There is light at the end of the tunnel. This past summer my son who is sign to play D1 ball in the state of Texas was looking for a team to play for. I specifically told him that I was not going to pay for any team that did alot of travelling and that had a high organizational fee. He found a team that did one out of town trip which which was very close to the DFW area. After years of paying a ton of money and the fact that he was signed I refused to pay a king's ransom for him to play baseball. His team played all of the top team so he got his work in and at bats to prepare him for college. He and his team mates also had time to work a job, take a class or go on a much needed non baseball vacation.
I have been saying for years that the cost of youth sports yes most youth sports is taking the dream away from so many kids who wants to play the game. If a child is not BLESSED to have parents who can afford to pay the cost and have the job flexibility to support their kid than that kid's chances of competing are significantly reduced. On one hand be thankful that you fall in that shrinking class of middle america that can still make provide their kid this great opportunity to play baseball and more importantly teach their kid to pursue their dream.
As a native of a cold weather state I could never understand why folks in this part of Texas need to do any kind of travel except maybe a customary one trip a season to reward the kids for a job well done and to create bonding and lasting memories. This state with California, Florida and a few other southeastern states should very rarely have to travel. I really do hope that there is a way to lessen the cost for families so that all kids who want to play at a high level are given the opportunity. It is ashame that some of the opportunities are not always going to the most talented but to the kids with the most resources. Hope that folks such as Lynne and other well meaning folks can figure a way to cut some of the costs and start a grassroots movement for teams in the DFW area to do most of their playing locally and encourage the scouts to come to this area. There are just so many college opportunities in the state of Texas. I am done and I am moving on but my prayers are with you parents still in the game, no pun intended.