Reader comments
Youth sports costing more time and money

The writer failed to mention the cost of GAS to get to each of these destinations!! It is just not worth it!

Why are parents wasting thier childrens youth in these forced sporting activities? Parents don't give these children a chance to be children. Sports and activities are good for children to keep them active and away from TV and the electronic games, but excess in sports can be just as harmful. These junior sports are more of a problem with parents that feel they have missed out on something, and the children are forced with years of stress, anxiety, and injuries that they may never recover from. These professional parents abusing thier childrens mental state are teaching the children a life of aggression without temperance or compassion. It has gone from a sport to an aggressive obession that teach children the wrong meaning of sports. There is more to life than sports in a childs learning and assimilating into society. A single minded child is of no use to society or his peers and parents would better serve a childs family financially if these funds were put into a more useful investment for their future. In families with more than one child it is unfair to other children of the family to suffer the mental anguish for a single member.

your child to go to college then take all the money you put into youth sports and put that into some type of college fund. He isn't getting a a scholorship.

My sister's three children are all gifted athletes, and that's all they do - sports, sports, sports. She even is working extra hours to pay for it. Her oldest daughter did receive a scholarship to play volleyball next year, but now they are worried about how they can afford to attend the home games (which are two hours from their home) let alone the away games.

My niece also had great grades. She would have been better off getting an academic scholarship for tuition and just paid for her room and board like my own children. Then she could concentrate on studying during college instead of spending her time at practices and games.

If you think the cost of sports is expensive, try getting your son off from drugs! Keep them busy everyday if possible.

That is so true father's comment but then you have high school coaches who could care less how many super league games you child has played. All your money and time is waisted if coach doesnt like your kid that is my experience with high school sports. Now we have nothing but memories of how good the kid was back in the day.

sports, it is about games and play; it is a lesiure activity- not a way of life.
someone needs to be the adult here; parents- any takers?

My wife and I have been very disturbed and frustrated by her ex's actions of enrolling their son in every league, training camp, tournament, ect ect that becomes available in Utah.. During baseball season the boy is on as many as 3 teams at one time! 12 hr practice days. As you can imagine, this cuts deeply into time that the boy is to spend with our family in AZ. Our visitation schedule has been 'arranged' around how far the boy's team goes in the tournaments. Our summer long visits have been reduced to 1 maybe 2 weeks. The father puts sports above all else....court ordered visitation schedule, family time with us, school grades ect. When the boy actually IS here with us he gets calls from his dad who tells him that their team was in another tournament but and lost because he wasn't their.....wasn't dedicated to the team. Maybe the boy has had enough....he now wants to come live with us.

One of the most damning effects this obsession with watching our kids do sports is that we're raising a generation with an "all about me" mentality. We've been playing the Cat in the Hat ("look at me, look at me now!") and gauging our quality of parenting on whether we've provided this "opportnity" and whether we've turned our lives inside out to watch every second of it, and our kids are growing up not recognizing that somebody watching them be incredible is not what life is about. And we wonder why a simple family meal together is nearly obsolete. Maybe we should consider choosing another altar?

One of my best friends had his arm ruined because his superleague coach and his automotive coach had him pitching too much year round.

Our kids have forgotten how to play. If you look at some of the best soccer players in the world, they did no participate in organized sports, they played on the streets in some of the poorest conditions you could imagine. All you parents who "have" to have your kids in organized sports, who are you doing it for, your kids or yourself!!!

They brought this on themselves by trying to live vicariously through their kids. They want to make their kids superstars and now the kids can't even be kids anymore. Their lives are owned by sports. Sadly, if you don't do it and don't pay the cost, coaches won't give you a second look anymore.

It is a fallacy to think that it is impossible for you kid to get an athletic scholarship without competing 4 years on an AAU team. It is true that college coaches will see more of them if they are on a traveling team. It's also true that your kid will likely improve their game by playing on a team all summer long. But trust me... if your kid has talent, the college coaches will find them. If not, no amount of money spent on traveling teams will help them get a scholarship. And if you'd saved the money you are shelling out over 4 years and put it in a college savings account, you could pay for their schooling yourself. My daughter got a full ride scholarship without AAU... just a basketball, the hoop out back, a couple of camps, and a good high school coach who did a little leg work. My advice? Save your money and let your child accomplish something as a result of their own dedication and hard work.

My own son played super league baseball AND basketball and we spent a lot of time and money. These are now some of the best family memories of traveling and fun as a family. There were no Disney Land trips, just family trips. As for investing the money - how many of us would have really done that anyway?

My son now has a college scholarship and a reason to go to college and STUDY. Maybe now it won't take him 7-8 years to get a degree, or maybe it will who knows!

While many take it too far with sports, some go too far with religion, others with music, others academics etc. What gives? We all try to do our best for our kids as we see fit. Good luck with yours!

Maybe parents should not worship at the Alter of "Alter Ego" and spend more time teacing children about service to others. Just because parents were not super stars they cannot make thier children super stars.

There needs to be balance in life. I think there is a very small percentage of youth athletes that actually live this lifestyle. It's sad that kids have to be forced to go and practice sports for hours on end. Let the kids think for themselves and you would be surprised. When I was young we wanted to get together on our own time and play baseball, or whatever sport was in season.

The most important thing you can do is teach your kids how to work and earn things on their own. Get them a job doing manual labor and let them earn the money for cleats and mits and bats and this will be just as valuable as sending them to any sports camp. Make them build some "Man Strength" for sports doing manual labor. Life doesn't come with a barbell to lift it with.

Involving our children in sports is not just about a game. First of all it keeps them busy, away from drugs, alcohol and any other trouble idleness and boredom might offer in their lives. It teaches responsibility, teamwork and being a part of something. It teaches them how to deal with people, good and bad. It teaches them about winning and losing in life. I would rather have my child active and healthy than sitting around playing video games all day or sitting at a computer doing who knows what! Some people need to get over their stereotypes!

To "father's comment"- not every kid wants to play sport. Some pursue art or music or other interests. I drew all the time, and grew up to be a successful professional. I hated organized sports, because I would rather have been drawing. As long as kids have interests, it isn't a choice between organized sports all day long and drug addiction. Had my parents kept me busy with activities I hated all day long I would have been *more* likely to rebel and do drugs. Forcing constant activities can backfire if they are not the activities the kids actually have an interest in.

we as parents have to be careful that the kids love the sport, and are doing it because they love it not because we want them to do it.My son has been playing super league sine he was 8 years old. He is a good enough athlete to play all the sports but baseball is year around.I have to be careful not to burn him out. He snowboards in the winter and people call him all the time to go to some baseball camp. I let him decide what to do i don't force him to do it.A lot a lot of money.

I have a few issues with some of the comments baseball or any other team sports can teach the kids a lot about life. My boys do very well in school or they can't play sports. I have a nephew that only goes to school (nothing else)he's very smart but struggles socially.

As far as sports goes my boys have learned how to work as teammates through different sports. They have also learned how to over come obstacles while playing these different sports.

I have boys in comp, and rec. The rec programs that my boys played in were horrible. The coaches were worse (attitudes, swearing, etc..) than my boy's comp team.

Bottom line is that you have to find a balance and parents that force their children into all of these camps need to realize that you can burn your kids out if you don't be careful.