If anything, there are more youth sports options for people to pick what works best for them, even though there are

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Jan 25, 2023
9:16:08am

Odysseus Truly Addicted User

If anything, there are more youth sports options for people to pick what works best for them, even though there are

trade-offs.

My hunch is youth sports participation is down for other reasons. Kids have a lot of non-sports options (video games, music, etc) these days than they have in the past.

Look at the youth (or even adults) in a typical ward. Two decades ago ward basketball was a huge hit and most kids/adults played even if it wasn’t their “thing”. Today, most kids/adults would simply say “no thanks” to the idea. Shoot, our brand new stake center doesn’t even have a full-size gym that could host a stake basketball league if we wanted to.

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Odysseus

Previous username: THUNDERDOME69
Bio page: Odysseus
Joined: Oct 28, 2014
Last login: May 1, 2024
Total posts: 32,819 (11,450 FO)

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Messages

Author

Time

Is it true That Club/travel ball is killing youth sports?

Goliath CB users union organizer

1/24/23 9:30pm

That’s also my perspective from the inside.

garyfan

1/24/23 9:31pm

Sad. My 7th grader never really got into bball,and I never pushed it hard even though I have loved watching and playing

Goliath

1/24/23 9:41pm

Yes. 100 percent

1/24/23 9:35pm

It also makes for less pick up ball with your buddies

1/24/23 9:39pm

Local rec leagues (Little League Baseball) get wrecked.

garyfan

1/24/23 9:40pm

I see that happening with basketball in my town

Goliath

1/24/23 9:42pm

Most rec leagues are not even worth playing the skill level is so low

johnnybyu

1/24/23 9:57pm

Sad but true

SJS

1/24/23 9:58pm

Pay $100 and your kids team up with a bunch of kids that don't like anything but their parents force them to play, or

shimmy

1/24/23 11:46pm

One of the saddest consequences of turning little kids into ...

KCFan85

1/25/23 12:24am

It depends on the sport, For our area, baseball is the biggest sport where club

bald man

1/25/23 6:52am

I'm personally seeing more injuries as well. Kids are just putting too much on

ordinary tri guy

1/24/23 9:41pm

Wonder how that worked for those of us who did a different sport all year long. Maybe we saw fewer serious injuries

Soupie

1/24/23 9:57pm

I think playing multiple sports is absolutely beneficial. Also, a lot of kids throw baseballs too much, too hard, and

shimmy

1/25/23 12:15am

Training information I read says multiple sports effectively cross-trains you

ssa

1/25/23 9:06am

I haven’t seen this but ultimately more games = more chance of injury so it

palangi

1/24/23 10:05pm

My sons knees and joints were totally overworked by the time he left high school

1/24/23 10:53pm

I don't remember overuse injuries being a big deal when I was a kid. But now?

KCFan85

1/25/23 12:21am

Were you playing the same sport all year or different sports?

ordinary tri guy

1/25/23 8:50am

It’s killing communities because it’s mercenaries from 12 different cities

Iman23

1/24/23 9:47pm

Happened with my kid with parents that we had played years with and were going

BYUheaven

1/24/23 9:55pm

Baseball may be the worst or basketball due to numbers. baseball parents are

johnnybyu

1/24/23 9:58pm

I’m knee deep in it too and every parent as nice as they are, would jump ship

Atama

1/24/23 10:20pm

What sport is this? This sounds like a wild experience.

shimmy

1/24/23 11:43pm

That is the club baseball scene in Utah. You play each other in tournaments,

BYUheaven

1/25/23 8:58am

And younger. I’ve seen it with 8 year olds.

Atama

1/25/23 11:31am

We were sucked into club sports. It deprived my kids of experiencing lots of

1/24/23 9:48pm

My sons Rec league is so bad that it’s actually embarrassing to watch. It’s

Iman23

1/24/23 9:52pm

It’s producing the best players of sport in the history of sport, it’s also not

kotacoug

1/24/23 9:53pm

Not according to Kobe.

777

1/24/23 10:32pm

Why not? Competition level is higher and more even. It’s more fun for the

FieroCoug

1/24/23 10:45pm

Kids aren’t well rounded. Their sport is everything. proabbly not a great

kotacoug

1/25/23 9:19am

Im sure that’s true for some but once kids get to high school, travel ball

FieroCoug

1/25/23 9:28am

Nope, the good, serious players in most sports do both in high school.

Scratch

1/25/23 9:37am

In volleyball and soccer, maybe cheer, but most other sports they don’t.

FieroCoug

1/25/23 11:09am

Still tons of baseball travel and showcase teams out there. And AAU basketball.

Scratch

1/25/23 11:12am

Yep. Travel summer baseball is even incorporated into the HS programs here

ssa

1/25/23 3:59pm

Volleyball, basketball, soccer, cheer, gymnastics, softball, baseball and basically everything but football. And

shimmy

1/25/23 11:29am

Not sure what you mean on no travel for H.S. kids. That is probably when it's at

ordinary tri guy

1/25/23 11:33am

Closer to 1,200 teams. 400+ from each class.

shimmy

1/25/23 3:12pm

Yea, I think there is 600 just in the 2025 class

ordinary tri guy

1/25/23 4:19pm

I believe this same thing happens n basketball and girls soccer as well.

Atama

1/25/23 4:48pm

Also just takes up so much time they can't do multiple sports

Gustav

1/24/23 9:54pm

That’s not always the case. Wasn’t in our’s.

1/24/23 9:55pm

This is my biggest complaint. Kids specialize so unless your kids is an elite

johnnybyu

1/24/23 10:00pm

My son played HS baseball but also played Rec YMCA basketball with some HS

kotacoug

1/24/23 10:04pm

Rec basketball and football can be fun. Rec baseball is terrible. Club baseball

johnnybyu

1/24/23 10:05pm

This depends on your area. Little League is great in areas and a joke in others. If you live in an area with a strong

shimmy

1/24/23 11:58pm

This isn't really true until high school, but if you are looking for ROI, you are right. It's an idiotic investment.

shimmy

1/24/23 11:48pm

Depends on the sport

Gustav

1/25/23 5:24am

They're all year round, but you can play something diet in the slower season.

shimmy

1/25/23 6:19am

It’s possible to still navigate a decent rec sports experience up to 12 or 13 IF

Memmo

1/24/23 9:54pm

My 11 year old son’s rec bball coach is a college bball head coach.

Corn

1/24/23 9:57pm

Until college coaches recruit high school games/matches, this is how it will be.

COACHdrn

1/24/23 10:02pm

The issue is you can recruit 10x the amount of kids at club tournaments over hs

1984coug

1/25/23 1:19pm

Travel baseball for my son was a lot of fun. He loved it and made a lot of good friends. Many of which he’s still

1/24/23 10:04pm

Same for my daughter and volleyball.

Corn

1/24/23 10:11pm

I agree with this, I understood the op to mean killing youth sports as in very

palangi

1/24/23 10:28pm

I'm curious what was the monthly cost of the travel team?

CT98

1/24/23 11:20pm

Our’s wasn’t that expensive. We’d start throwing indoors in January. First tournament in March. Last tournament in

1/25/23 6:24am

For comparison purposes

SJS

1/25/23 8:34am

I can see that. We weren’t nearly as competitive as you guys. I don’t foresee any of our players playing after high

1/25/23 9:08am

if your child is the star, club/travel will always be great. If you child is not

bald man

1/25/23 7:11am

My son was on a traveling soccer team for a couple years and now he won’t even

1/24/23 10:05pm

Yes, esp for big families. Having multiple kids in club sports at once isn't

1/24/23 10:09pm

I have 4 sons. All of them on competitive baseball teams. 4-10 practices per week on average anywhere from 1-2 weekend

Zach Morris

1/24/23 10:31pm

I'm curious how much you pay per month for the 4 boys combined?

CT98

1/24/23 11:17pm

Thankfully we’re not part of any of the “fancy” clubs. On average we pay around a one time $500 per kid for registration

Zach Morris

1/24/23 11:32pm

When I was a kid rec baseball in Utah sucked. You’d start in early April and be

Scratch

1/24/23 10:41pm

It's created the haves and have nots. Rec league in my area is decent. All the

777

1/24/23 10:45pm

It depends what the goal is. My son has played club soccer for years.

hoser

1/24/23 10:59pm

Truth …

1/24/23 11:22pm

I'm not even impressed with the travel leagues. All of the elitism has created

777

1/24/23 11:04pm

It's funny how many parents spend tens of thousands on club/travel teams

AZ Coug

1/24/23 11:10pm

Anyone doing club sports for the sole (or even secondary) purpose of getting a

garyfan

1/24/23 11:12pm

Then what is the point? I mean I realize that the politics of HS sports is so

777

1/24/23 11:24pm

For some, it’s about helping the kid have friendships. For others, it’s a status

garyfan

1/24/23 11:31pm

My kid's best friends are his teammates. My friends are the teammates parents. My kid loves to compete with his friends

shimmy

1/24/23 11:54pm

Yeah, it's all based on the area you live. If my rec league was terrible I'd

777

1/25/23 12:09am

I love both, and I will say that making a run at state in little league is more fun than winning a big travel tournament

shimmy

1/25/23 12:13am

Elitism depends on one's viewpoint

1/25/23 11:08am

Often, if a hs sport has a club option, colleges rarely recruit out of hs events

1984coug

1/25/23 9:36am

Deseret News ran an article about exactly that just a few years ago.

KCFan85

1/25/23 12:18am

In my community it is much less about “elitism” and much more about do you want to play city ball where the teams are

Zach Morris

1/24/23 11:39pm

Smiley for the Stanley comment. I can understand that. Where I live the

777

1/24/23 11:43pm

Im a big baseball guy and what I’ve seen from my nephews in Utah is laughable.

Memmo

1/24/23 11:44pm

Californias great year round weather and unusual population density definitely affords more options for people. Imagine

Zach Morris

1/24/23 11:48pm

Im coaching my son’s rec team. He plays club soccer so I’m not paying for both.

Memmo

1/24/23 11:54pm

If your high school sport has a club equivalent, the club will be a higher level

1984coug

1/24/23 11:21pm

<< Deleted >>

byuiforever

1/24/23 11:29pm

If you don’t mind, what offers does your son have?

garyfan

1/24/23 11:34pm

Only one school that matters to us!

1/24/23 11:50pm

<< Deleted >>

byuiforever

1/24/23 11:53pm

While I don't think its true for baseball, but you can tell who is D1 talent

bald man

1/25/23 7:32am

The UBC 16s w/ Tiger, Sefa, Malcom, KJ, Ace, Logan, Reece, Sam, Diego, & Jared?

BillyGoat

1/25/23 9:20am

Doubled edged. Better competition and development for the really good players

1/24/23 11:49pm

<< Deleted >>

The_ATL

1/25/23 6:05am

We all want to live vicariously through our children.

coolblue

1/25/23 6:25am

About three years ago, it was much more healthy for me when I learned not to

BYUheaven

1/25/23 10:52am

There is a wide divide...with 6 boys and a busy church and work schedule, we

Fdnman

1/25/23 6:38am

There is an untold cost

Repete397

1/25/23 7:58am

My girls high school vball coach, was an assistant then head coach

bald man

1/25/23 8:36am

I think there are still some very good options, at least where I live

lukeskywalker

1/25/23 8:01am

7v7 is turning into the same. We are traveling both coasts every weekend.

Cougstreak

1/25/23 8:31am

If anything, there are more youth sports options for people to pick what works best for them, even though there are

Odysseus

1/25/23 9:16am

I agree, there are a ton of options. I think "specialization" is killing certain sports in local markets, it depends...

Cougstreak

1/25/23 9:55am

We have lost (and not just in sports) the sense of community that used to exist

1/25/23 9:28am

I agree with a lot of what you’re saying, but we’ve gotten to know a lot more people of different backgrounds BECAUSE of

Odysseus

1/25/23 11:22am

My 11 year old son is on a traveling basketball team. He played for another

Superman21

1/25/23 9:29am

It depends what 'killing' means

WiCougarman

1/25/23 9:32am

RE: Is it true That Club/travel ball is killing youth sports?

Dat_rmishner

1/25/23 10:09am

This thread is kind of depressing. I just wish my kids could try a bunch of

Great38

1/25/23 10:30am

They still can. The path is different and more difficult now, but they still can.

shimmy

1/25/23 10:45am

There are a couple of ways to do this:

Memmo

1/25/23 10:49am

I choose option #1

Great38

1/25/23 10:58am

Have them do the non tryout sports. Football, Wrestling, and Track.

Gorum the Old

1/25/23 2:28pm

I'm in a similar situation and here is what my kids did/do

Gorum the Old

1/25/23 2:38pm

Club/travel sports killed the enjoyment of youth sports a long time ago.

TrueBlue67

1/25/23 10:51am

RE: Is it true That Club/travel ball is killing youth sports?

Jugarnot

1/25/23 10:57am

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