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KeithB
282 Posts |
 Posted - 07/30/2014 : 08:38:35
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quote:
Originally posted by rippit
quote:
Originally posted by KeithB
I sincerely hope your son gets to play that coach's team in another 6 years so he can show that coach his "power". Seriously. What kind of coach makes a lack of power statement about an 8 year old? He's 8. My goodness.
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I hope we play them THIS season! |
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Critical Mass
277 Posts |
Posted - 08/01/2014 : 09:25:34
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Originally posted by T13
Play your age..... All this junk people are saying about getting use to the big field is nuts.... Puberty takes care of the big field issue and for good players the size of the field is irrelevant. HOCO just won the 5A state title and they ALL played little league thru the age 12 with just an occasional travel tourney... Physically most kids aren't ready for the big field til the 10th grade anway (otherwise why don't we start all our kids swinging a -3 bbcor at 10 to get him ready!)
As i said in my post, the good or better players adjust and adapt and continue to play the game, the others fade away and play other sports or ride the pine when there is room on a roster. The dimensions do affect a significant portion of youth players as speed, power, hitting to ALL fields, pitching from 60'6" while hitting your spots and not walking guys and arm strength all matter at that level. You can hide a few at the HS level but the weaker players don't play ahead of better players (Insert daddy-ball/dumb head coach w/ misguided allegiance to said weak player comment here) For the record, i have a son who is not PROJECTIBLE regarding HT/WT for most D1 colleges and MLB teams and is a pitcher (because he struggled hitting around 14-15) who will play D1 baseball in the ACC in 2016. i know about the outliers who continue to grind and love the game enough to sacrifice their social life so they can accomplish their goal to play D1 baseball and possibly be drafted. If you have a kid on the borderline, get him in the weight room, it matters and will help him reach his potential. |
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kugs
11 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2014 : 14:43:21
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| I've really enjoyed reading through this thread. A friend of mine told me one of the top coaches around is against skipping 13U ball and going to 14U. My son is is an upcoming 13U player and is hitting better than a lot of 14U players. He's also a rising 8th grader, so I'm thinking about 14U AAA instead of 13U Major. That way he'll have a year on the 60/90 field before freshman tryouts. Any thoughts on skipping 13U? He's a strong kid and seems to play well on the bigger field. |
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KeithB
282 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2014 : 21:05:24
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quote:
Originally posted by kugs
I've really enjoyed reading through this thread. A friend of mine told me one of the top coaches around is against skipping 13U ball and going to 14U. My son is is an upcoming 13U player and is hitting better than a lot of 14U players. He's also a rising 8th grader, so I'm thinking about 14U AAA instead of 13U Major. That way he'll have a year on the 60/90 field before freshman tryouts. Any thoughts on skipping 13U? He's a strong kid and seems to play well on the bigger field.
I would say go for it. It's a long enough season to work out the kinks, if there are any. I think the sooner the better to get kids with their grade. My son has been playing with his grade the entire time, so he doesn't know any different. We'll see how this season goes though. Still a lot to be seen. |
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kugs
11 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2014 : 22:48:18
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| I just talked to the coach, who is the owner of probably the top baseball academy around, and he said not to skip 13U. We were fortunate to get on a 13U major team for 2014/15 that plans to play up in some 14U tournaments. Maybe the best of both worlds? My son is going to have to catch up somewhere along the line, but not at the expense of 13U ball. BTW, what a great guy DP is for returning my call and giving me some friendly advice. |
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Kmk72
112 Posts |
Posted - 08/04/2014 : 12:51:55
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play with your grade IMO as well.. not going to help much playing on a team where you kid is going into HS and his teammates are going into 8th.
KeithB, I had the same issue "your son needs more power" and got that from several coaches at the 8U level...I watched a to of 8U travel this season and "Power" was never a reason why a team won or lost. It was fundamentals and baseball IQ and "Power" doesnt teach you that. Im glad your son found a home! |
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KeithB
282 Posts |
Posted - 08/04/2014 : 19:09:01
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quote:
Originally posted by Kmk72
play with your grade IMO as well.. not going to help much playing on a team where you kid is going into HS and his teammates are going into 8th.
KeithB, I had the same issue "your son needs more power" and got that from several coaches at the 8U level...I watched a to of 8U travel this season and "Power" was never a reason why a team won or lost. It was fundamentals and baseball IQ and "Power" doesnt teach you that. Im glad your son found a home!
Thanks Kmk72. I'm sure there are a lot of kids fighting that same battle, being a little smaller. Thanks for sharing. We'll see how he does. What he needed is time and coaching to get better, and this opportunity is providing that. I'll keep you posted. |
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KeithB
282 Posts |
Posted - 09/25/2014 : 10:39:10
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quote:
Originally posted by KeithB
quote:
Originally posted by Kmk72
play with your grade IMO as well.. not going to help much playing on a team where you kid is going into HS and his teammates are going into 8th.
KeithB, I had the same issue "your son needs more power" and got that from several coaches at the 8U level...I watched a to of 8U travel this season and "Power" was never a reason why a team won or lost. It was fundamentals and baseball IQ and "Power" doesnt teach you that. Im glad your son found a home!
Thanks Kmk72. I'm sure there are a lot of kids fighting that same battle, being a little smaller. Thanks for sharing. We'll see how he does. What he needed is time and coaching to get better, and this opportunity is providing that. I'll keep you posted.
So things are going well so far. We played that team rippit, but they beat us! I am sure we'll get another shot. LOL. The coach actually emailed me and said it was nice to see my son leading off and playing short. So just wanted to make a point here. Derek Jeter has a late June 1974 b-day, and graduated in 1992, which means he played with his grade, at least in HS. I would be curious what level he played as a young boy. Many kids these days wouldn't have started school. |
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Mets69
70 Posts |
Posted - 09/25/2014 : 17:00:01
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| Play with your age until he goes through puberty. Then play with your grade. |
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KeithB
282 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2015 : 12:08:43
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| My son had a pretty good season at 9U (he'll be 9 in 3 weeks, going to 4th grade). He batted 1 or 2 all season, played all but 1st and OF in the field, had a ~.470 on base, and only struck out ~5 times in ~75 at bats. Put the ball in play almost every time, regardless of the level of the team we played. Getting ready for 10U fall ball. |
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Play your age? Or with your grade?
