girls fastpitch softball is expensive ! wouldn't your bank account be better off playing rec softbal

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OFC-Ohio Fastpitch Connection / TSZ-The Softball Zone question of the day.

Everyone we'll aware of the cost when your daughter(s) playing Girls Fastpitch Travel Team Softball.

Wouldn't your family bank account/college funds be better off playing "rec & youth" softball ?

 

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Yes, but it wouldn't be very challenging or nearly as much fun. As this is my DD last year playing we have been doing a lot of "Memory Lane" time and it is absolutely amazing the number of friends we have due to travel ball. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

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Doug are you going to stay in the game once your daughter complete her last
year of travel ball ?

 

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Of course it would, and if saved all the money you would spend on travel/fees/hotels/lessons/equipment etc and you invested wisely you would have the means to go to college and get a education (which should be the primary goal of all this anyway).
but you wouldnt have the opportunity to be recruited by college coaches to play at the collegiate level. Like it or not, recruiting is very seldom done at h.s. games (yeah, yeah i know MAYBE higher tournament games) and ive never heard of anyone being recruited out of rec ball. And good luck walking on.

Then again, i would spend every cent again to have the memories i made with the DD.

 

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For most people, the answer is yes the family bank accounts and college funds could be better off playing rec & youth. However, for me it's more about the experience, not the cost. I've always told my kids that as long as they keep their grades up in the "A-B" zone they could play competitive sports if they wished. It's a competitive world out there, and there is no better way to get the children ready for adulthood than keeping them in a competitive environment, both scholastically and athletically. My dd's play or have played competitive sokker, volleyball, and softball. My dd's take or have taken Honors and Advanced Placement classes. They push themselves and each other. We have spent more money than I care to think about but that's okay with me because I firmly believe it has made them better as individuals.

Len

 

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if you have the kids.....your bank account is already gone.

 

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I imagine we would have spent it going to WDW because we would have more free time in the summer! Either way, it's gone toward fun family time - irreplaceable stuff!

 

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I've only been involved in travel ball for 2 years now. So I don't have alot of experience to speak against yet, but I can already tell you that I wouldn't trade the experiences that my DD's are having and myself, for that matter, for the world. Let's face it, if they weren't playing ball, you would still be spending money on something. Kids are kids and they need to be entertained. Atleast, if they are playing ball, they aren't out doing something they shouldn't be doing. And if you weren't spending $200(yes, I realize this is on the low side for those who are staying in hotels every weekend... LOL) at the ball field on the weekend, you would be spending at the waterpark, or the movies, etc.
As Lenski said above... Even if my girls don't go on to play ball in College, the lessons they are learning about life are far more important to me.

 

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Families with multiple children all in sports are even less liekly to move to travel. It is unfair to put one in and not the others (if all are good athletes) and simply unaffordable to do it with 3 children on what most families make.

 

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I imagine we would have spent it going to WDW because we would have more free time in the summer! Either way, it's gone toward fun family time - irreplaceable stuff!

Absolutely agree. We play because DD loves to play the game, loves to be with her teammates and loves the challenge to improve. This is not the gateway to college for her, that's academics all the way. If participating in softball helps because it shows a commitment to outside activities that's a bonus.

 

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There's also something to be said about letting your DD get out of her own community and develop friendships from all over. My DD got a big kick out of playing against her TB teammates during her Middle School ball season, talking to them after the games and sharing over Facebook etc., all of which would have been impossible had she stayed local.
It has also challenged her up to her abilities (and sometimes beyond!) so she has tasted defeat and could the feel that drive to get better. We were gone for a week on vacation, and she was the one putting her glove, balls, T, etc in the van so we could still practice so she would be ready for this weekend's tournament. With rec ball, there is not doubt that that drive would not be there.
Worth the money.

 

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Doug are you going to stay in the game once your daughter complete her last
year of travel ball ?

That is still up in the air. I have turned over the Breakers to new leadership, but am coaching and playing TD again this year. I still truly enjoy coaching, so odds are I will be around a while. My wife may have other plans for me. LoL

 

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As with anything, you get what you pay for....

 

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So would dropping cable, not going out to dinner, driving cheaper cars, smaller home, etc.
We do these things because we enjoy them. Same with travel. For my family it's money well spent in the enjoyment we all get out of it.

 

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No, because of travel ball my DD got an athletic scholarship & academic scholarships which helped my bank account in the long run. The cost of travel ball cost us a lot less money than 4 years of college. The college found her additional academic money because they wanted her to play softball. And that is at a D2 college.

 

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The bank account is down, but boys don't seem like to girls who are gone every weekend in the summer playing softball!

 

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I'm going to start posting a Mobil Question, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Going to start today ???

 

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I'm going to start posting a Mobil Question, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Going to start today ???

Is this your question for Friday?

 

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This is only our first year in travel, and with 4 kids, we don't have a bank account left anyway. But I will scrounge, save, work extra hours (when not at fields), do whatever it takes to keep her here. She is having the time of her life, so in turn, so am I. There is no price tag on that Sunday drive home, whether early or late Sunday) and seeing her worn down. Typically asleep in 5 minutes, and stinky as a skunk. I look at news reports of youth being obese and have to laugh, cause you don't see many of those out where we spend our weekends. At the end of the day, there is no comparison with rec and travel. Travel becomes a lifestyle that quickly eats at you until you are addicted. Today is the beginning of a rare off weekend and both my DD & I find ourselves down in the dumps because we are off. We are heading to a tourney tonight to watch some very good friends we would never have met if it hadn't been for travel. These are friends I wouldn't trade!!

 

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i'm sure the DD would still love to compete for the "first inline" at the snow-cone rec ball concession stand... lots of good races gone down right after a win or loss.

I'd say more, but all is covered already. Experiences, time away from the TV, time with the DD's, training to be competitive in the workplace, knowing how to build strong strategies, and many more are all priceless events for these ladies. Besides, we will be taxed into full poverty so this is just preparing me for that...