Kolek planning to go pro
A great conversation I had with one of my fellow travel basketball coaches I had was very enlightening for myself about travel ball. Backstory: our 5th grade travel basketball tryouts in cudahy went terrible. Of the 13 kids who tried out, one had any kind of talent. The rest were literally awful. And I mean, could not make a layup in 10 tries bad. Zero form, etc. We honestly thought we were on candid camera. We go on to explain to the head of the organization that the 5th grade team would be better served by joining the community rec league, not as an insult, but as an actual suggestion. I CORRECTLY prophesied that they would only score a single basket in a game. The conversation:After coaching one of their disasterious practices (they did NOT want to learn, mainly tackle on a wrestling mat) my fellow coach with a son on a very good travel baseball team was conversing with a player on the 5th grade team. The child told him he played for GRB baseball out of milwaukee. A very well known travel team. This kid did not have an ounce of athletic ability. My fellow coach looked at me and asked "What is Greg doing, stealing his money!?!?!?. I responded, "aren't we doing the same thing?" And I was correct. That's the unfortunate state of travel ball now.
Sports in general are on a massive decline. A few years ago when I helped run the cudahy youth sports program, our rec girls league was outfitted for 5 teams (a far cry from when I was a child with 12+ for each gender in a much smaller town)We had 6 girls join. Not teams, girls. We partnered with Oak Creek, to make a total of 3 teams. This year oak creek, cudahy, south milwaukee, and greenfield all partnered. To make 5 teams.
I was told that more kids enrolled to play baseball in the Charlotte area this year than any time in history. My umpire coordinator is at wit's end because there aren't enough umps on his roster.
The officials shortage is all sports, all ages, everywhere.I could easily ref 6 or 7 u13-u19 soccer games each Saturday and Sunday, with 4 high school games and 3 more youth games during the week, all without leaving Dane County. It's worse in the rural areas.
I do. My son was in 4th grade and was talking about playing football starting in 5th grade. We were at a playoff football game involving his sister's former high school. Plus, playing for the team was the kid who had been my son's study buddy when my son was in first grade and the player was in 8th grade. (player is currently in the NFL)Second half, routine play, suddenly there is a different player on the ground screaming and pounding the turf. His leg had been rolled up and it was clear from the bleachers that he had a tib/fib break. My son went silent and pale. I took him for a walk to keep him from watching and listening to the player's agony. My son asked to go home after the next series. He announced on the way home he was never playing football.
Cudahy HS (Milwaukee suburb) just cancelled the remainder of their season. Too many injuries/not enough players.
https://www.mlive.com/highschoolsports/2022/09/school-of-1400-students-cancels-remainder-of-football-season-due-to-numbers-woes.html
That’s my nephew’s HS. Upper middle class school, lots of foreign cars in the student parking lot. Lacrosse is big there (state quarters), taking kids from football (my nephew among them). My HS in a rural, working class town, is going strong in football. It means more in towns like that. It’s kind of reviled in wealthier places like Okemos (which changed its mascot to Wolves from Chiefs last spring too).
Not sure about what's happening where you are, but in Illinois, many of the top high school football programs reside upper and upper-middle class communities.
Same in Wisconsin, at least SE Wisconsin and Madison area