How Do You Justify The Cost of Youth Baseball or Softball?

As a baseball parent, how can you justify the money spent on youth baseball, especially if they don't practice that often outside of organized team activities and games?
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[@OaseDaniel]

I agree. I play baseball with my son all the time, so spending the money on all the lessons and equipment is for me too because I’m learning and having fun with him

[@MichaelLabriola-f8s]

I loved Baseball and Hockey so much that when i had to quit to work and help my family i went into a depression that took years to get over! I truly loved sports. ❤I love going to the park watching the kids play. Great great memories! I buy all my nieces and nephews sports equipment to encourage them.❤

[@Cartersballinchannel]

I’ve always found very affordable options for my son. Over the last 7 years I’ve probably spent around $1500-$2000 in total on baseball. It’s been more of an investment in time at the park putting in work on the field to develop.
Yesterday we created a new game. It’s essentially 2-square using the mitt as a paddle and using a solid rubber ball. Tons of fun and teaches glove-to-ball skill.
I’m sure I’ve spent more on spilled liquor.

[@jbing65]

Can't agree more!
Coaching my son's teams, brings me back great memories from playing! but i'm also aware that he is creating his own baseball memories with his school friends! I'm just glad to see some first hand and enjoy some of his baseball moments!

[@dogsbark5750]

Both my kids wake up at 6 to do their pitch training and hotting.
They also practice their instruments for an hour everyday. They push eachother for one reason. They want to do those things as much as possible.
I go into with the mindset if they work this hard at something I should support it.

[@joecap1]

This is wonderful. Thanks Dan. Keep it up man. We appreciate it.

[@stevebishop5417]

Stay away from the big travel teams and play on your local travel team. Our local travel team plays 7 tournaments, our local school district allows us to use school gyms and batting cages all fall and winter for free. Our players earn local donations and total costs per player is under $300 for the year. We practice a lot all fall and winter and win a lot of our tournaments vs the big travel teams. It's flattering when other teams parents and coaches ask how we got so good and they're floored that it's under $300 a year for our team...stay local and utilize your local facilities to keep costs down and practice a lot.

[@JohnBrown-mh9ii]

Great advice. I know several families that have children playing “travel ball”. It’s a pretty expensive ordeal. It’s a sacrifice for these families but the payoffs seem to be worth it. These are kids that really love the game and the higher level of competition. I’m sure most of these kids dream about one day becoming a MLB legend, what kid that loves the game doesn’t? For the most part, the parents “keep it real” with the kids just as you did in this video. Thanks for sharing and keeping it real.

[@DanBlewett]

thanks!

[@imn8]

The word luv, luv is a verb
(if you know, you know)

[@Andrew.3002]

Thanks Coach

[@bryanhowcroft2932]

With all the love you have for ball, and staying involved, have you considered becoming an umpire?

[@MichaelLabriola-f8s]

We have to try and get as many kids off the couch and playing all sports. My dad and that guy from valutainment Bet David couldn't afford to play in leagues. I was lucky enough to find a church sponsored Hockey and Baseball programs.

[@BobJones-dv6uk]

I love your videos and am interested in your thoughts on the NCAA settlement. How do you think it will affect college baseball? My son is a 2026 grad getting into the recruiting process. Any advice?

[@DanBlewett]

I have no advice, but its going to change a lot about college baseball.

[@ijokun]

Not all kids skip practice because they don’t love baseball enough… they haven’t experienced yet that constant practice leads to having better skills. How can we let them experience that without nudging them to practice?

[@DanBlewett]

I made this video on the matter: th-cam.com/video/3xC8LNdhUNs/w-d-xo.html . I think for those who have a deep love for anything, they have a natural curiosity for learning and excelling at it and for doing it more and more. It's not "practice" we're even talking about - kids that really love any sport want to go do it nearly every day. It's "play" not "practice" even though adults might call it practice. It sounds like your kid doesnt put in that much time but you still want to place him in the "love" bin, but if kids who love it drag their bat and ball into the backyard every chance they get, then I find it hard to accept that those who are content to play ball here and there can be put in the same category.

[@michaellindsey13]

the way i look at it is that my kids are only kids once. no problem spending the money on their sports.

[@1969EType]

Maybe if youth sports weren’t so expensive it wouldn’t be so difficult to make this decision…
It’s offensive, right? Because you can’t have sports without teammates and opponents so, 98% of travel families are providing an infrastructure so that 2% or less of the athletes can have a system to develop enroute to becoming professionals. Sports is great. All kids should play a sport…any sport. But, sports culturally has become too important relative to developing well-rounded children…

[@Sam-wu5ry]

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