There doesnt have to be a life lesson constantly pointed out. It is organised by and named after The Football Association (The FA). Providing evidence of insurance to field owners and tournament organizers can consume a team manager's life and drain the budget without the right insurance program. and our 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. (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 Obviously, I dont buy into the idea of late-stage capitalism. Fourth, travel ball is expensive, but so are the other activities in which many parents place their children like show choir and band. He politely said there wouldnt be. They sound the same. In Pony baseball, players are put into divisions by age groups of two years. I have seen it just recently in the church Im attending now. 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. Because COVID, America sold out Little League through the widespread adoption of high-dollar travel baseball, Major League Baseball has its RBI Program, providing year-round instruction in the game, I wrote about this for Camden Chat in 2016. In 2002, Havenwood Little League merged with Riviera Beach Little League and two other local baseball programs in Pasadena and became the Pasadena Baseball Club. Additionally, every local Little League program in the United States with a team that travels 150 miles or more per one round trip to a section, state, and region level tournament receives a reimbursement from Little League Baseball of $1 per mile for one round trip to each tournament site, to help offset travel expenses. Bottom line: give your kids a childhood theyll want to replicate with their own children not one theyll react against. Below are just a few stream of consciousness suggestions as readers consider their views on how they encourage their children in sports. Participating in travel baseball will likely eat most of your free time. Eternity is at stake. Set the example for the kids. Individual players who play on Little League teams are also permitted to participate in non-Little League Baseball and Softball programs. As a PastorI certainly appreciate the sentiments expressed in this article. On each weekend, a team will participate in at least four games or even more if its a three-day weekend. Teen suspect in shooting of 15-year-old NYC boy caught upstate after months on run: sources 12-year-old NYC boy was shot while playing with other kids in apartment lobby Harrowing video footage. Hello, Im Paul, a 45 year old passionate baseball fan and the owner of this website. Let kids be kids. Its become a white elitist sport, Mr. Greene told me. Consider D1 baseball: each team is allowed a maximum of 11.7 scholarships, and those scholarships can be divided up between players. A fun, family-friendly, reasonably affordable activity you can do with the kids? We are leaning strongly to go back to his Rec ball league that we enjoyed in the spring. After all, theres a reason why the closing scene of. Jan 25, 9:19am. I thought I had found the answer. Certainly, both travel baseball and Little League proponents have some valid arguments and Ill try to dig a little deeper and explore the advantages and drawbacks of both systems. My son had the same coach as the year prior. As a long-term pastor Ive watched parents who were convinced their sons would benefit by travel ball deeply regret their decisions a decade later. I am very thankful we found an amazing travel ball coach at age six. 2021 featured all American teams. It can be a huge change in commitment, skill level, and dedication depending on the type of team and price you go into. We decided to engage in travel ball because the coaching was better. Copyright 2003-2023 When people refer to travel baseball, they typically mean a team of higher-level athletes who play in competitive tournaments and probably work out at their own facility. 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. League will play at Municipal Park or Thompson Park. If your kid is good and loves to play, you wont be able to keep them from it. He is 11, athletic, fast on his feet , 4'9" 75 pounds average size for his age. , weakening volunteer-based programs that promise affordable sports for all children. Have your church thru fellowship and reach others who may be lost. The only kind of baseball scholarship D1 programs offer is a partial one. The higher level of competition drives young players to work harder on their game. If the ultimate goal is for the kid to get to the pros, then joining a travel baseball program is definitely a better choice. The kids were really good, but he made it! We practiced a lot, doing as much as the NCAA allowed, all year long, in season and out. In fact, Little League International pays all the expenses of the dozens of teams that reach the World Series level in Little League Baseball and Softball, including travel, meals, and lodging. Travel Ball Killing Little League!? This question reveals how far our cultural worldview has intermixed with a Christian one. The journey the Lord had me on led to me being cut from the team after I did not play summer ball following my sophomore year. But this, which I encourage you to read in its entirety, is a very damning piece about the state of baseball in America. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. They had to draft 8th graders to play for the high school JV team so the others could step up and play the Varsity. (And I hope thats not the reason you involve your kids in athletics!) Babe Ruth and Little League are safe . Perfect! I traveled an hour each way for three days a week for practice. If youre coaching your 12 year olds travel ball team, what does that mean for the rec league opportunities your 7 year old has? 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. Once we knew about travel ball there was no going back. The guy running the program told me he was going to have a 7/8-year-old team. Fall 2022 Season Focus. Many of the assertions in this article are quite true. http://kristenanneglover.com/my-kids-dont-play-sports/#comment-6411. . Every expert agreed that kids are being played too hard and too long. Fun for all, talent levels not seen before. Once I got to be 13, we left Havenwood Little League to create our own team and I played with that team through age 15, when I stopped playing. It is a trend mirrored by our schools, hospitals and military. Travel with extended families and make bonds with good people. Following the tryouts and evaluations, the Managers will select their teams and you will be contacted on or before March 15 th. Travel/Select Ball Montgomery County Little League (MCLL) is a recreational baseball program by definition of being a chartered affiliate of Little League International. I recognize that although it isnt common for kids to be offered college scholarships for sports, it obviously isnt impossible. But heavens know there has to be a way to save the sport of baseball. Very few will walk in my church doors on Sunday. And I want to provide the best competitive opportunities I can for my own kids. To make matters worse, I learned his old Little League team did incorporate kid pitch mid-way through the season. 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. The physical and mental challenges of pursuing more than one sport is healthy in every respect. Here are 10 reasons I think you should keep your kid in the rec league rather than quitting it for travel ball. 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. You are spot on with all your assertions, and I wish Id been able to absorb something like this when my oldest two were starting out. Little League - Character, Courage, Loyalty. (Their varsity team is seeded #1 or #2 nationwide and is competitive, though still strives to put Jesus first.) Listen to baseball experts'. Our league is like the one you described. In the end, it should all come to what the kid wants. Please dont mortgage your home on a dream that your kid might be good enough to go pro. As parents, however, we can sometimes unknowingly pressure our kids to continuing pursuing things at a higher level because we want it for them, not because they want it, and we proverbially try to put a square peg into a round hole. Excellence: Pursuing excellence is important, but be sure you know and your child knows what you mean by that. Its better to honor God than to win, and its better for your kid to enjoy the game than for him to play at the highest possible level. little league field, killing 1 . He looked great in his fancy uniform and matching cleats, but that didnt matter. The closest Little League organization to Pasadena now is in Davidsonville, 23 miles away. Thanks for sharing them. The biggest problem I see is the fact that there are too many marginal players who should be. Families who thought the Sunday game was no big deal slowly dropped out of church because sports came first. In Little League baseball, ages can vary as much as three years in a division, with 9-year old players in a division with 12-year olds. Spoiler: I wasnt good enough to keep playing. Small towns breed professional athletes, and the reason seems to be that kids in small towns arent over-coached, over-organized, and over-specialized by the travel ball opportunities found in larger cities. I give you a big Amen! If the ultimate goal is for the kid to get to the pros, then joining a travel baseball program is definitely a better choice. We pick and choose how much we want to play, spend, etc and have been very successful in several states. Sad to see but strengthened our resolve that sports would not take priority over God and our church family. Draft 8th graders to play, you wont be able to keep playing for kids to be way... 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