Little League 2018 season

[UcancallmeSurly 451]

On 5/23/2018 at 7:33 PM, Ghost of 3:16 said:

My kid hit a nice stand up triple tonight. 10Uhttp://

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

Lemme guess...  son's name is Carson and your wife is a screamer.  A+ for Team Ghost. 

[VolenteHawk 495]

On 5/22/2018 at 11:24 AM, VolenteHawk said:

My son is 9 (first year of kid pitch) and has finally stopped having the insta-reaction to get out of the way.  Stood in and took two like a GD man this weekend (one against a kid that threw pretty hard) and tried to turn into one other inside one.

I was bursting with pride.

Stood in there and took another hard fastball from a 10U AAA pitcher on Saturday, then refused to back down on Sunday and got hit again.  #wearit

[F250 28990]

On 6/5/2018 at 6:37 PM, Tailgate said:

This is my eight-year-old daughter.

Bring your best pitchers.

\m/

That is awesome. She looks coiled up and ready to rip one out of there.

[Tailgate 3027]

1 hour ago, F250 said:

That is awesome. She looks coiled up and ready to rip one out of there.

I coached her team in coach pitch. Parents knick-named her “Crush.” So much fun...then she decided to be a dancer...

I tried...

She is awesome.

\m/

 

[wood 11637]

Best all around player on my boy's 12U all-star team is a girl that I hope my daughter would be like if I had one. If we had nine of her I don't think we'd ever lose a game. A coach's dream. Pure hustle, fundamentally sound, does everything you tell her to, head always in the game. There are more talented kids out there, but none that get anywhere near as much out of their abilities and get the big picture the way she does. If half of our guys had half as much focusness, toughness, and work ethic as she does, nobody would ever get close to us.

But ... they don't.

[Pato del Muerto 52971]

My kid panicked today when a pitch came right at him, turned toward it, and took it in the cup.  Shook it off though. 

Guess my questioning 9 year olds wearing a cup from upthread got answered. 

[F250 28990]

23 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

My kid panicked today when a pitch came right at him, turned toward it, and took it in the cup.  Shook it off though. 

Guess my questioning 9 year olds wearing a cup from upthread got answered. 

[Pato del Muerto 52971]

New day, new game. 

He gets in the batters box, ready to hit. Coach yells to choke up. So he drops his hands and looks at them, WHILE STILL STANDING IN THE BOX. 

pitcher delivers, son gets ear holed by a pitch he didn’t know was coming. 

Just like yesterday, I’m right behind the plate running the scoreboard and can see this coming before it happens. 

[Surly Bevo 25542]

Well he wore it...even if lack of attention was the reason.  

[F250 28990]

Anyone coaching All Stars or have kids in All Stars?

[jkates 328]

5 minutes ago, F250 said:

Anyone coaching All Stars or have kids in All Stars?

Not me. Since we don't play true Little League, we don't have that. My son is playing a few select-ball tournaments in June. We've played 3, 1 more to go, possibly a 5th to close it out.

[F250 28990]

On 6/13/2018 at 8:42 PM, Pato del Muerto said:

Coach yells to choke up. So he drops his hands and looks at them, WHILE STILL STANDING IN THE BOX. 

This is one of my pet peeves with youth coaches. Do not yell adjustments to a kid while he is in the batters box! Train your players to step out of the box between pitches for any communication with the coach. Also, do not yell queues to players if they do not what it means, it just confuses the kid.

[Spaulding Smails 1568]

Just stumbled on this thread.  My son's been middle-of-the-pack since T-ball.  He's worked hard on his own accord this year and actually made the All-Star team (10U).  He was literally the last selection based on a mediocre season and a good try-out.  He did well and ended up starting in the OF.  A few observations:

-The talent pool at this age has been incredibly diluted at rec leagues.  We have four different select teams that pull from kids that would otherwise be in our league (Dripping Springs).  There's no way my son would have even sniffed tryouts if he was up against those kids.  I bet we have 20+ kids in select ball at this age group that would come in and instantly be at the top of the talent pool.

-There's too damn many leagues and tournaments.  Pony, CenTex, LL.  And that's not even counting the select teams.  I guess it's just a natural evolution and a result of supply and demand.   We played three "warm up" tournaments which seemed excessive at the time but did prepare our kids who had, for the most part, zero exposure to that kind of competition.  They finished third in sectionals, then went 2 and BBQ at regionals losing the first game to the #1 seed on a walk-off passed ball.

-All-Star baseball at that age is light years ahead of rec league.  I expected an increase in play, but we were coaching some pretty advanced techniques / plays like squeeze plays, first & third drills, rundowns, throwing behind the runner on a cut-off, etc.  All of which came into play and paid off during all stars.  It was fun seeing it "click" for some of these kids who were used to being the only one on their team who could half-way catch or throw.  And many of the kids (my son included) seemed to do better with improved competition.  I guess it forces them to focus more, see more strikes at the plate, be on their toes in the field, etc when compared to rec league.

-And select ball is light years ahead of all-stars.  If we were to scrimmage the "elite" team that our league puts in select tournaments, we would get SMOKED.  We had 3-4 kids that could hang with them, but the bottom of the order (my son included) is pretty far behind their current talent level.  Those teams are good 1-9.  I can't even imagine facing a Major select team.

-At 9 & 10, these kids are playing better (and more fundamental) baseball than I was playing at 12U all-stars.  Heck, we weren't even leading off at 12.  

All in all, it was a great experience for my son.  May have been his only chance at an all-star team, so I'm glad he had an opportunity to experience it.

[troph 24929]

The level of select makes it overwhelming for many of us. I don’t want to go all in on baseball, I want my boys to get a ton of experiences including just hanging out but doing anything but baseball causes you to fall behind. So I’ve decided rec league is fine and they can learn the lessons but without the stress of all baseball all the time.

[Newdoc 3465]

14 hours ago, Spaulding Smails said:

-At 9 & 10, these kids are playing better (and more fundamental) baseball than I was playing at 12U all-stars.  Heck, we weren't even leading off at 12.

Been there done that.

 

Here's a good reminder: Your kid and my kid are not playing in the pros

Quote

I don't care if your eight year old can throw a baseball through six inches of plywood. He is not going to the pros. I don't care if your twelve-year-old scored seven touchdowns last week in Pop Warner. He is not going to the pros.

So we're entering my son's senior year and even if I had miserably forced him into four more years of select ball and showcase teams then we might be looking at a partial scholarship to a DIII school after easily 5 figures in expenses over those four years. We've done regular pitching lessons (he enjoys mastering that craft) and a few batting lessons along the way but we decided to stop making it work and enjoy the game (including basketball). He will start Varsity at both sports this year but there will be no scouts or recruiting videos or obsession on stats. We are just going to enjoy it.

If your kid is otherworldly then it will work itself out by the sophomore or junior year.  If your kid has an innate passion for the select sport, I still would consider tampering the pace a bit.  Instead of holed up in a Holiday Inn Express eating stale Fruit Loops, boiled eggs and crappy waffles 18-20 weekends a year, don't let them miss out on regular camps, weekends at a family reunions and going to the beach or the lake.

I hope for all its warts, local Little League survives.  It is one of the few things that can help keep a community involved with each other.

 

[wood 11637]

On 6/14/2018 at 11:55 AM, F250 said:

Anyone coaching All Stars or have kids in All Stars?

Just finished CenTex Series 12U.

[wood 11637]

4 hours ago, Newdoc said:

Been there done that.

 

Here's a good reminder: Your kid and my kid are not playing in the pros

So we're entering my son's senior year and even if I had miserably forced him into four more years of select ball and showcase teams then we might be looking at a partial scholarship to a DIII school after easily 5 figures in expenses over those four years. We've done regular pitching lessons (he enjoys mastering that craft) and a few batting lessons along the way but we decided to stop making it work and enjoy the game (including basketball). He will start Varsity at both sports this year but there will be no scouts or recruiting videos or obsession on stats. We are just going to enjoy it.

If your kid is otherworldly then it will work itself out by the sophomore or junior year.  If your kid has an innate passion for the select sport, I still would consider tampering the pace a bit.  Instead of holed up in a Holiday Inn Express eating stale Fruit Loops, boiled eggs and crappy waffles 18-20 weekends a year, don't let them miss out on regular camps, weekends at a family reunions and going to the beach or the lake.

I hope for all its warts, local Little League survives.  It is one of the few things that can help keep a community involved with each other.

 

Yep. My 14 yo is trying to make it into the HS program & I'm trying to help him make that happen, but I can't pay for the ridiculous select bullshit in terms of either time or money. I have 2 boys and we've been busy as shit for the last 4-5 months just with rec ball, all-stars, and incoming freshman ball. Yet I know of people who are even busier just with one kid in baseball. It's nuts, and yeah, select ball is just fucking sucking the life outta rec leagues. Once those guys figured out they could make a bunch of money off of kids whose parents think they're going to the show, it was all over.

[wood 11637]

8 hours ago, troph said:

The level of select makes it overwhelming for many of us. I don’t want to go all in on baseball, I want my boys to get a ton of experiences including just hanging out but doing anything but baseball causes you to fall behind. So I’ve decided rec league is fine and they can learn the lessons but without the stress of all baseball all the time.

Select baseball is tough to compete against, but I'm a firm believer that you don't really know what a kid's got in any sport until after puberty. Then you start seeing some kids with only 2 or 3 years in a sport start blowing by some kids with 8-10 years in the sport, in select leagues & with all the expensive outside coaching, etc. 

My boys (12& 14) only started playing on teams 2 years ago after years of occasionally throwing & hitting with me in the yard or the park. Now they're on all-star teams with some kids who also play select and have played a lot longer. Sometimes parents ask me how long they've played and are floored by the answer. I played HS ball and the coaching the kids get now, even in rec ball is light years ahead of what we got back in the 80s, even in HS ball. Back then there was nobody helping you with your swing mechanics, etc. Hell, most coaches didn't even know much about that shit. You pretty much could either hit or you couldn't. Now there's so much good coaching info on youtube, I try to learn as much as I can from that and pick up things everywhere I can to pass on to the boys (not just mine). I believe my boys have what they need to be successful in baseball at least into HS if they decide they want it badly enough.

A tee, a portable net, a bucket of balls, good gear, access to cages and fields, good coaching, and parents who give a shit. Get after it.

Edited June 27, 2018 by wood

[JimmyHoffa 1188]

10 hours ago, Newdoc said:

So we're entering my son's senior year and even if I had miserably forced him into four more years of select ball and showcase teams then we might be looking at a partial scholarship to a DIII school after easily 5 figures in expenses over those four years. We've done regular pitching lessons (he enjoys mastering that craft) and a few batting lessons along the way but we decided to stop making it work and enjoy the game (including basketball). He will start Varsity at both sports this year but there will be no scouts or recruiting videos or obsession on stats. We are just going to enjoy it.

If your kid is otherworldly then it will work itself out by the sophomore or junior year.  If your kid has an innate passion for the select sport, I still would consider tampering the pace a bit.  Instead of holed up in a Holiday Inn Express eating stale Fruit Loops, boiled eggs and crappy waffles 18-20 weekends a year, don't let them miss out on regular camps, weekends at a family reunions and going to the beach or the lake.

I hope for all its warts, local Little League survives.  It is one of the few things that can help keep a community involved with each other.

 

 

This. 1000% this. My twin 8 year olds play rec league. Luckily there are still enough kids playing that know what they are doing that makes it fun for them. I am afraid those days are numbered sadly. The ball has been rolling down the hill for years and just no stopping it now. Which sucks for the late developers as they will be left in the dust, and worse yet kids that might have grown to love baseball may not because they weren't "good enough" to make their friends 8U team. 

The number of parents and coaches that already have little Johnny playing shortstop and pitching the max allowed at 9 or 10 is just fucking crazy sad. Over using a kid at that age for what? Some stupid plastic trophy or ring? Take a fucking look in the mirror adults. The number of "best 8,9,10, etc. that went on to either never play in HS let alone college or couldn't because they needed Tommy John surgery at 12 is long. 

 

 

5 hours ago, wood said:

Select baseball is tough to compete against, but I'm a firm believer that you don't really know what a kid's got in any sport until after puberty. Then you start seeing some kids with only 2 or 3 years in a sport start blowing by some kids with 8-10 years in the sport, in select leagues & with all the expensive outside coaching, etc. 

My boys (12& 14) only started playing on teams 2 years ago after years of occasionally throwing & hitting with me in the yard or the park. Now they're on all-star teams with some kids who also play select and have played a lot longer. Sometimes parents ask me how long they've played and are floored by the answer. I played HS ball and the coaching the kids get now, even in rec ball is light years ahead of what we got back in the 80s, even in HS ball. Back then there was nobody helping you with your swing mechanics, etc. Hell, most coaches didn't even know much about that shit. You pretty much could either hit or you couldn't. Now there's so much good coaching info on youtube, I try to learn as much as I can from that and pick up things everywhere I can to pass on to the boys (not just mine). I believe my boys have what they need to be successful in baseball at least into HS if they decide they want it badly enough.

A tee, a portable net, a bucket of balls, good gear, access to cages and fields, good coaching, and parents who give a shit. Get after it.

It's a fucking disease. I am not anti select/travel, etc. teams but it annoys the ever loving shit out of me that parents allow themselves to get caught up in it all. They are after all just kids and like the above post says until kids get close to puberty things will work themselves out. Let them be kids and have fun.

[VolenteHawk 495]

You can do select/travel baseball sensibly, it's just that you have to be careful that you're putting your kid in the right situation...because lots of teams don't do it sensibly.  My son plays 9U Majors (so as serious as 9U baseball gets) and he still has 4 months of the year where he doesn't throw a baseball at all.  He plays flag football and both winter and summer basketball.

Now, the flip side is, we've had 4 different pitchers throw 85+ pitches against us, and I've lost track of the number of kids that have thrown curve balls...which should both be considered child abuse at this age.

 

[Johnny Sack 8397]

14 hours ago, troph said:

The level of select makes it overwhelming for many of us. I don’t want to go all in on baseball, I want my boys to get a ton of experiences including just hanging out but doing anything but baseball causes you to fall behind. So I’ve decided rec league is fine and they can learn the lessons but without the stress of all baseball all the time.

We are the same. Little league in spring, instructional league in fall (which is one practice and one game a week).  My wife and I simply would never be up for doing select ball.  Way too much of a commitment.  I want him doing other sports, music, school, and outdoors activities like skiing, fishing and hunting.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

53 minutes ago, VolenteHawk said:

You can do select/travel baseball sensibly, it's just that you have to be careful that you're putting your kid in the right situation...because lots of teams don't do it sensibly.  My son plays 9U Majors (so as serious as 9U baseball gets) and he still has 4 months of the year where he doesn't throw a baseball at all.  He plays flag football and both winter and summer basketball.

Now, the flip side is, we've had 4 different pitchers throw 85+ pitches against us, and I've lost track of the number of kids that have thrown curve balls...which should both be considered child abuse at this age.

 

Kids should probably just throw a fastball and a change until they are 15 or so.

[jkates 328]

1 hour ago, VolenteHawk said:

You can do select/travel baseball sensibly, it's just that you have to be careful that you're putting your kid in the right situation...because lots of teams don't do it sensibly. 

This is what we try to do. Our local rec league ends in mid-late May, and it offers a summer league in July. We did both of those when he was 5 and 6. The past 2 years, ages 7 and 8, we have played on a select team in June. This team was designed to be June only with no travel. We want to expose the boys to a) better coaching, b) elevated expectations, c) new friends and d) better competition, but we don't want to spend a ton of money or burn anyone out. In 7U we played 3 June tournaments. This year our 8U will play 5. Then we're finished with baseball for a while; none of these kids are doing the local rec league in July. They'll all go play football or soccer, then basketball.

[F250 28990]

Regarding select baseball.

It has definitely taken a toll on rec (community baseball) league ball which is a bad thing. There is something special about playing within the community, especially when you represent it in All Stars. Our LL league was in the Hill Country district so travelling around and playing other Hill Country teams was a blast. Let me just say, you haven't experienced America until you have played a Little League baseball tournament in Fredericksburg, TX on a cool summer morning.

Having been involved in youth ball for the past 13 years I've seen a dramatic decline in rec and a big dilution of select baseball. IMO, select baseball has become private recreation baseball. It's the same level as recreation was a decade ago but with higher costs and no community support. My biggest concerns are its tearing down community institutions and creating a cost barrier for a lot of kids which might lead to a decline in the interest of the sport overall for future generations.

With that said, it has its place but it's up to the adults to contain it so that recreational ball continues to thrive.

[wood 11637]

1 hour ago, F250 said:

Regarding select baseball.

It has definitely taken a toll on rec (community baseball) league ball which is a bad thing. There is something special about playing within the community, especially when you represent it in All Stars. Our LL league was in the Hill Country district so travelling around and playing other Hill Country teams was a blast. Let me just say, you haven't experienced America until you have played a Little League baseball tournament in Fredericksburg, TX on a cool summer morning.

Having been involved in youth ball for the past 13 years I've seen a dramatic decline in rec and a big dilution of select baseball. IMO, select baseball has become private recreation baseball. It's the same level as recreation was a decade ago but with higher costs and no community support. My biggest concerns are its tearing down community institutions and creating a cost barrier for a lot of kids which might lead to a decline in the interest of the sport overall for future generations.

With that said, it has its place but it's up to the adults to contain it so that recreational ball continues to thrive.

Absolutely the way I see it.

[wood 11637]

3 hours ago, JimmyHoffa said:

The number of parents and coaches that already have little Johnny playing shortstop and pitching the max allowed at 9 or 10 is just fucking crazy sad. Over using a kid at that age for what? Some stupid plastic trophy or ring? Take a fucking look in the mirror adults. The number of "best 8,9,10, etc. that went on to either never play in HS let alone college or couldn't because they needed Tommy John surgery at 12 is long. 

Yep. I posted this a couple of weeks ago during the regional.

Quote

Shit man, I just found out about a local 12 yo who's about to have TJ surgery. It's fucking nuts. Parents need to get a grip. Kid has pitched a lot, but was playing short at the time. Went to throw the ball and just heard a pop in his elbow. Overuse injuries should not be happening to 12 yos.

One problem is that pitch counts can regulate how many pitches a kid is throwing in games, but there's no way to regulate them elsewhere, throwing with private coaches, etc.

We had a kid on our team this year who would sometimes tell us his shoulder hurt, and we'd sit him out from pitching or any hard throwing. Then we find out mom was basically telling him to rub some dirt on it, and then having him work with a pitching coach. Kid's a baller, but imho she'll probably fuck him up. She may have already.

That kid in that last paragraph is good with the potential to be great, both as a pitcher and hitter, but he can't field a ball to save his life. When the All Star teams (we had 2. It's a big league by today's standards) came out and he was on the B team, his Mom got pissed about it and pulled  him completely outta All Stars. No doubt Mom didn't stop the sessions with the pitching coach, and I saw him at the cages getting coaching there when our team was there. He was also in the HS camp my boys were in. We coulda used him, for sure, and he coulda used the experience, but at the rate she's pushing him in the pitching department, he won't be able to lift his arm above his shoulder by the time he gets to HS, or he'll be another TJ surgery...

[JimmyHoffa 1188]

4 hours ago, F250 said:

Regarding select baseball.

It has definitely taken a toll on rec (community baseball) league ball which is a bad thing. There is something special about playing within the community, especially when you represent it in All Stars. Our LL league was in the Hill Country district so travelling around and playing other Hill Country teams was a blast. Let me just say, you haven't experienced America until you have played a Little League baseball tournament in Fredericksburg, TX on a cool summer morning.

Having been involved in youth ball for the past 13 years I've seen a dramatic decline in rec and a big dilution of select baseball. IMO, select baseball has become private recreation baseball. It's the same level as recreation was a decade ago but with higher costs and no community support. My biggest concerns are its tearing down community institutions and creating a cost barrier for a lot of kids which might lead to a decline in the interest of the sport overall for future generations.

With that said, it has its place but it's up to the adults to contain it so that recreational ball continues to thrive.

 

Agreed. I get parents wanting to hang out with their adult friends and kids wanting to be on the same team as their school friends. I have no problem with that. I also understand (coaching Rec league) that it can be frustrating having kids on the team that just aren't physically or emotionally developed enough to hit the ball on a regular basis or make "routine" plays. But I do see a lot of these teams who our rec league team would destroy paying a lot of money for no reason.

That said over the course of the season seeing a kid that was horrible during the first week of practice actually hit the ball or make a play here and there is what I love about the game. Sure my kids are good enough to be playing on a non rec league teams but I still love coaching kids that are there just for the love of baseball or are learning even if it costs us a game here or there. 

And pricing kids out of opportunity for no reason is very real. 

[F250 28990]

1 hour ago, JimmyHoffa said:

That said over the course of the season seeing a kid that was horrible during the first week of practice actually hit the ball or make a play here and there is what I love about the game. Sure my kids are good enough to be playing on a non rec league teams but I still love coaching kids that are there just for the love of baseball or are learning even if it costs us a game here or there.  

This is my absolute favorite aspect of coaching. Once while coaching Little League minors, I had a 10 year old player that only had one season of t-ball experience. The kid struggled to catch and throw accurately and was pretty terrible at batting but eager to learn. By the middle of the season all of the practice began to pay off. One of my favorite memories was when this kid drilled a ball deep into right field. It was his first hit that wasn't a dribbler that didn't result in a ground out.

The kid was so excited he stopped at first and started jumping up and down on the base giving his parents a thumbs up and ignoring the coach trying to send him to 2nd. That should have easily been a standup triple but the excitement got to him, he was satisfied with a single. After that he became a consistent batter and moved up the batting order. Later during the tournament of champions he made a diving catch in center field and another fly ball catch where he threw out a runner running home after tagging up, that play saved our butts. The smile on his face hearing his teammates cheer for him was unforgettable.

Being able to assist kids with creating happy memories that will last a lifetime makes all of the time and energy worth it.

[Spaulding Smails 1568]

@F250 you nailed it in that last post.  10U has been the most fun (even at a diluted rec level) for me as a coach.  The kids are old enough that you generally don't have to babysit them and they are capable enough to actually make plays.  But, they're not so old that they have egos (mostly).  

We had a similar situation this year.  Kid was at the lower age of the cutoff, so he was barely 9 playing with kids that were almost 11.  He had just moved here from the east coast and had never played before.  But, he tried hard and had a good family with a dad that spent a lot of time working with him.  At the beginning of the year, we had to be careful so as not to hurt him.  In the last game, he got his first hit and actually caught a deep fly ball in right.  Just huge progress over a short time frame and makes the hours spent up at the ballfields totally worth it.

[F250 28990]

You know you have been to one too many baseball tournaments when you root for the other team to eliminate your kid's baseball team.

[wood 11637]

Ha! So I'm not the only one?

[F250 28990]

12 hours ago, wood said:

Ha! So I'm not the only one?

I don't think anyone likes staying for the entire thing. My oldest son drove down to take over for me so I didn't have to stay all the way until the end of the tournament. This is 14U and it's my youngest son so I can almost see the end of the tunnel.

[jkates 328]

We wrapped up our select baseball run last night by winning our final tournament. Last game ever of coach pitch for my son and his buddies, and they won on a walk-off. These boys struggled last summer as a 7UAA team, but they were a strong 8UAA team this summer. We entered 4 8UAA tournaments and won 3 of them, going 17-2. We entered one 8UAAA tournament and went 0-3 in it. Time to rest the arms and look forward to football or soccer or something else.

Edited July 2, 2018 by jkates