My kids are 13 and 15 now. Older one played fairly competitive travel soccer, and younger played baseball for a travel academy. Both are done with those sports now, but I never really minded paying money into the clubs they played for. They were run by people really passionate about their sports and were able to do that for a business. They weren't making crazy amounts of money, but they money we spent to paid coaches and facilities, and I think structure and skills developed were good for the kids. The soccer club had a pool of money for unprivileged kids with good skills to play free.
I liked both those paid programs much better than the seasons of parent coached little league. 1 season I was a coach, a couple others I wasn't. There was so much parental fights and screaming and politics and drama in that, that just wasn't there in the paid coach programs.
They both are into golf now and the younger one is starting to play a bit competitively, and I find that a way better sport for kids enjoyment and my enjoyment. His baseball training has served him well, and I get to golf a lot again. Far less politics in golf too. You make the teams based on your score and that's it.
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