be money grabs. There needs to be a better format.
Yeah, I especially hate the truncated games. Kids need to play the bottom of the 9th, bottom of the 7th, whatever - and feel the pressure of those moments. Thats how they build the resilience that we want kids to learn from sports.
@@DanBlewett yeah, I think that stuff is fun at 8u and 10u, but by the time it starts getting competitive, it needs to be structured differently; I'd rather play 3 7 inning games in a weekend, that is plenty; when games are timed at an hour or an hour and five, coaches are forced to use the clock as part of the strategy, and it takes away from the game
We see that tournament ball and community baseball coexist. We have a community league for 13-16 year olds. They play during the week. Then, many of the same kids play tournament teams on the weekend. This gives the kids who are looking for rec ball a home and the tournament seekers a home. My kid is a catcher and a pitcher who plays two teams. What I don’t like is the shear wear and tear on the kids. My kid pitches and catches. Very difficult to balance arm health against play time.
While you're here...I made this video about things you see in the MLB that do NOT work in Youth Baseball. Check it out 👉 ua-cam.com/video/pxWB0Jd6GC0/v-deo.html
Well said I agree 100 percent local tournaments strengthen the community and all the families involved.
yep, we can get back to this if more people share their voice - loudly - in their communities. Push for local!
AMEN!!! I’m a 3 sport sports official. The damage being done to players, families and communities is OUTRAGEOUS. Tournament organizers have. “CONAN syndrome”, of raping and pillaging” the village. Paid parking ( per person!), no coolers, astronomical fees, bad fees and in a lot of cases, terrible officials. They are only about the $$$$. He is absolutely correct. Take back the game from greedy corporations !!!
Gate fees and no outside food or drinks too! The shiny Perfect Game merch table, Marucci and Easton selling bats, gloves, and other accessories, hotel fees, eating at restaurants, travel time, gas, and tolls. Missing work!
Gate fees are the single most predatory fee I can think of. Paying to watch something you paid for.
@@DanBlewett 100%
I live in Southern California and there are teams that still feel a need to travel out of state for a tournament. I'm like bro, we're a baseball hotbed, why you going out of state to play other Southern California teams.
@@klyles70 same, travel clubs around every corner, and still some really decent rec ball organizations. Traveling out of state once or twice a year still fun though.
We are fortunate in that almost all of our tournaments are less than an hour away, and we play every other weekend. We play mostly local teams. Sometimes, a team from out of town with no record will come in as AA and whip everyone. We look them up and they are AAA or Majors in the league they come from and are looking to come beat up on some AA teams.
Always love your content Dan. Succinct, useful, and not over-produced.
BIG THUMBS UP! Thanks for speaking up. We need more of this mindset across our society.
problem for us was competition. Living in the northwest, we have crappy weather for softball. There are only a few teams that were worth playing. We were a high level team that would slaughter the normal local teams and would not improve our players. We had to travel to tournaments with other high level teams to get that competiton
competition quality certainly can vary based on geography, yes, but I do think people overestimate the value of high-quality competition in youth sports. Fun and reps and competition can be had even against mid-level teams. And games against lesser opponents can be used by coaches as ways to focus on less-developed skills, since the situations are less pressure-packed. Example: when my pitchers were dominating a team, we'd regroup and talk about throwing more changeups, working more on their lesser-stuff, being quicker to the plate, etc. - things that they could test in these low-pressure games without worry.
GREAT video, Dan! You make a number of great points!
Our rep baseball system in Toronto, Canada, is made up of many associations or clubs that play in each other, all within 20 or fewer miles of each other. There are tiers of A, AA, and AAA, and over-15s have an elite level. We usually play 2-3 tournaments a year in Ontario. Our fees are around 2K per year, which includes 1-2 days a week indoors in the winter. Doesn't the US have anything like this?
Totally agree. That said, we're blessed to live just north of Houston which is a tournament mecca every weekend. So for us 'travel ball' happens to be local ball. I don't understand how some of the teams we see from far away, even other texas towns, can handle that much travel.
Kingwood here. We're lucky for sure.
We are really lucky that here in Metro Phoenix, our boy's club team plays 2 tournaments a month in town. Even those can be rough, as they're 30+ miles from home, but we are home mid afternoon and dont have to do the hotel thing. playing in games is cool, but the relationships, mental fortitude and skill are all built at practice.
ive started putting my little bracelet on loose so when we leave i toss it to parents just coming into the park so they dont need to pay. Especially if we are the early games
Luckily we play in the upstate of SC and there are tons of travel teams in our area. Usually we play 30-45 minutes away from our house.
We switched teams because the new one stayed local and played in scout events on the college campuses of the local JUCOs
Great video. We play local tournaments (within hour drive of DC) and travel once or twice a year.
The VC money coming into this is insane, and a total scam. Check out what is happening in Lacrosse. Absolutely gross.
yeah the VC money is bad news - just like the big apartment buildings, the way they keep driving up revenue is by raising prices in concert with others instead of competing, and nickeling and diming people every possible way they can. A new era of fees are coming.
Wow, great topic. I was involved in my local rec league. Saw all of this. So many different variables here but I'll stick to one thing that was a big obstacle. The rec leagues themselves . We were a small town rec league affiliated with a big name league. The trouble was getting enough teams to play against in softball. The larger towns around us were in a different rec leagues and we could not play them. Our big name rec league would not allow us to do that. This apparent lack of competition drove some parent to travel ball. That only made our situation worse. Less girls to make teams with.
Yeah I'm with you on this. I'm okay with kids being able to play in a tournament or two but the league they play in shouldn't be "the Midwest regional League".
I feel like everybody hates this is the model, but everyone feels they NEED to have their kid on a travel team or they'll be "left behind" due to the "better competition" at travel ball tournaments.
Just make local teams play other local teams like in high school season. No need to travel hours away or fly to Florida. Your local teams don't have to all play in-house.
Adding to the expense... teams get a new uniform (2 sets) every year. I guess the screen printed T-shirts and same gray pants we used way back when aren't good enough now. lol
The full custom button-up jerseys we get are $6 more than a screen printed T from our local place.
I am a coach of a 13u travel baseball and i made it clear that we will only have one out of state tournament per year and thats how its been since 11u. people think that there kid is not getting to play the best competition if we dont travel
thats what we need to educate people on. Most towns that arent tiny have plenty enough talent to stay local much, much more and still be challenged.
Great vid. Need to watch over your shoulder for the tournament mafia now though :)
Especially if you’re an umpire like myself who hates”you know who”!!!!! They’ve heard my dissent before so this one no different!!!
Great points and great video. Imagine if parents spent that money instead on strength and conditioning, pitching and hitting lessons for their kids. We’d have better athletes, less chaotic families and happier kids no question. Parents need to remember this isn’t about them or improving their Instagram photos. It’s about their kids having fun and improving.
100%. And just freeing everyone up - adults as much as the kids - to simply be home more. Home on the couch 45 minutes after a game. Home on the weekends to grill out and have...lives. Rather than being stuck in hotels eating expensive, unhealthy food and running up a huge travel bill.
Instead of that spent on tourny you could prob get Pujols or Ichiro show up for a day and teach the kids.
We do just 2 travel tournaments a season. Rest is local stuff. Seems like a good balance for our parents.
doesn't have to be all of either format - good point!
Great Idea @DanBlewett but the local fields around us are all booked a year ahead and have to be a part of a committee to run any kind of Event. (Even if no cover charge). They will only rent a field to a team for Practice/Scrimmage use because of all the tournament organizers who have first dibs on weekends.
solutions exist for those who want to find them
But the thing is experience and different skill levels, some states or city’s are just known for better baseball and others like to travel to different areas and test they’re skills
sounds very rough. Is this a northern state problem? Im in florida, and in 10U. we do travel year round never have to drive more than 2 hours. Tournament costs are 350 a team on average, also every weekend there are at least 2-3 tournament available within a 2 hour drive
I find little to disagree with, but it might be worth some consideration on why things moved from community based play to travel based play. Yes, there is a profit motive in these tournament organizers, but they are also catering to parents who were looking for something other than their local teams, which often were captured by poorly run organizations and local politics in team formation.
fair point. Tournaments were exciting back then. A one-off thing you got to participate in if your team won the local league or whatever. And so we collectively asked for more of it until we realized we didn't want this much, and now we can't go back.
I'll agree w u to a point here. That's why we went travel. We're not hugely competitive, but the local youth league was a trophy for everyone, don't keep score, basically don't let a kid strike out unless he goes down swinging. My son is talented for a 9yo and wanted to play baseball. It was one or the other. For all its warts, we're happier at travel.
@@ThatLoudDad-io2gu That's a tough chicken-or-egg situation. Local youth leagues can absolutely be like that (ours is sort of like that); but if talented, interested kids don't play there, there's little incentive to change. But having coached in a local league, I can agree that local leagues can be tough for families because of the wide variance in investment. In an ideal world, a local league offers development opportunities for every kid who wants to play and also identifies players with talent and desire to play more competitively and gives them those avenues. But doing that takes coaches and league admins who are knowledgeable, dedicated, and aligned in that purpose. Which, thinking about it, takes a community, rather than just a program; and I think that's part of what Dan's getting at.
Travel ball is watered down. Instead of traveling every other weekend the kids would probably get better practicing 5 hours Saturday and Sunday.
there isn't a gate like there used to be - when I was a kid, if I didn't make the travel team for my age group, I didn't play travel. That was it. There's pros and cons to that, too, though.
We mostly play local tournaments cause we from orange county lol. Only go to Vegas or phoenix 3-4 times a year
Really an excellent video. Wish I'd seen it 25 years ago..... :(
First it was recreational sports. This was taken over and ruined by travel, then travel was taken over by tournaments. Hopefully it all goes back to the beginning. Recreational. Some kids just want to play regardless of age or skill. If a kid has no chance to get on the field due to newness or age, you may be missing out on a future gem...
I dont think it's been only recreational for 50+ years. There's always been levels, even 30 years ago when I was a kid - there was a big skill difference between rec ball and travel ball, even then without the academies and lots of lessons. BUT, now that gap in skill level between rec and travel is huge to the point where rec struggles to exist.
@@DanBlewettabsolutely. And that ruins the sport for newbies who might be older (12,13yo) or kids who aren’t terribly athletic but want to play. When you add in rec teams bringing in ringers, it’s very disheartening to the players and coaches trying to do the right thing. Rec IS struggling and has been for a few years now, unfortunately.
yep, you're 100% right with all of that.
We see that tournament ball and community baseball coexist. We have a community league for 13-16 year olds. They play during the week. Then, many of the same kids play tournament teams on the weekend. This gives the kids who are looking for rec ball a home and the tournament seekers a home. My kid is a catcher and a pitcher who plays two teams. What I don’t like is the shear wear and tear on the kids. My kid pitches and catches. Very difficult to balance arm health against play time.
I believe they can, hopefully they will
Supper well said
Sadly, it is rarely about baseball and development these days. It is more about ego maniacs, making money and collecting plastic trophies. Why are these so called coaches/programs being tolerated, acting like baby adults that are terrible role models. We can do better.
Wonderful video!
I think there are a lot of good, well-meaning coaches out there still, but it's human nature to focus on the bad stuff more than the good - we all do that. Yet, we all should continue to try to band together and speak up for a better future, and I think part of that means a shift back to more local sports and fewer tournaments.
Dan- Thank you for the reply and the positive words of wisdom. A lot of us care about this game and what the future holds especially for our young players and their experiences moving forward. . We were brought up to give more to the game than take and I see too much taking lately. All the best moving forward.
How do we push back? If it’s the only way to play?
speak up, encourage other parents to do so as well. Be persistent. tell your organization you'd prefer to stay local for more tournaments. Many communities are already doing this. There are local fields. There are local umpires. There are local teams. It's not the only way, they've just convinced you that it is.
One problem we face in my local organization is, the traveling local team usually destroys the other teams. Because they have more sponsor people with money, getting them trainers etc. I know if a kid wants to play they will play and be good no matter what, but if they are rookies and get destroyed and they were just trying baseball, most won’t come back to play next year…
understood, but I'd say that's more of a rarity. Yes there are some very good teams that pull from all over the country, but just because they stick out in one's memory doesn't make them as prevalent as they seem. It's still a bell-curve of team quality. And even then, do those teams have more fun than a local team where the kids all know each other and grow up together? What IS the point of being on a sports team?...
@ to learn how to work together, have fun, make friendships, connections and learn to have discipline?
100%
@@DanBlewett First, great video. And that last question is perfect--I wonder how different kids would answer that than parents. The whole industry seems driven by anxiety, playing on parents' desire to set their children up for success (which generally translates to college scholarships). Understanding things may not be universal, what's the temperature like with the travel programs you're familiar with--are program leaders looking for more local opportunities, or are there incentives for programs to participate in the tournament model?
In addition, there are rec organizations that stack teams if they have more than one team, or add in travel players (who aren’t actually on their roster) to “get that win.” Coaches’ egos can be just as big as the parents’ egos, which is the wrong thing to teach whatever level the kids are at. There were times in which teams would not lose a game two years straight. Manipulation was rampant. Smaller organizations never stood a chance. I’ve seen an 18u travel team who had a 20 year old pitcher on their roster.
Also, a lot of parents like having their ego stroked because it sounds prestigious to say "we are traveling to XYZ in search of competition"
The problem is money.
Money is involved.
I live in atlanta we don't have to leave the metro area
yeah, some great baseball in a small area down there. East Cobb 😳
Tourney baseball is 100% a racket. Vast majority of player, parents, and coaches don't know any better. Only teams this might make sense for would be rural area teams looking for better competition. Useless or even counterproductive for scouting and exposure purposes. Bad for baseball with all the middlemen in tourney orgs and travel team orgs ripping off money and failing to develop players.
Do all these games help a player get significantly better? Baseball seems very game-heavy. My sport was swimming and it was a lot more practice-based. It was almost all hard practices for three months and then we would taper down for one big meet where the hard work paid off and you swam personal best times. Then the cycle would repeat. I want my kid practicing more but we just do local little league in the fall and spring. And I practice with him once or twice a week in the off season. Even local tournaments seem too time consuming. I don’t want baseball consuming our weekends. Will my son be able to keep up with the club ball kids with this approach? He is 9.
...swimming in practice is exactly the same as swimming in a meet...except other people are in the lanes next to you.
@ Yes, and you swim a lot more mileage in practice than in a meet. In baseball, you get a lot more reps in practice than in a game. I can hit 30 ground balls and 30 pop flys to my kid, and pitch him 60 balls. In a game, he may only get one or two balls hit to him, and only see 10 pitches at bat. So I value practice more than games. Thank you.
Parents are 100% to blame - they need to show off their kid in travel ball. House ball, American Legion ball and local tournaments are dead.
Im a new parent with a 4 that just started Tee Ball. No way im doing to travel team boondoggle. I cant justify 10-20k per year on a hopes for a scholarship shen i cannjust out that money on a college savings account
well, 4 is much too young for organized sports in my opinion, but you just have to see how it goes. Travel doesn't cost 10-20K per year - that's a stretch. And your kid might end up loving a sport, being good at it, and wanting the experience travel has to offer. Don't axe their dreams before they start. But DO make smart choices for your kid and your family.
They're just learning the super basics at the local park. Calling it organized would be a stretch lol. they're just having fun.
I saw this years ago and it was really eye opening.
ua-cam.com/video/9ATwFkYpVys/v-deo.htmlsi=ScMfwEVW8bNGsVk1
I live in Los Angles and some friends with older kids do spend north of $10k annually on their kids sports. Registration, travel, equipment, personal coaches, sports academy, etc.
Like i said, im a new parent and idk what im doing. From a financial standpoint, i dont see myself investing that much hoping to get a lottery ticket out of my son.
play with your kid in the backyard. all the time. that's the #1 thing that former college and pro players do with their kids, why they develop a similar passion and skill level. Its not about starting organized stuff early. It's about playing in the backyard. Plastic bat and plastic ball, pitch and throw and catch and make it fun.
Preach.
holy s**t I just looked you up quick (this isn't my first time watching your videos) and I just saw you have a degree in philosophy??? That's very impressive
I do indeed - thank you!
Good message but as a reality check I'll offer this observation...some parents have their kids playing 6 and 7 days a week of youth sports. They want their kids to be a star so bad, they take the balance out of their kids live at 8, 9, 10 years old.
I mean thats true of course, but a lot of it keeps being perpetuated because people think it's what's necessary. And thats exactly why I'm trying to get the word out (I have a video upcoming about when to sign your kids up for sports....and I think 7, 6, 5 years old is way too young.
@DanBlewett I'm looking forward to that one. I signed my 5 year old up for coach pitch tee ball and basketball so he can hang out with other boys his age (he's the middle child and has two sisters), but I would rather just play wiffle ball in the back yard or shoot hoops in the driveway at his age. I also think it's nuts that in a couple of years there are leagues he can play in that have 50 games a year and travel for tournaments. This is from a former college baseball player that thinks that's too much.
They make it too serious for kids to play sports. So stupid
Dan Blewett ladies and gentlemen….
yes i am that human
Play Legion Baseball.
I suppose for locations with larger populations, this isn't an option.
Legion ball has been nearly non-existent for quite a long time now
Probably where you are. Legion still exists in the upper Midwest but our kids often play against Travel teams. There are too many players for the legion system. My son is a catcher for a 14U team for post 307 in SD. They play almost entirely local. For the competition, I would like him to play for a travel team but time and money is too much. It’s really sad because I know my son would thrive as a ball player with them. One thing that irritates me is their selling point “we can get your son in front of scouts.” No scout is interested in 14U players. Probably not even most 16U. New NCAA rules are that a college scout or coach cannot talk to a player until September 1st of their junior year. I don’t think most parents know this. I’m just trying to figure out a good path for my kid because he works hard.
Yeah, it certainly depends, but it's clearly been a dying brand for quite a long time. I lived in the midwest from 2010-2019. Legion existed there in the same way Macy's still exists. It's just not really a realistic suggestion for the overwhelming majority - the brand isn't coming back to prominence, it's on the long tail decline to being completely gone (also like Macy's). Not a good thing, but that seems to be reality. Ultimately, your kid just needs to be a good player, and email schools himself with video and his information - that's all it really takes if he's got the ability.
@@DanBlewett - I agree. My son is currently rostered on a travel team and I think after he is done with 14U, he’ll be more active with the travel team. What got my attention about your video was the local coach who wanted to watch one of your pitchers in game. The travel team my son is rostered on plays is California & Arizona. Yet,the majority of players who committed, are going to play at local schools. So - my kid has a guaranteed catching spot- to catch at the varsity level but I have a tough time wrapping my brain around traveling to San Diego.
Eliminate college athletic scholarships and youth sports will return to more normalcy.
Money grab
$$$
Yo! You're speaking my language. I had a son that played travel baseball, and my daughter has been playing softball for the past 6 years. I think the softball format is worse than baseball. For softball, you have these 1 day tournaments, and you're there all day, especially if you're winning (not a bad thing, I know). It's exhausting for the girls, the coaches and the parents. Even for 2 day tournaments, they somehow manage to make it all day. No one is served by playing 1 hour 3 inning games, maybe 4-5 innings in bracket. The orgs like Top Gun, USSSA etc. seem to be money grabs. There needs to be a better format.
Yeah, I especially hate the truncated games. Kids need to play the bottom of the 9th, bottom of the 7th, whatever - and feel the pressure of those moments. Thats how they build the resilience that we want kids to learn from sports.
@@DanBlewett yeah, I think that stuff is fun at 8u and 10u, but by the time it starts getting competitive, it needs to be structured differently; I'd rather play 3 7 inning games in a weekend, that is plenty; when games are timed at an hour or an hour and five, coaches are forced to use the clock as part of the strategy, and it takes away from the game
We see that tournament ball and community baseball coexist. We have a community league for 13-16 year olds. They play during the week. Then, many of the same kids play tournament teams on the weekend. This gives the kids who are looking for rec ball a home and the tournament seekers a home. My kid is a catcher and a pitcher who plays two teams. What I don’t like is the shear wear and tear on the kids. My kid pitches and catches. Very difficult to balance arm health against play time.