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Punishers
688 Posts |
 Posted - 03/28/2017 : 08:58:48
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I think this would be a great idea. Some may not agree, but when you have an 11 or 12 year old swinging drop 10's and below the game is not an even match.
Any thoughts? |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2017 : 09:15:05
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| When 14u can swing a drop 10 in USSSA tourneys I don't see them regulating anything for the younger ages. |
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5 necklaces 4 armbands
40 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2017 : 10:26:55
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| Well let's take it a step further, what is the ideal age kids should start reducing the drop from -10, -8, -5 etc? I've got a 9u in a -10, where should he be at what age, in general, if he has integrity and not swinging a -10 at 14 haha. |
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C-town
7 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2017 : 12:08:30
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| At minimum a drop -8 by 12 , -5 at 13 , -3 at 14 |
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Punishers
688 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2017 : 12:23:49
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Ideally:
-10 @ 8, 9, 10
-8 @ 11
-8, -5 @ 12
-5, -3 @ 13
-3 @ 14 plus
There has to be a progression.
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turntwo
955 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2017 : 12:24:17
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quote:
Originally posted by C-town
At minimum a drop -8 by 12 , -5 at 13 , -3 at 14
This is a nice transition and one I can agree with. Prior to 12, you have LOTS of kids that are, well, LITTLE. To paint with a broad brush may be too much at younger ages. Their wrist, forearms just are strong enough to PROPERLY swing too long or too heavy of bats. Just because they can, doesn't mean they should-- especially without developing bad habits to compensate for too much weight/length.
With the 'force' drop at 13/14U range, a slow migration towards it may be a good move-- while there are plenty hitting 'the change' sometime in the 12th year.
Just my opinion. |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2017 : 13:34:41
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quote:
Originally posted by turntwo
quote:
Originally posted by C-town
At minimum a drop -8 by 12 , -5 at 13 , -3 at 14
This is a nice transition and one I can agree with. Prior to 12, you have LOTS of kids that are, well, LITTLE. To paint with a broad brush may be too much at younger ages. Their wrist, forearms just are strong enough to PROPERLY swing too long or too heavy of bats. Just because they can, doesn't mean they should-- especially without developing bad habits to compensate for too much weight/length.
With the 'force' drop at 13/14U range, a slow migration towards it may be a good move-- while there are plenty hitting 'the change' sometime in the 12th year.
Just my opinion.
Agree 100%!!!
I know of a 9th grader who is barely 5'0 and maybe 100#...he needed to stay with the lighter bats as long as he could. It really was what was best for his development.
I know of a 7th grader who was 5'10 and 150#'s...he went from 12u to 14u then 14u again because he didn't need to swing anything lower than a drop 3 after age 12, it was time for BBCOR. |
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bfriendly
376 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2017 : 19:12:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Punishers
Ideally:
-10 @ 8, 9, 10
-8 @ 11
-8, -5 @ 12
-5, -3 @ 13
-3 @ 14 plus
There has to be a progression.
That is exactly what we did.....he is wanting his BBCOR already. I keep assuring him it will be here soon enough |
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brball
615 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2017 : 22:28:47
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| Don't remember the younger years, but at 12U it was drop 5 and thru most of 13U. Moved to BBCOR / wood at end of 13U, and all of 14U and so forth... Now he swings the heck out of his PO glove! lol |
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Coach Cole
102 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2017 : 11:08:48
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| The worst incident I have ever seen on a baseball field involved a -10 bat at age 12 about 8 years ago. There are some strong kids at age 12 and the field is smaller. Runner at third in foul territory with braces with a typical lead, line drive foul ball came at him so fast he didn't have time to duck or block it with his hands. Kid lost 4 teeth during some of the worst screams of agony I have ever heard, ambulance came, 45 minute game stoppage. Ted Williams and a lot of others did fine growing up swinging wood bats (-3) so to me -5 is about as low as we should go at the younger ages. I don't think Ted or any of the great historical hitters' swing mechanics got out of whack using -3 wood bats. |
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tbaillie2
120 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2017 : 15:16:44
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| Agreed, drop 10 at anything past 11yo is just stupid and don't really see any justification for it. |
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RUSemiPro
95 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2017 : 23:03:35
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Punishers,
Agree for most part
-10 -8 for 11 would be my only difference as some kids haven't hit puberty yet. At 12 regardless of size need to start moving to -8 as you have to be prepared for the -5 and -3 transition.
I believe that all kids need to be hitting with wood in the cage, build up strength, regardless of what they swing in the game.
quote:
Originally posted by Punishers
Ideally:
-10 @ 8, 9, 10
-8 @ 11
-8, -5 @ 12
-5, -3 @ 13
-3 @ 14 plus
There has to be a progression.
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Crazyforbball
391 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2017 : 06:47:17
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| Unfortunately due to the Demarini debacle you will see alot of 12 year olds swinging -10 the rest of the season since there are not alot of -8 choices floating around now with the rush to replace. |
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Punishers
688 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2017 : 12:36:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Crazyforbball
Unfortunately due to the Demarini debacle you will see alot of 12 year olds swinging -10 the rest of the season since there are not alot of -8 choices floating around now with the rush to replace.
Sad but true. |
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whits23
596 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2017 : 18:32:28
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| do it by how much a kid weighs...have a scale at the plate LOL |
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ABC_Baseball
90 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2017 : 11:58:18
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Have to agree with Punishers. My thought process....Does my kid have aspirations to play high school baseball? Yes. So what bat drop is required in high school? Drop 3. So start the progression ASAP. A longer progression is better than NO progression or a short progression. Drop 8 at 11, Drop 5 at 12, even experimented with drop 3 in the fall, then move to drop 3 full time at 13. Yes, these are prepubescent boys in most cases, you still have to work on physically improving. Just like you work on taking grounders, fly balls or batting practice against faster pitching. Just like the base paths and pitching distances expand, kids NEED to work their way up to a heavier bat.
Let's also call a lot of this what it is. Sorry for the bad analogy, but coaches, kids and fans "dig the long ball." Everybody wants to put it over the fence. So they get the hottest bat possible. Most equate "hot" to light and springy. I feel like I would be doing my son a disservice if I let him swing anything lighter than a drop 8 at 12u. He has a -8 and a -5. I bought the -8 in case the -5 was too heavy since he was moving up an inch in length for this season. The first time he stepped into the cage against 70 mph with a drop -5 (full aluminum) I think he shocked himself at how well he hit with it compared to a CF8 -8 he used for the last six weeks of the previous season. Simple physics (and I'm no physicist).....F=ma (the FORCE you strike the ball with is equal to the MASS of your bat multiplied by the ACCELERATION of your bat). You don't have to swing a heavier bat as fast to strike the ball with the same (or greater) force. It may technically take you longer to get your bat out on the ball so that you strike the ball in an ideal location, but that is simply "timing" and can be fixed with work.
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BlueDevilBaseball
68 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2017 : 12:07:39
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Pre-puberty its best to give them a lighter bat so they learn proper swing mechanics. -12 at 8u or even 9u is ok imo. Once they get to 10u - 12u they need to start closing that gap gradually to get to the -3 by 14u or close.
Every kid is going to be different, so I hope they keep the bat regs flexible for the younger ages and trust coaches and parents to gradually progress their players towards the -3. |
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Topic |
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Minimum Bat Drop per age group
