Little League baseball -- and most other youth sports -- has gone the way of college athletics -- massive budgets, recruiting, unnecessary travel and high-salaried administrators, and all done in the name of -- not the kids -- but the adults running the show. If it’s been awhile since you were involved in youth sports, this lengthy expose should shock.


By Amy Shipley, Sun-Sentinel

The nation's newest elite baseball players are courted like free agents, flown cross-country for big games and featured on TV. Bidding wars break out over the most coveted stars, who resemble Major Leaguers in many ways. Except for their age.

At the highest levels of 8- to 14-year-old travel baseball, schoolboy superstars are plied with privileges and showcased at pricey events while less-gifted players and their families try to keep pace by spending a fortune — as much as $24,000 annually — on tournaments, equipment and lessons.

Big League dreams, ambitious coaches and massive tournament profits have fueled a youth sports phenomenon that bears little resemblance to the local Little League. This big-money version of the youth game is thriving in South Florida, home to hundreds of travel teams.

"Kids 9 years old ... are professional athletes right now, because this stuff is so unregulated," said Ron Filipkowski, a former federal and state prosecutor in Sarasota who was a travel ball father, coach and director. "Travel ball at the elite level is the Wild, Wild West of sports. There are no rules, no laws."

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