Have been adamant that my son stick with rec ball because it's how I grew up, and people were just doing travel because "it's cool".. But after only 2 games of rec ball it's pretty clear.. Parents think they need to explain how to coach their precious child and that if you raise your voice at them they will shut down.. Guess I have just been naive about how bad off even things like good ol baseball are becoming.. It's like babysitting instead of coaching.. sorry for the rant.. haha

I like this guy...

"our goal is to hit dingers, and disgrace the other teams pitcher!"

That's pretty good Irish. What I would envision myself as being if I were a little league coach.

If your son actually has potential to be a college or past that level pitcher, then you are a fool for letting him pitch in travel ball.

Not saying "you", but the collective you. Colleges are already avoiding travel ball kids for pitchers and it is going to get worse.

Please continue.

I totally disagree with this comment. If you look at most any kid from a D1 college that has been or being recruited will come from Travel Ball, especially pitchers. The level of competition at the High School level does not even compare to the Travel Ball level at the same age groups.

I remain convinced the best thing for youth baseball is the fence the parents sit behind be 250 yards from the field.As umpires we should apply common sense,fairplay and hunt for strikes and outs.

I get the impression that that coach was probably a loser in high school and probably still is. I hope he's kidding.

I agree.

The rec/park league level of competition where we live doesn't compare to the travel leagues/tourneys we play in. Each has its place and every child should have the chance to play. Find the level of good constructive competition your child is comfortable in and with and he/she will play up to that level continually getting better.

I couldn't have imagined my mom or especially dad telling one of my coaches to "please not holler at him.. he's sensitive"!! I may be totally off, but travel ball seems to not cater to the parents as much and the other kids seem to want to be there to play and not need babysitting..

That's where I sat to watch every one of my son's baseball games.

You heard this???

I've been approached two times now from two separate "mom's" with those exact words!!! Sad thing is their husbands sat there and let them..

Ive heard of several kids having to have shoulder surgery due to pitching too much in travel ball. That may be what he was alluding too.

AS a current coach of a REC League Team once my kids get old enough to travel we will travel. REC is glorified baby sitting, and RECs are WAY to Liberal for me, they are "let's make it fair to everybody." Travel Ball the kids and the parent WANT to be there. They also understand it's not for participation trophies.

We traveled from the time I was 12-18yrs old, you are completely nuts if you think College Coaches go to REC parks to look at recruits, H.S. okay MAYBE on occasions. Travel ball carries the Elite competition, recruiters can hit one tournament to watch 15 different teams, and most importantly colleges are playing as well playing the same time as REC/H.S.. I can remember at 18 being at East Cobb with 20 different teams during the summer, playing against the like of McCann, Francouer etc that place had 75 college and professional scouts, We played in the championship game and there was 25 scouts lined against the fence. Went to Nashville to play in a tournament with 20+ teams, it was the same way, we actually took down David Price's team (he didn't pitch but they were still elite). Go watch the Jupiter FL tournament World Wooden Bat classic, teams come in from across the world and there are 100s of scouts there.

AS for pitching if the Travel Coach isn't monitoring the # of pitches being thrown by his kids, pitch by pitch, and week to week, you as a parent need to look for a new team or speak up LOUD. 15 and under shouldn't exceed 50p a week, 15 and older 75p at MOST. As a parent you need to have a set LIMIT of innings per year you think acceptable to pitch, and age plays a factor.

Those are the kids who wind up with purple hair, safety pins on their sweaters and Bernie Sanders stickers on their Prius's

There are a lot of safeguards that go into protecting pitchers. Pitchers can only pitch so many times per game/ tournament. Also, it's has a lot to do with proper mechanics and technique to prevent injury, no matter what level of play. At this level it's about accuracy and control, not speed.

My oldest son (8) is taking pitching lessons now, but he is limited to about 40 pitches a week.

As far as the level of play and competition, it's night and day. My oldest son plays travel ball and my other boys will too when they get old enough. The rec league here is a joke.

The pitching restrictions in travel ball now are way more restrict than most any rec ball that your kids will play. The problem is when you have a stud kid that wants to play every weekend and momma and daddy want them to play there is a team willing to pick them up and they are way over used. This is not the organizations fault it is the parents fault. You have to know when enough is enough.

"There are winners and there are losers, and if your father says 'It doesn't matter whether you win or lose' He's a loser."

There's a bunch of YouTube videos of this guy, apparently filmed by parents, and he is a riot.