What challenges did your son have going to the BIG field?

My son transitioned pretty easily.  He has always been bigger, stronger and faster then most kids.  Some kids to well others struggle.  One thing most of the kids need to learn is that the field is actually bigger.  It takes longer to run between bases.  The runners need to know that they really need to be hustling.  The fielders need to learn that they have that extra step or two to make the throw.  Catchers need to learn to stop the ball as the backstop is 30' behind them and any ball past them will result in a stolen base.  Hitters need to learn that a pop-up is not going to result in an HR (with a few exceptions).  Runners need to learn how to take a good secondary but also need to keep an eye on the pitcher.  Kids that used to be able to make the throw from 3rd to first will need a stronger arm.

 

While some of these things seem to be skills that kids need on the smaller field as well the lack of them becomes amplified on the big field.

My son is "transitioning" right now.  Some pitchers seem to struggle with command at 60' that were strike throwers at '54.  I suspect it is mental.  Kids seem to make distance/judgement mistakes first couple of games, such as base runners running and being thrown out by 10 feet on a dropped ball at the plate, advancing an extra base on throws, etc.

 

Slow kids look even slower.  Kids with weak arms look even weaker.  250 ft home runs are now routine pop ups.  But play a couple games and you will forget about the smaller fields almost immediately.

Going through it now as you know.  First thing is all those swing down and hit it hard on the ground kids are dead now.  Ground balls are outs.  And most fields are grass now and they are not exactly smooth and freshly cut every day like mlb.  So balls get slowed significantly.  Need line drives and LONG fly balls.  Not only are 'pop ups' not home runs but 250 ft plus fly balls can be outs.  Batting averages drop significantly.   Mentally this can be tough on the kid used to hitting .500+.  Early in the season we are seeing a few more walks.  Overall the big field will swallow uo a lot of pretenders as will the bbcor later on.

If he can swing it, your son should be using a drop 5 this summer.  Going for a drop 10 to a drop 3 is big.  At least go to a drop 8.  As a catcher (I know your son is one), the trow is longer, but the baserunner has further to run also.  An accurate throw is more important then a fast throw.  

It's not as bad a transition if the team goes from 60' to 70' to 80' to the full 90' foot diamond.  My son's travel team did that over one season.  First few games at 70' then a number at 80'.  The final games of the summer/fall were on the 90' diamond.  By that time they had pretty much adjusted.

 

One additional comment to those already mentioned, the out field gaps (LC and RC) are now much bigger so the outfielders need to be identify gap shots quicker and have more speed.  And yes, the 250' HR's are now just routine fly ball outs.

 

 

It is a very long story but sadly my son is not "allowed" to swing anything but a drop 10 in practice or on the field...seriously don't even get me started.  For right now he is a line drive kid who hits middle or away because those are the only hits guaranteed to keep you in the line up...again, don't get me started.

 

  I figure he is going to have about 2 weeks to acclimate from a 50x70 field swinging a drop 10 to a 60x90 field using a drop 3.  As for catching...another topic that's complicated but at this point it's hard to say if I would classify him as a pitcher or a catcher...either way he has a very hard throw and I'm hoping he can hold his own on the big field.

CaCO3Girl:

The move to the "big" field leveled the playing field for some of the hitters who had trouble catching up to Little League fastballs; they were able to make more contact. Pitchers had to get used to the additional distance and some had trouble with control initially ("walk-a-thon) games. The "Little league heroes" with their big swings were now hitting fly balls that were caught, not check swing HRs.

 

As for my son, he was always more of a contact hitter, so the bat change didn't effect him in terms of his average. He is primarily a middle infielder but played some 3B. You talk about challenges..that throw from third (l-o-o-n-g). What did I tell him? Work on arm strength and most importantly I told him, the field won't change anymore but your arm will. Focus was on accuracy of throw (3B or SS), not just gun it over. When he was a CF, coaching was key at the beginning in terms of where he should stand, especially for power hitters. More bloops over infield on big field, so an OF who played deep would have a number of balls fall in front of him. Your son may have played different rules but running to first on a dropped third strike was new to many.

 

The catcher's throw was tough (longer as well), not always to blame as pitcher's were now to hold on runners. Biggest benefit to my son was being able to steal bases with a lead off, and not waiting until ball passes the plate. . Pitcher (control) and Catcher (no passed balls and a strong arm) were definitely key positions.

 

You will definitely enjoy the transition to the big field...son will too.

I see the most successful players are the ones that start to really understand the game at this age. There seems to be a big shift not just physically but mentally as well.  They go to the plate with an approach, know how the plays should go down and what to do with the ball once they get it. 

Get your bbcor out and measure exit velocity off the tee.  General rule of thumb is you need an exit velocity over 70 for success.  Upper 60's may be ok if you square it up at a very high rate.  Anything below that and you are in real trouble.

CaCO3,

Most of the kids my son played with were very good ball players and had good skills training, but nonetheless many kids tried to muscle the ball at first and their mechanics broke down.  I had to remind my kid to trust his swing mechanics and use his lower half, and if he hits the sweet spot with a BBCOR the ball will go.  Forget about BA and look for solid line drive contact.

 

Also, my son is a catcher and he had to resist the urge to heave the ball to second with too much effort.  A quick release with a good low one-hopper to second works just fine until the arm strength catches up.

Thanks Ripken Fan, his team seems to already have most of those rules at 12u.  Runners take leads, different for lefty vs. righty, they run on a dropped third strike (helpful if you have a runner on third!).  He is middle of the pack on running speed...these extra long base paths should be interesting!

I'd say please use smaller words, but they were all kind of small, so I will say please usedifferent words to explain what you meant by this.

Agree with the above, esp. with FoxDad -- if you're coming from 55-80, 60-90 isn't a huge jump.

 

I'll add:

 

For a good catcher the big field is a great opportunity and be one of the few that can control the running game at that age. Plus you'll play on more fields with lots of foul territory behind the plate, so blocking becomes so much more important, along with the ability to get outs out of foul popups.

 

For pitchers, obviously control and velocity are more of an issue, and often breaking pitches that were devastating become very hittable on the big field. Any kid throwing a football change or slurve probably needs to learn to throw a real curveball.

 

The big field exposes slow runners and rewards fast ones.  It's true that more grounders turn into outs, but quick guys still get to first a lot more often either by hit or by error, and quick guys who can bunt can get on a lot.  Nothing more depressing than a lefty pull hitter lacing liner after liner to the right side only to see the RF throw him out at first base every time.  Speaking of which, big arms become bigger.  Nothing more fun than seeing a CF throw a kid out at first on a what looks like a base hit, or a SS getting the guy at first on a ball in the 5-6 hole.

In wisconsin we go directly from 50/70 at 12 to 60/90 at 13.  It is a complete game changer.  But we played 54/80 in illinois this weekend and one of our pitchers got hit by a vicious line drive.  Hit him in the chest but more by the shoulder.  Inches from heart or head.  All of the sudden that 60/90 diamond was looking pretty good to we dads of pitchers.  And as I have said on here before it is an absolute shame (and sham) that all levels don't use wood or bbcor.  Money makes the world go round and trumps our kids safety.  Sickening.

Agree 100%!!!  My son and I actually counted how many kids got hurt "accidentally" as a direct result of his hitting this weekend.  Over 5 games the answer was 10!!!!  Three of which involved coaches on the field checking out the kids....at this point I'm less concerned with can he keep up and more concerned with how fast can I get him out of 12u, for others sakes!

As others have mentioned, that run to first is now very long. When you are dealing with middle school kids, the difference in leg length and stride, as well as weight, is huge from one kid to the next. For some kids, they will thrive with the extra distance. For others, it will feel like a lifetime for them to reach the bag. Literally, you might go grey waiting for them to make it. The throw from 3rd/short is also quite a bit longer and some kids will have trouble with the transition. The pop-ups become higher, and although they should be caught, a lot of kids have trouble reading the ball off the bat because of the added height and distance. Fortunately, these are all things that the kids adjust to as they get used to the field and as they grow. 

 

The BBCOR doesn't have nearly the pop that a -8 or -10 has, and it's also a lot heavier, so the BBCOR doesn't produce the same ball flight/distance.  Plus with the bigger field it's much more difficult to drive the ball into the outfield.  This can be discouraging to a kid who has always been a good hitter.  To compensate, some kids will start over swinging, using more of their arms and flying open.  It's counter-intuitive to these kids that the harder they try to hit the ball the worse the effect.  They have to trust their mechanics and drive with the legs/hip to generate bat speed.

ahhhh gotcha, thanks.

You obviously haven't seen my kid's freshman team play defense.