Ask these questions when considering youth sports travel teams

Times have changed since I entered the world of youth sports at the age of 10, not just for the athletes, but for the parents as well.

Yes, I did belong to an organization – an AAU swimming organization – which traveled to various in-state venues on summer weekends, but that was it. No out-of-state travel, no overnight situations. Competition was held on one day only.

Decades later, youth sports away from city recreation programs have become more time intensive and expensive. But what to do? If your son or daughter wants to participate at a higher level of sports, can you deny them the opportunity?

That decision needs to be determined by what is best for your family.

Parents have heard the reasons why their children should join a club team. If they don’t, “your child will be passed by and won’t be able to catch up in their skill level” or “all the other kids are playing and you don’t want yours to be scorned or left out” or “if your child doesn’t start at the earliest opportunity, they may never get another chance” or “If they don’t begin to learn early, they will be left behind.”

So, you dive in to the all-encompassing world of youth sports. It takes over your life, moreso if you have more than one child participating.

Practices every night — especially as they grow older — and dishing out more than $100 for uniforms (gone are the personal black shorts and matching T-shirts). Thare are events every weekend, many with out-of-town dates.

Fill up your gas tank, book the hotel room and get ready to pay for restaurant food.

You want to give permission for the participation? First ask yourselves the following questions:

* Does it fit your vision of family life?

* What kind of impact will it have on your life?

* Are you OK with constantly being on the go?

Maybe you won’t be able to sit down together for dinner as a family each night, maybe you and your spouse need to trade off which kid you oversee on what weekend. Do you give up replacing that carpet for the time being,?

What kind of an influence will the coach be on your child? Some coaches are positive influences, others don’t reflect your family’s values. Get feedback from other parents regarding the coach who has been associated with their family. Do they provide positive reinforcement along with critical coaching? Do they stress winning over development? Do all the kids have a chance to see playing time?

The biggest question of all is can your family afford it? Youth sports is expensive as highlighted above. Can you still save for a college education or a car for your soon-to-be 16-year-old?

Make sure your child truly wants to put in the time and effort for a program that is more intensive. Evaluate your own reasons for saying “yes.” Are you allowing the participation more because of your child hoping for the opportunity so badly or because you want to be able to say to friends “look at what my child can do?”

Are you the ones pushing for the opportunity, or are you letting your child lead the way?

Some kids need to stay active, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be sports. Maybe a recreation program would be enough to satisfy the urge to play baseball. There are other extracurricular programs that might sustain the need for activity, such as music or art.

Remember all kids are not blessed with athleticism. If you are enrolling your child in a travel program hoping for a college scholarship, think again. The percentages are very low for an athlete to get recruited to a college team.

That doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy their experience prior to college, spending time with friends and learning life lessons.

If the sporting experience doesn’t work out, are you willing to let your child quit when they no longer enjoy the sport? You’ve put in a lot of time and money so are you going to force them to stay with the program?

I’ve always believed the child should finish the current season and then not join up the next year. They made a commitment to the team and should complete the year unless the reasons behind withdrawing are of a more serious nature.

When I began my journey, my parents were supportive. My dad only said, “If you are going to do this, you are going to do this the right way.” That meant I was going to do all the training and I was going to give my best effort.

Summer was the busiest time for my parents since they owned a marina. Weekends were tough for them to follow me across the state. Yes, they missed a few events but they also joined a car pool with other parents to make up for time they couldn’t be helpful.

All must have worked out. My youth sports experience lasted 10 years.

Nancy Justis is a former competitive swimmer and college sports information director. She is a partner with Justis Creative Communications and Outlier Creative Solutions and the founder of Iowa Youth Sports Initiative. Contact her at njustis@cfu.net.