14 year old pitching only?

Can your kid mentally handle letting go of his need to hit and play defense during the course of a season? Will he get bored focusing on one skill? Will your son stay motivated if he's only going to be given minimal innings on defense or is he the type that will want to be given a fair shot to compete for a starting job when he's not pitching.

I still think 14 yrs old might be a bit young to let go of his hitting and defensive pursuits. He should continue to develop all aspects of his game. You always want options in anything you do and he will immediately eliminate 2 of them if he focuses soley on pitching.

I think 14 is a bit young

We even use pitchers in the DH spot even with our travel team of seniors and juniors-- it is great to be a pitcher only if you are that "one in a million". For the other thousands of fine HS players they are better off being versatile to help their chances for a college situation.

Let him play baseball !!!!

TRhit

If your son is talented enough to play in the field and help a team then forget about developing him as a pitcher only. It gets pretty boring sitting every other game or two and baseball at 14 is more than winning it about developing your mind and body for all aspects of the game. My answer would be the same for an 18 YO who can play the field and not hurt his/her team .

He will only be 15! Have him play as many positions and as much as he can. Take the team that will let him do this, everything else being equal.

Thanks for your help.

"Give 'im the stinky cheese"

Well i agree he is young and i know i am young also but he shouldnt be strictly on pitching. Hes young he wants playing time and experience. If hes just pitching then he will not have as much experience at 1st, outfield, etc.. to add, he isnt at a strong point to really be consentrating on pitching u really dont want him throwing out his arm in college if hes throwing since 14 and the years before that. btw.. Dont be a team mom or dad. Be there and tell him whats up and what he did wrong but dont be mean but dont be nice either be serious with him, if hes not hitting his spots tell him whats wrong and what to do. (a dad should know what calms his son down)

Dont Try..
You Already Lost..

CL...Let him play with the team that was going to let him do both from the beginning.

It is obvious what happened with the other team, i.e., they realized that your son wanted to do both, so they "reconsidered" their position (s).

Too young to concentrate. Let him enjoy the game. He certainly isn't likely to "overpower" 16 year old competitive kids if he's 14; and, if he doesn't get a chance to play the field and has a bad outing while pitching, it could really hurt his development.

I coach a 14U AAU team and I feel strongly that you should not limit your boy to just pitching. 14 yo's are at a point in the maturity process that they are being pressured by their friends that are not ball players to give up baseball to hang out with them. Just pitching will take some of the excitement out of the game for him and make him a target for burnout. I always advocate playing at the highest skill level you are capable of - it will make you better. But this team doesn't seem willing to develop him in other ways. There are other negatives with playing up as well, such as being mixed in with older kids with older interests. I have a daughter that played varsity ball as an 8th grader and it helped her mature, but she was introduced too early to some things she should have not been until later. The younger kids try to be like the others to fit in and it may cause some problems for you down the road.