IS TRAVEL BALL leaving people/players/rec & school behind...OR...

[CrazyNani]

With regards to bolded, drove by the fields (in a public park) I have been practicing with my kids since they were little today, the only non-school fields in Norman with dirt IF, and saw signs posted on them that said “No practicing. Police will be called”

The fields are now run by a private entity which manages the local rec softball and baseball leagues, the one my DS plays in. I contacted them to see if I could pay for some sort of permit to practice with my damn kids...No answer of yet (they had no phone number..only an e-mail) If I cannot I have no idea what I am going to do. Very upsetting. Maybe I can get permission from DD's MS coach to use her field to work with them, I just need it for fielding..there is another park which we can use to hit (doesn't have an IF)??

What about your property and sales taxes? Don't they get you access to the public parks?

 

[_MIA_]

What about your property and sales taxes? Don't they get you access to the public parks?

Apparently not...at least not anymore. There are other public parks which have backstops only..like I said those fields were the only ones which have dirt IF. The thought of not having an option to hit GB to my kids is seriously flaring up my OCD.

 

[CrazyNani]

That's my point. Just to give an example, our town soccer club has a rec and travel program. On the rec side, at the younger levels (K-2) the 30 minutes of every match is spent with a travel coach doing drills. Then the final 30 minutes is a game. But there is a big emphasis spent on development WITH someone who is knowledgeable in the game. It also gives the club an opportunity to develop and identify younger players for the travel side.

On the opposite side you have rec softball. They make 2nd graders play a 90 minute softball game where, if you're lucky, a few balls get hit into the infield. If you're an outfielder you're sitting there pulling grass. Why not take the emphasis away from playing and make it learning the game instead??

Totally agree! Spend all time with repetitions and drills. Then have intra-squad scrimmages for game experience. Stop play to review plays in which a mental error is made or to discuss the strategy for fielding positions and batting. This kind of education would be invaluable. But, is it within the capabilities of the parent coaches at Rec level?

 

[BillyB]

There is soooo much going on in here, I do have one view that I see taking off more and more each year. The travel Ball and club teams keep adding multiple teams in each age group, you didn't make this team but we can place you here...pay us 2,000-4,000. Take all that money, build a team and run it for profit, with very average at best coaching, outside of the top level under that club group. Parents get duped into a basic team with all the pretty things, with little to no development. That shirt may be what destroys kids in the long run, and water the sport down. I know and am seeing it destroy a city league that used to have strong A teams, really solid B teams and standard rec. Basically all rec now, and little to no b level teams, and A teams that are watered down now, because instead of putting the money into coaching and the girls, it's pocketed and targeted for profit. Parents are promised growth and a better opportunity, that doesn't match reality in most cases. Parents really need to be careful and ask the proper questions before jumping into the groups that just take money, without investing in the players to become better with quality coaching.

 

[CrazyNani]

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book “outliers” he discussed youth hockey in Canada. The finding was basically that if you didn’t have a Jan-March birthday, which made you the oldest in the league at a young age, leading to more success early, to better coaching, and to even more success, that it created a ripple effect. Your chances of making the NHL decrease with every month later you are born in the calendar year. This same effect can be found in European soccer and baseball here in the US. We are most definitely leaving kids behind for many reasons. Any teacher can tell you the importance of a good teacher on a young kid. Kids that are exposed to great coaches earlier have a much better rate of success than kids who aren’t.

But what about pure athleticism? I know kids that have played since 5 years old, taken private lessons ever since, and have hit their ceiling by 15yrs. Not fast enough, no arm, nothing special. They make contact and can play a position but they don't stand out anymore. Don't you have to stand out to get noticed by college coaches?

 

[CrazyNani]

When my DD made the basketball All-Star team when she was in 4th grade the best player was a 3rd grader. I later found out that 3rd grader had a May 2005 birthdate and my daughter had a late August 2005 birthdate-- so she was almost 3 months older than my daughter but a grade behind. That best player is now a sophomore in high school playing basketball on a very good high school team with a couple D1 scholarship verbal offers. So parents are definitely holding players back for athletic advantages, not just due to mental maturity within a month of the cutoff date.

I don't believe a high level of skill is related to age. I think athleticism, aptitude and physical gifts are more important and will be evident regardless of age.

 

[_MIA_]

But what about pure athleticism?

Remember there is likely no month where, on average, a kid born is more athletic. Therefore any other advantages/disadvantages a birth month gives is going show up in statistics like the ones Gladwell gives.

 

[Cannonball]

It has been a day or two since I read this thread and I have not had the time to read all of it so I apologize if I cover something already discussed. There was a comment made by someone that most of the TB coaches are volunteers. I really would not know the percentage but I might agree with that. However, and this is important, if that is the case then most of the TB teams are nothing more than glorified rec teams. TB falls into the same category as terms like "Elite." When the suggestion that TB might be leaving HS behind, while that might be true, in a lot of areas, it isn't leaving HS behind in coaching. I have yet to see a JV squad in both baseball and softball of mine as an HC that has players who know basic fundamentals. While I am only one and my experience might be different, the coaching staffs I have been a part of are consistently shocked at what incoming freshmen don't know.

 

[_MIA_]

It has been a day or two since I read this thread and I have not had the time to read all of it so I apologize if I cover something already discussed. There was a comment made by someone that most of the TB coaches are volunteers. I really would not know the percentage but I might agree with that. However, and this is important, if that is the case then most of the TB teams are nothing more than glorified rec teams. TB falls into the same category as terms like "Elite." When the suggestion that TB might be leaving HS behind, while that might be true, in a lot of areas, it isn't leaving HS behind in coaching. I have yet to see a JV squad in both baseball and softball of mine as an HC that has players who know basic fundamentals. While I am only one and my experience might be different, the coaching staffs I have been a part of are consistently shocked at what incoming freshmen don't know.

To put it bluntly, most TB coaches here in OK at the levels I have been paying attention to (at this point 14U and under) suck. I would bet that more 3/4 of them wouldn't know how to teach somebody the fundamentals of how to field a ground ball.

 

[Vertigo]

But what about pure athleticism? I know kids that have played since 5 years old, taken private lessons ever since, and have hit their ceiling by 15yrs. Not fast enough, no arm, nothing special. They make contact and can play a position but they don't stand out anymore. Don't you have to stand out to get noticed by college coaches?

So I’m going to share a little of what I’ve seen happen in both softball and baseball since I was a recruiting coordinator for SB, and have kids involved in both, one in college and one in HS. Sadly, some of it comes down to “looking the part” or having superior metrics. A lot of it comes down to playing for the “right team” and having a travel coach who is known by the college coaches. Some luck is also involved. Being in the right place and performing at the right time can leave a lasting impression on a college coach.

I’ve seen some kids make it to the D1 level who are totally outclassed, and I’ve seen kids on D2 and D3 teams who could definitely compete at a lower level to mid-major D1 level. Usually it’s due to which travel team/coach they played for and which showcase events they competed in. Also obviously attending the camps of those schools. Many times coaches will see a flash of brilliance and assume they can get that out of the player once they have them. Not always the case.

Please understand that this is just my personal take on it - many may feel otherwise.