Why do you think those two are mutually exclusive?
Nobody can “work on skills” to any worthwhile level without playing, so the question becomes “what’s the best avenue to do that?”
It isn’t Little League or really any kind of recreational league where you get a wide mix of player levels and probably low-level coaching. You can get lucky any land on a team with a great coach, but you’re still going to be limited by the overall structure.
Most likely, playing in those leagues is more of a waste of time for players who actually want to play in high school and beyond. They’re great for players who just want to have some fun and aren’t really serious about high level baseball.
The last Katy Little League game my son played, he pitched a 5 inning game. Had 15 Ks and 1 only batter touched the ball (foul tip). That isn’t baseball, and created my own squad. you are basically forced to keep up with Joneses and play select unless you want those kinda stats. No pitcher will improve with those hitters, no batter will improve on about 98% of those pitchers.
My kid is still 14 but an incoming Soph. He is now on one of the big name teams. Really, really do your research on cost and what the coach is how the practices are run etc. let’s just say their first practice was 4 ground balls a kid,
an hour scrimmage, and an hour doing soft toss.
With that said, it was really cool to see my kid pitch at UH with one of these “showcase” tournaments last week. No UH personnel there, but it’s still 15u so maybe they are too young to evaluate.
That’s because all the kids play select ball and not little league anymore. Used to not be that way. My son played little league, pony then Colt. He had no problem making his highschool team which made 12 straight playoff appearances.
My son has done the select travel thing. He also went to a juco that was a money grab. He found a good program and then had elbow issues (lingering for a few years). He has been pitching with bad form. It took the nerve issues (none surgical) and rehab, which he is in the tail end of, to diagnose the issue with his motion. We spent a lot of money over the years and had to wait until an injury for someone to figure it out. Hoping it all works out for him.
And get a second opinion if the do have injuries. If we would have listened to the doctors in Midland, he would have been cut on. Went to the best in Houston and though inconvenient I’m glad we did.
I’m curious as to what % of “burnout” is a result of parents pushing their children too hard (spring, summer, fall). Some kids love it but some need a break. Some of these teams are year around so I’m not sure how they handle kids that need a season off.
I tend to think that most burnout is just kids realizing that they don’t love it enough and would just rather do other stuff. That’s more likely to happen when they get into situations that just aren’t a good fit for them.
My kids always played other sports coming up through junior high, and I think that’s something that too many kids miss out on. Even if they love playing baseball and don’t want to do anything else, almost all of them would be better off if they played multiple sports.
Kids aren’t playing multiple sports now as a whole - it shows - too much specializing in my opinion - some of the young baseball players are too stiff cause all they do is baseball and no athleticism
Too many 7-on-7 fb kids and AAU basketball kids wasting away when they should be playing baseball also as that sport isn’t as height and speed dependent
When Elkins was top dog in baseball their best players were 2-way stars and then you had the generational kid that was mixed in also
Basically go back 25 years ago and the best baseball talent in Houston were fb/bb stars
Not everyone can be a two way or three way star….it is few and far between.
When you are talking about large 6A schools especially difficult.
Much easier to play multiple sports in 4a and below……they need the bodies.
I “made” my son wrestle as a freshman( and yes, it’s because I wrestled throughout HS).
He wound up loving it and went to multiple camps in the Midwest……had multiple college opportunities to wrestle but chose baseball….to this day he thanks me for introducing wrestling to him……it’s an incredible sport….helps with agility and brings out the toughness in kids.
Yeah, it really isn’t feasible in most large schools. Some coaches are accommodating and won’t hold a missed/late practice against a player when he’s finishing up another season, but I think they’re the exception in large schools.
I think it’s a bigger deal for pre-HS kids, anyway. And these younger ages are where parents screw up by falling for the “your kid might lose his spot” garbage that some “select” coaches throw at them. Actual good coaches will encourage kids to play other sports, especially in junior high where the schedules are super-easy to work around.
I actually know an idiot HS coach that tries to “tell” parents their kids should play for a specific showcase team if they want their kid to play for him.
The guy is a horrible coach….most practices consist of him sitting on a bucket with a dip in his mouth while the assistant coach hits fungo.
There is zero coaching taking place……and sadly, this takes place all over the state.
It gives the really good coaches a bad rep……the same coach has torn up multiple kids arms from extreme overuse.
No way in the world I would have ever let my son play for him……and he asked
I’ve watched both of my grandsons play travel ball up here in Michigan for the better part of 10 years. One will pitch NAIA ball next year after hearing from d3 schools, the other won’t play college ball.
Watching some of the teams my grandson they played, they didn’t belong on the same field. One tournament, my grandson batted leadoff and batted four times in the first inning. I don’t know how many tournaments they played in where there were only three teams.
My older grandson played in the same team for five years on their Black team which was their highest team. I remember telling him when he was nine they would beat most of their opponents on talent alone, but when matched up against a team of comparable ability they would lose because their fundamentals were so poor. My opinion never changed. Eventually, he tried out and made a better team which has been good for him.
Most of these kids will never play competitive ball again once they age out of travel ball/HS. I have no idea how many thousands of dollars my daughter and her husband have spent over the years on travel ball, but I’d bet it’s over $50,000. But, if they’re willing to spend the money and the kids enjoyed it, who am I to complain? It’s not my money.
The thing about it is that everything costs money. If they’re not paying for select teams and choose another sport, there would be costs involved in those. Even if they aren’t going the sports route, anything outside of school will cost money, whether its equipment, private lessons, travel expenses or whatever.
Both of my kids ended up playing college baseball, and that absolutely wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t received solid instruction from “select” coaches and some really good individual instructors. Did it pay for itself? No way, but I never expected a financial return on money spent on my kids.
Whether it was a trip to Omaha, Atlanta or just somewhere in the Houston area, that was time spent together doing something that they loved (usually). That was time helping them learn how to deal with failure, unfairness, success, and other life stuff. Both of them still love baseball today, and one of them is coaching, so I count that as a success.
Too many people look at those costs as an investment that fails if their kids don’t get a full ride to play somewhere or get drafted. I coached both of my kids (or helped real coaches) when they were younger, and I knew where they both stood in the order of things, especially as they progressed into high school. Unfortunately, a lot of parents have a hard time with this and get suckered by salesmen coaches who play up their MLB fantasies, and they tend to ignore people who try to get real with them.
Couldn’t agree with you more. My SIL is an Englishman and has been learning baseball as the boys have progressed. I think he had unrealistic expectations, but he has supported his kids in their endeavors. Daughter and I have more tempered expectations. I remember saying “how is he going to play at a D1 level when he’s on a “B” level team and he’s not even the best player on his team?” She just nodded
