competitive little kid sports

[michigancat]

pretty sure I've said it before but it still boggles my mind that baseball is the first organized sport I played. It's boring, has confusing rules, and really difficult for little kids. Like the worst of everything for kids trying sports. I wonder how many kids got completely turned off of sports because they sucked at baseball when they were like 8 or 9 and that was their only option and they assumed they sucked at all sports. (granted that's changed but still)

baseball is the best to teach hand/eye coordination and unlike other sports, you can't start it later. I see what you're saying if its the ONLY sport you start playing, but I think it's a good one for littler kids because of the hand/eye stuff.

Eh I think you can totally start baseball later than age 5 and be fine if the kids are playing other sports. I could be wrong though. Also when I was a kid it was really the only available organized sport until I was in junior high. (No soccer where I was)

[Stupid Fitz]

pretty sure I've said it before but it still boggles my mind that baseball is the first organized sport I played. It's boring, has confusing rules, and really difficult for little kids. Like the worst of everything for kids trying sports. I wonder how many kids got completely turned off of sports because they sucked at baseball when they were like 8 or 9 and that was their only option and they assumed they sucked at all sports. (granted that's changed but still)

baseball is the best to teach hand/eye coordination and unlike other sports, you can't start it later. I see what you're saying if its the ONLY sport you start playing, but I think it's a good one for littler kids because of the hand/eye stuff.

Eh I think you can totally start baseball later than age 5 and be fine if the kids are playing other sports. I could be wrong though. Also when I was a kid it was really the only available organized sport until I was in junior high. (No soccer where I was)

Same for me. Baseball at like 5 and that was pretty much it until 6th grade football. Small towns really like to see how much brain damage they can do to kids via sports.

[steve dave]

Bunch of can’t-hack-it pantywaists in here


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[wetwillie]

I've seen a lot of youth baseball and I don't think I've seen a lot of plucky try hards out perform the natural athletes.

[Cartierfor3]

pretty sure I've said it before but it still boggles my mind that baseball is the first organized sport I played. It's boring, has confusing rules, and really difficult for little kids. Like the worst of everything for kids trying sports. I wonder how many kids got completely turned off of sports because they sucked at baseball when they were like 8 or 9 and that was their only option and they assumed they sucked at all sports. (granted that's changed but still)

baseball is the best to teach hand/eye coordination and unlike other sports, you can't start it later. I see what you're saying if its the ONLY sport you start playing, but I think it's a good one for littler kids because of the hand/eye stuff.

Eh I think you can totally start baseball later than age 5 and be fine if the kids are playing other sports. I could be wrong though. Also when I was a kid it was really the only available organized sport until I was in junior high. (No soccer where I was)

Perhaps.

[michigancat]

I played until jr. Babe Ruth. The other hilarious thing that I remembered was that Babe Ruth is the first age group that has three years instead of 2. It's like 13-15 year olds which probably has the widest range of development for boys, so you get guys with beards against pudgy kids who have never had a growth spurt

[steve dave]

I've seen a lot of youth baseball and I don't think I've seen a lot of plucky try hards out perform the natural athletes.

uhhhh, not sure what kind of youth baseball you are watching. the best athlete on our baseball team is probably our worst player. similar situation to the other teams in our club. we did take him on because he's an elite football player and fast AF and is a very hard worker. I think we can mold him into something but it'll take awhile. hitting a baseball, fielding a hard ground ball, etc. are hard AF and being really fast and strong, while definitely helpful, don't get you the majority of the way there. it's a game of repetitions. unless you believe Dominicans are just the greatest natural athletes on the planet.

[Stupid Fitz]

I've seen a lot of youth baseball and I don't think I've seen a lot of plucky try hards out perform the natural athletes.

uhhhh, not sure what kind of youth baseball you are watching. the best athlete on our baseball team is probably our worst player. similar situation to the other teams in our club. we did take him on because he's an elite football player and fast AF and is a very hard worker. I think we can mold him into something but it'll take awhile. hitting a baseball, fielding a hard ground ball, etc. are hard AF and being really fast and strong, while definitely helpful, don't get you the majority of the way there. it's a game of repetitions. unless you believe Dominicans are just the greatest natural athletes on the planet.

Yep, doesn't matter how good of an athlete you are, you have to see a bunch of pitches to be a good hitter. Sure there are "naturals", but its just too hard and requires live pitches and swings especially as they get older. The main problem is that baseball can be boring AF for young kids so lots of kids wash out early. I love baseball, but I totally get it that hitting once every 3 innings and maybe standing out there for 2 hours and having one ball hit to you isn't that fun for a 10 year old. I loved the crap out of it, but I know Lil SF doesn't like it as much as I do and will probably wash out soon, which makes me sad.

[SleepFighter]

The best thing about baseball is that it shifts into slow-pitch softball when you get old, and you can play that until you're stupid old.

[SleepFighter]

I've seen a lot of youth baseball and I don't think I've seen a lot of plucky try hards out perform the natural athletes.

uhhhh, not sure what kind of youth baseball you are watching. the best athlete on our baseball team is probably our worst player. similar situation to the other teams in our club. we did take him on because he's an elite football player and fast AF and is a very hard worker. I think we can mold him into something but it'll take awhile. hitting a baseball, fielding a hard ground ball, etc. are hard AF and being really fast and strong, while definitely helpful, don't get you the majority of the way there. it's a game of repetitions. unless you believe Dominicans are just the greatest natural athletes on the planet.

Yep, doesn't matter how good of an athlete you are, you have to see a bunch of pitches to be a good hitter. Sure there are "naturals", but its just too hard and requires live pitches and swings especially as they get older. The main problem is that baseball can be boring AF for young kids so lots of kids wash out early. I love baseball, but I totally get it that hitting once every 3 innings and maybe standing out there for 2 hours and having one ball hit to you isn't that fun for a 10 year old. I loved the crap out of it, but I know Lil SF doesn't like it as much as I do and will probably wash out soon, which makes me sad.

Baseball was by far the game I was best at, and I was looking forward to coaching it. All three of mine started early in soccer, and then by the time I wanted to put them in baseball, they all said no thanks. Like Stupid Fitz said, too much standing around for them.

[star seed 7]

It's too bad baseball is boring because I also found it to be the easiest. Probably could have been a pro

[wetwillie]

I've seen a lot of youth baseball and I don't think I've seen a lot of plucky try hards out perform the natural athletes.

uhhhh, not sure what kind of youth baseball you are watching. the best athlete on our baseball team is probably our worst player. similar situation to the other teams in our club. we did take him on because he's an elite football player and fast AF and is a very hard worker. I think we can mold him into something but it'll take awhile. hitting a baseball, fielding a hard ground ball, etc. are hard AF and being really fast and strong, while definitely helpful, don't get you the majority of the way there. it's a game of repetitions. unless you believe Dominicans are just the greatest natural athletes on the planet.

The best defenders, hitters and base runners on my son's teams for the better part of 5 years were also star football, basketball and track athletes.  We did have one kid who was a wrestler/hockey type that could smoke HR's but couldn't play catcher to save his life or pick a ball at first base. I think pitching might be the exception, you can be really competent at the youth/HS level without a lot of natural athletic ability.

[nicname]

I've seen a lot of youth baseball and I don't think I've seen a lot of plucky try hards out perform the natural athletes.

I’ve read you and sd’s convo, and would agree to a point. Depends on how raw the talented team/players are, and how trained the less talented kids are. My son’s (now disbanded) team was more athletic as a whole than probably any team they played for the better part of the three seasons they were all together. They played mostly 12u when they were 11 so that was the exception.

We routinely lost games to less athletic, more trained teams.

[Stupid Fitz]

I've seen a lot of youth baseball and I don't think I've seen a lot of plucky try hards out perform the natural athletes.

I’ve read you and sd’s convo, and would agree to a point. Depends on how raw the talented team/players are, and how trained the less talented kids are. My son’s (now disbanded) team was more athletic as a whole than probably any team they played for the better part of the three seasons they were all together. They played mostly 12u when they were 11 so that was the exception.

We routinely lost games to less athletic, more trained teams.

I bet it was the walk up music

[wetwillie]

I've seen a lot of youth baseball and I don't think I've seen a lot of plucky try hards out perform the natural athletes.

I’ve read you and sd’s convo, and would agree to a point. Depends on how raw the talented team/players are, and how trained the less talented kids are. My son’s (now disbanded) team was more athletic as a whole than probably any team they played for the better part of the three seasons they were all together. They played mostly 12u when they were 11 so that was the exception.

We routinely lost games to less athletic, more trained teams.

Is more trained code for better coached?

[steve dave]

I've seen a lot of youth baseball and I don't think I've seen a lot of plucky try hards out perform the natural athletes.

I’ve read you and sd’s convo, and would agree to a point. Depends on how raw the talented team/players are, and how trained the less talented kids are. My son’s (now disbanded) team was more athletic as a whole than probably any team they played for the better part of the three seasons they were all together. They played mostly 12u when they were 11 so that was the exception.

We routinely lost games to less athletic, more trained teams.

Is more trained code for better coached?

I don’t think so. Good baseball players generally become good from 80% work outside of their actual work with the team/coach.


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[Stupid Fitz]

I've seen a lot of youth baseball and I don't think I've seen a lot of plucky try hards out perform the natural athletes.

I’ve read you and sd’s convo, and would agree to a point. Depends on how raw the talented team/players are, and how trained the less talented kids are. My son’s (now disbanded) team was more athletic as a whole than probably any team they played for the better part of the three seasons they were all together. They played mostly 12u when they were 11 so that was the exception.

We routinely lost games to less athletic, more trained teams.

Is more trained code for better coached?

I don’t think so. Good baseball players generally become good from 80% work outside of their actual work with the team/coach.


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Yep, Lil SF is pretty good at most sports. The problem is he just loves to play them when they are in season for the most part. Nothing wrong with that. He has always been good enough to just start when the season starts at almost every sport. That stops working out pretty quick with baseball as they get a bit older. He can still hang, but his team is pretty good and has some kids that are really good. If he really wants to continue, like most kids, he's going to have to work way more on his own or he'll need to find a rec team that doesn't exist here in KC for the most part. I feel like this year is the make or break year. It sucks that there just aren't many rec leagues here in KC. The other issue is that only like 1 of his school friends plays baseball. He had a smaller class that didn't have a lot of baseball players in general, but Covid killed it completely so we had to find another team.

[wetwillie]

Like your kid can't hit a baseball very well now? Mine was slow and couldn't hit but could pitch really well so he found a niche.

[Stupid Fitz]

Like your kid can't hit a baseball very well now? Mine was slow and couldn't hit but could pitch really well so he found a niche.

He for sure can. He's just not as consistent as the other kids that work more on non practice days. Every year, the pitchers get better and throw harder so its tough if you aren't working more than just the couple of practices a week or whatever. He always starts slower, but gets in a groove. We will see how it goes this year. Last year was similar and he got hot and i noticed him out in the yard working more.

[Spracne]

I've seen a lot of youth baseball and I don't think I've seen a lot of plucky try hards out perform the natural athletes.

I’ve read you and sd’s convo, and would agree to a point. Depends on how raw the talented team/players are, and how trained the less talented kids are. My son’s (now disbanded) team was more athletic as a whole than probably any team they played for the better part of the three seasons they were all together. They played mostly 12u when they were 11 so that was the exception.

We routinely lost games to less athletic, more trained teams.

Is more trained code for better coached?

I don’t think so. Good baseball players generally become good from 80% work outside of their actual work with the team/coach.


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As a former guitar teacher (starting at age 14  ), I've observed the same. The kids who practiced between lessons magically got better. Those who didn't, I was getting paid to babysit.

I was really good at sports when being good at sports meant having the ability to pay attention and understand the rules. Once that shifted, I decided to go pro in something other than sports.

[steve dave]

Like your kid can't hit a baseball very well now? Mine was slow and couldn't hit but could pitch really well so he found a niche.

If you are an elite pitcher you don't need to do anything else. elite catchers can also get away with being a liability at the plate. everyone else better hit the damn ball.

[DaBigTrain]

Like your kid can't hit a baseball very well now? Mine was slow and couldn't hit but could pitch really well so he found a niche.

If you are an elite pitcher you don't need to do anything else. elite catchers can also get away with being a liability at the plate. everyone else better hit the damn ball.

This was me during my playing career.

[nicname]

pretty sure I've said it before but it still boggles my mind that baseball is the first organized sport I played. It's boring, has confusing rules, and really difficult for little kids. Like the worst of everything for kids trying sports. I wonder how many kids got completely turned off of sports because they sucked at baseball when they were like 8 or 9 and that was their only option and they assumed they sucked at all sports. (granted that's changed but still)

baseball is the best to teach hand/eye coordination and unlike other sports, you can't start it later. I see what you're saying if its the ONLY sport you start playing, but I think it's a good one for littler kids because of the hand/eye stuff.

Eh I think you can totally start baseball later than age 5 and be fine if the kids are playing other sports. I could be wrong though. Also when I was a kid it was really the only available organized sport until I was in junior high. (No soccer where I was)

Lorenzo Cain didn’t start until he was in high school

[michigancat]

In general I think travel coaches and training centers scare parents into the idea that early specialization is necessary to keep them from being "left behind" when in fact it is probably actually detrimental to most kids if you care about things like burnout and injury

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3658407/#:~:text=Results%3A,sports%20at%20a%20young%20age.

[Stupid Fitz]

In general I think travel coaches and training centers scare parents into the idea that early specialization is necessary to keep them from being "left behind" when in fact it is probably actually detrimental to most kids if you care about things like burnout and injury

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3658407/#:~:text=Results%3A,sports%20at%20a%20young%20age.

This is all true, but the problem is that baseball has evolved to play on these competitive teams or don't play baseball. My kid whipped ass in summer and fall rec leagues with his pals. As they got a bit older, those teams dissolve and fewer of his pals played baseball anymore. He was good enough to make a "competitive" team so he's still playing, but I know he'd rather be just playing league or whatever with a bunch of his buddies. Thankfully our coach is the best and doesn't go full on and encourages everyone to play other sports, but I know Lil SF doesn't like it as much as he did in the past. I was talking to a dad a year or so ago and he said his kid was on a team that does tryouts and cuts every year. Its a constant shuffle. I asked him if that was any fun at all and he basically said both he and his kid hate it, but he knows the kids and doesn't want to go to a random team so its that or don't play baseball anymore and he likes playing baseball.