For parents of young baseball players
The price tag isn't what you'll actually pay.
Travel ball, lessons, camps, showcases. Everybody tells you what your kid needs. Nobody tells you what it costs, or what's actually worth it.
From the first youth season through high school, recruiting and eligibility.
Sound familiar?
Everybody has advice. Get the whole bill before you pay.
Before long you've paid a team fee, bought a new bat, booked a hotel you didn't pick, and you still don't know if any of it is helping your kid get better.
Maybe you haven't signed with a team yet. Maybe you already have and the first tournament is on the calendar. Either way, you deserve straight answers before the next check goes out.
I'm not here to tell you what to do. I'm here to show you what to look at.
Inside the book
A few things you'll learn
The real odds of college baseball
About 8.8 percent of high school players go on to play NCAA baseball, roughly one in eleven. That's a participation estimate, not a scholarship rate or a prediction for your kid. What should it change about how you spend?
Why throwing hardest at ten doesn't predict who leads at sixteen
Birth month and growth timing change a lot of what you're seeing on Saturday mornings. The book explains what's behind it.
What changes when baseball becomes a school team
You usually get less say over the coach and the roster. Here's how to judge development, and what other options to ask about.
The dugout test
Playing time isn’t the only thing to watch. Is your kid part of the group? That signal often matters more.
Two ladders families mix up
Which team your kid is rostered with, and which camps and showcases you pay for, are separate decisions. Treating them as one costs money.
Finding a real skill trainer
Playing experience alone doesn't tell you whether someone can teach your kid. What to look for instead.
Included
In the back of the book
Causes and Solutions Matrix
At-Home Drills
The Plan
Questions Parents Ask
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About the author
I've been the parent who didn't know what to ask
I'm Sam Duffey, founder of Prime Path Athletics. I'm a retired Army Chief Warrant Officer 3. I coached youth football and basketball for 15 years and helped start a youth athletics program. I played junior college basketball at Navarro College and Cisco Junior College before I left school to enlist after September 11th.
My oldest son wanted to keep playing past high school. He didn't get to, and at the time I didn't know how to help him. That's a big part of why Prime Path Athletics exists.
My measure of a good season was never the record. It was whether kids kept coming back and parents trusted what I told them.
Before you buy
Is this book for you?
This is for you if
- Your kid plays youth baseball and you're thinking about travel ball
- You've already joined a team and the costs keep surprising you
- You're paying for lessons and can't say what they're working on
- You've heard "he'll fall behind" and want a straight answer
This is not for you if
- You want a coaching manual. There's an at-home drill chapter, but this book is about decisions.
- You want someone to pick a team for you
- You want someone to promise a scholarship. Nobody honest can.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What exactly do I get?
A 162-page book with 16 chapters and four appendices: a causes-and-solutions matrix, at-home drills, a year-round plan, and an index of the parent questions answered in the book. Get it as an EPUB ebook ($14.99) or as a 6x9 paperback that includes the PDF ($19.99).
What ages is it for?
It starts with the first youth season and runs through high school, recruiting and eligibility. It's most useful before the big money decisions, which for many families come in elementary and middle school.
We already joined a team. Is it too late?
No. Most of the book is about decisions you'll keep making all season: tournaments, lessons, gear, pitch counts and how to talk to the coach.
Are you telling me to skip travel ball?
No. Travel ball can be right for the right kid on the right team. I just want you to know what you're paying for, and what it's actually buying, before you pay it.
The Real Cost of Youth Baseball
A Parent's Guide to Little League, Travel Ball, and What's Actually Worth Paying For
- 162 pages, 16 chapters, 4 appendices
- Exact questions to ask, and who to ask
- Plain language, no fluff
One last thing
You can make the money back. You can't get the days back.
Don't let somebody else's calendar or sales pitch make this call for you. Get the questions and the numbers first. Then decide.
P.S. Before the next check goes out, ask the coach one thing: "What will we be paying for this season, besides the team fee?" The answer tells you a lot. The book gives you the rest of the questions.
Good luck this season.
Sam Duffey, Prime Path Athletics