The Selling Out of Little League

Recently, I finished reading a book entitled “Homestand: Small Town Baseball and The Fight for The Soul of America” by Will Bardenwerper.  Mr. Bardenwerper takes us through Major League Baseballs (MLB) dismantling of 42 minor league baseball teams across America and the affects this dismantling had in those communities. Now, I do not write a blog about MLB, but about youth sports and while reading this fine book Mr. Bardenwerper referenced an article written by John W. Miller entitled, “How America Sold Out Little League Baseball.” In the book, Mr. Bardenwerper referenced Mr. Miller’s article talking about how Little League Baseball is becoming a “white, elitist sport”.  Needless to say, this piqued my interest based on what I have been researching.

            Mr. Miller’s article discusses much of what I have been stating over the past few years regarding youth sports.  Early in the article Mr. Miller states “for millions of American families, paying private for-profit clubs—euphemistically termed “travel teams”—thousands of dollars a year to organize athletic games for their children is now an unquestioned way of life that shapes family routines, work schedules and commutes.”  I saw this years ago when the “travel/select/elite team” monster was starting to take hold.  Families not taking summer vacations because little “Jimmy/Susie” had summer practices scheduled and if they missed the summer sessions they would be in danger of not making the team.  Now, there are many studies out there stating that vacations are “restorative” and needed for working parents, yet parents are choosing to forgo this much needed time off so their child could make “summer practices” most likely increasing their stress levels because let’s face it, most parents who have their children in travel/select/elite team programs are spending great a great amount of money to keep their children in these programs and if their child is “cut” or do not make the team that becomes, in the parents mind, a wasted investment.

            Travel/select/elite programs have been ravaging recreational leagues for years now because the so called “best of the best” are no longer playing in recreational leagues but rather they are playing on these travel/select/elite programs thus watering down recreational leagues.  Mr. Miller attended the annual American Baseball Coaching Conference and interviewed Brad Clement, the Chief Executive Officer of Perfect Game, one the most prominent private tournament organizers in the country and Mr. Clement stated, “what we offer is a premium service for the elite,” he told Mr. Miller. Mr. Clement was a school administrator and volunteer baseball coach in the 1990s. He even took a team to the Little League World Series before he joined Perfect Game. “We think that we can coexist with recreational baseball providers,” he told Mr. Miller. “We think you can have both” stated Mr. Clement.  Mr. Miller goes on the state, “The problem with that argument is that baseball falls apart when the best players are siphoned off. A good example is pitching—youth baseball relies heavily on the skill of its pitchers. Without strike-throwers or fielders to back them up, baseball is absurdist slow-motion theater starring one pitcher hurling pebbles to the backstop. The rise of privatized sports has drawn the best pitchers away from volunteer-based leagues, raising the likelihood that a local recreational team lacks the skills needed for a decent game, driving average players to find other sports or to quit. Or, if they can afford it, to seek out private clubs.”  How Mr. Clements can make that statement baffles my mind.  Anyone who has coached Little League Baseball knows that you are blessed to have two kids who can pitch and if you are very lucky if have third kid who can also pitch, but beyond that you are in trouble so, on my humble opinion, there is no way that recreational leagues and travel/select/elite programs can coexist in today’s youth sports climate.

Finally, Mr. Miller’s article gets to the crux of what I have been saying for many years…the outrageous costs of these travel/select/elite programs.  As I have been stating for years, youth sports are an unregulated $19 BILLION dollar industry, that’s $4 billion dollars less than the National Football League made for the 2024 financial year.  Mr. Miller states “the private baseball and softball business model relies on scaling up to as many teams as possible. If you can get 20 teams of 12 players each paying $2,500 a season, that is $600,000 in revenue. With part-time coaches making only a few thousand dollars a season—the equivalent of $10 an hour if you include driving to practices and games—club owners can easily make several hundred thousand dollars a year.”  Mr. Miller goes on the state “another source of revenue for owners is private lessons, which cost up to $150 an hour. Parents are told these are needed year-round if their child is to play in college. That (This) is why private clubs own or rent indoor facilities and gyms. The intense focus on individual development is another practice borrowed from professional baseball, where players now work out year-round in specialized gyms.” 

My question regarding the “private lessons” has always been what are the qualifications of the individuals offering these “private lessons” at $150 an hour?  Someone I know had their child taking private basketball lessons and I saw pictures of the individual giving the lessons on Facebook.  He looked extremely young to me, so I did some searching and found out that he was a 21-year-old kid who had NEVER played or coached basketball in his life.  Now I know people will read that as say “that doesn’t mean that he can’t coach” and I will not argue with that statement; however, I am not sure that I would be investing my hard-earned money sending my child to someone who has NEVER played or coached the game for private lessons, but with NO regulation in the youth sports industry anyone can claim to be an “expert” whether they are or not.  I could take this a step further, I was a pretty good baseball player/hitter in high school, but I could never imagine offering my services for “private” hitting lessons at $150 per hour.  What qualifications do I have except to say, “I played high school baseball.”  In my opinion that is just not enough.

Mr. Miller goes on to state that he met an individual, Nelson Cooper who was shocked at the way private clubs had taken over his favorite sport.  Mr. Cooper, who is black, stated that he saw the racial divide getting worse and “there are so many teams that put money first and the interests of the kids second,” Mr. Cooper went on further to stated “I have no issue if people are willing to pay, and have the resources, but there should be options for people who can’t afford to pay.”  In 2020 Mr. Cooper founded the Pittsburg Hardball Academy, which offers tournament play similar to what private clubs offer but eliminates the big fee.  So far, the Hardball Academy had three teenage teams, around 45 players and runs clinics in the winter that cost $15.  Mr. Miller stated that after a recent clinic “Mr. Cooper gathered all the players in a circle and delivered a warning: ‘Every single one of you is a paycheck for somebody,’” he said, referring to private baseball clubs who aggressively recruit in order to beef up their numbers and their income. “So whatever team you choose to play on, make sure you’re around people who really care about you.”

I wholeheartedly echo Mr. Coopers words.  For years now I have been stating parents need to do extensive research and ask questions when their children start playing youth sports.  I feel that most parents will question their child’s teacher to death; yet when it comes to a youth sports league they will take the amateur “coaches” word about everything without asking any questions and Mr. Cooper is spot on…when choosing a travel/elite/select team for your child you need to ensure that the team/organization that you choose care about your child and not their own bottom line.