Little league Baseball

[IRISHDODGER]

One thing I learned early on when coaching youth & even teenagers was that after the game, just say a few things & dismiss the kids. Trust me, they’re tuning out the coaches after a minute or two. They’re tired, distracted, hungry or all of the above so let them get out of there.

We also had a 24-hr rule when it came to parents who were upset about playing time or other issues. They were to give it 24 hours & if they still had strong feelings about it, we would discuss it. Never had to get that far. Like I said before, we recruited parents & it made life so much better.

As far as a parent, I always held my tongue when it came to constructive feedback for my son until a day or two later. All I told him after the game was that “I really enjoyed watching you play”

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

I get the criticism around travel ball, but if your kid loves the game, you’ve got to make the move sooner rather than later or risk falling behind. My son is only 8, and I can already see the gap widening between him and other kids he’s played with over the past couple of years, especially at the plate.

I agree with the advice to attend as many tryouts as possible - it's a great way to make connections. Even if he doesn’t make the team this year, he might get a shot next year or be asked to sub in for a tournament if the team is short players. I’ve already had a couple coaches reach out to see if my son could fill in as a sub.

The best advice I can offer when it comes to picking his team is that you’re playing for the name on the back of the jersey, not the front. That wasn’t my mindset last year, and it’s not something I share with my kid, but it’s the perspective I adopted about halfway through the season, and it’s how I’ll approach every decision going forward about where he plays and who he plays for.

Signing up for dbats is a good move adn relatively affordable if you can use it often and you're willing to throw to him. I take my son there 2-5 days a week depending on the time of year, he sees a hitting coach once or twice a month and he does tee work on his own - about a 1000 swings a week. We work on fielding, throwing, and pitching a couple days a week for about 30 minutes. I try to make this as fun as possible, keep him moving aroudn and catching the ball at different angles, long toss, etc, and limit the fielding "drills" to a five minutes or so which is usually grounders and working on catcher's shit.

He also plays football and soccer, which gives him a nice change of pace, but we still stick to the routine above even when he's playing other sports. The fear of burnout is understandable, but he's been doing it for almost two years and he still waits at the door with his glove and bat when I get home from work, so it’s clearly working.

I think it's safe to say you're well past me in terms of baseball commitment. I refused to get sucked in at 8, 9 and most of 10. I did have to finally pull the trigger because rec ball is simply gutted. Every year a few more of the top players would bolt for their travel team. Most of my friends are following a blueprint similar to what you described. And I know coaches are always dealing with parents pushing for more tournaments, which is wild to me. If you play 9 tournaments in a year, that's 18 days of play with a minimum 72 games played and up to 90.
Add in practices and that is plenty of work for a kid to develop.

The one thing I'm adamant about is that my kids are the drivers. I'll help push, I'll buy the gas, I'll rotate tires, etc. I'm happy to support them in their pursuits with my time and resources. If they are no longer the ones making the decisions, there is a good chance their love for the activity will wane. I want them to be driven and find the fire inside. I think that is very difficult with someone saying 'you must do this'.

I want the love of the game to be the initial driver, then the grind/sacrifice/effort is much more manageable. THIS is what will determine if they are still doing the activity in 6 years. I'm not trying to have the best 12 year old player in the city. I want my kids to always be pushing to be better than they were yesterday.

I'll say this: it's a tightrope. I'm encouraging them often but some days, they just don't want to do "x" and I allow that as well. My kids still like cartoons and have stuffed animals and like making forts. I'm sure my level of "persistent pressure" will grow as they get older but I'm doing my best to hold myself in check because it would be very easy for me to "optimize" their schedule for maximal development but I think it'd rob them of finding incremental ways of improving down the road.

@Wild Bill - I appreciate you sharing and I hope you're comfortable with me pointing out the differences. This can be a very touchy subject as everyone wants what is best for their kids. I hope your son thrives and is one of the kids that resonates with your approach. I'll continue by cobbling this parenting thing together while searching for the instruction manual.

 

[Irish#1]

When my two youngest played travel ball one had a great coach. He didn't care about winning as much as developing the kids. He was there to help the kids and made sure everyone got fair playing time. The other only cared about winning. He would drop kids in favor of a better player and didn't care about making sure every kid got to play a decent amount of time. Of course his kid played every inning. We passed on him. He was upset that we told him no thanks. He ended up skipping travel ball until the next year and went with another local team.

The ironic part........ Anyway the coach we passed on asked my son to sub one weekend. Given it was just this once we let him play. They were playing against the Indiana Bulls. Back then the Indiana Bulls was the premier travel team program (don't know if it still is). After the double header, the Bulls coach asked the coach if my son and another player were interested in playing for them. lol

 

[Irish2155]

When my two youngest played travel ball one had a great coach. He didn't care about winning as much as developing the kids. He was there to help the kids and made sure everyone got fair playing time. The other only cared about winning. He would drop kids in favor of a better player and didn't care about making sure every kid got to play a decent amount of time. Of course his kid played every inning. We passed on him. He was upset that we told him no thanks. He ended up skipping travel ball until the next year and went with another local team.

The ironic part........ Anyway the coach we passed on asked my son to sub one weekend. Given it was just this once we let him play. They were playing against the Indiana Bulls. Back then the Indian Bulls was the premier travel team program (don't know if it still is). After the double header, the Bulls coach asked the coach if my son and another player were interested in playing for them. lol

I have a handful of buddies that won a National Championship with the Bulls. One is Matt Taylor’s (voice of the Colts) brother. Another, who won that tournament MVP, pitched for ND. I think it was around 1997 or so when they won that title.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I think it's safe to say you're well past me in terms of baseball commitment. I refused to get sucked in at 8, 9 and most of 10. I did have to finally pull the trigger because rec ball is simply gutted. Every year a few more of the top players would bolt for their travel team. Most of my friends are following a blueprint similar to what you described. And I know coaches are always dealing with parents pushing for more tournaments, which is wild to me. If you play 9 tournaments in a year, that's 18 days of play with a minimum 72 games played and up to 90.
Add in practices and that is plenty of work for a kid to develop.

The one thing I'm adamant about is that my kids are the drivers. I'll help push, I'll buy the gas, I'll rotate tires, etc. I'm happy to support them in their pursuits with my time and resources. If they are no longer the ones making the decisions, there is a good chance their love for the activity will wane. I want them to be driven and find the fire inside. I think that is very difficult with someone saying 'you must do this'.

I want the love of the game to be the initial driver, then the grind/sacrifice/effort is much more manageable. THIS is what will determine if they are still doing the activity in 6 years. I'm not trying to have the best 12 year old player in the city. I want my kids to always be pushing to be better than they were yesterday.

I'll say this: it's a tightrope. I'm encouraging them often but some days, they just don't want to do "x" and I allow that as well. My kids still like cartoons and have stuffed animals and like making forts. I'm sure my level of "persistent pressure" will grow as they get older but I'm doing my best to hold myself in check because it would be very easy for me to "optimize" their schedule for maximal development but I think it'd rob them of finding incremental ways of improving down the road.

@Wild Bill - I appreciate you sharing and I hope you're comfortable with me pointing out the differences. This can be a very touchy subject as everyone wants what is best for their kids. I hope your son thrives and is one of the kids that resonates with your approach. I'll continue by cobbling this parenting thing together while searching for the instruction manual.

VDP, I'm pretty much in line with your thinking here. No offense to anyone else, but I've seen youth sports totally ruined by these new models. My wife and I support our kids in what they choose to do, but we also aren't nudging them in any one direction. The harsh truth is that most of these kids won't play in college or beyond. Hell, in our district, my kids likely won't even play varsity level in high school. Sports are an amazing thing to partake in as a kid. But it's not the be-all-end-all that a lot of families have made it into. Play the game, have fun, make friends, learn life lessons, and move on.

We have in-laws who are die hards in their athletic endeavors through their kids. We've seen it completely take over their lives. They don't seem to like it, but will say, "What are we supposed to do? This is just how it is if your kids wants to play." Which is sad. I keep this part to myself when it's discussed, but I feel pretty strongly that their oldest son sacrificed his college education by choosing his school ENTIRELY based on where he could play baseball and ended up at a NAIA school. Money isn't a factor for this family, yet baseball ruled the decision making. Not to say that he'll be a complete failure or anything. It's just that whenever college lists were made, it was only small level baseball schools. I didn't understand that mindset.

Our daughter is in gymnastics. It's ultra competitive and we've already felt the pressure of not wanting her to fall behind. For me though, it's more about not wanting her to fall behind and then get separated from her friends. It has nothing to do with skill level and wanting her to be the best, etc etc. I know she'll make new friends. She's 10 and goes to a huge school. But I get it....as a parent...you just want them to be happy.

My son is 6. He just finished up rec soccer and before the season even ended, we were being approached with signing him up for the next level. We said no to it and signed him up for baseball in the fall and basketball in the winter. He's pretty good at baseball already and shows a pretty strong passion for it. But he's just a 6 year old, athletic kid who wants to play anything and everything, so we're letting him do that. If he chooses baseball as "his" sport, we'll have to evaluate the travel leagues around Indy. I'll support him, but won't push him. As a family, our summers have been family-focused with our own vacations and time spent at a family lake house. Both of our kids are already well-aware that summer involvement will directly impact their lake time and vacation time.

I played a ton of sports growing up. Rec, All-Star, AAU, Chet Waggoner Little League, etc. I don't ever remember it being as involved as it is for today's youth and their families. It's out of control.

When my two youngest played travel ball one had a great coach. He didn't care about winning as much as developing the kids. He was there to help the kids and made sure everyone got fair playing time. The other only cared about winning. He would drop kids in favor of a better player and didn't care about making sure every kid got to play a decent amount of time. Of course his kid played every inning. We passed on him. He was upset that we told him no thanks. He ended up skipping travel ball until the next year and went with another local team.

The ironic part........ Anyway the coach we passed on asked my son to sub one weekend. Given it was just this once we let him play. They were playing against the Indiana Bulls. Back then the Indian Bulls was the premier travel team program (don't know if it still is). After the double header, the Bulls coach asked the coach if my son and another player were interested in playing for them. lol

I'm on board with the mindset of choosing a team based on coaching style and goals. I hate the "winning is everything" mindset for these little kids. It's ridiculous.

The Bulls are still a premier team around Indy. As are the Midwest Canes. My 11 yr old nephew plays for the Canes' AA team and it sounds like they're about to move up to AAA soon. But just the other day, his dad was telling me that they've pigeonholed his son into being a first baseman and only that because no one else can play the position. Rather than spread kids around so they can learn new positions and grow their skill levels, the coach's focus is winning. They know that's what they signed up for though and are just okay with it. "If it's what it takes for him to play varsity baseball in high school and hope to have a shot at collegiate level, then that's what we're doing." Whatever floats your boat, I say.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

VDP, I'm pretty much in line with your thinking here. No offense to anyone else, but I've seen youth sports totally ruined by these new models. My wife and I support our kids in what they choose to do, but we also aren't nudging them in any one direction. The harsh truth is that most of these kids won't play in college or beyond. Hell, in our district, my kids likely won't even play varsity level in high school. Sports are an amazing thing to partake in as a kid. But it's not the be-all-end-all that a lot of families have made it into. Play the game, have fun, make friends, learn life lessons, and move on.

We have in-laws who are die hards in their athletic endeavors through their kids. We've seen it completely take over their lives. They don't seem to like it, but will say, "What are we supposed to do? This is just how it is if your kids wants to play." Which is sad. I keep this part to myself when it's discussed, but I feel pretty strongly that their oldest son sacrificed his college education by choosing his school ENTIRELY based on where he could play baseball and ended up at a NAIA school. Money isn't a factor for this family, yet baseball ruled the decision making. Not to say that he'll be a complete failure or anything. It's just that whenever college lists were made, it was only small level baseball schools. I didn't understand that mindset.

This happens a ton now. Don’t know your in-laws but a lot of parents I know simply want to brag to their friends & post on social media how their son is playing college ball. But it’s usually at a D3 JUCO or similarly small school that just started a baseball program. Now if that’s what the young man truly wants & has a path to move on to a career or degree after that, more power to him b/c baseball is not like golf…you don’t get to play forever. But most of the ones my son played w/ & against go for a year or 2 and realize there’s more to life than grinding out lower level JUCO ball in some nowhere town that they agreed to live in for the sole purpose of furthering their baseball career. My son’s HS team had 8 or so kids who never saw the field for varsity in their senior year but were all able to go play JUCO ball somewhere. Which for them I was happy b/c they were good enough & should have gotten an opportunity in HS but at the end of the day the kid has to know there’s more to life than their favorite sport. And sometimes they know that early but need to build up the courage to tell that to his parents.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

This happens a ton now. Don’t know your in-laws but a lot of parents I know simply want to brag to their friends & post on social media how their son is playing college ball. But it’s usually at a D3 JUCO or similarly small school that just started a baseball program. Now if that’s what the young man truly wants & has a path to move on to a career or degree after that, more power to him b/c baseball is not like golf…you don’t get to play forever. But most of the ones my son played w/ & against go for a year or 2 and realize there’s more to life than grinding out lower level JUCO ball in some nowhere town that they agreed to live in for the sole purpose of furthering their baseball career. My son’s HS team had 8 or so kids who never saw the field for varsity in their senior year but were all able to go play JUCO ball somewhere. Which for them I was happy b/c they were good enough & should have gotten an opportunity in HS but at the end of the day the kid has to know there’s more to life than their favorite sport. And sometimes they know that early but need to build up the courage to tell that to his parents.

Yeah this situation was entirely the result of my nephew wanting to keep playing ball and the parents just being supportive of that. When they talk though, you'll hear things like "This is one of the best NAIA schools with a strong program for developing kids to get to a D2 or D1 school via transfer." If that happens, great. But banking on that and acting as if that's the primary goal of college is dumb. I just keep my mouth shut about it. It's all you hear around my neck of the woods though. Parents talking about their 8 year olds and how they're on track to play college level ball because they're so advanced beyond their peers and put in all this extra time, work, and money. haha. I just roll my eyes and walk away.

 

[RDU Irish]

Travel sports have ruined youth athletics. 10-12 is a tough age in baseball - if nobody can throw strikes the game sucks. You need at least 4 on a roster that can reliably throw strikes and tons of teams struggle to find 2. You need a certain minimum skill level across the league or else it becomes a shitshow. When you have piles of kids showing up with no experience and all the decent pitchers running off to play travel ball it becomes a negative feedback loop. You should be able to have fun semi competitively without committing thousands of dollars and completely upending the family calendar.

 

[Wild Bill]

I think it's safe to say you're well past me in terms of baseball commitment. I refused to get sucked in at 8, 9 and most of 10. I did have to finally pull the trigger because rec ball is simply gutted. Every year a few more of the top players would bolt for their travel team. Most of my friends are following a blueprint similar to what you described. And I know coaches are always dealing with parents pushing for more tournaments, which is wild to me. If you play 9 tournaments in a year, that's 18 days of play with a minimum 72 games played and up to 90.
Add in practices and that is plenty of work for a kid to develop.

The one thing I'm adamant about is that my kids are the drivers. I'll help push, I'll buy the gas, I'll rotate tires, etc. I'm happy to support them in their pursuits with my time and resources. If they are no longer the ones making the decisions, there is a good chance their love for the activity will wane. I want them to be driven and find the fire inside. I think that is very difficult with someone saying 'you must do this'.

I want the love of the game to be the initial driver, then the grind/sacrifice/effort is much more manageable. THIS is what will determine if they are still doing the activity in 6 years. I'm not trying to have the best 12 year old player in the city. I want my kids to always be pushing to be better than they were yesterday.

I'll say this: it's a tightrope. I'm encouraging them often but some days, they just don't want to do "x" and I allow that as well. My kids still like cartoons and have stuffed animals and like making forts. I'm sure my level of "persistent pressure" will grow as they get older but I'm doing my best to hold myself in check because it would be very easy for me to "optimize" their schedule for maximal development but I think it'd rob them of finding incremental ways of improving down the road.

@Wild Bill - I appreciate you sharing and I hope you're comfortable with me pointing out the differences. This can be a very touchy subject as everyone wants what is best for their kids. I hope your son thrives and is one of the kids that resonates with your approach. I'll continue by cobbling this parenting thing together while searching for the instruction manual.

No problem at all - I completely agree with you, especially when it comes to these insane parents pushing for 100-game seasons and 10 tournaments across eight different states. My son received four offers, and a major factor in our decision was the schedule. The team we chose plays around 40 games with just five tournaments, which is far more manageable. Two of the other teams were planning to play 70+ games, and one had a heavy travel schedule. The bitch of it is that the team closest to our house was the one with the most aggressive travel and game schedule, and the team we ended up choosing, with the more reasonable schedule, is actually the furthest away.

My son barely has time to just be a kid - he’s at practice, games, or with a tutor almost every day. He keeps telling me he thinks it’d be best if he just stopped seeing his tutor lol. It’s definitely something we think about, and I think it's reasonable for you to have teh same concerns. But for now, he’s got a fire to play, so I’m willing to push the limits and do whatever I can to support him.

That drive is a big part of the equation, but there’s another factor that’s harder for parents to admit - whether the kid is actually good enough to justify the commitment. My son is a good athlete and a solid soccer player, but he’s nothing special. He begs me to play travel soccer with some of his friends, and I won’t do it. I just don’t see the point in sinking more time and money into a sport that, realistically, isn’t likely to be a meaningful part of his future.

My younger son is still little, but so far he doesn’t show the same physical tools as his older brother when it comes to baseball. If that doesn’t change, I’d be far less inclined to commit to travel ball with him either.

My older son is uniquely gifted with a bat in his hands and has a cannon for an arm (thanks to his uncle - let’s just hope he doesn’t inherit his brain too). The combination of talent and drive made the decision to sacrifice my time, money, and maybe even a piece of his childhood a little easier.

I know it’s a harsh way to look at things, and maybe I’m wrong to draw conclusions this early. But I also think a lot of time and energy gets wasted because parents struggle to be honest and objective when it comes to their own kids.

I’m curious, has anyone gone all-in on the travel sports life and ended up regretting it? Maybe their kid didn’t develop the way they expected, lost interest, or the family later felt that the time and money could’ve been better spent on something else? I’d love to hear from people who’ve been down that road.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

I’m curious, has anyone gone all-in on the travel sports life and ended up regretting it? Maybe their kid didn’t develop the way they expected, lost interest, or the family later felt that the time and money could’ve been better spent on something else? I’d love to hear from people who’ve been down that road.

I think this is a difficult question because it's somewhat self-selecting. If a kid washes out of the sport, the parent thinks, "it wasn't meant to be, I did everything I could to make them a ball player." And if the player keeps going in the sport, most parents will be proud and suggest that was a big part of getting them "on the right path".

I think it'd be more reliable to see the data but sadly, i don't know of any organization that tracks players, teams, level of commitment over years. Would be a helluva thesis/study to run as a student. If you followed kids for 8-10 years and did an analysis in a bigger metro area, you'd have loads of interesting data.



As to many parents having a hard time coming to grips with their kids potential, that might be true. If I don't help my son develop athletically, there would be a much lower probability he'd make a varsity team in high school given his natural athleticism. No parent ever turned to me and told me he looked athletic or fast. More like a baby giraffe. He's a heady player, he's excellent at processing but his natural movement skills were lacking. My younger two kids seemed noticeably faster at comparative ages.

But since he's started to do the skips, hops, sprints, bounds and BW exercises, he looks completely different. I'm not blowing smoke on this and any parent that really wants their kid to succeed in sport(s) would be well-served in viewing training/track/weight room as the other sport. We're a month into his workouts and he's super motivated because he can tell he's moving more efficiently and with a little power.

I'm helping with the workouts because he really loves playing sports. Sports are a great opportunity to perform in front of people and deal with success and failure. I think the pressure of games is good for kids (for the ones that want to be there). There are a lot of lessons that can be learned but it's not the only way to learn them and it's not the best way. It's one way. If my kids have the option to enjoy sports, I'll be happy. It's up to them if they want to continue. I'll save this thread and do my best to come back here and post successes, failures and lessons learned in case anyone is in similar waters down the road.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed on here. It's really valuable to read other's accounts and see some people who carry similar thoughts. It's easy to feel ostracized when parenting.

 

[NDLS_USMC]

No problem at all...

Just DM'd you to talk youth baseball.

I have not a lot to add to the overall dialogue but wondering what you're doing local to Chicago.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Since I know we have some people steeped in baseball on here, I'd like to know your thoughts on this guy's hitting methods, practice, etc.

I know so little, it's useful to hear other people's input. It's hard to know who is teaching sound principles for the different ages & needs.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Since I know we have some people steeped in baseball on here, I'd like to know your thoughts on this guy's hitting methods, practice, etc.

I know so little, it's useful to hear other people's input. It's hard to know who is teaching sound principles for the different ages & needs.

I remember that guy. I think he’s out of Houston (or a suburb of Houston). He’s got a ton of content & it’s not that his philosophies & drills are bad but there’s a lot of it & folks can get paralysis by analysis. But if your son is getting something positive from it, great. Keep it simple so they don’t get too many things in their mind when they’re at the plate. That’s the last thing you want. Here’s one of my favorites from Dante Bichette. The younger folks will recognize his last name as Bo Bichette’s dad but Dante was a damn good hitter for a long damn time in the Majors.

 

[Irish2155]

I think at a younger age it’s probably most important to focus on the swing path and balance.

A lot of kids will naturally want to think/swing barrel to the ball because that’s what makes sense. It’s quite the opposite, however…knob to the ball, free up your wrist and let the whip get the barrel to the ball. Tony Gwynn has a lot of nice videos on this. A good drill is to put the bat between him and a fence…if he’s going shortest distance/knob to the ball, then he should be able to swing without hitting the fence.

I agree with your video’s first point re: balance for the reasons that he noted. Especially when first facing pitching against other kids where the inclination might be to attack incorrectly by getting out on the front foot.

Another simple item that probably goes overlooked is simply how to the grip the bat. You want your wrist as free as possible. To do that the handle needs to be rolled up into the fingers a little bit. I even gripped pinky on the knob to give the bat a little more whip. A lot of kids will grip that thing like Popeye in the palms of their hands and it slows down bat speed greatly.

 

[ozzman]

Since I know we have some people steeped in baseball on here, I'd like to know your thoughts on this guy's hitting methods, practice, etc.

I know so little, it's useful to hear other people's input. It's hard to know who is teaching sound principles for the different ages & needs.

I love Josh. Like was mentioned, he had A LOT of content. If you really need to know where to start, there are a few building the swing videos that are a great place to start.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

My brother-in-law (mentioned in previous posts) has spent his entire adult life studying/teaching body mechanics for rotational power sports. He primarily focuses on golf, as he has clients on the PGA Tour, but baseball/tennis, etc all fall into this category as well. He will regularly say that kids need basic fundamentals. That's it. Don't sweat over this technical stuff so much. Your body is built a certain way and aside from the fundamentals, your swing path is your swing path. The brain will make up for any deficits. A child's body continues to change and develop at different rates compared to their peers. As it matures, you can increase the technical aspects and build on fundamentals. He usually targets high schoolers at the earliest for this type of work (although early developed junior high kids can sometime fit the mold). Note: He'll make the same argument for throwing/pitching, especially as it pertains to overworking a young, developing arm.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Just stay away from Teacherman. He’s Aaron Judge’s swing coach but he’s ruined a lot of swings. Why? Because 99% of his students are not built like Aaron Judge.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

My brother-in-law (mentioned in previous posts) has spent his entire adult life studying/teaching body mechanics for rotational power sports. He primarily focuses on golf, as he has clients on the PGA Tour, but baseball/tennis, etc all fall into this category as well. He will regularly say that kids need basic fundamentals. That's it. Don't sweat over this technical stuff so much. Your body is built a certain way and aside from the fundamentals, your swing path is your swing path. The brain will make up for any deficits. A child's body continues to change and develop at different rates compared to their peers. As it matures, you can increase the technical aspects and build on fundamentals. He usually targets high schoolers at the earliest for this type of work (although early developed junior high kids can sometime fit the mold). Note: He'll make the same argument for throwing/pitching, especially as it pertains to overworking a young, developing arm.

I'm mostly looking for drills to help reinforce what they should be feeling in the hips, torso, arms/scap and ideally have a coach point out any big energy leaks. Then it's up to him to practice the feeling until they are natural and incorporated in his natural gait/movement patterns. Appreciate the input.

I think at a younger age it’s probably most important to focus on the swing path and balance.

A lot of kids will naturally want to think/swing barrel to the ball because that’s what makes sense. It’s quite the opposite, however…knob to the ball, free up your wrist and let the whip get the barrel to the ball. Tony Gwynn has a lot of nice videos on this. A good drill is to put the bat between him and a fence…if he’s going shortest distance/knob to the ball, then he should be able to swing without hitting the fence.

I agree with your video’s first point re: balance for the reasons that he noted. Especially when first facing pitching against other kids where the inclination might be to attack incorrectly by getting out on the front foot.

Another simple item that probably goes overlooked is simply how to the grip the bat. You want your wrist as free as possible. To do that the handle needs to be rolled up into the fingers a little bit. I even gripped pinky on the knob to give the bat a little more whip. A lot of kids will grip that thing like Popeye in the palms of their hands and it slows down bat speed greatly.

This is a great point and not something I've thought about. Perhaps getting some of that grip spray would be useful, if nothing else, to reinforce that you don't have to death-grip the bat? Perhaps he can loosen his grip without the spray.

Just stay away from Teacherman. He’s Aaron Judge’s swing coach but he’s ruined a lot of swings. Why? Because 99% of his students are not built like Aaron Judge.

I've read enough to have heard this one. If my son is even close to me genetically, he'll top out under 6 and sub-180. Any time we watch players, I make a big point to call out the guys with smaller frames. We love watching Mookie even though he's an athletic freak show who just moves so effortlessly with a huge stride and lots of movement. We also really like watching Steven Kwan, Yamamoto, Stroman, Ozzie Albies and Yoshida.

I really want to impress on his brain early that people can reach the pinnacle at any size, so there is no reason we can't be our best at the local ballfield.

My son is 10, starting 11u ball and FYI, he did make the team from his second tryout so we're officially out of the rec league and into more competitive baseball. Now I'm just hoping we're not at the bottom of the pack.

Thanks for the continued input everyone. Would love to hear people's favorite drills for young kids. Hitting, fielding, whatever you have to offer.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

I'm mostly looking for drills to help reinforce what they should be feeling in the hips, torso, arms/scap and ideally have a coach point out any big energy leaks. Then it's up to him to practice the feeling until they are natural and incorporated in his natural gait/movement patterns. Appreciate the input.


This is a great point and not something I've thought about. Perhaps getting some of that grip spray would be useful, if nothing else, to reinforce that you don't have to death-grip the bat? Perhaps he can loosen his grip without the spray.



I've read enough to have heard this one. If my son is even close to me genetically, he'll top out under 6 and sub-180. Any time we watch players, I make a big point to call out the guys with smaller frames. We love watching Mookie even though he's an athletic freak show who just moves so effortlessly with a huge stride and lots of movement. We also really like watching Steven Kwan, Yamamoto, Stroman, Ozzie Albies and Yoshida.

I really want to impress on his brain early that people can reach the pinnacle at any size, so there is no reason we can't be our best at the local ballfield.

My son is 10, starting 11u ball and FYI, he did make the team from his second tryout so we're officially out of the rec league and into more competitive baseball. Now I'm just hoping we're not at the bottom of the pack.

Thanks for the continued input everyone. Would love to hear people's favorite drills for young kids. Hitting, fielding, whatever you have to offer.

That’s true. You can have a small or average frame and still rake or throw gas. It’s all physics. That said the kids that win the gene lottery are going to get far more benefit of the doubt than the average sized kid. We’d have 6’5” kids on our HS team who were elevated to varsity as freshman or sophomores b/c of their stature & their velocity. Then we‘d have to sit there and watch them put the team in an early hole w/ walks & HBP. Infuriating. Colleges are the same. If you got crazy stature, they’ll at least give you a look as they think they are good enough to teach the rest.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Along with the questions in my prior post, what is everyone's thoughts on the Jaeger approach to building up arm strength? My son was called on to pitch and really developed an interest in it. I saw Jaeger suggests slowly increasing the distance by doing long toss and "stretching out the arm" for a few weeks before slowly working back in with intentionality, removing the arc and trying to put it on a rope.

My sons arm velocity is not upper tier and I'd like to play catch with him in a way that'll help strengthen and build it's ability to create power. I don't mind just going out and throwing back and forth but I like to incorporate things in a fun way so any suggestions on this would be very much appreciated. My son shouldn't be penalized for his dad's ineptitude!

 

[RDU Irish]

That’s true. You can have a small or average frame and still rake or throw gas. It’s all physics. That said the kids that win the gene lottery are going to get far more benefit of the doubt than the average sized kid. We’d have 6’5” kids on our HS team who were elevated to varsity as freshman or sophomores b/c of their stature & their velocity. Then we‘d have to sit there and watch them put the team in an early hole w/ walks & HBP. Infuriating. Colleges are the same. If you got crazy stature, they’ll at least give you a look as they think they are good enough to teach the rest.

All the coaches think they are going to mold the big kid to greatness. It's so frustrating at the younger ages b/c all the attention goes to the kids that physically mature before their peers. I enjoy watching all the kids get better and reach their potential, not just riding coattails of a few elite talents. At that 9-13 age range, physical maturity is all over the map and you don't necessarily know who is going to end up with the best physical tools but the coaches focus on who is there now without much care for who will be there tomorrow.

 

[RDU Irish]

We had an Olympic swimmer graduate a few years ago. One of our coaches had coached her as an 8 year old in the neighborhood league and encouraged the parents to pursue swim as she was just an obvious, elite talent in the pool even at that age. The local "top" swim team milked that girl for all they could. Are they the top developer of talent or the top harvester of talent?

Curt Schilling has some pieces out there on it - if you are elite, you will be discovered and never pay to play. I'm sure NIL has made it even worse.

 

[Irish#1]

Along with the questions in my prior post, what is everyone's thoughts on the Jaeger approach to building up arm strength? My son was called on to pitch and really developed an interest in it. I saw Jaeger suggests slowly increasing the distance by doing long toss and "stretching out the arm" for a few weeks before slowly working back in with intentionality, removing the arc and trying to put it on a rope.

My sons arm velocity is not upper tier and I'd like to play catch with him in a way that'll help strengthen and build it's ability to create power. I don't mind just going out and throwing back and forth but I like to incorporate things in a fun way so any suggestions on this would be very much appreciated. My son shouldn't be penalized for his dad's ineptitude!

That's what I did with my boys. Start at a reasonable distance and increase over time. The biggest benefit IMO is that they don't get frustrated because they struggle to keep in near the strike zone.

All the coaches think they are going to mold the big kid to greatness. It's so frustrating at the younger ages b/c all the attention goes to the kids that physically mature before their peers. I enjoy watching all the kids get better and reach their potential, not just riding coattails of a few elite talents. At that 9-13 age range, physical maturity is all over the map and you don't necessarily know who is going to end up with the best physical tools but the coaches focus on who is there now without much care for who will be there tomorrow.

From my experience those not quite developed when they are younger catch up fairly quickly to those that are more advanced. The other thing is watching so many of these talented kids quit around the time they get to HS. Some burn out, some find girls, some find drugs and some just lose interest.

 

[Irish2155]

Along with the questions in my prior post, what is everyone's thoughts on the Jaeger approach to building up arm strength? My son was called on to pitch and really developed an interest in it. I saw Jaeger suggests slowly increasing the distance by doing long toss and "stretching out the arm" for a few weeks before slowly working back in with intentionality, removing the arc and trying to put it on a rope.

My sons arm velocity is not upper tier and I'd like to play catch with him in a way that'll help strengthen and build it's ability to create power. I don't mind just going out and throwing back and forth but I like to incorporate things in a fun way so any suggestions on this would be very much appreciated. My son shouldn't be penalized for his dad's ineptitude!

Best way to build arm strength is to throw as far as you can, as often as you can.

We always had a 2 gallon bucket of baseballs around and I lived across the street from the little league. It was easy to just walk across the street on the Senior diamond…throw the bucket of balls as far as I could, walk down, then throw them back…rinse and repeat until I had thrown enough.

In addition to the T station mentioned earlier, dad also hung a tire from a tree and staked it to the ground in front of the fence in my backyard. Then marked off the mound distance. I pitch to that tire all the time…granted, he has to replace that portion of the fence more than a few times.

My old man was always my baseball coach but didn’t live with me. These were good ways for me to get my work in without needing someone else to throw with.

 

[RDU Irish]

That's what I did with my boys. Start at a reasonable distance and increase over time. The biggest benefit IMO is that they don't get frustrated because they struggle to keep in near the strike zone.


From my experience those not quite developed when they are younger catch up fairly quickly to those that are more advanced. The other thing is watching so many of these talented kids quit around the time they get to HS. Some burn out, some find girls, some find drugs and some just lose interest.

It takes money to do travel at a high level. I have seen a lot of clients have their kids turn down D1 offers or drop after one season b/c of burn out. They get to feel obligated to play b/c it defines so much of their lives and often parents are pressuring due to the "investment" they have made. Also kids dropping in HS so they can have a "normal" life. I coached a kid in my older son's rec baseball team that dropped swim to play rec baseball as a senior in HS. Great kid, fun to coach - terrible as you would expect never having played baseball but athletic and became serviceable on the field over the course of the season. Another kid on the team was #1 drafted but played on so many travel teams, dad was a demanding douche soliciting half the team to play travel ball and pretty dishonest about his pitch counts. One of the better players in the league but not the D1 ringer his dad seemed to want him to be. Sub 6' pitchers have basic physics working against their upside. Kid had a good attitude and I felt bad for all the pressure his dad put on him.

So often it is presented as all or nothing as you need to be "committed" to the sport. WTF - let kids be kids and keep it fun.

 

[NDLS_USMC]

My son’s 10U season ended last night. Second place finish in state little league playoffs.

Ton of fun and lifetime memories.

Wishing similar joy for all of you and your kids!

 

[rikkitikki08]

True story, my son is 4 and I coached his soccer team this year and he took to it pretty well and was pretty darn good for his first time playing. I had a coach from a u5 team approach me and ask if I wanted to sign him up for his team for fall soccer and then they have an indoor league in the winter. I told the guy no thanks and we will pick it back up in the spring because my boy wants to play basketball or do karate this winter. The guy looked pissed I told him no, I want my boy to do whatever he wants sports wise and I’ll never put pressure on him to focus on one sport just because he’s good at it. It’s ridiculous to me that coaches are recruiting kids at 4 or 5 years old to focus on one single sport.

It’s not just baseball this shits happening in, all sports are being infected with this mindset

 

[bkess8]

True story, my son is 4 and I coached his soccer team this year and he took to it pretty well and was pretty darn good for his first time playing. I had a coach from a u5 team approach me and ask if I wanted to sign him up for his team for fall soccer and then they have an indoor league in the winter. I told the guy no thanks and we will pick it back up in the spring because my boy wants to play basketball or do karate this winter. The guy looked pissed I told him no, I want my boy to do whatever he wants sports wise and I’ll never put pressure on him to focus on one sport just because he’s good at it. It’s ridiculous to me that coaches are recruiting kids at 4 or 5 years old to focus on one single sport.

It’s not just baseball this shits happening in, all sports are being infected with this mindset

It happens too often in travel softball and also club volleyball. IMO it is parents that didn't finish the job by going out a winner that run most of the organizations or they found the loop hole to make some money off of hardworking parents. My experience has been a lot of under trained / under experienced coaching and a lot of under trained / over experienced directors that win off of talent and can't coach / develop skills and the mental side of the game that aren't worth a shit.

 

[rikkitikki08]

It happens too often in travel softball and also club volleyball. IMO it is parents that didn't finish the job by going out a winner that run most of the organizations or they found the loop hole to make some money off of hardworking parents. My experience has been a lot of under trained / under experienced coaching and a lot of under trained / over experienced directors that win off of talent and can't coach / develop skills and the mental side of the game that aren't worth a shit.

Yep, whole heartedly agree. Truthfully I wanted to tell the guy to fuck off and let a kid be a kid but I didn’t want to raise too much stink. He also knew I was coaching my boy so it felt a little Insulting all around

 

[IRISHDODGER]

All the coaches think they are going to mold the big kid to greatness. It's so frustrating at the younger ages b/c all the attention goes to the kids that physically mature before their peers. I enjoy watching all the kids get better and reach their potential, not just riding coattails of a few elite talents. At that 9-13 age range, physical maturity is all over the map and you don't necessarily know who is going to end up with the best physical tools but the coaches focus on who is there now without much care for who will be there tomorrow.

My son’s HS team had a 6’5” kid w/ an early Arkansas offer. He played on some elite travel teams prior to HS but was basically a PO & wanted as much. Idiot HS coach immediateday started throwing him as a sophomore & playing him in RF b/c he had that offer so he felt he had to be great. He struck out almost every AB. On the mound, the poor kid was a head case. He did great in the summer but again…his role was a PO. DVH started ghosting him during his JR season, so he saw the writing on the wall & flipped his commitment to Meatchicken. Enrolled there but don’t think he ever dressed before transferring back home to a small D3 school.

Had another one w/ similar measurables a year ahead of my son. He had moved in from another part of the state so HS coach didn’t know him & ended up cutting him. Then he got an offer to pitch at Purdue & the coach begged him to come back out. Tool. Great kid but also heard nothing but negative feedback from HC so he typically got lit up on the mound. Until summer, when he was away from HS Coach and looked like a totally different pitcher. Don’t think he lasted at Purdue long & transferred to a smaller school as well.