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jrog76
80 Posts |
 Posted - 05/28/2008 : 15:59:02
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Seeking wisdom from those of you who have gone through this.
What things (physical and mental) should we look out for?
Best tournaments for 14u?
Can you ban girlfriends?
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SportsDad
293 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2008 : 16:36:06
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physical...pitching falls off early...mental...kids really start "feeling their oats" more difficult to introduce new ideas, as most are set in their ways...lot more trash talking to their opposition...language seems to be more "colorful"
you can olny wish you could ban girlfriends...
Best Tournaments?...the ones you can realistically compete in as opposed to the ones you "walk over" the compitition or get "blown out" in 3 games and end up pullling weeds on Sunday...always thought it was better to lose 4-3 in a championship game than to run rule every team in the tournament...Getting run ruled three straight games and going home Saturday does little good either in the long run of the season..Early tournaments can tell alot about the tournaments you should be playing in come middle May through July.. |
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bb baseball
73 Posts |
Posted - 05/29/2008 : 10:36:18
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We've made the transition this year. I would argue that coaching the 14U is easier than 13U as it relates to the players. 13U was a very difficult year as the kids had trouble focusing on a consistent basis. This year they seem much more focused as they are serious about baseball and getting ready for HS. Of course it depends on your level of play to a certain extent. Here are some things I've experienced this season:
1. Pitching - I don't care how hard you throw, the ball better be down and you better be able to locate and change speeds. If not, lights out. Pitchers just aren't able overpower hitters anymore.
2. Defense - There are fewer strikeouts so defense is at even more of a premium. If you can't play good sound defense, you will not win regardless of the level of tournaments you enter.
3. Hitting - it's a hitters year and the bigger stronger kids seem to thrive on the bigger fields. Not saying the smaller guys can't compete, they just have to work harder and bring something else to the table.
In sum, it's been a very interesting year. You will find that teams that have traditionally been on the lower end can be competitive. The kids are physically maturing and the little guy who hit .220 last season may have grown 8 inches and is now a gap/power hitter batting .350. It's a much more level playing field in my opinion primarily due to field size, bigger kids and the pitchers inability to overpower batters. It's fun and in my opinion real baseball.
As for tournaments to enter, I agree with sports dad, play to get better. I would much rather lose a well played game 3-2 than run rule lower tier teams just to get hardware. Bottom line, the players will get better playing the best competition. |
Edited by - bb baseball on 05/29/2008 10:47:53 |
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jay
177 Posts |
Posted - 05/29/2008 : 10:56:04
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| Much more interesting topic than what kinda bat to buy. Thx for the insights bb, SD. |
Edited by - jay on 05/29/2008 12:35:44 |
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rjrousseau1
81 Posts |
Posted - 05/29/2008 : 14:06:11
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| What about big year end tournaments for 14s that draw teams from a lot of different states? Are there any national events like Cooperstown at 12s and Omaha at 13s? Disney? Cal Ripken? Not looking for Panama City where more than half the field is from metro Atlanta. |
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SportsDad
293 Posts |
Posted - 05/29/2008 : 14:26:36
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Agree with BB and I think maybe it's just samantics, but I think your team get better by playing against teams that you are truly competitive against...seen way too many teams get run ruled (like 24-0 in four inning.) by playing against the best compitition..it's tough early to pick tournaments that are best for your team. We've always tried to go back to places that actually run a good tournament..was surprised at a tournament that we went to at 14 in Elajay ( always thought 'who wants to go to a podunk tournament there')it actually was a lot of fun, very well run, the teams semed to be for the most part equal, the people were friendly, and more importantly you got the feeling that they truley appreciated you being there as opposed to just "thanks for your money" that unfortunately seems to be the case at some tournaments.
with 14U going almost exclusively 60-90 what bb said about hitting, pitching, defence is true...still am, and will always be a proponant of 54-80 for 14U but the 60-90 crowd won this arguement 3 years ago...there are still 54-80 tournaments for 14U but the compitition is more likely to be made up by rec league teams than travel teams... |
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billbclk
164 Posts |
Posted - 05/29/2008 : 15:20:57
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| GO TO DISNEY! We went there last year at 12U and the 14U and older teams got to play one game at the Braves Minor League Stadium. |
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jay
177 Posts |
Posted - 05/30/2008 : 09:13:29
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What about the 60-90 do you think adversely affects the game? Are the arms not ready yet? i.e. fielders are playing in more. More base stealing? less? stuff like that? How many kids do you typically carry at that age?
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SportsDad
293 Posts |
Posted - 05/30/2008 : 09:54:38
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| There's more stealing..it's a long throw from the catcher too..like BB said very few pitchers can throw a fastball by a hitter anymore..Don't know whether it hurts arms or not...I assume a kid going to try to throw a ball basically as hard as he can regardless of the distance, would definately use a strict pitch count..You'll go through more pitchers....seems like there are more walks...actually think fielders have a little advantage..90 feet allows for more bobbles and still have time to throw out the runner...number of kids you should carry..I think anymore than 12 and it's tough to get playing time in for ALL...just better have 5-6 of them be able to at least get the ball over the plate and pitch..Believe ECB requires 14U teams to carry 15, but I think when you get that many kids it's tough to get playing time for non-starters and that causes a lot of probelms..The arguement for 60-90 is "it prepares kids for HS ball", I've just never been convinced that making it easier for hitters, fielders and slowing the game down better prepares a kid for HS, than playing 54-80...but it's a moot point...60-90 is what's played now... |
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bb baseball
73 Posts |
Posted - 05/30/2008 : 10:40:19
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Triple Crown runs a tournament in Myrtle Beach
USSSA has various world series events
Cal Ripken also runs a tournament in Myrtle
Fletcher baseball runs a world series in Charleston
Disney
AAU somehwhere in Florida
CABA runs a world series in Lebanon, TN
These are all week long events and a lot of them are the last week in July. Some of them are similar to cooperstown with opening ceremonies, skills competitions, etc..
We're playing in a Cal Ripken week long tournament and the Fletcher world series so I'll post some feedback after we play.
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bb baseball
73 Posts |
Posted - 05/30/2008 : 12:10:47
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| In response to JAY, I think 60/90 is okay and I sort of like the spacing although the argument for 54/80 is valid. I think level of play has something to do with it, we play as a major and the kids haven't had too much trouble adjusting. There is far less base stealing. Arm strength is critical at all positions. Working cut off plays and gap control with outfielders is a big part of it. Speed on the base paths is key, not so much for stealing bases but for scoring and advancing on base hits and beating out infield hits. Double plays become more of the norm and again speed helps. The bigger kids will swing 3 drops and a 300 foot field is not big enough. We have some guys hitting them out of HS fields. About half of my team started the season with 5 drops and are now transitioning to 3 drops to prep for HS. Things like hitting behind the runner to advance or score him become more important and probably a little more bunting. The big things I noticed are that pitchers must keep the ball down and you must play sound defense. If you give teams 4-5 outs in an inning you will pay. No surpirse here but catcher and CF really become critical. We carry a roster of 12 players with 2 alternate players that I call up as needed. Roster size depends on the coach, I personally think 12 is the perfect number but we've also been relatively healthy (knock on wood). |
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jay
177 Posts |
Posted - 05/30/2008 : 13:09:35
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Just gotta say it again, easily the best post in quite some time.
Normally I only carry 11 because I hate to see kids sit. Do your extra kids only (mainly) pitch? I think DJ prefers that everyone work on something other than pitching; which is always good advice. However if you have "pitching only" players what are you doing to make that work?
I've got some great kids that I'd hate to lose or turn away not to mention their families, but I can see next year or the year after that we're going to need more pitching. AT the risk of this getting too long in one post, where do your alternates play when they're not playing with you? |
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jay
177 Posts |
Posted - 05/30/2008 : 13:11:49
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| Is anyone out there currently playing with 15 players? |
Edited by - jay on 05/30/2008 16:20:36 |
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jay
177 Posts |
Posted - 05/30/2008 : 13:21:42
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| Also, on the "arm" question I was refering to strength e.g. are they strong enough to get it across that 90 foot field. When I started back playing a few years ago after playing softball for a few years; that 100+ foot throw seemed like a mile away. After a few innings of throwing over to first between innings I felt like I had pitched a complete game. I was actually very happy to move to 3rd but that's a story for another day. |
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a1prog
164 Posts |
Posted - 05/30/2008 : 15:09:09
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| as bb has noted the size of the field changes the dynamics of the game. the biggest thing we have seen is that you separate hitters from swingers and pitchers from throwers. at 60/90 kids who may be better athletes may no longer be better baseball players because of the nature of the game. as for pitching- you absolutely positively must master the change-up prior to getting on the field at 14. very few pitchers can simply blow kids out with the extra six feet of mound. but a ton of guys cant hit a well thrown change. we see more curveballs at 14 than ever before. but most kids only get 30-50% of curveballs correct and the ones that dont work get crushed. so, from a pitching standpoint its location, change speed and movement. wow, sounds like the big guys....... |
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bb baseball
73 Posts |
Posted - 05/31/2008 : 14:18:51
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[quote]Originally posted by jay
Just gotta say it again, easily the best post in quite some time.
Normally I only carry 11 because I hate to see kids sit. Do your extra kids only (mainly) pitch? I think DJ prefers that everyone work on something other than pitching; which is always good advice. However if you have "pitching only" players what are you doing to make that work?
I've got some great kids that I'd hate to lose or turn away not to mention their families, but I can see next year or the year after that we're going to need more pitching. AT the risk of this getting too long in one post, where do your alternates play when they're not playing with you?
I don't really have pitchers only. We use pool play to get everyone reps but once bracket play starts we play and bat the best 10. I have 4-5 guys that have to be on the field for defense and 4-5 that have to be in the line-up. We have about 4-5 "rotational" players and frankly whoever hits well in pool out of that group will get the bracket start. We do have roles for some of the guys, ie DH, EH, late inning defensive sub, and a couple of guys that could be labeled pitcher only but we work them in in other spots. If a family agrees to pitcher only and that's where the kids talent slots him, that's fine. I just sort of like them all to get reps. The key is to get kids reps when you can and allow opportunity. To be honest, even with 12 and rotational players, play time isn't a huge issue. 13, that's another story. At least in my experience. If you use a DH (when allowed), EH and sit two players half a game each, everybody plays. |
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bb baseball
73 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2008 : 14:13:42
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Just giving some feedback on the Ripken Myrtle Beach Experience. Yes, it's expensive ($695/ player) but they run a great tournament and the fields are just perfect. The fields are all synthetic turf, including the infield area. Home plate and the mound are dirt, that's it. Level of competition is variable and hard to guage until you get down there but that's standard of most big tournaments. You can't beleive how true the ball bounces on the surface. It's taking my guys some time to get used to grass and dirt again. The tournament staff is first rate and always available and the umpires were above average. Just a great facility and atmosphere for baseball. we played on the Polo Grounds and Griffith field and it was very cool. there's a lot to do for players and families in Myrtle Beach and I highly recommend it to GA teams. Again, it's not going to be super elite competition but there were some good teams there. I plan on going back.
heading to the Fletcher WS in Charleston in a week and I'll submit some feedback. |
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jrog76
80 Posts |
Posted - 07/04/2008 : 09:01:16
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bb - were you required to stay in their condos?
If so, how were they?
Thanks!
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bb baseball
73 Posts |
Posted - 07/04/2008 : 10:53:41
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| We weren't required but opted to. they were very nice and well located. they are not on the beach side but a short driving distance away from the beach. I would stay there again. |
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Transition from 13u to 14u Travel
