Bench:
Thanks, but I disagree. I don't obsess on pop time at all. Measure it, yes, just like we will measure all sorts of performance stats, such as batting average, pitching velocity, ball/strike ratio, foot speed.
Why measure things like this? Because they are an indication of a player's current skill level and progress at getting better.
I also disagree that he has "lots of time before he must worry about pop times or 60 times or anything else."
He wants to get better, has very high goals, and absolutely loves playing baseball. One thing he loves about it is that there are objective measures of certain things that are closely related to his skill as a ballplayer. He begs me to bring the stopwatch to practice and games (which I only do occasionally). He considers it fun to see if he can beat his lowest pop time.
The fact is, there are ways we can measure certain baseball related skills in an objective fashion. Why is it wrong to track those measurements for a 14 year old kid?
Would you tell that to a kid who did track? Not worry about his high jump personal record or his fastest 100 meter dash? Or a basketball player, not worry about how many free throws he can make out of 100? Would you tell them just to "have fun.?"
The fact is, it is fun to get better.
I agree that one should not "obsess" on measurements, but I think it is wrong to say that they should not be "worried about," which implies somehow that they shouldn't be measured at the tender age of 14.