Posted by In all honesty…. on April 29, 2026, 12:00 pm
You hear it from parents, from travel coaches, from hitting/pitching/fielding instructors You read the posts You watch the stats You see who plays and who doesn’t You see there is little competition And the reality is…. Girls are being broken not in travel but on their high school teams
Why does everyone still play? Is it worth the therapy that happens because of this? Is it really worth it?
My kid plays, so I’m not crying because she’s sitting the bench, I’m being real and addressing the elephant in the room.
You are fortunate if you have a coach that does not rip players down….and to think most of them are educators. Out of anyone, they should know better
Re: Why?
Posted by Grass can be brown everywhere on April 29, 2026, 9:52 pm, in reply to "Why? "
Your not wrong about many HS teams, but don't think that things are roundly better in travel - or even college.
You're going to get a lot of comments back here that HS is great for community and friendships and local rivalries and school pride and all that - and that's not wrong. And honestly, for the kid who just wants to compete and have fun - which is the vast majority - I still think it's more often than not a fine experience.
The real difference comes into play if your kid wants to play in college. The coaching isn't necessarily better, and the expenses are 10,000% higher, but at least you can justify that you are chasing her (or your) dream.
But, if your kid finds that great travel ball experience, where they have an excellent coach who is invested in your kid as a player and person, and you get to watch them compete against some of the country's best talent, on the best fields, with the best umps... you really see that HS ball is like a garbage hill compared to the Alps.
