Bats

"He has been on travel teams and now is getting ready for his JV team."

I have to assume he's a rising freshman and your HS doesn't have a frosh team. We don't have frosh teams here in N. Virginia either. He'll be competing with sophomores for a roster spot and playing time. I wouldn't count on the JV team to "develop" your kid. The HS season is too short for that. This will have to be done by you and his "wax" dedication/hard work. I'm sure you and your son know the level of play of all the other rising frosh that will tryout for the JV team. This should indicate other areas your son needs to work on.

If he wants to play, he needs to hit the ball. From what I've seen, coaches start kids who can get the job done at the plate(bunt, move runners, sac fly, walk, get on base, etc..). If they don't start, they DH. He has to improve in this area.

He has to start swinging a -3 so he can get used to it. Before you buy a good -3, buy a couple of used -3s (29/32 or 30/33). He'll figure out which size he's most comfortable with. Also, kids borrow bats from each other and will find one that they are really comfortable using. Once he finds that special bat that he's comfortable with, then I would invest. Also, I would look into what rules (authorized bats) your league will allow for next year. This will ensure the bat is in compliance for usage next year.

Yes...rising freshman with no freshman team. He will continue to play travel ball though. I like your suggestion about borrowing bats to see what he likes. But you are OK with a -3 at his age/size?

Get him swinging a -3 NOW. I assume from you post he's rising 8th or 9th grader, getting ready for JV tryouts next Spring?

HS Rules mandate a -3 bat, at least in my state. Get him swinging it now. He'll have to learn to use his body and big muscles to generate the power to help swing that longer /heavier bat.

I coach a 13U travel team....most of my guys haven't turned 14 yet. Those that were 8th graders this year all made their repective MS or JV HS Teams. They all swing -3 bats. We started swinging -3 bats last Fall when we went to the big field.

Good luck!

I had my son swinging a -3 when he was 12 and playing 14U ball to get him used to swinging a -3. He played fall JV as a 7th grader and will be playing spring JV hopefully as a 8th grader. He handles the -3 just fine and he is 5'6" and weighs about the same as your son. He usually swings as 31/28 but sometimes swings a 32/29 on the slower pitchers.

quote:

Originally posted by PalmerDad:
Yes...rising freshman with no freshman team. He will continue to play travel ball though. I like your suggestion about borrowing bats to see what he likes. But you are OK with a -3 at his age/size?

If my son could swing a 31/28 when he was thirteen and 5'2", 115 your son can manage too. I did have my son using a -3 wood for BP starting when he was eleven. He was 4'10" then and we put rocks in his pockets so he wouldn't blow away.

As ctandc pointed out, HS rules mandate a -3 bat. This is in the NFHS rules and I don't know of any states that have bypassed it. My son was an 11yo sixth grader at the start of middle-school tryouts and was required to swing a -3 bat. If you can't find a used bat somewhere, I've seen "cage" bats in baseball catalogs/websites at a reasonable price. Get him swinging the -3 bat now so he looks comfortable swinging it at try-outs.

Hi, Palmerdad. Like the others mention, FHSAA requires a -3, BBCOR/BESR certified, for HS ball. Don't get a two-piece - those are going to be phased out for the 2012 season.

I would recommend something balanced, rather than top-heavy, EXO or Easton V12 Ozone are good ones that 2B has used. He started swinging as a small 13 YO, too. You can get the 2009 models fairly reasonably.

The Omaha is essentially the same bat as the EXO. It's about $100 less. The difference is the metal.

One of the often overlooked attributes of bat selecting is the center of gravity, which is not the same on all similarly weighted bats. On a two piece bat, the center of gravity can be as much as 1-1/2" further from the hands than on a one piece bat. It's the old therory of swinging a broom stick with a 5lb. weight next to your hands vs. on the other end of the handle. Big difference in swing speed. With the attributes of the better bats being so equal, this can make a big difference in the feel of the bat and bat speed. I always check the center of gravity when comparing new bats for my son.

Just MHO, fire at will.

The Omaha is a good bat. I got the newer red and white model on close out online for $120...