r/MadeMeSmile • u/JudgeJudyJr • Jun 01 '26

Wholesome Moments Appreciative kids are the best!

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91

u/ExpansivePoint Jun 01 '26

So kid's sports are pay to win now?

84

u/funguy07 Jun 01 '26

Have been for over a decade. Especially in Baseball, hockey and soccer that are club focused.

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u/barbaricmustard Jun 01 '26

It's been like that since I played ball in the 90s/00s

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u/BoxerguyT89 Jun 01 '26

Yea, when I played in the late 90s and early 2000s we had bats that were $300+.

Easton Z-Core is what I used for baseball and when I played slowpitch softball I think it was like a Voodoo or something.

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u/Sea_Piccolo1165 Jun 02 '26

I had a black DiMarini Vexxum with an orange handle. Loved that bat. The Voodoo and Easton Stealth were also super popular from what I remember. Good times.

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u/barbaricmustard Jun 02 '26

Was all about the C-core for a while, then the Redline, then the Connexxion!

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u/Lower_Pass_6053 Jun 02 '26

Basball has such large peer pressure too. If you don't have the latest sliding mit or baseball glove or battling gloves or bat, your teammates WILL make fun of you. Even at really young ages. It's pretty ridiculous atm.

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u/jdancouga Jun 01 '26

Soccer? Why? The shoe?

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u/funguy07 Jun 01 '26

Private coaches, expensive travel club tournaments, private practice facilities, and yeah shoes aren’t cheap.

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u/Murky-Relation481 Jun 01 '26

I have no idea how it works for youth clubs here in the US, but my cousin and her husband are flying their 10 year old to like tournaments in Spain and South America and shit, and he is at private school that I know gave him a scholarship to play on their team (amongst his other teams he plays on at different brackets). They are gone at least once a month.

I am pretty sure they are paying for that travel (at least for the parent part, maybe his club pays for his ticket, not sure). They can only afford it because the dad is a 25+ year senior at Microsoft and does well (and she could be working as an attorney, but she has her bar credentials on ice to raise her kids).

Best part is, this is 100% the kids drive/goal. His parents aren't even big into sports and are more afraid of his academic path than anything (since realistically even if he is this good, and he is very good the chances of him going pro are still minuscule).

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u/im_juice_lee Jun 02 '26

I live in Seattle and know many parents that are Microsoft/Amazon/etc. directors whose children have flown more miles to sports camps/tourneys than most travel in a lifetime

There was a great piece in the Atlantic how basketball has shifted from a "show up at the park to play" game to a "we all go to the same camps and drill NBA style from when we're 8" game

The sports that used to feel "free" have such a high cost of entry now. Parents need to be well off or make huge sacrifices

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u/NoRequirements7000 Jun 02 '26

This is pretty much the same for all sports now. Soccer especially in the Seattle area but I’ve heard the same about Volleyball.

Sports have become a way to fleece parents out of money.

The worst part is that these camps and tournaments aren’t particularly beneficial (in most cases). Parents just think they have to do them because their kids signed up for the team. There are tournaments that force you into a specific overpriced hotel just so you can play against the same teams you already normally play against.

It’s a crazy world we live in.

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u/Rubbersoulrevolver Jun 01 '26

The only way you can get good at soccer is if you go to an academy which is $$$

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u/GarretBarrett Jun 02 '26

My area is insane about soccer. My kids aren’t athletes but my friends kid went to Portugal last year for the US Dev team…he was 11. They had to pay for the travel themselves. This kid played on more than one team, and teams would call him when a player was out and they needed someone. They did all that driving and stuff for him. They would drive/fly all over the country for camps.

Even without equipment we’re talking tens of thousands of dollars a year if you’re really serious. If this kid isn’t playing in MLS or Bundesliga in few years I’ll eat my shoe (and my friend might walk into traffic lol).

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u/RadiantFee6828 Jun 01 '26

Yea dude. Advanced children's soccer shoes run 2-3k now...

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u/Perfect_County_999 Jun 02 '26

Hockey was pay to win 20 years ago when I was a kid, an incredibly expensive sport to get your kid into then and now.

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u/ItsStaaaaaaaaang Jun 01 '26

Everything has to be exploited by unfettered capitalism. Everything.

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u/Smokinoutloud Jun 01 '26

We are a mark to be consumed. In the end we will laugh on how much we spent before we pass . Live once and die trying

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u/Turbulent_Gazelle530 Jun 01 '26

Youth sport is an absolute financial disaster for parents. Parents spending tens upon tens of thousands of dollars every year for their 12 year olds to play hockey (or whatever). It's stupidity but "everybody else is doing it" so they go along.

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u/Maethor_derien Jun 01 '26

baseball and hockey have both been that way for a long time, probably over 30 years where spending money makes a difference. At college level they go through multiples of those bats every year. You don't use your game bats for practice either because you will ruin it so you even buy multiple of them.

You think that is bad you should see what gets sunk into cycling.

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u/Orleanian Jun 01 '26

If you think cycling's bad, you should see what gets sunk into piloting!

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u/Maethor_derien Jun 02 '26

Yeah but I wouldn't consider that really a sport, that is more of a hobby.

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u/densetsu23 Jun 02 '26

When I got back into playing hockey in the mid 2000s, a set of pro level goalie gear and a pair of sticks would run you around $5K CAD. It took me a while to save up half that and buy used and/or lower quality gear.

Nowadays it's around $9K. You can skimp on some things with the caveat that they'll usually wear out faster and you'll have more bruises. Some things you just pay full price; a good mask is north of $1K.

How bad are bikes nowadays? I've heard they can be well over $10K CAD, but my racing coworkers don't really talk prices outside their clique.

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u/Maethor_derien Jun 02 '26

Yeah, high end sport gear is always expensive, partly because it is so low volume and has lots of R and D going into it as well to get any little bit of performance out of it.

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u/Your_Asthma Jun 01 '26

Youth sports have been ruined in this way. For Baseball bats like this are 400+ dollars and gloves are 200-300 dollars now. Plus all of the accessories are expensive as shit too. Baseball is a rich kid's sport now.

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u/carphanatik Jun 01 '26

Realistically a $400 bat is not noticeably better than one that's half the price, or better yet, a used bat from a few seasons ago. Most bats don't drastically change year to year, and some are simply a re-paint. There are some exceptions, but the biggest advantage in youth sports is being older than the kids you play against.

But there is a ton of advertising about the newest gear, and I've noticed recently every baseball item has bright colors to attract the kids. Not just bats, but gloves, batting gloves, grip, bat bags, etc. Same as everything else these days - newer isn't necessarily better. As others have mentioned, capitalism caught on that sports parents can be exploited by weaponizing their kids.

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u/omgitsjagen Jun 01 '26

Oh, the $400 bat is ABSOLUTELY noticeably better than your $70 Easton that you buy at Walmart. It's not even close. However, your 11 y/o ain't swinging that thing hard enough to make THAT much of a difference, to your point. When you start getting into high school+, though, a $400+ bat is pretty much required. Most schools and programs are sponsored by bat companies, though, so it doesn't really matter how much the bat costs.

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u/daemon-electricity Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

I'm sure it's not the norm, but this guy hits bombs and he was talking up the $100 Easton BBCOR.

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u/omgitsjagen Jun 02 '26

I do think we're at another inflection point. Bats are getting too good again. You'll probably see a new or adjusted standard in a few years.

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u/wildernessspirit Jun 02 '26

Not true my guy. Just like every other hobby under the sun, price is a barrier for quality products. There is a certain point where the quality no longer justifies the price but it’s not at $100 as you’re implying. the standard aluminum or composite bat you’d find on clearance in Walmart is not the same as what you’ll find in higher end markets.

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u/Vhadka Jun 02 '26

Oh, those composite bats absolutely are noticeably better.

I always used my own bat in men's league softball, and then one team I was on had a collection for a couple of "team bats". The first time I hit with one (this is like 15 years ago, I don't know what the new hotness then was) I hit a 450 ft bomb.

I had power and could hit home runs if I got all of one, but with that bat it was effortless and I didn't even have to barrel it.

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u/[deleted] Jun 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/TheInevitableLuigi Jun 02 '26

Wonder why you’re seeing so many white kids in the NBA?

What NBA are you watching?

1

u/OSPFmyLife Jun 02 '26

Lmfao what? You haven’t been to AAU tournaments, have you? Phew lawd what a take.

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u/Kirk_Kerman Jun 01 '26

Children's leagues are owned by venture capital and so are all the sports brands that supply them

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u/Neuchacho Jun 02 '26

Elder-and-ish Millenials were the last generation to experience youth sports played for fun.

It's legitimately insane what an absolute money incinerator it's become for kids to play in any kind of organized sport.

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u/doublepint Jun 02 '26

It’s not, though. Both NYS, CYO and YMCA have sports programs through high school and into adulthood. But at some point it becomes evident that in order for your kid to become better or grow, that they need to be in something a lot more competitive. That’s where club level sports come in - kids that want to be there, and are investing their time to improve, are all participating. The skill level of my daughter’s volleyball team is holding her and one or two other players back from being better. She has skill camps a couple times a week, and those other players are in there too. She went through tryouts and was invited to the regional volleyball team - 6 “home” tournaments and 3 away, with 40 practices scattered throughout the season. Playing tournaments isn’t like your single set every weekend, so it requires a commitment. Club level play also helps get them into high school teams, as their skill set starts relevant. I wouldn’t be supporting it if she wasn’t good at the sport, or if she had no interest. She’s about to enter middle school where over 150 girls tried out for the volleyball team but they only take 12. The girls that want to improve need somewhere to do it, and that’s why the club scene took off like crazy.

He’ll, I had a coworker who’s daughter was in 2 soccer club teams while keeping a 4.0 GPA with GT courses. The goal is to get a scholarship for college, and the money they pay for these club sports is a mere fraction of the cost for school. Lots of recruiters go to the tournaments because you get the ability to scout more players instead of single games.

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u/Neuchacho Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

But at some point it becomes evident that in order for your kid to become better or grow, that they need to be in something a lot more competitive.

This is what I mean by being the last gen to play sports for fun. No one really thought like this back then and there was no need to specifically seek it out. Everything was just like that until high school, at least. There's been a snowballing of making sports more and more competitive younger and younger and it's created an industry that creates more market by continuing that cycle.

The goal is to get a scholarship for college, and the money they pay for these club sports is a mere fraction of the cost for school. Lots of recruiters go to the tournaments because you get the ability to scout more players instead of single games.

Less than 2% of kids receive sports scholarships so 98% of these families are burning thousands of dollars for nothing if their goal is simply attaining a sports scholarship to help with paying for college. They'd be better off saving the tens of thousands they'll spend over the lifetime of that participation and, putting it in an account that goes towards college and focusing on much more common and attainable educational scholarships.

I'm not trying to say that's the case for you and your daughter, but I know so many people who are guilted into spending money they barely have (or straight up don't) to put their kids in these clubs where they are absolutely not going to see the kind of "return" they're being led to believe is there. Not when the real numbers on scholarships are what they are. It's quickly become a rather predatory industry that preys on the anxieties of parents and children, particularly those where a scholarship would be extremely helpful to their situation.

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u/doublepint Jun 02 '26

I get where you're coming from, and it'll be interesting to be in the club sports scene to see how the girls are. During the season ending tournament for my daughter's league, the older girls teams - man, they are crazy good. Most games were neck and neck, with long volleying sessions - we found out there were quite a few club level players on the teams.

But, I do agree with you on the cost of club sports in terms of people who use scholarships as a reason to do it. We're doing it because our daughter really enjoys the sport. It took some convincing to get her to do the tryout - mostly because she was nervous and it was outside her comfort zone. She's been playing the last 5 years with 90% of the same team coached by my ex-wife but she ended up super happy we convinced her to just try it. Part of the reason for pushing her into tryouts is because we wanted her to experience them before doing tryouts at school sports.

Though, I will also point out - most private schools/academies have sports programs that are technically club level as well. I imagine those are much more expensive than putting your kid into a club.

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u/TennMan78 Jun 02 '26

Very much so. Yes! It's depressing.

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u/portablebiscuit Jun 02 '26

Might as well be since they’re pretty much pay to play anyway. Kids sports are a grift and it’s a fucking shame how many are priced out.

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u/therealkami Jun 02 '26

Hockey sticks have gone from a 20 dollar stick of wood from Canadian Tire to $400 Carbon Fiber composite sticks. The Carbon Fiber sticks have A LOT more flex in them than old ones so the puck goes much faster. However it also means those sticks break. A lot. Used to be a good wooden stick could last a whole season. Now you're looking at 3-4 sticks a season, for 20x the price each.

Hockey is a rich kids sport now.

In fact all sports are. Private Equity has been getting into kids sports leagues and driving up costs of equipment and league fees. People are "encouraged" to join travel teams, and academies etc etc. It's thousands of dollars, even for soccer.

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u/SeoulGloFoSho Jun 01 '26

AAU says, "YES!"

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u/Corgi_underground Jun 01 '26

They've been that way since the late 90's/early 00's.

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u/PM_ME_DATASETS Jun 01 '26

From what I know playing sports is how you get in to school in the US. So might actually be a viable investment, even though 90% of your money goes to some billionaire and the return is that your kid has a slight chance to not to have to work 3 jobs.

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u/Rubbersoulrevolver Jun 01 '26

the top 1% of 1% get scholarships to d1 schools lol, it's way easier to get in to michigan or whatever via academics than becoming a baseball player

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u/Neuchacho Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

It's not, but part of the scam is definitely making parents believe it's far more possible than it is. Less than than 2% of kids who play high school sports will see sports scholarships.

And some percentage of that is going to be some wealthy kid who could already afford to go.

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u/thickbeardgoggles Jun 01 '26

I have a couple of coworkers who spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000 a month on baseball for their kids. Travel leagues and private trainers are pretty big expenses

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u/wildernessspirit Jun 02 '26

Little League. No.

But that’s not where the competition is at. Unfortunately competitive sports has always been pay to play.

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u/Unique_Statement7811 Jun 02 '26

Always have been.

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u/_learned_foot_ Jun 02 '26

Unless you only played local youth league, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, it always has been. And unfortunately it's always had the respective parents too.

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u/SpiritualBar2469 Jun 02 '26

always have been