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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
 Posted - 06/13/2014 : 14:44:29
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My husband and I are the first to admit....we don't know anything about youth baseball. Sure, we've watched some MLB games on TV and have watched our son play for 6 years (he's 11 now) but we don't know anything and I'm kind of tired of BIG changes happening when I had no idea they were even coming! Okay I DID get the concept that the coach wasn't going to be able to pitch to my kid forever! But I'm talking about other things.
So, here I am on the Baseball Mom's forum asking for some help from those of you who have been there and done that. To clarify what I am talking about I'll give you some examples....when do the bases get father apart? When do the games get longer? When do we get more than 6 innings, when do they move to metal cleats (do sliding rules change then?), when do the bat rules change (is there more than one time?), when do you transition from travel ball to playing for your school...or do some people choose NOT to do that?
What milestones do you recall in youth baseball where the game your kid had been playing just changed? |
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 06/19/2014 : 10:33:24
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Wow. Now you are asking us to think and that's dangerous!
In no particular order...and some of this may have even changed in the last three years, but here goes. At 13u, we started wearing metal cleats and the bases/mound went from 50/70 (11u and 12U) to 54/80 with the outfield fence being big league dimensions. That was a big leap.
Prior to that, I can't even remember the base/pitching distances (9u and 10u), but it seems they are the same as what the LLWS uses. 45/60 maybe?
I remember kids really getting busted on that extra 10 feet at 13u when stealing bases. They'd actually slide short and mall cop their way into second base. It was kinda funny actually. Hitting the ball into outfield gaps becomes important at 13u as the fence is basically unreachable unless you have a huge kid swinging a bouncy bat.
Whatever you do, please don't try to make the leap from 13u straight into HS tryouts as either a pitcher or a hitter or anything. Trying to pick up a BBCOR bat and hit a ball out of the bigger infield when those infielders now have a smidge of extra time to throw you out as you are running that extra 10 feet is a big deal.
Then, when he is 15, get him on the OLDEST team possible where he gets playing time. It's less about winning and more about who he faces and how quickly he is successful against 17/18 year olds. Seriously. Remember that 15u teams play up all the time and you don't want your 16u player playing a bunch of 15u teams all summer. Been there done that.
At 14, you jump to 60/90 and 7 innings (or was that 13u??) and depending on your coach or league whatever, can use only a BBCOR bat. Some tournaments still allow non BBCOR (I think) which is a huge debate. Many have just switched to wood bat tourneys altogether in the summer months anyway. |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2014 : 14:55:22
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| Glad to finally get an answer, THANK YOU! |
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bfriendly
376 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2015 : 12:42:14
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quote:
Originally posted by CaCO3Girl
Glad to finally get an answer, THANK YOU!
Sorry B!
Having a 11 yo turning 12, I too was Looking for an answer not having one myself.......my kid(like yours I'm sure) is growing like a weed with lots of rain!! |
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What are the milestones/big changes? When?
