12U studs

Todays 12 yo studs are often tommoroms duds.
You are right those are stories.
Most MLB players will tell you it wasn't all smooth sailing. Many cut from teams etc. I can't think of any 12yo studs here that went anywhere. Maybe a couple but not many.

The kids who become the top high school players came from the pool of 12U studs. However, many 12U studs fail when they get on the big field.

Only four from my LL all-star team (only game in town then) played high school ball. Two played college ball and were drafted. The biggest, baddest flame throwing, hit the ball out of sight player was 5'9" in LL and 5'10" in high school. It wasn't that the other ten all-stars weren't good athletes. Nine played a high school sport. They just weren't good enough to be high school baseball players. One discovered chicks dig guitar playing lead singers and stopped playing sports.

A chubby, klutzy kid who didn't make all-stars became a 6'4", 245 pound flame throwing MLB pitcher for six years. He didn't pitch until his senior year of high school when the coach needed arms. He had been catching. The next year he was pitching in the SEC.

A kid from a rival LL ultimately became a Legion teammate and college summer ball teammate. He was hitting twenty homers a year in LL. He didn't bother with Babe Ruth level ball. He was too busy developing his golf game. I saw him hit some balls out of sight in Legion and summer ball. He was a first round pick out of college. He was doing great in the minors when he got injured a couple of times. Here's fate: Had he been one of the prospects packaged in a trade offer he would have been starting in the majors before the injuries occured in the minors. The MLB front office refused to include him in the trade. The deal fell apart.

There are four high school prospects from my son's '05 LL all-star team. Seven of the other eight are high school prospects in other sports. The eighth is too small and weak (5' with 5'6" dad and 5'1" mom). He peaked at 10U when he wasn't drastically smaller than everyone else.

The stud pitcher a year ahead of my son in LL, has already blown his arm out from playing LL and travel at the same time. Muscle distress has snapped his arm twice in the last three years. He's not expected to pitch again after breaking his arm in three places (one place twice) in three years.

I'm sure this is a common tale but the big stud kid on my LL team (late 70's) was 5'9" and hit a couple balls over 400 ft that year. I saw him a few years later and he was the same size, maybe an inch taller and never even played high school ball.

There were three kids I played LL with that played pro ball. One was a big kid in LL (5'7 - 5'8" topped out around 5'10") and the other two were undersized and developed late. The big kid ended up playing RB in the NFL, the other two...one played DB in the NFL for several years and the other topped out at AAA in the White Sox organization. So I'd say one of our two big kids made it, and two little kids made it.

Jon

It is good to hear success stories. My son is a 5'10", 160+ lb. stud shortstop who turns thirteen this fall. I have read on this site over and over how the 12 year old studs have no chance to play HS ball. It makes me a little nervous. But in his defense, his Grandpa was 6'5" and his 8 uncles are 6'2" to 6'6". Lets hope he keeps growing and improving. Height seems to be the key to success.

Three of the very best 12yo baseball players I've ever seen fizzled out in high school. They were faster and stronger than their peers and were amazing at 12, I thought they were without a doubt on the fast track to the majors. Now when I hear stories of phenoms I wonder...
Jordan was no phenom at 15, Lebron was and Pippin was not. I would guess that a larger percentage were studs at 12 in their sport, 6-7 of the ones playing in the minors that I know were very good at twelve, they just weren't the studs that caught everyones eye.

Thanks Stanwood. He definately wants it. Gets ****ed off when I say that's enough ground balls, swings, whatever. I have to tell him everyday that his body needs rest as much as it needs work. I hope he sticks with it but you never know.

What is the description of a 12 year old stud?

Mine was always the tallest, but he sure wasn't the team stud, he had a good arm and played his position well. The studs were the physically more mature players who showed power at the plate and had rocket arms. Very few went onto play college ball or beyond.

There is absolutely no guarantee that a 12 year old, stud or no stud will be playing baseball in or after HS.

FYI, in our area, the best most wanted player for years went Juco and then bust.

quote:

I have read on this site over and over how the 12 year old studs have no chance to play HS ball.

I would not sweat this out......its true many of the so called 12 yr old heros fizzle out before HS ball.......because there are a lot of turns along the way that catch up players.........the other players grow up, get better, run faster, or work harder...then add in girls, other sports and heaven forbid, behavior issues, you can see the thinning of the ranks.........

Baseball is definately a pyramid...the higher you go the smaller the amount of players who can make it.....and sucess at one level may be an indication of success at the next level, but it is certainly no guarantee of sucess at the next level......

try to enjoy this season.......

When you are referring to stud I'm guessing you mean 12yr old children who started maturing earlier then their team mates.
What a player does at age 12 has no bearing on what he will do in high school.
Some players develope their talents early, some later.
but once he has reached his full potential he will no longer advance to the next level.
Some players top level is LL, some hs, college, minor leagues.
Its nor when you start, its where you finish.

That is not my experience at all. Most of the kids that I saw that were the top players in AAU at 12 ended up being the best in HS. For instance.

12 AAU
Justin Jackson - TC Roberson HS Drafted
Chris Luck - South Granville HS Drafted
Madison Bumgardner - South Caldwell HS Drafted
Sam Runion - AC Reynolds HS Drafted
Ryan Leach - East Rutherford HS - UNC
Zeke Blanton - East Rutherford HS - UNC
Justin Poovey - South Caldwell HS - Florida
Jason Wallace - Ragsdale HS - App State
Catlin Carter - Ragsdale HS - App State
Wes McBride - West Forsyth HS - UNC Greensboro
Patrick Johnson - St Stephens HS - UNC
Vance Williams - Athens Drive HS - NC State
Quincy Lattamore - Middle Creek HS - Drafted
David Mailman - Providence HS - Drafted

I could on and on. All these guys were top level 12 year old players that I personally saw play. The same could be said for the 08 class.

Cameron Conner - South Wake Storm AAU - NC State
Pratt Maynard - Durham Diamonds AAU - NC State
Jeff May - Durham Diamonds AAU - UNC
Sean Madden - Durham Diamonds AAU - Lenoir Rhyne
Mike Dimmock - Triad Thunder AAU - Wake Forest
Mac Williamson - Wake Thunder AAU - Wake Forest
Jeremy Dowdy - Wake Thunder AAU - Clemson
Cameron Cockman - Triad Thunder AAU - UNCW
Tyler Hanover - Kernersville Cardinals AAU - LSU

Again I could go on and on as well. Most of the kids at 12 that were very good remained the top players in HS. Were there some that did not get better? Yes. But my experience has been that the better players at 12 were the better players at 13 and 14 and so on. Are there guys that develop later on , yes.

It is not definite that they will continue to be the better players. But from my experience it is a good indication of things to come.

Part of the problem lies in who is making the "stud" assessment when these kids are 12.

The truth is, lots of folks don't really know what they were looking for.

I would suggest that Coach May knew what to look for at that age and stage of development. The proof is in the pudding, you might say.

The problem with baseball is, everyone thinks they are an expert. I can find 30 experts in either side's stands at any given Little League game. But a lot of these experts, in truth, wouldn't know a budding future talent if he came up and bit them on their hind parts.

You know the types. They start their own travel teams at ages 12-14 because the other coaches just don't appreciate their sons. The high school coach cut their kid from JV but the high school coach didn't know beans. And of course, by mid-high school, their kid "burned out". Yada yada yada.

I'm not saying players that are good at 12 won't be good in hs and beyond.
But there are players who good at 12 that have had more training than others. Does not mean they will continue to develop
There are players who bigger and stronger than others who may not continue to develop as players.
Just has there are small players who will grow, and players will who just started playing at 12 that will be come great ball players.
None of the All Stars on my son 12yr LL team played beyond hs, most did not play in hs except my son and he was not considered a stud as a 4'9" 12 yr old

quote:

Originally posted by Doughnutman:
It is good to hear success stories. My son is a 5'10", 160+ lb. stud shortstop who turns thirteen this fall. I have read on this site over and over how the 12 year old studs have no chance to play HS ball. It makes me a little nervous. But in his defense, his Grandpa was 6'5" and his 8 uncles are 6'2" to 6'6". Lets hope he keeps growing and improving. Height seems to be the key to success.

The correct point would is being a 12U stud doesn't guarantee future success. A lot changes on the 60/90 field. Many early bloomers outmuscle the smaller fields and don't learn the game properly. They struggle on the big field.

Most importantly is where a kid is physically by high school, not 12U. I just checked my son's LL all-star picture. He was eighth of twelve in height. After growing five inches in the last five months he's now (age fourteen) the fourth tallest from that group. He's a late bloomer like his sister was (she's 5'10").

When you see a 5'8" 12U stud with a 5'8" father, the journey is usually close to over. If you looked at the parents of my son's all-star team, even though my son was one of the shortest (5'0"), mom (5'8") and I (6'1") were among the tallest.

I believe being shorter has been a benefit to my son. He's had to be very fundamentally sound to succeed. He was still the best player in his LL and one of the best on his 12U travel team. He hit the ball over the fence (fence scrapers ... I used to tease him the balls came back with yellow on them). He just didn't hit the "Did you see that!" bombs some other kids hit. Now he's growing. The game should get much easier for him if he maintains his same work ethic.

Strength and speed is more important than size. However size tends to contribute to strength and speed in many cases.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach May:
That is not my experience at all. Most of the kids that I saw that were the top players in AAU at 12 ended up being the best in HS. For instance.

12 AAU
Justin Jackson - TC Roberson HS Drafted
Chris Luck - South Granville HS Drafted
Madison Bumgardner - South Caldwell HS Drafted
Sam Runion - AC Reynolds HS Drafted
Ryan Leach - East Rutherford HS - UNC
Zeke Blanton - East Rutherford HS - UNC
Justin Poovey - South Caldwell HS - Florida
Jason Wallace - Ragsdale HS - App State
Catlin Carter - Ragsdale HS - App State
Wes McBride - West Forsyth HS - UNC Greensboro
Patrick Johnson - St Stephens HS - UNC
Vance Williams - Athens Drive HS - NC State
Quincy Lattamore - Middle Creek HS - Drafted
David Mailman - Providence HS - Drafted

I could on and on. All these guys were top level 12 year old players that I personally saw play. The same could be said for the 08 class.

Cameron Conner - South Wake Storm AAU - NC State
Pratt Maynard - Durham Diamonds AAU - NC State
Jeff May - Durham Diamonds AAU - UNC
Sean Madden - Durham Diamonds AAU - Lenoir Rhyne
Mike Dimmock - Triad Thunder AAU - Wake Forest
Mac Williamson - Wake Thunder AAU - Wake Forest
Jeremy Dowdy - Wake Thunder AAU - Clemson
Cameron Cockman - Triad Thunder AAU - UNCW
Tyler Hanover - Kernersville Cardinals AAU - LSU

Again I could go on and on as well. Most of the kids at 12 that were very good remained the top players in HS. Were there some that did not get better? Yes. But my experience has been that the better players at 12 were the better players at 13 and 14 and so on. Are there guys that develop later on , yes.

It is not definite that they will continue to be the better players. But from my experience it is a good indication of things to come.

You've cherry picked players from a wide area. The discussion is more about a random sampling of kids.

We could probably go all over the state and select the kids most likely to succeed. There would be 12U players starring we would leave of the list because they don't look athletic or are very mechanically flawed. They star on the small fields due to size and strength.

There was a LL/12U kid who was legendary in our area for hitting the rooftops across the street over the right field fence with his homers. When I saw the field my first comment was, "A lefty?" He wasn't a lefty. He was an extremely strong 5'8", 170 pound kid who swung like a gate. He stiff armed oppo bombs to the rooftops.

In 13U he sucked. He flew out a lot. Throw him a curve from sixty feet and he was Bo Bo the Dancing Bear. He struck out a lot. He was worse this year in 14U. He's the same size as when he was twelve. His dad is 5'7". The party is over for this kid.

When our kids were twelve I told a parent there were four baseball players on our all-star team. This is a team that went a long way and was only derailed by a team that went to the LLWS. I told the parent who the four players are. It's 15U fall ball. There are four high school prospects from this group. It's the four I selected when they were twelve. The parent asked how I could see that far ahead. I told him I know the game. I upset a lot of parents only taking those four on my 12U travel team. I knew when they were eleven, they were the only real potential players on the team.

quote:

Originally posted by Doughnutman:
It is good to hear success stories. My son is a 5'10", 160+ lb. stud shortstop who turns thirteen this fall. I have read on this site over and over how the 12 year old studs have no chance to play HS ball. It makes me a little nervous. But in his defense, his Grandpa was 6'5" and his 8 uncles are 6'2" to 6'6". Lets hope he keeps growing and improving. Height seems to be the key to success.

There are only a couple of people who can truly decide it's over; the coach who cuts your son and your son not believing he can improve his game. If your son doesn't believe the coach, improves his game and proves himself to another coach, the game goes on. It's not over until your son is told it's over and he believes it. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any Chris Coste's.

No I posted facts. Backed up with names and AAU teams played for and HS attended. Ask anyone from NC that watched 12u AAU baseball if they remember Madison Bumgardner. He went in the first round this year. The same can be said of Justin Jackson another first rounder. The fact is the best 12 year olds will make up most of the best 13 year olds. And the best 13 year olds will make up most of the best 14 year olds. And so on and so on. There will be "some" that will not continue to progress. There will be "some" that will come on as they grow and be outstanding players.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach May:
No I posted facts. Backed up with names and AAU teams played for and HS attended. Ask anyone from NC that watched 12u AAU baseball if they remember Madison Bumgardner. He went in the first round this year. The same can be said of Justin Jackson another first rounder. The fact is the best 12 year olds will make up most of the best 13 year olds. And the best 13 year olds will make up most of the best 14 year olds. And so on and so on. There will be "some" that will not continue to progress. There will be "some" that will come on as they grow and be outstanding players.

Your example is AAU travel players who were handpicked in the first place. There are many LL, Ripken and travel players around the country who peak on the small fields. I've seen kids peak at ten years old. It was the last time they got away with being bigger or stronger. What do a lot of the failures have in common? They're physical early bloomers. These failures stop growing. They go from 12U studs to 14U spuds. Their peers streak by them at fourteen to sixteen years old.

Whats the point? Is it that some kids peek early and dont get better? Yes that happens. Just like some kids are small and weak and stay small and weak. Whats the point?

Some kids are the best at 12 and the best at 18. I was giving examples of this fact. Some kids are not studs at 12 and are at 18.

Definition of a 12u stud; 6'2" 250- Holds the record for home runs at Cooperstown. Drafted by the Houston Astros in the first round out of high school.
I didn't know him as a 12yo but he's a example of a stud who kept working on his game and got drafted very high, still has a long way to the majors but he's off to a good start.
The point is that the initial poster made the comment that he feels EVERY mlb player was a stud at 12 and THAT's why he go some of the responses that he did.
I would guess that most mlb players showed signs of greatness at 12 but I doubt that all were studs that dominated at a high level.