6u what does that mean. Surely we ain't talking about 5 and 6 yr olds. They dont need travel ball

x100

Generally today, there is too much "daddy ball" and not nearly enough fun for the kids.

My thoughts exactly. I don't think travel ball should start until 12u. To many teams out there and travel ball is watered down with average players right now.

My niece has been doing travel softball for several years and if there’s anything I’ve learned from it is that it is a money pit.

Travel ball isn’t the way to go. If you want to teach him fundamentals then spend your money on practice tools y’all can use in the yard. Also really evaluate YOURE involvement in all this. Out of all the six year olds I’ve coached I’m not sure I ever found one who knew what they wanted, much less that they wanted to be the best and understood what that took. A father pushing a son is the number one reason kids quit sports and sons feel like they’re not living up to some standard. It’s usually because the parent or parents are trying to live vicariously through their child rather than just let them enjoy all aspects of the sport which includes fundamentals but also team building, how to win and lose with class and learn to be a coachable kid. At that age it has nothing to do with performance on the field because until they hit 14 you have no idea what kind of ball player they’ll really be.

They are 6. They need basic fundamentals which start in the yard. Competition at that age comes more from the parents than the kids. I get that park ball has it’s challenges but at that age it’s more about parents that think it’s “cute” for their kid to play ball than it is the kid wanting to play.

Invest in your kid by getting them some hitting instruction and go to some local baseball camps instead of worrying about all stars or travel ball at this age it will pay off when it really matters. I’ve seen too many get burned out before high school ball and walk away from the game after enough money had been spent to pay for the most of their college. My son got a scholarship to play baseball 2 yrs
ago and never played travel ball but most think it has to be done to get noticed.

6-8 games a weekend is still too much for a 6yr old. For the safety and health of your kid I would rethink your strategy. Spend time developing them and love for the game instead of turning the game into a job or expensive hobby.

My son didn't play travel ball until he was 13 years old. (and that was for one year only) He ended up having a great D-1 career and turned down a top ten draft round pick out of high school. Make sure he is getting a lot of sound, fundamental reps. Travel ball can be a good thing later on because the competition level is usually stronger. Be patient and take him fishing. If he can play, it will come out in the wash!

Do your part before you start complaining so much about others. Do you want to help your Son and others be better or just turn that task over to someone else? An under 6 All Start Travel team is a joke. Just let the kids have some fun. Work with your Son more if you want him to improve.

I assure you the park and rec coaches aren’t getting paid. You should just coach them yourself. It’s fun.

The problem with rec ball is you have 2-4 kids that want to be there and want to get better but you have 8-10 that are there because mom and dad want a babysitter and or to get their kid off video games. This is all great for everyone but the kids that want to do better. As a coach you spend all of your time trying to make the 8-10 kids better that could care less and very little time with the kids that want to do better. I will agree the travel teams now days are watered down with kids that are average or below. If you do decide to do travel ball do your research and find a good team with good coaches that don't over do it because there are a lot of them that will play every weekend. If these parks would do a competitive league it would make the travel ball not needed at the younger ages but they don't want to hurt any feelings. This is my opinion as I have lived it with two boys and wished I would have started my oldest in travel ball at a sooner age. Is it expensive? YES but I wouldn't trade the time, friendships and memories for anything. And like others said coach them yourself but make sure the kids have fun at that age

Take the money that you are thinking of investing in travel ball and start a college tuition fund. You add up the travel expense motel stays, eating out, team fees and by the time he graduates you will have saved enough to at least pay for 2 years at a community college. What I would seriously look at is once he gets high school age is getting him into a school with a coach that competes at highly competitive level. Take the travel ball money now and get him hitting and fielding lessons with a private coach that has played and actually knows the game.

This is exactly what I mean. And for the ones says teach him myself well I do every day I get. My work schedule will not allow me to be a COACH but I can assist when my schedule allows. As far as pushing my son too hard that I do not I asked him if he wants to practice if he says yes we practice if he says no we don't is his decision when we start practicing when he gets ready to stop we stop no questions asked. he and one other on the All-Star team actually want to be there and learn the others play in the dirt pick flowers kick dirt on the basis what not it makes it very tough for the two that want to learn to learn and for the one saying that my son doesn't know what he wants just ask him

#1 rule: don't ask your "friends" to sponsor your travel ball team. I get so sick and tired of people asking me to sponsor their kids travel ball team. If you want to partake in that hobby, go for it. Just don' ask me to sponsor it

Not seeking donations

6U refers to the kids ages...6U is 6 and under (could be 7 and under depending on how the league "ages up"...in the softball league my daughter's played in, it was based on the child's age as of January 1. Child could turn 7 on Jan 2 but still play in 6U as they were 6 yrs old on Jan 1)

The kid is 6 yrs old...let him play park/rec ball and have fun. 6 yr old teams around here are nothing more than organized playground teams...kids playing in the dirt, sitting in the outfield picking grass, fighting over who gets which popsicle after the game, etc I saw a friend's post on Facebook earlier this week and his kid plays 6U ball...score was like 38-37 and that was normal for the games in that age group. Your description of the coaches is spot on for all 6U coaches...they are really nothing more than babysitters on the field. They can tell/show one kid something and by the time they move on to the next kid, the previous kid is back to making dirt piles, chasing bugs, and eating grass.

If you want to make changes, volunteer to coach or be asst coach, run for a position on the board of directors at the park, etc. Work with your kid and help him get better. Let him come to you and ask to play...if he really wants to play travel ball, he'll ask you if he can play. You force him to play and you're living the life you want through him.

What happened to what you said last week? You were going to buy me a Trophy Rock as long as we put an advertisement on the side.

He asked me if we could play travel ball. Reference earlier post from fast XD there are some kids that want to be there want to learn and want to play baseball not be babysat and play in the dirt like they could at home as stated earlier my schedule does not allow me to be a head coach but I will be an assistant coach and assist when my schedule allows

Sounds like to me you could accomplish your goal of teaching your kid the basics of baseball in the yard or at the local field. If you have a calling to coach, then go for it. At 6 years old a kid just wants to be with his buddies and play some ball. No reason to get too serious about it right now. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

Dr. B

He wants to get serious he has stated that what he has learned as far as Fielding balls and running plays for first baseman he cannot do that at a park and rec level when the other kids stand around and do nothing