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

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radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
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OR is travel ball leading the way because travel ball people are taking initiative?

__________________________
Some additional comments of observation...

Reading posts about people commenting what is happening to rec programs and school programs, where are the parents.
Without parents stepping up rec ball and school ball is falling to the wayside.

Then reading Posts people commenting about players being left behind.

Reading those comments and yet I see how greatly softball has grown and the tremendous opportunities that are within it wanted to share these comments in response


Just want to point out that there are many many people who apply themselves in softball. The coaches who make great commitments and volunteer their time. The players who do more than show up at practice, additionally go home and work on their skills and try to get better. The people who take their kids to lessons and not only take them to the lessons but pay attention to the technical things that are being learned and go home and have work ethic with their children and instill being able to apply what they are learning.
THIS IS HOW softball has grown tremendously!!!


It occurs to me that for the people who are applying themselves and have work ethic there is no being left behind.
They are not talking about what they do not get out of softball.
They are applying themselves to get something out of softball.

Simply suggesting that perhaps for the people that view some being left behind as something that is happening TO people.
Suggesting others are not intentionally being left behind...
it's really because
they are not keeping up.

That said
There is so much different reasons why people play softball. And how they apply themselves to those reasons. But I don't think it's accurate to just say that some people are being left behind.
Because what I recognize is how many people apply themselves so greatly
That softball has grown so tremendously!

Just a topic of observation/discussion.

Enjoy the softball Adventure!
 
Last edited:
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
OR is travel ball leading the way?

Reading posts about people commenting what is happening to rec programs and school programs, where are the parents.
Without parents stepping up rec ball and school ball is falling to the wayside.

Then reading Posts people commenting about players being left behind.

Also posts bringing up conversation about how parents seem to be detached from what their own kids are doing...
Drop them off and don't watch practice take them to lessons don't pay attention that type of stuff

Interesting because perhaps a correlation happening there.

Just want to point out that there are many many people who apply themselves in softball. The coaches who make great commitments and volunteer their time. The players who do more than show up at practice, additionally go home and work on their skills and try to get better. The people who take their kids to lessons and not only take them to the lessons but pay attention to the technical things that are being learned and go home and have work ethic with their children and instill being able to apply what they are learning.
THIS IS HOW softball has grown tremendously!!!


It occurs to me that for the people who are applying themselves and have work ethic there is no being left behind.
They are not talking about what they do not get out of softball.
They are applying themselves to get something out of softball.


I'm just suggesting that perhaps for the people that view some being left behind as something that is happening to people. Suggesting conversation that if anybody thinks others are being left behind...
it's really because they are not keeping up.

There is so much different reasons why people play softball. And how they apply themselves to those reasons. But I don't think it's accurate to just say that some people are being left behind. Because what I really recognizes how many people who have applied themselves so greatly the softball has grown tremendously.

Just a topic of observation/discussion.

Enjoy the softball Adventure!
The people who cannot afford to play on the high level TB teams are being left behind (and to a lesser extent cannot afford lessons..that can be made up for somewhat by work at home). The ones who can afford those things, and do them, but do nothing else are not being left behind.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
The vast majority of softball is facilitated by volunteer work!
 
Dec 15, 2018
809
93
CT
Comments to conversation.

Applying ourselves does not have to cost extra money on top of what is already being spent for people who are affording playing sports.

The vast majority of softball is facilitated by volunteer work.

Utilizing the internet to learn is free.

Do not have to pay money to do physical exercise.

There are tons and tons of people who work extra jobs to afford things for their kids.

There are a heck of a lot of people who afford paying for their kids to play sports who do nothing to help support development that on their own time.

No false statements there, but there is undeniably an income gap in the softball world. Our heavily subsidized program based in an "underserved" city still costs $800 / year to participate. That's without personal equipment, travel costs, etc. There are a lot of families who are not able to swing that.
 
May 27, 2013
2,353
113
In my neck of the woods the best players (mostly travel ball kids) play for their HS teams. TB typically will go dark during school ball season, so you either play for your HS or you won’t be playing until the HS season is over. Typically, mid-June.

Rec level here ends at 12U. LL tries to have junior/senior teams so they will merge with other LL if numbers are low. There are more than enough non-travel players at the HS age but it just seems that the interest in SB isn’t there for a HS rec team.

I do agree with Pattar as well. There might be a lot of talent who play for the lower level (more affordable) travel teams who might never reach their full potential because they can’t afford to travel across the country every summer/fall. They are the kids who are truly left behind. They want to play, they have the talent, but can’t afford the dream.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
Yes income gap is a disparity in many facets in life.

Still there is the conversation point of travel ball leading the way because travel ball people are taking initiative.
The other things falling to the Wayside... is that because there are not volunteer efforts that are taking initiative in Rec ball and school?
People think that some are being left behind, but others are growing and growing.

Perhaps its more initiative
is whats helping travel ball grow so much...
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
The best players have always sought out the best teams/competition..that hasn't changed. Those best players also, along with more talent, almost always put in more work at home (whether that be with parents, friends in the neighborhood, by themselves, etc). It just so happens that those "best teams" are a lot more expensive now then they used to be. If you are a unicorn talent you might be able to get your TB subsidized...but that is rare. That is what happens a lot more in AAU basketball which is why you see a lot more low income kids make it in basketball.
 
May 27, 2013
2,353
113
Travel ball in my area has grown so much because parents hate to see their kids get cut and will start up their own teams. I can’t begin to tell you how many new teams have cropped up over the years within a 10 mile radius of my home. Unfortunately, this also dilutes down the level of play to where these teams get beat up every weekend if no C-level tournaments are available. I am happy to see all the teams but I feel for them because they have no idea what they are getting into in most cases.

What makes me a little sad is when I see one of the best players in my area having donation cans at local businesses to help fund her travel team fees/travel. Without the help of the community, she could possibly be left behind.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
Travel ball in my area has grown so much because parents hate to see their kids get cut and will start up their own teams. I can’t begin to tell you how many new teams have cropped up over the years within a 10 mile radius of my home. Unfortunately, this also dilutes down the level of play to where these teams get beat up every weekend if no C-level tournaments are available. I am happy to see all the teams but I feel for them because they have no idea what they are getting into in most cases.

What makes me a little sad is when I see one of the best players in my area having donation cans at local businesses to help fund her travel team fees/travel. Without the help of the community, she could possibly be left behind.
Those are examples of people taking initiative!


As to the many tb teams diluting down the local talent in the community,
because there are so many teams it gives more players the opportunity to learn how to play and opportunity to get better.
if the people who are on those teams put in a little more initiative
they won't be c-level teams for long. 🙂
 
Feb 1, 2022
46
18
Speaking only from my own experience, my town does not do a good job promoting the game. The rec ball games are a slog and can be brutally long. There are only a couple of parents willing to spend the $ to invest in pitching lessons so you might only get 2 or 3 decent pitchers in a town league with 4 teams. Add onto that that the focus is mostly on play and not on practice and development and you get to the last year of little league with girls unable to throw or swing a bat properly.
 

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