Tee ball coaching: help me help this kid (2 Viewers)

[Kal El]

M

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.

Growing up, I played in a Little League that started teams at 7-8 years old, and the kids pitched to each other. The pitching wasn't great, but everyone was learning the game, and most of the kids had fun.

 

[Captain Quinoa]

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?

15 years

 

[Todem]

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?

He is 3 years old!!!!

Insane if you ask me.

 

[Todem]

M

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.

Growing up, I played in a Little League that started teams at 7-8 years old, and the kids pitched to each other. The pitching wasn't great, but everyone was learning the game, and most of the kids had fun.

Yeah typically 8 year old's going on 9 within 4-5 months start pitching. And yes it can be brutal but you start learning at that age. And the kids love it.

 

[Captain Quinoa]

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?

And you don't need to spell anything out for me. You've got yourself convinced of what you are doing.. knock yourself out. Hope your kid makes a HS team.

 

[Braktastic]

And here I thought it was only the baseball forum I frequent where every post turns into a debate about travel ball. Jesus.

To the OP, God bless you, you're a saint. I assistant coach 11-12 Pony Bronco, and we have a very young team that is 70% 11 year-olds. I still feel like I have remind them to prep with the pitcher, be in an athletic stance, and expect the ball in the outfield. It's easy to see them get lulled into a false sense of security when you're pitcher is blowing through the bottom of the order, and then you get back around to the top, and "Whammy"!

I guess what I'm saying is, it is what it is. You take the good with the bad, and I commend you for volunteering your time.

 

[Todem]

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?

15 years

Ok......so you understand what it takes to play this game.

All I am trying to say is.......baseball varies city to city these days. There is so much going on in youth sports today that is really bad and there is some really good.

I am one of the good guys.

That's all I am trying to say. I want kids to love baseball. To me it's the greatest game in the world and can really be a great sport for a long time for so many kids. Understanding what it takes to become good at it is where a lot of parents are failing there kids. It's hard work.....and a lot of patience. especially in the very beginning.

 

[Captain Quinoa]

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?

15 years

Ok......so you understand what it takes to play this game.

All I am trying to say is.......baseball varies city to city these days. There is so much going on in youth sports today that is really bad and there is some really good.

I am one of the good guys.

That's all I am trying to say. I want kids to love baseball. To me it's the greatest game in the world and can really be a great sport for a long time for so many kids. Understanding what it takes to become good at it is where a lot of parents are failing there kids. It's hard work.....and a lot of patience. especially in the very beginning.

it's cool I was pretty much messing with you. I think travel baseball at that age is silly, but in areas like yours it sounds like there isn't much choice. My son is 11 and the little league in our town sucks and he is decent but it's not his primary sport so he doesn't care.

 

[Todem]

And here I thought it was only the baseball forum I frequent where every post turns into a debate about travel ball. Jesus.

To the OP, God bless you, you're a saint. I assistant coach 11-12 Pony Bronco, and we have a very young team that is 70% 11 year-olds. I still feel like I have remind them to prep with the pitcher, be in an athletic stance, and expect the ball in the outfield. It's easy to see them get lulled into a false sense of security when you're pitcher is blowing through the bottom of the order, and then you get back around to the top, and "Whammy"!

I guess what I'm saying is, it is what it is. You take the good with the bad, and I commend you for volunteering your time.

I am just trying to understand what the debate is about. If kids want to play travel god bless them. If they want rec ball...great. What's the debate?

 

[Kal El]

M

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.

Growing up, I played in a Little League that started teams at 7-8 years old, and the kids pitched to each other. The pitching wasn't great, but everyone was learning the game, and most of the kids had fun.

Yeah typically 8 year old's going on 9 within 4-5 months start pitching. And yes it can be brutal but you start learning at that age. And the kids love it.

This was in the early 90s, so it may have changed since then. The ball was very soft,though at that age, it still wasn't fun getting hit by a 30mph fastball. In fact, the only complaint I had was that I had to learn to throw right-handed. My dad coached me that first year and needed a catcher, so I played there most games. The only problem is that I'm left handed, and since left handed catchers are about as rare as unicorns, the league didn't have the correct mitt for me that year. Still, I had fun playing. The next year, my dad stayed in the stands, and the league bought a left-handed catcher's mitt to use as long as I played.

 

[Patriotsfatboy1]

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.

As a guy who has been coaching basketball for 25 years, baseball for 7 years and football for 3 years, I can tell you that this is the case with all sports all over the place. Parents are very busy with 2 careers and there are a select few parents who do most of the volunteering and coaching. It does not have to be that way.

For those who are doing the coaching, do not allow those parents to sit on the sidelines. Get them up and have them involved. It does not take expertise and there is nothing that they will do to the kids that will prevent them from being pros down the line. If a parent asks to help, let them. Don't be so concerned that they don't do it your way. If you want it done a specific way, show the parent the way that you want it done first.

For those that are sitting on the sidelines and just watching, ask how you can help. It could be preventing some kid from climbing the fence in the dugout while coach is at 3rd base. It could be catching while the coach is hitting grounders. Be an involved parent.

 

[Todem]

I put up a sign on the outside of my teams dugout...and it reads like this:

"If you don't like what your seeing....volunteer".

Swear on my mothers life. It's all about what you put in.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

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?

He is 3 years old!!!!

Insane if you ask me.

Yeah and he doesnt sound like a very mature 3 year old. You technically have to be 5 in my area to start T-ball

CC, I would maybe contact the person who runs your league and ask that they speak with the parents of the child. They may all agree that this isnt for him right now and pull him out.

 

[Captain Quinoa]

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?

He is 3 years old!!!!

Insane if you ask me.

Yeah and he doesnt sound like a very mature 3 year old. You technically have to be 5 in my area to start T-ball

CC, I would maybe contact the person who runs your league and ask that they speak with the parents of the child. They may all agree that this isnt for him right now and pull him out.

Pretty sure Clown Car has no concept of pulling out.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

I put up a sign on the outside of my teams dugout...and it reads like this:

"If you don't like what your seeing....volunteer".

Swear on my mothers life. It's all about what you put in.

You have to do something similar to this. On my initial meet with the parents I tell them the same thing.

 

[Spanky267]

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.

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 could not disagree with you more. Travel sports are the runination of youth sports and the invention of travel sports came at the behest of parents, not children. Little League is ruined for all kids because the best at a young age a plucked from Little League and pushed into travel ball. What this does is that it helps a few kids get better while it hurts the kids who develop later as athletes.

I coached Little League ball for almost a decade and prior to the rise of travel ball. I coached 7-11 year olds. Kids at that age want to play and want to be a part of something. Did I have some kids who were stronger fielders than others? Yes. Did we work to bring those other kids up to par with the better fielders? Absolutely. By seperating the baseball wheat from the baseball chaff at such a young age you are classifying those kids left in "rec" ball as not up to snuff possibly before they have a chance to develop. I've seen kids who were athletically mature at 8 and kids who grew into the sport and became good ball players around 11 or 12. Travel ball undermines the development of those late bloomers for the sake of the kids who mature early.

Think about the development of the young athlete. The kid who is good early isnt really hindered by his team mates who need more time to develop. But his example and modeling him can help other boys and girls get better. Good coaching can help tremendously too, this is another thing that travel ball is siphoning off of Little League. Over time those "other" kids will get better and will challenge the "gifted" kid. I've seen it and I've coached it. I had an 11 year old who no one wanted because he was heavy. The judged him based solely on his weight and the fact that he was slower that the other kids. But we worked with him. He got to be more mobile and he locked down left field for us for 3 seasons. He also hit was about a .600 hitter for us. He just needed a little instruction. He had a great eye for the ball as a hitter. But his swing mechanics were terrible so in that first try out he made little to no contact with the ball. He's not the only kid that I had like that.

Sorry I got off on a little tangent there. But if your worriying about high school ball for your 9 year old son I think youve got you priorities and by extension his a little mixed up. Regardless of how "competetive" high school baseball is in your area. At 9 he should be playing for sheer enjoyment. Its adults who put all this extra pressure on the kids and its wrong in my opinion.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

I could not disagree with you more. Travel sports are the runination of youth sports and the invention of travel sports came at the behest of parents, not children. Little League is ruined for all kids because the best at a young age a plucked from Little League and pushed into travel ball. What this does is that it helps a few kids get better while it hurts the kids who develop later as athletes.

This seems very dramatic.

Try thinking of travel ball like accelerated classes in your childs school.

**ETA**

You all may want to establish where you're from and what "travel ball" means to you.

In my area to play travel ball you have to try out (unless you started your own team) and you may or may not make the team. The team is made up of kids from all over and they're usually the better ones from said area. They dont have a league but play in tournaments all over the eastern coast of the country against similar teams

Then there's local travel teams. The teams are generally made up of kids from that town. They have a league with playoffs and only play against neighboring teams. The level of competition of these are completely different.

 

[Spanky267]

I could not disagree with you more. Travel sports are the runination of youth sports and the invention of travel sports came at the behest of parents, not children. Little League is ruined for all kids because the best at a young age a plucked from Little League and pushed into travel ball. What this does is that it helps a few kids get better while it hurts the kids who develop later as athletes.

This seems very dramatic.

Try thinking of travel ball like accelerated classes in your childs school.

Whie it may seem dramatic it is also very true.Think of it this way. Imagine if you had an elementary school and you took all the best teachers and students and you placed them in one wing of the school. You then placed all of the lower performing students in the other wing with interns and inexperienced teachers. Who do you think is going to out perform whom and will the achievement gap ever be improved? You are also sacrificing kids who might blossom academically a year or two later to devote all of your best energy to the kids who are showing promise today.

Also keep in mind that school is compulsory while sports are not. Youth sports, especially at the younger ages, should be about helping these kids develop. Some will be with you for a season, some for more. Some will show promise early, others will blossom later. Others are only there at the urging of mommy and daddy. Some of those will eventually drop out but a few of them will actually develop a love for the game if they are encouraged and instructed properly.

 

[Tom Servo]

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.

So, by your logic, I would not have been deemed worthy to play in your high-falutin' league because I couldn't catch the ball well and HS coaches weren't scouting me?

The fact of the matter is most kids are closer to the ones you're looking down your nose at. By my own admission, I STUNK at baseball; I couldn't throw well, could barely hit and my catching the ball had the town priest applying to the Vatican for official sanction of a miracle. But, you know what? I played anyways - into Senior League. I played because I loved the game. My teammates and I will still have a few yucks over our playing days and remembering games and such. We marvel over who had talent, the epic feats of 9-12 year olds, as well as the funny stuff. Some of us never got a sniff of athletic competition - like myself. But I'll cherish those strikeouts, dropped fly balls and running into fences until I breathe my last.

You say there's nothing wrong with today's situation. I guess that's where we disagree.

 

[Braktastic]

I am just trying to understand what the debate is about. If kids want to play travel god bless them. If they want rec ball...great. What's the debate?

Just keep reading this thread and you'll find out. In a nutshell, it all goes back to what people feel is age-appropriate. Plus, in many cases, kids don't want to play travel in a vacuum. For example:

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 would be hard for me to believe your attitude didn't rub off on your kid somewhat.

Anyway, travel ball has gotten so prevalent where I live it's just advanced rec ball with fancy uniforms. And, for the record, my kid 11 year-old plays "advanced rec ball" too.

 

[Tom Servo]

I put up a sign on the outside of my teams dugout...and it reads like this:

"If you don't like what your seeing....volunteer".

Swear on my mothers life. It's all about what you put in.

Now this I can get behind.

 

[Tom Servo]

Think about the development of the young athlete. The kid who is good early isnt really hindered by his team mates who need more time to develop. But his example and modeling him can help other boys and girls get better. Good coaching can help tremendously too, this is another thing that travel ball is siphoning off of Little League. Over time those "other" kids will get better and will challenge the "gifted" kid. I've seen it and I've coached it. I had an 11 year old who no one wanted because he was heavy. The judged him based solely on his weight and the fact that he was slower that the other kids. But we worked with him. He got to be more mobile and he locked down left field for us for 3 seasons. He also hit was about a .600 hitter for us. He just needed a little instruction. He had a great eye for the ball as a hitter. But his swing mechanics were terrible so in that first try out he made little to no contact with the ball. He's not the only kid that I had like that.

It's funny, because my brother sort of fits this. He was always large and somewhat slow, but his mechanics were good and could really whack the ball - dead pull hitter from the jump, though. He would hit it so hard that the SS was playing in a good 5-6 steps in LF just to have a shot at it. The coaches would even have him move up on passed balls - Dad called him the Beer Truck because of his speed. Point is, size is not necessarily an indicator of talent or ability.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

I could not disagree with you more. Travel sports are the runination of youth sports and the invention of travel sports came at the behest of parents, not children. Little League is ruined for all kids because the best at a young age a plucked from Little League and pushed into travel ball. What this does is that it helps a few kids get better while it hurts the kids who develop later as athletes.

This seems very dramatic.

Try thinking of travel ball like accelerated classes in your childs school.

Whie it may seem dramatic it is also very true.Think of it this way. Imagine if you had an elementary school and you took all the best teachers and students and you placed them in one wing of the school. You then placed all of the lower performing students in the other wing with interns and inexperienced teachers. Who do you think is going to out perform whom and will the achievement gap ever be improved? You are also sacrificing kids who might blossom academically a year or two later to devote all of your best energy to the kids who are showing promise today.

Also keep in mind that school is compulsory while sports are not. Youth sports, especially at the younger ages, should be about helping these kids develop. Some will be with you for a season, some for more. Some will show promise early, others will blossom later. Others are only there at the urging of mommy and daddy. Some of those will eventually drop out but a few of them will actually develop a love for the game if they are encouraged and instructed properly.

If you had the chance and the money would you pay for your child to get a better education than he or she is recieving right now?

 

[Todem]

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.

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 could not disagree with you more. Travel sports are the runination of youth sports and the invention of travel sports came at the behest of parents, not children. Little League is ruined for all kids because the best at a young age a plucked from Little League and pushed into travel ball. What this does is that it helps a few kids get better while it hurts the kids who develop later as athletes.

I coached Little League ball for almost a decade and prior to the rise of travel ball. I coached 7-11 year olds. Kids at that age want to play and want to be a part of something. Did I have some kids who were stronger fielders than others? Yes. Did we work to bring those other kids up to par with the better fielders? Absolutely. By seperating the baseball wheat from the baseball chaff at such a young age you are classifying those kids left in "rec" ball as not up to snuff possibly before they have a chance to develop. I've seen kids who were athletically mature at 8 and kids who grew into the sport and became good ball players around 11 or 12. Travel ball undermines the development of those late bloomers for the sake of the kids who mature early.

Think about the development of the young athlete. The kid who is good early isnt really hindered by his team mates who need more time to develop. But his example and modeling him can help other boys and girls get better. Good coaching can help tremendously too, this is another thing that travel ball is siphoning off of Little League. Over time those "other" kids will get better and will challenge the "gifted" kid. I've seen it and I've coached it. I had an 11 year old who no one wanted because he was heavy. The judged him based solely on his weight and the fact that he was slower that the other kids. But we worked with him. He got to be more mobile and he locked down left field for us for 3 seasons. He also hit was about a .600 hitter for us. He just needed a little instruction. He had a great eye for the ball as a hitter. But his swing mechanics were terrible so in that first try out he made little to no contact with the ball. He's not the only kid that I had like that.

Sorry I got off on a little tangent there. But if your worriying about high school ball for your 9 year old son I think youve got you priorities and by extension his a little mixed up. Regardless of how "competetive" high school baseball is in your area. At 9 he should be playing for sheer enjoyment. Its adults who put all this extra pressure on the kids and its wrong in my opinion.

You make a lot of valid points. And I don't disagree with you on several of them.

My greatest joy that I get from coaching youth baseball is developing kids. And I have had a hand in developing a lot of kids over the years from below average and average ball players into kids who love and play better baseball now.

Here is the problem we had in our particular slice of pleasentville. I would have 12 kids on my squad.

2-3 are flat out really good, high potential kids.

4-5 are good kids who need coaching, mental development and maturity, and lot;s of reps and they can and have the potential to be good.

3-4 who flat out do not want to be there. refuse to work hard, refuse to listen and really slow down the development of the other kids. Pure disruptions.

Some teams had 6-7 of those types of kids.

Like I said.......I never thought in a million years I would have had to put my son in travel baseball at age 9.....I never intended that but the fact is he loves baseball, is very good at it and wants to play with kids at or above his level.

I can't provide that for him in rec ball. I just can't. Not in my city.

Victim of circumstance.

Thing is......I was not thrilled with the idea so that is why I with 2 other fathers put together a team for this spring (2014) and we have had a wonderful time with the boys and the families. Unfortunately though as the season wore on half the team stopped developing.....not because of the competition. It's because they are realizing baseball is not their thing, they like other sports more, etc etc.

Kid's pitch is when the weed out starts. The game slows down to a crawl sometimes and action is limited. So the kids are truly loving baseball.....stick around. My son was looking across the diamond at some of the teams we played against and began wondering...hey i am good enough to play with those kids....I want that challenge. that is why he came to me and my wife.....and said "dad....I like my team, I like playing with my friends, but I want to try out for team abc, def, ghi etc etc.

The kid loves it.

Who am I to say no?

And being a former high school and college player....I can think ahead about his aspirations in that regard. Are you kidding me? When I was 9-10 I dreamed of being a pro ball player. What kid who loves baseball never thought about that? My son said dad I want to play for the Yankees.......awesome son....first let's focus on you becoming a better little league player....then if your still loving baseball you will try for high school and if you can make a high school team and excell you can think about college....and then you can think about pro ball (listen I know the odds.....99.99% he will never go beyond college ball and I have no clue if he will even make a high school team....he is only 9 years old I really have no clue).

But I do know one thing.....in my city and in my area of the country (South Florida) High School coaches look at travel ball players daily......they never go to rec fields....heard it from 3 prominent high school coaches. So that is the unfortunate reality of baseball in my part of the world.

I totally agree that kids develop at different ages, etc. No doubt. But it is very easy to spot potential ball players at the kid pitch level. Once they move to kid pitch the real fun starts for any ball player looking to keep playing. And it is a true weed out of those who just are not interested in the game.

As far as travel undermining development. Your wrong. There are many different levels of travel ball. A AA AAA. There are teams like the one we formed which takes average players and exposes them to better competition and allows them to work hard to improve.

There are plenty of travel teams (yes it is watered down and some are rec ball teams with fancy uni's.....that's just the reality I know) that have plenty of kids who will develop later.

Then you have the elite teams who have every stud they can find and have insane parents and coaches and will win at any cost and pitch these kids till their arms fall off. That is the dark side of travel and I don't disagree about the detriment it has had on rec ball.

But if you had the chance to get you kid on a good solid team with great kids, great families and good baseball and travel is the only way to do it.......you do it.

We don't have a rec ball choice....not for our son. It's just not good baseball man.

 

[Spanky267]

I could not disagree with you more. Travel sports are the runination of youth sports and the invention of travel sports came at the behest of parents, not children. Little League is ruined for all kids because the best at a young age a plucked from Little League and pushed into travel ball. What this does is that it helps a few kids get better while it hurts the kids who develop later as athletes.

This seems very dramatic.

Try thinking of travel ball like accelerated classes in your childs school.

Whie it may seem dramatic it is also very true.Think of it this way. Imagine if you had an elementary school and you took all the best teachers and students and you placed them in one wing of the school. You then placed all of the lower performing students in the other wing with interns and inexperienced teachers. Who do you think is going to out perform whom and will the achievement gap ever be improved? You are also sacrificing kids who might blossom academically a year or two later to devote all of your best energy to the kids who are showing promise today.

Also keep in mind that school is compulsory while sports are not. Youth sports, especially at the younger ages, should be about helping these kids develop. Some will be with you for a season, some for more. Some will show promise early, others will blossom later. Others are only there at the urging of mommy and daddy. Some of those will eventually drop out but a few of them will actually develop a love for the game if they are encouraged and instructed properly.

If you had the chance and the money would you pay for your child to get a better education than he or she is recieving right now?

To be honest I do that now. I have my oldest in private school and my youngest in public school. My oldest is in private school not because public school is bad, obviously it isnt in my opinion as my youngest is there. He is in private school because public school isnt for him. He's autistic.

 

[belljr]

I think my daughter could play travel...Since we have a 10u travel. I am in no rush to push her there.

I burnt out on baseball and don't want that to happen to her.

 

[Ray Karpis]

Travel ball vs. rec ball is such a tiresome and irksome issue for me. I generally agree with what Spanky said. Problem is, we are where we are. If you try to fight the good fight and stay in rec ball for the betterment of the league, your kid suffers as they get older because the level of play is just so ridiculously bad.

I have a 7YO and a 9YO and we have resisted going to travel teams with several of the people we used to play/coach with. Our rec league is still passable at these ages, but once we get past 9-10 I just don't know if we can stay with it. The level of play is just abysmal. The kids will regress because they hardly ever even get a good pitch to hit...no consistent action in the field...it's just a terrible brand of baseball.

I want to stay in rec league...I love the laidback approach. We will have to really evaluate the options in a year or two.

 

[Todem]

Travel ball vs. rec ball is such a tiresome and irksome issue for me. I generally agree with what Spanky said. Problem is, we are where we are. If you try to fight the good fight and stay in rec ball for the betterment of the league, your kid suffers as they get older because the level of play is just so ridiculously bad.

I have a 7YO and a 9YO and we have resisted going to travel teams with several of the people we used to play/coach with. Our rec league is still passable at these ages, but once we get past 9-10 I just don't know if we can stay with it. The level of play is just abysmal. The kids will regress because they hardly ever even get a good pitch to hit...no consistent action in the field...it's just a terrible brand of baseball.

I want to stay in rec league...I love the laidback approach. We will have to really evaluate the options in a year or two.

Exactly what we were going through. Tough pickle we were put in. Had to make a choice that we thought as best for our son. And we are very happy thus far. More importantly our son is having a great time.

 

[butcher boy]

make them all fight for starting spots and stop enabling liberal handout culture

 

[Clifford]

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.

Sad

 

[Clifford]

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.

Sad

 

[Spanky267]

Travel ball vs. rec ball is such a tiresome and irksome issue for me. I generally agree with what Spanky said. Problem is, we are where we are. If you try to fight the good fight and stay in rec ball for the betterment of the league, your kid suffers as they get older because the level of play is just so ridiculously bad.

I have a 7YO and a 9YO and we have resisted going to travel teams with several of the people we used to play/coach with. Our rec league is still passable at these ages, but once we get past 9-10 I just don't know if we can stay with it. The level of play is just abysmal. The kids will regress because they hardly ever even get a good pitch to hit...no consistent action in the field...it's just a terrible brand of baseball.

I want to stay in rec league...I love the laidback approach. We will have to really evaluate the options in a year or two.

I certainly understand where you are coming from Ray. Youre right. We cant unring the bell in regards to travel ball. My kids no longer play baseball. I coached for years before I was married and had kids. Mine did 2 years of Tee Ball and just never got into the game. Truth be told I find the sport incredibly boring most of the time. I got into it to help the kids in my community and to help my best friend. He's a baseball nut.

I understand travel ball to an extent. But its grown so much in my area that it is diluting baseball as a whole. You have two distinct levels of youth ball in my area now. Travel Ball, which is essentially all star baseball, and Little Leauge/Pony/Cal Ripken ball which is for everyone who either isnt as talented or cant afford travel ball. Some of the travel ball teams in our area are also setting up their own in house "rec" leagues for kids ages 3 to 7 and charging up to $100 a month for the kids to participate.

As I said I am no longer involved in baseball. My son is a football player and luckily football hasnt risen to this level of insanity yet. The issue we have with football is that in my neck of the woods there are 3 independent leagues and Pop Warner. We are Pop Warner after having spent years in the independent leagues. There are 40+ youth football organizations in my county. It kind of dilutes football in a different way. We are over saturated with football teams.