Adjusting to Larger Field

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Please, please tell me it is just a phase...

It is just a phase

BaseballMom10 - my youngest son is now 21 and in his senior year of college but it was only eight years ago that he was in the same position. Your description matches almost perfectly with my recollection I remember the errors going up as well. In some cases, you get some kids who are going through the change of life and can put a charge into a ball i.e., they hit the ball more like men than boys and thus it causes more errors. Some boys, are more clumsy at this high-growth stage. In general, I noticed that this seemed to be the worst year for the hitters. What they were used to hitting routinely hard in the outfield are now often tracked down in the infield or shallow outfield.

Please enjoy every moment!!! All experiences are valuable regardless if the stats are not quite what they used to be. You'll see

Baseball Mom,
My experiences are a little more recent. My son is a 14U. But they are exactly like ClevelandDad said. It is a huge mix of talents, puberty and learning curve at 13U. Some of the nuttiest baseball around. And some of the most enjoyable.

They will adjusts. Probably many times. Expect them to be the best you have ever seen one game, and the worst you have ever seen the next. Tripping over chalk lines is very prevalent at this age level as well as aches and pains they never had before.

Enjoy!

If you think 54/80 is ugly, imagine if they went straight to 60/90. Back in 13U (three years ago) I had a very strong team. We may have been the strongest defensive team. Pitchers threw strikes. But we sometimes scratched for runs.

In my son's first at bat he crushed a ball on one hop to second for a routine 4-6-3 double play. He returned to the bench exasperated, "That's as hard as I can hit a ball!" It would have gone up the gap to the fence on a smaller field. The next at bat he hit a triple over the rightfielder's head. He looked up at the third base coach and said, "How far out of LL would that have been?" Without cracking a smile the coach said, "Son, you're not in LL anymore."

The kid who led our LL and 12U travel team in homers hit under .200 hitting a lot of long fly balls. The three best pitchers threw strikes and let us play defense. Now sophs in high school, none of the three are pitchers. Throwing strikes isn't enough in high school.

I would say back in 13U we practiced the hardest on defense. We figured if we made the plays we would win. We had pitchers who didn't walk many. If we weren't hitting we generated runs with bunts and hit and runs making the other team throw the ball around. My favorite 13U play was the bunt and run. Between a throw to first and a throw back to third there was a decent chance the ball would end up in the outfield and a the runner scoring.

Getting away from travel where we cherry picked the top LL all-stars from the previous year, looking at the seventh graders trying out for middle school ball, many of them couldn't reach first from third base without a hop.

Add: You will notice two specific times when things improve. 14U ball will make 13U look like slow motion. When you see the kids return for soph year of high school, they will look huge compared to frosh year.

Thanks for the comments!

Our guys as a team have always been a bit on the "small" side. Now, it seems like we are David and Goliath with some of the 13U teams!

Where do you play the defense with a smaller 13U squad? In close enough so that they can make the throw, or back farther so they can stop the grounder?

I am guessing farther back, more time to react and get in position. Hopefully the arms will develop!?

Needless to say, I think our games are gonna resemble football scores for awhile ... none of the 2-1 pitching duels!

BaseballMom,
13U and 14U is often very stressful for players and parents. It is when they start getting moved from the position they have played all their life to a new place. Speed and arm strength start to show up and kids get moved, or worse, they don't move them and the other parents get mad(my situation at 13). Stress time for parents. We went through it and everybody does. Kind of a warm up for High School. The steady handed SS doesn't have the range or arm strength anymore to play on the left side, outfielders aren't fast enough to cover the ground needed to be effective. It destroys a lot of teams and that is why there is so much shakeup at that level. Good luck and try to enjoy all the aspects of 13U ball.

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Originally posted by Doughnutman:
BaseballMom,
13U and 14U is often very stressful for players and parents. It is when they start getting moved from the position they have played all their life to a new place. Speed and arm strength start to show up and kids get moved, or worse, they don't move them and the other parents get mad(my situation at 13). Stress time for parents. We went through it and everybody does. Kind of a warm up for High School. The steady handed SS doesn't have the range or arm strength anymore to play on the left side, outfielders aren't fast enough to cover the ground needed to be effective. It destroys a lot of teams and that is why there is so much shakeup at that level. Good luck and try to enjoy all the aspects of 13U ball.

This looks like a very polite explaination of 13U and 14U is where a lot of kids and parents discover they don't have what it takes to play at the next level (60/90 field).

The coaches need to work on the defense as described by RJM and Doghnutman.

Our boys seemed to grow with the field. The adjustment was more natural as they were getting bigger at the same time.

I remember walking out onto the stadium field at the Peoria sports complex (where Padres and Mariners play their spring training games) during Winter Nationals as a 12U. They staged the teams in right field while the team in front of you took their pictures in left field. The boys were amazed at just how BIG the OF was. It seemed like it took 10 minutes to walk from RF to LF. I remember telling them, "in 2 years you have to play in this OF and cover all of this", not really understanding myself how they'd be able to do it.

2 years later, we won a tournament games on the stadium field and the same kids were making plays out there.

There are some adjustments that have to be made. My son had a wicked split finger in 13U. It would go 3/4 to the plate and drop like a duck getting shot out of the sky. In 14U, it did the same thing, but was bouncing 4' in front of the plate every time. He never did get it working at 60', so we retired that pitch and he learned how to throw a curve ball.

RJM's version is also correct. I am practicing for Saturday. My daughters LL coach asked me how I thought his son and the other coaches kids will do next year at 13U. They have a travel team. We were interrupted before I could answer him. I presume he will bring it up again. I didn't want to say what I really think.

I will use the first, PC, version.

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it seems like we are David and Goliath with some of the 13U teams!

My son was David. He was 5'2, 110 in 13U. Three years later he's 6'1", 165. Feed them. Water them . Throw protein into the milkshakes. And watch them grow.

You shrink the field with three things. Speed , arm strength and power. The three things most kids moving up to the regulation field lack. Solid fielding mechanics for example do not compensate for lack of speed to get to balls , lack of arm strength to make proper throws etc etc.

Some players develop into good high school players because they develop good speed , good power and good arm strength. Others do not and some excell because they can shrink the field with these tools.

Just like that LL field looked so big at first and by the time you left it it looked so small. The hs field will become small for the advanced players by the time they leave it as well.

The game gets faster at each level ...more chances for errors....

The LL kids who beat the field with their strength and/or speed while lacking mechanics are close to the end of the ride when they get on the 60/90 field. By the time those who survive get to high school with good mechanics, I've seen lack of speed be the biggest killer of dreams.

At my son's high school there are players who potentially could be in the varsity lineup if they weren't too slow to play a field position. There's already two slower players at first and DH. There isn't room anywhere else on the field for these other slow kids. Their hitting would not offset the damage they would cause in the field versus the adequate hitting and good fielding other players provide the team.

Our travel league moves from 50/70 to 60/90 from U12 to U13. 34 made that move this past fall. Some things we have experienced:

Hitters may swing too early, they need to adjust to the extra ten feet.

Lots of walks by the pitchers. Some curve balls break too soon and don't make it to the plate.

Stolen bases are not a given anymore. The decent catchers throw out some runners at second and more at third. The better catchers throw out runners at second often and most of the time at third. No more moonbeam throws to second base. That kid does not catch much.

The deeper backstops place a premium on catchers who can block balls well.

Kids that played all over the field in U12 need to play at the position tha best suits them on the large field. 34 used to play LF, CF, RF, first base and catcher. Now on the big field he catches most of the innings with a breather in RF or CF to rest his legs. His coaches don't really move the players around much anymore, they adjust the defense based on who is pitching and move the position players when they change pitchers.

Singles hitters at U12 struggle on the big field. Power hitters find the ball get caught more often when they hit the ball in the air. Line drives still rule the field.

24&34Dad nice post it takes me back to those days. I think the biggest adjustment my son had to make was the fact he was used to playing very good competition "really good arms" from a much shorter distance. When he moved up it took him awhile to adjust to the fact he had to wait much longer at the plate.

Great topic!!

My son is currently playing little league on the 46/60 field and Middle School ball (6th-8th) as a sixth grader on the 60/90 field with -3 bats. Also, playing 12u travel on 50/70, but that is on hold during the little league and middle school season.

So that being said he has to make the adjustments on a daily basis back and forth depending on which team has a game or practice.

The things I noticed are.........

1) As a pitcher on the big field he cant quite blow the ball by the kids on the 60ft mound like he can when pitching to the little league batters on the 46ft mound. At first I noticed him getting frustrated on the big field as a pitcher, but after a couple of starts he is much more comfortable and understands he is not going to strike out 13kids on the 60ft mound but needs to rely on getting ground balls/pops and the occasional K.

2) The slower kids on the middle school team have trouble adjusting to the longer bases and the larger fielding areas that they now need to cover and most are not starting.

3) A strong arm is critical on the big field. Even your second baseman needs to be able to throw the ball.

4) Fielding seems to be easier on the larger field. Son plays shortstop for both the little league and middle school team and he just told me the other day that he likes the big field better because he has a lot more time to make the plays. Of course that will change as the kids get bigger and stronger......

DenJake:
You reminded me of something else: the -3 bats. Around here, the travel leagues require them at u14 at above, but the larger kids start to use them at u12 or u13 if they can get around on the pitch with the larger bat. The smaller kids really seem to struggle with the -3 bats.
34 moved from -8.5 to -3 as soon as he could.

If you can afford it, make a gradual transition. Start 12U with the -8.5 and use the -5.5 in batting practice. If they can at the end of 12U use the -5.5 in games.

In 13U, the pitchers move back 4' so start the season with the -5.5 and swing the -3 in batting practice. That way you get used to the bat while the pitchers get used to the distance. Use the -3 in games at the end of 13U if you can, however when the pitchers move back the 6' at 14U, that's a good time to make the final move.

Over the summers in the wood bat tournaments, you can use the -2 or -3 wood bat.

My son (15U Freshman) uses a composite wood bat & a voodoo that are both supposedly 33/30. The composite bat is about 1/2" longer and noticably heavier...

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Kids that played all over the field in U12 need to play at the position tha best suits them on the large field.

I disagree on this one. The more positions a player plays and gains experience from 13-15, the more options he provides a coach to start on varsity sooner.

Totally agree with RJM.

My son is left handed. In 12U, he didn't want to learn the OF (had been a 1B/P). Bottom line, a lefty can play 5 defensive positions and three of them are in the OF.

Son learned the OF and made the varsity his freshman year as ...a P but will probably play OF next year.

He saw that the average varsity 1B is the player slightly more defensively talented than the DH. He also recognized that you can't be the starting pitcher three days a week.

If I'm a parent of a righty, I'd suggest learning as many positions as possible, including (gasp) catcher. They play a long time...

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If I'm a parent of a righty, I'd suggest learning as many positions as possible, including (gasp) catcher. They play a long time...

You got that right. In HS, my son played 6 positions including pitcher and catcher Being a productive offensive player, the few games he didn't start in the field, he DH'd.

The more positions they can play, the better shot to stay on the field. Having a good bat makes it even a stronger case to keep a player in the lineup.

I also agree--the more positions the better. My son is a pitcher, 3rd base, OF. He pretty much plays 3 base when not pitching because he has always played 3b and has a very strong accurate arm needed at 3B espically on the bigger field. He has played a little outfield and has the speed and arm but because he doesn't play it often lacks the tracking ability of an everyday outfielder has. All this being said, if my son plays at the next level it will probably be at pitcher or 3B as those are were coaches always have liked him and were he likes playing the most.

Playing in a league that went 60/90 at U13, and being young for his league age, my son started on the big field at age 12. Previously, he had very little experience pitching off a mound. To him, that was the biggest adjustment, even more so than the greater distance. So many of these mounds were poorly built and maintained, filled with holes... it's a good thing he had two years to adjust before high school ball!

The change to the full-size field will expose all the players who were "good" based on genes and athleticism only. The players who took on the lessons of proper mechanics will make the change much more successfully.

And you'll lose a few that just can't deal with the slower pace...and the fact that they're running half again as far to first!

The pitchers' new challenge is obvious, but the wait at the plate effects everybody. Help them be ready for patience and timing.


I remember the first time my catcher son saw the stadium field at the Indians ST facility at the age of 12. Foul area behihind home looked to be the same size as a LL outfield!

I've heard there are two major elements that weed out youth baseball players:

1) The move from coach pitch to kid pitch. Usually at 9U and usually because they can't adjust to hitting a live pitch.

2) The move from the smaller fields to the 60.5/90. I figure the main reason here is lack of arm strength. That throw from 3rd to 1st is a little farther now.

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The pitchers' new challenge is obvious

My son was 5'2" in 13U. He had to junk two pitches. He couldn't throw a curve or a knuckle change sixty feet without comprising mechanics. That year I had him practice the pitches from 54 feet. The next year, even at 5'4" he was strong enough to throw a curve mechanically correct for sixty feet. What did happen at 13U and 14U is his change got nasty from working on it more often.

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Originally posted by Brian Shanberg:
I've heard there are two major elements that weed out youth baseball players:

1) The move from coach pitch to kid pitch. Usually at 9U and usually because they can't adjust to hitting a live pitch.

2) The move from the smaller fields to the 60.5/90. I figure the main reason here is lack of arm strength. That throw from 3rd to 1st is a little farther now.

3) High school quality breaking stuff.

quote:

The change to the full-size field will expose all the players who were "good" based on genes and athleticism only. The players who took on the lessons of proper mechanics will make the change much more successfully.

And you'll lose a few that just can't deal with the slower pace...and the fact that they're running half again as far to first!

The pitchers' new challenge is obvious, but the wait at the plate effects everybody. Help them be ready for patience and timing.

The first year is like that. The game being played in slow motion. It always seems by the next season those rainbow throws from 3rd to 1st flatten out, pitchers are throwing a bit harder and balls travel further off the bat and the outfielders are playing deeper than ten feet off the infield grass. That adjustment time is short. Even by time the 13s play summer ball, they're improved over the first go-around on 60/90.