Is no one else concerned, that working class kids are being priced out of youth sports?

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

I learned this when my son was in 3rd grade and his basketball pursuits. He's now in the 5th. This is just us keeping up with the Joneses. I looked at it from the prospective of that we live in a football town and he will need development to supplement his growth in addition to the games.

This year's tally is going to look like this.

Travel team and school team: 1400
Paying to Watch my son play with wife (will never comprehend this one): 300
Training: 2000
Equipment: 300

I'm very aware of the fact that this isn't feasible for most people. I prepare for it over the course of the year so it's never like an out of the normal expense that pops up but even this, when listed is crazy on the surface but it ultimately depends on what your kid is and what you want it get out of it. I don't feel it is in my case so I'll explain.

First off, a lot of kids have no business being on these travel teams with them not playing and would be better served training somewhere. They are used to make it cheaper for everyone else when your team has 3 games and you only get 10 minutes of burn out of the three games. They simply aren't good enough to play. They need time in the lab to get better. Teams rarely have structure around these kids. It's all about wins and losses. No teaching happens and bad habits and become cemented.

If you note, the training is the most expensive segment for my kid. There is a reason for that. I don't know what Chris Brinkley and others are doing for these kids of nba players but the training my son does has been beyond great for him because he's watched local good middle school, high school and college players and have shared the same court as them. 3 on 3 so you can't hide. If you show up for training, you play, that's the rule so figure it out and trainer will correct mistakes along the way. The trainer is a former coach and he does this full time. The basketball education my son is getting is something I couldn't do without this structure in place. He's played with a Kingston Rhodes and his twin brother Kaiden in drills and scrimmages. Both play on the local high school team in Crown Point and for Darius Garland's AAU team.




Or getting destroyed a few times by Kenedi Bradley who is an Indiana futures Allstars in Chesterton and travels the country with her 17u team.



There are others but these are the current elite high school standouts.

My son's trainer puts up clips on Instagram. Here's one with the three mentioned with my son, the curly headed boy. This was during an advanced session, as a credit to my son, he's the only elementary school aged kid that's allowed to train during the advanced sessions.



The question someone's might have for me is why I do it. I realized early that my son had potential and that I wasn't going to be the one to translate that potential to action on the court. I'm not deluded to think that since I'm Dad, I know best so I sought out someone else more qualified than me. It's worked beautifully but it costs.

@Thatrogueassdiaz @NormanConnors have both seen what my son plays like. I'm not saying division 1 but I do forsee a scholarship somewhere. If that trajectory changes, then I'll pull back but that's why I do it currently. He's been deemed to be 'the one' in town by the high school coaches since third grade, he may even hoop with the 6th graders as a fifth grader this year per the varsity head coach as he told me Monday. He's been playing with 6th and 7th graders over the summer. In addition to the school team, he's hooping with a 10-11u AAU team from November through April. This team operates within a three hour radius so he'll have a tournament in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and somewhere in Illinois in terms of how far they go. He runs point, has great handles, can shoot, lighting quick, can pass and direct, etc.

Ultimately, it's an investment in my son's potential future. You don't have to spend even as much as I do to make this happen. If your kid just wants to play, take them to the Y but if they are good, someone will want your kid to play for them and it'll be get figured out. It's a sacrifice of funds my wife and I make because we feel like the payoff will be great for our son.

 

[Goat poster]

I learned this when my son was in 3rd grade and his basketball pursuits. He's now in the 5th. This is just us keeping up with the Joneses. I looked at it from the prospective of that we live in a football town and he will need development to supplement his growth in addition to the games.

This year's tally is going to look like this.

Travel team and school team: 1400
Paying to Watch my son play with wife (will never comprehend this one): 300
Training: 2000
Equipment: 300

I'm very aware of the fact that this isn't feasible for most people. I prepare for it over the course of the year so it's never like an out of the normal expense that pops up but even this, when listed is crazy on the surface but it ultimately depends on what your kid is and what you want it get out of it. I don't feel it is in my case so I'll explain.

First off, a lot of kids have no business being on these travel teams with them not playing and would be better served training somewhere. They are used to make it cheaper for everyone else when your team has 3 games and you only get 10 minutes of burn out of the three games. They simply aren't good enough to play. They need time in the lab to get better. Teams rarely have structure around these kids. It's all about wins and losses. No teaching happens and bad habits and become cemented.

If you note, the training is the most expensive segment for my kid. There is a reason for that. I don't know what Chris Brinkley and others are doing for these kids of nba players but the training my son does has been beyond great for him because he's watched local good middle school, high school and college players and have shared the same court as them. 3 on 3 so you can't hide. If you show up for training, you play, that's the rule so figure it out and trainer will correct mistakes along the way. The trainer is a former coach and he does this full time. The basketball education my son is getting is something I couldn't do without this structure in place. He's played with a Kingston Rhodes and his twin brother Kaiden in drills and scrimmages. Both play on the local high school team in Crown Point and for Darius Garland's AAU team.




Or getting destroyed a few times by Kenedi Bradley who is an Indiana futures Allstars in Chesterton and travels the country with her 17u team.



There are others but these are the current elite high school standouts.

My son's trainer puts up clips on Instagram. Here's one with the three mentioned with my son, the curly headed boy. This was during an advanced session, as a credit to my son, he's the only elementary school aged kid that's allowed to train during the advanced sessions.



The question someone's might have for me is why I do it. I realized early that my son had potential and that I wasn't going to be the one to translate that potential to action on the court. I'm not deluded to think that since I'm Dad, I know best so I sought out someone else more qualified than me. It's worked beautifully but it costs.

@Thatrogueassdiaz @NormanConnors have both seen what my son plays like. I'm not saying division 1 but I do forsee a scholarship somewhere. If that trajectory changes, then I'll pull back but that's why I do it currently. He's been deemed to be 'the one' in town by the high school coaches since third grade, he may even hoop with the 6th graders as a fifth grader this year per the varsity head coach as he told me Monday. He's been playing with 6th and 7th graders over the summer. In addition to the school team, he's hooping with a 10-11u AAU team from November through April. This team operates within a three hour radius so he'll have a tournament in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and somewhere in Illinois in terms of how far they go. He runs point, has great handles, can shoot, lighting quick, can pass and direct, etc.

Ultimately, it's an investment in my son's potential future. You don't have to spend even as much as I do to make this happen. If your kid just wants to play, take them to the Y but if they are good, someone will want your kid to play for them and it'll be get figured out. It's a sacrifice of funds my wife and I make because we feel like the payoff will be great for our son.

Me and you have similar situations with our kids and I think we have chatted on here about that before.


I realate to everything you just typed cause I'm going through the same thing with my little one.

Keep up the grind brother

 

[The_Sheff]

In fact the numbers show that sports participation is on the rise among young people as the link below says, the pandemic has been the biggest hurdle for sports participation more than anything

More Students Are Playing High School Sports | LendingTree

The number of high schoolers who participated in school sports climbed in the 2022-23 school year, but still remained below pre-pandemic highs.

www.lendingtree.com

You cant use sports participation in high school as a measuring stick because high school sports are cheap to participate in. You also dont necessarily have to be good to play depending on the school.

The barrier is youth sports and getting good there so you can make the better teams once you reach high school age. The better baseball programs around me start at 1200 just for a membership to the club. Same thing with soccer. We had to stop our youngest from playing soccer because not only did they start increasing the fees but they wanted a year long commitment, which would have prevented him from playing baseball in the fall.

 

[NormanConnors]

I learned this when my son was in 3rd grade and his basketball pursuits. He's now in the 5th. This is just us keeping up with the Joneses. I looked at it from the prospective of that we live in a football town and he will need development to supplement his growth in addition to the games.

This year's tally is going to look like this.

Travel team and school team: 1400
Paying to Watch my son play with wife (will never comprehend this one): 300
Training: 2000
Equipment: 300

I'm very aware of the fact that this isn't feasible for most people. I prepare for it over the course of the year so it's never like an out of the normal expense that pops up but even this, when listed is crazy on the surface but it ultimately depends on what your kid is and what you want it get out of it. I don't feel it is in my case so I'll explain.

First off, a lot of kids have no business being on these travel teams with them not playing and would be better served training somewhere. They are used to make it cheaper for everyone else when your team has 3 games and you only get 10 minutes of burn out of the three games. They simply aren't good enough to play. They need time in the lab to get better. Teams rarely have structure around these kids. It's all about wins and losses. No teaching happens and bad habits and become cemented.

If you note, the training is the most expensive segment for my kid. There is a reason for that. I don't know what Chris Brinkley and others are doing for these kids of nba players but the training my son does has been beyond great for him because he's watched local good middle school, high school and college players and have shared the same court as them. 3 on 3 so you can't hide. If you show up for training, you play, that's the rule so figure it out and trainer will correct mistakes along the way. The trainer is a former coach and he does this full time. The basketball education my son is getting is something I couldn't do without this structure in place. He's played with a Kingston Rhodes and his twin brother Kaiden in drills and scrimmages. Both play on the local high school team in Crown Point and for Darius Garland's AAU team.




Or getting destroyed a few times by Kenedi Bradley who is an Indiana futures Allstars in Chesterton and travels the country with her 17u team.



There are others but these are the current elite high school standouts.

My son's trainer puts up clips on Instagram. Here's one with the three mentioned with my son, the curly headed boy. This was during an advanced session, as a credit to my son, he's the only elementary school aged kid that's allowed to train during the advanced sessions.



The question someone's might have for me is why I do it. I realized early that my son had potential and that I wasn't going to be the one to translate that potential to action on the court. I'm not deluded to think that since I'm Dad, I know best so I sought out someone else more qualified than me. It's worked beautifully but it costs.

@Thatrogueassdiaz @NormanConnors have both seen what my son plays like. I'm not saying division 1 but I do forsee a scholarship somewhere. If that trajectory changes, then I'll pull back but that's why I do it currently. He's been deemed to be 'the one' in town by the high school coaches since third grade, he may even hoop with the 6th graders as a fifth grader this year per the varsity head coach as he told me Monday. He's been playing with 6th and 7th graders over the summer. In addition to the school team, he's hooping with a 10-11u AAU team from November through April. This team operates within a three hour radius so he'll have a tournament in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and somewhere in Illinois in terms of how far they go. He runs point, has great handles, can shoot, lighting quick, can pass and direct, etc.

Ultimately, it's an investment in my son's potential future. You don't have to spend even as much as I do to make this happen. If your kid just wants to play, take them to the Y but if they are good, someone will want your kid to play for them and it'll be get figured out. It's a sacrifice of funds my wife and I make because we feel like the payoff will be great for our son.

You're doing great work breh as always and touched on some great topics in this post, especially when being able to operate that lever on when to fall back for the benefit of your kid

 

[GoldenGlove]

In fact the numbers show that sports participation is on the rise among young people as the link below says, the pandemic has been the biggest hurdle for sports participation more than anything

More Students Are Playing High School Sports | LendingTree

The number of high schoolers who participated in school sports climbed in the 2022-23 school year, but still remained below pre-pandemic highs.

www.lendingtree.com

Depending on the area/school a lot of those programs are just fielding a team. They'll put anyone on the team just to have bodies. Plenty of public schools might excel at 1 or 2 sports, and be mid to trash at everything else.

My daughter is 7 and has been in tennis lessons coming up on a year. Nothing too crazy either, started out 1 class per week for each session, then we'd do stuff at home in the basement. Summer started and they were doing 2 sessions per week. I'd work in some days on local courts with her because the weather is nice and it's just time spent to have her working on hitting some balls and tightening up her form.

This week, the indoor facility that she practices at had 2 local HS's there competing. I was watching their matches and they all of them looked like they never played tennis before HS. The class my daughter is in was also practicing during the same time with girls ranging from ages 6/7 to like 10/11 and they all looked significantly better than any of the girls playing in HS. If they all keep playing from now til HS, they'll dominate the majority of the competition

 

[RickyGQ]

its a shame.

sports arent an avenue to riches. not directly.

its a short list of athletes who would not have made it if not for investment. made it as in a multi year 7 figure contract.

mostly thats just genetics and work ethic/psychology.

what children get out of sports is learning how to work as a team. learning how to fight though the difficult times.

maybe a college scholarship. a scholarship that wont mean much if you dont go to class but could mean everything if you do.

the difference between selling burgers and selling real estate.

but were paywalling it like its a winning lottery ticket. disgusting.

Paywalling it increases the chance of it becoming a lottery ticket though. And the actual sports hurt in the process. I wish someone smart could just study the overall level of athleticism in the NBA vs where it was 20 years ago. I guarantee you it's eye-opening.

 

[GoldenGlove]

This is the reason why so many Black kids from the hood play football. The barrier for entry is the lowest (relatively speaking).

Football is just extremely popular that the "hood" prioritizes it. Barrier for entry is higher than other sports, but since there are a lot of positions that can be played at once, it can be seen as more accessible.

 

[RickyGQ]

Think about all the great hands that used to come out of every major city. Instruments used to be more freely available in schools and community centers.

Jimmy Jam said he stopped playing drums as a kid because he heard Prince playing it at the community center they used to goto. That center is now a police department.

Yup. Same issue. And MUSIC is hurting for it.

 

[RickyGQ]

I learned this when my son was in 3rd grade and his basketball pursuits. He's now in the 5th. This is just us keeping up with the Joneses. I looked at it from the prospective of that we live in a football town and he will need development to supplement his growth in addition to the games.

This year's tally is going to look like this.

Travel team and school team: 1400
Paying to Watch my son play with wife (will never comprehend this one): 300
Training: 2000
Equipment: 300

I'm very aware of the fact that this isn't feasible for most people. I prepare for it over the course of the year so it's never like an out of the normal expense that pops up but even this, when listed is crazy on the surface but it ultimately depends on what your kid is and what you want it get out of it. I don't feel it is in my case so I'll explain.

First off, a lot of kids have no business being on these travel teams with them not playing and would be better served training somewhere. They are used to make it cheaper for everyone else when your team has 3 games and you only get 10 minutes of burn out of the three games. They simply aren't good enough to play. They need time in the lab to get better. Teams rarely have structure around these kids. It's all about wins and losses. No teaching happens and bad habits and become cemented.

If you note, the training is the most expensive segment for my kid. There is a reason for that. I don't know what Chris Brinkley and others are doing for these kids of nba players but the training my son does has been beyond great for him because he's watched local good middle school, high school and college players and have shared the same court as them. 3 on 3 so you can't hide. If you show up for training, you play, that's the rule so figure it out and trainer will correct mistakes along the way. The trainer is a former coach and he does this full time. The basketball education my son is getting is something I couldn't do without this structure in place. He's played with a Kingston Rhodes and his twin brother Kaiden in drills and scrimmages. Both play on the local high school team in Crown Point and for Darius Garland's AAU team.




Or getting destroyed a few times by Kenedi Bradley who is an Indiana futures Allstars in Chesterton and travels the country with her 17u team.



There are others but these are the current elite high school standouts.

My son's trainer puts up clips on Instagram. Here's one with the three mentioned with my son, the curly headed boy. This was during an advanced session, as a credit to my son, he's the only elementary school aged kid that's allowed to train during the advanced sessions.



The question someone's might have for me is why I do it. I realized early that my son had potential and that I wasn't going to be the one to translate that potential to action on the court. I'm not deluded to think that since I'm Dad, I know best so I sought out someone else more qualified than me. It's worked beautifully but it costs.

@Thatrogueassdiaz @NormanConnors have both seen what my son plays like. I'm not saying division 1 but I do forsee a scholarship somewhere. If that trajectory changes, then I'll pull back but that's why I do it currently. He's been deemed to be 'the one' in town by the high school coaches since third grade, he may even hoop with the 6th graders as a fifth grader this year per the varsity head coach as he told me Monday. He's been playing with 6th and 7th graders over the summer. In addition to the school team, he's hooping with a 10-11u AAU team from November through April. This team operates within a three hour radius so he'll have a tournament in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and somewhere in Illinois in terms of how far they go. He runs point, has great handles, can shoot, lighting quick, can pass and direct, etc.

Ultimately, it's an investment in my son's potential future. You don't have to spend even as much as I do to make this happen. If your kid just wants to play, take them to the Y but if they are good, someone will want your kid to play for them and it'll be get figured out. It's a sacrifice of funds my wife and I make because we feel like the payoff will be great for our son.

Salute. Does your son only hoop? How do you feel about people who say kids shouldn't specialize in a sport until they are in high school?

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

Depending on the area/school a lot of those programs are just fielding a team. They'll put anyone on the team just to have bodies. Plenty of public schools might excel at 1 or 2 sports, and be mid to trash at everything else.

My daughter is 7 and has been in tennis lessons coming up on a year. Nothing too crazy either, started out 1 class per week for each session, then we'd do stuff at home in the basement. Summer started and they were doing 2 sessions per week. I'd work in some days on local courts with her because the weather is nice and it's just time spent to have her working on hitting some balls and tightening up her form.

This week, the indoor facility that she practices at had 2 local HS's there competing. I was watching their matches and they all of them looked like they never played tennis before HS. The class my daughter is in was also practicing during the same time with girls ranging from ages 6/7 to like 10/11 and they all looked significantly better than any of the girls playing in HS. If they all keep playing from now til HS, they'll dominate the majority of the competition

This is great breh. That's something that I've noted going to games in my town in terms of basketball for the high school my son will go to. Last year's leading scorer averaged 20 a game and his left was suspect as hell. My son can already finish with both hands. That's the purpose of the training. Unless you are in a very fortunate situation, you aren't going to be developed further in high school. I realized that early so that's why I found someone for my son early. Started him off at 8. For both of us, you see the difference immediately. Your daughter will learn textbook form and technique that will accentuate her natural talent.

 

[UpAndComing]

Who the hell cares?

.0001% of young kids will actually make it to the NBA/NFL/MLB, etc. Better those kids stop focusing on careers that were already close to unattainable and focus on upper middle class careers just as Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants. Engineers, Finance, etc etc

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

Salute. Dos your son only hoop? How do you feel about people who say kids shouldn't specialize in a sport until they are in high school?

Thanks breh. I won't let him play football though I know he'll be a great one. That's what he plays at recess every day. He's freakishly athletic for his age. He will likely run track in middle school. He has expressed interest in that.

About why he only hoops? I'd rather him not be a jack of all trades. It's great for staying in shape because sports do overlap but he'd miss out on the aforementioned knowledge. Most kids playing nowadays can't throw an entry pass for example. A changing of the game but still, it should be something they know. It's the nuances of the game. One of the things I've done with my son during the downtime is to just play in local leagues so he just signs up through registration and plays with whomever. His trainer isn't a fan of that but I say, if he can play, he'll figure it out because your game should travel. He just typically end up with coaches that do this for their own kids and to the others detriment at times.

Spoiler: Shooting Clips

He's a lefty and can finish with both hands.


For this one, this isn't nothing but a drill and the center isn't anything but a cone. That's why the footwork is great here. It's been practiced and drilled to death.


Again, kid was a cone and this was a drill.

Or with passing.

Throwing the ball where they are supposed to be, not where they were.

Spoiler: Passing clips

As I said, it's the nuances and just extra time. Like in said, having to be on the same court with literal state Allstars forces you to make decisions a hell of a lot faster, far faster than your average kid in your grade will make you. The windows of opportunity are so small as you get older. Learning how to address that now has been monumental for him.

 

[Jerz-2]

Youth programs in most countries don’t operate this way, so why do we do it?

You just answered your own question, homie.

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

As I said, it's the nuances and just extra time. Like in said, having to be on the same court with literal state Allstars forces you to make decisions a hell of a lot faster, far faster than your average kid in your grade will make you. The windows of opportunity are so small as you get older. Learning how to address that now has been monumental for him.

Didn't get a chance to add these.

Anticipatory skills become better and more intuitive and being able to throw a pass off platform, in rhythm. I don't care that the teammates missed he made the right read to get his teammates an open shot.




Time, trials and tribulations and the games he's had has made him stronger. Playing multiple sports, unless you're just a savant will keep you from reaching your fullest of potential.

 

[ZEupTWN]

Even boxing expensive at least relatively, shyt was free at my local community center when I was young.

Think about all the great bands that came out of every major city. Instruments used to be more freely available in schools and community centers.

Jimmy Jam said he stopped playing drums as a kid because he heard Prince playing it at the community center they used to goto. That center is now a police department.

They building glitzy state of the art rec centers but the community grassroots element is simply not there especially in cities smh....My co worker was just telling how they built one up the street from his home and he couldn't get a direct answer on the hours so he could use the court to shot around with his nephew and son.....In the neighborhood I grew up in the YMCA was small and outdated but man it always seemed available....Thats another thing COL is so high its harder for the dedicated organizers, directors, coaches, trainers who volunteer or work for little pay....Thats who a lot of those great athletes from the hood/poor working class areas relied on back in the day...

Thats why I think OPs point is mostly relevant in the large metro areas where competition is thick and COL is higher...

One of my homies older brother moved with his wife and kids from the DMV to Southern VA around Richmond, him and his wife ain't making as much but ateotd their money goes longer and they don't have to work extended hrs to pay the bills..That gives them enough time to focus on their children's development...Their son and daughter are like 8 and 9 already showing signs their going to be really good athletes....Point is if your working class or even comfortably middle class its not easy to just pick up and move but after a certain point you gotta look at the bigger picture and make that sacrifice if you want better....

Either way people are resilient, so are children..It’s foolish to think these athletes are coming from well off backgrounds when a good majority are not…

Didn't get a chance to add these.

Anticipatory skills become better and more intuitive and being able to throw a pass off platform, in rhythm. I don't care that the teammates missed he made the right read to get his teammates an open shot.




Time, trials and tribulations and the games he's had has made him stronger. Playing multiple sports, unless you're just a savant will keep you from reaching your fullest of potential.

Thats whats up you are doing good work....Setting up a solid foundation and applying it in real time is crucial...Taking charge of your child development is way more important that just throwing money at whatever popular trainer, travel team hoping they will develop or stir them the right way....