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bankerheel
34 Posts |
 Posted - 04/01/2011 : 11:58:09
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Just curious to see what motivates each one of us and more importantly our boys to spend the time and the $$$s for travel ball.
Found interesting statistics below taken from the NCAA.
Probability Of Playing
College and Professional Baseball
These make good food for thought when you have a student-athlete that is more interested in sports than in the classroom.
Baseball
Less than three in 50, or about 5.6 percent, of high school senior boys interscholastic baseball players will go on to play men's baseball at a NCAA member institution.
Less than eleven in 100, or about 10.5 percent, of NCAA senior male baseball players will get drafted by a Major League Baseball (MLB) team.
Approximately one in 200, or approximately 0.5 percent of high school senior boys playing interscholastic baseball will eventually be drafted by an MLB team.
Approximately one in 500,000, or approximately 0.0002 percent of high school boys baseball players will eventually make a major league roster. |
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BravesFan
533 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2011 : 12:32:20
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| Love for the game is #1 and should always be, it's too early to start projecting 10 & 11 yr olds past this season. As long as junior enjoys the game then we will play, if he can have the opportunity to play HS ball then that's what I think most would like to aspire too. |
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Nole27
27 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2011 : 13:10:54
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Gonna be interesting to see some of the replies to this. Whether it is admitted or not, I think the motivation for a number of folks, at least when you read posts,is their deep belief that theirs is in the .002%
Got to keep grades up and broaden horizons, so that you have options if you are in the .998%of the population that won't get to play MLB. Hunting guide and doctor are mine's choices outside of sports. He is good in Science, and that is about the only subject that even remotely links those two professions together. He's gonna take dad out west for an elk hunt. |
Edited by - Nole27 on 04/01/2011 13:27:00 |
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DecaturDad
619 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2011 : 14:07:30
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Since my son was 9, we have always had people tell us he had what it takes. We have been approached over the past few years by a number of higher level teams looking to recruit him away. Do I really think he is in that .0002%? I doubt it. I do know he is a good 11u player. I also know that what keeps him good is having fun. I almost made the mistake of chasing that dream and putting him on a new team "for his own good". The reality is my son enjoys playing with his friends. The core group of boys have been together since T-ball. This is what makes him happy, and this is where he wants to be.
If he really does have what it takes, we have plenty of time to figure that out. But in case he falls in th 99.9998%, we let him have fun, play other sports and focus on school. |
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sportsman
37 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2011 : 14:21:58
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I help coach one of the teams and I'm really suprised at all of the new kids parents attitudes that keep coming to east cobb. Almost every parent thinks there kid is going to play in the big leagues and some of them openly talk about it. Everyone is a 1st round draft choice - just ask the mom or dad. It's amazing how crazy some of the parents are. Most of these kids will be average high school baseball players at best and many will quit the game due to over bearing parents or other sporting interest. Nothing these kids do before puberty matters when it comes to how they project. Some kids will never grow more than 2 or 3 more inches so most of their success in the future is about genes and how big they will become.
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gafan
66 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2011 : 15:57:28
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| Decatur Dad.... great post. I have a small kid with a ton of heart and (we think) lots of talent... if he continues to have fun, I would be thrilled if he makes the high school team if only for the experience of high school athletics...but he loves other sports as well and I would never think of making him give those up to concentrate on one unless that is what he wants to do. |
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RACGOFAR
208 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2011 : 16:12:03
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My son loves to compete. He loves to play, loves to practice and loves the game. Every good player dreams of playing at the next level. Yes, most kids will never play professional ball. So what! The focus shoudn't be on the destination, it should be on the journey and all the things that you exerience trying to get to the destination. Traveling down one road often leads them to another path of opportunity.
Coaching is fun. Some of the best baseball I've ever seen, at any level, has been in 6u, 8u, and 10u. Its fun to watch kids play well and make plays. Its fun to see and help them grow as players and as persons. Its fun to hang out with them and feel young. And yes, its fun to vicariously live through their joys and sorrows on the diamond.
We somehow lose that youthful joy on our path to adulthood. As we get older and we get furhter from our youth and closer to the crushing responsibility of adulthood, that little flame of youthful joy starts to flicker. I want to keep my flame hot for as long as possible, so I am praying for grandsons one day! |
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ecbpappi
244 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2011 : 16:18:34
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| Not me, I'm riding my meal ticket all the way to the majors baby. Got my 7 year plan all laid out, you watch! |
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Jacked-up
59 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2011 : 16:25:31
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COMPETITION, QUEST TO BE THE BEST, PLAYING WITH BETTER TALENT TO MAKE YOURSELF BETTER, BETTER INSTRUCTION.
Number one reason, grandma quit coming to rec ball games because it was a joke. |
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11UFAN
149 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2011 : 19:58:01
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What motivates me and (for now) my kid is that he wants to make his high school team so I would like to slightly change the question(s) to:
What is the percentage of kids that are playing on an 11U-12U travel ball team that make their high school team if they try out?
Is there a diffence in this percentage if they played on a major team, AAA, AA, A?
Or you could ask:
What percentage of kids currently on a high school team played travel ball when they were 11 or 12?
My guess is there will be a high correlation between playing travel ball and making the high school team and that kids that play Major and high AAA are more likely to 1) Want to tryout for high school & 2) Actually make the team.
I have no stats to back this up but am interested to hear everyone's thoughts. |
Edited by - 11UFAN on 04/01/2011 21:10:55 |
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field6
72 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2011 : 20:04:08
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| Someone will be that one. Might as well be my kid or my other kid or maybe my other kid. I just realized that only one of the three has a slim chance. Okay time to take up bass masters. We all would like to see or have that next Brian McCann but really its all about having a dream. Keep dreaming and keep digging. Baseball will be a great memory for my kids. They love the game and I love them. I say keep dreaming and never give up. Like I said, somebody's kid will make it. Maybe yours maybe mine. If not, oh well there is always 9-5. Just want my kids to be healthy and live long lives. |
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bmoser
1633 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2011 : 20:16:46
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For my family, its about teaching our son life skills such as:
working as a team
overcoming adversity
being a gracious winner
being a respectful loser
building relationships
working towards goals
building a solid work ethic
following instruction
dealing with failure
lifting up those around him
striving to become the best
adapting to regimen
taking chances
being careful
knowing when to take chances and when to be careful
performing under pressure
paying careful attention
spending time with Dad, Mom, family, and friends
learning the consequences of his actions
controlling his emotions
thinking fast on his feet
anticipating the moves of others
overcoming fear
presence of mind
drawing upon past experiences
strategic thinking
confidence building
problem solving
memorization
value of the dollar
taking care of his possessions
seeking help when needed
pride in achievment
importance of having the right tools
understanding performance metrics
appreciation
I'm sure I'm missing a lot, and most of these lessons can be learned in Rec ball, but its amplified in travel. Baseball has little to do with our motivation... its just a tool to use to ingrain these life skills into our sons soul.
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bankerheel
34 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2011 : 22:20:41
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| Great posts everyone, and I agree with most. Glad to see people still have some perspective on things. My 2 boys play travel ball to face better competition and play more games than rec ball would allow. I was one of the fortunate 0.5% to get drafted. The last thing I was worried about was playing in the majors. It was just a ticket to get a great education partially paid for. |
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Spartan4
913 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2011 : 01:47:14
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| There is another big issue most parents who haven't been around college baseball fail to realize, scholarships are not given out like in college football!! Having said that there are many smaller colleges or JUCO teams that can also take boys and they are good options!! I was lucky enough to attend a HS that in my four years there at least 14 boys that I can count of the top of my head in colleges and 5 made it too the minor leagues with two still there today at ages 26 and 27!! One of them wasn't drafted and he actually plays more than the one who was drafted in the 6th round. Granted it wasn't the dream that most of these boys were wishing for at 11-12 years old but playing baseball BEATS WORKING 9to5 EVERYTIME!! Our main purpose of playing travel ball is trying to play the best available competition every weekend and playing to win. Totally have to agree with 11UFan that the pitching and quality of competition our boys play now will help to make them better baseball players in the future. |
Edited by - Spartan4 on 04/02/2011 09:37:46 |
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SSBuckeye
575 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2011 : 10:11:20
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bmoser, thanks for writing my response for me! 100% agree with this list.
quote:
For my family, its about teaching our son life skills such as:
working as a team
overcoming adversity
being a gracious winner
being a respectful loser
building relationships
working towards goals
building a solid work ethic
following instruction
dealing with failure
lifting up those around him
striving to become the best
adapting to regimen
taking chances
being careful
knowing when to take chances and when to be careful
performing under pressure
paying careful attention
spending time with Dad, Mom, family, and friends
learning the consequences of his actions
controlling his emotions
thinking fast on his feet
anticipating the moves of others
overcoming fear
presence of mind
drawing upon past experiences
strategic thinking
confidence building
problem solving
memorization
value of the dollar
taking care of his possessions
seeking help when needed
pride in achievment
importance of having the right tools
understanding performance metrics
appreciation
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bmoser
1633 Posts |
Posted - 04/04/2011 : 19:30:11
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SSBuckeye:
No problem. I often connect these dots for my son in the car on the way home from games. At 11, they still need this stuff explained. And he thinks he was just playing baseball! |
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peashooter
297 Posts |
Posted - 04/12/2011 : 23:45:50
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Go look at the monuments at East Cobb. Of all the kids on the world series teams, yes best of the best. Very few (maybe 5) played college ball or even pro ball. Grunewald and Pisciotta are the only ones I can think of.
The number of guys I played pro baseball with that just started in Junior College was crazy. To think I had put in 18 years of pain and these guys just started.
quote:
Originally posted by 11UFAN
What motivates me and (for now) my kid is that he wants to make his high school team so I would like to slightly change the question(s) to:
What is the percentage of kids that are playing on an 11U-12U travel ball team that make their high school team if they try out?
Is there a diffence in this percentage if they played on a major team, AAA, AA, A?
Or you could ask:
What percentage of kids currently on a high school team played travel ball when they were 11 or 12?
My guess is there will be a high correlation between playing travel ball and making the high school team and that kids that play Major and high AAA are more likely to 1) Want to tryout for high school & 2) Actually make the team.
I have no stats to back this up but am interested to hear everyone's thoughts.
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prestont
197 Posts |
Posted - 04/13/2011 : 08:56:59
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| Peashooter - Another name on the monuments @ ECB is my sons coach. He went on to Ga Tech, and the ATL Braves organization. Kinda kewl to spot his name on the monuments when walking into the park. |
Edited by - prestont on 04/13/2011 09:11:45 |
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bankerheel
34 Posts |
Posted - 04/13/2011 : 10:33:46
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| I played college ball with Keith Grunewald. He's a sports agent in Atlanta now, great guy. Maybe he can represent your son one day :) |
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peashooter
297 Posts |
Posted - 04/13/2011 : 11:04:50
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Keith took me on my offical visit to UNC...Franklin street is evil!
quote:
Originally posted by bankerheel
I played college ball with Keith Grunewald. He's a sports agent in Atlanta now, great guy. Maybe he can represent your son one day :)
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peashooter
297 Posts |
Posted - 04/13/2011 : 11:17:09
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Make sure you guys don't lose sight of what really matters at this age. It has 100% nothing to do with wins and losses. Is your child's coach actually coaching him/her? When I say coaching here are my thoughts:
1. Rec coach (daddy ball with zero game knowledge and could actually teach bad habbits)
2. Travel coach basic (Their child is a good player and they coach drills learned... maybe even played pro or college ball). Just because they may have played in college or pro, do they really know the game, fundamentals, the little lessons to teach day to day?
3. Serious coach (Cares more about what your child will be doing in 6 years than right now) Does your child throw the ball the correct way (can't change this later on). What does your child do in pressure situations? Does the coach encourage them to take risks? Can your coach tell what is really going on with a swing or a throw other than the basic... Bend your back, keep your head still (meaningless to an 11Yr old). Does the coach have fun with the kids? Does your coach have different plans for each player and what they are working on? Does the coach point out perfect life lessons during the games (bad umpire calls, errors made behind a pitcher, loud parents, how not to act, hustle, bad luck, tentativeness in pressure situations, etc)
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mstimpson
57 Posts |
Posted - 04/13/2011 : 12:06:51
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quote:
Originally posted by peashooter
Make sure you guys don't lose sight of what really matters at this age. It has 100% nothing to do with wins and losses. Is your child's coach actually coaching him/her? When I say coaching here are my thoughts:
1. Rec coach (daddy ball with zero game knowledge and could actually teach bad habbits)
2. Travel coach basic (Their child is a good player and they coach drills learned... maybe even played pro or college ball). Just because they may have played in college or pro, do they really know the game, fundamentals, the little lessons to teach day to day?
3. Serious coach (Cares more about what your child will be doing in 6 years than right now) Does your child throw the ball the correct way (can't change this later on). What does your child do in pressure situations? Does the coach encourage them to take risks? Can your coach tell what is really going on with a swing or a throw other than the basic... Bend your back, keep your head still (meaningless to an 11Yr old). Does the coach have fun with the kids? Does your coach have different plans for each player and what they are working on? Does the coach point out perfect life lessons during the games (bad umpire calls, errors made behind a pitcher, loud parents, how not to act, hustle, bad luck, tentativeness in pressure situations, etc)
Peashooter, your criteria is pretty spot on! However,(may be I am reading the post wrong), but there are several examples of coaches that are in the "Serious Coach" category whom got their starts as "Rec Coaches". Also, several of these young players formed their love of the game by having successful "Rec coaches" that made it fun and informative for them at younger ages.
Morris Stimpson |
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