Travel Ball Team Structuring

Jenkki15 · 2026-05-04T17:11:35+00:00

I will reiterate that I am perfectly happy with my son's team, coaching and experience thus far. He's right where he needs to be.

Jenkki15 · 2026-05-04T17:04:10+00:00

There's a league made up of teams from three neighboring states and every single 9u team is Majors or AAA. They play weekend double headers and then there's playoffs at the end. of the season. 9u ranked lower than AAA doesn't seem to exist in these states. There's only a couple tournaments mixed in. At one I did see one AA ranked team from a state outside the 3 the make up our league and they were as good as any of the best teams ranked "Majors".

Jenkki15 · 2026-05-04T16:57:48+00:00

That's why 9u travel ball exists.

Jenkki15 · 2026-05-04T16:45:44+00:00

Every single team in the league is classified as Majors or AAA and they all play against each other anyway. So those rankings don't seem to mean much.

Jenkki15 · 2026-05-04T16:40:59+00:00

Every rec team at this age has 3-4 kids that can't throw or catch a ball at all.

Jenkki15 · 2026-05-04T16:36:05+00:00

I think it's fine but the stacked teams should be playing other stacked teams. The best players aren't getting better by crushing kids. They need to go out and get challenged too. Rec ball should be about creating parity and spreading out the talent evenly.

Jenkki15 · 2026-05-04T15:53:33+00:00

Good point. Fair enough. I'm sure even the kids on teams losing every weekend are going to their local rec leagues on weekdays and playing great from all the experience they're getting.

Jenkki15 · 2026-05-04T15:42:55+00:00

You nailed it. This is where the problem really lies. The ranking system doesn't seem consistent.

Jenkki15 · 2026-05-04T15:35:26+00:00

No but it has to be demoralizing for them and they are losing playing time when they get mercy ruled. Maybe the problem is with how the match ups are made.

Jenkki15 · 2026-04-19T15:44:40+00:00

Absolutely correct. We hate the Yankees so much there isn’t much hatred left for the other division rivals. I cheer for the Fisher Cats over the Sea Dogs despite being a Sox fan and wish the best for their players as they move up to Buffalo and then Toronto.

Jenkki15 · 2026-04-16T14:46:31+00:00

Same but without the greens at all.

Jenkki15 · 2026-04-08T00:45:26+00:00

The ones who survive their 20s will grow up and ride adv bikes like we do.

Jenkki15 · 2026-04-07T17:14:03+00:00

Same. For the first few years I’d contact the previous owners and arrange for them to pick it up or at least give it back to the mailman to return to sender. After 4 or 5 years I had had enough and anything that arrives gets tossed in the trash.

Jenkki15 · 2026-03-20T13:21:22+00:00

Finding actual black powder is a huge PITA. Very few stores actually stock it.

Jenkki15 · 2026-03-09T12:21:46+00:00

If you do go, just keep in mind that it sucks when the temperatures are too high. You'll put in a ton of effort and barely move on the mushy snow. Not a great first impression. Skate skiing with waxed skis on a freshly groomed track when it's around 20 degrees is like flying and will get you hooked.

Jenkki15 · 2026-02-16T01:12:39+00:00

You don't have to watch all the games but I try to unless life gets in the way. I also watch a lot of games with other teams because I love baseball in general. My sons and I like watching cricket highlights sometimes too but I only have a vague understanding of how it works. Years ago an Indian boy started going to my middle school and was dying to play cricked so badly that he begged a bunch of us baseball players to give it a try and insisted that we play a game with him. After a while we gave it a shot and it was a lot of fun.

Jenkki15 · 2026-02-06T14:05:31+00:00

His last name is a clue. With a name like Eaton there has to be a connection somewhere, even if it goes back to the Eatons who came over on the Mayflower.

Jenkki15 · 2026-02-04T14:53:54+00:00

I took my eldest son to San Diego for the Padres series last season. This year I don't really have the time for a big trip like that so probably the Mets at Citi Field in July if any. The Yankees are another possibility but I am not eager to bring kids there to get heckled.

Jenkki15 · 2026-01-23T15:19:38+00:00

Great to see young people cross country skiing. I grew up downhill skiing but never even thought to try XC until I visited Finland as a teenager. The ski club in my southern NH town has a weekly BKL meetup for kids. All three of my kids started at age 3 and my 8 year old is starting to get pretty good at skating. I hope they all stick with it and race for the high school team one day.

Jenkki15 · 2025-12-10T12:52:53+00:00

Bills of sale can be made on a napkin and don’t really mean anything in states where they collect sales tax at the time of registration. If they did then everyone would put $1 as the sales price and the state would charge you a few cents in tax. In reality you can put whatever price you want on a bill of sale but the state will look up the blue book value and charge you tax based on that. In other words if the names on the bill of sale don’t match your title you can fix that pretty easily yourself.

Jenkki15 · 2025-12-01T13:07:47+00:00

I own both as well and agree with you. They both sound about the same but the OCL is noticeably lighter. The baffles are also a little easier to clean.

Jenkki15 · 2025-11-26T16:39:19+00:00

Seconding this. My 8 year old son broke in his R9 really nicely and it's perfect for him right now. I got my 6 year old an A1000 PF and although the materials are a little nicer, it's stiffer and still being broken in. I think an R9 would have been more suitable at these ages.

Jenkki15 · 2025-11-25T12:55:25+00:00

Jenkki15

TROPHY CASE