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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
 Posted - 08/05/2013 : 11:50:40
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Hi Mom's,
Well my son is on a travel ball team, this is his third year, and I feel like I am missing something…a LOT of something! Does anyone have an instruction manual on how to navigate your child through baseball successfully?
Some people say just playing Travel Ball gives your son a leg up to get into High School Ball….others say that is only true if you are on a “Major Team”, HS’s won’t look at anything but “Major” kids.
Some people have said that the high school feeder program is the best way to get onto the high school baseball team…other people have said who cares about HS Baseball, the college scouts only look at travel ball teams anyway!
What is the down side of being on an AAA or even an AA team? Am I banishing my son to never be able to play at the high school level if I leave him there, knowing he is cappable of more, but worried about the high stress environment?
How many kids burn out quick on baseball because they were put on a “Major” team when they were 11 and 12?
If they don’t get on a “Major” team at age 11 or 12 should they just not bother playing competitive baseball anymore?
I feel like the more I hear and read about competitive baseball the further I feel behind, and that no matter what I do I will be hurting my kids chances at ....SOMETHING!
Thoughts?
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4bagger
131 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2013 : 14:50:42
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Baseball dad here, not a mom...................
Does your kid enjoy playing baseball?
Is he playing with kids he would call friends?
Will he grow up with a love for the game and pass it on to his children?
Then the rest is just brain gunk and needless worrying. Enjoy watching your son play and make sure he loves playing and you will be AHEAD of most others.
Now, for all that other garbage - Does your son WANT to play on his HS team or do YOU want him to play on his HS team? The coach WILL ask you what his playing background is but if you tell him at age 11 he played for XYZ team, he hasn't a clue as to whether that team was AA or Major at that time.
He wants to hear he has played travel ball, enjoyed playing baseball and wants to continue playing ball.
Now, where Major vs AA/AAA comes into play is how your son reacts to being coached, his attitude as a player and his ability to brush off failure and try again. Major level players typically do better in those areas, not in ALL cases, typically.
Another thought - Ever seen a Major team with a kid on there that baffled the senses? How the heck did he make that team? I see it lots. You'll see it every Major team you play. Well that kid is riding the coat tails of the truly better players and gets the rep of being a Major player when he isn't. How about the Major level kid who plays on a AAA team because he loves the coaches and teammates? He gets labeled a AAA player when he is probably better than 75% of the kids on Major teams.
HS coaches know all this. Thats why they look for coachability, attitude. mechanics, hustle, athleticism, etc. Can you get those skills at AAA? You bet.
As far as Scouts are concerned - If your kid is good enough for college ball they will find him. Either at HS or on a travel team, they will find him. The HS coaches and the travel coaches at an academy will have all the contacts you need.
Burnout - Play your kid at the highest level of ball he is capable of against the best competition but where he loves the game. Don't go with an elite team just because they are elite and have your player hate the other kids and coaches. THATS burnout! Your kid will let you know when he is burning out in time to prevent burnout.
My son played for what can be described as an abusive coach 2 years ago. He hated the coach but hey, we were a tough Major team! Great rep! Everyone talked about our team online all the time! And my kid quit at the end of the season saying he was done with baseball if that was what it was like to be on the best team. So the next year he dropped down to AAA and played with his friends and got his love of the game back and still plays the game. Now we are back to Major with a great coach.
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2013 : 10:45:08
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Thanks for the reply 4bagger! To shed some more light on our situation, it is my son who loves the game. He frequently talks about which MLB team he will play for, which College he will play for…etc, and we have no idea how to get him there and don’t want to hurt his chances.
To be perfectly honest when he was 6 we signed him up for baseball just to give him the experience of being on a team. We told him he could pick ANY sport, he chose baseball, it isn’t something his Father or I have ever played or obsessed about. Long story short at age 6 (Fall ball) he didn’t know how to put on a glove, and that Spring he was on the Allstar team. At age 7 he hit a walk off over the fence homerun to win the rec ball championship and at age 8 several coaches flat out told us we were doing the child a disservice by keeping him in rec ball. We didn’t even know what Travel Ball was!
While he truly has enjoyed Travel Ball we no longer have friendly rec ball coaches giving us advice, we have coaches trying to keep him on their team, or get him on their team, giving us advice. “Don’t play for a major team it will kill his love of the game, he will be burned out”…"I played college ball and can give him all he needs without having to go to a Major team".... and other coaches secretly contacting us stating that he is stalled in his learning by staying on the borderline AA/AAA team and he should be moved up and get a coach that will give him the skills he needs to be a better player, and play against the better competition.
To make matters worse his entire team broke up this year, we were the only people who stayed, which lends more credence to the concept that we don’t know what we are doing! Then I found out that everyone in 6th grade plays 12u, while due to Birthday craziness we play 11u…I was told that we should really consider moving him up to 13u next year so he can play with and against children he will see in high school….once again we have obviously done something wrong.
I was just hoping for some advice so we could stop making these mistakes…we just feel really behind on everything from what we should be looking for, to what we should be doing.
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DecaturDad
619 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2013 : 10:46:36
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Another dad who completely agrees with 4bagger (Who I don't even know.)
-Keep it fun. If your son is not enjoying it, he will not get better and may even give it up all together. At 10u, my son played on a AA team, by 12u it was a AAA team. Could he have played up? Yes. But he loved the coaches and the team. I continually heard how my son needed to play on this team or that team. He was never going to "play at the next level".....
He is now 14. He has found a majors team he loves. And he must be doing something right: He was selected as one of 40 kids from across the country to be on the 14u USA baseball development team.
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4bagger
131 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2013 : 15:02:58
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My son is considered one of the better players out there. Thats not from me, it's from the teams that keep making offers for him to join their team. I have one right now offering a scholarship that would cover every penny of the season except for my gas to and from the games. He's 13 years old playing on a 13U team. He has never played up nor does he want too. He has played in a tourney here or there with older kids but 98% of his playing has been with his own age group.
When my son was in 6th grade he did not play 12U. When he was in 7th grade he played 12U. Now he's in the 8th grade and playing 13U.
As a coach who's been doing this for almost 20 years I have very rarely agreed with playing up. Sure there are those exceptional players who should be playing up or those with May or June birthdays who are close enough to do so, but, generally, I prefer the kids to play on the correct age team. I know far more players who have "played up" and come right back down to their age level than I do who have played up and stayed up. In alot of those cases it was the parents who wanted to brag about their 11 year old playing with 13 year olds instead of it being any benefit at all to the player.
I also am not a fan of players who "switch hit" without first being highly proficient on one side of the plate just because "switch hitting gives my kid the edge or coaches really like that".
How about this? When your 11 year old is THE best 11 year old player for a 100 mile radius and it is laughable to see him easily defeat all other 11 year old players, THEN you play up.
Oh well, just the ramblings of an old school, old coach....................
I will now give you a math equation to ponder: coach = salesman.
Coaches will tell you whatever they think will convince you to join their team if they THINK they want your kid. They will discuss the upside of their team and the downside of all other teams. They are trying to get whomever they think is the best so they will sell, sell, sell. Features, functions and benefits. Selling 101. Ever seen one of those kids get recruited hard then sit on the bench because he did not pan out and does not get invited back. I have. Plenty. Read these blogs in March and you'll see plenty of titles like "Major player looking for new team". Ever wonder why?
Your son loves baseball. He is good at it. The coaches who told you to move on from rec to travel were correct. So you made no mistake there.
Playing for a Major will not burnout your kid if he is competing at the correct level for his skills and he is loving it. As I said, you will see the signs of burnout before he actually burns out and you can do something about it. So no mistake there either.
Playing college ball does not necessarily mean you can TEACH baseball to kids. Two completely separate skill sets. You didn't buy that bill of goods so still no mistake yet.
Your son is "stalled" in his skill development if he never learns anything new or there is no challenge playing on his current team against current competition. If he is one of the best at AAA, time to move up. Only chance of a mistake here is if you have rose colored glasses on and can't compare your son to other players of his age on other teams.
Staying on a team and then finding out it has broken up is NOT a mistake. You had a team you thought was right, your son wanted to stay on it, outside forces occured to end the team. Hardly your mistake.
Not everyone in 6th grade plays 12U. Whoever told you that is mistaken.
I already told you how I personally feel about playing up. Playing his own age group is not a mistake.
So by my count, you have yet to make a mistake. Maybe you should take it easier on yourself? :)
One tip - Don't assume everyone else knows what they are doing and you don't. Just because someone says something with an air of authority and confidence does not mean they know what they are talking about. You have listened to politicians before, right?
So here's the advice - Find a team your son will enjoy playing on with kids that make him smile. Just make sure the team challenges him and the teams you play against challenge him. If it seems too easy for him, you'll want to move up. You have 6th, 7th and 8th grades to get ready for HS ball so if you stay with this formula you will be ready for HS. Read these blogs to pick up bits and pieces on who the best batting/fielding/pitching instructors are and use them. Stay positive at all times and ENJOY THE PROCESS! Too much worrying that you are making mistakes or missing something, etc, will only cause you,your son and your family to miss the whole experience while you are living it. Terrible thing to come to the end of the road and wonder what happened and why you even bothered.
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jacjacatk
154 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2013 : 15:43:19
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quote:
Originally posted by CaCO3Girl
Some people say just playing Travel Ball gives your son a leg up to get into High School Ball….others say that is only true if you are on a “Major Team”, HS’s won’t look at anything but “Major” kids.
Maybe some HS have enough talent to choose from that it works out this way, but it's been my experience that all the typical HS coach is concerned with is what you can do right now, and what you project to be able to do in the future. What you did before you got to HS means almost nothing. So pre-HS ball only matters insofar as how much of that training you can carry on to the HS field, and IMO puberty is a way bigger leveling factor than previous experience in most cases. |
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bbmom2
119 Posts |
Posted - 08/07/2013 : 18:01:06
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quote:
Originally posted by CaCO3Girl
Then I found out that everyone in 6th grade plays 12u, while due to Birthday craziness we play 11u…I was told that we should really consider moving him up to 13u next year so he can play with and against children he will see in high school….once again we have obviously done something wrong.
If your son loves baseball this much - keep him on a 12U team next year so he can have the Cooperstown experience. 98% of the people that have been will tell you it is the trip of a 12 year old's lifetime - and the parents as well... wouldn't trade that experience for the world.
As far as the rest of it, pedigree and studliness matters not when they get to high school. My son's path has not been the glamor path but that doesn't matter now that he's in high school - at least his high school - all are different. What matters is that he has talent, is coachable, is a good team mate and has the competitive drive to win. |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 08/07/2013 : 23:50:09
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HS coaches won't care where you played. They care about how you perform for them. If you can play, you can play. Period. Nothing wrong with starting travel ball at 12. That's when my son started. He never played on one of the big name teams prior to HS. He played on a travel team out of the local rec park right thru 14 years old. Guess what, he was a starting Varsity pitcher as a freshman in a 5A (now 6A) school. He is currently pitching in college. Didn't matter that he didn't play for the Astros or any of those teams.
The only advice I will give is that at some point, he will have to play with his grade and not necessarily his age. This will need to be the case in HS. And he really should play on the big field before he gets to HS. Other than that, let him have fun and play at a level that he is enjoying the game as well as being challenged. Let him learn the game and develop his skills, but never forget that it is a game. When it stops being fun, the end of the road is close. |
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YankeeFaninNC
2 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2014 : 14:56:23
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| 4bagger, its nice to see someone else who believes in a kid playing his age. 99% of the time when a kid plays up its because the parents want to be able to brag their kid plays up. If he is really that good, let him stay back and be the stud. Builds confidence! Let him have that, don't take it away from him. If he is that good, it will show and he will not be behind when he gets to high school. |
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momstheword
12 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2014 : 16:30:44
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| If it isn't fun, it won't last. we came very close to that last year on one of those "elite" teams. Lots of stress and all the boys played tight and scared since the coach used humiliation as a motivator. My son asked if he could play on a team that was fun again. He now plays on another AAA team with encouraging/instructional coaches and a great group of boys. He is having much more fun and playing looser and better than ever. Better batting average, better on base average, better fielding and fun. Who could want more? |
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bigroc19
158 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2014 : 09:36:09
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GREAT POSTquote:
Originally posted by 4bagger
My son is considered one of the better players out there. Thats not from me, it's from the teams that keep making offers for him to join their team. I have one right now offering a scholarship that would cover every penny of the season except for my gas to and from the games. He's 13 years old playing on a 13U team. He has never played up nor does he want too. He has played in a tourney here or there with older kids but 98% of his playing has been with his own age group.
When my son was in 6th grade he did not play 12U. When he was in 7th grade he played 12U. Now he's in the 8th grade and playing 13U.
As a coach who's been doing this for almost 20 years I have very rarely agreed with playing up. Sure there are those exceptional players who should be playing up or those with May or June birthdays who are close enough to do so, but, generally, I prefer the kids to play on the correct age team. I know far more players who have "played up" and come right back down to their age level than I do who have played up and stayed up. In alot of those cases it was the parents who wanted to brag about their 11 year old playing with 13 year olds instead of it being any benefit at all to the player.
I also am not a fan of players who "switch hit" without first being highly proficient on one side of the plate just because "switch hitting gives my kid the edge or coaches really like that".
How about this? When your 11 year old is THE best 11 year old player for a 100 mile radius and it is laughable to see him easily defeat all other 11 year old players, THEN you play up.
Oh well, just the ramblings of an old school, old coach....................
I will now give you a math equation to ponder: coach = salesman.
Coaches will tell you whatever they think will convince you to join their team if they THINK they want your kid. They will discuss the upside of their team and the downside of all other teams. They are trying to get whomever they think is the best so they will sell, sell, sell. Features, functions and benefits. Selling 101. Ever seen one of those kids get recruited hard then sit on the bench because he did not pan out and does not get invited back. I have. Plenty. Read these blogs in March and you'll see plenty of titles like "Major player looking for new team". Ever wonder why?
Your son loves baseball. He is good at it. The coaches who told you to move on from rec to travel were correct. So you made no mistake there.
Playing for a Major will not burnout your kid if he is competing at the correct level for his skills and he is loving it. As I said, you will see the signs of burnout before he actually burns out and you can do something about it. So no mistake there either.
Playing college ball does not necessarily mean you can TEACH baseball to kids. Two completely separate skill sets. You didn't buy that bill of goods so still no mistake yet.
Your son is "stalled" in his skill development if he never learns anything new or there is no challenge playing on his current team against current competition. If he is one of the best at AAA, time to move up. Only chance of a mistake here is if you have rose colored glasses on and can't compare your son to other players of his age on other teams.
Staying on a team and then finding out it has broken up is NOT a mistake. You had a team you thought was right, your son wanted to stay on it, outside forces occured to end the team. Hardly your mistake.
Not everyone in 6th grade plays 12U. Whoever told you that is mistaken.
I already told you how I personally feel about playing up. Playing his own age group is not a mistake.
So by my count, you have yet to make a mistake. Maybe you should take it easier on yourself? :)
One tip - Don't assume everyone else knows what they are doing and you don't. Just because someone says something with an air of authority and confidence does not mean they know what they are talking about. You have listened to politicians before, right?
So here's the advice - Find a team your son will enjoy playing on with kids that make him smile. Just make sure the team challenges him and the teams you play against challenge him. If it seems too easy for him, you'll want to move up. You have 6th, 7th and 8th grades to get ready for HS ball so if you stay with this formula you will be ready for HS. Read these blogs to pick up bits and pieces on who the best batting/fielding/pitching instructors are and use them. Stay positive at all times and ENJOY THE PROCESS! Too much worrying that you are making mistakes or missing something, etc, will only cause you,your son and your family to miss the whole experience while you are living it. Terrible thing to come to the end of the road and wonder what happened and why you even bothered.
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ECBAAT
26 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2014 : 17:09:45
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I am a baseball dad as well....but I disagree with some of the things being said on here. I have one playing major D1 college baseball on a full ride out of state.....upwards of 40K per year is being paid by the school to have him there. I have another one that went through the high school experience, enjoyed it but was not near the player of his younger brother...passion or ability! #1....like others have said, he must want to play and love to play. The ONLY things you want from a team is for your player to enjoy the experience, receive good coaching, and for him to be an every day player on that team. Reps, reps, and more reps!! If your school system has a coaching staff that places ANY weight on what travel team he plays on.....run for the hills!! That coaching staff better be coming in with a fresh perspective, and one that is not tainted with any bias or politics. They should not worry about what travel baseball jersey he wears at the tryout, and most do not. If it is there, find another school system if baseball is that important to you!!
As for your player being noticed, only at the 17-18 year old level should you be concerned with the organization he participates in. It is true that he will be noticed where ever he plays BUT you must place him on the right team to be seen by the RIGHT PEOPLE. Based on his level, you would have him play for various folks. If he is projected as a D1 prospect, he needs to play with a highly exposed team. If he is a D2 or D3 projected college player, then you will want him to play on a team that plays in front of those types of schools/scouts.
Good luck and PLEASE enjoy his experience, and help him enjoy his experience too!! |
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I feel like I am behind, he’s only in 6th grade!
