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PW posted:

I guess this will help with some of the 12u kids transitionin to 13u BBCOR bats. Too bad USSSA and other travel ball associations aren't listed there. I wish this was done 6 years ago!

https://www.baberuthleague.org...ication-testing.aspx

Yeah, this is what I was referencing with the Little League changes in 2018. I didn't realize it was all those different organizations. The one conspicuously missing is USSSA.

If you're a youth bat manufacturer, no one will buy a youth bat for the 2017 season. OTOH, 2,000,000 little league kids will need a new bat for the 2018 season. I know what I'm getting 2025Son for Christmas in 2017.

2020dad posted:
Initech posted:

New Jersey to thread! I've been mostly lurking here since I discovered this board several years ago, but with a 2020 (8th grader, turned 14 this week), things being discussed are starting to be a little less "distant future" and more "near future!" I have one of those classic slow (super-slow), power-hitter 1Bs who can also pitch. (I also have a 10U who is 100x more athletic than his big brother, but loves basketball more, though he likes baseball.) Looking forward to following everyone's experiences!  

Woo hoo we brought somebody out of the woodwork!

Well semi-woodwork -- I do have over 100 posts.

I have recently referred parents of older players to the site when I hear some of the usual pain points brought up (camps/lack of recruiting interest), but I never hear back that the dads have actually come to the site. The old cliche about leading a horse to water would seem to apply... 

My 2020 had to come up through the School of Hard Knocks...daddy ball style. LOL 

Came up through local rec ball program and his all star team won the 8U Dixie Youth state 'ship. Shout out to rec ball because that was fun for all involved. 

9U season at the park was not good from a development standpoint. 

Started 10U travel team with some now lifelong friends from a couple of other all star teams from the county. 

11U - I thought my son was done with baseball. The best thing I did for him that year was let him fail.

About halfway way through the 12U season he started to figure things out again. I was really reluctant to move him up in the lineup because I never wanted anyone to accuse me of daddy ball. 

Last year at 13U other coaches recommended that he move up so he did and hasn't looked back. It hasn't been easy for him to play for me because I required him to (overly) earn everything. No regrets because he knows why I did it that way and he is no stranger to competition, which is all I can ask of him. Obviously, there are other things that I require but he has to compete. 

The old (fat) ball coach has retired and he is in a great organization and has primarily played outfield instead of first base. His team has lots of talent so he has to compete for what he gets but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

He'll play in the largest classification in GA next year so we'll see where he lands as a freshman. 

 

CaCO3Girl posted:
hshuler posted:

The bigger/stronger kids are still hitting the ball 350+ and it's not even hot yet. In a months or so the ball will start to carry more and you'll see more "taters"...but definitely not like last year. :-)

Um Hshuler, your kids team is full of exceptional kids.  Not sure what you are feeding them but send some to the other 14u teams!

My sons 14u team has three consistent 350 ft hitters and one that does it when he doesn't strike out, lol.  They are the biggest/tallest on the team, 3 are 9th graders and the other one is an 8th grader who is also the tallest on the team.

We feed them a steady diet of chicken quesadillas from East Cobb Cafe!

Seriously, the it's other teams too! There have been two hit out on the big fields at East Cobb that I know of. 

hshuler posted:
CaCO3Girl posted:
hshuler posted:

The bigger/stronger kids are still hitting the ball 350+ and it's not even hot yet. In a months or so the ball will start to carry more and you'll see more "taters"...but definitely not like last year. :-)

Um Hshuler, your kids team is full of exceptional kids.  Not sure what you are feeding them but send some to the other 14u teams!

My sons 14u team has three consistent 350 ft hitters and one that does it when he doesn't strike out, lol.  They are the biggest/tallest on the team, 3 are 9th graders and the other one is an 8th grader who is also the tallest on the team.

We feed them a steady diet of chicken quesadillas from East Cobb Cafe!

Seriously, the it's other teams too! There have been two hit out on the big fields at East Cobb that I know of. 

OMG I love their quesadillas!  Have you tried the funnel cake sticks?  Um, maybe this should go on the best foot topic, not really 2020 useful info, unless y'all come to ECB in which case you now know what to eat!

CaCO3Girl posted:
hshuler posted:
CaCO3Girl posted:
hshuler posted:

The bigger/stronger kids are still hitting the ball 350+ and it's not even hot yet. In a months or so the ball will start to carry more and you'll see more "taters"...but definitely not like last year. :-)

Um Hshuler, your kids team is full of exceptional kids.  Not sure what you are feeding them but send some to the other 14u teams!

My sons 14u team has three consistent 350 ft hitters and one that does it when he doesn't strike out, lol.  They are the biggest/tallest on the team, 3 are 9th graders and the other one is an 8th grader who is also the tallest on the team.

We feed them a steady diet of chicken quesadillas from East Cobb Cafe!

Seriously, the it's other teams too! There have been two hit out on the big fields at East Cobb that I know of. 

OMG I love their quesadillas!  Have you tried the funnel cake sticks?  Um, maybe this should go on the best foot topic, not really 2020 useful info, unless y'all come to ECB in which case you now know what to eat!

I haven't because of the quesadillas! :-)

Well, good luck tonight, 2020. Let us know how 2020 Jr. does on the bump...and best wishes to all the boys who are playing this weekend!

Headed to the park now to watch my son's team play two. 

I'm in also, long time lurker but I rarely post.  My son is a 2019, he is 5'11 170 lb  who plays varsity for a very good program.  He plays defense when the senior SS or 3b is pitching and is the full time DH when they are not.

 I cant say enough about how awesome his teammates have been.  My son was very nervous about how the seniors and juniors would accept him, with a few exceptions they have taken him under their wings and been very supportive.  

He started off hitting really well at our pre season tournament and carried it through the first couple region games, but has cooled off the last 4 He plays for a good travel team so hes been in many big games and tournaments but for some reason he feels like high school is life or death.  He worries about letting down the older players that have been so supportive.  I have to get the kid to relax and have fun.

Last edited by deuces wild

Hello everyone.  I joined this site 6-12 months ago and did nothing but read most of the posts for the last couple years.  I did not want to either start a new post or ask the same question(s) that may have already been covered.  So this is my first post.  I have a 2020 son who is loves to play ball and seems to be pretty good.   We are in MD and my son plays travel ball.  This site has tons of great information, but like a library full of books, trying to understand the next steps can be a bit overwhelming.  Especially if its the first time at the rodeo.  Thx again everyone for a nice site.  I would be in favor of having a 2019-2021 area to post. 

Dramatic start to the season - son went four strong innings (sigh of relief inserted here). Gave up two unearned on two hits. Walked three which for game one out of the box I was ok with over 4 innings.  Uncomfortably high 73 pitch count due to 4 errors in four innings!  Without the errors probably could have gone five. Left with a 4-2 lead. Then in too of six the put up 4 to take a 6-4 lead. We got a quick three without an out in the bottom to win on a walk off single (time limit). Now time to take a breath and relax after getting opener out of the way. Now it's just time to play a bunch of baseball!!

2020dad posted:

Dramatic start to the season - son went four strong innings (sigh of relief inserted here). Gave up two unearned on two hits. Walked three which for game one out of the box I was ok with over 4 innings.  Uncomfortably high 73 pitch count due to 4 errors in four innings!  Without the errors probably could have gone five. Left with a 4-2 lead. Then in too of six the put up 4 to take a 6-4 lead. We got a quick three without an out in the bottom to win on a walk off single (time limit). Now time to take a breath and relax after getting opener out of the way. Now it's just time to play a bunch of baseball!!

Dude - You have to take your meds and relax...lol! Tell your boy that Uncle Shu said "good job!"

deuces wild posted:

I'm in also, long time lurker but I rarely post.  My son is a 2019, he is 5'11 170 lb  who plays varsity for a very good program.  He plays defense when the senior SS or 3b is pitching and is the full time DH when they are not.

 I cant say enough about how awesome his teammates have been.  My son was very nervous about how the seniors and juniors would accept him, with a few exceptions they have taken him under their wings and been very supportive.  

He started off hitting really well at our pre season tournament and carried it through the first couple region games, but has cooled off the last 4 He plays for a good travel team so hes been in many big games and tournaments but for some reason he feels like high school is life or death.  He worries about letting down the older players that have been so supportive.  I have to get the kid to relax and have fun.

When my son stresses I have him help out my daughters 7u baseball team. He starts going on about being early and planes of the swing and the 7 year olds inform him real quick that they do not know what he is talking about they just want to hit the ball their coach throws.  It's a back to basics eye opener.

hshuler posted:
2020dad posted:

Dramatic start to the season - son went four strong innings (sigh of relief inserted here). Gave up two unearned on two hits. Walked three which for game one out of the box I was ok with over 4 innings.  Uncomfortably high 73 pitch count due to 4 errors in four innings!  Without the errors probably could have gone five. Left with a 4-2 lead. Then in too of six the put up 4 to take a 6-4 lead. We got a quick three without an out in the bottom to win on a walk off single (time limit). Now time to take a breath and relax after getting opener out of the way. Now it's just time to play a bunch of baseball!!

Dude - You have to take your meds and relax...lol! Tell your boy that Uncle Shu said "good job!"

Agreed, sounds like your boy did fine. At least you know what is earned and unearned and all that good stuff.  My son an I were trying to figure out his batting average last night and we were hopeless.  Last tournament his hitting was not his typical bombs but for random reasons he still got on base FIVE times when he shouldn't have. We came to the conclusion (might have been the Kalhua and milk on my part) that the actual average wasn't that important, he just needed to get on base however he could.

Four innings sounds great, had he only gone one or two it would have detracted from a pitcher they had slated for bracket play.  My boy plays two today, wish him luck!

Son is skipping baseball tournament today for a HS Alumni "family" basketball tournament in his grandparents small town. Family has lived their since the '20's.  He will play with his two nieces (20 and 24yo, one who played four year varsity volleyball at TAMU), nieces 6'8" husband, 5' 0" 7th grade cousin and a couple more family odds and ends players.  They play other "family" type teams.  It's in the HS gym, with refs, clock, scoreboard and tournament style brackets.

Think several small family reunions at one time, with the best (and younger) ones playing in the basketball tournament.

hshuler posted:
2020dad posted:

Dramatic start to the season - son went four strong innings (sigh of relief inserted here). Gave up two unearned on two hits. Walked three which for game one out of the box I was ok with over 4 innings.  Uncomfortably high 73 pitch count due to 4 errors in four innings!  Without the errors probably could have gone five. Left with a 4-2 lead. Then in too of six the put up 4 to take a 6-4 lead. We got a quick three without an out in the bottom to win on a walk off single (time limit). Now time to take a breath and relax after getting opener out of the way. Now it's just time to play a bunch of baseball!!

Dude - You have to take your meds and relax...lol! Tell your boy that Uncle Shu said "good job!"

hshuler posted:
2020dad posted:

Dramatic start to the season - son went four strong innings (sigh of relief inserted here). Gave up two unearned on two hits. Walked three which for game one out of the box I was ok with over 4 innings.  Uncomfortably high 73 pitch count due to 4 errors in four innings!  Without the errors probably could have gone five. Left with a 4-2 lead. Then in too of six the put up 4 to take a 6-4 lead. We got a quick three without an out in the bottom to win on a walk off single (time limit). Now time to take a breath and relax after getting opener out of the way. Now it's just time to play a bunch of baseball!!

Dude - You have to take your meds and relax...lol! Tell your boy that Uncle Shu said "good job!"

Can't argue with you. Get way too nervous when my son pitches.  

Good luck Caco. And he is normally a bracket play pitcher.  He is our #2. But he and the number 1 will both pitch pool play this tournament. As well as the 3.  We are in a tough tournament and our only goal is to make it to Sunday. Only 6 of the 14 teams stay and the competition is steep.  So we made the decision to not care too much who pitches Sunday. Just getting there will be an accomplishment. Normally a Friday night we would pitch all our best pitchers one maybe two innings if pitch count is low.  Then they could pitch Sunday as well. 

 

2020dad posted:

Dramatic start to the season - son went four strong innings (sigh of relief inserted here). Gave up two unearned on two hits. Walked three which for game one out of the box I was ok with over 4 innings.  Uncomfortably high 73 pitch count due to 4 errors in four innings!  Without the errors probably could have gone five. Left with a 4-2 lead. Then in too of six the put up 4 to take a 6-4 lead. We got a quick three without an out in the bottom to win on a walk off single (time limit). Now time to take a breath and relax after getting opener out of the way. Now it's just time to play a bunch of baseball!!

Dude - You have to take your meds and relax...lol! Tell your boy that Uncle Shu said "good job!"

Can't argue with you. Get way too nervous when my son pitches.  

Good luck Caco. And he is normally a bracket play pitcher.  He is our #2. But he and the number 1 will both pitch pool play this tournament. As well as the 3.  We are in a tough tournament and our only goal is to make it to Sunday. Only 6 of the 14 teams stay and the competition is steep.  So we made the decision to not care too much who pitches Sunday. Just getting there will be an accomplishment. Normally a Friday night we would pitch all our best pitchers one maybe two innings if pitch count is low.  Then they could pitch Sunday as well. 

It's the start of the season, I'm sure every team is trying to figure out their own secret recipe for success.  

Two weeks ago the coaches put my son in as the starting pitcher in the second pool play game. Coming from the 12u fifty foot mound they hoped he could go two or three innings. At inning 6.3 they pulled him because the game was tied two-two and they were afraid he would run out of gas.  His pitch count was just shy of 70 with one walk and a wonderful defense that really backed him up.  All of a sudden he's a bracket pitcher.

I have a 2021 5'11" 150lbs hitting 82mph max pitching. Sitting 79-80mph with ease(yes, I know the reactions to reporting this velocity and yes, I know how fast this is for a 13u). I know his velo from various tryouts on teams I can't afford. He has yet to play a game this season and is a little disappointed. He decided to miss the drama of MS ball to work on hitting and fielding. His hitting is actually below average and I am clueless as to what happened.  I agree there is a lot of drama with the MS program. He plays travel ball, but  they haven't yet begun playing yet. Looking at late May before their season starts which will be in Myrtle Beach. Considering guest play until then, but not sure, nor is he. I'm a little concerned about him not getting the practice and throwing time in before the TB season starts which may lead to injury.

Maybe that's a high velocity for your area, but it's not uncommon for a middle school age kid that is 5'11" and 150lbs to cruise at 80 where I'm from. We've got 4 on our middle school team that stay between 77 and 82 and all are under 6' tall. I would be more concerned with throwing more than 1 pitch and being able to locate.

As far as the middle school drama goes, it is what you make it. There will be drama on most teams. 

PW posted:

Maybe that's a high velocity for your area, but it's not uncommon for a middle school age kid that is 5'11" and 150lbs to cruise at 80 where I'm from. We've got 4 on our middle school team that stay between 77 and 82 and all are under 6' tall. I would be more concerned with throwing more than 1 pitch and being able to locate.

As far as the middle school drama goes, it is what you make it. There will be drama on most teams. 

That must be a good middle school team. Just out of curiosity, what is the average fastball speed on your high school varsity?

bebobuno05 posted:

I have a 2021 5'11" 150lbs hitting 82mph max pitching. Sitting 79-80mph with ease(yes, I know the reactions to reporting this velocity and yes, I know how fast this is for a 13u). I know his velo from various tryouts on teams I can't afford. He has yet to play a game this season and is a little disappointed. He decided to miss the drama of MS ball to work on hitting and fielding. His hitting is actually below average and I am clueless as to what happened.  I agree there is a lot of drama with the MS program. He plays travel ball, but  they haven't yet begun playing yet. Looking at late May before their season starts which will be in Myrtle Beach. Considering guest play until then, but not sure, nor is he. I'm a little concerned about him not getting the practice and throwing time in before the TB season starts which may lead to injury.

That is very good velocity. FWIW, the highest velocity that PG currently has in its database for the class of 2021 is 81 . . . so 82 is (obviously) good for that class.

2019Dad posted:
bebobuno05 posted:

I have a 2021 5'11" 150lbs hitting 82mph max pitching. Sitting 79-80mph with ease(yes, I know the reactions to reporting this velocity and yes, I know how fast this is for a 13u). I know his velo from various tryouts on teams I can't afford. He has yet to play a game this season and is a little disappointed. He decided to miss the drama of MS ball to work on hitting and fielding. His hitting is actually below average and I am clueless as to what happened.  I agree there is a lot of drama with the MS program. He plays travel ball, but  they haven't yet begun playing yet. Looking at late May before their season starts which will be in Myrtle Beach. Considering guest play until then, but not sure, nor is he. I'm a little concerned about him not getting the practice and throwing time in before the TB season starts which may lead to injury.

That is very good velocity. FWIW, the highest velocity that PG currently has in its database for the class of 2021 is 81 . . . so 82 is (obviously) good for that class.

This right here is what makes this age group so confusing.  If you say I have a 2021 throwing 82 people in general say wow!  If you say I have a 5'11 150# kid throwing 82 people say keep him working his numbers could get interesting. If the kid is expected to get to 6'5 then it gets really interesting.

Freaking puberty stick!  It can really mess with the data.

2019Dad posted:
PW posted:

Maybe that's a high velocity for your area, but it's not uncommon for a middle school age kid that is 5'11" and 150lbs to cruise at 80 where I'm from. We've got 4 on our middle school team that stay between 77 and 82 and all are under 6' tall. I would be more concerned with throwing more than 1 pitch and being able to locate.

As far as the middle school drama goes, it is what you make it. There will be drama on most teams. 

That must be a good middle school team. Just out of curiosity, what is the average fastball speed on your high school varsity?

It is a good middle school team. We faced 3 other middle schoolers this year that were steady around 80mph. Our varsity is pretty good. 3rd in the state right now. We've got 2 kids (senior and sophomore) cruising at 89. We've got a sophomore lefty at 85. We've got 2 more juniors at 85. Several of them were at 80 in middle school.

I have to agree with CACO3GIRL about the puberty thing. Early puberty can be a real false indicator on how good a player will be in the future. You can't really measure him against his own age anymore. If he is 13 but looks like a typical 16 year old, then compare him to 16 year olds. That will give you a better indication of how he will be in the future. He will probably, PROBABLY, not add much velocity over the next few years. There is always exceptions of course. And I'm not saying that 80mph for a middle schooler is average at all. I know it's a good velocity. 

bebobuno05 posted:

I have a 2021 5'11" 150lbs hitting 82mph max pitching. Sitting 79-80mph with ease(yes, I know the reactions to reporting this velocity and yes, I know how fast this is for a 13u). I know his velo from various tryouts on teams I can't afford. He has yet to play a game this season and is a little disappointed. He decided to miss the drama of MS ball to work on hitting and fielding. His hitting is actually below average and I am clueless as to what happened.  I agree there is a lot of drama with the MS program. He plays travel ball, but  they haven't yet begun playing yet. Looking at late May before their season starts which will be in Myrtle Beach. Considering guest play until then, but not sure, nor is he. I'm a little concerned about him not getting the practice and throwing time in before the TB season starts which may lead to injury.

I got a place he can guest play!!!  Those are some great numbers. 

PW posted:

Maybe that's a high velocity for your area, but it's not uncommon for a middle school age kid that is 5'11" and 150lbs to cruise at 80 where I'm from. We've got 4 on our middle school team that stay between 77 and 82 and all are under 6' tall. I would be more concerned with throwing more than 1 pitch and being able to locate.

As far as the middle school drama goes, it is what you make it. There will be drama on most teams. 

PW I assure you as a guy for whom velocity is a passionate hobby there is nothing common about 13u's throwing 80. If you have four of them that is quite an anomaly.   Just peak at the PG tournament velocities and I think you will change your mind. In all the tournaments we played last year I gunned exactly one kid throwing 80. 

So, how did everyone do this weekend?  Any crazy stuff happen?  In the championship game my son had the slowest stolen base known to man!

He hit a good shot out to center, as he was rounding first the 1B got in his way and tripped him up, he got a little disoriented and when he got up he looked at the ump for a call.  The ump was apparently explaining to the catcher how his pitcher needs to throw a little more inside *picture hand motion*...my son thought he was awarded second based on 1B interference and causally walked/jogged to second.  When he got there he stood on the base right next to the 2B who was HOLDING the ball in his hand!  The umpire walked out and said "You all realize that ball was still live AND that boy just stole a base on you right?"  The other teams coach yelled for a time out and the 2B looked mortified!  My son in typical 14u fashion just looked confused.  His team erupted with laughter and cackles and they wound up coming back from a 7 run deficit to win the game!  Man I love baseball!

Last edited by CaCO3Girl

Ok so busy weekend.  Couple of thoughts. First I just think PM's are a pain and will be a buzz kill for flow of conversation.  At the same time something happened this weekend that if I were to discuss it at all I would probably ONLY want to do it via PM. So I see a need for both. Why don't we just keep this thread going for our general discussion AND add a group PM for things a little more sensitive or potentially embarrassing. Caco would you be willing to start a group PM?  

2020dad posted:

Ok so busy weekend.  Couple of thoughts. First I just think PM's are a pain and will be a buzz kill for flow of conversation.  At the same time something happened this weekend that if I were to discuss it at all I would probably ONLY want to do it via PM. So I see a need for both. Why don't we just keep this thread going for our general discussion AND add a group PM for things a little more sensitive or potentially embarrassing. Caco would you be willing to start a group PM?  

Let me see what I can throw together.

2020dad posted:
PW posted:

Maybe that's a high velocity for your area, but it's not uncommon for a middle school age kid that is 5'11" and 150lbs to cruise at 80 where I'm from. We've got 4 on our middle school team that stay between 77 and 82 and all are under 6' tall. I would be more concerned with throwing more than 1 pitch and being able to locate.

As far as the middle school drama goes, it is what you make it. There will be drama on most teams. 

PW I assure you as a guy for whom velocity is a passionate hobby there is nothing common about 13u's throwing 80. If you have four of them that is quite an anomaly.   Just peak at the PG tournament velocities and I think you will change your mind. In all the tournaments we played last year I gunned exactly one kid throwing 80. 

Maybe I just live in a very talented area. 2 of the kids on our team are 2021s and 2 are 2020s. All 4 have gone through puberty and look 16. Just curious, how many 2020s does PG list throwing 80? All the kids I've seen throwing this hard in 7th or 8th grade have gone through puberty early. 2 years ago we had 2 more that cruised at 80. They were 8th graders though.

On another note...   Question for the group. Because of the format of our tournament this weekend only 6 of the 14 teams advanced to Sunday play. Lost (run ruled) to the team that finished 2nd.  The way the tie breaker worked was runs allowed for first tie breaker.  We were down like 9-0 and it was apparent we would get 12 run ruled or 10 runned if we could hang for another inning. We needed to keep them to 12 runs or less to survive the cut. Our kid doubles. The next kid singles. Do you hold the runner at third?  Or score him knowing it just about kills your chances to play on Sunday?  By scoring that run they will now run rule you 13-1 rather than 12-0. That one extra run keeps you from playing at least one more game in the tournament. What do you do?

PW posted:
2020dad posted:
PW posted:

Maybe that's a high velocity for your area, but it's not uncommon for a middle school age kid that is 5'11" and 150lbs to cruise at 80 where I'm from. We've got 4 on our middle school team that stay between 77 and 82 and all are under 6' tall. I would be more concerned with throwing more than 1 pitch and being able to locate.

As far as the middle school drama goes, it is what you make it. There will be drama on most teams. 

PW I assure you as a guy for whom velocity is a passionate hobby there is nothing common about 13u's throwing 80. If you have four of them that is quite an anomaly.   Just peak at the PG tournament velocities and I think you will change your mind. In all the tournaments we played last year I gunned exactly one kid throwing 80. 

Maybe I just live in a very talented area. 2 of the kids on our team are 2021s and 2 are 2020s. All 4 have gone through puberty and look 16. Just curious, how many 2020s does PG list throwing 80? All the kids I've seen throwing this hard in 7th or 8th grade have gone through puberty early. 2 years ago we had 2 more that cruised at 80. They were 8th graders though.

I don't know if they keep lists for kids that young.  You can find numbers from their old larger events, though a lot of teams are not represented there.  By example, in 2015 

http://www.perfectgame.org/eve...ault.aspx?event=2523

Only 53 of 205 14u (2018-2019) pitchers, from better teams around touched 80.  My guess is that of those that hit 80 most cruised much lower.  Rare pitchers are above, up to 86.

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