I’m a licensed professional counselor who works with children, adolescents, couples, and families. I’ve seen the fallout that can pile up on kids when parents don’t consider all risks connected to travel sports.
That’s not to say kids’ travel sports are always bad, just that they’re not always good.
An Overview
Kids’ travel sports are athletic programs with youth sports teams, including baseball, soccer, football, ice hockey, cheer, water polo, and dance. While these programs can position kids for varsity teams and other future accomplishments, they aren’t right for every kid and family. They aren’t essential to kids being healthy and well-rounded.
The Good Points
Travel sports can help:
- Form friendships, not only among kids but parents and other family members
- Give kids experience in advocacy, including speaking up for themselves and others
- Improve physical fitness and athletic skills
- Provide travel experiences
- Teach ethics, fairness, and followthrough
The Downsides
Travel sports are filled with potential good, but there are risks and other issues to consider. Burnout, for instance, can cause long-lasting mental and physical damage, including injuries sustained because a kid’s head wasn’t in the game.
Next: increased risk of injury due to intense game and practice schedules. According to sports insurance company Sadler Sports, at least 3.5 million youth sports injuries are treated every year. With so much additional time devoted to games and practice in travel sports, injuries, including those from overuse, can increase.
Some, such as knee and head injuries, could prove permanent. Travel sports can require three to five nights of practice per week and sometimes weekends. That’s a lot of added risk for burnout and injuries.
There’s also the expense. According to online sources, tournament costs in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region within a one—to two-hour drive were about $2,000 for fees and training facilities, plus $500 per child for uniforms and equipment. Not included were gas, food, lodging, and incidentals. Spending $10,000 a year for one child in these programs is not unheard of.
Before committing to a travel sports program, make sure you can truly afford it.
More Considerations
Before discussing travel sports with your child, consider:
- All family members living with you
- If you make the travel sports schedule a part of your vacation plans, how much of a vacation will it be for your child
- What happens if your kid wants to quit part way through
- What you’ll do if you or your child doesn’t mesh with coaching styles
- Whether you can manage the time and travel commitment
- Whether your child really likes the sport
Also consider:
- If spending money this way will cause financial strain and pile new levels of stress on your family
- If your child will have adequate downtime/homework time
- What your child wants and whether they’re informed enough to make a decision
- Whether recreational league sports will work just as well at this point
Please don’t tell your child how expensive this is, that you’ve scrimped and saved, or that you’re going into debt for it. Oversharing like that can harm your child and possibly damage your relationship with them – forever.
Whose ‘Dog’ Is It?
The expression “having a dog in the race” means having a personal stake in something. When it comes to travel sports, whose dog is in the race, your kid’s or yours?
Think back. Were you in youth travel sports? What were your experiences with sports in general? What messages did you hear from your parents about sports, competition, and excelling?
Some of us parents are wired to want things for our kids because it makes us feel better about ourselves. It’s a flaw that doesn’t make us bad people, but it’s a motivation we should resist. For more on this parent trap, click here. And please, know that I’m not beating up on anyone and have made my own parenting mistakes.
If you are in a position to involve your child in travel sports, please assure them that the decision is actually theirs and that they’re loved no matter what. If the decision is made to go for it, talk about realistic expectations. Remind your child that nobody’s perfect, that they can’t win ‘em all, and that it’s not whether you win or lose but how you play the game.
Cliches or not, I believe they’re true.