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nwgadad
137 Posts |
 Posted - 09/27/2013 : 10:58:06
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My oldest son is now playing 14u. He started at age 6. Many years of rec, all star and then travel. He has grown and developed into a great player! My youngest just turned 4 recently and the wife decided to let him start as the 14 yr old has been helping prepare him. Let me tell ya, 4,5,6 year old ball is a lot different than 14 and I am not just talking about talent, but parents! Parents at the older age group typically will cheer on the team, but I have noticed a lot of parents on the younger teams are only cheering for their kid. Wish I could fast forward a bit to real baseball, but will enjoy the time at the younger age group again. It starts all over.  |
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TAZ980002
831 Posts |
Posted - 09/27/2013 : 14:57:41
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| Man you are so right !! My oldest is playing 15u now and my youngest is playing 11u. The team/coach selection process for my 11y/o is so drastically different than it was for my 15y/o at that age. It's interesting, to say the least, to see the younger kids play after watching your older son go through it already. You can always tell the parents/coaches of the kids who don't have any older siblings. It's kind of like looking for the t-ball field in any park. It's the easiest one to find - just follow the loudest cheers !! |
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HITANDRUN
436 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2013 : 14:16:28
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Maybe I am reading it wrong but you said "Parents at the older age group typically will cheer on the team, but I have noticed a lot of parents on the younger teams are only cheering for their kid."
And Taz said "It's kind of like looking for the t-ball field in any park. It's the easiest one to find - just follow the loudest cheers !!
Maybe I am wrong but
I have found the younger kids parents cheer more for everyone and older just sit back and don't say anything. I think it's like anything else, some parents pull against kids of all ages and some pull for all kids. Crazy to me but that is what I have seen. |
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TAZ980002
831 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2013 : 16:54:05
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Hitandrun, my point was that the level of enthusiasm as a whole diminishes as they get older.
Like you, we've been around some really great parents and we've been around some that are not so great. The sooner both the player and parents buy into the fact that it's a team effort, the better. |
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HITANDRUN
436 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2013 : 10:23:17
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| I agree I was just saying the first posted was saying the exact opposite. Which is "not" what I have seen. |
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baseballcrazymom
58 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2013 : 11:58:50
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I don't think my level of enthusiasm has diminished, but it has been reigned in. When scouts are around, the overly crazed parent can actually be a detriment to their player. With no scouts around, I still control it so as not to embarrass my teenage son.
Also, while we do cheer on the team, winning and losing isn't the focus after age 14/15 as most events are showcase types for the players rather than the teams. |
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ABC_Baseball
90 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2013 : 12:02:03
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Just my 2 cents. When kids first start out, parents want to root on their kids, they want to see them do well and build confidence. So yes, I think T-ball parents tend to be loudest when their kid is up to bat or when their kids does well. It's still a team game, but when my kid was playing T-ball, there wasn't really a score kept. Everybody hit, and everybody got to round the bases.
As kids get older, the game becomes real baseball. If the parents have any sense of team, they will cheer for everyone. It becomes about the team doing well and not just your kid for his/her confidence sake. If the other players don't do well, the team doesn't do well and that usually means 3 or 4 games and done. With what parents have to pay for travel ball, any good parent would want every player on that roster to do well so the team continues to play and has an opportunity to get better. |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2013 : 14:55:28
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| My observation has been - and it's been a while - is certainly that the younger ages stands are much more vocal. Back when my son played on fields where there were younger kids playing near by, much of what you heard was coaching from the stands. The parents would be yelling at their kids about how to hit or how to field. More than that, a ball would be hit and EVERYBODY from the stands would be yelling telling the kid what to do. They'd be telling the kid to run, or stop, or where to throw the ball, etc. It was a zoo!! I don't know how the kids heard what the coaches were telling them. I don't remember hearing a difference between rooting for their kid specifically or the for team, just a LOT of coaching from the stands. This behavior stops as the kids get older. Let the coaches coach and let the kids play. I think this is what the parents learn as the kids get older. |
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in_the_know
985 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2013 : 17:01:38
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The reason's pretty obvious. When the kids become young men, they don't want to hear their parents screaming and yelling. They want to let their coaches coach and to play the way they've been taught. No different than around the house. They don't want or need to be told every little thing to do like they did when they were children.
They're growing up. Most parents of kids that age realize this and give them that space and respect.
If there's a tight and exciting game, you'll hear the emotion of the fans on a clutch hit or double play, but the chants, boom box walk-up music, and rah-rah for little Johnny subsides (thankfully) as he becomes big Johnny. |
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in_the_know
985 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2013 : 10:16:18
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Meant to add this to my original comment.
One of the reasons that the T-Baller fields are so noisy are that, for most, it's the first time that we get to experience our kids standing alone, performing on their own merits. We do so much to provide a safe world for them when they're little, but there they are, out in front of everyone with a chance to succeed or fail. Watch the body language of each parent on a hit or out, catch or error, win or loss. The parent feels the emotion of this far more than the kid.
There's also the sheer joy of seeing your kid do something that you simply didn't think they were capable of. A great hit, amazing catch, picking an errant throw. When you see your child be successful at something you never imagined, it's tough to refrain from the emotional outlet that ensues.
Great times. |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2013 : 11:06:34
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quote:
Originally posted by in_the_know
but there they are, out in front of everyone with a chance to succeed or fail. Watch the body language of each parent on a hit or out, catch or error, win or loss. The parent feels the emotion of this far more than the kid.
Great times.
in_the_know, my son is in his sophomore year of college ball and this still applies - Haha. I've just learned to control myself a little better. I still get overwhelmed with pride when I see him do well and I still get devastated when I see him struggle. It is still a roller coaster ride every step of the way.
But, I wouldn't give anything for the opportunity to continue to watch him play. Great times they still are!!! |
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TAZ980002
831 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2013 : 16:41:57
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| One thing I noticed about myself, is I enjoyed the T-ball and peewee experiences much more with my 2nd and 3rd boys compared to our 1st. Not that the 1st wasn't enjoyable but I was more relaxed with the 2nd and 3rd having gained some perspective as to what is really important to me and them. |
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in_the_know
985 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2013 : 12:52:19
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quote:
Originally posted by TAZ980002
One thing I noticed about myself, is I enjoyed the T-ball and peewee experiences much more with my 2nd and 3rd boys compared to our 1st. Not that the 1st wasn't enjoyable but I was more relaxed with the 2nd and 3rd having gained some perspective as to what is really important to me and them.
Indeed. You can always tell from the posts here which parents have multiple players and have already been through it.
Another thing occurred to me last night as well regarding the noise level difference from older ages to t-ballers. There's a lot more to cheer for when the game's 23-21 instead of 3-1.
Bballman speaks the truth. Your desire to see them succeed, pride in those successes and pain in the failures certainly don't change with age, just your ability to temper the visible emotion. |
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BREAMKING
323 Posts |
Posted - 10/07/2013 : 10:13:30
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I have had the joy of watching four ages groups play spread out over a 23 years. I think as you get older it just makes you enjoy it that much more. I found coach pitches ages boring to watch because I knew it would be more fun to watch later. My favorite year is 12u. Seem like most everybody on this post has been through travel ball with more than one group. Wondering what everyone elses favorite age was to watch. I found the high school age summer ball to be boring and felt like kids played for themselves more than the team. Who can blame them it is set up that way with all these perfect games and other showcase events. I found Varsity high school to be as fun as 12u also.
So question is what age group did enjoy the most looking back? |
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HardBaller
101 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2013 : 13:22:07
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nwgaDAD
I kinda get what you're saying here; however, I think it would have been clearer if you had said, "I only cheered for my kid at the younger ages but now I cheer for the team".
Because as other have stated, it's pretty common and very natural. Moreover, it's gonna happen!
The challenge is to move more well-meaning and unapologetically self-serving parents to the more mature state.
Probably just as common as the newbie parent is the coach/manager that doesn't harness this energy and channel it into a more rapid grow.
I don't know, I'm just a parent not a coach but maybe each game parents could be assigned to enthusiastically cheer for another player on the team besides their own kid. Or, how about an outing to a 14u/15u so parents can see what little Johnny will look like a in a few years and also see how the parents conduct themselves.
Just a thought.
quote:
Originally posted by nwgadad
My oldest son is now playing 14u. He started at age 6. Many years of rec, all star and then travel. He has grown and developed into a great player! My youngest just turned 4 recently and the wife decided to let him start as the 14 yr old has been helping prepare him. Let me tell ya, 4,5,6 year old ball is a lot different than 14 and I am not just talking about talent, but parents! Parents at the older age group typically will cheer on the team, but I have noticed a lot of parents on the younger teams are only cheering for their kid. Wish I could fast forward a bit to real baseball, but will enjoy the time at the younger age group again. It starts all over.
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Perspective
