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This is a joke right? I am hoping this is a poor attempt at humor...
Its possible it's true. Our Y starts t ball at age three. USSSA offers 4u and 5u t ball national championships. By 6u it's time to step it up.
Iv'e been told it is a good idea to wait until 7U to learn how to throw a slider. Can someone let me know if this is true or not?
CoachJoe, do you have any clue how irresponsible your comments are? Sliders at 10? Intimidating 6 year olds? How long have you studied the Baseball for Dummies book?
I really don't know what else to say but, "Wow!" I know that I have made mistakes, and that I have been a little "Over the Top", but this just blows me away...
The OP is auditioning for HBOs Trophy Kids II.
I think you underestimate what it takes to get to the MLB.
Joe ... You're on a board with parents of players in the majors, minors, college ball and high school players aspiring to go further. There are also college, high school and travel coaches on this board. You can also toss in some pro scouts. While you are entitled to your opinion expect a strong majority of respondents to find your position absurd.
The first time my son traveled outside the county on a regular basis was 13u. The first time he traveled out of the state on a regular basis was 17u. His game is just fine. I've also been through the process on the softball side. My daughter did just fine without going over the top. You will find you can hand pick physical early bloomers, train them to death and win. I never understood the value of crushing other little kids in a tournment. The best way to develop the mental side of the game is being in a lot of cha!lenging, close games.
Post puberty is the make or break point of baseball. What preteens need is development of fundamentals and building a passion for the game. Welcome to the board.
Coach Joe,
To this point, no one has questioned your credential. The comment "how long have you studied the baseball for dummies book?" was sarcasm. However, you may be right that it would be helpful if we knew more facts about your situation. Since you mentioned it, please tell us more about your background, what has compelled you to keep this group of young kids together, what the goals are, etc.
As FYI, the group of posters you are telling to "move on" all have kids in the game who are at the college and pro level. They are far from average players. These posters have gone to great lengths to help many aspiring players and parents of those players navigate the process. If you stick around past this initial point of contention, I think you will find this site can be very helpful to you as well.
You should know your facts before stating that posters on this site are happy with their sons being average. (if you want my son's credentials, just ask, I will provide them.) I strongly disagree with your 6u Travel Team. What a joke! Good Luck with not burning your son, and the other kids out. At six, kids care more about their after game snack than the game itself.
Hang in there, Coach Joe. Sometimes we admonish out of love for the game (and the kids). We just don't want you to be one of those guys.
Welcome to the board, and Merry Christmas.
Just out of curiousity....do you really expect to get 6U kids from more than 35-40 miles away from you? Wouldn't it be easier to advertise in your local paper or a local sports forum of some kind instead of a message board catering to a national audience???
I am speechless. Todd Marinovich part duex.
Iv'e been told it is a good idea to wait until 7U to learn how to throw a slider. Can someone let me know if this is true or not?
BOF, I would recommend you limit your son to a splitter until age 4. At age 5 or so, it is okay to work in the fork ball or cutter. A knuckle is good at 6 and the slider is best worked in at 7. Is your son doing better than "average"? Bum, Jr. is still working on his wiffle-curve.
I am thinking that these kids will be masters of the palm ball change-up!
CoachJoe, are you seeing any TJ surgery before the age of 10?
6U????? the attention span gets you what, a 3 inning game?
Just ran into a friend today who told me his brother's friend's son is looking for a team. I told him about this and he's interested. Keep in mind..this info is from his dad....not me...so it's got to be true....right???
-His son turns 7 on May 2nd...which is perfect. He'll be the oldest kid in the entire country playing 6U....he should dominate.
-The kid is 4'8 and weighs 90 lbs
-Runs the 60 in 8.2
-FB is 55...great curve and exit velo off the tee is 72
-He hit .892 last year....now keep in mind, that was coach pitch...but his dad says that he always pitched faster to him than he did to the other kids. Only struck out 3 times in 12 games. Never walked...the kid just wants to hit!!!
-Stole 18 bases....well, he would have...stealing's not legal in coach pitch...so he always had to go back....but would have been safe everytime.
Now the important stuff:
His dad owns a plane...and is probably willing to fly the team ANYWHERE for free.....
The kid's mom is HOT!!!!!! So you'll obviously want to plan accordingly when deciding where to play....hotels with pools....or better yet, near the beach, are a must...as her pink bikini is killer.
Good luck....hope it works out....keep us posted 
Seems like "Coach Joe" has left the building.
The kid's mom is HOT!!!!!! So you'll obviously want to plan accordingly when deciding where to play....hotels with pools....or better yet, near the beach, are a must...as her pink bikini is killer.
My oldest (15yo) has said I should start a travel team at my younger son's age group(8U). The main qualification to join the team is to have a hot mom or older sister.
His opinion was that we might suck, but the after tourney pool parties would be awesome.
Since we are from the same area; my son has played at Bakersfield Park more times than I care to remember and has some great friends a FM and Marcus HS...So take this with a grain of salt or a grain of sugar...
He didn't play ball until 7u and that was after he saw his buddies at tryouts. He thought baseball was the dumbest game he ever saw. He was an avg 7u kid but fell in love with the game. At 8u; he made the local all-star team that won some Super Series tournaments and just missed their state tournament. At 9u; he was invited to join a select team and was the #11 player on a 11 man roster. Team went 46-9. Of those 11 players, 5 start on their varsity team (2-3A, 1-4A, and 2-5A). 4 don't play baseball at all and 2 were on jv as juniors and not starting. He is the only one that will be playing college baseball. There was a kid that tried out for his team and was not good enough. Tried out for his 10u, 11u and 12u but couldn't make team. Kid signed a D1 scholarship this fall.
My son was never the best player on any team. He played at 10u, 11u, 12u, etc and was never top player. He was hurt middle of 13u season and ever kid on that team will be playing college ball. 4 will playing college football and others will be playing baseball.
With all that said; here is a question that we would ask every kid at tryouts and every parent at tryouts. "What is your baseball goal"
Kids will say college or MLB or such...that was great. We wanted to get the kids to dream and have goals in life. Talked about it constantly.
ANY parent that said college or pro baseball before 15u; kid was not allowed to play on the team. Your son is way, way, way, way, way, way, way too young to be talking MLB and minors. Take this with the love intended; you would be a headache parent to deal with. The purpose of 6u ball is to have fun, learn the game and get ready for (wait for it, wait for it) 8u baseball. Nothing more!!!
Yes, have your son on a good team and have fun and go win some tournaments and trophies. Nothing wrong with that; if your purpose is to get ready for 8u baseball. Then when you get to 8u, your purpose is to have fun and get ready for 9u.
Good luck with your son and the team. Enjoy it all and please, please, please, please don't burn your son out. Don't cut kids at 6u, 7u, or 8u. You NEVER know who will continue to progress and who will have 8u baseball as their glory days.
Wow. I'm still not sure what to make of this entire exchange...
OA511, great post. Agree 100% with what you say. You can't predict where a six or eight year old player is going to end up. My kid played his first season at six and sat on the bench at age 10 as a reserve outfielder.. smallest kid on each team. Fourteen years later, he's still playing and he's not much bigger. Just better. Those kids who matured early or who had dads that guaranteed them playing time have hung up their cleats long ago. It is pure folly to attempt to predict "elite" pre-pubescent players.
Coach Joe's description of his 6-y.o. players as "gifted athletes" really amazes me. If he really believes this there is something definitely twisted here.
I am pretty sure CoachJoe is not coming back... at least for another 10 years or so when it really starts to matter. LOL.
Julie probably won't go for it since she is so nice, but it would be fun to have a "infamous" thread where we could put some of these. This is up there, but still a long way from the guy who wanted to know the best place to live so he could build a house and a baseball field for his son and fly around in his jet.
I think Coach Joe is a 12 y.o. kid who just got his computer priveleges revoked by his mommy.
I think Coach Joe is a 12 y.o. kid who just got his computer priveleges revoked by his mommy.
Coach Joe is serious. I looked up the organization on the uniforms in the picture. Baseball starts at 3u.
I actually think CoachJoe believes he can raise a group of 6 year olds to go to the MLB, and that's a logic that is detached from reality. In Bum, Jr.'s h.s. years, there was a group of kids who played together since age 5 that were brought (two years behind son) who had that network of over-the-top dads. A few of the players "moved" to son's h.s. district to play. Just insane stuff. All went JC except two. Only one still playing. Select baseball, travel teams, and intense training has its place (after age 13) but cannot replace talent and genetics. Kids who you least expect to shine as a 6 y.o. do so in h.s. I'm thinking Bum, Jr. would have been cut from Coach Joe's team, and that's the point I'm making.
If this guy is legit, it would be interesting to start tracking them now and see where they end up in 10 yrs, a great case study for another HBO documentary
I remember kids from ages 7-12 starring on sma!l fields. Their dads had them getting weekly instruction year round. The problem was when these kids hit the big field they didn't have the athletic ability and/or strength to continue to succeed.
Before anyone whips out the nature/nurture debate I believe the kids who typically go the furthest have had their nature nurtured. Some kids are so talented they get away without the nurturing. But you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear.
BUM and RJM you guys are absolutely spot on:
When my son played LL there was a kid who was the best 10YO pitcher I have ever seen: he was a terror and every kid hated to go up against him. When he went to the Pony field he was competitive, but not great, when he went to 60/90 field he was a non event.
When my son started travel ball at 12U on a competitive team there was a kid on the team that the coach raved was so dominant at 10U. This kid got worse over the 1st season my son played and it got to the point the next year where the kid should have never been on the team. But everyone kept remembering how good the kid use to be.
The jury is still out for my son who will be playing his 1st year of 60/90 in high school. He did play on a junior American Legion team this last summer and did terrible at pitching. He was having a hard time adjusting to the smaller strike zone. He was always dominant at 54 ft and shorter pitching distance. But the past is history and the future is a mystery. 
I think Coach Joe is a 12 y.o. kid who just got his computer priveleges revoked by his mommy.
Coach Joe is serious. I looked up the organization on the uniforms in the picture. Baseball starts at 3u.
Reading some of the posts from Dad's on this list about the sacrifices and hard work their sons made to get to college and beyond it really is ludicrous to think a parent can foresee the future through the eyes of a 5 y.o.
Isn't that the truth. I couldn't find a team for my son at the age of 11. His younger brother was on a select team, and Bum, Jr., in the stands, asked me almost pleadingly "I want to find a team, too, dad." It was haunting. And a huge wake up call.
The boy had a passion and desire to play the game. I really believed at the time like he had no chance. I had given up. But not him.
From that point on, however, I dedicated myself to help him become the best player he could be. The boy worked his tail off and without complaint. He went from not finding a team to being honored as the best player in the state within a few short years. Point is, all of this happened well after the ripe old age of six.
When the kids turned eleven a coach from our rival LL and I decided at 13u we would put together a travel team of players from our LL district. The idea was four former college players would help these kids get ready for high school ball. And we would be competitive. We both watched all star players for two years our sons team's competed against.
One day at the host team's LL field I was told the legend of Billy. Billy was driving baseballs onto the rooftops on the other side of the street behind right field. Billy never lost a LL game during the season or all stars. He struck out 12-15 per game.
I figured Billy was a strong lefty with a sweet swing driving balls to rooftops in right field. Billy was 5'8, 170 and built like a man. He was a strong righty who swung like a rusty gate and muscled balls the other way. As a pitcher he showed the ball way too early. But he threw 75.
There's no such thing as too much pitching. So I figured this kid would be serviceable for a couple of years. Plus maybe our pitching coach who made it to AAA could fix the mechanics. Then I met the dad and mom. Dad was 5'4. Mom was maybe 5' in heels. The dad wanted to know if professional scouts would be at our 13u games. Turned out Dr Jekyl was Mr Hyde when his son was playing. I passed on the kid. No, I passed on the dad.
Fast forward to freshman year. My son's high school jv team pounded the pee out of this kid on the mound. He had grown one inch since LL. He threw upper 70s and straight as an arrow. He was a terrible third baseman and hitter. Soph year on jv I was told the kid was no longer hitting. After that year he was no longer playing. Turns out this kid was also a legendary QB as a preteen who washed out of high school football.
I will say the kid was a very nice, polite kid. He was very modest about his preteen accomplishments. He got embarrassed if the conversation was about him. It was surprising considering the dad was a walking, talking billboard for the kid. The dad walked around all stars calling his kid "The ticket to Williamsport." They didn't make the district quarter finals due to the other pitcher who was another man child. But the other pitcher became a quality high school shortstop and point guard.
