When I was a kid, there were no "travel teams" in my area. Pee Wee football and Lil' Dribblers was it. One or two games for about a 6-8 week period, and that was it. You made friends with teammates from kids in other areas of town that you maybe didn't go to school or church with. But you had all the time in the world to go camping, bike riding, fishing, and other things kids are supposed to do.
The reason people can't do anything social anymore, is because every parent's kid is special, and needs to be on a competitive travel team instead of a rec team. CHIEF Jr. was on one for exactly one summer, and we told him it was only rec teams after that. Four games throughout the week, and tournaments all day on Saturday and Sunday is just too much. Kids are over scheduled, and the only socializing the parents have time for is talking with the other parents the other 30 hours of the week they are at the ballpark or court. I know people that have two or three kids of different ages, all on travel teams, many struggle with the financial obligations (ask grandparents to help), and if they are not at home, they are at one of the kid's sporting event. The financial part of it caused my BIL's divorce. You can't have a conversation with them, because it all evolves around their kid's sports, because that is all they have to talk about.
CHIEF