I have been uncomfortable around "Travel League" sports for many years. It is a topic that gets me frustrated almost like no other. For many years this feeling of "uncomfortability" has been vague and abstract. However, last week with time to think (I was at the beach) I was able to distill my thoughts and came up with some very concrete reasons that "Travel League" sports make me uncomfortable.
For the sake of ease of communication I will define any sports that take place outside of the oversight of a school district as "Travel League" sports. That is a broad definition and I know it will suck some very worthy sports and events into its scope that may not deserve to be there.
My qualifications to write this article include: Officiating at Travel League Soccer Matches, AAU Basketball Tournaments, attendance at many AAU Basketball tournaments for recruiting (which for at least the time being I have sworn off), and many conversations with teenagers, coaches and officials over the course of my 11 year teaching career.
In no particular order here are the reasons that travel league sports make me uncomfortable:
-Families are spending thousands of dollars in order for their kids to participate. I would guess on an average travel league season a family can spend close to $5,000. That includes team fees (some places charge upwards of $5,000 per participant just to play), travel (parents and families in hotels, eating out, tournament entrance fees, etc. These kids are run all over the state or in many cases the country to play a sport. The costs add up extremely quickly and go extremely high. I know a dad who estimates he spent close to $30,000 over his sons 8 year soccer career on travel, participant fees, etc. That is a ton of money. I heard of a family whose son played AAU Basketball skipping mortgage payments so he could play for his team. The magazine article celebrated this "investment" in his future. DUMB, missing mortgage payments so your son can play basketball is DUMB.
-I hate the travel that kids are putting in along with families. I know of kids from Harrisburg who travel to Pittsburgh (approximately 200 miles each way) on a school night to play for a particular travel league team. 400 mile round trip on school nights is not wise under any circumstances. I know other families who routinely (several nights a week) who travel over 200 miles on a school night for practice. Then on weekends these kids regularly put in another 500-700 miles on the road for tournaments. Week after week, month after month this time on the road adds up to hundreds of hours. I don't think that is wise.
-I am uncomfortable with the fact that families are missing out on family and church time. I know many families who send one kid one direction (hundreds of miles) with one parent for a volleyball tournament and another chunk of the family heads another direction for soccer or softball. Families are meant to be together, especially, on the weekend. Instead of waking up late on a Saturday and enjoying the benefits of rest and relaxation these kids are headed for a hotel breakfast and then the gym. Typically, these kids only play close to 3 hours max of their sport but it takes a whole weekend to accomplish this minimal playing time. These families are separated from early Friday morning (work and school) through late Sunday night. These families are also missing church (if that is a priority for them).
-I am uncomfortable with the specialization and overuse injuries that occur because of travel league sports. It is conventional wisdom in the Physical Education, Physical Therapy and Wellness communities that athletes cannot and should not play their sports year-round. Muscles and bones become overused and more likely to be injured. The fatigue brought on by the travel and many extra games and practices (I know of a coach who bragged that his team played an astonishing 127 games in one calendar year) cause injuries. Over-use injuries are much more likely in athletes who play year round. I am all for the 2 and 3 sport athletes. Quit thinking that specialization is the path to greater skill and glory. Let's celebrate the athletes who can play multiple sports.
-I am uncomfortable with the creepy adults who populate the travel league circuits and get rich preying on the hopes and dreams of young athletes and their naive families. Put simply, many travel leagues exploit the athletes for sake of financial gain. They make massive sums of money on entrance fees, spectator admission fees, concessions etc. There are also many creepy adults who look to latch onto a promising prospect in the hopes that they will one day earn some money playing professionally. Both of these behaviors are exploitative and the number of adults preying on kids is absurdly high in travel league sports, in my opinion. There are also hoards of parents and coaches who are looking to live out some kind of fantasy life by coaching teams. There are many parents who try to relive their past through their kids. The percentage of creepy adults is significantly higher in travel league sports than it is in school based athletics.
-I hate the fact that many kids quit playing the sport they used to love around 10th grade because of burnout. You simply cannot play soccer year round from 2nd grade - High School without getting tired of the game. Parents push players relentlessly (to fulfill their own ambitions and feed their own sick egos) to the point the kids simply quit playing. I see it every year with approximately High School Sophomores. They either quit or start to resent the sport they once loved.
-I am uncomfortable with the parents who think that travel league sports are a path to a college scholarship. Many kids are awarded scholarships based upon their play in travel league events and tournaments. However, many more kids are simply not going to earn a scholarship no matter how many tournaments they attend. Families spend themselves broke (see the first point above) to earn a "mythical" scholarship for their average or below average athlete. If only the money spent on sports had been invested wisely the kids would have been able to easily afford college. Now broke parents (who are financially broke and heart broken because their kid didn't come close to a scholarship) are forced to realize that the Thousands of Dollars spent are gone and they have nothing saved for college. The truth of travel league sports is that many, many families are funding the opportunity for a very select few to earn scholarships to college.
****I know many families and individuals (who are good, strong families and people) who participate or allow their kids to participate. These are my opinions (most backed up by facts and studies, but nonetheless my opinions). This is my blog so I feel that I can share my thoughts. If you disagree with me, that is fine, but take a minute to consider the points I have made above.
