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oldschooldad
203 Posts |
 Posted - 01/26/2011 : 21:55:09
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| how cold is 2 cold for baseball? low 40s ok? how about mid/upper 30's? wondering everyone's thoughts. February tournaments are often pretty cold but what about practicing? Does rain or wet fields matter when its so cold? Is cold temps during the day okay but cold at night not? Have teams been able to practice outside so far? |
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Alter-Ego
802 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2011 : 22:41:18
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Just my opinion, but below 40 is just too cold outside to practice. Too much risk of injury. We fields are also too risky.
Feb tournaments are always tough. We used to register for 3 or 4 in Feb and hope 1 or 2 turned out good. At least 2 would get cancelled due to the weather. |
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coach0512
123 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2011 : 23:13:18
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After 17 years of coaching youth sports I have found most younger kids, up to age 11 or 12, just don't focus and care about practice or even a game if it gets much below 40 degrees. For some reason below that temp they begin to focus more on how cold they are and the effects of the cold on playing than they do about learning.
They will still practice/play but I think the return on your efforts as a coach are not worth it at these ages. |
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Gwinnett
791 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2011 : 06:29:43
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We've played as cold as 36-38 but, all players had hand warmers and there was a big propane heater in the dugout. If everyone is prepared for colder weather I guess it's not a problem. I think that day the most complaints came from the parents. I asked my son how it felt pitching and he said it just hurt his fingers more from the seam. It looked like he did like he always does when he pitches, great. You can buy those convection propane heaters for $99 at Northern Tool and they produce about 88000 BTU and don't need electricity. The kids acted like it was some big adventure and loved it. I'm sure they would not have liked it if they didn't stay warm though. With the heater in the dugout and the hand warmers everyone was prepared except the parents....lol
Practice is a different story. Our team thankfully has a indoor facility to practice if there's rain, wet conditions or to cold. We generally won't have outside field practice unless it gets above 40. |
Edited by - Gwinnett on 01/27/2011 09:06:02 |
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2011 : 06:50:19
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It can be in the 40's and some days feel great and others are miserable due to wind or high humidity. Brrrrr...
Field space is so limited around here. When they were little, you got assigned a night or two within a league and park to practice an hour for about 2 weeks before the season started so you showed up regardless.
Now, they worry about elbows and shoulders, bats breaking etc. We move inside below 40 and that starts to get expensive. Field conditions have been pathetic since the snow and infields STILL have not dried out thanks to the rain after the snow...
Maybe THIS weekend we'll finally get back out there!! |
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wareagle
324 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2011 : 08:19:26
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40 degrees is ok. Really depends more on the wind than temperature. At 40 degrees with little wind the kids activity will keep them warm. If it is Sunny it helps even more. Wet seems to be the bigger problem, since crews are not keeping up the fields this time of year and it really doesnt get warm, the fields stay wet. 40 degrees is always tough on the parents because we are not running around.
Cold days are great times to work on baserunning, running down fly balls , ect. keep them moving and they will have a good time. If it is 40 outside and we dont have practice, mine will usually be in the driveway playing basketball, or football with friends. |
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too cold for baseball?
