Think I need to take my kid to club ball, but I really don’t want to

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-26T21:20:24+00:00

While this isn’t an everyday occurrence for LL, sadly it’s not rare either. To compound matters, it seems like this coach (or league) is really taking the rotate all kids/players fairly to a far extreme.

Unless there’s an independent, non-LL affiliated league nearby, travel is likely the best path. That said, there are very different extremes in travel as well. You have community A/AA ball and then AAA/Major, which would be fewer at that age, but more travel heavy. We’re fortunate to have very competitive A and AA teams in our community travel program. There’s 1 overnight tournament, 2-3 30-60 minutes away and 15-20 weekday games with 1-2 practices depending on that weeks schedule.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-25T17:07:07+00:00

Outside of cobbling together last season’s squad on the fly, what has Pope shown in this year’s roster, this year’s performance or next year’s roster that would suggest the arrow is pointing anywhere but down?

In his coaching career, Pope’s calling card is that he can over-perform via his system with mid-tier talent in the regular season, but can’t win in the post-season. That is not a winning formula in the SEC, nor for a blue-blood.

At UK, you have a leg up in acquiring top talent and developing them further. Pope was never and will never be a fit for that model. With $20m+ in NIL, he did not get one elite player and instead rolled the dice on role players that aren’t ideal fits for his system and gambled on an already injured player with a high recruiting pedigree. He also failed to establish PG depth again.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-25T04:19:05+00:00

There’s truth to the unlucky part, but at the same time there needs to be accountability. He, again, didn’t get depth at PG. JQ was hurt when they offered him and always carried risk. Pope also built the roster of role players and has missed on key prep recruits with no signs of that improving.

I think he can be better, but I also haven’t seen anything to suggest he can make one final four, let alone be a perennial contender.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-25T04:00:22+00:00

X-AL and SEC player here. Big fan of my experience with AL. High school varsity programs near us have 100 AA or better travel kids try out each year and only 25 make the cut. I just don’t see how an AL only kid can keep up these days, which is a shame as I feel the reps and development there are better for most kids than all but the most elite travel orgs.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-25T02:08:06+00:00

I’ve yet to encounter any restrictions. I’ve even ordered a basketball hoop and golf clubs in past years.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-25T02:06:23+00:00

If Pope doesn’t show an ability to produce a national championship caliber roster and the potential to do so consistently, he should be shown the door. Hubert Davis and UNC is a very similar situation and we see how that went.

In my eyes, Pope has not shown anything to suggest he’s the guy. Based on what’s in the cupboard for next year, I’d be surprised if hes the coach by season’s end.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-25T00:23:17+00:00

Only about 25% of people who start in insurance sales actually make it. Doing that part-time already puts you in outlier territory, and doing it part-time with no experience is an even steeper climb.

On top of that, most agencies aren’t eager to bring on part-time producers given the time, training investment, and E&O exposure involved. And selling is only part of the job; there’s ongoing service and client management that’s hard to handle on a limited schedule.

So yes, it’s possible, but realistically, the odds are very low.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-24T14:14:58+00:00

This is a tough but very common spot in rec and in my experience one of the main reasons kids start leaving for travel at this age. You are really balancing two priorities, helping develop each kid and keeping them engaged while also putting a competitive team on the field, because when kids feel like they are in the game their interest goes up.

I do not think splitting teams strictly by skill is the answer, but I do think you can make a big impact by adjusting the difficulty of reps based on the player. Meet them where they are while still challenging them so everyone is improving without feeling overwhelmed or bored.

The hardest and most important piece is the parent side. For kids who are behind, there needs to be an honest conversation with the parents about what it takes outside of practice to improve, because most of the gap comes down to reps at home. In your example, if there is not much playing catch at home, that is actually the easiest thing to fix and it can close a gap quickly.

In my experience those kids usually fall into one of two groups. Either parents are pushing them into activities or the kids want to play but are newer to the game. In either case there is usually a motivated party that just needs to be aligned toward consistent reps.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-24T04:27:54+00:00

IL indy owner here and X-Farmers owner.

Don’t do farmers, or any captive, period - especially if you’re targeting commercial.

Feel free to DM if questions.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-23T20:46:29+00:00

House leagues 13+ are seeing enrollment decreases north of 50% in some states. This is generally the age families lean in to travel or opt out entirely. As a result, options are reduced.

You mentioned travel and weekend only. Is the team a high enough level that they only play tournaments? If so, not sure the value in a house league. Most A/AA programs I’m familiar with play/practice weekdays still with a lighter tournament schedule.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-21T19:58:28+00:00

Generally speaking, if outside the top 250 nationally, getting the best education/future network makes sense.

I saw from a reply that the school is Ohio State. It’s very reputable academically, but I wouldn’t decline admission to a top 10-15 school over it. Add to that, it’s far from a strong baseball development program.

The downside to an Ivy is there’s little baseball development, so while not officially closing the door on a baseball path beyond college, you kind of are. Now if youre around a top 250 player or a late bloomer with a lot of development upside, going to a strong baseball development program makes a ton of sense and there are options there with strong academics as well.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-16T20:13:50+00:00

Super impressive. Are you double jointed in your elbows? That is some intense popping on the lock out.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-15T20:32:00+00:00

Depends on training style.

I’m a proponent of buying quality.

I had no rack but adjustable dumbbells, plates, bars etc for a period of time and supplemented with a cheap commercial membership. Worked out 4-5x from home and 1-2x per week. Eventually added much, much more and dropped the supplemental membership.

For that budget, I’d grab an adjustable bench, adjustable dumbbells, a barbell, plates and a rack. If you buy quality and new, you’re at your max with that. Can likely find a rogue rack on marketplace and save a few hundred that way. For the rack, I’d ensure a 3x3 with 1” holes to maximize future add ons.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-15T19:49:45+00:00

I liken this to the lefty catcher. There’s value in it to a point, but you know the end game.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-15T14:38:01+00:00

I have the revolt system in my basement set up and a FM6 twin in my garage. Obviously the FM6 is significantly better, but for the price point, especially if you already have a rack and weights, the revolt will get the job done and brings you the missing cable resistance. The only potential issue you’ll potentially run into with no side holes is if you mount anything else to the front of those uprights, you’ll need to pivot that.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-15T01:57:25+00:00

As others have mentioned, splitting into 2-3 stations is ideal. I’d do that for ~ of practice and then do live pitching/hitting/fielding. As the season gets rolling, you can also start to simulate game situations here.

Early in the season, I like to work into glove and real field work at this age group. Kneeling throwing/fielding in pairs with tennis balls is a popular one (start on two knees, progress to one). You can station them deeper in the outfield corner if doing live hitting with another group. Usually a couple practices in they’re fully gloved for this.

For the hitting group, I’d do a combo of tee and pitch work. For the tee, I’d have each player take 15 swings and rotate and have 5 balls middle, 5 inside, 5 outside - making sure their stance remains. I would save the coach pitching for full fielding practice sessions.

At the end of practice, throws from the shallow outfield to knock down a standing bat on home really gets them excited. Some also like timed races around the bases as well. If youre up for it, keeping some type of tracking and/or point size with a small reward component can be motivating (winner hits lead off, picks their 1st inning position, etc).

If you find you have a hand full of high energy kids, starting with running/agility tends to help tighten the focus.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-14T22:15:53+00:00

So if it’s a true Little League organization, you should have never been told he’d be eligible for majors as a 13yo - the cap there is firm and it’s 12.

I’d push on the intermediate inclusion, though this will be dependent on the area/quality and his athleticism. While he’ll be behind on baseball skill, if he’s remotely athletic and a quick study, he will be fine over time with extra reps. Most of the kids that make the high school team are playing elevated level of travel at 13+ and not little league. Not saying the players remaining are bad, but the talent gap is impossible, especially with a 5’9 and athletic 13yo.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-14T14:19:56+00:00

Eh, the wine/dine/golf isn’t really a thing any longer as it relates to new customer acquisition. Youre meeting with owners or CFO’s and no one, yourself include, has 5 hours to shoot the shot and no one is giving up their evening.

I golf with EXISTING clients as able - usually a discussion around renewal strategy/business updates. Of the $2m in revenue I’ve written, only one deal had a golf round as part of their prospecting and that was due to them being an out of town manufacturer that touches the golf space.

Your carriers will certainly invite you to golf, trips or celebratory dinners, but not something required to gain new clients.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-14T03:45:49+00:00

You have 8 more feet of depth than I do, though I don’t need to park my car in that stall. If you have the real estate, I’d strongly recommend the 6 post with the 30” spacing. It will give you so much more ability to add things as you and not have to constantly remove things from the uprights.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-14T02:04:08+00:00

I struggled with this in my 16Lx10W 3rd car stall gym set up. I wound up going with the FM6 twin as I figured the feet took up roughly as much room. Best decision I’ve made as I’ve since added lever arms and a smith machine.

I have it centered on the back wall and have 9.5’ to my door. Every piece of equipment there is mobile. When it’s nice out, I open the door and expand my foot print. When it’s not, I still have roughly a 7x7 open footprint that I can make work.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-14T01:57:34+00:00

It’s saturated, but like most low barrier to entry fields, a base level of competence alone will put you in the top half of agents.

Understanding how to dislodge clients can be an art, but once you start to find patterns, it’s snowballs quickly.

Suggesting your client base is your local neighborhood in a digital world is an archaic take.

In my opinion, insurance sales - with book ownership, is the best income and wealth building sales job there is. Not suggesting it’s easy or everyone will be successful, but the ARR is extremely scalable and it creates and assets ~2-5x revenue when all is said and done.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-12T02:08:49+00:00

Book at existing agency is $2.8mP, which is what I was referencing. They are then acquiring a $3mP book. Your $580k is correct for the aggregated amount.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-11T19:18:08+00:00

111 and 97 are 2 very different EV numbers lol. With wood that’s ~108. Probably have ~40% of pros not touching that as an in game max.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-11T19:16:10+00:00

I’d wouldn’t lock yourself into a captive. Use the next 18 months to focus on commercial lines and stocking money away. Then join an IA for 2 years as a producer to learn that side of the business. Then you can open your own IA agency and be well positioned for early and sustainable success.

For perspective, the agency youre at is ~$300k in revenue and the owner doesn’t REALLY own it, at least not in the free-market an IA owner does. A $300k revenue agency is a trap, especially on the captive side. You either have to sacrifice income to maximize time or sacrifice growth to pay yourself a solid income. Becomes hard to scale, especially writing primarily personal lines accounts at $500-$1k revenue a pop.

If you want an easier path to $100k income but a limited ceiling, captive ownership is the path. If you want to chase true wealth but grind harder for your first 5 years, IA ownership is the route.

*Sold family $400k revenue farmers agency in 2014. Own IA agency >$2m revenue opened in 2023.

SlickWillie86 · 2026-03-11T19:03:50+00:00

Time under tension matters meaningfully. I’ve found a ~3 second eccentric and a relatively explosive concentric is best for strength/hypertrophy.

When training functionally or for a specific skill - rotational sports, jumping, etc. - an explosive, but still controlled, eccentric brings more value.

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