Travel Sports Programs Becoming National Trend Across The Board
By Matthew Cannata | Sports Correspondent at February 20, 2024 | 8:45 am | Print
Over the past several years, youth travel programs that focus in on specialized programs for specific sports have been taking over the sports scene. Look around and you’ll see baseball, soccer, football and others becoming year-round programs.
Looking in from the outside, one might think people are crazy to spend thousands of dollars on these programs. However, those who are involved say that it’s much more than just competing. Instead, it’s more about learning life lessons, getting more experience and having the opportunity to experience things they wouldn’t get to in recreational leagues.
Count Guy Crundwell as one of those parents who believe that travel ball is beneficial to the development of his child. Nigel, who is 11-years-old, plays baseball ten months out of the year.
“The main benefit from playing travel ball is more games. More games translate directly to more experience. By the time my son gets to high school, he will have played in more than three times as many games as the average player who just plays Little League. Another benefit is more exposure to coaches. We have been lucky having excellent coaches in our local Little League (NBLL) as well in our travel program (Connecticut Capitals) to the extent that my son is now surrounded with coaches who are coaching at the high school and college levels.”
According to Crundwell, the benefits of travel baseball go beyond experience and exposure.
“Whereas we love town baseball because Nigel has a chance to play with his friends from school; travel ball has a few different benefits. Teammates are restricted to his age group. For Nigel, it is a blast to travel, have an overnight stay, hang with his teammates, and play on well-kept fields against many excellent (and some not so excellent) teams. A final benefit is more access to training facilities. During the off-season, my son can focus on activities related to baseball that don’t involve throwing. This helps in refining technique, strength, and injury prevention.”
When a child plays this many games at such a high level, one may worry about the child facing pressure while also burning out or sustaining a long-term injury. Crundwell is aware of this, which is why he gives Nigel time to disconnect from the sport.
“I don’t think he feels any pressure to perform; but I have noticed a burn-out factor by the end of the fall season. For a few months over the holidays, I let him disconnect from baseball altogether. Physical fatigue isn’t an issue since Nigel did not pitch that much; but mentality playing over 80 games a year is draining.”
This isn’t just limited to baseball and some would argue that football is becoming a year-round sport much more than baseball is. For example, Rivals.com, a website that tracks high school and college players, announced that they would begin tracking middle school athletes. Two names are already listed and one is Daron Bryden, a 12-year-old quarterback.
Since he was eight-years-old, Bryden has traveled all over the country playing in tournaments and getting specialized training from current and former NFL athletes as well as coaches. His father, Craig, says that becoming an NFL quarterback has been his son’s dream and has taken it upon himself to work hard and stay committed to becoming the best he can possibly be.
“He works extremely hard at it, while maintaining good grades and being a great kid and big brother, so my wife and I will do whatever we can to help him reach his dream. Daron is very humble and down to earth and just loves football. Like I said, Daron is very mature beyond his years and has been very humble both on and off the field. My wife and I are deaf so he was forced to mature very early. He is a great kid and loves to help his younger brother, Jaxon and sister, Mikaela. He always helps them with their school work. He is just a special kid that loves to help his family.”
For the Bryden family, the year-round programs and all of the travel is well worth it.
“The best part of year round programs that travel around the country is watching my son grow with both talent and maturity. He has been able to learn a little from each coach and professional that he has met throughout his journey so far. He has incorporated the tips and skills that are offered to him and has displayed them in his play on the field.”
While baseball and football have dominated the travel scene over the past several years, soccer has been slowly creeping up and there are now premier leagues across the country where athletes come from all over the region to form as one.
Jason Jones has an 11-year-old son who plays year-round soccer. According to Jones, this is the best way to develop technical skill.
“This is what happens in most of the rest of the world-kids play all the time. Anyone can see the difference between players who train year-round, and kids who don’t. Playing soccer with and against players from other states, and even other parts of the country, is a great way to learn about the game and about yourself. It’s also helpful to see where the bar for your age group really is, and so it can be a little humbling. That said, playing on teams that have won statewide and regional competitions has taught my child a lot about character, teamwork, and leadership, and has even given him the opportunity to play in international competitions.”
In terms of pressure and the burn-out factor, Jones says that this is brought upon by parents and not necessarily the competitive environment.
“In my view, the pressure associated with year-round programs come from parents, who become too quickly convinced that these programs are an “investment” that will pay off in a scholarship. That’s crazy talk. Most kids quit sports at a serious level by the time they get to high school. If that’s not ok with you, then you need to re-evaluate why you’re letting your child do this. If the child loves the sport-has a real passion and drive to play-then there’s no pressure. The child will love to compete, and may well be briefly self-critical after big games, but they bounce back quickly. Parents who are wrapped up in their kids’ sports ruin it for everyone.”
For these parents and their children, these travel programs are used to fuel their child’s passion for their favorite sport. When it’s all said and done though, these parents also know that the ultimate decision to continue in their sport will be up to their child. For now though, they are providing the best possible experience for them in hopes that it teaches them to become a better person both on and off the field.
