kids/childrens' sports / thoughts

[JHZR2]

It’s definitely interesting with kids’ sports.

Some like baseball have parents that know it all and are “building a program” in every town and league. I joke about it with coworkers. We all see it in our own places and experiences. And sure, most parents really do mean well, if not for everyone than at least for their own kids. But the dynamics are interesting to watch.

We are obese as a country. We don’t exercise or move enough. Getting kids to exercise, build stamina and muscle, from an early age, is important. They don’t have to be a star. And all of one sport can make them dull in anything else. Like anything, moderation tends to be the best way.

I push my kids to practice and train and work on skill. Do they need to be the best on the team? In town? In the region? Not really. If they’re in the top couple in the team, if they can be relied upon by their teammates, if they work hard… what more can we ask? That has been my goal - that they’re competitive. Not that they’re great or destroy their bodies before they hit double digits. If they really start to excel in their teenage years, we will cross that bridge. I do have an 8yo that is getting recruited in their sport, but I’m not going to disrupt their childhood for sport. Just support them enough to excel. They can grown more when the time comes.

Regardless, it is expensive and time consuming. But if it keeps kids occupied, keeps them from being lazy, builds fitness, a work ethic, a team mindset, a competitive mindset, etc. then it’s good. And it’s good to see parents proud of them. And maybe even more important, to feel the sting of losing and the disappointment that comes along with it, to light a little fire within.

 

[BISCUT]

We're a baseball family. My wife and I both played softball every weekend into our 40s and then passed the torch to our son. When every thing (equipment, travel, food, fuel, etc.) is added up it likely costs us over $10k a year. And it's worth every penny of it.

My sons (18and 16) have played since 4. They grew to elite div over the years. $5500 summer and $2400 plus travel from NY all over!! Boston to FL and lots of mid-Atlantic states.

My oldest is playing in college. Youngest is a junior. He has 2 years left and killing it. Pitching well and hit over 419 for the week in Atlanta at PG 16 yrs old World Series.

it’s bragging but the point I want to stress is I miss the purity of 11and 12 year elite travel. Some of my favorite memories are winning states and mid-Atlantic regionals.

This all hit me last May when both my boys were on the same high school team playing together (OF 1B and junior lefty pitcher) at Cyclones Stadium Staten Island for the championship. We lost on walk off.

I didn’t really care. My mind went to the little league 11and 12 years and how much fun it was. As great as HS has been (all wood and toughest league in NY) it doesn’t hold a candle.

Enjoy every crazy hectic moment!!! You’ll look back and miss it.

 

[JHZR2]

I didn’t really care. My mind went to the little league 11and 12 years and how much fun it was. As great as HS has been (all wood and toughest league in NY) it doesn’t hold a candle.

Enjoy every crazy hectic moment!!! You’ll look back and miss it.

I’m not savvy enough to coach past tee ball or coach pitch. I can throw pop ups to the kids and help with drills or the dugout. But I definitely hear this! It’s interesting to watch the interests change, the atfitudes show up, the language get worse…. Such great memories though out on the fields. A season or two stolen by Covid. I don’t have many left with my oldest. It’s pure gold.

 

[John105]

Our rink has stick and puck today (Fri and Sat as well). I'm going onto the ice with my kid for the first time, and looking forward to it. These are what I consider to be the Mastercard "priceless" moments (in reality, they are ones that are difficult to buy even with money lol).

 

[GSCJR]

Be careful and have fun @John105.

 

[Blueshound]

My kids enjoyed being on various sports teams and we gently encouraged them until they moved on to other things. Unfortunately the teams were very insular; unless you knew the right people your kids would never get very far. Consistent with this thread, I guess.

 

[John105]

Be careful and have fun @John105.

Thanks. What a blast. We showed up with 3 pucks labeled with my son's name, and they were gone in about 2 min. It was so fast and like anything else, I followed all the rules, and am sure others do not. For adults, full gear recommended, but helmet, gloves, stick, required. I couldn't find my stick so I taped over "Franklin" so nobody would immediately see I had a street hockey stick. Talk about D-5 Gordon Bombay!

Rules...For example, under 18, adult required on the ice, nope. Under 14, must use the home 1/2 of the ice only, nope. No organized scrimmages allowed, nope. But it was a great experience. I took a mean spill by the net, got hit by a shot in the back of the leg, did my best to put the net back on its mooring. Son just practiced his puck handling but much smaller kids were better and sometimes simply took the puck away. At the end of the session I went over to the person who collected the pucks, and got my son's pucks back. There isn't any need to bring them, the township supplies them! That explains the free for all with the pucks, seriously.

One of the hockey moms (I actually consider myself one it's pretty interesting, their secret world) texted me asking if we're still at the rink, she's there with her daughter (son's classmate), son, and son's friends, and it's packed and crazy. I said we left and she said we're probably better off having done the stick and puck due to the crowd....

I do find my town to be odd as it's really just the honor system that one has paid. I've seen some of the way the larger rinks operate, they have one entry point to the ice and check wrist bands.

Again, this was a MasterCard moment. I could have 1 billion dollars in the bank, and that money couldn't have purchased a more fun time for myself and my son.

 

[John105]

My kids enjoyed being on various sports teams and we gently encouraged them until they moved on to other things. Unfortunately the teams were very insular; unless you knew the right people your kids would never get very far. Consistent with this thread, I guess.

The interesting thing about this scenario.....that's what I had expected especially with ice hockey. For some reason, I have so far found the opposite. But, my hunch is the exclusiveness may come at the higher levels and when there are cuts and placement on AA vs. A (I don't even consider AAA). My huge mistake and my buddy said understandable, was thinking that to play hockey, one must have all the skills already, then tryout for the club teams.

It actually is the opposite with school teams from what I have been told. My son plans to join JV in the fall.

I was told on the school team, they focus on development, camaraderie, and having fun. Winning is taught in high school (I am talking about the middle school team which is grade 5-8). On the other hand, the travel teams "are" in fact competitive, even at 8, 10, 12, etc. But when I think about it, people on the travel team gave my son a bunch of equipment, he got skates sizes 1, 2, and 4, and inline skates size 1.5 and 2.5. A person even gave him a super deker stick handling tool. The skates get tricky since CCM is sometimes 2 sizes smaller than shoes, and Bauer, 1 size smaller. I find my kid has a tendency to say things fit fine, so hard to tell. Since kids grow, not sure he will utilize all 5 pairs. The thing is these used skates are likely models that I would not spend for brand new. Most of these kids get $500+ skates today, the better kids $1000+. So hand me downs are key...we can't "try" sports at these costs...

I'm very sure I understand what you're saying. I've said it's sometimes like what I envision with an HOA. I've heard people say stuff like, "My husband is on the board." "I am on the board." etc. etc. And I feel this will happen at the higher levels of this sport and others...

 

[Blueshound]

The interesting thing about this scenario.....that's what I had expected especially with ice hockey. For some reason, I have so far found the opposite. But, my hunch is the exclusiveness may come at the higher levels and when there are cuts and placement on AA vs. A (I don't even consider AAA). My huge mistake and my buddy said understandable, was thinking that to play hockey, one must have all the skills already, then tryout for the club teams.

It actually is the opposite with school teams from what I have been told. My son plans to join JV in the fall.

I was told on the school team, they focus on development, camaraderie, and having fun. Winning is taught in high school (I am talking about the middle school team which is grade 5-8). On the other hand, the travel teams "are" in fact competitive, even at 8, 10, 12, etc. But when I think about it, people on the travel team gave my son a bunch of equipment, he got skates sizes 1, 2, and 4, and inline skates size 1.5 and 2.5. A person even gave him a super deker stick handling tool. The skates get tricky since CCM is sometimes 2 sizes smaller than shoes, and Bauer, 1 size smaller. I find my kid has a tendency to say things fit fine, so hard to tell. Since kids grow, not sure he will utilize all 5 pairs. The thing is these used skates are likely models that I would not spend for brand new. Most of these kids get $500+ skates today, the better kids $1000+. So hand me downs are key...we can't "try" sports at these costs...

I'm very sure I understand what you're saying. I've said it's sometimes like what I envision with an HOA. I've heard people say stuff like, "My husband is on the board." "I am on the board." etc. etc. And I feel this will happen at the higher levels of this sport and others...

This was girls sports 20+ years ago. Glad things are better now.