Recruiting Ad for 6 year olds

[The Profit]

There was a full-page advertisement in the Oklahoman today (not cheap by any means) recruiting "experienced" 5 and 6 year olds for a traveling baseball team for this fall and next spring. The ad said the team would be fully sponsored, and that the "experienced" 5 and 6 year olds would share their talents with other talented kids, and would have the best in training and uniforms and would travel in style.

Okay, here are my problems with the ad. Do you really need a full page ad in the Oklahoman (thousands of dollars) to recruit 5 and 6 year old baseball players? Is there such a thing as an "experienced" 5 or 6 year old? Do 5 and 6 year olds really need to travel in style (we went to our games in the back of a pickup truck singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall."

What is the point in this. There are no full baseball scholarships. With the influx of outstanding foreign baseball talent (Central America, Japan, Korea, etc.) there isn't much of a chance of 5 and 6 year old "little johnny" growing up to make the bigs. Those spots will be taken by today's 5 and 6 year old Joses. Jesuses and Hidekis.

The idiots, who try get their "experienced" 5 and 6 year olds on this team will have a chance to watch them crush sandlot kids for a few years, but they will never see them play as high schoolers. Their "experienced" youngsters will be burned out way before then.

[Breadburner]

I think you are under-qualified....

[Viking Kitten]

Seems like the parents who would respond to that ad are quite a bit like "stage moms," whom you see in NYC and LA, parents who would do anything to make their kids famous. My kids both play youth sports, and my son is particularly good at football, but I personally wouldn't push him into anything he'd have to give up his childhood for. Who knows though... it worked for Earl Woods, right?

[The Profit]

Seems like the parents who would respond to that ad are quite a bit like "stage moms," whom you see in NYC and LA, parents who would do anything to make their kids famous. My kids both play youth sports, and my son is particularly good at football, but I personally wouldn't push him into anything he'd have to give up his childhood for. Who knows though... it worked for Earl Woods, right?




It did for a while, anyway.

[jumperstop]

Seems like the parents who would respond to that ad are quite a bit like "stage moms," whom you see in NYC and LA, parents who would do anything to make their kids famous. My kids both play youth sports, and my son is particularly good at football, but I personally wouldn't push him into anything he'd have to give up his childhood for. Who knows though... it worked for Earl Woods, right?

I bet you the parents would have to pay for their 5 and 6 y.o to travel in style and have awesome uniforms.

[achiro]

Travelling teams for kids that age are stupid. Sure the " it's fun for the kids" and "it's our family time" excuses always come up but guess what, those kids would like a weekend trip to anywhere just as much even without a t-ball tourney involved.
I've always said this, you want your kid to be great at baseball(or any sport pretty much) get them into fundamentals camps, teach them, give them private coaching if you can but standing in right field 200+ games a year doesn't give them enough experience to improve their talents much. Other than the pitcher and catcher they won't touch the ball enough to get much out of it.

[The Profit]

Travelling teams for kids that age are stupid. Sure the " it's fun for the kids" and "it's our family time" excuses always come up but guess what, those kids would like a weekend trip to anywhere just as much even without a t-ball tourney involved.
I've always said this, you want your kid to be great at baseball(or any sport pretty much) get them into fundamentals camps, teach them, give them private coaching if you can but standing in right field 200+ games a year doesn't give them enough experience to improve their talents much. Other than the pitcher and catcher they won't touch the ball enough to get much out of it.




Exactly. You know what you are talking about.

[Viking Kitten]

I bet you the parents would have to pay for their 5 and 6 y.o to travel in style and have awesome uniforms.

Oh, of course you would. People love to manipulate parents out of their cash. Have you ever watched "Toddlers and Tiaras" on TLC? Holy crap, those pageant promoters are making a fortune off those idiots moms and their entry fees, who get a rhinestone tiara worth $8.98 in return... IF they win. Same concept, different method here I would imagine.

[The Profit]

Oh, of course you would. People love to manipulate parents out of their cash. Have you ever watched "Toddlers and Tiaras" on TLC? Holy crap, those pageant promoters are making a fortune off those idiots moms and their entry fees, who get a rhinestone tiara worth $8.98 in return... IF they win. Same concept, different method here I would imagine.





The ad says, "fully sponsored," and I say bullchit. When my boys were growing up, I saw this happen over and over.

[soonercruiser]

It's another symptom of the decline of American society.
And, we're worried about the national debt and the poor???
:rolleyes:

[Viking Kitten]

Now see, if soonercruiser was my kid, I would TOTALLY be a stage mom. A kid capable of that much melodrama would make me an absolute fortune in Hollywood.

[The Profit]

Now see, if soonercruiser was my kid, I would TOTALLY be a stage mom. A kid capable of that much melodrama would make me an absolute fortune in Hollywood.





Classic post. It has me thinking of a way to use him effectively.

[soonercruiser]

Now see, if soonercruiser was my kid, I would TOTALLY be a stage mom. A kid capable of that much melodrama would make me an absolute fortune in Hollywood.

I've got 3 days a week available, Ma!
;)

[picasso]

Do they need a 42 year old left handed ex little league pitching phenom?

Would they send me some place special for that?

[GKeeper316]

little athlete kids are the best retirement plan in the world... its workin out well for venus and serena's old man.

[Ike]

I talk with a coworker about this kind of stuff all the time. He has kids on travelling teams (8 and 11), and he also coaches. My kids are 2 and almost 1. If I'm lucky, they'll love baseball as much as I do. While I'd be tempted to throw them in as many baseball games as possible as early as possible, the last thing I want to see is my kid hating the game because he got burned out on early.

Besides, at that age, I had every bit as much fun going to an empty field with my dad and a bucket of balls as I had playing on any team.

[thecynic]

when do kids have time to be kids anymore? good lord, we try to make them grow up too soon. Very few kids that start traveling that early in life ever make it through high school playing (whatever sport it is)

[jumperstop]

Oh, of course you would. People love to manipulate parents out of their cash. Have you ever watched "Toddlers and Tiaras" on TLC? Holy crap, those pageant promoters are making a fortune off those idiots moms and their entry fees, who get a rhinestone tiara worth $8.98 in return... IF they win. Same concept, different method here I would imagine.

Unfortunately my gf makes me watch that show all the time...:O

[Dio]

What's the name of the team? The Craig James Helicopter Dad All Stars?

[Viking Kitten]

Unfortunately my gf makes me watch that show all the time...:O

Well then, in case you haven't seen it, here is the Tom Hanks Toddlers and Tiaras spoof that aired on Jimmy Kimmel. Good stuff.

dPLWKBWkn3s

[The Profit]

Do they need a 42 year old left handed ex little league pitching phenom?

Would they send me some place special for that?




Can you throw a slider or a split-fingered fastball?

[The Profit]

Unfortunately my gf makes me watch that show all the time...:O




She didn't make you admit that you watch it.

[picasso]

Can you throw a slider or a split-fingered fastball?

Vaseline ball.:D

[The Profit]

Vaseline ball.:D




I like that. That's old school baseball.

[jumperstop]

She didn't make you admit that you watch it.

Ehh it's not as gay as all the bride shows I have to watch on that channel. I don't give a **** what wedding dress that bitch buys...

[The Profit]

Ehh it's not as gay as all the bride shows I have to watch on that channel. I don't give a **** what wedding dress that bitch buys...





:D

[IndySooner]

Gotta say, sports have gotten ridiculous. These "traveling teams" cost thousands of dollars and burn kids out so fast that as someone said, they'll never see the field later in life.

I played baseball up until my second year in college. My kids won't be on any of these teams anytime soon. They won't at least until they're 11 or 12 when they know that they're interested in making it a part of their life. Not only that, but half of the time, the dads who coach these teams don't coach kids the right way and cause injury, etc., at an early age.

[The Profit]

Gotta say, sports have gotten ridiculous. These "traveling teams" cost thousands of dollars and burn kids out so fast that as someone said, they'll never see the field later in life.

I played baseball up until my second year in college. My kids won't be on any of these teams anytime soon. They won't at least until they're 11 or 12 when they know that they're interested in making it a part of their life. Not only that, but half of the time, the dads who coach these teams don't coach kids the right way and cause injury, etc., at an early age.




Good post. When it quits being about the kids and begins being about the dads, it is wrong.