There have been times when our kids insisted that the entire family wear Orioles stuff. Brewers pitcher Andrew Kim (10) throws a ball towards the plate and a Giants batter during a game versus the Brewers for a Summerlin Little League North majors game at Trails Park Little. The team brings the kids together and provides a common ground upon which they can build lasting friendships. Little League baseball is a program organized by a non-profit organization based in Pennsylvania and it features local youth baseball competitions all over the world. Waiting lists for leagues. Thank you for this. To make matters worse, I learned his old Little League team did incorporate kid pitch mid-way through the season. Al Mohlers Culture Shift 23 I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. Set the example for the kids. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Maybe my son will get a chance to play as long as he continues to love the game. My husband also was a quarterback at a Big 10 university, and my dad was a football coach, but we both chose to direct our son away from football and into other sports because of the enormous risk of injury, especially head injury. Little League also hopes that parents understand the costs often associated with Travel Ball may be prohibitive. This is a straw man argument that has nothing to do with the very valid points the author makes. Our youth baseball program is custom-built to meet all the insurance needs of teams and leagues in one easy-to-use, affordable plan. I got an education, got married, we started having children, and now I get to coach my kids. Travel baseball is very competitive, especially compared to recreational leagues. Not one. It is no wonder so many of our children leave the church when they go to college. They learn more socially because they have different teammates for each sport and different roles. I am offering these thoughts for parents who are considering whether to put their kids on a competitive team, or a travel-ball team, or a tournament team, or whatever it may be called in your sport and locale. After looking at the tournament schedule, I realized Id miss days at work and the expenses would pile up. I look at another coach who is seeded number one in the league and am very glad my kid isnt with him as I can only imagine the sort of character theyd be building. Consider D1 baseball: each team is allowed a maximum of 11.7 scholarships, and those scholarships can be divided up between players. (Little League, 1) Paperback - September 24, 2013 by Matt Christopher (Author) 290 ratings Book 2 of 5: Little League See all formats and editions Kindle $6.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook $0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover $7.24 37 Used from $1.28 10 New from $7.24 Paperback $7.99 66 Used from $1.29 20 New from $6.75 Audio CD And if it means giving up travel ball, by all means give it up. Thank you for sharing your experiences. featured all American teams. I had played non-stop from the summer before my freshman year, through fall ball, winter weights, the spring season, then summer ball before it started all over in my sophomore year. My boss lets me take off whenever I want for travel ball. Spoiler: I wasnt good enough to keep playing. It is this simple fact: Baseball is no longer a game that is for everybody. Do they enjoy it or is it a drudge? Awards. In the end, it should all come to what the kid wants. Sabathia and the Upton Brothers have become big league players. I love helping people get a better understanding of the game. (This, too, however, isnt a litmus test. We have had a sub par experience, and I have that guilt every Sunday that we are at a tournament instead of honoring God in His house. Its hard to see him play so well and knowing we dont have the funds as most to do travel ball. As expected, my son got limited playing time during the season. He pulls down honor roll at school and is in band. However, I am concerned about the amount of time spent in preparation, travel, and practice that can rob a family of what is truly important from a Scriptural perspective. In my experience as a recreation coach, I found the rec league filled with as much politics and drama and team stacking as travel ball leagues. The physical and mental challenges of pursuing more than one sport is healthy in every respect. A lot of teams are started by parents, but some are run by former high school and college coaches. They chronicled 850 baseball deaths in Death at the Ballpark, spanning professional, amateur, Little League, and even backyard pickup games. So we are playing upward thru our church. It is organised by and named after The Football Association (The FA). Once-proud public institutions are being privatized, with many unintended consequences. The daily grind not only sapped the joy of the game, it was physically punishing. My older brother played sports from t-ball to college, probably would have went pro if he hadnt hurt his shoulder (yes, he was THAT good, Im not just saying it, he had an unhittab,e curve ball), but the decision was made when he first started that God and His church would always come first, and he would not play if there was a conflict between his first priority and the game. It is a trend mirrored by our schools, hospitals and military. I would urge you to consider how trustworthy Jesus is, how he can reconcile you to God, how he has paid for your sin, and how his Spirit can enable you to love others and enjoy life with them in a gathering of people joined together at a local church. Lesson learned. In volleyball and soccer, maybe cheer, but most other sports they don't. FieroCoug. Also, parents may not have a realistic view of how talented their son or daughter is in sports, often over or underestimating their abilities. As a preachers daughter, I saw many families who were active in church get involved with a travel ball team, and not only stop being active, but eventually drop out of church altogether. We practiced a lot, doing as much as the NCAA allowed, all year long, in season and out. You need the church, and the church needs you. Is it more important than being at church on Sunday morning? They have grown together, developed rapport and strong friendships. That covered SOME tournaments and a bat bag. Again, like you said, church should not be sacrificed by families of 8, 10, and 12-year olds, and oftentimes not even by families of high-schoolers. As more and more kids get involved in travel ball, the best players are taken out of the rec league. Very few will walk in my church doors on Sunday. Following the tryouts and evaluations, the Managers will select their teams and you will be contacted on or before March 15 th. There are rules and considerations for exceptions and of course fall ball has its own set of rules as there is no rec ball at that time. Copyright 2003-2023 This is great information, but unfortunately rec ballaka little leagueis a political nightmare where I am from and for many others. PAY FOR QUALITY UMPIRES, make sure you have enough umpires for all games and have them supported by all involved. This upcoming spring season will include some division changes we have made to improve the experience for players at all levels. Its no coincidence that the top two picks in the 2022 MLB Draft, the Orioles Jackson Holliday and the Diamondbacks Druw Jones, were sons of superstar Major League players. I wanted to play all the time, until I got to college and had to do so. For others, it can wreak havoc. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Even though my son showed to every practice and gave 100% effort, it didnt matter. What I got was disaster. Overall, the risks are pretty much the same as regular baseball. I enjoyed your article and the discussion following it. My son had the same coach as the year prior. Participating in travel baseball will likely eat most of your free time. At 12, our son tells us he thinks we have made the right decision. The percentages are outrageous. And I hope all who read my question realize that there is no 1 correct answer for everyone. Added together, the average cost per player for a season must be well over $1,000. Just like you, he burned out after two years and transferred so he could pursue his other passions and, more importantly, gain much-needed work experience which benefited him tremendously when he graduated from college and was looking for a job. That the glory of the Lord might cover the dry land as the waters cover the sea. Just like my folks did. But this issue goes far beyond Little League Baseball organizationally. I find it filled with some great thoughts based on extreme examples and false assumptions. (on which more below). By living our life for Christ the other 6 days. But, the worst part of it all was that my son was clearly not having the same amount of fun he had in Little League last year. Until more teams see value in helping the game at home, this problem for the entire sport will continue. This mentally effects the kids also with so much pressure to do well. Usually, coaches in travel baseball are more experienced and competent than their counterparts in the recreational leagues. If youre coaching your 12 year olds travel ball team, what does that mean for the rec league opportunities your 7 year old has? When we read books about how it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert on anything, it may wrongly motivate us to try to create little experts out of our kids by the time they graduate from high school. Thanks, Roy. Most professional golfers look the same. Its apparent that wegenerally speakingspend more time encouraging our children to pursue athletic excellence than we do in developing a Biblical Worldview in them. I disagree with the idea that the sport is entirely a white elitist sport. After all, scores of players are of Latin American descent, including some of the games top superstars. Jan 25, 9:16am. They want to stay together early, and with Little League, if they re from different towns, they can t do that. Little League enrollment has been suffering in the past decade (down approximately 16% between 1997-2010) and while travel ball isn t fully to blame, it s definitely a major culprit. All Rights Reserved. Rec ball and travel ball can coexist, BUT, it has to be done with the kids as the foremost priority. Dont sacrifice your sons childhood on the altar of the hope that hes the next Derek Jeter. Your email address will not be published. They dropped out of church and I think it really showed their kids that priorities of baseball come before any commitment to church attendance or service. We pretty much know that were not ready to commit to a large amount of travel and that will be a consideration as our daughter gets older. That ship has sailed and, realistically, there is too much money to be made. Though parents are well-intentioned, often children are tired of pursuing what was once fun but has become a stressful climb to the next level of competition at the expense of other parts of their lives, or at the expense of joints injured by overuse. And at best a professional athlete might play into his late 30s or early 40s, then what? As a PastorI certainly appreciate the sentiments expressed in this article. Thank you for speaking out and I hope people will take these comments seriously. We all need to be careful that identifying with just one sport and spending most of our time with it can deter a child from gaining skills, interests and appreciation for other activities and knowledge. I submit that even with all the excitement of the game, and the money and fame that come with it, the life of a professional athlete is not one to be envied. So Im writing in the hope that youll see that rec ball is a better route. But my friend who suggested that I do this also told me what was going to happen: he said I needed to understand that the other travel ball teams werent going to be low-key, so we would get pummeled at tournaments and probably lose every game. Rec ball. I stayed with the Little League program because I was told that for my sons 7-year-old season, there would be kid pitching. When I was playing at Arkansas, none of my teammates had a full ride from the baseball program. That was it! So much time was freed up by not having to go to practice. Nor am I categorically condemning their decisions and choices. There is another very sad thing that often happens as a result of a familys involvement in travel ball. Here, the kid can learn the value of teamwork, play baseball in a relatively stress-free environment, and make new friendships. Not posting some long winded bs. Second, recreation leagues can be just as competitive and demanding as travel ball, but doesnt have the same season length. The three year old is already all in and ready to play. , weakening volunteer-based programs that promise affordable sports for all children. Its a Jesuit-based publication with a political slant that does not agree with mine. Of course our children have bents that we want to nurture, encourage and help them develop, but lets make sure we arent pursuing our own agenda. I just watched a program not too long ago on the rise of Tommy johns surgeries. . Perfect! I found a local travel ball organization that was offering tryouts for several 10-U teams. Travel Ball Travel ball softball is the next step up from recreational softball. After a few weeks of intense practices, it was clear my son would not see much playing time. I am confident that there are better ways to steward those thousands of dollars. You win district, you then go to state, you win state, you go to regional, you win . Think about your reasons for getting your child into a sport. Im coming at this topic from a multi-dimensional approach. Late-stage capitalism is a Marxist construct used by socialists to explain away capitalism and the failures of socialism. There doesnt have to be a life lesson constantly pointed out. NASCAR started as bootleggers in the 1940s and 1950s trying to see who had the fastest car. I think Jesus said it best when He said, What does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul?, Thank you sir for thisI wrestle with this issue a lot as our older children (3 boys/12, 9, & 8) are starting to get to the age where this is a possibility. I think this is an important topic that needs to be discussed. Dads get into it for a little better competition not meaning for it to take over their lives, and the next thing they know their schedule and wallet are dominated by travel ball. Anthony Lynn, who remembers his Little League days so vividly, told me that he thinks travel ball is cynical. #momof3boys. I had worked with him quite a lot prior to that. It is a trend mirrored by our schools, hospitals and military. Its only my observation of course but many areas in life are dog eat dog competitive, as it were. With baseball programs now a rarity in middle schools, travel baseball and Little League are the best option for kids enthusiastic about baseball. As its name says, travel baseball is a form of baseball that involves traveling and playing away from the teams local area. There are two sides to every situation. I want your son to love baseball, to have the opportunity to be a kid, and to play the game as a kid. I know because I was her coach for years. Likewise, I appreciate the voices of parents who have been there on both sides. We invite you take just a few moments to browse our ever expanding list of teams below. I dont know. The guy running the program told me he was going to have a 7/8-year-old team. We dont win Non-Christians by loving them more than we love God and his glory. Heading back to Little League! For additional information please contact Tony Carter 615-202-9606. I understand that now I may be bringing up an exception to the norm. We pick and choose how much we want to play, spend, etc and have been very successful in several states. Give your kid the chance to be a great person and cultivate that through sports. OP's son sounds like a hard worker, just have to work in the right place 35 Reply [deleted] 5 yr. ago And to get your kid into a school with AP courses. Thanks for posting this. I was excited not just for him to face pitchers his size and age, but for him to also have a chance on the mound. (Also, the boy could really hit. Do I think that she will even play on the high school level? Ive alluded to this somewhat above. Our two kids old enough to know what baseball is love the Orioles. Our children assume that Sunday morning is time to worship with our church. See caveats in opening and closing paragraphs. All 9YO players. My son tried out. It has been somewhat successful in some respects in that some of its alumni like Carl Crawford, C.C. More important than that, you and your family dont need a summer long break from the life and fellowship of your local church. I was glad he played Tee Ball, and I looked forward to the following year when I assumed there would be some kid pitching. I pray that God keeps me humble and rightly focused. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. He is pitching in little league with success this year. Not necessarily, but if your kid is in the 714 age range, I will suspect that you might not be pursuing the wisest course. If you are traveling every weekend, or most of them, for a Friday, Saturday, Sunday tournament, what happens to non-sport family time? AAA Evaluations - 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM. We have the pressure of middle school tryouts being in 2 years, and we wanted to make sure that he did well at those tryouts. But it is, quite literally, passed down from generation to generation. It will look different for each family and each child. These are good thoughts. Voddie Bauchams Family Driven Faith. Let them play the game. Praying we keep the Lord first in all thingsand your insights help!!! Michael Hortons Christless Christianity He told us last week that he is glad that we have taught him to focus on his eternal future. (Their varsity team is seeded #1 or #2 nationwide and is competitive, though still strives to put Jesus first.) A dad refusing to help his son become a baseball player because hes not a fielding dad?. The closest Little League organization to Pasadena now is in Davidsonville, 23 miles away. That would inevitably awaken the competitive impulse, leading to more practices, more effort expended, and the gradual creep to a higher key. Our son never felt like he missed out on anything; he was too busy playing other sports and doing other activities. Here in our area not so much. Do I think you are sinning if your kid plays travel ball? My daughter loves the game more now than ever before. I love excellence. He looked great in his fancy uniform and matching cleats, but that didnt matter. LL was the emphasis, there were only a couple of travel teams. Keep him in rec ball, where he wont get burnt out because hes a kid facing the demands of a profession. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Check out: The Nehemiah Institute (nehemiahinstitute.com) Every expert agreed that kids are being played too hard and too long. Be a parent. But most of them still play, in one way or another. The only time we had awful politics was before our team separated and we joined the head coach. While many are still from the south, many are from upper-middle to upper-class backgrounds, with their appropriate support systems. It should be noted that the local Little League programs pay a one-time entry fee for each team to enter Tournament Play ($200), which goes into a restricted fund used exclusively for offsetting local Little League programs expenses accrued during International Tournament play, including the World Series in each division of play. Third, most days my family enjoys family travel ball, together. Wow this article really spoke to me. March 28, 2014 -- A Little League coach and his family said they feared for their safety when their East Meadow, N.Y., neighbor terrorized them for a year with threatening anonymous letters because her son failed to make the summer travel team. Rookie is for 7 and 8 year olds. And this, more than anything else, is the problem with the continued growth and success of baseball. Steven_Ellis February 21, 2015, 12:46pm #1. The kids were really good, but he made it! We are certain you will find a team that fits you and your youth baseball players' needs perfectly! Well, this certainly diverged off the main topic of traveling versus rec sports, but I hope it provides a little more to talk about, especially among family members. Its not the uniforms, its not bat flips or the lack thereof, its not the shift, its not the pace of play. It is other worldly, it is unlike anything the Non Christian can imagine, to deny ourselves something the world says is a must and do something the world sees as foolish. Maybe families should pray over the decision that best suits each individual child. Theres also the matter of synchronizing tournaments with kids school commitments and parents jobs. However, the main reason weve stuck with travel is the consistency that it offers. Icicidirect. Do I think that she will go pro? We dont win Non-Christians by showing them how little we care about worship and the assembly of believers, we win them through honoring God as better than all other appetites. But heavens know there has to be a way to save the sport of baseball. Additionally, as an exercise physiologist, Im very pro movement, health and sports, but believe balance in life is key. Think brands like Mercedes-Benz. And for the good of rec ball leagues everywhere, for the good of your family, and for the good of your kids, I would urge you to avoid travel ball until the kid is old enough to commit to a more demanding regimen. Fourth, travel ball is expensive, but so are the other activities in which many parents place their children like show choir and band. They use evangelism as a spiritual reason for not being in church. Our eldest, now six, is in her second year of playing though she has moved over to softball. We only have 1 high school senior playing basketball. Ive also heard more than one parent tell me that after a few years of travel ball, in some cases only one year of it, their son decided he didnt want to play baseball anymore. Division Descriptions: Teeball is for 5 and 6 year olds not ready for coach pitch baseball. . Notify me of follow-up comments by email. While I wasnt thrilled hed be hitting off a tee because he could already hit a pitched ball, I figured we had to start somewhere, and Tee Ball was all that was available. If youre exalting baseball over all these other things, areyou serving a false god, an idol, that is going to use you and then throw you away? Jan 25, 9:37am. Again, its an interesting post but when it comes down to it is the field that you or other high achieving people are in really all that much different? My 5 year old has peers that are playing baseball year round already! For more information, please see our Truthfully, we have gotten better instruction and development at a Rec ball/All Star level. Its about the fact that fewer and fewer kids are playing baseball every year. Who are these kids being forced to play? Travel baseball takes a toll on kids, both mentally and physically. Ryan E. I think this is a good post and is great advice. I dont see anything wrong with having children that play recreational sports. Never played fall ball, never took private lessons, and never played on a travel team. We dont have Sunday games and Id venture that shes in the lower end of competitive teams. He was selected and after spending money on uniforms, dues, tournaments, he was cut from the team because he had a slump in his batting. In the Little League, some kids get a sense of belonging for the first time. Uber competitive athletics is going to end for 99.9 percent of kids/young adults. Nowadays, a lot of young athletes choose other sports over baseball and a lot of communities are experiencing a sharp decline in baseball participation. LSU Fan. I hope my article could help to answer your questions. There are other times even on Sundays to play just as there are many different times that people worship. All your doing is increasing the strain and the chance of injury for no appreciable gain. Our hope as parents is that they think of themselves first as members of Gods family and then our family, and then perhaps as an athlete, etc., after that. But it also comes back to another thing: family and community. How does a big leaguer have a family? I have seen it just recently in the church Im attending now. The roster includes 35 players, 27 of whom can receive scholarship money. The best coaches and the best players stop playing rec ball in favor of travel ball, leading to fewer teams and a lower level of competition in the rec league. Little League. Ive seen a couple of families fall into the travel ball trap. (Explained In Detail! Since tournaments and games are. Little league teams have pulled out of the North Carolina state championship tournament after gunshots erupted during a weekend game, their organizers said Monday in social media posts. If your children think you are most concerned about their being the best baseball pitcher, back-stroker, or whatever, they can become guilt-ridden for wanting to even think about spending time in other pursuits because they naturally want to please you (or the constant stress of knowing how vital it is to you, may act to make them hate it). Part of the argument for travel ball is the appeal of better competition. Often, teams participate in the tournaments that take place in a city other than their own or even in another state. She got to have some really good conversations with the moms who really didnt understand the philosophy behind Upward as a result. Since 2015, it has been known as The Emirates FA Cup after its . You explain it t the tee for me and cant thank you enough . Little League. I also when I was kid play at lyndon and never traveled and loved it and still played college baseball myself for 4 yrs. T-ball, Biddy, "Little League", and Teener League baseball programs for the Tamaqua Area. I hear this quite a bit. I dont normally respond to blog posts, but I wanted to respond to this one because I respect you. Now I know the reasons. Uniforms, equipment, and any assets belonging to the local Little League (including uniforms bearing the required Little League shoulder patch), cannot be used for non-Little League activities, or in any game or tournament not specifically approved by Little League International. God will open doors to tell others about Christ as we are faithful to follow Him. Personally, if I could have done things differently I would have kept my child in the rec leagues but I guess Im not sure if she would have learned to pursue excellence in the manner she did had she done so. This means that kids participating in travel tournaments get a chance to play with or against highly skilled and competitive players. Im sure that's true for some but once kids get to high school, travel ball. Well-said. The league originally included boys age 8 to 12. Here at Select Baseball Teams, we have worked hard to comprise one of the most comprehensive lists of Alabama travel baseball teams looking for players. Is there saving Little League? Have your church thru fellowship and reach others who may be lost. As Little League has declined, travel baseball has grown. If your kid is good and loves to play, you wont be able to keep them from it. This is going to be a big temptation for me because I love sports and am competitive by nature. LittleBallparks.comis a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sitesto earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Humble and rightly focused michael Hortons Christless Christianity he told us last week that he is pitching in League. 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