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| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| DecaturDad |
Posted - 06/01/2010 : 12:28:37
We played in a tournament this weekend that also was hosting a large group of 6U teams. The boys looked like they were having fun. But come on. 6u travel ball? I know my son bearly had the focus to make it through one rec game at that age. How do they play an entire weekend? I could not even imagine trying to coach a group of 5 and 6 year olds through a full season of travel. Do they really play to win? Do they do the batting order based on skill? |
| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| mrbama31 |
Posted - 06/02/2010 : 15:11:17
I say to each his own....if it works for you boy and your family then go for it. |
| Spartan4 |
Posted - 06/02/2010 : 13:21:19
I never had mine in travel ball that young but.....I can remember how frustrating it was for my entire family to watch him play rec ball. There would be kids picking their noses, looking at airplanes, and all sorts of other stuff. Now we made that all stars and moved on, but it was extremely frustrating to watch 2 kids make all the plays and get 90% of the hits every game. There were several kids who never got a hit all season, and say what you want but my 6/7yr old nephew noticed and he hated going. Put him with a winning travel team and he has loved baseball ever since. |
| SSBuckeye |
Posted - 06/02/2010 : 11:18:51
We played lots of teams that year who fit the bill of some of the comments I've read here. Our team was not one of those. We won the sportsmanship award from Dizzy Dean at 7u. Since you haven't walked in my shoes with respect to this team, I'll give you a pass. But, anyone who witnessed this group of boys would share my opinion. We didn't have them in travel ball at 6u. It was rec, then all stars. Most of those kids still play together this season at 8u. The families are all in to baseball, but there's not one who wouldn't take their kid off the team right now if it looked like they were overwhelmed or burned out. Plus, we don't yell at our kids, so losses are forgotten in about 30 seconds. Kids mature at different rates, and I agree that some or even many are shoved into competitive baseball at too early an age. But to broadly paint all teams in the same manner is ridiculous. |
| PS Iron Pigs |
Posted - 06/02/2010 : 11:16:25
Can the diapers be brought to the tournament by the teams or will we need to purchase them at the concession stand for inflated prices like bottled water? |
| tfb |
Posted - 06/02/2010 : 11:00:51
I am starting a 1U baseball tourney, there will be 3 timeouts allowed per team for diaper changes. |
| kaytrishjr |
Posted - 06/02/2010 : 10:17:40
I was at the tournament you are probably talking about and let me correct you....a couple of those teams were 5u playing up. My son also started at 6u and it was a lot of fun, but I don't think I'd start any younger than 6 though. |
| bballman |
Posted - 06/02/2010 : 10:13:25
Great stories guys, but it is still rediculous. My son didn't start playing baseball at all until he was 7. I just can't even imagine starting at a travel level at that age. Shoot, in my mind, even 8 or 9 is too young to be putting that much on the kids. I know, I know, the kids have a lot of fun, it's the experience, not just the game, they have fun going out to restaurants and play between games, the pool at the hotels are the highlights of the trips, etc, etc... You still need to be aware of overuse and burnout issues. No matter what you do or how hard you try, tournaments are tournaments and there is pressure to win games. No matter what you do or how hard you try, you are playing a lot of games. Not to mention, the parents of the young kids are insane when the games are going on. Yelling, screaming, coaching from the stands - I'm sure there are exceptions, but I have seen it over and over and over. The younger they are the crazier it is. That just can't be good for the kids in the long run.
Say what you want, there is no good reason to have kids in travel ball at these increasingly young ages. Rec ball is plenty. Let them learn the game, let them practice, let them have fun. And don't even start with the coaching is better in travel than rec and that's why it is done. The only coaches at this age are dads. They are the same guys that would be coaching a rec team if they were realistic enough to keep their kids playing rec ball when they are young. There would be absolutely no difference in coaching. |
| Alter-Ego |
Posted - 06/02/2010 : 00:12:56
My son started playing travel ball when he was 6 and has been playing ever since. It was the way for him to play with other kids that wanted to be out there. |
| SSBuckeye |
Posted - 06/01/2010 : 20:56:48
Maybe you haven't seen kids at 6u who want to, and can play, the game. I assume you were watching coach pitch, and I also assume it was all stars. My middle son played 6u all stars and the whole family had an absolute BLAST! We even took them to the World Series that year in Chattanooga as a reward for winning USSSA state, and they still talk about that trip. Not the baseball. The elevators. They spent all their down time running around the hotel with their friends. That group of boys was special, and they definitely should have been playing high level baseball at that age. If you disagree, then you didn't see what I saw. There's not a parent or kid off that team that wouldn't do it again right now if they had the chance. |
| bballman |
Posted - 06/01/2010 : 19:45:01
Absolutely rediculous!! |
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