Coach Bakich on Travel Ball, Leadership and Coaching
JUB with an outstanding interview of Eric Bakich who discusses the impact of travel ball in baseball (and softball), what he and the M program looks for in student athletes and the impact of sports and coaching on people.
https://youtu.be/AJOs-9OJScg?fbclid=IwAR37JeEB7JlvDKU2fcU1HyugQapzzr3ohBK1XkmWpX2CPaGdiv8__XCO2PI
Completely agree with the travel ball stuff - my daughter plays travel ball and I was the HC for a year but we tried to run a program while encouraging multiple sport participation. Much of it has gotten way too travel-oriented instead of focusing on development.
October 7th, 2019 at 8:10 AM ^
This is the best athletic advice post of the year for parents of youngsters.
The problem is—the ego of the parents cannot be stopped.
I have coached many years (boys and girls) in multiple sports and designed the programs to forget the scoreboard and yet the players own a state record for the winningest team ever (in any girls sport) even though the 10 year model was targeted to produce camaraderie and social development.
Thank you for posting this!
October 7th, 2019 at 8:59 AM ^
Unfortunately people don't understand wins at a young age doesn't always translate to wins as a senior. People don't understand kids hit puberty and things change, in some cases drastically. Parents don't understand that the kids at 12 who are 5 9 already don't always grow again.
The only thing that truly matters is getting better and understanding how to be coachable and a great teammate. That alone will get your child better.
October 7th, 2019 at 9:49 AM ^
Obligatory Fire Bakich!
October 7th, 2019 at 9:54 AM ^
I hope this hits every youth sports association in a 5 state radius. The travel aspect is just out of control, and is a big reason why IMO sports participation is down.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:24 AM ^
It is a huge reason because it has become a money grab. So the haves can play and the have nots can't. It is a shame.
October 7th, 2019 at 10:03 AM ^
I've coached teams for about the last 10 years. Last 6 years football and baseball, just baseball prior to that. The toxic travel culture is everywhere. There are 10+ travel programs all within a few minutes driving distance from us. We have friends who have played all over, every program has issues.
My oldest is a freshman this year, playing baseball and football. I am glad to just be a dad and watch. He is playing high school baseball only, if his talents allow him a scholarship great, if not his academics will get him into a great school. I'd rather have him play less and enjoy it than burn himself out playing year-round.
October 7th, 2019 at 10:41 AM ^
I helped run both a recreation baseball league and a travel baseball organization concurrently. Our goal with the travel league was to integrate with the rec league so that it was a "bonus" baseball situation for kids and parents who wanted more practice and game experience.
We focused primarily on development. The travel organizations proliferated in our community at the same time and many parents (and players) ran off to other ones more focused on bigger tournaments and winning at all costs. This was when my son was between the ages of 10-13. (He was incidentally cut the first season and made the "B" squad the second year and then the main team at 12 and 13.)
Looking back (he's 16 now), my son is playing varsity ball down here in Kentucky. Many of his teammates (and most of those who ran off to "better" travel leagues) are not involved in baseball at all anymore, just a few years later. Not only did the "win now" travel teams siphon off players, they essentially stopped those kids from loving the game anymore.
The recreation league has fallen on hard times, too, as most of those travel teams forbid their players from playing rec ball with their friends. We encouraged both, and the mix of baseball experiences for our players was great. It was okay to maybe be the 4th outfielder on your travel team if you were an all-star in rec and a top pitcher on your rec club. Now the rec leagues are scant, meaning there is very little talent there to help other kids have fun with the game, and the "good" players are all fighting and making baseball stressful because of parents hoping to live vicariously.
Not to mention the $$$ gap created there, when the most wealthy kids/parents are the ones calling the shots for these teams. The sponsorships for rec leagues dry up when they are donating for a 9th alternate jersey for the local 6U Ultra Elite SluggerMasters of the Tri-County Area to go to the Bahamas for spring break next year.
October 7th, 2019 at 10:46 AM ^
Softball team makes 7 errors......coaches and fans blame the umpires.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:08 AM ^
Great interview. I couldn't have a bigger man crush on Coach Bakich.
As the father to a kid who has baseball talent, it is a challenge to avoid all the pressure to put him in year round, club/travel ball. Thankfully he likes sports, all sports, so he's off playing flag football this fall, and will play basketball in the winter. While he loves baseball, I'm sure he'd get bored/burnt out playing it the whole year.
October 7th, 2019 at 9:08 PM ^
Quit baseball now. Golf....golf. Do him this favor.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:15 AM ^
I played three sports in high school. I loved the different seasons and preparing for the different sports. When one was winding down, I was absolutely ready for the next season to begin. I can't imagine playing a single sport almost year round. I would have absolutely burnt out. Luckily my parents weren't in the position to pay for travel teams or anything like that. If they would have made me do it, I would have lost alot of interest in that sport. There's probably a ton of kids that just stop because they want to have a life outside of sports.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:21 AM ^
Michigan Arrogance, this is a terrific post. Thanks.
October 7th, 2019 at 2:29 PM ^
As a dad I enjoyed my kid's travel soccer. I wanted her to be good in a HS sport as long as she was passionate about it. If a college knocked on the door, great, but I wasn't delusional. My daughter met lifelong friends and gained leadership skills that she wouldn't have had with AYSO or Y-flavored rec leagues (if those existed, which they usually didn't where we lived). It worked for her.
Unfortunately, the reality is - at the mid-size HS - a young athlete probably needs the competition and development of a travel league in order to make the HS team, let alone get any kind of playing time.