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Tee ball coaching: help me help this kid (1 Viewer)

Clown Car

Footballguy
I'm coaching a tee ball team, 13 4-6yos. They are all sweet and fun try hard to pay attention and do the right thing. Except one. He is very immature, cries because he wants to bat, runs off the field because he can't roll around on the base line. I really don't care if he plays with dandelions in the outfield, but he wants to lay in the base line. When he leaves the field, I have made him stay out with his mom. This has happened every game. At the last game she yelled at me that she paid just like everyone else. I replied sternly that I have 13 kids to coach and watch over and he is the only one who is running off. That day when left again I said he had to stay out. She started screaming at him that he is bad, then grandma chimed in and they were hollering at the poor kid. I don't want to happen again, but I don't know what to do to keep him on the field, let alone participating properly.

The game is 45 minutes max. Any suggestions on getting him engaged or at least getting him to want to stay on the field?

 
Man, I wish I had good advice. When my son was that age I coached his tee ball team and there was a kid almost that bad. I got really lucky. Another kid on the team had an uncle who was on the high school baseball team, who came to the game and was amazing with the kids. Saved my bacon because I'm awful with people. He used to hang out with me and the kids and tell them how important tee ball was and really took this kid under his wing.

The kid had no strong male role model and mom was awful. Apparently that's a thing. I'd recommend that if you can - or if an older brother, sister, aunt, or uncle of a teammate can - help the kid understand what's going on and give him a role model who can support without being insulting and then caving in to crying and guilt, be that person for him, do it. Can change the kid's life.

 
This kid needs something to do, and tons of positive praise. I would make him pass at helmets, bats, pretend to keep score...etc.

He needs an actual task that is immediate, followed by praise.

 
That's tough. Honestly, it sounds like the kid isn't ready to play organized sports just yet. Not all 4 year olds are.

He probably needs to run foul poles when he pulls this crap...make the mom and grandma run them, too.

 
As much as I hate to say it, but I'd keep the kid off the field as much as I can. Like you said, you have 13 kids to coach and watch over, and 12 other sets of parents to answer to.

I'm not saying don't play him at all. But I'd put him in maybe to start the game and take him out after an inning or two, or put him in at the end of a blowout. I understand the parent

saying she is paying for him to "play", but she can't say that and then watch her son act like that and not think it doesn't tick other parents off (on both sides). They paid to watch THEIR

kids play, too, not watch one kid roll around and cause a scene and dragging the game out longer than it should. Besides, that kid's antics make that parent look even worse (think of

how many parents on both sides are thinking, "Man, that kid's parent should be ashamed"). Of course, you can't really say that to the lady, as she won't see it that way. <_<

Maybe offer for her to stand near the fence when he's up to bat and playing and encourage her son, rather than sitting there letting him do all of that and then blasting you for the

way her kid acts? *gasp* THE HORROR! A parent being a parent?! :o

 
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Sorry but you don't sit kids in recreational T-ball.

You can't do that. You have to deal with te hand your dealt. So sitting a kid is not an option. At least that was the rules down here in our city little league for T-Ball. Once you get to coach pitch and have 13 kids 3 kids sit every inning (10 spots on te field). And no kid sits more than once 2 consecutive games.

It's tough but that was te rules I had to coach by.

I have been a youth baseball coach for almost 2 decades. And Tee-Ball is the toughest gig of all. Patience, positive re-enforcement is really all you can do in a participation league.

My kid plays travel baseball only and loved it. Things have changed drastically since I played ball at his age (9 years old) in regards to traditional little league. The caliber of players and the sense of entitlement and is for lack of a better term......shocking.

Once I moved him to travel it was another world for him. Earn his playing time, earn his position. Now travel is for kids who are competitive, and really love baseball. Some travel programs are extreme though. Finding the right team can be an exercise.

At ages 4-10 you want to make sure they stay involved, and have fun. At the same time you want to make sure if your kid excels at baseball they are surrounded by kids of the same ilk. That is where travel baseball really helps.

But I have learned you can't have it all and there is no perfect situation......ever.

As far as your situation. If you have to start being stern with him by all means. Do not let him constantly become a spectacle an talk to your player manager or league director on what steps you should take to try and remedy the situation. Let them talk to te mother about the kid. You have to focus on the 12 other kids trying to learn the game an have fun.

 
Sorry but you don't sit kids in recreational T-ball.

You can't do that. You have to deal with the hand your dealt. So sitting a kid is not an option. At least that was the rules down here in our city little league for T-Ball. Once you get to coach pitch and have 13 kids 3 kids sit every inning (10 spots on te field). And no kid sits more than once 2 consecutive games.

It's tough but that was the rules I had to coach by.

I have been a youth baseball coach for almost 2 decades. And Tee-Ball is the toughest gig of all. Patience, positive re-enforcement is really all you can do in a participation league.

My kid plays travel baseball only and loved it. Things have changed drastically since I played ball at his age (9 years old) in regards to traditional little league. The caliber of players and the sense of entitlement....is for lack of a better term......shocking.

Once I moved him to travel it was another world for him. Earn his playing time, earn his position. Now travel is for kids who are competitive, and really love baseball. Some travel programs are extreme though. Finding the right team can be an exercise.

At ages 4-10 you want to make sure they stay involved, and have fun. At the same time you want to make sure if your kid excels at baseball they are surrounded by kids of the same ilk. That is where travel baseball really helps.

But I have learned you can't have it all and there is no perfect situation......ever.

As far as your situation. If you have to start being stern with him by all means. Do not let him constantly become a spectacle and talk to your player manager or league director on what steps you should take to try and remedy the situation. Let them talk to the mother about the kid. You have to focus on the 12 other kids trying to learn the game an have fun.

 
Any other parents to help coaching. When I was doing tball even during games we would take kids in the out field and do stuff.

 
We don't sit kids either. We have pitcher, first, second, third base, short stop, and everyone else in the outfield. I rotate kids so they each get a turn to play each position at least once, alternating kids who were infield or outfield each game. Every kid bats, 2 innings, easy peasy. They sit if they get out, but we don't stop at 3 outs.

I appreciate the comments. He is a sweet little boy but lacks any self discipline. I have other 3&4 yos playing and they play, or play in the grass and chase butterflies. No one else pitches fits or runs off. I want to give him a good experience and 45 minutes of his mom not yelling at him. I like the give him a job idea. I think I will try to find a teen who can hang with him in the field and help him count runs and outs.

 
We don't sit kids either. We have pitcher, first, second, third base, short stop, and everyone else in the outfield. I rotate kids so they each get a turn to play each position at least once, alternating kids who were infield or outfield each game. Every kid bats, 2 innings, easy peasy. They sit if they get out, but we don't stop at 3 outs.

I appreciate the comments. He is a sweet little boy but lacks any self discipline. I have other 3&4 yos playing and they play, or play in the grass and chase butterflies. No one else pitches fits or runs off. I want to give him a good experience and 45 minutes of his mom not yelling at him. I like the give him a job idea. I think I will try to find a teen who can hang with him in the field and help him count runs and outs.
i hear you... what i was saying was this.You don't really need outfield in tball but even if you do keep the 3 outfielders. The rest of the team take them out with another coach and practice catching throwing etc etc. I understand where you are coming from since I have 10 year Olds that want to run to mom when things don't go right.

don't have them just stand in the outfield

 
Oh. I see. That has never been done like that. I will look into it.
its all about keeping them busy. Our league just promotes technique and such. 7 kids standing in the out field aren't learning anything. We bat through the order etc like you. What we did was keep 3 outfielders the rest have a coach just work them out in center field. After 4 batters. ..rotate. The kids doing drills go play a position the others go do drills. It's just about teaching them and keeping them busythis way you can work on the actual fielder's learning the game while teaching the others.

trust me I know it's like hearing cats

 
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belljr said:
Clown Car said:
Oh. I see. That has never been done like that. I will look into it.
its all about keeping them busy. Our league just promotes technique and such. 7 kids standing in the out field aren't learning anything. We bat through the order etc like you. What we did was keep 3 outfielders the rest have a coach just work them out in center field. After 4 batters. ..rotate. The kids doing drills go play a position the others go do drills. It's just about teaching them and keeping them busythis way you can work on the actual fielder's learning the game while teaching the others.

trust me I know it's like hearing cats
That is why we only have 6 kids per team. The ball doesn't really make it to the outfield in the air. You can't have kids standing around and 13 kids for tee ball is too many IMO.

With this kid, coach him and keep him out of the baseline because it is a safety issue. Have him stand next to you. Get some help from other parents.

 
belljr said:
Clown Car said:
Oh. I see. That has never been done like that. I will look into it.
its all about keeping them busy. Our league just promotes technique and such. 7 kids standing in the out field aren't learning anything. We bat through the order etc like you. What we did was keep 3 outfielders the rest have a coach just work them out in center field. After 4 batters. ..rotate. The kids doing drills go play a position the others go do drills. It's just about teaching them and keeping them busythis way you can work on the actual fielder's learning the game while teaching the others.

trust me I know it's like hearing cats
That is why we only have 6 kids per team. The ball doesn't really make it to the outfield in the air. You can't have kids standing around and 13 kids for tee ball is too many IMO.With this kid, coach him and keep him out of the baseline because it is a safety issue. Have him stand next to you. Get some help from other parents.
yep we only have 10 on our rookie league 3 and 4th grades. The ball I think we carried 8 or 9

 
belljr said:
Clown Car said:
Oh. I see. That has never been done like that. I will look into it.
its all about keeping them busy. Our league just promotes technique and such. 7 kids standing in the out field aren't learning anything. We bat through the order etc like you. What we did was keep 3 outfielders the rest have a coach just work them out in center field. After 4 batters. ..rotate. The kids doing drills go play a position the others go do drills. It's just about teaching them and keeping them busythis way you can work on the actual fielder's learning the game while teaching the others.

trust me I know it's like hearing cats
That is why we only have 6 kids per team. The ball doesn't really make it to the outfield in the air. You can't have kids standing around and 13 kids for tee ball is too many IMO.With this kid, coach him and keep him out of the baseline because it is a safety issue. Have him stand next to you. Get some help from other parents.
yep we only have 10 on our rookie league 3 and 4th grades. The ball I think we carried 8 or 9

 
belljr said:
Clown Car said:
Oh. I see. That has never been done like that. I will look into it.
its all about keeping them busy. Our league just promotes technique and such. 7 kids standing in the out field aren't learning anything. We bat through the order etc like you. What we did was keep 3 outfielders the rest have a coach just work them out in center field. After 4 batters. ..rotate. The kids doing drills go play a position the others go do drills. It's just about teaching them and keeping them busythis way you can work on the actual fielder's learning the game while teaching the others.

trust me I know it's like hearing cats
That is why we only have 6 kids per team. The ball doesn't really make it to the outfield in the air. You can't have kids standing around and 13 kids for tee ball is too many IMO.With this kid, coach him and keep him out of the baseline because it is a safety issue. Have him stand next to you. Get some help from other parents.
yep we only have 10 on our rookie league 3 and 4th grades. The ball I think we carried 8 or 9

 
Obviously the mother is a doosh and that isn't the kids fault.

Do you have another parent that helps you? If not find one of the other dads immediately. One of you can find positive tasks for this kid while the other gets the other kids lined up and organized.

 
Clown Car said:
I'm coaching a tee ball team, 13 4-6yos. They are all sweet and fun try hard to pay attention and do the right thing. Except one. He is very immature, cries because he wants to bat, runs off the field because he can't roll around on the base line. I really don't care if he plays with dandelions in the outfield, but he wants to lay in the base line. When he leaves the field, I have made him stay out with his mom. This has happened every game. At the last game she yelled at me that she paid just like everyone else. I replied sternly that I have 13 kids to coach and watch over and he is the only one who is running off. That day when left again I said he had to stay out. She started screaming at him that he is bad, then grandma chimed in and they were hollering at the poor kid. I don't want to happen again, but I don't know what to do to keep him on the field, let alone participating properly.

The game is 45 minutes max. Any suggestions on getting him engaged or at least getting him to want to stay on the field?
Sounds like the kid needs some behavioral therapy.

 
Did the mom ever stop to think that maybe a slow game like baseball is not suitable for her child?

 
Clown Car said:
I'm coaching a tee ball team, 13 4-6yos. They are all sweet and fun try hard to pay attention and do the right thing. Except one. He is very immature, cries because he wants to bat, runs off the field because he can't roll around on the base line. I really don't care if he plays with dandelions in the outfield, but he wants to lay in the base line. When he leaves the field, I have made him stay out with his mom. This has happened every game. At the last game she yelled at me that she paid just like everyone else. I replied sternly that I have 13 kids to coach and watch over and he is the only one who is running off. That day when left again I said he had to stay out. She started screaming at him that he is bad, then grandma chimed in and they were hollering at the poor kid. I don't want to happen again, but I don't know what to do to keep him on the field, let alone participating properly.

The game is 45 minutes max. Any suggestions on getting him engaged or at least getting him to want to stay on the field?
can't you find a specific task for him to do. Hold the balls, anything? count the dandelions in the field? make it a game with the kid. Make the kid your little helper and praise him for following your task assignment

 
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I had an inner city kid that extorted money from me. He wouldn't stay in position (center field).....then one day I told him I would give him a quarter if he stayed in position. At the start of each game he would say ..gotta quarter coach. I can't help think I started him off on a life of crime........but hey, it worked.

 
I had an inner city kid that extorted money from me. He wouldn't stay in position (center field).....then one day I told him I would give him a quarter if he stayed in position. At the start of each game he would say ..gotta quarter coach. I can't help think I started him off on a life of crime........but hey, it worked.
I'm totally going to do this today. There is a nice concession stand that my kids love to go to. I will probably have to promise a dollar though and get him an icee. Then the red dye will jack him up so much his mom won't have a minutes sleep!! Thanks so much!

We have 3 coaches. Me, another mom, and a dad. The dad won't be there tonight. So if bribery will work to keep the kid on the field, I will try it. I just asked my kid if he thought it would work and he said I better make it $2.

 
Thanks so much for all the input.

I didn't have time or adults to try the rotate the outfielders/work drill idea. But I did have a chance to sit down with Michael and have him agree to stay with me the whole game. I promised him a quarter if he did. I ended up sitting in right field with him in my lap both times we were fielding. We just sat and he rested up against me. We talked about where the ball would go by the way the batter was standing. He told me he was 3. Way too soon for him to be out there. He also said he had a good teacher. I asked what his teachers name is. He said "coach clown car". I let him lead the cheer at the after game snack distribution meeting.

His mom told him she was proud of him. And told him to thank me.

I will get a handful of quarters for the rest of the season.

 
I tell you what, that kid will remember you longer than anything else from this age. There's a better than zero chance that when this kid gets older you'll be his first memory.

 
3 years old? WTF is going on? How was he allowed to register for tee ball at 3 years old?

Typically the cut off birthday (for a kid turning 5) is May 30th for a 4 year old registering!

Good luck with that.

 
Once I moved him to travel it was another world for him. Earn his playing time, earn his position. Now travel is for kids parents who are competitive, and really love baseball. Some travel programs are extreme though. Finding the right team can be an exercise.
fixed

 
Once I moved him to travel it was another world for him. Earn his playing time, earn his position. Now travel is for kids parents who are competitive, and really love baseball. Some travel programs are extreme though. Finding the right team can be an exercise.
fixed
That's just so wrong.

Stop lumping in the new stereotype of crazy parents for every kid that is in travel.

Travel baseball is a wonderful thing for a lot of good young ball players who want to play with kids who can actually challenge them and compete.

Unfortunately in my part of the country Little League as we know it is pretty piss poor. When I played little league it was nothing like it is today. I never thought I was going to have to move my son to travel ball by age 8......but I had to. He was really not enjoying thowing balls to kids who simply could not make a basic catch.

It was nuts.

My son begged me to have him try out for some travel teams. Glad I did. Once a bunch of teams expressed interest, myself and another two fathers who were coaching little league decided to give it a whirl and formed a team with 10 kids/families we recruited from our little league. It has been a wonderful experience. So much so he wants to try out for a couple of teams this summer (our team was barely a .500 team and half the kids are figuring out that travel is not for them) and I will step away from coaching and just enjoy watching and cheering for my son going forward. My kid is a baseball junkie, loves the game and puts in the practice needed to excel at it. I don't have to push him at all. He loves the game. He wants more.

Now are there insane parents and coaches in travel sports? Oh yeah.....it's pretty comical. But there are many teams with great parents and coaches...teaching the game the proper way and not winning at all costs.

 
Once I moved him to travel it was another world for him. Earn his playing time, earn his position. Now travel is for kids parents who are competitive, and really love baseball. Some travel programs are extreme though. Finding the right team can be an exercise.
fixed
That's just so wrong.

Stop lumping in the new stereotype of crazy parents for every kid that is in travel.

Travel baseball is a wonderful thing for a lot of good young ball players who want to play with kids who can actually challenge them and compete.

Unfortunately in my part of the country Little League as we know it is pretty piss poor. When I played little league it was nothing like it is today. I never thought I was going to have to move my son to travel ball by age 8......but I had to. He was really not enjoying thowing balls to kids who simply could not make a basic catch.
:lmao: I think the fix is correct.

 
Once I moved him to travel it was another world for him. Earn his playing time, earn his position. Now travel is for kids parents who are competitive, and really love baseball. Some travel programs are extreme though. Finding the right team can be an exercise.
fixed
That's just so wrong.

Stop lumping in the new stereotype of crazy parents for every kid that is in travel.

Travel baseball is a wonderful thing for a lot of good young ball players who want to play with kids who can actually challenge them and compete.

Unfortunately in my part of the country Little League as we know it is pretty piss poor. When I played little league it was nothing like it is today. I never thought I was going to have to move my son to travel ball by age 8......but I had to. He was really not enjoying thowing balls to kids who simply could not make a basic catch.

It was nuts.

My son begged me to have him try out for some travel teams. Glad I did. Once a bunch of teams expressed interest, myself and another two fathers who were coaching little league decided to give it a whirl and formed a team with 10 kids/families we recruited from our little league. It has been a wonderful experience. So much so he wants to try out for a couple of teams this summer (our team was barely a .500 team and half the kids are figuring out that travel is not for them) and I will step away from coaching and just enjoy watching and cheering for my son going forward. My kid is a baseball junkie, loves the game and puts in the practice needed to excel at it. I don't have to push him at all. He loves the game. He wants more.

Now are there insane parents and coaches in travel sports? Oh yeah.....it's pretty comical. But there are many teams with great parents and coaches...teaching the game the proper way and not winning at all costs.
Nothing you said refutes my point. Enough parents were convinced by some money grubber that little Johnny was special and needed better competition so they pulled out of Little League, and it got weaker. And now you just pulled 10 more out. Of course Little League is going to suck. I'm guessing there are plenty of kids in your town to have a competitive league. Instead you dopes are paying lots of money and traveling all over to play the same kids that you could be playing at home. Congrats.

 
Once I moved him to travel it was another world for him. Earn his playing time, earn his position. Now travel is for kids parents who are competitive, and really love baseball. Some travel programs are extreme though. Finding the right team can be an exercise.
fixed
That's just so wrong.

Stop lumping in the new stereotype of crazy parents for every kid that is in travel.

Travel baseball is a wonderful thing for a lot of good young ball players who want to play with kids who can actually challenge them and compete.

Unfortunately in my part of the country Little League as we know it is pretty piss poor. When I played little league it was nothing like it is today. I never thought I was going to have to move my son to travel ball by age 8......but I had to. He was really not enjoying thowing balls to kids who simply could not make a basic catch.

It was nuts.

My son begged me to have him try out for some travel teams. Glad I did. Once a bunch of teams expressed interest, myself and another two fathers who were coaching little league decided to give it a whirl and formed a team with 10 kids/families we recruited from our little league. It has been a wonderful experience. So much so he wants to try out for a couple of teams this summer (our team was barely a .500 team and half the kids are figuring out that travel is not for them) and I will step away from coaching and just enjoy watching and cheering for my son going forward. My kid is a baseball junkie, loves the game and puts in the practice needed to excel at it. I don't have to push him at all. He loves the game. He wants more.

Now are there insane parents and coaches in travel sports? Oh yeah.....it's pretty comical. But there are many teams with great parents and coaches...teaching the game the proper way and not winning at all costs.
Nothing you said refutes my point. Enough parents were convinced by some money grubber that little Johnny was special and needed better competition so they pulled out of Little League, and it got weaker. And now you just pulled 10 more out. Of course Little League is going to suck. I'm guessing there are plenty of kids in your town to have a competitive league. Instead you dopes are paying lots of money and traveling all over to play the same kids that you could be playing at home. Congrats.
I was not convinced by any money grubber.

I was reacting to the reality of the state of little league baseball in my part of the country. Some little leagues are thriving....I know there are a lot of good little league programs all over the country. However in my part of town the quality of my son's little league is awful. My kid is a good ball player and if he sticks with it he may have a shot.....a shot at high school ball which is highly competitive down here. I am not saying my son is a stud......very few kids are. But for 9 years old he is a very solid ball player for his age and can pitch. In fact he is one of the better pitchers for his age. He is a terrific hitter and plays all over the field. He loves the game. Outfield, middle infield even catcher. The kid just plays and has clay in his blood.

Again.....when I was growing up there was no such thing as travel ball. We played in the spring and played all-stars in the summer. When my son stared playing ball and took to it so fast I never thought I would be moving him to travel ball this young. I figured 12-13 yeah...maybe. Then I saw his reality of the kids around him in rec ball.......not for him. Unfortunately I am not going to be crusader for my cities little league. And yes we took 10 kids out of little league who were in the same boat as my son.....well only 4-5 of them are really what we would call "travel material" after playing 40 plus games. Now 5-6 of them will return to rec while 3-4 will move on to better teams in the travel baseball world. Kids need to step out...see if it's for them and if not they can always go back to little league etc. And as kids get older little league does get a lot better as most kids who are not into the game weed out after 10 and the kids playing at 12-16 are really ball players who love baseball and play it well for the most part.

Why you have to have such a condescending tone in your post is beyond me. I don't control all the parents in my town.....I can only look to put my kid in the best place for him to excel and have fun. He was not enjoying rec ball anymore. I am glad there was an alternative to my cities rec program.

He had played 2 seasons of rec in a neighboring city in the Fall and it was much better but in the Spring he plays travel. And now will play fall pony ball. Some rec leagues work with travel programs and allow them to register their teams into the little league program to compete for local, state and regional pony World Series and of course eventually the Little World Series. most of the teams you see in the little league World Series have been playing with each other for the most part since the age of 9. And where do you think that is happening? In travel ball. Unfortunately my city does not work with travel ball clubs at all. That is why they are getting pillages of their best talent.

And as far as the cost....it's not outrageous nor do we travel all over the place. Most of the games are within a 25-30 mile radius.

Today travel ball is where the higher quality players are competing. I spoke with several high school baseball coaches. They don't even bother with local little leagues to scout future players for their respective schools. They are all out at travel games and tournaments. So if you have a child who is really good and eventually will have high school ball aspirations where are you going to play them?

That is the reality.

My kid convinced me he needed travel baseball.......not some adults looking to grab my cash. I have been playing/coaching this game (high school and college and still play in a men's open hardball league as well as softball with some buddies) for over 38 years. I think it's sad local little leagues are not providing what kids need in my area......it really sucks. But....the reality is if your kid is good at baseball, loves the game and wants/needs the step up in play, travel is a viable alternative. It's not the end all be all.....but if they are seriously going to want to play ball into their high school years....it is what coaches down here are looking at. Youth sports in general has become incredibly competitive for good and bad. And like I said there are great travel programs and really bad ones.

So help me understand what is so wrong with travel baseball? The kids love it. So what is the problem.

And as far as the bolded.......WTF is wrong with you? You can't have an adult discussion....you have to resort to name calling?

Seriously man.

 
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Once I moved him to travel it was another world for him. Earn his playing time, earn his position. Now travel is for kids parents who are competitive, and really love baseball. Some travel programs are extreme though. Finding the right team can be an exercise.
fixed
That's just so wrong.

Stop lumping in the new stereotype of crazy parents for every kid that is in travel.

Travel baseball is a wonderful thing for a lot of good young ball players who want to play with kids who can actually challenge them and compete.

Unfortunately in my part of the country Little League as we know it is pretty piss poor. When I played little league it was nothing like it is today. I never thought I was going to have to move my son to travel ball by age 8......but I had to. He was really not enjoying thowing balls to kids who simply could not make a basic catch.
:lmao: I think the fix is correct.
Ummmmm no. My kid did not want to throw balls to kids that simply could not even catch a ball anymore. Once kids hit 7-8....it starts to become pretty clear who is going to keep playing and who is just there to get fresh air and a trophy for participating.

My kid wanted to play with kids who...you know....catch the ball, throw the ball.....hit the ball.

That is baseball. He was playing fetch in warm ups.

You have two types of leagues today.......and I am not talking about tee-ball or coach pitch...I am talking about kid's pitch.

1.those where kids participate

2 those where kids are competing.

That is the reality of youth sports today. Not just baseball. Basketball, football, soccer. It's everywhere. And there is nothing wrong with it.

If your kid is really good at their respective sport.......why should they not play with kids of the same of better skill level? And if travel is the only way they can.....it is what it is.

 
I'm coaching a tee ball team, 13 4-6yos. They are all sweet and fun try hard to pay attention and do the right thing. Except one. He is very immature, cries because he wants to bat, runs off the field because he can't roll around on the base line. I really don't care if he plays with dandelions in the outfield, but he wants to lay in the base line. When he leaves the field, I have made him stay out with his mom. This has happened every game. At the last game she yelled at me that she paid just like everyone else. I replied sternly that I have 13 kids to coach and watch over and he is the only one who is running off. That day when left again I said he had to stay out. She started screaming at him that he is bad, then grandma chimed in and they were hollering at the poor kid. I don't want to happen again, but I don't know what to do to keep him on the field, let alone participating properly.

The game is 45 minutes max. Any suggestions on getting him engaged or at least getting him to want to stay on the field?
Is he one of the younger kids?

 
8 and 9 year olds pitching... another big ooooooof.
9 year old's not 8. 9U kid pitch starts in little league.

Do have any idea what your talking about? Kids pitch begins at 9 years old. It's been like this since....crap the beginning of time?

They pitch only fastballs. They are limited to 55 pitches max over a 7 day period. We keep strict....strict pitch counts on all the kids.

 
Many kids can't do the basics because their parents don't teach them at home. They drop little Billy off and expect someone to teach their kid the finer points. Baseball parents should play catch with their kids. It won't kill you.

Having 8 & 9 year olds pitching is not a problem if you actually have kids that have been playing catch for 2-3 years enough. You can tell what groups of kids play and which ones don't even within a 1 year age difference, so it is not video games or anything environmental like that.

Heck, there is a big difference between my 12 year old and my 10 year old with respect to catch. One would go every time I asked and would sometimes ask me and the other has to be dragged out there to just play some catch.

 
I spoke with several high school baseball coaches. They don't even bother with local little leagues to scout future players for their respective schools.
Aaaand there you have it. LoFL at scouting 9 year olds.
You taking my post out of context.....high school coaches start looking at kids around 14 years old down here.

Maybe I really need to spell out everything for ya. Ever play baseball?

 
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Many kids can't do the basics because their parents don't teach them at home. They drop little Billy off and expect someone to teach their kid the finer points. Baseball parents should play catch with their kids. It won't kill you.

Having 8 & 9 year olds pitching is not a problem if you actually have kids that have been playing catch for 2-3 years enough. You can tell what groups of kids play and which ones don't even within a 1 year age difference, so it is not video games or anything environmental like that.

Heck, there is a big difference between my 12 year old and my 10 year old with respect to catch. One would go every time I asked and would sometimes ask me and the other has to be dragged out there to just play some catch.
So so true.

Baseball needs to be practiced a ton. My kid and I play catch almost everyday for 15 minutes and just talk about his day while doing it.

If parents want their kids to be baseball players they must play with them. It's incredible how some of them think once a week practice will get them playing ball.

And your right. You can pick out those kids in a nano second who actually practice with their dad or mom often as opposed to little johnny getting dropped off to the babysitter errrr coach for his once a week practice and 2 games a week.

That is the state of rec ball in my town.

 
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