Topic
Rec vs travel
The honest comparison. The politics. The reality at fourteen.
20 pieces
-
Longer read · age 13–14 · Apr 21, 2026
America has a missing rec layer.
Good youth rec. Aggressive travel. No just-for-fun high school. It comes back at college intramurals. The hole in the middle is where the most kids quit.
-
Longer read · age 8–10 · Apr 18, 2026
The recruiter at rec ball promising the sun
He'll find you in the parking lot. The pitch is good. Here is what he is not saying.
-
Mar 17, 2026
Travel-Ball Politics: How to Stay Out
The drama happens. Choosing not to participate.
-
age 15+ · Mar 9, 2026
The 15-Plus Walking-Away Decision
How to quit without it being a failure.
-
age 13–14 · Feb 20, 2026
The 13-14 Cost-Benefit Conversation
When it's time to actually do the math.
-
age 11–12 · Feb 6, 2026
The 11-12 Honest Comparison
How to decide between rec and travel when it actually matters.
-
age 8–10 · Feb 3, 2026
When a friend's family goes travel and yours doesn't
Their kid is on the travel team. Yours isn't. The friendship is going to feel different.
-
age 8–10 · Feb 2, 2026
The first travel tournament. What no one warns you about
Three days. Five games. A hotel. The honest preview.
-
age 11–12 · Feb 1, 2026
The cost of travel ball. Actual annual breakdown
Don't mortgage the house. The real numbers, plus the line items most parents don't see.
-
age 8–10 · Jan 31, 2026
When you say no to travel and feel guilty
He made the team. You're saying no. The guilt is real. The reasons are also real.
-
age 11–12 · Jan 30, 2026
Travel team politics. The playing time formula
How playing time really gets allocated. The factors no one tells you about.
-
age 11–12 · Jan 29, 2026
When the rec team is better than the travel team
It happens. The travel team is overpriced and over-promised. The rec team has the right coach. Now what.
-
age 11–12 · Jan 28, 2026
The 11-year-old who's not ready for travel even if they're talented
Talent is not the only readiness. The signs your kid is not ready, and the cost of going anyway.
-
Longer read · Jan 27, 2026
When you can't afford travel but everyone else is going
The financial reality. The honest conversation. The path that doesn't require pretending.
-
age 13–14 · Jan 26, 2026
Quitting travel. How to do it cleanly
They are fourteen. The travel commitment is too much. Here is how to step away without burning the bridge.
-
Jan 25, 2026
The team hotel. When you have to stay there. When you don't
The block is $220 a night. The motel down the street is $98. Can you opt out without burning the bridge.
-
Jan 24, 2026
Packing food for the travel weekend
Tournament weekends eat money in $14 sandwiches. The cooler approach saves hundreds and feeds the team better.
-
Jan 23, 2026
Team fun versus not doing things you don't want to do
The Saturday-night team activity. The Sunday morning bowling. You can pass. The art of how.
-
age 8–10 · Jan 21, 2026
The 8-10 First Travel-Team Pitch
What to listen for. What to ask.
-
age 5–7 · Jan 9, 2026
Rec Ball at 5-7: Why It's the Right Answer
The foundations are here. Everything else comes later.