competitive little kid sports

[MakeItRain]

I have two boys. One has played a ton of sports included traveling baseball his whole life and the other one played only one year of tball when he was in kindergarten.  Why is that? One wanted to play all those different sports and the other absolutely did not. So here’s a hot take- if your kid wants to do competitive baseball and is good enough and you have the money and think it would be a decent time, then let him. If any of those things aren’t true then don’t.

Also and for a million reasons, yes to multiple sports if sports are something he’s kind of into.

Honest question, no judgement from me to anyone posting here but at 7 did your kid play travel sports instead of rec sports and if so, how did they make the distinction? Don't kids at that age just want to play with their friends?

[nicname]

I have two boys. One has played a ton of sports included traveling baseball his whole life and the other one played only one year of tball when he was in kindergarten.  Why is that? One wanted to play all those different sports and the other absolutely did not. So here’s a hot take- if your kid wants to do competitive baseball and is good enough and you have the money and think it would be a decent time, then let him. If any of those things aren’t true then don’t.

Also and for a million reasons, yes to multiple sports if sports are something he’s kind of into.

Honest question, no judgement from me to anyone posting here but at 7 did your kid play travel sports instead of rec sports and if so, how did they make the distinction? Don't kids at that age just want to play with their friends?

The last sentence is the saddest part. Most kids don’t really play anymore. They don’t run around. They don’t play sandlot sports or pickup. They don’t learn all the social crap they need to learn and sort out on their own. Most basically sit at home and get shuffled from activity to activity. Imo kids need to be free range to an extent. The old “get out of here after lunch and don’t come back until dinner.”

[Pete]

Keep hitting him grounder and throwing BP to him SD.  When I was coaching the coaches I listened to said kids under 10 should be 2;1 practice to games.  Unfortunately we have become tournament crazy. 

You can hit him and a couple kids grounders and simulate game situations and he gets 25-30 reps.  Or you can drive to Des Moines and maybe see him field 5 balls in a weekend.


Tom

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This is smart.

[ben ji]

Des Moines weekends will always be there with money from you and drive from little SD but playing catch with dad will not

Great quote here. "Des Moines weekends will always be there" 

[nicname]

Keep hitting him grounder and throwing BP to him SD.  When I was coaching the coaches I listened to said kids under 10 should be 2;1 practice to games.  Unfortunately we have become tournament crazy. 

You can hit him and a couple kids grounders and simulate game situations and he gets 25-30 reps.  Or you can drive to Des Moines and maybe see him field 5 balls in a weekend.


Tom

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This is smart.

Yep. This is it to a T.

Man, 7 is young, but if lil sd loves it and wants to do it, go ahead. That is unless the time and travel commitment is too much.

But imo, like Tom said, reps with dad are where the kid can really learn to love the game. Tons of low pressure reps playing catch, taking grounders, hitting soft toss and bp. Play wiffle ball, stickball whatever. Introduce it all to him and his buddies. What’s best is if you can get two or three of his buddies to join and for them to actually want to go to the field or backyard and ask you to go, not the other way around.

Nicname JR made our towns “top” 12u team this year, which was really surprising to us as he isn’t a standout athlete and only going to be 11 next summer.

Tryouts or “skills evaluation” was last weekend and we didn’t even know what it was for. We just hoped he wouldn’t embarrass himself and feel bad.

Our “competitive” team though is just regular league double headers once a week + 4-5 weekend tournaments. All the league games are in Hutch, Newton, Mac  or Buhler. I don’t know where the tournaments are but I imagine they are pretty local (Salina, Wichita, Hutch, Russell, etc.).

Burnout is real though, and for every kid that intense travel sports help, imo there are 10 that it destroys their love and passion for sports and being part of a team. Imo, the most important thing is love for your teammates and passion for the games. Imo club sports are inherently self centered and focused on the player not the group. It’s can I get to the next level? How can I maximize my kid’s potential. Is this the right coach or group of kids for my kid? That’s all ass backward.

[nicname]

Honestly, I hate the shift to sports being seen as a tool for something else (college, pro lol), which has been accelerated by club/elite youth sports. It should be about the game and loving the sports and brotherhood/sisterhood being on a team brings.

[nicname]

Man, gE already has the best threads on everything...

Tball thread
https://goEMAW.com/forum/index.php?topic=37660.0

Kids sports thread
https://goEMAW.com/forum/index.php?topic=37870.msg1591089#msg1591089

Kid football + bad person coach dads thread
https://goEMAW.com/forum/index.php?topic=28384.0

[MakeItRain]

My kid has "learn softball"on her summer list of things to accomplish, we have two weekends left. I decided this morning I wanted to take her to a batting cage today. Des Moines has no outdoor batting cages that I can find. If I want to take her to a batting cage I have to book time at any one of four indoor academies. crap is sad.

[steve dave]

All of our baseball complexes have outdoor cages next to them. I bet if you just drive by some of the fields they will have them. We have a membership at an Indoor facility and it’s great in winter.


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[MakeItRain]

I'll give that a shot, thanks friend.

[steve dave]

Ours are just cages though. No balls or machines. If that’s what you’re looking for.


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[MakeItRain]

Yeah was looking for machines, apparently old school with tokens and like only 1/3 of them thrown for strikes. Fortunately I found a blitzball bat, and various types of blitzballs, wiffle balls, and junk balls to throw to her. This was the better way for her to get her first cuts anyway.

[steve dave]

I make little sd hit whiffle balls in the yard all the time but make him use his game bat. we also bought the big hitting net for soft toss and so he can throw at it when I'm working and can't catch him.

[nicname]

Just go to a no-machine cage and use it until theY kick you off. Then ask if you can still use it.

[KST8FAN]

https://images.app.goo.gl/v1sQvJ3kMyKMErqt6

I bought one of these used and farm engineered the crap out of it.  Got us thru 5-6 grade for basic BP.

Tom

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[nicname]

I make little sd hit whiffle balls in the yard all the time but make him use his game bat. we also bought the big hitting net for soft toss and so he can throw at it when I'm working and can't catch him.

Those big 7x7 nets are the best.

[steve dave]

I make little sd hit whiffle balls in the yard all the time but make him use his game bat. we also bought the big hitting net for soft toss and so he can throw at it when I'm working and can't catch him.

and just for clarification I never MAKE him do any of this stuff, I make him hit whiffle balls instead of actual baseballs which he was hitting before I instituted the whiffle ball only rule.

[steve dave]

and expanding on this one is right now in my neighbors gutter and I'm going to be on a giant ladder fishing it out tomorrow.

[MakeItRain]

All of that is a lot of work. Here's to hoping she hates softball. Soccer, volleyball, basketball, and cross country is enough.

[Fedor]

I realized I may have come across as pooping all over lil' sd's chosen sport.  That is not what I intended.   I am sure you are a great dad, SD.  You will enjoy the crap out of watching lil' SD do his thing while keeping everything in the proper perspective.    My only point was, oof that was a tough draw for a chosen sport.

One final tidbit, and I am sure this is not unique to baseball.  When the coaches let everyone know what you owe for the tournament, uniforms, or whatever needs paid for, you are for sure subsidizing the coaches kids share.   

[steve dave]

Yeah, the money part isn’t a concern for me. Time a moderate concern just based on work commitments/travel in a non-Covid work environment. I love watching and coaching him though. Except Sunday for a double header when I was a lvl 6 hungover and it was 100 degrees and I was backstop/throw the ball back to the pitcher guy and I almost died.


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[MakeItRain]

Except Sunday for a double header when I was a lvl 6 hungover and it was 100 degrees and I was backstop/throw the ball back to the pitcher guy and I almost died.


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Gah.

BTW, is this coach pitch?

[steve dave]

Yes, we start kid pitch in fall


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[MakeItRain]

Yes, we start kid pitch in fall


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How's your BP?

[steve dave]

Good, we fire them in there to the kids so they hit hard stuff. We do three stations during practice. Tee into a net. Soft toss into net. Live BP with the rest of the kids fielding.


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