2019 Little League Thread

[troph 24923]

Oh, 9 even better mechanics for that age. 
Just my opinion but select is unnecessary for 9/10. Probably benefit more from lessons at that age.

Well my other two older boys either had no interest or aren’t athletic enough. So I’m out of my league on knowing what to do now that I have a possible baller. I might try and buy a package of lessons for the summer. There are more than a few outfits offering services out here in lake Travis.

[F250 28942]

8 minutes ago, troph said:

Well my other two older boys either had no interest or aren’t athletic enough. So I’m out of my league on knowing what to do now that I have a possible baller. I might try and buy a package of lessons for the summer. There are more than a few outfits offering services out here in lake Travis.

I hear you. I've been through the cycle 3 times with my sons. Nurture his interest, teach him to the best of your ability and if necessary get lessons but never feel pressured to put a young kid in select. There really is no benefit for kids younger than 12.

 

 

[troph 24923]

That’s really good to know. I was also thinking about getting those heavy balls to practice hitting at home. There is a backstop close by so I can pitch live balls to hit too. Maybe a pitching target the one with nine separate nets to catch balls and let him throw. Getting him off of screens and moving his body are my main things. I can do a little more for him before I’m beyond my ability.

[jkates 316]

10 hours ago, F250 said:

Oh, 9 even better mechanics for that age. 

Just my opinion but select is unnecessary for 9/10. Probably benefit more from lessons at that age.

I think it depends on what the select organization is and what the goals are. My son has been playing select since 7U. However, it's not year round. They play 5 tournaments between May 25-July 1 each year. It's after our local league wraps up. We sneak in some practices during the local league. It's an organization that values the development, the practice reps, etc. Sure, we want to win tournaments, but we don't play enough to be worried about all the points/rankings, World Series stuff.

Americans overemphasize games. A kid can go an entire tournament and get just a few defensive chances. The same kid in a quality practice with a good coach can get hundreds of reps in a variety of drills.

[MAROON 445]

11 hours ago, F250 said:

Blood, sweat, tears and money.

One summer we made it to the championship game of sectionals. By that point we had been on the road for 2 weeks. Had we won, we would have had two days to be in Dallas for the state tournament. I remember being stressed out about having to take off another week of work and glad to be done with it.

Some teams that make it to the LLWS have been on the road for a month by the time they get to Williamsport.

 

 

my son's 10 year old year we made it to state and lost in the championship game in Tyler.  I was the Manager, and that drive back from Tyler was about the hardest drive I've ever made.  I was mentally and physically spent.  We followed it up with by winning state his eleven year old year .  Team went 13-0 for the summer and it was a blast.  The amount of time it takes for the Coaches is amazing - batting practice every morning, field practice every evening.  Hours spent figuring out player rotations and pitching rotation due to pitch counts. Also dealing with Team Mom's who want to have a team event every day, and of course dealing with parents who think their kid should get more playing time.  Fun fun experience, but exhausting.

 

We got knocked out in Sectionals our 12 year old year by the eventual state champion.  I remember one of the Dad's asked if anyone was up for taking the team to Cooperstown for that tournament.  We just all laughed - no chance we were playing another inning.

Edited April 30, 2019 by MAROON

[F250 28942]

18 minutes ago, MAROON said:

The amount of time it takes for the Coaches is amazing - batting practice every morning, field practice every evening.  Hours spent figuring out player rotations and pitching rotation due to pitch counts. Also dealing with Team Mom's who want to have a team event every day, and of course dealing with parents who think their kid should get more playing time.  Fun fun experience, but exhausting. 

The amount of time involved is insane when you consider a good All Star run means you will be coaching for nearly a half a year. As you said, it's not just coaching but dealing with the parents and all of the team events. It's a beating and awesome at the same time. I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything.

Now I attend high school games with the other parents and our kids tell us they will stop at Whataburger for dinner and see us when they get home. They are not interested in getting ice cream with their parents after games anymore. That window between 9-12 years old is so small, you need to enjoy it while you can.

 

 

[F250 28942]

2 hours ago, jkates said:

I think it depends on what the select organization is and what the goals are. My son has been playing select since 7U. However, it's not year round. They play 5 tournaments between May 25-July 1 each year. It's after our local league wraps up. We sneak in some practices during the local league. It's an organization that values the development, the practice reps, etc. Sure, we want to win tournaments, but we don't play enough to be worried about all the points/rankings, World Series stuff.

Americans overemphasize games. A kid can go an entire tournament and get just a few defensive chances. The same kid in a quality practice with a good coach can get hundreds of reps in a variety of drills.

Fair point. That is a healthy schedule and actually lighter than a Little League All Star season. I am not against select baseball. All of my boys played it. I just don't think there is a real need for it in the early years and parents shouldn't think their kids need to participate in it for development because they don't.

[jkates 316]

3 minutes ago, F250 said:

Fair point. That is a healthy schedule and actually lighter than a Little League All Star season. I am not against select baseball. All of my boys played it. I just don't think there is a real need for it in the early years and parents shouldn't think their kids need to participate in it for development because they don't.

I definitely agree with you there. The pressure on parents to put their kid in select is ridiculous. The coaching at the lower levels of select is often just some fat dudes yelling at kids and looking for wins. I'm thankful that we found a spot with good coaches (dads who played pro ball) and a lighter schedule. I believe our schedule will ramp up around 12U, but I'm OK with it then.

[MAROON 445]

41 minutes ago, F250 said:

The amount of time involved is insane when you consider a good All Star run means you will be coaching for nearly a half a year. As you said, it's not just coaching but dealing with the parents and all of the team events. It's a beating and awesome at the same time. I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything.

Now I attend high school games with the other parents and our kids tell us they will stop at Whataburger for dinner and see us when they get home. They are not interested in getting ice cream with their parents after games anymore. That window between 9-12 years old is so small, you need to enjoy it while you can.

 

 

100% this.  I coached every year and was on the LL board.  Loved pretty much every minute of it.  High school  and now college is nice to just stand back with all the other Dad coaches and just watch. Of course all the old coaches still think we can manage a better game than the current coach!

[F250 28942]

1 hour ago, MAROON said:

100% this.  I coached every year and was on the LL board.  Loved pretty much every minute of it.  High school  and now college is nice to just stand back with all the other Dad coaches and just watch. Of course all the old coaches still think we can manage a better game than the current coach!

Yeah, I put effort into not being that guy at my 8 year old daughters baseball practices and games.

I did intervene once the first time the coaches were trying to put a kid in catcher's gear.

 

[Mez2 4036]

We won our first game tonight. Come at me,  bros!

[Hanrahan 1306]

My kids 10u team has struggled and one about two games in the last 4 tournaments. They played at 10:00 this morning and we planned to see the Avengers this afternoon and have Cinco de Mayo dinner tonight. They just won their third game in a row (in California rules extra inning) and are playing in the finals. I’m excited for the kids but sitting out here all day is a beating.

[VolenteHawk 495]

Mini Volente is 10 and chucked 3 innings on Saturday.

[BrazilHorn 6651]

9 year old won his 1st round playoff game, clocked a nice triple in a fairly heated contest.

12 year old plays tonight. Fingers crossed they get the win. They are home team (higher seed) so that should help.

[torre 1291]

1 hour ago, VolenteHawk said:

Mini Volente is 10 and chucked 3 innings on Saturday.

Great form !     Like his posture and the way he tucks his glove.

[F250 28942]

On 5/6/2019 at 1:11 PM, BrazilHorn said:

9 year old won his 1st round playoff game, clocked a nice triple in a fairly heated contest.

12 year old plays tonight. Fingers crossed they get the win. They are home team (higher seed) so that should help.

How did it go for the 12 year old? Is it a double elimination tournament?

 

My kid's High School team was recently eliminated from the HS playoffs. Lost 1-0 to Lake Travis in game 3. He is already over it, besides he has another year of high school left. Lake Travis has some serious talent. That Baty kid is a Texas commit and a potential 1st rounder in the MLB draft. Really would love to see him make it to campus in the Fall.

[BrazilHorn 6651]

They won. He played well and game never in doubt fortunately. Play the 1 seed on Monday now. Rain has blown all other games out this week for 9 yo (was due to play this past Tuesday)

Sorry to hear your boy lost but sounds like he has good perspective about the game. 

[F250 28942]

2 hours ago, BrazilHorn said:

They won. He played well and game never in doubt fortunately. Play the 1 seed on Monday now. Rain has blown all other games out this week for 9 yo (was due to play this past Tuesday)

Sorry to hear your boy lost but sounds like he has good perspective about the game. 

Good to hear. I always liked the playoffs in our local Little League. The crowds are big and there is so much energy. Unfortunately this time of year brings the rain. Several years ago we had to wait a week to play in our championship game due to rain delays.

 

[F250 28942]

How was y'all's games this past weekend? My daughter had an 8 AM game on Saturday and it was freaking cold with the wind and light rain. It felt like Winter in the middle of May.

 

[Anastasis 23498]

24 minutes ago, F250 said:

How was y'all's games this past weekend? My daughter had an 8 AM game on Saturday and it was freaking cold with the wind and light rain. It felt like Winter in the middle of May.

The diamond was a soup bowl.  

[jkates 316]

1 hour ago, F250 said:

How was y'all's games this past weekend? My daughter had an 8 AM game on Saturday and it was freaking cold with the wind and light rain. It felt like Winter in the middle of May.

 

We canceled Friday and Saturday, although it's possible we could have played on soggy fields on Saturday. 

My son's 9/10 team has a playoff game tonight. I'm at the point in the season where I can't decide if I want them to win or lose. 

[Johnny Sack 8397]

1 hour ago, jkates said:

We canceled Friday and Saturday, although it's possible we could have played on soggy fields on Saturday. 

My son's 9/10 team has a playoff game tonight. I'm at the point in the season where I can't decide if I want them to win or lose. 

Same.  But tomorrow night.  Semifinals.  

[jkates 316]

6 hours ago, Johnny Sack said:

Same.  But tomorrow night.  Semifinals.  

Victory! Back for more on Saturday. 

[F250 28942]

Another Saturday morning of soggy baseball to end the regular season. Playoffs are next week, hopefully the weather doesn't interfere with the schedule.

 

 

[troph 24923]

Well my 12U team went 1-2 in the playoffs. It was a great experience to coach. By the end of the season I was all up in their business about breathing and I focused on the bottom of the line up - teaching them to close their eyes and imagine in their mind them hitting the ball. We played competitive in the playoffs and had the bottom of the line up come up big for us winning one game and keeping us close in the others. My son, one of those, came up to me after a hit to the outfield and said, “it worked!!!” I was so happy.

The dad coaches were really great to let me be a part and by the end they really seemed to want me there. Being called coach by the kids was super cool.

My 10U son is seeded first but they lost and play their second game Monday... I’ll be just a spectator for that one.

Baseball, man it’s a helluva drug, I mean sport.

[Jshep34 2381]

Lilshep set a goal of making allstars and he achieved his goal. Made first team and top 3 vote getter out of 60 kids. Super proud dad. Has hit 7 hrs this year. Played some really great first base. Turned a unassisted double play in todays playoff game to seal the win

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

[Player 4576]

Lilshep is living the dream! Congrats to him for being an allstar. 

[F250 28942]

7 hours ago, Jshep34 said:

Lilshep set a goal of making allstars and he achieved his goal. Made first team and top 3 vote getter out of 60 kids. Super proud dad. Has hit 7 hrs this year. Played some really great first base. Turned a unassisted double play in todays playoff game to seal the win

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
 

Congratulations! This is a great accomplishment. I was recently at my son's high school playoff games and sitting with a couple of dads that I coached with throughout the Little League journey.

One of the dad's pointed out that the lineup looked just like our Little League All Star lineup from 5 years earlier. It was cool to see these kids that had a great run in All Stars together end up still playing together for the community.

 

7 hours ago, Player said:

Lilshep is living the dream! Congrats to him for being an allstar. 

This. The pride those kids have sporting the All Stars hat and shirts and the support of the local community is amazing.

[F250 28942]

9 hours ago, troph said:

I focused on the bottom of the line up 

Good for you. I've known coaches to experiment with the lineup in different ways to overcome the bottom of the  lineup but nothing beats just focusing on the bottom batters. Seeing a couple of kids climb up the batting order by the end of the season is such a huge payoff.

9 hours ago, troph said:

Baseball, man it’s a helluva drug, I mean sport.

It's like crack. Seriously, baseball is heaven.

My plans for retirement include being a volunteer umpire and being that old guy that talks trash about the coaches at his grandkids baseball games.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

9 hours ago, F250 said:

Good for you. I've known coaches to experiment with the lineup in different ways to overcome the bottom of the  lineup but nothing beats just focusing on the bottom batters. Seeing a couple of kids climb up the batting order by the end of the season is such a huge payoff.

It's like crack. Seriously, baseball is heaven.

My plans for retirement include being a volunteer umpire and being that old guy that talks trash about the coaches at his grandkids baseball games.

Nothing wrong with that.  Throw a little Frank Drebin flair with your calls.  

Edited May 19, 2019 by Johnny Sack

[Player 4576]

 

[troph 24923]

There was that ump at the disch that went straight up in the air with his strike three call, like a 1-2 punch but straight up. It was a sight to behold. Can’t remember how many years ago but every one around us was all into it.

[F250 28942]

I've actually considered what my signature strike three call will look like. I'm learning towards a punch and some kind of Samurai like yell. A strike out should be cathartic for everyone involved.

Same with those close calls at home plate, those should have some flare.

[troph 24923]

Close calls should always be definitive and communicate “don’t you fucking dare” question my call. Yes, even in little league.

[Anastasis 23498]

3 hours ago, troph said:

Close calls should always be definitive and communicate “don’t you fucking dare” question my call. Yes, even in little league.

Some of the kids they have working the younger leagues just fucking kill me. You can see by the look in their eye they don’t know what the call is sometimes and they just roll out something to move on. 

[F250 28942]

19 hours ago, Anastasis said:

Some of the kids they have working the younger leagues just fucking kill me. You can see by the look in their eye they don’t know what the call is sometimes and they just roll out something to move on. 

Yeah it's pretty bad when that happens. It's even worse when an overbearing coach seizes the opportunity to bully the kid into favorable calls. I've seen that happen a few times. Then there is the opposite where the kid usually an older one has the "you are in my house now" attitude.

[troph 24923]

I don’t like it when the grown men coaches pull antics on the kid umps. Umping actually seems like a pretty tough gig.

[JimmyHoffa 1188]

On 3/6/2019 at 10:50 AM, Spaulding Smails said:

My 11 YO son is playing select ball for the first time this year.  We resisted it for as long as possible, but there was just too much attrition from rec league.  We stopped by the 12U rec field last week when dropping off my daughter for practice.  It was pretty sad.  Any kid with a semblance of talent has migrated to select, so rec league is full of kids as described above who have never played before or struggle with the basics.  It's a damn shame, and I hated to get away from that communal atmosphere, but it was time for a change.

That being said, we had a tournament two weeks ago, and it exposed my biggest fears about the stereotypical aspects of select ball.  His team lost both games in pool play and the knock-out game Sunday.  Two of the three games were close and they lost both in the last inning.  Just not enough pitching to close games out.  Here's the gamut of stereotypes we encountered:

Game 1:  300-lb diabetic east-coast guido coach sitting at the end of the dugout barking orders at his assistants and belittling kids.  He called a pick-off play at second that caught one of our guys napping, and you would've thought he just cured cancer.

Game 2:  Played a 12U AAA team (son's team is a AA 11U).  They were slaughtered.  12-0 after the first.  Prick 12U coach kept swiping bags and moving runners up on passed balls even when it was 15-0.  Mercy rule after 3 innings, but infuriating to see a coach pile it on with total lack of respect for the game.

Game 3:  Encountered the forehead-vein bulging coach dressed with baseball pants and stirrups like he's going to suit up.  His kids had wristbands on for signals.  In baseball.  Wristbands.  Took 20-30 seconds between pitches to get the signal from the coach then glance down at the wristband before getting in the box.  No better when they were in the field.  Relaying signals to the catcher so he can signal the pitcher.  No discernible difference in pitches, so no clue if he was trying to call pitches or locations or what.  It was such a waste of time.  Then, he yanks a kid out of the game mid-inning for missing a grounder.  The dude was so over the top.  

I'm all for ramping up the coaching as kids get older, and I get it if that's your job, but the level of ass-hattedness confirmed all of my worst fears about select ball.  

 

PREACH!!!!!!

I have twin 9 year old boys. We could have been playing on a "travel" team the last 2 years but refuse to do so for the reasons above. I just hate how parents have ruined youth sports thinking their kid is going to be the next MLB star. Throw in the douchebag coaches that think they are managing a MLB team and it totally turns me off. 

But the Rec league issues are real. I was lucky to get a pretty good team with enough kids that are pretty decent it has made games and practice manageable. I have 3 or 4 that are just out to be out. 

That said I don't give a shit if we win or lose I want he kids to have fun, try their best and get better. If I create nothing but a baseball fan and a kid  that works hard than my job is done. 

My biggest gripe is coaches (and parents) in the "travel" mindset only seem to care about winning that weekend trophy and aren't actually trying to teach/coach their players how to be better baseball players and develop as they age. That is a massive problem that is pretty much a run away train at this point. 

Throw in the fact that parents are basically forcing parents and kids to make a commitment to one sport younger and younger is idiotic. Kids playing wiffle ball, basketball in the driveway, soccer/football in the back yard with their friends is just as important if not more so than paying $250 an hour for that private lesson. 

And finally the number of kids with blown out elbows/shoulders at age 12 is child abuse if you ask me. I have an orthopedic surgeon friend who said the number of 11-14 year old kids he sees with arm issues pisses him off to no end and most of the parents just want to know when they can get their kid back on the field and don't seem to give a shit about their kids long term well being. 

 

[troph 24923]

 

 

But the Rec league issues are real. I was lucky to get a pretty good team with enough kids that are pretty decent it has made games and practice manageable. I have 3 or 4 that are just out to be out. 

 

That said I don't give a shit if we win or lose I want he kids to have fun, try their best and get better. If I create nothing but a baseball fan and a kid  that works hard than my job is done. 

 

 

Our 12U rec league is like this - enough to field a decent infield and a center fielder. Decent catching and hit or miss pitching. With 12 players that’s leaves 4 that are still lacking. But it’s enough to play a real game.

 

I refuse select. My kids are not playing high school baseball at the number one program in the country last year - not gonna happen.

 

My goal is for them to know the game, learn the intangibles of team sports and have good memories of playing. My 12U kid loves baseball and loves “playing under the lights.” He’s getting everything I want him to have.

 

He did ask to get better so I’m sending him to two weeks of practice camps this summer but that’s the extent of my willingness to pour money into this.

 

If your child is good enough or if rec league is bad enough and you have to go select by all means do it. I’m just glad I don’t have to.

 

[Johnny Sack 8397]

We play in Post Oak LL.  My son just turned 10.  My understanding is that the league is decent until 12 or 13.  There are some good ball players in the league.  Most of the kids do extra practice on the side with instructors.

I can say this, I went to watch my nephew's West U LL playoffs for my nephew, who is the same age as my son (2 weeks apart).  It watched the finals.  The differences between the leagues was wide.  An average POLL would have destroyed the WULL champs.  Pitching and defense just weren't close.  WULL must have lost all their top players to select ball for 10s and 11s.   Noticed the same last year too.

[JimmyHoffa 1188]

26 minutes ago, Johnny Sack said:

We play in Post Oak LL.  My son just turned 10.  My understanding is that the league is decent until 12 or 13.  There are some good ball players in the league.  Most of the kids do extra practice on the side with instructors.

I can say this, I went to watch my nephew's West U LL playoffs for my nephew, who is the same age as my son (2 weeks apart).  It watched the finals.  The differences between the leagues was wide.  An average POLL would have destroyed the WULL champs.  Pitching and defense just weren't close.  WULL must have lost all their top players to select ball for 10s and 11s.   Noticed the same last year too.

 

That is the same with our league. 10 and 11 rec league teams still have some decent players and numbers out but once you hit 12 there are about half the number of teams due to kids moving to select teams. 

I actually don't have a problem at all with that as by 12/13 kids have matured enough to have an idea who is cut out to play more competitive baseball and who isn't. 

[Don Johnson 4758]

In my experience, here's how tournament ball plays out from 7-11 years old. 

"We're just looking for some good families and good kids.  We had the time of our life last year in rec, but just don't want to deal with rec league anymore and end up on random teams.  If I'm going spend that much time with someone, I'd like it to be people I know and like.  Don't worry, we're going to do it laid back and focus on development more that winning."

Oh shit, turns out everyone else we play isn't laid back and we're getting our shit pushed in.

time to stop letting the kids play different positions and have them focus on one and field the best lineup we can right now.

Start practicing 2 times a week instead of once.

Turns out Billy and Bobby aren't as good at 8 as they were at 7.  We need to find a way to get them off the team.  Here's what we'll do - we'll have open tryouts with the wink-wink understanding that the other 8 players will make the team and Billy and Bobby won't.  Billy and Bobby don't make the team.  Their parents kind of know what just happened, but not completely.  We feel bad about backstabbing their 2nd grader, but that's life, cuts happen.  We won't be friends for the next 10 years.

Tim and Tom replaced Billy and Bobby.  Tim drives an hour in for practices and games.  His dad is a dick and thinks his son is incredible, and you can tell Tim thinks the same.  They have no interest in making friends and relish the role of the hired gun.  Tom goes to different school than ours.  He has two older brothers and ever since he got on the team, the other kids have started saying Fuck and Shit after they strike out.  None of this really matters because these boys can mash and we are starting to win a lot more.

We just won 3 A tournaments in a month and got promoted to AA!!

Turns out these guys in AA are pretty good.  We need to practice more.

As we move into kid pitch, its really time for these boys to play for a real coach.  We'll sign up at an organization and play under their umbrella.  They have a guy who was drafted in the 35th round and gives batting lessons.  He coaches U11 and U13 team as well, so he obviously knows how to coach kids.

Coach immediately identifies 3 kids who aren't going make a successful transition from coach pitch to kid pitch.  I was already thinking it, but sure am glad I have this guy to do the dirty work this time around. He already has three kids in mind.  They aren't bad kids, but we don't have much in common with them or their parents.  So much for doing this with good friends and families.  But, they, things changed.  If we are investing this much time and money, we expect to win.

And win we do.  We just ran through a couple of AA tournaments.  Promoted to AAA!!

I've bragged to a few of my buddies about my son being on a AAA team.  They don't get it.  Fuck, that's because they have girls.  They don't realize how big of a deal this is.

We are leaving town pretty much every weekend now.  Turns out there aren't as many local AAA tournaments as there are for A and AA.  Also, we are practicing 3 times a week, plus taking batting lessons from our coach.  Its worth it.  That's the life of a stud 9 year old baseball player.

I admit I did have a weak moment and start to question whether all this time was worth it, but we just won our first AAA tournament.  Sure, it was a holiday weekend and the field was slimmer than normal, but nothing will top that car ride home.  Feels great when you work hard and earn something like me and my son just did.

Well...that was short lived.  We just got knocked out in the first round of the next tournament.  Coach is PISSED at the kids.  And he should be.  They must've thought they were incredible after last weeks win.  In 6 days we went from top of the world to bottom of the barrel.  

There's 5 of us still left from the original team.  The best of the best at our school.  Some of the other kids who were on our team two years ago don't even play baseball anymore.  Hell, we did them a favor culling them from the team.   Some play soccer.  Others go to summer camp with dorks.  My kid is getting to travel and see a lot of the region.  We are going to play in a tournament in Florida soon.  Kid probably won't be allowed to swim because it will tire him out, but he'll still enjoy it.  See, we vacation too.

But of the 5 still left, its not that they aren't good players, they just aren't on the level of my kid.  When my kid pitches, the other guys make errors.  When the other guy's pitch, they just aren't nearly good enough.  They're kind of making my kid look bad and I feel like he's wasting some of his prime years on a team that can't keep up with him.

I was approached by a dad of a player on a Major team.  This is what its all about.  A whole team of players as good as mine.  I don't see my kid being friends with any of the other players.  Hell, half of them are from out of town.  but he has friends at school and can talk to them at lunch period.  Friends with their parents?  Heck, no, I don't have time for that.  I don't like to talk to anyone when the game is being played anyway.  That is a stressful time.  And the kids aren't allowed to be silly or cut up in the dugout or the coach will tear their asses up.  Good.  This ain't rec ball or some fun little tournament team with a bunch of losers.

What a great decision.  We just won a ton of tournaments.  My kid has more USSSA rings than you can keep up with.  Bought a couple of special trophy cases to hold them and made part of my office the trophy room.  I'm so proud of him.  Unlike his little brother who still plays in the local rec league. Sure i don't have time to teach him how to do anything, but its the freaking rec league and he can't even dominate that?  Not really worth my time.  Maybe we should sign him up for soccer?

We are a week away from the 11U season starting and my son just told me he doesn't want to play baseball any more.  WTF?  Does he know how much time and money we've spent just in this offseason?  Its because I let him hang out with that loser kid from school.  The one who plays some sports but his parents won't even let him play on the All Star team because they visit their grandparents every June in Georgia.

i can't believe what an ungrateful fuck he's being about this.  I know lots of parents think this, but he honestly could've been a great college player and have a good chance at getting drafted.  I am always going to let him know how much of a quitter he became.

[F250 28942]

1 hour ago, JimmyHoffa said:

 

That is the same with our league. 10 and 11 rec league teams still have some decent players and numbers out but once you hit 12 there are about half the number of teams due to kids moving to select teams. 

I actually don't have a problem at all with that as by 12/13 kids have matured enough to have an idea who is cut out to play more competitive baseball and who isn't. 

I would say that you don't really see who is cut out for more competitive ball until 14 years old.

12/13 is an extremely awkward age group due to the big variety of growth patterns. There are too many physical mismatches with this age group. This really stands out with 7th grade football where there are huge differences in weight.

By age 14, most kids have hit puberty and the physical size differences are not as extreme. Plus the difference between the speed of 14U baseball and the early age groups is night and day despite the fact that 14U has fully transitioned to full size 60/90 fields. By the end of Spring a 14U Majors team can easily go toe to toe with a high school JV team. This is apparent when the 14-16 year olds all play 16U together in Summer ball.

I think kids should continue to play Little League at age 12 and enjoy it as much as possible. A majority of the 12U select kids will not be playing baseball by the time they get to high school. There is no reason to give up community based baseball which is awesome at the age of 12 years old.

 

 

 

[JimmyHoffa 1188]

1 hour ago, F250 said:

I think kids should continue to play Little League at age 12 and enjoy it as much as possible. A majority of the 12U select kids will not be playing baseball by the time they get to high school. There is no reason to give up community based baseball which is awesome at the age of 12 years old.

 

As do I but that ship has sailed long ago. Hell there are fucking 7U teams that play 60 games a year and have year round practice. Just sad. 

[troph 24923]

I love this thread.

[Homercles 10206]

So this isn’t near what you guys are talking about, but my 5yo has started making the rounds through a couple activities...swimming (more for pool safety), soccer last year and now wrapping up 5/6u baseball via i9.

I was never an athlete (so no reliving glory days here) but my boy needs something outside of school to take part in. Obviously at this age it’s about finding out what the kid likes but I feel we just wasted a few months.

Our ‘team’ has one official ‘coach’ whereas the others seem to have 2-3. The first 30m are supposed to be ‘practice’ where I see the other teams doing BP, group fielding drills, rotating positions during BP, and generally doing something organized while the parents sip Tito’s from water bottles...we just stand around and I either play catch with the boy (who is terrified of the ball) or twice in either weekends they’ve hit from the tee while parents field the ‘hits’.

We have no naturals and I think everyone else asked to be coached by people they knew. My boy has his ups and downs but seems to respond much better when given instructions by someone not me (not a huge surprise at 5)...between weather and the nonstop school/homework/dinner/bath/bed/obligations circus everyday I’ve had almost zero time with him in the yard making it fun.

I probably should have spoken up earlier or volunteered to help so that’s on me...I don’t have the first idea on coaching though and didn’t want to appear a high strung ass.

Should I push harder to find a team with multiple coaches? There’s only one weekend left to ask around. I have no delusions that he needs to try to earn a scholarship someday and right now the idea of 3x a week practice and weekend travels sounds like a way to stress us + take away fun weekends should he ever even get to travel ball.

I just want him to find something team oriented he enjoys that let him burn off energy and it doesn’t even have to be baseball...but I’m dying to play catch with him someday.

[troph 24923]

Don’t push shit he’s 5. I did that, you’re years ahead of yourself. He’s 3-4 years away from having the maturation to handle catching and throwing with any reliability. Take a page from the moms, sip your own Tito’s and laugh your ass off (and clap) at the 4 error almost out 3 times homeruns.

[jkates 316]

4 hours ago, Don Johnson said:

In my experience, here's how tournament ball plays out from 7-11 years old. 

"We're just looking for some good families and good kids.  We had the time of our life last year in rec, but just don't want to deal with rec league anymore and end up on random teams.  If I'm going spend that much time with someone, I'd like it to be people I know and like.  Don't worry, we're going to do it laid back and focus on development more that winning."

Oh shit, turns out everyone else we play isn't laid back and we're getting our shit pushed in.

time to stop letting the kids play different positions and have them focus on one and field the best lineup we can right now.

Start practicing 2 times a week instead of once.

Turns out Billy and Bobby aren't as good at 8 as they were at 7.  We need to find a way to get them off the team.  Here's what we'll do - we'll have open tryouts with the wink-wink understanding that the other 8 players will make the team and Billy and Bobby won't.  Billy and Bobby don't make the team.  Their parents kind of know what just happened, but not completely.  We feel bad about backstabbing their 2nd grader, but that's life, cuts happen.  We won't be friends for the next 10 years.

Tim and Tom replaced Billy and Bobby.  Tim drives an hour in for practices and games.  His dad is a dick and thinks his son is incredible, and you can tell Tim thinks the same.  They have no interest in making friends and relish the role of the hired gun.  Tom goes to different school than ours.  He has two older brothers and ever since he got on the team, the other kids have started saying Fuck and Shit after they strike out.  None of this really matters because these boys can mash and we are starting to win a lot more.

We just won 3 A tournaments in a month and got promoted to AA!!

Turns out these guys in AA are pretty good.  We need to practice more.

As we move into kid pitch, its really time for these boys to play for a real coach.  We'll sign up at an organization and play under their umbrella.  They have a guy who was drafted in the 35th round and gives batting lessons.  He coaches U11 and U13 team as well, so he obviously knows how to coach kids.

Coach immediately identifies 3 kids who aren't going make a successful transition from coach pitch to kid pitch.  I was already thinking it, but sure am glad I have this guy to do the dirty work this time around. He already has three kids in mind.  They aren't bad kids, but we don't have much in common with them or their parents.  So much for doing this with good friends and families.  But, they, things changed.  If we are investing this much time and money, we expect to win.

And win we do.  We just ran through a couple of AA tournaments.  Promoted to AAA!!

I've bragged to a few of my buddies about my son being on a AAA team.  They don't get it.  Fuck, that's because they have girls.  They don't realize how big of a deal this is.

We are leaving town pretty much every weekend now.  Turns out there aren't as many local AAA tournaments as there are for A and AA.  Also, we are practicing 3 times a week, plus taking batting lessons from our coach.  Its worth it.  That's the life of a stud 9 year old baseball player.

I admit I did have a weak moment and start to question whether all this time was worth it, but we just won our first AAA tournament.  Sure, it was a holiday weekend and the field was slimmer than normal, but nothing will top that car ride home.  Feels great when you work hard and earn something like me and my son just did.

Well...that was short lived.  We just got knocked out in the first round of the next tournament.  Coach is PISSED at the kids.  And he should be.  They must've thought they were incredible after last weeks win.  In 6 days we went from top of the world to bottom of the barrel.  

There's 5 of us still left from the original team.  The best of the best at our school.  Some of the other kids who were on our team two years ago don't even play baseball anymore.  Hell, we did them a favor culling them from the team.   Some play soccer.  Others go to summer camp with dorks.  My kid is getting to travel and see a lot of the region.  We are going to play in a tournament in Florida soon.  Kid probably won't be allowed to swim because it will tire him out, but he'll still enjoy it.  See, we vacation too.

But of the 5 still left, its not that they aren't good players, they just aren't on the level of my kid.  When my kid pitches, the other guys make errors.  When the other guy's pitch, they just aren't nearly good enough.  They're kind of making my kid look bad and I feel like he's wasting some of his prime years on a team that can't keep up with him.

I was approached by a dad of a player on a Major team.  This is what its all about.  A whole team of players as good as mine.  I don't see my kid being friends with any of the other players.  Hell, half of them are from out of town.  but he has friends at school and can talk to them at lunch period.  Friends with their parents?  Heck, no, I don't have time for that.  I don't like to talk to anyone when the game is being played anyway.  That is a stressful time.  And the kids aren't allowed to be silly or cut up in the dugout or the coach will tear their asses up.  Good.  This ain't rec ball or some fun little tournament team with a bunch of losers.

What a great decision.  We just won a ton of tournaments.  My kid has more USSSA rings than you can keep up with.  Bought a couple of special trophy cases to hold them and made part of my office the trophy room.  I'm so proud of him.  Unlike his little brother who still plays in the local rec league. Sure i don't have time to teach him how to do anything, but its the freaking rec league and he can't even dominate that?  Not really worth my time.  Maybe we should sign him up for soccer?

We are a week away from the 11U season starting and my son just told me he doesn't want to play baseball any more.  WTF?  Does he know how much time and money we've spent just in this offseason?  Its because I let him hang out with that loser kid from school.  The one who plays some sports but his parents won't even let him play on the All Star team because they visit their grandparents every June in Georgia.

i can't believe what an ungrateful fuck he's being about this.  I know lots of parents think this, but he honestly could've been a great college player and have a good chance at getting drafted.  I am always going to let him know how much of a quitter he became.

That made me laugh.

[Dennis Taylor 19027]

6 hours ago, Don Johnson said:

In my experience, here's how tournament ball plays out from 7-11 years old. 

"We're just looking for some good families and good kids.  We had the time of our life last year in rec, but just don't want to deal with rec league anymore and end up on random teams.  If I'm going spend that much time with someone, I'd like it to be people I know and like.  Don't worry, we're going to do it laid back and focus on development more that winning."

Oh shit, turns out everyone else we play isn't laid back and we're getting our shit pushed in.

time to stop letting the kids play different positions and have them focus on one and field the best lineup we can right now.

Start practicing 2 times a week instead of once.

Turns out Billy and Bobby aren't as good at 8 as they were at 7.  We need to find a way to get them off the team.  Here's what we'll do - we'll have open tryouts with the wink-wink understanding that the other 8 players will make the team and Billy and Bobby won't.  Billy and Bobby don't make the team.  Their parents kind of know what just happened, but not completely.  We feel bad about backstabbing their 2nd grader, but that's life, cuts happen.  We won't be friends for the next 10 years.

Tim and Tom replaced Billy and Bobby.  Tim drives an hour in for practices and games.  His dad is a dick and thinks his son is incredible, and you can tell Tim thinks the same.  They have no interest in making friends and relish the role of the hired gun.  Tom goes to different school than ours.  He has two older brothers and ever since he got on the team, the other kids have started saying Fuck and Shit after they strike out.  None of this really matters because these boys can mash and we are starting to win a lot more.

We just won 3 A tournaments in a month and got promoted to AA!!

Turns out these guys in AA are pretty good.  We need to practice more.

As we move into kid pitch, its really time for these boys to play for a real coach.  We'll sign up at an organization and play under their umbrella.  They have a guy who was drafted in the 35th round and gives batting lessons.  He coaches U11 and U13 team as well, so he obviously knows how to coach kids.

Coach immediately identifies 3 kids who aren't going make a successful transition from coach pitch to kid pitch.  I was already thinking it, but sure am glad I have this guy to do the dirty work this time around. He already has three kids in mind.  They aren't bad kids, but we don't have much in common with them or their parents.  So much for doing this with good friends and families.  But, they, things changed.  If we are investing this much time and money, we expect to win.

And win we do.  We just ran through a couple of AA tournaments.  Promoted to AAA!!

I've bragged to a few of my buddies about my son being on a AAA team.  They don't get it.  Fuck, that's because they have girls.  They don't realize how big of a deal this is.

We are leaving town pretty much every weekend now.  Turns out there aren't as many local AAA tournaments as there are for A and AA.  Also, we are practicing 3 times a week, plus taking batting lessons from our coach.  Its worth it.  That's the life of a stud 9 year old baseball player.

I admit I did have a weak moment and start to question whether all this time was worth it, but we just won our first AAA tournament.  Sure, it was a holiday weekend and the field was slimmer than normal, but nothing will top that car ride home.  Feels great when you work hard and earn something like me and my son just did.

Well...that was short lived.  We just got knocked out in the first round of the next tournament.  Coach is PISSED at the kids.  And he should be.  They must've thought they were incredible after last weeks win.  In 6 days we went from top of the world to bottom of the barrel.  

There's 5 of us still left from the original team.  The best of the best at our school.  Some of the other kids who were on our team two years ago don't even play baseball anymore.  Hell, we did them a favor culling them from the team.   Some play soccer.  Others go to summer camp with dorks.  My kid is getting to travel and see a lot of the region.  We are going to play in a tournament in Florida soon.  Kid probably won't be allowed to swim because it will tire him out, but he'll still enjoy it.  See, we vacation too.

But of the 5 still left, its not that they aren't good players, they just aren't on the level of my kid.  When my kid pitches, the other guys make errors.  When the other guy's pitch, they just aren't nearly good enough.  They're kind of making my kid look bad and I feel like he's wasting some of his prime years on a team that can't keep up with him.

I was approached by a dad of a player on a Major team.  This is what its all about.  A whole team of players as good as mine.  I don't see my kid being friends with any of the other players.  Hell, half of them are from out of town.  but he has friends at school and can talk to them at lunch period.  Friends with their parents?  Heck, no, I don't have time for that.  I don't like to talk to anyone when the game is being played anyway.  That is a stressful time.  And the kids aren't allowed to be silly or cut up in the dugout or the coach will tear their asses up.  Good.  This ain't rec ball or some fun little tournament team with a bunch of losers.

What a great decision.  We just won a ton of tournaments.  My kid has more USSSA rings than you can keep up with.  Bought a couple of special trophy cases to hold them and made part of my office the trophy room.  I'm so proud of him.  Unlike his little brother who still plays in the local rec league. Sure i don't have time to teach him how to do anything, but its the freaking rec league and he can't even dominate that?  Not really worth my time.  Maybe we should sign him up for soccer?

We are a week away from the 11U season starting and my son just told me he doesn't want to play baseball any more.  WTF?  Does he know how much time and money we've spent just in this offseason?  Its because I let him hang out with that loser kid from school.  The one who plays some sports but his parents won't even let him play on the All Star team because they visit their grandparents every June in Georgia.

i can't believe what an ungrateful fuck he's being about this.  I know lots of parents think this, but he honestly could've been a great college player and have a good chance at getting drafted.  I am always going to let him know how much of a quitter he became.

Holy shit that is spot on...Bravo sir

[troph 24923]

Yep it’s good.