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bmoser
1633 Posts |
 Posted - 01/31/2011 : 20:22:00
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As a 12U Dad, I'd love to hear your impressions of seeing your boys play on the larger fields for the first time.
Is it a larger step than the previous jumps? I recall going from T-Ball's 120' fence to the 150' "Pee Wee" fence it seemed huge, but now that we're on 200-250's, those 150's look tiny. Even the 200-225's we played in 11U are looking too small for 12U.
Is the pitching mound distance a bigger deal than the bases? Do home runs look possible? Does the game seem to slow down? |
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knucklecurve
171 Posts |
Posted - 01/31/2011 : 23:01:41
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| The biggest thing I see is base running. It is a lot harder to steal bases if you are not very fast! This is where the heavy kid with a big bat may struggle some. The pitching did not seem to be as big of a deal as I thought. As a matter of fact my son looks the best he has ever looked. Could be because he is growing so fast as most 13 year old boys do and is getting stronger. The game just seems more serious at this age, but the larger fields don't really seem like such a big deal. |
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Goin Deep
140 Posts |
Posted - 02/01/2011 : 08:15:18
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Agree with knucklecurve on the base running. A premium is now placed on a catcher with a good pop time and a strong arm...ALOT fewer stolen bases. Also, those homeruns last year at 12 are pop outs at 13. As a coach, they are happier with the slap hitters, and line drives in the gap that are doubles for sure, and triples for a fast kid.
I thought pitching distance would be a big deal. Not so. My son stepped on a 54' mound and never knew the difference. His velocity actually increased, though much of that was just growing up, getting naturally stronger. |
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 02/01/2011 : 08:20:50
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From the mom's perspective: if your son has learned to hit hard line drives in the gaps, he'll do fine. Trying to punch it through and just run isn't all that successful and neither is taking the home run cut unless he gets really hold of one and sends it roaring over the outfielders head.
Where the fence USED to stop the one that got away, it now rolls further and turns into a triple or inside the park homer. Over the fence homers??? Well, I didn't see any in the fall, but dang these kids are growing about an inch a month it seems like and I don't think it's a question of IF, but WHO will be first on our team. The thing about some tournament parks is if the field is normally an adult softball field, you gotta send one 350 to get it out. We had several in the fall that nearly hit the fence so on a 300-310 field it would have been out.
Pitching: I didn't find it to change all that much from 50 to 54 for the bigger boys. I think some leagues may go from 46 to 54 from 12 to 13 so that's a little different. It (the 54' distance) gives the ball more time to break - I think - what do I know right?
Base running - make them THROW you out! I don't think good teams will take any player who has trouble running bases at this age. Yes, some are faster than others. However, being a smart base runner and good base coaching helps the avg. speed player tremendously. I've seen a couple very fast guys do some boneheaded things and I've seen the not so fast guy get a great jump and steal a lot of bases.
It's hardest to find a really good catcher at this age - they just haven't put enough together to regularly gun the guy down from the longer distance - yet...
Also - moser - we talk all the time about how big the 'major' field looked when he was in peewee. It was unfathomable that he would EVER be THAT big enough to play on that field. lol. But "sigh" - they do get big enough and I think it just gets more exciting every year! |
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bmoser
1633 Posts |
Posted - 02/01/2011 : 10:00:55
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| Interesting that the 4 feet increase in mound distance is mostly a non-factor. 325' is a real poke. It must be a lot more fun to play outfield with all that ground to cover, and being able to show off your speed and arm a lot more. Thanks for replying, hope to see some more. I'm always looking ahead. |
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G-Man
326 Posts |
Posted - 02/01/2011 : 10:30:09
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The 13u field which is 54/80 is a big jump from the 50/70. However as I have stated before I think 54/80 is a waste of time playing on. If you play that 13u season on the 54/80 sure its going to seem like a big jump for most players. But the following year when you have to move to the 60/90 its going to seem like a HUGE jump from the 54/80.
The added 6 feet for the pitchers is a game changer for most. That extra 10 feet between the bases is also huge for base runners and infielders having to get to those bases and the extra ground they need to cover. The extra 10 feet also makes it even more important as a catcher to have even a better arm and faster pop times than needed for a 54/80 field |
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 02/01/2011 : 13:45:44
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Moser - outfielders ARE important!!! I wish more of their dads would understand that it's a compliment that their kid was asked to play center or right because they are FAST and have CANNONS attached to their shoulders!!!
I get so sick of everybody thinking their son should be a SS, but I digress.
GMAN - I too am thinking that for my son and about 6 other guys on our team that the 13U transition is kinda dumb. But here's the thing: we can always go play in 14U tournaments and probably will 50% of the time. 4 of our guys are also playing jr high ball for their school and they use 60/90 there. A couple others are pitching regularly from 60 during lessons.
This mom can't decide if the new bat regulations NEXT year coupled with moving permanently to 14U 60/90 is a whole bunch of bad news for us all at once. I see kids who hit right or right center getting thrown out at first if they don't bust it down the line.
Will those guys in the 7th grade this year who have are still playing 12U (bc they can) with a nice composite bat, and who suddenly find themselves having to play with their grade, and a BBCOR bat, on a ginourmous field and having to run an extra TWENTY feet to get somewhere safely...well I'm just glad we don't fall in that category...
That was the longest sentence ever - sorry! |
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SouthSide24
44 Posts |
Posted - 02/01/2011 : 17:01:07
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| We jumped right into 60/90 and you better get or have a great catcher at this distance..Also the backstops are really far away than 50/70 field, lol..Batters have hard time with speed due to distance, but its coming around..I really enjoy it better than 50/70 and I didn't think I would say that 6 months ago. |
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momshell
103 Posts |
Posted - 02/01/2011 : 21:22:59
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| Agree with everything said here. My boys have had no trouble adjusting, but some of our smaller players have had some trouble throwing from the outfield corners so I think there will be a few changes made as the season goes on. Both boys also had no trouble hitting the ball and getting on base, but my husband worked with them a lot on placing their hits during the 12U season because we knew that would be a big plus moving forward. I think this will be necessary next year with the bat changes and even larger field. They'll have to hit the gaps. One of mine is a homerun hitter and managed to get one in the fall, but even he said he didn't swing for the fence as much. |
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bmoser
1633 Posts |
Posted - 02/02/2011 : 08:16:12
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| Do the boys enjoy the larger fields more? |
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G-Man
326 Posts |
Posted - 02/02/2011 : 13:02:07
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As I have said before mine is 11 years old and plays 14u. I know he has said playing on the big field seems to be more fun and more like real baseball ( His words ). He has even commented that he can steal just about every base on the 50/70 field but stealing on the 60/90 is a lot more difficult with a good catcher. He has also realized that on the bigger field its about defense where in the younger age groups a dominate flame thrower can carry a team. However this doesnt happen on a high school size field.
quote:
Originally posted by bmoser
Do the boys enjoy the larger fields more?
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itsaboutbb
164 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2011 : 19:22:45
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quote:
Originally posted by bmoser
Do the boys enjoy the larger fields more?
I don't think they care. I think they may even like it better. At 12 and at Cooperstown a line drive in the gap was off the wall and a single. Now that same hit is a double. My son at Cooperstown could only hit it about 210 now he is hitting the ball 270 to 300. |
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bbmom2
119 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2011 : 19:30:07
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| My son is playing 13 and 14 as a catcher - he loves the bigger field. He said the extra pitching distance is allowing him to judge the pitched balls more- more blocking time if needed. He has no trouble with the throws at either distance - just has to rein in it a little on the 13 field. Batting he is top 3 on both teams so neither has been a problem. A little more adjustment to the -5 bat so now his -8 feels like a toothpick. The bonus is that he is not having trouble running the 90 so now 80 is much faster! |
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