Cajuns discover the power of the bunt

[Dad04]

Your last sentence is spot on.

Maybe because we watched scout teams with 15 pitchers, all either going D1, or pro ball. There are tons of excellent, well-run travel programs.

Everybody is a free agent and water seeks it's own level. The best end up on the best teams, playing the other best teams. Every good team had tryouts, usually run by MLB scouts. If you can't play you got weeded out.

I don't really know what goes on at the bottom of the pile. We were never there. I'm sure like everything else, the bottom 10% of travel ball teams are a real ____ show.

[CajunNation]

.....I don't really know what goes on at the bottom of the pile.....

Let me show you.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...=.82902672b243

http://www.mainstreetnewssports.com/...le-League.html

http://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/...-espn-magazine

https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-bas...ren-1432136172

[CajunNation]

.... https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.e64e6f767b7f ....

"Declining participation, rising costs and unqualified coaches"

This is not a result of nebulous, societal changes. This is a direct result of travel/elite ball.

Travel ball exploded in a period of overall decline in athletic participation of 6-12 y/o. Travel ball fills a need for the better players. To blame travel ball for the overall decline in athletic participation of 6-12 years olds is short sighted and agenda driven.

More latch key kids than ever, not allowed outside after school, all getting carpal tunnel syndrome from video games. That is the culprit.

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Fewer kids for local, youth leagues, fewer resources for said leagues, curious parents see poor conditions, take their kids to travel ball, one less kid for local league, cycle repeat.

Also, video games have been around for 40 years. What has changed is what the parents value and how they raise their own kids.

They could just put the game down and go join their local youth league, well, maybe not. They disbanded a few years ago.

[sportsfanatic21]

Travel or "select" baseball is all well and good for kids that are in high school, as long as there are responsible coaches in charge. But it's gotten to the point where its basically mandatory for any player that has aspirations to play any further than low level high school ball.

But it absolutely is killing the sport in the youth age groups. I have friends that are spending their entire weekends traveling all over the state, and paying thousands of dollars for their SIX year old sons to play baseball! That's ridiculous.

And now, if you aren't on one of these teams, or cant afford it, or are just starting to play the game, and haven't developed into a good enough player for it...you either don't play, or are stuck playing in leagues that are on the brink of dissolution. And being coached by dads who don't know the first thing about baseball.

Kids are giving up the game at 7, 8, 9 years old because they aren't good enough for the "select" team. I know from personal experience that a lot of these kids that are so good at that age end up being nothing as high school players. I also know kids who didn't even pick up a baseball until they were 11 or 12 that ended up playing professionally.

Another issue I have with it in the younger age groups (and actually this pertains to the older ones as well)...I coach multiple sports, and have sons that are in middle school. It's appalling to me how many of these kids, and 99% of the ones I'm referring to are the "select" baseball players, are already giving up all of the other sports to "concentrate" on baseball because they have it in their heads that they are great because their parents were willing to pay for them to be on a "select" baseball team. I think that is THE WORST thing that middle school kids can do. They need to be playing as many different sports as they can at that age, and if they are excelling at the high school level after they're sophomores in a single sport, then ok, spend your time with it. But doing that in 7th or 8th grade is doing themselves a huge disservice...in my opinion.

[Dad04]

Travel or "select" baseball is all well and good for kids that are in high school, as long as there are responsible coaches in charge. But it's gotten to the point where its basically mandatory for any player that has aspirations to play any further than low level high school ball.

But it absolutely is killing the sport in the youth age groups. I have friends that are spending their entire weekends traveling all over the state, and paying thousands of dollars for their SIX year old sons to play baseball! That's ridiculous.

That is nuts. My kid was 10 and came home one day and told me he wanted to play travel ball. I didn't even know what it was.

He wanted to play travel ball in addition to LL, cuz Little League wasn't enough baseball for him. OK, I said. We had just one kid, so that's what he did until he got to high school. He played both because he wanted to play both. I just drove the car.

Most kids should simply play LL and whatever community based sports they like, soccer, LAX, whatever. Their interests and/or abilities might go in other directions as they get older. Play with your friends in the local league. The vast majority of LL players don't make the transition to the big field, anyway.