Collectively, A Thread To Celebrate Our Kids Athletic Accomplishments (4 Viewers)

[Charlie Steiner]

I've talked a lot here over the years about the great coaches he had, and I'd like to think that he channeled some of those experiences into his coaching. TBH, what I can't get over is how absolutely nonplussed he is out there. I watched him last Fall in his first coaching gig since his playing days ended. He was the assistant but it was amazing how he was actually trying to coach the kids when they made a mistake and not yelling or getting caught up in the moment of the game. It also helps that he's a bit of a goofball, which helps the kids connect with him.

The bold isn't surprising to me based on how you described him as a player. He sounded like he was just business and never had emotional highs or lows when playing. Sounds like that has carried over to coaching which is great. I know you are well aware, but at that age group getting all bent out of shape over wins, losses, umps, parents, etc is useless as the whole goal is to help the kids get better. All those other things are secondary.

Glad he is out there giving back and it sounds like he is enjoying it. Tell him to keep up the good work.

Actually he was quite the hothead but the travel coach that he had from 8-13 really turned him around. Any acting up put him on the bench and I think it wasn't until he was about 10 or so that he finally got himself under control. I've mentioned that coach many times on this board, and I think his greatest accomplishment as a coach was that he was able to always treat them as if they were his own kid.

 

[gump]

A look into my future...I'll give it 3 years:

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[Gally]

The state playoffs came out on Saturday and we got a tough draw. The system the CIF central section uses is terrible and really hurts smaller schools. For some reason they decide to wait until the season is over and then decide what schools will be placed in what division. Each school has a "base" division assigned but it is possible you can play up a division or down a division depending on your record for the year. Because of this you can get matched up with a team two divisions larger than you in any given year. That is exactly what is happening to our school.

We are base division 3 and were moved up to division 2 as the #3 seed. Seems great but then they paired us with a division 1 school that is over twice our size. So although they may be 10-18 on the year they have played an immensely tougher schedule as their league is very tough vs all division 1 schools. Our league on the other hand is fairly week and is mostly division 3 schools with a couple division 4 and 5 schools.

As an example, last year Division 1 playoffs were won by a di 1 team. Division 2 by a Div 1 team. Division 3 by a Div 2 team, Division 4 by a Div 3 school, Division 5 by a Div 4 team. You get the idea.

I have never seen the state playoff system run like this before (we just switched from CIF Southern section to the Central section). Typically you are set in your division before the season starts and it is loosely based on school population. Like schools playing like schools. This set up is really detrimental to smaller schools that get moved up because they had a good season.

We play tomorrow and the other team has to travel 4-ish hours to get to us. We had one common opponent on the year that we both beat similarly. I just wonder if their tough schedule and school size will be just too much for our team. We definitely have a chance but as a #3 seed you would have hoped for an easier first game of the tourney.
I will update the outcome Thursday morning. Fingers crossed.

 

[Chadstroma]

First intrasquad meet today.

First one ever for my little guy. He has been grabbing the lane ropes since he began practicing. Up until yesterday, about 5 or 6 times each time down the lane. Yesterday, on the way to practice, I was giving him a pep talk trying to get him to make it all the way without grabbing the lines. I had an idea and then told him to just keep singing "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...." in his head. He loved it and laughed. I got a Youtube video up and showed it to him. During the practice they worked on starts. My son has never tried to dive into a pool on the deck, let alone from starting blocks. He got up on the blocks and tried. He hesitated just a tab and then dove in shaped like an upside down U but he did it! I was super impressed as that is a scary thing for kids. He also almost went the length but for some reason on his tries would grab the lane like 2 yards from the end. Then today at the meet, he was super nervous and told me he was scared that he would grab the lane rope. told him to just do his best and try hard to make it to all the way and gave him further encouragement that I believed he could do it. He had the 25 Free and 25 back, he made it all the way on both. He was super excited and when I told him I was proud of him he said "I am proud of myself."

My older son, enters his third season in swim and his second of 4 that he will have full eligibility in 10U as a 9 year old. He had 4 events, 50 Fly, 100 IM and then 200 Medley Relay and 200 Free Relay. First up was the 200 Medley Relay with him doing the fly leg. For intrasquad they combine girl/boy and age groups. Heading out a girl team from 12U got ahead by a good amount... back ends about a half a pool ahead. The next leg for the breast made up about up some time but they will a bit over a third of the length of the pool behind. My son goes... boom....catches up, passes and gives them about a third of a pool lead and then the free leg kept the distance and they won. Next event was then IM and he shed 14 seconds off his time from last season. Then the 50 Fly, he easily wins posting a new personal best time cutting prob about 5 seconds off. The last event was Free Relay which he anchored. The second leg on his team had his goggles go loose and really struggled but my son put in a good effort though I didn't get a time for his split. During the meet (I was on deck volunteering as a deck safety monitor) the coach came to me and told me that she would like my son to start swimming with the 12U and up group because he can keep up with them and benefit. I looked up the regional cut off times and he should have a good shot of making the 50 Free, 50 Fly and 100 IM... if not more this season. Regional times do change each season but using last seasons he is only about 3 seconds off from his best time from last season on his Free. He is about 3 or 4 off on the Fly and about 17 seconds off on the IM. The crazy thing to me is that he has so much room for improvement on his starts and turns. He doesn't tuck his head and is way too loose with a lot of entry points and then with the Fly and Breast he is way too shallow not using his really strong streamline as much as he can/should. His turns are too shallow with the same issue of not using his streamline but even so, he powers through with very strong Free and Fly strokes, a respectable Breast and he could do really well on Back but he really dislikes that stroke. I think he has a shot at breaking the 50 Fly 10U club record by his 4th season, possibly the 50 Free too. He really excels in swim.... I wish it wasn't his 4th favorite sport so he would want to focus on it more because he has so much potential in it but he also excels in football too which is his favorite sport. However, as much as I love football, love watching him play it and hope the best for him.... the injury risk is much greater in football. Anyways...

I am really looking forward to this season, watching both of my boys grow. My little guy is super hyped up and excited and my older one is doing very well and should have a great season.

 

[Andrew74]

In 7 years of travel ball, 4 years of high school ball and 4 years of college ball, my boy never won a championship of any kind, yet in his first Spring as a head coach, he guided his 11 year-olds to a tournament win yesterday.

I got to see him in action a few weeks ago when his team played just an hour from my house, and his poise with the kids, the umps and opposing coaches was impressive. I also enjoyed watching the parents have the same conversations and complaints we had when he was playing travel ball. I thought it was cute seeing a faction of dads second-guessing my sons' coaching decisions, because I knew the answer to "why doesn't he tell him to bunt there?" was "because your kids suck at bunting". On one hand--and I know I'm going to sound like I have my 'daddy goggles' on right now--my son's team had a couple of kids that were way better than any on this team, and was a better team overall than the one he's coaching, but on the other hand, they aren't horrible and I won't argue results; they got on base, they scored and played good enough defense to win. Also, in their defense, they don't have the aspirations that my son's travel team had, in that they keep to playing at venues within close enough proximity to home that they don't have to rent a hotel room, though they did for the tournament I watched.

And if winning the tournament wasn't impressive enough, he also remembered that it was Mother's Day and bought roses for his players to give to their mothers.

That is awesome. Good for him and leading those kids!

All the different sports and years playing... I never won a championship... never first place. All-Star teams and individual achievements, yes, but never as a team won.

That made coaching my sons team to a championship more meaningful to me... not for me of course but for what I know it means to my son without him really knowing what it means to him (if that makes sense). A different kind of meaning than it would be just being a parent watching your son win a championship and a different kind of meaning than a coach leading a team to a championship and then on top of that a different kind of meaning being that I know not ever having won a championship. It was a great thing to have experienced with my son.

I've talked a lot here over the years about the great coaches he had, and I'd like to think that he channeled some of those experiences into his coaching. TBH, what I can't get over is how absolutely nonplussed he is out there. I watched him last Fall in his first coaching gig since his playing days ended. He was the assistant but it was amazing how he was actually trying to coach the kids when they made a mistake and not yelling or getting caught up in the moment of the game. It also helps that he's a bit of a goofball, which helps the kids connect with him.

When he was in his last years of Summer ball during college, the parents of one of the assistant coaches came to every game, presumably to watch their son. I thought that was a bit odd/desperate at the time, but I can totally see doing that myself, especially now that he's moving back to the area and is going to start coaching for the same organization he played for in high school, and maybe even his college Summer league team as well. I'm not sure how I'm going to react if/when he finally gets himself ejected, but I hope at least he gets in a funny line on his way out.

Coaching matters. Looking back at my basketball career, I didn't know it, but my development suffered for lack of good coaching. Though I was on a club travel team the coach of the team really lacked depth of basketball knowledge to really teach beyond the mere basics... and not in a way of focusing on drilling the fundamentals to develop but just lacking acumen. He was the father of one of our teammates and he tried his best. I am a little more driven to make sure that I am giving the kids I coach all they need to develop to their best potential. If he had good coaches there is no doubt that it helped grow him into a good coach now.

I’ve had the same thoughts with my son. I won a few titles as a player, but there was something special winning titles/tournaments as his coach the last two seasons.

And coaching matters a lot. He has a rugby coach who is passionate and cares about the kids. His youth football coach was the same. He wanted to win (and I did too as the AC), but his goal was to teach them fundamentals and have fun. There was one coach who was all about winning and focused on the star players. Heard from another parent that after 5th grade a kid from that team didn’t know how to get in a 3 point stance. Sad.

My wife was talking to another mom at rugby this past weekend. She mentioned her husband can’t wait to coach my son in football. He just happened to play in the NFL. Guy who helped coach sixth grade all-stars with me last fall is an NFL scout. I will admit I am jealous of the opportunities he will have to learn from people at these levels. He’s been very coachable so far; hope he stays that way.

 

[The Z Machine]

My son had another good baseball game last night. First AB he was HBP on the first pitch. Shook it off and got a double on his next AB from a ground ball through the infield. Stole 3rd and then stole home on a wild pitch. Last AB he hit into a FC, then stole 2nd and 3rd, but got stranded there. He had zero defensive plays in the outfield.

His team lost 10-8. The other team deserved the W. They made fewer errors and pitched better.

I'm just happy he's finally swinging the bat.

 

[Chadstroma]

In 7 years of travel ball, 4 years of high school ball and 4 years of college ball, my boy never won a championship of any kind, yet in his first Spring as a head coach, he guided his 11 year-olds to a tournament win yesterday.

I got to see him in action a few weeks ago when his team played just an hour from my house, and his poise with the kids, the umps and opposing coaches was impressive. I also enjoyed watching the parents have the same conversations and complaints we had when he was playing travel ball. I thought it was cute seeing a faction of dads second-guessing my sons' coaching decisions, because I knew the answer to "why doesn't he tell him to bunt there?" was "because your kids suck at bunting". On one hand--and I know I'm going to sound like I have my 'daddy goggles' on right now--my son's team had a couple of kids that were way better than any on this team, and was a better team overall than the one he's coaching, but on the other hand, they aren't horrible and I won't argue results; they got on base, they scored and played good enough defense to win. Also, in their defense, they don't have the aspirations that my son's travel team had, in that they keep to playing at venues within close enough proximity to home that they don't have to rent a hotel room, though they did for the tournament I watched.

And if winning the tournament wasn't impressive enough, he also remembered that it was Mother's Day and bought roses for his players to give to their mothers.

That is awesome. Good for him and leading those kids!

All the different sports and years playing... I never won a championship... never first place. All-Star teams and individual achievements, yes, but never as a team won.

That made coaching my sons team to a championship more meaningful to me... not for me of course but for what I know it means to my son without him really knowing what it means to him (if that makes sense). A different kind of meaning than it would be just being a parent watching your son win a championship and a different kind of meaning than a coach leading a team to a championship and then on top of that a different kind of meaning being that I know not ever having won a championship. It was a great thing to have experienced with my son.

I've talked a lot here over the years about the great coaches he had, and I'd like to think that he channeled some of those experiences into his coaching. TBH, what I can't get over is how absolutely nonplussed he is out there. I watched him last Fall in his first coaching gig since his playing days ended. He was the assistant but it was amazing how he was actually trying to coach the kids when they made a mistake and not yelling or getting caught up in the moment of the game. It also helps that he's a bit of a goofball, which helps the kids connect with him.

When he was in his last years of Summer ball during college, the parents of one of the assistant coaches came to every game, presumably to watch their son. I thought that was a bit odd/desperate at the time, but I can totally see doing that myself, especially now that he's moving back to the area and is going to start coaching for the same organization he played for in high school, and maybe even his college Summer league team as well. I'm not sure how I'm going to react if/when he finally gets himself ejected, but I hope at least he gets in a funny line on his way out.

Coaching matters. Looking back at my basketball career, I didn't know it, but my development suffered for lack of good coaching. Though I was on a club travel team the coach of the team really lacked depth of basketball knowledge to really teach beyond the mere basics... and not in a way of focusing on drilling the fundamentals to develop but just lacking acumen. He was the father of one of our teammates and he tried his best. I am a little more driven to make sure that I am giving the kids I coach all they need to develop to their best potential. If he had good coaches there is no doubt that it helped grow him into a good coach now.

I’ve had the same thoughts with my son. I won a few titles as a player, but there was something special winning titles/tournaments as his coach the last two seasons.

And coaching matters a lot. He has a rugby coach who is passionate and cares about the kids. His youth football coach was the same. He wanted to win (and I did too as the AC), but his goal was to teach them fundamentals and have fun. There was one coach who was all about winning and focused on the star players. Heard from another parent that after 5th grade a kid from that team didn’t know how to get in a 3 point stance. Sad.

My wife was talking to another mom at rugby this past weekend. She mentioned her husband can’t wait to coach my son in football. He just happened to play in the NFL. Guy who helped coach sixth grade all-stars with me last fall is an NFL scout. I will admit I am jealous of the opportunities he will have to learn from people at these levels. He’s been very coachable so far; hope he stays that way.

Two big things make a world of difference for youth coaches... relationships and competence. Being great in one and missing the other- regardless of which is which, does a disservice to the kids. I will be coaching basketball for one or both of my boys for at least the next 7 years. I love the kids and coaching at a small school is a huge advantage because relationships are strong. For competence, I take it seriously even though it is 5th grade ball because I feel I have a responsibility to help these kids develop. I have been spending a little bit every day improving my ability to coach mostly watching youtube of various coaching related things. I think I am driven a little more just because of my experience of not having good coaching as a kid in basketball and knowing it limited my development.

I am jealous of your son as well. There is going to be a different level of coaching you get from that kind of experience. My sons first year of football, I have nothing negative to say about it at all. I think most of the coaching staff was run of the mill Dads but they did bring in the OC for the local public school football team to help but at the same time he wasn't able to be there 100% of the time. It seemed to me like he was just helping put in a system. He wasn't at games and often would miss about half of practice (understandably). However, last year one of the kids Dads came on board and he played college ball. There was a big difference in the practices with him on board. The practices were more structured and the drills seemed "elevated" from the previous year. He was there 100% of the time and took a large leadership role on the coaching staff and I could see it.

The other part of that is coaches who have played at the higher levels seem to get really excited when they get to work with kids that they deem to have potential. Last summer my sons were in a football camp at the Bo Jackson facility near us. The head coach of the camp played college ball as well. It is a 9-12 camp and I come to pick up my son at 12. All the kids are leaving and my son isn't so I stroll over and the coach comes to me... apologizes and then asks if he could work with my son more. He then spend well over an hour with my son and his son just working with him. It got to the point I was wondering if there was an angle.... like, is he going to hit me up for private lessons or something. Nope. Just seemed to get super excited to work with my son because of his potential and kept raving about him. Funny thing was I kept raving about his son who is pretty amazing. If my son had his sons work ethic and drive... wow because his son has another level of drive and working on getting better for a 7 year old (at that time) as his son is 1 year younger than mine.

I hope your son understands that being coached by someone who played in the NFL and an NFL scout is such a privilege that he is blessed with that access in a way that most kids don't get close to.

 

[Chadstroma]

My son had another good baseball game last night. First AB he was HBP on the first pitch. Shook it off and got a double on his next AB from a ground ball through the infield. Stole 3rd and then stole home on a wild pitch. Last AB he hit into a FC, then stole 2nd and 3rd, but got stranded there. He had zero defensive plays in the outfield.

His team lost 10-8. The other team deserved the W. They made fewer errors and pitched better.

I'm just happy he's finally swinging the bat.

Seems like he broke through mentally. That is awesome!

 

[The Z Machine]

My son had another good baseball game last night. First AB he was HBP on the first pitch. Shook it off and got a double on his next AB from a ground ball through the infield. Stole 3rd and then stole home on a wild pitch. Last AB he hit into a FC, then stole 2nd and 3rd, but got stranded there. He had zero defensive plays in the outfield.

His team lost 10-8. The other team deserved the W. They made fewer errors and pitched better.

I'm just happy he's finally swinging the bat.

Seems like he broke through mentally. That is awesome!

Yeah, I think he is finally getting it. But it's such a mental game that he may go into a slump / shell again at some point.

But this was one of the reasons I wanted him to play baseball. I was hoping that he could build mental resiliency and toughness, trusting himself to overcome challenges and putting in effort to get better. It's skills that hopefully will serve him well in whatever he does. I also was hoping he'd continue to build friendships with like minded kids and have fun in the fresh air, not watching stupid youtube videos.

 

[Chadstroma]

My son had another good baseball game last night. First AB he was HBP on the first pitch. Shook it off and got a double on his next AB from a ground ball through the infield. Stole 3rd and then stole home on a wild pitch. Last AB he hit into a FC, then stole 2nd and 3rd, but got stranded there. He had zero defensive plays in the outfield.

His team lost 10-8. The other team deserved the W. They made fewer errors and pitched better.

I'm just happy he's finally swinging the bat.

Seems like he broke through mentally. That is awesome!

Yeah, I think he is finally getting it. But it's such a mental game that he may go into a slump / shell again at some point.

But this was one of the reasons I wanted him to play baseball. I was hoping that he could build mental resiliency and toughness, trusting himself to overcome challenges and putting in effort to get better. It's skills that hopefully will serve him well in whatever he does. I also was hoping he'd continue to build friendships with like minded kids and have fun in the fresh air, not watching stupid youtube videos.

It is baseball. It isn't he may... it is when.

 

[belljr]

We won our division this year. 2 years in a row. to the squad

 

[Charlie Steiner]

I also was hoping he'd continue to build friendships with like minded kids and have fun in the fresh air, not watching stupid youtube videos.

The bolded is what I think ultimately swayed my son toward baseball over soccer; not that his soccer friends we no good, but rather that the ones he played baseball with all bonded so quickly that even as some of them were on different travel teams over the years, they always hung out together and by the time they got to play together in high school, they were even keeping each other out of trouble. There was one exception, and even though he drank himself off the team, they didn't turn their backs on him and they're all still friends to this day. Additionally, several of them are moving back into the area now that they're done with school, including my boy, and I'm pretty sure he's moving back because of them.

 

[Gally]

My son had another good baseball game last night. First AB he was HBP on the first pitch. Shook it off and got a double on his next AB from a ground ball through the infield. Stole 3rd and then stole home on a wild pitch. Last AB he hit into a FC, then stole 2nd and 3rd, but got stranded there. He had zero defensive plays in the outfield.

His team lost 10-8. The other team deserved the W. They made fewer errors and pitched better.

I'm just happy he's finally swinging the bat.

Awesome, Looks like his confidence is building which will only improve with more reps and practice. Keep up the good work.

 

[Gally]

I also was hoping he'd continue to build friendships with like minded kids and have fun in the fresh air, not watching stupid youtube videos.

The bolded is what I think ultimately swayed my son toward baseball over soccer; not that his soccer friends we no good, but rather that the ones he played baseball with all bonded so quickly that even as some of them were on different travel teams over the years, they always hung out together and by the time they got to play together in high school, they were even keeping each other out of trouble. There was one exception, and even though he drank himself off the team, they didn't turn their backs on him and they're all still friends to this day. Additionally, several of them are moving back into the area now that they're done with school, including my boy, and I'm pretty sure he's moving back because of them.

This is the underrated aspect of travel ball that can be a huge life long benefit. Being on the road, "vacationing" with friends frequently can bond kids/families for life. It's why finding like minded people to link up with for these travel teams is so important to gain the most benefit from the experience. It's bigger than wins and losses and having the same goals (both family and sports) as the other's you are playing with is so important.

 

[parasaurolophus]

My daughter was able to get the hula hoop to go around about five times yesterday.

Already planning my retirement.

 

[belljr]

We won our division this year. 2 years in a row. to the squad

I was going to add a suck it @Charlie Steiner but thought it might be too much

 

[The Z Machine]

I also was hoping he'd continue to build friendships with like minded kids and have fun in the fresh air, not watching stupid youtube videos.

The bolded is what I think ultimately swayed my son toward baseball over soccer; not that his soccer friends we no good, but rather that the ones he played baseball with all bonded so quickly that even as some of them were on different travel teams over the years, they always hung out together and by the time they got to play together in high school, they were even keeping each other out of trouble. There was one exception, and even though he drank himself off the team, they didn't turn their backs on him and they're all still friends to this day. Additionally, several of them are moving back into the area now that they're done with school, including my boy, and I'm pretty sure he's moving back because of them.

This is the underrated aspect of travel ball that can be a huge life long benefit. Being on the road, "vacationing" with friends frequently can bond kids/families for life. It's why finding like minded people to link up with for these travel teams is so important to gain the most benefit from the experience. It's bigger than wins and losses and having the same goals (both family and sports) as the other's you are playing with is so important.

I get all that, but it really is tough on the family. What do I do with my son's twin sister that has no interest in sports? This is why finding a good, well run rec league with enough good players to keep the development going was important. These same folks also run a basketball league during the winter (same time as indoor soccer). We'll see if my son is interested in that or whether the wife puts the kibosh on doing more than one sport in a given season (likely).

 

[Charlie Steiner]

We won our division this year. 2 years in a row. to the squad

I was going to add a suck it @Charlie Steiner but thought it might be too much

As long as Immaculata and Marymount lose, I'm good with that.

 

[Gally]

I get all that, but it really is tough on the family. What do I do with my son's twin sister that has no interest in sports? This is why finding a good, well run rec league with enough good players to keep the development going was important. These same folks also run a basketball league during the winter (same time as indoor soccer). We'll see if my son is interested in that or whether the wife puts the kibosh on doing more than one sport in a given season (likely).

I wasn't saying anything about you needing to go that route. I just wanted to point out that if "you" (generic you) can find a travel team with like minded people and families that have the same values it becomes more than baseball. It becomes a life long connection. It's hard to find but if you do it's great. People generally don't talk about that aspect and trash the time, money, etc that bad travel ball can lead to without the benefit I am talking about.

Travel ball is not for everyone but more and more it is diluting the rec leagues to the point that they are almost useless for development as the talent level is so bad if you have any talent at all you can't get better. If you have a good rec league that challenges your kid and he improves over the course of the year then you are in the right spot.

As far as the twin sister goes, it is tough if the brother starts to excel where he wants/needs to progress to something more than rec. My daughter was into sports so she also had her travel teams so we had to divide and conquer with Mom/daughter going one way and Dad/son the other. It was a busy 6-8 years. But our family is big into sports so that was an enjoyment for us. It's not for everyone. If your daughter/wife aren't into sports that will definitely put a drain on the support which will make the commitment tough. Does your daughter not like sports because she hasn't tried it? Is she athletic? What does she have interest in? It's tough to answer how to approach it from the outside here. I was lucky in that we all had the same interest so I didn't have that issue.

 

[Chadstroma]

Travel ball is not for everyone but more and more it is diluting the rec leagues to the point that they are almost useless for development as the talent level is so bad if you have any talent at all you can't get better. If you have a good rec league that challenges your kid and he improves over the course of the year then you are in the right spot.

I am not sure the why behind it and if this be a contributing factor but our city, which has tons of resources.... numerous fields or baseball, soccer, football, including an indoor soccer field, basketball courts, a mini water park, etc... does not have any rec leagues. They simply partner with club teams for soccer, baseball, basketball, football, swim, etc.

 

[Gally]

Playoff game #1:

It started off with the second batter of the game taking a high fast ball out to LF. Then the next batter hits a routine basehit to CF that our CF played nonchalantly and the batter got a double out of it. We were able to close the inning after that with no futher damage. Bottom of the first we got a 2-out single, stolen base and another basehit to score the run to tie the game at 1. It was a nice response to the homer in the top half of the inning to not let the game get out of hand.

Top of the third inning they got runners at the corners with one out. Ground ball double play (6-4-3) to end the inning and stop the run from scoring. We had our leadoff guy get on and promptly get picked off. Not much offense from either team.

We had a few innings where we got the leadoff guy get on and couldn't move him. Our game most of the year has relied on small ball as we aren't a great hitting team. We have been able to do the little things and score runners with key hits throughout the year. Today was a little bigger and you could tell some of the younger guys were squeezing it a little too tight. He had 4 or 5 sac situations and didn't succeed on any of them.

We end up going extra innings tied 1-1. Our starting pitcher went 8 innings on 106 pitches with 9 K's, 2 walks, and 4 hits. The only real blemish was the second batter that went deep off a high fastball. Bottom of the we got the lead off guy on and again couldn't bunt him over. Then hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Frustrating.

My son was playing third and only had one play but it was a great one. High chop to the 5-6 hole that he cut off (had to wait for the ball to come down), bare handed and threw a dart to first to beat the guy by a step. Just a tremendously play for having no action all game. So now with the starter up against his pitch limit he came into the game in the 9th. This is a bit precarious because if we win our next game is Friday so if he throws 50+ pitches he is unavailable to pitch Friday due to pitch count rules and we really don't have much pitching beyond the two starters. But you gotta win today to play Friday so there we have it. He ended up mowing them down on 11 pitches with a K, Pop out, and ground out.

We are at 4-5-6 in our lineup for the bottom of the 9th. Lead off guy K's watching three strikes. Ugh. Next guy battles to a full count. Fouls off a couple pitches then lines a solid hit to RF. My son is up next. He is 0-2 with a BB to this point. He drives a 1-1 pitch over the first baseman into the RF corner. This sends the runner to 3B as the OF made a nice play to cut the ball off and keep the runners at 1st and 3rd. Next up is a sophomore that has been completely overmatched today. He is a lefty and the opposing pitchers have both been left and he hasn't come close to touching a CB. I am calling for a safety squeeze if I am coach. At least put the pressure on the defense to make a play. The other team is expecting bunt with corners way in. Well, 3 CB's.....3 poor swings and out #2. Next up is a junior (#8 batter). He hasn't had a good day at the plate either. A couple strikeouts. He falls down 1-2 watching a meat FB right down the middle. Next pitch he hits a routine grounder to 3B. Their 2B calls for the ball which got the 3B attention and he kind of stepped that way but decided to throw to first and spiked the throw. Game over. Pandemonium ensues. Walk off win 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th.

Exciting HS baseball game. Well pitched on both sides. Solid defense (1 error each team). A couple key defensive plays both ways to keep it tied. You hate to see a game end on an error but sometimes that happens.

On to Friday. We get to play against another Div 1 team. They are the 11 seed that upset the 7 seed 5-2. It's going to be another tough battle and my son will be on the bump. Should be a good one. Until tomorrow......

 

[Todem]

I also was hoping he'd continue to build friendships with like minded kids and have fun in the fresh air, not watching stupid youtube videos.

The bolded is what I think ultimately swayed my son toward baseball over soccer; not that his soccer friends we no good, but rather that the ones he played baseball with all bonded so quickly that even as some of them were on different travel teams over the years, they always hung out together and by the time they got to play together in high school, they were even keeping each other out of trouble. There was one exception, and even though he drank himself off the team, they didn't turn their backs on him and they're all still friends to this day. Additionally, several of them are moving back into the area now that they're done with school, including my boy, and I'm pretty sure he's moving back because of them.

This is the underrated aspect of travel ball that can be a huge life long benefit. Being on the road, "vacationing" with friends frequently can bond kids/families for life. It's why finding like minded people to link up with for these travel teams is so important to gain the most benefit from the experience. It's bigger than wins and losses and having the same goals (both family and sports) as the other's you are playing with is so important.

This right here.

We are having a reunion with the travel team I coached for 3 years.....13/14/15U......and doing a whiffle ball game before we send off all these boys to college. 90% of them are moving on to College Ball. Something I am very proud of and proud to be a part of. I coached many of thee kids since they were 8-9 years old.

We had the best time with this group of families. We were not the best team....but we won a lot of games, played some amazing tournaments (Disney and Ripkin Myrtle Beach), won a few Travel League titles and made a lifetime of memories together. A lot of these boys are still friends and played against each other in high school the last 4 years.

On another note......we are headed to the State Semi Finals. We are currently ranked #1 in the state of Florida and #1 on many polls in the entire country (Max Preps wake the **** up).

Fort Meyers here we come. If we pull this off.......this will be their 3rd straight State an National title. We have won our last 49 games dating back to last year.....27-0 this season.

My son has a great slash line in his senior season:

.367/.500/.833

22 Runs
16 SB

And lot’s of barrels.

Part time role mind you.......and quite frankly...should be starting. The kid starting in front of him is hitting .150 so don’t ask......we have 2 games left......he has a role and is playing College Ball.....he has already won in the big picture.

To say this has been an incredibly difficult 4 years would be an understatement. Without a doubt this is the toughest most grueling high school baseball program in the State of Florida and maybe the country. Practice is 6 days a week. They play Fall and Spring......practices run 3-4 hours no exceptions.

It is run like a D1 Power 5 Collegiate program.

My son endured constant doubts about his size.

He was 4’11 90 pounds as a freshman and barely made the JV team. He made it because they liked his ball skills despite his tiny frame.

He started his Sophomore year on JV and hit .395 and was perfect in the field.

Junior year when he won his 1st national Title.....he logged a grand total of 2 AB’s and zero innings in the field. Zero. Most players would either transfer out or quit.

Not this kid. He was offered starting SS positions at 3 different high schools over the summer going into his senior year.....turned them all down. He told me “Dad.....I am going to finish what I started” "I am not a quitter” despite knowing he should be in that lineup (again I am not going to go into the “politics” of why he is not). He felt he could win a position and felt confident he would......he hit really well in the Fall.....out hit his competition pretty decisively. Did not matter apparently.

He grew......I mean shot up. Today he is now 5’11 and a rock solid 155 pounds of lean muscle and still growing. 6.7 60 yard speed and a consistent 85-76 arm velo from SS (a year ago it was 78). A gap to gap line drive hitter, fantastic bunter and base runner, high baseball IQ and smooth as silk hands and footwork at SS and 2B. In fact he was moved over to SS in the last month of the season and got to finish off our district title game at SS in the last 3 innings. He also smashed a double that hopped over the CF fence......oh so close to his first HR!! This kid endured......had a ridiculous 2022 summer and some of you already know was recruited to a fantastic D3 school in Raleigh NC named William Peace University to play for a fantastic coach in Charlie Long. In fact they just set a new school record for wins and made it all the way to their conference final for the first time in school history. So he is going to part of a rising program and have a shot to trailblazer it as well. Last summer vs the best 17U competition in the Southeast from the leadoff spot he had:

78AB's
.355 AVG
.400 OBP
.875 OPS
.345 SLG
12 Runs
7 BB
15 SB
5 K's

Just one error in the field in 45 chances playing 2B/LF/SS

That is what got him recruited.....in addition to his outstanding transcript and character.

I have to say.....his high school experience was brutal, hard, at times he thought he would hang it up (after Freshman year when he was so overmatched physically), some excitement winning a lot of games, but the journey made him so much stronger and shaped him into a rock solid D1 level type of ball player......so he will IMO have a totally different experience at college. That is the hope. And I think he will. Those coaches are in constant contact with him and excited to get him up there this Fall. They know what they are getting and what high school program (and a great summer program) he is coming from. These were strong and tough life lessons. Life is not always fair......what you do and how you respond to it will shape who you will become. I thought he handled it like the old school kid I raised. Grit, determination, hard work. Keep grinding.

His head coach in high school gave him a glowing recommendation to his college coach as well as his summer coaches did the same. So it all worked out in that regard. Despite the politics.....and lack of a significant opportunity to start Varsity.....he did play in almost every game in some capacity as a defensive replacement, Pinch Runner (primary PR for the catcher every game) and got 22 AB’s this season (just crazy man......he hit so well in his limited chances while the guy ahead of him has done literally nothing....again not going to get into the “why” but it is totally political and has to do with a faculty members kid).

Look this team is loaded....I mean loaded with talent. He was not the only senior who did not start on a regular basis....but all 8 of his senior class are headed to college and one will be drafted this summer no doubt. We are two deep at every single spot.....our backups would beat most teams too. They are that good. So to be part of this elite program came with some benefits (as well as the cost of lack of playing time). A winning culture, a top notch practice environment and guys who pushed each other each and every day to be on top of their game. My wife and I were soliders about the entire thing. We never said a word. Went to every single game, cheered on every single kid and supported the program with fundraising and working the concession stand and your’s truly worked that Grill a lot his freshman year LOL.....I also happened to coach the middle school that fed 18 players into this program and I coached with his head coach and assistant coach his first two summers as an incoming freshman and Sophomore. So I put in a lot of sweat, time and helped develop a bunch of these young men too. I hung up the coaching cleats going into his Junior year so I could solely focus on helping him with his recruiting process and for the first time....just watch him play the game he loves.

So onto States Tuesday and Wednesday night......I am fully expecting them to finish the job and make Florida history as the only undefeated public school program in state history....and the first public school to win back to back to back State Titles since the early 1900’s in the state of Florida. I mean this is a big story unfolding. We are playing Spruce Creek Tuesday night at 7PM at the Twins Spring Training complex in Lee County (Fort Meyers) in the stadium. Then we face the winner (yeah I expect us to win of course) of Park Vista vs Plant. We had already beaten Park Vista this year....8-2.

Our pre-season rank was in the high teens......and all they have done is beat every single team in front of them. And we play a very tough schedule.

Crazy stuff. This journey is finally coming to and end.......and a brand new one will begin soon. He will be playing in the West Palm Beach Collegiate League in June and July and get at least 60-70 AB’s vs top college talent. So a great primer for his first Fall in college. Exciting stuff. I could not be prouder.

 

[Chadstroma]

First swim practice with the 12U team moving from 10U. Going from an hour of swim to an hour and 45 minutes with significantly more demanding reps etc. He did great. Sooooo tired where as when he got out of the 10U practices would still have tons of energy. Didn't complain just mentioned how tired he was. Several times. He not only kept up with those 11 and 12 year olds but was leading the pack in reps at 9 years old.

 

[The Z Machine]

Amazing update @Todem

 

[Dickies]

Haven’t posted on these forums in a while, but thought I’d re-visit this thread to update on my son’s baseball escapades.

He got snubbed from the 11yo all-star team after getting snubbed last year from the 10yo team. This year his batting average is 0.400 and his OBP is 0.750 in majors. He’s the shortest kid in majors, but has a gamer mentality and a very high baseball IQ. He plays primarily catcher and SS, but can play any position very well… a utility player if you will.

Today, one day off of learning he didn’t make all-stars he is playing in the semifinals for the majors postseason tournament. They were the underdogs coming in, but ended up winning 2-1 in extra innings with my son being named MVP. He went 2-2 with a walk, and scored both runs. Both hits came off the best pitcher in the league and the first run started off with a double to the left field fence. The next batter hit a 10-foot dribbler that was fielded by the catcher and as my son rounded third he realized nobody was covering home and beat out the pitcher trying to cover. In the bottom of the 8th the other team had bases loaded with 1 out. A ground ball was hit to SS, who threw home to my son. The throw was off line, but my son stretched towards 3B to make the catch, but immediately got trucked by the kid coming in from 3B. He hung onto the ball for the out.

I’m a proud dad today. This kid puts in so much work that the “all star coaches” don’t see and he has such a passion for the game. Thankfully this year our little league is doing an “A” team and a “B” team as opposed to last year when they split the kids evenly for summer ball. We are going to compete in the all star tournaments and I think this team has a good chance to be better than the actual all star team because the politics are so out of control. I’m at the point where I’d rather he not make all stars because he gets to be the leader of a team versus riding the bench for coaches who don’t value his skill set.

 

[Gally]

I’m at the point where I’d rather he not make all stars because he gets to be the leader of a team versus riding the bench for coaches who don’t value his skill set.

LL all stars is a joke. Too many coaches at that level care more about winning over development but yet don't actually give a clean evaluation of who are good players.

Seems like your son, being on the smaller side, doesn't stand out to most so he doesn't get the recognition. Eventually that should swing around but it's tough in the meantime.

 

[ex-ghost]

Finally, the end to our journey. My son is going to attend Montana State in Bozeman. It was down to MSU and Gonzaga and the pros/cons came down to feel of team, the coach and the academic reputation of the school. He likes MSU team and coach - Gonzaga rep. Decided that rep did not overtake team/coach and the decision was made. Between academic, athletic and parental assistance, the two schools ended up costing about the same. It has been a hell of a ride.

Quick update. We thought my son would miss the whole season due to continuing injuries, but we found a new PT who basically told him that rest wasn't the cure and to start back on a 1 minute run, I minute walk program. He started this three weeks ago knowing that it was the only way he might be able to run at State. He got in one 800 race to qualify and now has made it on his way to State next week, along the way breaking the school record in the 800 at 1:54.03. The kid is only running 10-15 miles a week, I really don't know how he is doing it. I really look forward to seeing what he can do when he can actually put in miles. He has only run 30+ miles/week for two weeks in the past two years - his main rival has been running 100+ weeks for the past 8 years.

 

[Andrew74]

Rugby is finally over. Channeled our inner Detroit Lions and went 0-12.

I for one am glad, just for my son’s body. It looks like someone took a rod and beat his legs. I am surprised a teacher hasn’t made a call. After todays games he had dried blood caked on one shin. After some consternation earlier, I was happy to see him not be so uptight about winning/losing. He seemed really happy for some of his teammates who scored their first tries of the season.

Now we wait for football season.

 

[Chadstroma]

I’m at the point where I’d rather he not make all stars because he gets to be the leader of a team versus riding the bench for coaches who don’t value his skill set.

LL all stars is a joke. Too many coaches at that level care more about winning over development but yet don't actually give a clean evaluation of who are good players.

Seems like your son, being on the smaller side, doesn't stand out to most so he doesn't get the recognition. Eventually that should swing around but it's tough in the meantime.

Looking back into baseball when I grew up... it seems to me that the coaches son always got pegged up a few notches on evaluation and then what I will call "network winners" the same upgrade on evaluations which would be the kids of parents who were close to the coaches and super involved in the league etc. Though I didn't understand it or know what was going on... as a kid you see it... and it does impact you. It is one of the reasons why my attention went from baseball to basketball as a kid.

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

My son is a young soccer player, age 10. He plays right wing and striker. He's improving and plays for the top team in our community. He's on a good team, with other good players. To get a shot at more PT, he's making sure he stays in shape. He recently joined a casual running club that meets 2x/week for some playground workouts.

Before our impromptu soccer practice, he ran a mile for time today, having never done better than 7:57, and mostly in the 8+ minutes time. He ran 7:09.60. He couldn't believe it. I was so proud of him. No formal training whatsoever. All drive, all heart. Now he wants to get sub 7:00.

I don't think I should have told him that's a faster mile than I've ever run. He's not letting me forget it. Good for him.

 

[belljr]

Daughter been playing softball for 9 years.

I've coached all. She is a freshman this year and our season for club is starting late this year. Has 4 years left - 8 if she decides to play in college. She has the talent but not sure if she'll want to plus all the leg work we need to do.

She's had game winning homeruns in Nationals as well as striking out with winning runs on base. Great defensive plays as well as routine errors.

I'm going to miss it and not a little

she played field hockey and basketball up until this year and decided to hang them up. She could play hockey but chose not too. Decided on winter track.

was just reading back - final HS playoffs start this week. Hoping to be playing until June if all goes well - then one last Summer ball.

Then shes on her own for college ball.

 

[Gally]

Quarterfinals last Friday (we are home team):

Played against another division 1 team however it was a team that lost three times to the team we beat in round 1 (even though this team had a better record than the overall team). This game was vastly different than the 9 inning 2-1 nail biter we had in the first round. Also, my son got the ball for this one.

1st Inning: First pitch line out to RF. Full count - walk (tried a change up and through a good 0-2 change that dropped right in the dirt).....K on a nasty 1-2 CB to a lefty that just dove right ot the back foot after staying in the zone a long time. Best CB to a lefty all year. Another full count walk (tried another change that did the same as the first). Next guy with a soft liner to CF to score a run. Then another K. Showed toughness to get out of it after two walks but the pitchcount (22 after one) was concerning.

Walks were odd as he had 13 walks in 70 IP's coming into the game. It looked like he was nibbling a bit feeling out how these guys would approach their AB's. I was surprised he went with full count change ups as his bread and butter all year has been dropping in curveballs in those situations with great success. I asked him after the game about this and he said he had thrown a few CB's to each in the AB and wanted to show them a different look. He just didn't execute.

Bottom 1st: 1st pitch.......BOMB! It was crushed to right. A no doubter. Then single, single, single, walk, single. Bases loaded 2 runs in and nobody out. My son was up next and hit a sharp one hopper that the pitcher made a nice play on to get him at 1st but the run scored. Then another walk and then they pulled the pitcher. He wasn't fooling anybody. Next guy came in gave up a single to score two bringing it to 5-1 and then K, K to end the inning.

Great rebound and tone setting for the game. Also made it a little easier to just do your job as there was some breathing room. Needed a nice shut down inning and got it by striking out the side. Bottom 2 we scored two more runs to go up 7-1.

Top 3: Lead off single (infield single in the 5-6 hole), followed by a double (hard ground ball right down the 3B line. My son focused and got a ground ball out (scored a run but that is fine) , then K, K to end the inning stranding the runner on 3B. Talking with my son after the game that was the biggest moment for him in the game. Giving up a lead off single/double to have 2nd & 3rd with no outs and to only give up one run was huge for him. He settled in after that.

Top 4: should have had a 7 pitch inning (which was needed to balance out the pitchcount) but an error on the SS prolonged the inning. Wasn't too bad as the next batter flied out to center on the first pitch.

Next AB my son came up with 1 out and a runner on 1B. He drilled a ball over the 1B's head into the corner. I was wondering if he had enough juice to get a triple but when I looked up at the lead runner he was stopping at 2B and looking back. the 3B coach is waiving him and he finally starts again but now it is too late to send him so it ends up a double to make it 2nd & third. Terrible base running. One of the biggest issues with this team. Their fastest guys are all terrible base runners. We end up stranding both runners to keep the game at 7-2.

He cruises through the 5th and 6th to stand at 94 pitches with one inning left. The rule is 110 max but you can finish the batter if you start prior to 110 pitches. Bottom of 6 we score three to go up 10-2 and give some additional breathing room. This game is shaping up to be like a previous game where we got into our bullpen with a 5 run lead and ended up losing. I was getting an eerily similar feeling.

Top 7: He gets the first batter to fly out on the 4th pitch. Next batter battles for a few pitches for an infield single. He is now at 103 pitches with 2 outs to go. Then this batter proceeds to get to a 2-2 count and then fouls off 4 pitches which means this is the last batter no matter what. He gets him to hit a grounder for a possible double play to the SS who makes a good feed but the 2B bobbles it to only get the lead runner. UGH! Now into the bullpen. 2 outs, runner on 1st.

The guy they bring in is a freshman (the 2B that just bobbled the ball). He throws decently but struggles to find the strikezone sometimes. You could tell the nerves were hitting him. He proceeds to throw 10 straight balls to load the bases and go 2-0 on the next guy. He then gets a strike and then gives up a hit to score a run. He then walks the next guy on 4 staight to bring in another run. It's now 10-4 with the bases loaded and the other team's leading HR guy up to bat (he has 4 HR's on the year). He goes to 2-2 and then gets the guy looking to end the game. Pretty crazy.

Now we are off to the semi-finals against a team we beat 9-3 in our third game of the year. This was before their two stud transfer students were eligible which turned around thier season. Since we are the 3 seed and they are the 7th seed we get the home game. It's gonna be a tough game tomorrow. Very exciting.

This is the furthest our school has ever gone in the CIF playoffs (semi-finals). One other team (a team I coached) made it in 2003 and lost to the eventual champions. That team had Ian Steward (drafted by Colorado #8 overall) and Ian Kennedy (still pitching in the Majors) and two other D1 commits. That team was awesome and told us we were by far the best team they played all season.

My son ended up with 6.2 IP, 6 hits, 2 walks (both in the first inning), HPB, 8 K's, 3 ER and got his 10th win of the season to sit at 10-2. He also went 1-3 with a double and an RBI.

Next game tomorrow at home for a chance to go to the Finals. The other side of the bracket is #1 seed vs #12 seed (our cross town rivals who we are 3-0 against this year). I am not sure what I want to happen on the other side as it's the devil you know or the #1 seed. The problem with the devil you know is that it is hard to beat a team 4 times in one year so it's a worry. Time will tell.

 

[Dickies]

I’m at the point where I’d rather he not make all stars because he gets to be the leader of a team versus riding the bench for coaches who don’t value his skill set.

LL all stars is a joke. Too many coaches at that level care more about winning over development but yet don't actually give a clean evaluation of who are good players.

Seems like your son, being on the smaller side, doesn't stand out to most so he doesn't get the recognition. Eventually that should swing around but it's tough in the meantime.

He stands out, just not to the coaches who are the gatekeepers. It's all politics and friendships over assembling a team that is built to be successful.

The only knocks on him are that he didn't pitch this year and he doesn't hit with as much power as the kids who are way bigger than him. His lack of pitching was more because he coach valued his defensive abilities at C, SS and OF and they already had a handful of kids who were strong pitchers. As for the power, he has hit a couple of line drives to the fence, but most of his hits this season have been singles. He's only struck out 4 times all season (all swinging), and most of his walks are not because he is a passive hitter... a lot of his walks required 3+ foul balls to get to the walk. Whatever he lacks in physical ability, he makes up for in passion, hard work, and hustle. He is in our backyard for at least an hour every day hitting off the tee and working on catcher drills that he has learned from YouTube.

Looking back into baseball when I grew up... it seems to me that the coaches son always got pegged up a few notches on evaluation and then what I will call "network winners" the same upgrade on evaluations which would be the kids of parents who were close to the coaches and super involved in the league etc. Though I didn't understand it or know what was going on... as a kid you see it... and it does impact you. It is one of the reasons why my attention went from baseball to basketball as a kid.

My wife is on the LL board, and I umpire 25+ games for the league every season. I also help coach when I can for my son's teams, but I am past the stage of signing up as an "official" assistant coach. It's all very cliquey though.

 

[Gally]

He stands out, just not to the coaches who are the gatekeepers. It's all politics and friendships over assembling a team that is built to be successful.

I have been in many all star voting meetings and really it is up to the coach of the kid to stand up for him and fight for his players if they are being overlooked. Typically each coach will put up kids from their team they think deserving and then the coaches vote on it. Usually there are at least 1 or two kids from each team that make it and it's up to the coach to lobby for their team.

How many kids made the team and how many from your son's team? Were the ones that made it from his team deserving? Sometimes (depending on league by laws) you may get some players of good teams get over looked because every team has to have a rep. Not saying it's the right way to do things but sometimes that is the reality.

Either way it sucks for deserving kids that get left off.

ETA: I will also add that when I was putting together an all-star team I did try and put together a team. So if I had two catchers that were better than a third guy and all that third guy could do is be catcher he might not get a spot if he was close to another guy that could play infield, OF and pitch. That does come in play too.

I also ran into an issue one year where I was trying to minimize the number of players on the team because LL has very restrictive minimum play rules that really hamper coaches when it comes to substitution. That year we didn't have a really strong group of kids so I wasn't asking to leave off players that legitimately should on an all star team. I was trying to make it so every player would get a lot of play time and there would be good flexibility for subbing. The district threatened us and said if we didn't have at least 12 players they would not allow us to participate. That forced me to go to 13 (for substitution rules) and ended up making almost every parent unhappy with their kids play time for the three games we got to play. It was a nightmare. But don't get me started on min play time rules for all star competition. That is whole other can of worms.

 

[Dickies]

He stands out, just not to the coaches who are the gatekeepers. It's all politics and friendships over assembling a team that is built to be successful.

I have been in many all star voting meetings and really it is up to the coach of the kid to stand up for him and fight for his players if they are being overlooked. Typically each coach will put up kids from their team they think deserving and then the coaches vote on it. Usually there are at least 1 or two kids from each team that make it and it's up to the coach to lobby for their team.

How many kids made the team and how many from your son's team? Were the ones that made it from his team deserving? Sometimes (depending on league by laws) you may get some players of good teams get over looked because every team has to have a rep. Not saying it's the right way to do things but sometimes that is the reality.

Either way it sucks for deserving kids that get left off.

ETA: I will also add that when I was putting together an all-star team I did try and put together a team. So if I had two catchers that were better than a third guy and all that third guy could do is be catcher he might not get a spot if he was close to another guy that could play infield, OF and pitch. That does come in play too.

I also ran into an issue one year where I was trying to minimize the number of players on the team because LL has very restrictive minimum play rules that really hamper coaches when it comes to substitution. That year we didn't have a really strong group of kids so I wasn't asking to leave off players that legitimately should on an all star team. I was trying to make it so every player would get a lot of play time and there would be good flexibility for subbing. The district threatened us and said if we didn't have at least 12 players they would not allow us to participate. That forced me to go to 13 (for substitution rules) and ended up making almost every parent unhappy with their kids play time for the three games we got to play. It was a nightmare. But don't get me started on min play time rules for all star competition. That is whole other can of worms.

Our league votes anonymously. At his age (11) every kid in majors gets to vote, and every manager and assistant coach gets to vote. The top 6 voted on by the kids are automatically added to the team, and the top 4 of the remaining kids as voted on by the coaches gets added to the team. The remaining two are added purely at the manager's discretion.

It's a pretty deep age group, so there are a lot of kids that have merit, and I can find ways that every kid is deserving of being there, but looking at the stats and watching them play with my own two eyes (as a spectator and umpire) there are about 3 kids that I do not find as deserving as some that missed the cut. Full disclosure, I have no way of knowing who was voted on by kids vs coaches vs the manager picks. There was only one 11yo from his team that made all stars, but there were 3 12yos that made it.

LL changed the district tournament rules so that teams must use continuous batting order, which I know will make a lot of people upset.

 

[The Z Machine]

teams must use continuous batting order

What does this mean?

 

[belljr]

teams must use continuous batting order

What does this mean?

You bat the whole squad

 

[Gally]

LL changed the district tournament rules so that teams must use continuous batting order, which I know will make a lot of people upset.

This is tremendous. It is absolutely the best way to run it when you have a minimum play time requirement. Otherwise substitution rules severely hamper the ability of the coaches to meet those min playtime requirements.

 

[Gally]

teams must use continuous batting order

What does this mean?

everyone hits and it allows for free substitution on defense so kids don't have to sit multiple inning at a time on the bench.

When playing a straight 9 lineup (like major league baseball) it hampers to ability to substitute bench players and when the min playtime requirement is 6 consecutive defensive outs AND 1 AB it can be problematic for the coach. It is terrible and ends up making almost every parent and player mad about playing time.

 

[Gally]

My son is up for Player of the week again for his pitching performance in the quarterfinals last Friday. He went 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 8 K's and the win. He also went 1-3 with a double and an RBI in the 10-4 win.

Vote here Spencer Gallimore

ETA: You can vote as many times as you like and you can use the same email address each time. Plus it doesn't have to be valid just as long as it's in the right format.

 

[Gally]

Semi Final Game:

Last night my son played in the CIF Central Section semi finals. It was a matchup of the #3 seed (us) vs the #7 seed (a team we played earlier in the year and beat 9-3). We played them as our third game of the year and their first game of the year. They had two transfer pitchers that weren't eligible to play in that game but we were facing one of them yesterday. He had an ERA of 0.55 on the season so we knew it would be a tough game.

Bottom of 2nd (0-0): With one out we got a single and then my son hit a double to put us at 2nd and 3rd with one out. The next two guys proceeded to strike out to end the inning (ugh).

Top 4: They got a walk and a single to put runners at 1st and 3rd with nobody out. They then steal second to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Our guy then strikes the next three out to strand them. Huge point in the game.

Bottom 5: My son leads off and gets on by catchers interference. It was a 1-2 off speed pitch on the outer third of the plate so we was just trying to spoil the pitch and got a piece of the catchers glove. Then we got a sac bunt to move him to second. Next guy strikes out. Next guy infield single to put guys at 1st and 3rd and bring the leadoff guy up. He gets hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Our next batter.........catcher's interference again to force in a run. We go up 1-0

Top of 7: lead off single. Sac bunt , Strikeout. So two outs and a runner on 2B. They put in a pinch hitter. One out and we are on to the Finals! Pitchers decides to groove a fastball to get ahead because no way a pinch hitter is swinging at the first pitch. Bang single over SS head. Tie game. Ugh.

Both starting pitchers were efficient so they keep going. Our guy goes 8 innings and their guy goes 9 innings. They put my son in to start the 9th. I am worried and as he threw 100 pitches on Friday and hasn't really come back this soon after a long outing all year. He said his arm felt great and he has done a lot of work to be in good arm shape. Still a bit worried.

Bottom 9: Runner's on 1st and second one out. My son is up. Hits a slowish grounder to the 2B. They start the double play. The 3B coach sends the runner that was on 2nd home hoping my son beats out the double play relay. Instead the SS sees the runner going home and decides to go there (the play at first would have been bang-bang and not sure which way it would have gone). The SS makes a perfect throw to the catcher and they nip the runner coming home. Inning over. Great play by the SS and it took a perfect throw. Well worth the risk as they should have tried the double play and if we beat it the run scores easy for the win. Great play all around and well executed by everyone.

My son rolls through the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th. 4 innings on 45 pitches with one base runner (two out single) and 3 K's. The other team brought in the other transfer pitcher and he is rolling as well through the 10 & 11th.

Bottom 12: First two guys get out brining up our lead off batter. He has HR pop and leads the team with three HR's this year. He works a full count walk. Then the pitcher balks him to 2nd. The guy up just happens to be his birthday today. He already pushed the first run across by the catchers interference in the 5th inning. The 1-1 pitch comes and he hits a 47 hop slow ground ball right up the middle. The second baseman smothers the ball on a slide and the 3B coach is sending the runner. The guy gets up and throws home and our runner beats the throw by a hair. Walk off win to go to the Finals for the first time in school history!!!!!!

Such a great game by both sides. Great defense, pitching and key plays throughout the game. Just an amazing effort by both schools. My son gets the win (his 3rd win in the playoffs) and we are off to the title game on Friday night against the #1 seed in the division. Should be exciting.

 

[Gr00vus]

My son hit his first over the fence home run ever last night in his 13u (LL intermediate division) playoff game (game 3 of a 3 game series). We were already a few runs up at the time, but his 3 run shot basically closed the door. Good times.

 

[The Z Machine]

teams must use continuous batting order

What does this mean?

You bat the whole squad

Ah. I think that makes sense for minors or coach pitch, but not majors all Stars LL.

 

[The Z Machine]

My son hit his first over the fence home run ever last night in his 13u (LL intermediate division) playoff game (game 3 of a 3 game series). We were already a few runs up at the time, but his 3 run shot basically closed the door. Good times.

What size field is that? 60' or 90' basepath?

 

[The Z Machine]

teams must use continuous batting order

What does this mean?

You bat the whole squad

Ah. I think that makes sense for minors or coach pitch, but not majors all Stars LL.

Reading those that have more experience in this area, I've changed my mind... everyone bats!!!

 

[Gr00vus]

My son hit his first over the fence home run ever last night in his 13u (LL intermediate division) playoff game (game 3 of a 3 game series). We were already a few runs up at the time, but his 3 run shot basically closed the door. Good times.

What size field is that? 60' or 90' basepath?

70' basepath, 50' pitching rubber to home plate. Slightly shorter distances than Pony. It's a transition from little league size fields to full sized.

 

[The Z Machine]

My son hit his first over the fence home run ever last night in his 13u (LL intermediate division) playoff game (game 3 of a 3 game series). We were already a few runs up at the time, but his 3 run shot basically closed the door. Good times.

What size field is that? 60' or 90' basepath?

70' basepath, 50' pitching rubber to home plate. Slightly shorter distances than Pony. It's a transition from little league size fields to full sized.

When did they start all the variable base path stuff? When I was a kid it was 60' and then 90'. Am I misremembering?

 

[Gr00vus]

My son hit his first over the fence home run ever last night in his 13u (LL intermediate division) playoff game (game 3 of a 3 game series). We were already a few runs up at the time, but his 3 run shot basically closed the door. Good times.

What size field is that? 60' or 90' basepath?

70' basepath, 50' pitching rubber to home plate. Slightly shorter distances than Pony. It's a transition from little league size fields to full sized.

When did they start all the variable base path stuff? When I was a kid it was 60' and then 90'. Am I misremembering?

I'm not sure when Pony 14u got started, I think LL intermediate is relatively new. Our LL has only had it for the last couple of years.

 

[Dickies]

My son hit his first over the fence home run ever last night in his 13u (LL intermediate division) playoff game (game 3 of a 3 game series). We were already a few runs up at the time, but his 3 run shot basically closed the door. Good times.

What size field is that? 60' or 90' basepath?

70' basepath, 50' pitching rubber to home plate. Slightly shorter distances than Pony. It's a transition from little league size fields to full sized.

When did they start all the variable base path stuff? When I was a kid it was 60' and then 90'. Am I misremembering?

I'm not sure when Pony 14u got started, I think LL intermediate is relatively new. Our LL has only had it for the last couple of years.

2012 is when it started, I think. My hometown hosts the LL Intermediate World Series. It's not as big of a deal as the Williamsport WS, but because our district is the "host" one of the surrounding LLs gets an automatic berth just for winning our district tournament. I think this is the reason why LL is king in this area and there are no Pony leagues.

A few years ago my neighbor's son's team won the US bracket before losing to South Korea. Last year our biggest rivals got the nod and ended up winning the whole thing. It's a lot of fun getting to interact with all of the teams/families that come from around the world. The Australians are always insanely nice and appreciative of everything, while the Koreans are robotic and business-like. The Texas teams that make it always whine and complain after they get crushed by the host teams that it's unfair that they're playing a team that didn't have to win regional tournaments to qualify, but the prevailing thought had always been that the host team would likely get crushed and be out in 2 games

 

[Gally]

My son hit his first over the fence home run ever last night in his 13u (LL intermediate division) playoff game (game 3 of a 3 game series). We were already a few runs up at the time, but his 3 run shot basically closed the door. Good times.

What size field is that? 60' or 90' basepath?

70' basepath, 50' pitching rubber to home plate. Slightly shorter distances than Pony. It's a transition from little league size fields to full sized.

When did they start all the variable base path stuff? When I was a kid it was 60' and then 90'. Am I misremembering?

LL proper is always 60' base paths and 46' pitching distance. This is from Tee Ball through Major League LL (12 yrs old). Pony baseball has always had variable size fields based on age group. They typically go in 2 year levels (Pinto, Mustang, Bronco, Pony, and Colt) It's a much better progression for the players than LL.