As we come to a close on April 2024, I can’t help but reflect on how quickly time seems to be passing by. Just thirty days ago, I was getting ready for The Masters and now here we are at the end of another month with no signs of slowing down. May through August mark my four most favorite months because that’s when patio season officially begins along with vacation plans.
The sun has finally come out after twelve hours of rain today, leaving me feeling grateful for Mother Nature’s assistance in watering the arbs. The birds are chirping away merrily as I write this and it serves to remind me that life is full of small yet delightful moments that should be cherished every day.
In other news, we’ve been discussing travel ball and its impact on high school sports in our previous posts. While disgusting parents and spectators exist at most youth sport events unfortunately, they are more prevalent in travel baseball than elsewhere due to the intensity of competition involved here. It is also noteworthy that middle-school level players may find it challenging to transition into high school ball because travel clubs often pressure them during their freshman year itself.
Last week, New Lenox and Marion broke ground on two new sports complexes worth $70 million and $30 million respectively for the purpose of promoting travel sports. These facilities are being run by organizations that specialize in making profits off these events through hotel taxes which have become a common funding model used to build such complexes nowadays, especially when cities fail to attract professional sport teams otherwise.
As our society is moving into an arms race mode, high school ball will need to compete with travel sports for resources and players alike. I predict that this situation may lead to these sports clubs expanding their seasons at the cost of traditional high-school games in a few years’ time. However, we can only wait and see how things unfold as the future is always uncertain!
Feel free to drop me an email at joekinsey@gmail.com if you have any thoughts or ideas about our ongoing discussion. I’d love to hear from you! Have a great day filled with cherished moments and make the most out of patio season in its early days!!
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