Kids

[BIG APPLE CAT]

just curious SF what aspect of the game is he struggling with? not hitting very well against a kid as compared to the machine? Or is he not playing the field as well, also?

[steve dave]

I definitely don't have any silver bullets or anything and am not a baseball coaching expert at all. I spent a lot of time at the cage with lil sd. I'd throw from a knee and throw hard to get him used to it. and I'm not accurate so I'd hit him quite a bit or be way outside the zone to get him used to that. also I'd play catch with him constantly and always throw hard. he's not a tremendous athlete or anything but one thing he is better at than most of his team is not be afraid to get in there and hit off other kids and not be afraid to catch whatever comes at him. He has terrible plate discipline and swings at anything borderline but he's super aggressive at the plate because he's not afraid up there. I think he's only walked once this season which is hilarious at this level because even the best 8 year olds have a hard time hitting the zone. Some of our kids still step out if it's slightly inside which is infuriating. I think just reps is all I can suggest. It's easy for me to suggest because it was where he and I bonded the most. It was us going to the training center and spending a half hour at the cage together if we had nothing to do. but it was also easy because he enjoyed doing that more than about anything. if he didn't like doing it I wouldn't have pressured him into it.

anecdotally I don't think machine pitch is a good thing for little kids to come up on. coach pitch is way better for them if the coach actually fires it in there (strictly imo). the kids then get used to seeing pitches all over the zone instead of the exact same spot right down the pipe.

[Stupid Fitz]

just curious SF what aspect of the game is he struggling with? not hitting very well against a kid as compared to the machine? Or is he not playing the field as well, also?

Mainly hitting. He struggled in the field at first and it was 100% nerves with a new team. He's a pretty good all around fielder and now that he is comfortable, he is fine there for the most part. Its the hitting that is lagging. He doesn't seem afraid and stands in there pretty good, but just can't seem to get the timing. Lots of foul tips and if he does connect, pretty weak grounders opposite field. Again, its only been 10 games or so and its the first time he's stood in there with another kid pitching, i just didn't anticipate him struggling this much based on how he has hit in prior years.

[Stupid Fitz]

I definitely don't have any silver bullets or anything and am not a baseball coaching expert at all. I spent a lot of time at the cage with lil sd. I'd throw from a knee and throw hard to get him used to it. and I'm not accurate so I'd hit him quite a bit or be way outside the zone to get him used to that. also I'd play catch with him constantly and always throw hard. he's not a tremendous athlete or anything but one thing he is better at than most of his team is not be afraid to get in there and hit off other kids and not be afraid to catch whatever comes at him. He has terrible plate discipline and swings at anything borderline but he's super aggressive at the plate because he's not afraid up there. I think he's only walked once this season which is hilarious at this level because even the best 8 year olds have a hard time hitting the zone. Some of our kids still step out if it's slightly inside which is infuriating. I think just reps is all I can suggest. It's easy for me to suggest because it was where he and I bonded the most. It was us going to the training center and spending a half hour at the cage together if we had nothing to do. but it was also easy because he enjoyed doing that more than about anything. if he didn't like doing it I wouldn't have pressured him into it.

anecdotally I don't think machine pitch is a good thing for little kids to come up on. coach pitch is way better for them if the coach actually fires it in there (strictly imo). the kids then get used to seeing pitches all over the zone instead of the exact same spot right down the pipe.

Thanks. I am working on getting him more aggressive. He has a pretty good eye and does walk quite a bit, but i've told him that he needs to start swinging more regardless. I've basically told him that I don't care if he strikes out as long as he is swinging.  I completely agree about the machine. He would foul off a pitch or two with the machine and then have the timing down and hit it hard. That in hindsight prob wasn't the best for him. The frustrating part is that I throw at/to him at home and he does fine. Just struggles at practice and at games. Hopefully he just needs time.

[steve dave]

coach speak garbage that may or may not be helpful but you can work on at the cage with him:

1) load every pitch. everything is a strike until it's not. every ball way outside he should load on like he's going to smoke it.
2) watch every ball hit the catchers glove. get's them in the habit of keeping their head in for when they do swing.
3) do "no take cage" where you throw to him and he has to swing at every pitch no matter where it's at. kind of works on the load number 1. gets them to be prepared to hit everything. much easier to load and hold off then to decide late to swing at something and be late.
4) throw from different distances to him. long, medium, short. same as above gets the load and timing ready for anything.
5) teach him to focus on the pitchers hat. that's the closest target you can look at before the ball actually comes out of his hand. earlier tracking and all that.

[Stupid Fitz]

coach speak garbage that may or may not be helpful but you can work on at the cage with him:

1) load every pitch. everything is a strike until it's not. every ball way outside he should load on like he's going to smoke it.
2) watch every ball hit the catchers glove. get's them in the habit of keeping their head in for when they do swing.
3) do "no take cage" where you throw to him and he has to swing at every pitch no matter where it's at. kind of works on the load number 1. gets them to be prepared to hit everything. much easier to load and hold off then to decide late to swing at something and be late.
4) throw from different distances to him. long, medium, short. same as above gets the load and timing ready for anything.
5) teach him to focus on the pitchers hat. that's the closest target you can look at before the ball actually comes out of his hand. earlier tracking and all that.

Good stuff here. Baseball is my jam so I know a lot of the technical stuff which is terrible to try and explain to a little kid stepping in the box for the first time against another kid. These are all good tips. thanks friend

[steve dave]

[Cire]

Just pulled the trigger on WWE tickets at interest bank arena on June 13 for Monday night raw for my daughters bday present


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[_33]

coach speak garbage that may or may not be helpful but you can work on at the cage with him:

1) load every pitch. everything is a strike until it's not. every ball way outside he should load on like he's going to smoke it.
2) watch every ball hit the catchers glove. get's them in the habit of keeping their head in for when they do swing.
3) do "no take cage" where you throw to him and he has to swing at every pitch no matter where it's at. kind of works on the load number 1. gets them to be prepared to hit everything. much easier to load and hold off then to decide late to swing at something and be late.
4) throw from different distances to him. long, medium, short. same as above gets the load and timing ready for anything.
5) teach him to focus on the pitchers hat. that's the closest target you can look at before the ball actually comes out of his hand. earlier tracking and all that.

Also constantly scream at him to keep his elbow up.  At least 5 times per at bat.

[DQ12]

 

[steve dave]

Congrats

[BIG APPLE CAT]

wow feeling personally attacked rn

[mocat]

 

[Spracne]

Everything except the horses one.

[star seed 7]

Everything except the horses one.

Only the horses one

[OB_Won]

Everything except the horses one.

Only the horses one

For all the townies . . .

[MakeItRain]

Yikes, 10 of them.

[TheHamburglar]

Everything except the horses one.

I’ve done them all except this & what’s the damage.  At a bar last night there was a group of 10 people on a business trip & the bartender handed one guy the bill. As he slid it across I thought to myself “ I wonder if he’ll say what’s the damage.”  He said it unironically & I had to turn away to cover my laugh.

[catastrophe]

I’ve done the horses one maybe 100 times.

[Bloodfart]

Read this thread.  Some real crap in here and I’m 35 with 4 kids.

[Dugout DickStone]

Ok, bump.  What s best app to snoop on a kids phone?  It is an iphone

also, is there one that I can just hit a switch that would shut the phone down like if she is not doing homework in room but on a 700 person facetime sesh?  and then turn it on when the kid goes to volleyball practice so we know when to pick up?

[Stupid Fitz]

Ok, bump.  What s best app to snoop on a kids phone?  It is an iphone

also, is there one that I can just hit a switch that would shut the phone down like if she is not doing homework in room but on a 700 person facetime sesh?  and then turn it on when the kid goes to volleyball practice so we know when to pick up?

Oh man, i'm interested in this. I'm a couple years away hopefully but still interested in this. My kids are still dumb and believe whatever I tell them, so I just say I can see everything they do on their iPads and they believe me. I spot check them on occasion, and remind them that I have some super app that can see it all and if they do anything bad, I will take the iPad away. I prob don't have much more time with this little fib though. I know my google wifi has a setting that can filter and even block wifi connection. That wouldn't help you much with a cell connected device though.

[DreamWeaver69]

My kid screamed "let me out of my cage!" this morning, instead of crib. Should I be concerned he thinks he's a prisoner?

[OK_Cat]

Ok, bump.  What s best app to snoop on a kids phone?  It is an iphone

also, is there one that I can just hit a switch that would shut the phone down like if she is not doing homework in room but on a 700 person facetime sesh?  and then turn it on when the kid goes to volleyball practice so we know when to pick up?

Oh man, good one. I just used the built-in ‘find my iPhone’ thing, but that meant my kid could see my location, and she could remove her location sharing whenever she wanted to. I recently suspended her line with AT&T for a week as a dad show-of-force


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[steve dave]

Not helpful for these older kids discussions but lil sd (9 yo) has a gizmo watch from verizon and he can call me and a short list of people I set via the app and I can track it with GPS. Gives me some more confidence to let him roam the neighborhood and bike to his buddies house.


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