quote:Originally posted by RJM:
Personally, I don't believe where a kid plays prior to playing on the 60/90 field has any bearing at all on his future (high school or beyond). What matters is learning the basics of the game properly. But until the kid can walk on the 60/90 field and prove he belongs, anything he did previous to 13U (smaller fields) and where he did it (rec or travel) is meaningless.
I agree.
This topic contains different opinions and should be respected, regardless of whether we agree with them or not. Very hard sometimes to use our players as examples, because every player and every situation (including where you reside) is different.
FWIW, I am not a proponant of endless season travel ball for young players. Especially young pitchers, my son began kid pitch at 8 in rec ball, we thought moving him to a league that let him pitch would be beneficial. As I look back, not so sure if this was a right decision. At 10 we moved to a travel team within the league, and yes he enjoyed facing better competition at that age. Our travel ball at that age, was not like the travel ball of today, a few games a week, some tournies thoughout the tri county area. We kept it simple, there was no need to travel across country to face better 10,11,12,13 year olds. I don't think that it made much difference in where he is today, other than more work on his arm and kept him out of trouble and we enjoyed the experiences as a family. We met many crazy parents along the way. One I remember in particular, one of those who strutted about because their player was THE player everyone wanted, multiple teams, pitched and hit every game. Mom would go ballistic when the coach began, in HS using those that were moving ahead of him. I don't know where that player is today.
Travel ball for young players is booming, travel teams in general are booming for almost every sport, not so much because they need to play better competition, but because parents want their kids to have the edge over others, and we all know that doesn't always work to their advantage. They are reminded that if they want their son to make the HS team this is a neccesity. I don't agree, I have seen many kids with that innate ability Daque speaks of never play baseball before HS, yet obtain full scholarships and drafted out of HS and playing MLB today. IMO, nothing matters until one reaches HS.
As a good example, one player on a team I watched last year never played bb until he reached HS, played QB and caught the coaches eye and became a pitcher, not bad either for someone just learning the game and how it really works. This player was an athlete, which is what coaches and scouts look for more than anything else, athletic abilties, IMO.
One more thing, we moved early to the 60/90 field, I am not so sure that was a good decision either, but interestingly enough, for many of the really good players on the team, they began to fade away quickly.
I don't think that hanging out with rec ball players is a recipe for disaster, if a young player is having fun, that is all that matters in youth sports. What many tend to do, is push players beyond what they might be ready for, physically and mentally and that can be a recipe for disaster as well.