If you could start over again with your son being 13U

There is no one answer to this question, because it depends so much on things specific to a particular player.

For most 13's, baseball will not continue into their HS years. For them, the key thing is to find a place where you can enjoy playing, period.

For those who are HS prospects, they need to make sure that they are on a team that focuses on instruction and development -- not winning championships at the forgettable tournament du jour.

For those who have reason to believe they might have a shot at playing beyond HS, they should add some specific training with a more highly skilled coach, and pay more attention than most to proper conditioning.

I personally do not believe anyone can accurately project who's going to be the hot shots until you come out of the other side of puberty. That's when you find out who is going to be what size and level of athleticism, and who remains dedicated to baseball vs. the host of other extracurricular options that present themselves.

I think it is a mistake to approach baseball at that age with the mindset that you are dead set on college ball and if you don't get there you failed. If you do that, there is a very high probability that you will fall short, and that you will have missed the chance to enjoy what might well prove to have been your last years in organized baseball.

Be patient. Things will sort themselves out soon enough.

Well said Midlo but I think I would do this instead



Would have spent about the same dollars

LOL tbd - I think you would have had a fight on your hands over that one.

I would have found better hitting instruction. Son worked with some well respected instructors at that age. Learned much later that he was being misled regarding hitting/swing philosophy.

I've been reading this site for over 2 years but this is my first post.
I would have been a lot easier on my kid and I would have made a concentrated effort on making the time that I was getting to spend with him more enjoyable. The trophies and medals earned can't compare to the relationship that is being developed during this stage of life. Luckily, my kid has tough skin and either a forgiving heart or a real bad memory.
We've had our son in private lessons for 8 years and that I would not change at all. It has helped him get to the varsity level. So if your son has the desire and the ability to play in high school, use every avenue available to help him achieve those goals. Just my 2 cents worth.

quote:

Originally posted by threeboysdad:
Well said Midlo but I think I would do this instead



Would have spent about the same dollars

I think I could have purchased Peeble Beach

Don't pay a bunch of money to play on certain select teams to help son get a "scholarship."

The idea is a good one, but most parents spend more on summer/fall leagues (during high school) than they will ever earn in scholarship...

invest in a college fund when kid is born and play on a well respected team that doesn't charge you more than your monthly home mortgage for any one season...

but JMO..

As a lot of you know, I coached for 12 summers. If I could do it over, I would enjoy watching all the great kids I coached play ball and worried less about W's.

I would have laughed more, stressed less, hugged more, talked less, praised more, critisized less, and generally stayed the heck out of the way of a kid wanting nothing more than to have a good time playing America's game.

At the risk of potentialy offending many posters, I would recommend skipping games every so often. My "advice" was generally more accurate--and civil--when I only listened to my son's account of the games and his at-bats. They are also remarkably honest with their self-analysis. It also sends a nice message that the world does NOT revolve around his baseball schedule, contrary to popular belief. Trust me, you don't need to be there; they will generally do just fine without you.

Granted, not that easy to do.

I think one thing that I would change would be whenever I kinda let my son know that I wasn't too thrilled about the way he played that day, I would take it a little (a lot) more to heart when he told me "Dad, God knows I'm trying". Of course this wasn't in religious terms, just his way of saying how hard he was trying.

My son reached the D1 level. If we had to do it all over again, we would have put him in golf or tennis. That way no coach could ever take his sport away from him.

If I could start over with the Panther sons at 13 --- well --- I'd probably be a near perfect dad.

PD - I guess you will just have to settle for being the perfect granddad

Would this mean I would get back all of the hair I lost the past 2 years? I would have started mine in select ball sooner than 14. My son's goal has always been to be a better player at the end of the season than he was at the beginning. This did not occur the last year of dad-coach where the parents complained of practice and having their boys do drills, even though each parent thought their boy was going to play high school ball. The coach who started out with a good plan gave in to the parents and the season was a joke. Only three other boys on that team are playing high school ball and those three left the team at the end of the season along with my son.

We found a great program that emphasizes instruction and pushes the players to improve.

My favorite year was Tball. No one yelled everyone got a snack and a drink after the game and the score was never mentioned...

I would've had 13 been the start of my pitching career and not the fourth year of pitching considerable amounts.

quote:

Originally posted by Diablo con Huevos:
Don't pay a bunch of money to play on certain select teams to help son get a "scholarship."

The idea is a good one, but most parents spend more on summer/fall leagues (during high school) than they will ever earn in scholarship...

invest in a college fund when kid is born and play on a well respected team that doesn't charge you more than your monthly home mortgage for any one season...

but JMO..

1000% agree!!! It is well documented on this website that you get very little scholorship money for playing baseball in college. I am not afraid to tell you that almost 85% of my son's scholorship is paid by academics.

But, I would have not pushed my son to play fall ball and enjoyed ourselves at the deer lease more. I would keep my opinions about his bad outtings to myself and give him a pat on the back instead.

My youngest is only six and I can honestly tell you I learned lessons on things I would like to do differently and I am putting those lessons into action.

Starting at 13 again with FB son - I would definitely STRESS less!! The issues were NOT the end of the world. It is so easy to get carried away in the moment! I would praise more also. Just wouldn't trade some of the memories of those times in (huh Ringer1)?
FBM

Praise God, I've got a 13U playing, and I'm enjoying the heck out of it.

Now, if I can just keep TYCHCO under wraps, it's gonna be a great run regardless of how it turns out!

quote:

Originally posted by collikar:
Praise God, I've got a 13U playing, and I'm enjoying the heck out of it.

Now, if I can just keep TYCHCO under wraps, it's gonna be a great run regardless of how it turns out!

Due to Board Rules and Etiquette, I will moderate my comments...

Differently???
I had a blast so why do anything differently? However, we all know things are continually changing so we would have to do some things differently just to experience the same "results". Matching the player with the competition will always be one of the biggest challenges so finding the right team would be the first order of business.

quote:

Originally posted by Fast Ball Mom:
Starting at 13 again with FB son - I would definitely STRESS less!! The issues were NOT the end of the world. It is so easy to get carried away in the moment! I would praise more also. Just wouldn't trade some of the memories of those times in (huh Ringer1)?
FBM

We did have some great times!!! I would have to say last year was probably the best!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Fast Ball Mom:
Starting at 13 again with FB son - I would definitely STRESS less!!

Amen. I worried about so much stupid stuff.

...turns out the kid had it under control the whole time. And I never even noticed until he got to high school.