What Does it Mean to Keep Your Word?

I was trying to say that as soon as we move our kids "up" and rationalize it by saying "they" want to do it, or that its "better" for them, we are little more than pimps prostituting the kids. There's nothing wrong with striving for success. Heck, the great American dream hero is Horatio Alger. But there is a price to pay and people should be honest with themselves about it.

Every area has a stud like you describe! Its part of the "elite" game. Its really bad when you run into "elite" teams who's administrators make their living doing that. When one of those guys takes money for "showcasing" a kid and making sure scouts are contacted, he's really an agent and that's when things get really bloody!

I didn't catch your son's age, but your not going to see the real bloodlust until you get to the 14O level. In the 16O level you'll see not only see bloodlust, you'll see actual feeding frenzies by some. When you get to that level, the dollars start flowing big time!

We were with a program that had some parents spending more than $25,000 per year to have their kids in the limelight, and unless one fellow's wife was lying, he was into 6 figures! We're not talking trophies here my friend, we're talking serious buckos.

Free rides to tournaments is nothing! I've seen kids brought from Texas, Florida and other places to travel with teams. I've seen kids get sent to Washington with full expenses paid to travel with teams touring the world. There's a team in Nevada that's so elite, if you make it, you don't pay anything and get to travel to places you couldn't by a ticket for.

Sometimes, the $ override the player's skills, then you really get to see some fireworks because it is possible to buy a kids way into some of these programs. If you think things get bad when a kid get dumped from a team that dad has a few hundred invested in, you should see the fur fly when dad has a few grand invested and a kid gets dumped because some other dad raises the ante!

If you are still at the 14 U level, you better gird your loins because you ain't seen nuthin' yet! The good thing is, not every program is like that. In fact, most programs aren't. But you can bet you bottom dollar, that if you see a team with national prominence year after year, there is a lot more going on than just making the team with skills.