Part of the reason is due to kids being pushed by high end organizations (not all!) to commit to softball year-round. So, Dad with a great athlete who could play high end but can’t commit to year-round b/c she plays 1-2 other sports starts a team or joins a team with a schedule that works for his family. Add a couple of those players to the team and it starts entering more A/B tournaments; adding to the number of mid-high end teams and making high end more elite.
Unfortunately there is some truth to that. Now take into account the new NCAA changes and kids who want to play high level feel that not only do they need to play in the biggest showcases in the US, they need to keep going to camps (at $250-350 a pop) until 9/1 of their Junior year. I am just starting to calculate my costs for next year and the showcases and tournaments we attend are nearly all north of $2,000!!! The other problem we see is what parents can take off that much time from work to get their kids all over the US for tournaments, and then hit the road to go to camps at 5-10 different schools. I have 1 parent on my team that has attended over 20 camps at over 20 different universities. Between the cost of the camp and the time off work, that amount becomes staggering over the years.Softball is quickly becoming the playground of the wealthy, to be at the highest level.
Part of the reason is due to kids being pushed by high end organizations (not all!) to commit to softball year-round. So, Dad with a great athlete who could play high end but can’t commit to year-round b/c she plays 1-2 other sports starts a team or joins a team with a schedule that works for his family. Add a couple of those players to the team and it starts entering more A/B tournaments; adding to the number of mid-high end teams and making high end more elite.
Unfortunately there is some truth to that. Now take into account the new NCAA changes and kids who want to play high level feel that not only do they need to play in the biggest showcases in the US, they need to keep going to camps (at $250-350 a pop) until 9/1 of their Junior year. I am just starting to calculate my costs for next year and the showcases and tournaments we attend are nearly all north of $2,000!!! The other problem we see is what parents can take off that much time from work to get their kids all over the US for tournaments, and then hit the road to go to camps at 5-10 different schools. I have 1 parent on my team that has attended over 20 camps at over 20 different universities. Between the cost of the camp and the time off work, that amount becomes staggering over the years.
That is a very true statement, I see absolutely nothing wrong with itI know I am going to take some heat for this comment, but here goes.... there are a couple Ohio orgs that field several teams in each age division. This alone isn't an issue for me.... the issue is when an org brings on 6, 7, 8 teams in the same age group as a way to gain profits since each team is required to pay a portion of their team fees collected from players back to the org leader. Once this game became a business and about making money off teams v. tourneys, it lost sight on what is best for the kids playing on these teams.
I think it is a great think for softball. Allows options for all girls to play at the level they want. If you want to spend 300 a year and stay local, you can do that. If you want to spend 1500 a year and Travel you can do that. I would like to buy a brand new car at 10k like I once did, unfortunately that’s not going to happen.
Get on like minded teams and have fun, you only get one shot at this with your daughter, enjoy it!
These days it seems a new travel org pops up every couple weeks... what happened to the good old days when a true travel team was the best of the best? Does Rec ball even exist anymore??
These days it seems a new travel org pops up every couple weeks... what happened to the good old days when a true travel team was the best of the best? Does Rec ball even exist anymore??
This thread was not suppose to sound like I was being a hater. Just was stating what my opinion was regarding the hundreds of travel ball teams their are. When I see hundreds of posts of travel teams needing players... it's no surprise teams can't find kids to join...Why so many haters on this Site?