All I could do was shake my head...
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If the kid is truly enjoying it all, more power to him. At least he is working hard to realize his dreams and goals, competing in a sport he seems to love and likely isn't spending all hours of the day with a cell phone or game controller in his hands.... A lot to be said for a dedicated, driven 11 yr. old.
DesertDuck posted:If the kid is truly enjoying it all, more power to him. At least he is working hard to realize his dreams and goals, competing in a sport he seems to love and likely isn't spending all hours of the day with a cell phone or game controller in his hands.... A lot to be said for a dedicated, driven 11 yr. old.
I agree. One caveat though. Hopefully his parents are managing the finances appropriately in case baseball doesn’t work out for him. I would hate to see them unable to provide a decent education because they spent it all on training and baseball.
Hope it works out for him. Watching the video, it reminded me a bit of Tommy Boyer in this article:
www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-moneyb...-20130317-story.html
"7th Inning: The Prospect
Tommy Boyer, 11, does 100 sit-ups, sprints for 20 minutes and hits at least 70 baseballs off a tee every day. He fields 100 ground balls and retrieves 100 fly balls on alternate weekdays. He takes professional hitting and pitching lessons twice a week, executes daily speed and agility drills crafted by a professional trainer, and meets regularly with a sports psychologist.
His nutritional program calls for virtually no junk food and four protein shakes daily to put muscle on his 4-11, 90-pound frame.
Boyer, who once played in 183 baseball games in a calendar year, has averaged about 160 since he began playing travel ball at age 6, his father said.
Besides committing to play for Team MVP's 11-and-under team and the Weston Black Hawks 12-and-under squad, Boyer plans to suit up for at least another eight teams in 2013. That includes a squad in Dallas that Boyer's father said offered to fly the pair in and out of Texas on consecutive weekends.
"I hope to grow up and play in Major League Baseball, and get a scholarship," Tommy said before a game with Team MVP at Tamiami Park in Miami. "I love to play."
Tommy's father, Don, who operates a tree service business in St. Cloud, estimates he spends $2,000 a month on baseball.
Boyer said two other teams expressed interest in Tommy's services for this year, but both wanted him to fork over about $600 in fees and more money for a uniform. He said no, telling them: "Tommy gets everything paid for. Why should I pay you almost $1,000 when everybody else is paying for it?"
The Florida man said he constructed a 10-by-10-foot room off of his son's bedroom to hold all the medals and trophies Tommy has won.
"It's not about just having fun.It's not," Don Boyer said. "It's about going out and doing a job ... [Tommy] loves to play with the best and for the best."
RoadRunner posted:DesertDuck posted:If the kid is truly enjoying it all, more power to him. At least he is working hard to realize his dreams and goals, competing in a sport he seems to love and likely isn't spending all hours of the day with a cell phone or game controller in his hands.... A lot to be said for a dedicated, driven 11 yr. old.
I agree. One caveat though. Hopefully his parents are managing the finances appropriately in case baseball doesn’t work out for him. I would hate to see them unable to provide a decent education because they spent it all on training and baseball.
The dad makes six figures. So there is money. But the amount they spend per year on baseball is steep especially for the kid’s age. Who knows if he’s saving for college.
Fifteen years ago there was an SI cover story on the 10yo athlete. The story wasn’t much different. By high school the kid’s arm was toast. The kid played LF in high school and the story ended. At ten he was traveling the country playing as a visiting player with top travel teams.
The problem is when kids are this obsessed at a young age and it doesn’t end well they make psychologists a lot of money. Dr. Joel Fish in Philadelphia is one of the top sports psychologists. His top end clients are pro and Team USA athletes. At the other end are a lot of travel athletes who want to quit, or at the least tamp it down. But they are afraid their parents will be disappointed in them after all the money that’s been spent. They also lose their personal identity and self worth when they aren’t “that kid” anymore.,
Why does he have like 40 bats?
I think its pretty neat that the kid trains this hard and doesn't sit inside with video games or on his phone nonstop, BUT...wait until the drop 3 phase of baseball kicks in (bigger field, bigger competition) and other distractions start (girls, clicks, etc)...good luck to him and his parents.
**I love the turfed out garage though!
Very cool. Hope he continues his path, would love to see where he ends up.
But, can Joey read?
If he stalls at some point, he can always re-class a couple of times. There’s no shame these days in attending your senior prom as a 20-year old.
And, yes, I am kidding.
Well I thought it was cool until I saw their team name was "Select". Why did baseball organizations start taking up soccer terms for their teams....Premier, Elite and Select were soccer divisions. What ever happened to just being Bulldogs, Indians, Scorpions, etc, etc
Buckeye 2015 posted:.... Why did baseball organizations start taking up soccer terms for their teams....Premier, Elite and Select were soccer divisions. What ever happened to just being Bulldogs, Indians, Scorpions, etc, etc
They figured out that the profit margin is higher when the team name is Elite, Select, Premier, etc.
Always nice to see a story about a motivated kid.... hopefully the parents force some downtime to rest, hang out with friends, mix in another sport, play some video games, read, family vacation to the beach...… all to avoid burnout and to continue to enjoy his favorite sport. Parents seem pretty balanced, but I hope they manage his arm... avoiding the mound and staying in the field at his age will help protect his arm.
I have no problem with the kid being super motivated and working his butt off, no matter the age. But seeing those 20 bats hanging on the wall sends red flags from dad's direction, IMO. I loved the jump to BBCOR, as nothing was more annoying than the bat obsession at the youth level.
As I told my kids (and my golf buddies), if you can hit, the bat won't matter. Likewise, we used to take note of all the $400 singles that only happened because of the temporary technology.
CTbballDad posted:I have no problem with the kid being super motivated and working his butt off, no matter the age. But seeing those 20 bats hanging on the wall sends red flags from dad's direction, IMO. I loved the jump to BBCOR, as nothing was more annoying than the bat obsession at the youth level.
As I told my kids (and my golf buddies), if you can hit, the bat won't matter. Likewise, we used to take note of all the $400 singles that only happened because of the temporary technology.
When my son was playing 9/10 rec ball one of the most popular bats was a $60 TPX Laser. Why? My son, one of the best hitters had one. A lot of parents figured it was all in the bat.
My point was more around the amount of money Mom and Dad a shelling out and if they got the cash then more power to them. But to call the kid a phenom and exploit him by putting him on the cover of national magazines and to balance that with the visual's of his swing just don't seem to jive in my mind. In 20 years of coaching I've seen many kids have the better swing mechanics and better results (the video seems to show average results), and they didn't have 20+ bats hanging on the wall.
Love his enthusiasm and passion...I just hope the kid is working as hard on his homework as he is at baseball.
Over. The. Top.
Don't look now, but PBR NJ just tweeted that Joey will be at an upcoming showcase. Because what is a better idea than having an 11 year old hanging out for a day with a bunch of high school kids?
K9 posted:Don't look now, but PBR NJ just tweeted that Joey will be at an upcoming showcase. Because what is a better idea than having an 11 year old hanging out for a day with a bunch of high school kids?
Ridiculous
K9 posted:Don't look now, but PBR NJ just tweeted that Joey will be at an upcoming showcase. Because what is a better idea than having an 11 year old hanging out for a day with a bunch of high school kids?
I thought you were kidding.... nope, you weren't - https://twitter.com/PBRNewJers.../1062871643343777792