I apologize in advance if this not the appropriate forum for this topic. First time posting.
Late last year my youngest son told me he wanted to learn how to play baseball, and that he was willing to give the sport 100% effort. He turned 14 in October and, besides one season of NJB basketball at age 7, has never played organized sports. He always followed his older brother, who just graduated high school and who never showed any inclination to play any sports. Both my sons attended an arts school (dance conservatory) with no sports program.
I was more than a little surprised by my son's newfound love for the game. I only played little league ball as a kid, playing basketball and football through high school. I am in many ways just as green as my son when it comes to the sport, though I had previously followed MLB with mild interest. So I spent quite a bit of time asking friends questions regarding how to get my son started. We started playing catch and going to the batting cages often in December and January. Then we signed him up to a local pony league rec team where the coaches did a great job of being patient with my son and teaching him the fundamentals of the game.
He was a quick study with the bat, but his fielding and throwing needed major work. Moreover, he had a really big growth spurt between 13 and 14 years (he is 5'11" 155 lbs) and he is still awkwardly growing into his body. By the end of the season, he was one of the better hitters on a good team (including some kids who also played concurrently on a travel team), but still very far behind in fielding, throwing, and base running. We hired a hitting instructor that has really taught him to put his swing together.
After the season ended, I wondered where to put my son to continue his learning curve. We found a Summer ball pony rec league to play in. He also attended camp for his high school baseball team this summer and the coach indicated he will be part of the JV team next year (no Frosh team, he is an incoming freshman). He received some great instruction from the high school coaches and his fielding and throwing are coming along, though he still has a long way to go in those areas.
He is devouring all the instruction he can get and is making great strides for having only half a year under his belt. Since birth, my son has had a speech delay problem and he is dyslexic. So he has had many challenges in school and socially, and, as a consequence, was very shy and reserved. His growth spurt and baseball have given him tons of self confidence now.
Now, for Fall, I am out of ideas for where to put him. He has aged out of pony league. I understand 15U travel teams are uber competitive and require a higher level of skill, skill he does not yet possess. Any ideas as to next steps for Fall/Winter?
I am open to any and all suggestions. Any guidance you can provide for this new baseball dad would be much appreciated.
As an aside, I am so grateful that baseball has created this connection between my son and I. We were not close before late last year. I do not have the words to express how proud I am of my son for the courage to take up a new sport so late and grateful for the time together baseball has given us.
Cheers,
Robert