Will the economy make rec ball stronger?

There is no doubt that travel ball will suffer. Our econmy is still pretty strong so far but the cost of living is on the rise. Fortunately the govt has had good policies so far.
I am just thakful my travel ball days are over. The cheapest Elite team is over $5000. a year. The same team 4 years ago was $2200. I don't know how some people do it.

There may be some parents who can't afford it. I believe there will be a lot of evaluation on the need for travel ball based on age for younger players and potential future for older players. Travel saves me money. We don't have time for the expensive things we used to do.

I think people will just adapt and do it differently especially at the younger ages. Maybe these teams will play more local tourneys against the other teams in their area instead going long distances to play the same teams anyway.

People will car pool more. They will pack more lunches instead of eating out so much. They will eat at less expensive places. And they will team up in rooms. The motels will probaly reduce their room rates since less folks are traveling as well.

There are alot of ways to save some money doing this stuff and you can bet people will do just that. The rising cost of travel will force people to wiser in the way they travel. But they will continue to travel and play.

I believe the original poster's post suggested more than the rising cost of gas. I took it as loss of income which would affect decisions far more than gas costing an extra $1 a gallon.

Not sure what, if anything, it means, but in 2008 our travel tournaments saw a 50% increase in teams.

In fact, the 18U WWBA was the largest "full field" tournament in baseball history (186 teams from coast to coast). The tournament was a week long. Then later on the week long 17U WWBA surpassed it with 192 teams from every part of the USA and Canada. All the other age brackets were way up as well.

Not sure what to make of all that. We did see a slight decrease in the showcase numbers, but not much.

The economy won't have any real effect on travel ball. Baseball's big $$$$$$ and parents want their kids playing in the most competitive ball possible so they get the shot at that scholarship or pro contract. So a rise in some costs won't deter those eyeing the big prize in the end.

PG,
In bad times people tend to turn to the best options as to where to spend their money. If I had only x amount of money to spend, I am going to spend it in teh right place. Could be why your tournies and showcases are up in attendance.

I think itf anythingi t will affect the younger travel players. I would rather save my $$ for when it counts. I could be wrong, but I have a job where I call all over the country and things in general are not good.

I know nothing about travel teams so forgive my ignorance but I just have a question...

My oldest son (he's only 8 right now) is a very good baseball player. He is blessed with natural athletic abilities and a love of the game of baseball. We've been approached to have him tryout for a travel team ... but we simply cannot afford it. We don't have that kind of money. He plays in a competitive rec league and has since he was 4 years old.

So here's my question. Am I to understand that only children who have wealthy parents will have "a shot"? So kids like my son will never have a chance at a scholarship or a MLB contract simply because his parents don't have an extra $5-10K per year to plunk down on travel baseball?

Bad economy or not - we don't have the $$$ for travel baseball. Our kids will always be in rec leagues.

quote:

So here's my question. Am I to understand that only children who have wealthy parents will have "a shot"? So kids like my son will never have a chance at a scholarship or a MLB contract simply because his parents don't have an extra $5-10K per year to plunk down on travel baseball

2BoysinBBall,
Welcome to the High School Baseball Web. Your first question is a very good question. The answer is a resounding YES your son will have “a shot”. This world is made up of people that don’t have 5-10K to plunk down on travel baseball or showcases. The most important asset any player can have in getting to the next level is talent. (and grades for college) Remember --- it’s “TALENT” that gets a player to the next level. Not money, not showcases, not summer teams, not which bat or glove he can afford ---- but talent. YES it seems as if everyone that plays college ball or makes it to the pros also spends lots of money on travel teams, showcases, camps and has the best equipment. This is true. Travel teams are on the increase and spending money on youth baseball has exploded. More people are doing it and therefore MORE people are convinced that is the ONLY way to go. PGStaff stated earlier: “Not sure what, if anything, it means, but in 2008 our travel tournaments saw a 50% increase in teams. In fact, the 18U WWBA was the largest "full field" tournament in baseball history (186 teams from coast to coast). The tournament was a week long. Then later on the week long 17U WWBA surpassed it with 192 teams from every part of the USA and Canada. All the other age brackets were way up as well. This drastic increase even in a down economy might suggest that that there will be a big increase forthcoming in professional and college baseball players. Nope not true. The number of college players and pro players remains the same. These venues are not “churning out” more college and pro players but instead this is where more of the parents of these talented players chose to send their boys. Just like you they are feeling the pressure to do everything they possibly can to ensure success for their child. (and your oldest is only 8). Being the parent of a talented baseball player makes parents do strange (but predictable) things. Vacations are converted to baseball events. Cars and trucks are traded for vans. Wide angle lenses used for family group photos are ignored for a telephoto lens. Credit cards limits are stressed. It seems as if the whole family lifestyle is altered to accommodate the talented baseball player. It’s the player’s talent that modifies everything around him. It’s the player’s talent that gets that player into travel teams, showcases, and makes parents decide to purchase expensive bats and gloves and that same talent ultimately gets him on a college or a pro roster. I can tell you that IF your son continues to be a talented ball player at say age 14-15 there will be numerous “opportunities” for him to do what other talented players are doing. You will be covered up with invites of “play here -- showcase here”. Guess what. College coaches and pro scouts are better at finding talent than summer team coaches and equally as competent as showcase promoters. That’s their profession.
Fungo

2BoysinBaseball, there is absolutely no reason to have your son play travel ball right now. Rec ball will do just fine. My own son, now a college player, played rec ball through 8th grade and started traveling only in high school -- even though he was repeatedly approached from age 10 on about being on a travel team. (Interestingly, of all the kids choosing to play on that team -- which ultimately cost the parents thousands of dollars over the years -- only one ended up excelling in the end; he was drafted out of high schoool. The others either dropped out of baseball during their high school years or ended up with lower-level college deals, which they could have easily obtained without having played on that travel team.)

If your funds are limited, wait until high school. If your funds are really limited, wait until the summer after junior year, when colleges are actively scouting prospects. Fungo is right -- it's talent that gets you to the next level. However, in order to be seen and scouted, you do have to get yourself in front of college coaches, which usually means a higher level travel team or camps and showcases.

If your son continues to develop and is a legitimate college prospect, your family will find a way to make it work. Our family scrimped in a lot of ways and eventually took out a small 401K loan to make it through our son's big recruiting summer.

If you honestly cannot afford any type of travel team, there are other options: attending free MLB tryouts as a high-schooler and asking pro scouts for help in finding your son a place to play (pro scouts have LOTS of college contacts) and attending free or low-cost junior college tryouts. Rest assured, one way or another, your son will find a place to play.

Rec ball is not an option in my geography. The facilities and play are horrible. The local governments are investing in tournament facilities that fill hotel rooms. Very little money flows to the local rec facility. And it shows.

If you're in Phoenix, I would imagine you would have plenty of options to get on a budget "travel" or tournament team.

My child has played on "travel" teams that had no cost other than uniforms and gate fees. We picked up one sponsor, a local radio station, to pay for the team insurance. A local church let us use their facilities for no cost for practice. We spray painted helmets so that they all matched and we looked really good as a low budget team. If you choose to make your travel team logo an existing MLB team, your logo work is easy and your uniforms will be cheap, since they will not be custom designed.
On the flip side, my son has also played on high dollar travel teams. Multiple uniforms, cleats, bats, expensive in-door training facilities, parent apparel, big multistate trips, high dollar tournaments.
There are options.
But, one thing is consistent, both those teams were travel teams and there was no difference in the level of play when both the budget and the high-cotton teams hit the fields in quality tournaments. In my opinion, sports are the great equalizer. When the kids are playing, it no longer mattered how much we spent to get there.
Unless you have a stellar rec department. Again, we don't where I live. But, we are close to a big city with many travel teams. I would think you could find a low budget tournament team that plays mostly local tournaments.

I agree with most here . Talent is important but so is learning the basics of the game. If you have rec coaches that know the fundamentals of the game then your son should learn them well even if he has to practice on his own. Talent alone is not enough by itself.
We were tryout junkies and we would go to 4 or 5 elite team tryouts every year in the fall. Most were free or a few dollars to cover a lunch. You can learn more at tryouts than during the season as many teams try to impress with their program. Some teams held 15 tryouts and that was a lot of free BB education I would not recommend MLB tryouts as many are too busy to learn anything. They are for those who have learned what they need to know and are trying to get a scout interested.
We did tryouts from 15-16 yo and that gave us a few years of tryouts. It is amazing what you learn and the friends you make as well as your son. You will also get a chance to eveluate your son's skills against great players. Often the coaches are former and current MLB /college players who will take the time to show your son what he needs to do.
There is nothing worse than seeing people throw away good money on wasted programs that cost a ton and the kid quits at 16-19. Saw it so offten and parents wrestled with should I spend the money or not.
If your son is determined to play travel ball do it at the local level with a team that travels shoeter distances but the key is always does he learn the fundamentas and drill them into his brain so that everything happens instinctively. There are lots of great books at the library that can show you how to play and I recommend you read many of them but nothing will take the place of playing BB.

Our rec league is awesome. There are two divisions ... an instructional league and a competitive league. Both my boys play in the competitive league. The coaching (so far) has been GREAT. Many of the coaches played college ball and one (the one we have right now) was a minor league player... he's a great coach - we're very pleased. Every season you can see a definitive improvement with all the kids on the teams he manages. There are some coaches who are so-so but there are only a couple. We also have some really good summer camps through local sports development organizations as well as the high schools. My son learned a LOT at those camps this summer. He learned how to hit the ball where he wanted it to go based on who was in what position in the field. It's been a huge asset to him this fall season.

So I guess I don't have to spend a fortune (at least anytime soon). I live in an affluent area and there are a LOT of people dropping some serious cash to get into these travel leagues. It's just crazy to me ... and then their boys stop playing ball or don't get into college ball or anything. What's the point?

We'll play it by ear and see how things progress for our two boys.

Thank you so much for the insight and information. I'm so glad I happened upon this site!

2B it sounds like you are in a good place for now. As your son gets to around 15-16 he should have out grown this level of ball. Make sure you know as much or more than your son so you can talk with him as he develops. There are some very inexpensive travel teams that hopefully will make economic sense to you. Some of the expensive elite teams may have fundraisers that will help offset most of their costs. I am sure not all of their players have lots of loose money to waste. The majority of kids will drop out of BB before they get to college.
I had a guy I knew well who was dipping into his retirement funds to support his kid in BB. I talked him out of doing that and his son dropped out of BB after HS. He played on a team that cost between 5-7 thousand a year. I hope they enjoyed it.

Like Brian, our local rec-ball facilities are no more than grass, dirt, and a fence. In fact, all fields have to double as softball fields which means there are no mounds and no portables are used for baseball. So I guess it really comes down to whether that decision even exists in your area. Some rec-leagues are very competitive and offer a great envrionment for the kids to learn, but I think that those leagues are few and far between.

In the Dallas area, most travel/club teams are reasonably priced and the competition in the Metroplex is very good. Meaning that an inordinate amount of travel is not always necessary at the younger ages. We spend the majority of our money on bats, gloves,and gear. Just my $0.02.

In our area the rec teams play on great fields. There are atleast 5 diamonds for the smaller guys and 10 for the full size fields. The rec guy were very smart and used the big guy's fields for the very young guys when they held instructional camps and the opening and closing tournaments. They had blue Jay farm hands come and give instruction on the big field to inspire the young guys. I used to love watching the kids smile from ear to ear.
I feel the efforts of some of the organization has revived the growth in the lower level ball. These guys constanly fight for perks for the kids.
That rec level is absolutely needed to greate a good base of kids coming up because no matter what you do kids will drop out as they gety other interests. It is more about retention of as many kids as you can starting with a broad base of players at a young age. It is also mandatory to have access to travel and elite teams to allow those who want to go higher to do so.
I think at some point your son will out grow rec ball and you have some time to plan for that. Your odds go up depending on the level of ball your son is exposed to and can suceed at.

quote:

Originally posted by BobbleheadDoll:
In our area the rec teams play on great fields. There are atleast 5 diamonds for the smaller guys and 10 for the full size fields. The rec guy were very smart and used the big guy's fields for the very young guys when they held instructional camps and the opening and closing tournaments. They had blue Jay farm hands come and give instruction on the big field to inspire the young guys. I used to love watching the kids smile from ear to ear.
I feel the efforts of some of the organization has revived the growth in the lower level ball. These guys constanly fight for perks for the kids.
That rec level is absolutely needed to greate a good base of kids coming up because no matter what you do kids will drop out as they gety other interests. It is more about retention of as many kids as you can starting with a broad base of players at a young age. It is also mandatory to have access to travel and elite teams to allow those who want to go higher to do so.
I think at some point your son will out grow rec ball and you have some time to plan for that. Your odds go up depending on the level of ball your son is exposed to and can suceed at.

Bobble - it sounds like you are in an area where rec-ball is greatly supported. If this mind set was mirrored in other parts of the country, you would have larger numbers playing rec instead of watering down the select leagues with mediocre talent.

I agree the country is struggling and travel ball can be expensive. The better question to ask yourself is "who should my son be playing for". There are very good rec coaches with loads of College and pro experience willing to help train kids and some coaches are not so good. The exact same can be said for travel ball. Some coaches are in it for the wrong reason. As said before, talent will rise to the top. Find a good teacher who knows advanced baseball and knows how to manage families. Nothing wrong with good rec or good travel, its the bad side of those that can ruin it for everyone. The great equalize is when they mature. Wait till they are 15...and see who wants to play. Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by jscoda:
I agree the country is struggling and travel ball can be expensive. The better question to ask yourself is "who should my son be playing for". There are very good rec coaches with loads of College and pro experience willing to help train kids and some coaches are not so good. The exact same can be said for travel ball. Some coaches are in it for the wrong reason. As said before, talent will rise to the top. Find a good teacher who knows advanced baseball and knows how to manage families. Nothing wrong with good rec or good travel, its the bad side of those that can ruin it for everyone. The great equalize is when they mature. Wait till they are 15...and see who wants to play. Good luck.

Valid points - jscoda. It's my opinion that the level of play in the rec-leagues determine where to put your son even more than the level of coaching. Don't get me wrong - my son has been on both sides of the fence when it comes to coaching and the differences are night and day. However, if you aren't challenged by other high-level players (whether that be in rec-ball or select), your chances of growing as a player are limited. Again, I'm not puting anything above good coaching. My son plays for a fantastic coach who has opened his eyes to another side of baseball that he didn't know existed, but you have to be challenged to grow.

Apparently there are alot of people considering and doing the same thing. In our area the # of teams this fall is down %50 from last fall.
With the state of the economy I expect a sizable decrease for the spring also.

Does any one think that, maybe, Club/Travel ball will bring down its price some to keep their players due to the change in the economy will not be able to afford it?

I think you will see a lot of things. A lot more Dad ran teams, pay as you go for tournaments. A heck of a lot less travel and an increase of local tournaments. The academy teams will become a rich kids program which will probably dilute their talent even more. I believe that their are less teams in Phoenix at this time. But there are still alot of them. Especially at the lower age groups. I am curious to see how Cooperstown Dream Park will do next summer. The amount of local teams may increase and the west coast teams may stay home.

i've always wondered how people could afford what some of these Academies and Travel Teams charge. I took my current job because the hours and the lack of travel. I could make alot more in my line of work if I was willing to travel. Decided I'd rather be a Dad and Husband and have a life.

I coach a "travel" team (I put it in quotes, because the majority of our tournaments are a 30min-1hour drive, and we normally play one tournament that's an overnight stay)....we charge the parents for the uniforms (exact cost no mark up) we then charge $50 a month dues, and twice a year we do a Boston Butt cook / sale as a fundraiser. It's a days work, everything is pre sold, and no one ever has trouble selling food, especially good food. Plus every Fall we get all the parents to clean out their closets and garages and we have a team yard sale. Between that and the $50 a month dues we manage to play on average about 10-12 tournaments in Fall + Spring / Summer.

We do indoor workouts for a couple of months once a week and the indoor team is split evenly for each family.

Works for us.

In a down economy the flipside to this is,

For some it the cheapest entertainment, that gets the focus away from a down economy.

Other things are eliminated and focus is put on something everyone enjoys.