Soccer is great until 13 when travel and competition for spots goes off the rails*

Posted by CoronaTheirAss on March 16, 2026, 18:11:06, in reply to "I would like to discuss the worst sports for your kids to get involved in, from a parent perspective"

Previous Message Consider worst however you’d like to. Feel like we’re on a good path so far with none of our kids interested in gymnastics, cheerleading or hockey. Previous Message Just paid $10 for a ticket to watch my kid play in a game I paid a bunch of money for him to play in. What a racket.

i hear swimming just drags on time wise, but travel aspect isn't bad? i could not do the baseball

Posted by torinese on March 16, 2026, 18:04:18, in reply to "I would like to discuss the worst sports for your kids to get involved in, from a parent perspective"

thing. my nephew was doing seemingly high level stuff his middles school years, and the travel schedule for that was brutal. (plus the winter batting clinic commitments needed.) Previous Message Consider worst however you’d like to. Feel like we’re on a good path so far with none of our kids interested in gymnastics, cheerleading or hockey. Previous Message Just paid $10 for a ticket to watch my kid play in a game I paid a bunch of money for him to play in. What a racket.

i bitch about my oldest doing competitive dance but it’s really not that bad schedule wise

Posted by lcubed on March 16, 2026, 17:16:55, in reply to "I would like to discuss the worst sports for your kids to get involved in, from a parent perspective"

she practices pretty much year round but we only do 4 competitions all within 3 or so hours away and then nationals at Panama City beach. It’s expensive but it’s her only thing so I don’t mind too much. Previous Message Consider worst however you’d like to. Feel like we’re on a good path so far with none of our kids interested in gymnastics, cheerleading or hockey. Previous Message Just paid $10 for a ticket to watch my kid play in a game I paid a bunch of money for him to play in. What a racket.

My only experience is with baseball and hockey. Hockey was by far the worst of the two.

Posted by doubledown on March 16, 2026, 17:12:35, in reply to "I would like to discuss the worst sports for your kids to get involved in, from a parent perspective"

It might have ben tolerable if not for 5am practices at the rink that was 30 minutes away. Insanity. Previous Message Consider worst however you’d like to. Feel like we’re on a good path so far with none of our kids interested in gymnastics, cheerleading or hockey. Previous Message Just paid $10 for a ticket to watch my kid play in a game I paid a bunch of money for him to play in. What a racket.

Swimming. More frequent practices and multi-day meets*

Posted by opey8 on March 16, 2026, 17:10:31, in reply to "I would like to discuss the worst sports for your kids to get involved in, from a parent perspective"

Previous Message Consider worst however you’d like to. Feel like we’re on a good path so far with none of our kids interested in gymnastics, cheerleading or hockey. Previous Message Just paid $10 for a ticket to watch my kid play in a game I paid a bunch of money for him to play in. What a racket.

I attended my niece's cross country event last year

Posted by Sounder on March 16, 2026, 17:09:53, in reply to "I would like to discuss the worst sports for your kids to get involved in, from a parent perspective"

and it was the single most boring sporting event I have ever been to in my entire life. Previous Message Consider worst however you’d like to. Feel like we’re on a good path so far with none of our kids interested in gymnastics, cheerleading or hockey. Previous Message Just paid $10 for a ticket to watch my kid play in a game I paid a bunch of money for him to play in. What a racket.

Easy price gouge. You're already there, what are you gonna do, not watch your kids?*

Posted by Warrin'_Illini on March 16, 2026, 16:28:35, in reply to "$10 is cheap."

Previous Message Recall paying $50 per parent for weekend 14U AAU girls tournaments with a guarantee of only 3 games. Previous Message Just paid $10 for a ticket to watch my kid play in a game I paid a bunch of money for him to play in. What a racket. You cannot lose games in the NFL and still win.

That is wild*

Posted by Sounder on March 16, 2026, 16:22:46, in reply to "$10 is cheap."

Previous Message Recall paying $50 per parent for weekend 14U AAU girls tournaments with a guarantee of only 3 games. Previous Message Just paid $10 for a ticket to watch my kid play in a game I paid a bunch of money for him to play in. What a racket.

It’s a fractured market spread across a wide range of ad-hoc locations. Even if you

Posted by doubledown on March 16, 2026, 16:56:30, in reply to "meanwhile, this horrible thing just popped into my linked in feed"

put in the effort to reach them, you’re reaching people who are tapped out. Are you gonna sell them a better wagon? “Brands” are better off putting a display up at Dick’s. Previous Message Youth sports is a $40 billion industry in the U.S. Families spend thousands every year on travel, gear, coaching, entry fees, and hotels. They plan their weekends, vacations, and budgets around their kid's schedule. They are loyal, engaged, and already spending. And most brands have zero strategy to reach them. Not because the data isn't there. It is. Not because the access doesn't exist. It does. But because youth sports still sits in a weird place inside most marketing departments. Too niche for the brand team. Too broad for the community team. Too "grassroots" for the executives making budget decisions. So the money goes somewhere safer. Digital. Broadcast. Influencer campaigns. Channels that feel more measurable even when they're less effective. Meanwhile, the brands that have figured this out aren't competing for attention. They're earning it 30, 40, 50 weekends a year with an audience that actually notices they're there. The blind spot isn't the opportunity. The opportunity is obvious. The blind spot is how marketing departments are organized. Youth sports doesn't fit neatly into a category, so it doesn't get funded. That's not a market problem. That's an org chart problem. Previous Message Just paid $10 for a ticket to watch my kid play in a game I paid a bunch of money for him to play in. What a racket.

I wish Sprout had shown some interest in an extracurricular or two

Posted by DT on March 16, 2026, 15:14:37, in reply to "youth sports are like Madden"

…but I certainly never regretted him not getting sucked into the whole youth sports scene. The time commitment of a bunch of people we know seemed crazy to me, never mind the money. Previous Message everyone hates them, and they get worse every year, but nobody ever stops paying for them

*Raises hand* Fuck youth sports. *

Posted by haighter on March 16, 2026, 13:29:49, in reply to "youth sports are like Madden"

Previous Message everyone hates them, and they get worse every year, but nobody ever stops paying for them

Some places are worse than others... if DD is out in East Mesa at the (former) Legacy project...

Posted by uofi1998 on March 16, 2026, 12:33:30, in reply to "Yeah I always loved paying entry fees on top of thousands in club and travel costs*"

At least parking was free today! *

Posted by doubledown on March 16, 2026, 14:02:21, in reply to "You must be out at AAG...*"

Previous Message Previous Message Just paid $10 for a ticket to watch my kid play in a game I paid a bunch of money for him to play in. What a racket.

As a real estate and economic development person

Posted by Sounder on March 16, 2026, 12:19:52, in reply to "You must be out at AAG...*"

these massive sports complexes absolutely fascinate me. Previous Message Previous Message Just paid $10 for a ticket to watch my kid play in a game I paid a bunch of money for him to play in. What a racket.

By the time I get to Arizona

Posted by Sounder on March 16, 2026, 12:03:34, in reply to "I was in arizona last week. "

Previous Message could you burn everything to the ground on your way out?

God + the Major Oil Companies are working on it

Posted by ATL on March 16, 2026, 12:01:23, in reply to "I was in arizona last week. "

give it a couple of years Previous Message could you burn everything to the ground on your way out? “We are old and tired and just want to be taken care of.” - Republican voter, Dec. 2024.