Little League, Pony, travel, Babe Ruth, USSSA, Cal Ripken Leagues... there's so many options! What's been your experience? Did you feel like the league adequately prepared your player for the next level? Any advice for the baseball-loving youngsters just getting started?
Thanks!
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First thing is to allow the kids' love of the game to make decisions, especially early on. Secondly, find the best team where your kid gets ample playing time, but is not the top one or two players on the team. If you kid isn't getting playing time, find another team. If your kid is the best player on the team, find a better team! If you follow that advice, you will find yourself at whatever level your kid can successfully compete and have a chance to grow.
As far as the leagues, they all have there plus' and minus', but ultimately, the teams in the area make the leagues, it's not the other way around. Must of us that have been through the crazy life that is travel ball, have kids that have played in numerous different leagues over the years.
Good luck and have fun!
You explained that SO well: " If you kid isn't getting playing time, find another team. If your kid is the best player on the team, find a better team!" That's such a simple, practical "litmus test" to see if you're on the right team. Love it!
Good post by Lefty... his caveats are important. At the core, you can typically find a more competitive environment with the right travel team than the local league variety. But there are exceptions... certainly plenty of watered down travel. Also, not all travel involves proper instruction. This is another important element for HS readiness.
I have advice for the parents of youngsters just getting started. So much focus is put on getting ready for HS baseball. Where should my son play youth ball? What travel ball org is the best?? Where should we go for lessons??? All (apparently) based on the assumption that the destination (HS baseball) is similar once you get there. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Every HS baseball program is not the same. They vary widely. They have different goals - some are competitive and some are not. Some play the best players and some cater to seniors. Some have good coaches and some don’t. Some schools place importance on their baseball programs. Others don’t. The most common mistake I see (that leads to huge disappointment) is not doing enough homework to know what kind of program is at the HS in your attendance area. You want to make sure that your goals line up with the goals of the program. I can’t count the times I have seen families knock themselves out getting a kid ready for HS ball only to get there and find out that nobody at their HS cares about baseball. Then they freak out. A better approach, assuming that baseball is important, is to research area HS programs the way you would colleges, and make sure you are getting prepared for the kind of HS program you want. You may decide that a change of course is in order - and you may not. But at least you know what you’re getting into. Even though travel ball is the driving force for advancing most players it can still be very frustrating to be part of a substandard HS baseball program. I know far more people that have been unhappy with their HS baseball experience than those that have liked it. Partly because they had unrealistic expectations and partly because they didn’t consider any options until they were already in the program and unhappy.
The best thing you can do for a 7th or 8th grader who really loves the game is get them training with a really knowledgeable person on strength and agility. Somebody who specializes in training Baseball players.
@3and2Fastball posted:The best thing you can do for a 7th or 8th grader who really loves the game is get them training with a really knowledgeable person on strength and agility. Somebody who specializes in training Baseball players.
as a step before that, I'd say that you need to assess your child's physical development and make sure that you're looking for the right kind of training. there are 7th graders who are shaving and 10th graders just starting puberty.
The best youth leagues are where the kids enjoy the game. It’s not about the brand name. It’s about the people behind the local organization.
Kids enjoy the game by playing not sitting. Quality coaching can be a toss up at the youth level. But there are work arounds. I don’t know one kid who became a high school or college prospect who was held back by a pre teen coach. You will find the kids who “want it” want to practice a lot with dad away from team practices.
Don't focus on development and getting to high school or college ball as a preteen. Enjoy the process. Learn how to play the game correctly. When kids move up to the full size field then it’s time to start proving they’re players. But even then a kid can’t control when he grows. Sometimes it takes patience.
@RJM posted:The best youth leagues are where the kids enjoy the game. It’s not about the brand name. It’s about the people behind the local organization.
Kids enjoy the game by playing not sitting.Quality coaching can be a toss up at the youth level. But there are work arounds. I don’t know one kid who became a high school or college prospect who was held back by a pre teen coach. You will find the kids who “want it” want to practice a lot with dad away from team practices.
Don't focus on development and getting to high school or college ball as a preteen. Enjoy the process. Learn how to play the game correctly. When kids move up to the full size field then it’s time to start proving they’re players. But even then a kid can’t control when he grows. Sometimes it takes patience.
to add to this, when coaching my son's little league, I always felt that my two goals were: don't harm anyone (baseball wise, don't make them worse) and get them to sign up next year.
@mattys posted:to add to this, when coaching my son's little league, I always felt that my two goals were: don't harm anyone (baseball wise, don't make them worse) and get them to sign up next year.
I was a coach and commissioner. I looked at coaches who had players not sign up the following year. I then approached the families and assured them the kid could play for a different team. If I saw a trend with coaches they stopped being coaches.
Once you know the HS that your son will attend, check out their roster and look up the kids on the Perfect Game website. There you should be able to see their travel programs and you''ll know which travel teams typically feed your HS.
@mattys posted:as a step before that, I'd say that you need to assess your child's physical development and make sure that you're looking for the right kind of training. there are 7th graders who are shaving and 10th graders just starting puberty.
Well, yes, a good trainer will do that assessment. Some kids should only start with body weight stuff. Pushups, yoga type moves etc. All kids can benefit from learning how to run correctly, especially deceleration and change of direction stuff
The suggestion of finding a trainer is not just about development, either, it’s just as much about injury prevention and developing confidence.
@RJM posted:I was a coach and commissioner. I looked at coaches who had players not sign up the following year. I then approached the families and assured them the kid could play for a different team. If I saw a trend with coaches they stopped being coaches.
it's amazing how different the experiences can be, league to league. our league was stellar. we kicked two coaches out in our 5 years there but everyone else was great (not great coaches but great intent and great with the kids). a couple of leagues in our district, though, have had horrible reputations for being run by LL mafias and, in our age group, it got so bad that the league was pretty much destroyed (it still exists but is a shell of its former self). if you ask someone from our league, they'll tell you that little league is a great experience. if you ask someone from one of the other leagues, they'll rag all day on Little League.
It surely depends on the size of your community, and the pool from which the high school draws. In our medium-size town, when choosing which rec-ball league, no-one thought of Cal Ripken vs. Little League; instead it was "the one that took all players and was really nice to everyone," vs. "the one where parents yelled at kids and each other"! Needless to say, the second was the one that was viewed as "tougher," the reality was that kids from both leagues eventually played in high school.
However, all kids who eventually played varsity in high school stopped playing rec after 6th grade at the latest, and moved to a travel team. The argument for playing "travel" was that it would get you ready for high school (no-one was thinking college at that age), and in fact I don't think that anyone who stayed in the rec league played high school, certainly not high school varsity. The players on travel teams just played more games, against better pitching, and had better coaching and practices. Plus, travel players wanted to work at baseball, outside of the team - we only went to a travel team because we knew our son wanted to work to get better. There was a hierarchy of dad-run travel teams, some with better coaching and better players than others, and then some people went to out-of-town travel organizations. However, not everyone on those travel teams played in high school; some developed other interests, some weren't good enough. We are just one town, I imagine that in a larger city, it's much more difficult to figure things out.
I agree, making it fun is the most important thing. When a kid is a "good" player in his league or on his team, whatever kind of league it is, it's going to be fun, and he will want to work to get better. If he's perceived as one of the worst players, that's less likely to happen. In years of travel ball, we saw lots of decent players sit the bench and then drop out.
@anotherparent posted:I agree, making it fun is the most important thing. When a kid is a "good" player in his league or on his team, whatever kind of league it is, it's going to be fun, and he will want to work to get better. If he's perceived as one of the worst players, that's less likely to happen. In years of travel ball, we saw lots of decent players sit the bench and then drop out.
Such a great point
I didn’t see in any of the responses, but we had good luck with our 13U coach who ensured the kids played with drop 5 or wood bat tournaments to get ready for BBCOR drop 3. It is really obvious in fall ball when freshmen show up with a -10 bat that they aren’t quite ready!
Little League in my area was the most competitive. We routinely had teams in the state tournament. There was a huge drop off after my sons year but I think they are good again.
As Adbono said, things can change quite a bit by the time they get to HS. Are you considering private schools or only public?
Lots of great advice, as usual. As the dad of a son that has now played into professional baseball, I have thought about this. If we did it again, would I have changed anything? Honestly, I don’t think I would. We are from a small, rural area in southwest GA. Not much in the way of “lessons” were available. We did the best we could. Sometimes, I think people get too caught up in “instruction”. I really think that most kids that have the athletic acumen to be successful, at least through high school, will mostly figure things out. I’m not saying good instruction isn’t helpful, just don’t think it’s necessarily mandatory. Parents shouldn’t worry about spending thousands of dollars driving their son 2 hours for private lessons. If you are fortunate enough to have someone local, great. I just think it’s pretty obvious to most people when they watch a team at any level pick out the 3 or 4 best kids on the field. They usually stick out like a sore thumb. I just hate seeing parents that want Johnnie to be the next Buster Posey push their kid right out of baseball. I think there were times in my sons life where I pushed him. But it’s also very difficult for a young teenager to fully understand how important the next 4-5 years are when they just wanna have fun today. So some kids do need “pushing” at times. Granted it will be totally on them by the time they reach high school. Just make sure you haven’t ruined their love of the game before they get a chance to experience it. Just one dad’s experience and opinion.
Younggun:
are you familiar with the name Ralph Garr? [Former Atlanta Braves OF and now Braves scout].
During one of our Area Code tryouts at Texas A&M, I met Ralph and discussed with Ralph about Henry Aaron.
"Ralph said he ask Henry about hitting" Any suggestions for me Hank?
"Henry said "figure it out for yourself, Ralph"!!!!
Bob
One of my son’s travel teammates has a father who left no dollars unspent on lessons and how to shine in showcases. He had the money. The highly respected (everyone would recognize the name) coach of an annually highly ranked team stated the kid would likely be his best recruit ever. I PM’ed Jerry Ford on what he thought. He called the kid “the real deal.”
I had coached the kid through 16u and watched him play at 17u. I just didn’t get it. The kid was programmed to excel in showcases. What I saw on the game field was a lot of LOBs against quality competition. Mechanically, the kid was a stud.
For three straight years of college the kid played his way out of the lineup by the start of conference play. You can practice to shine on the showcase field. Or you can play the game and develop.
Bob, I do not know the scout you mentioned, but I think the advice is sage!! There is a time for instruction, but you gotta figure out if you have something to instruct. Kinda like the often given advice on here don’t showcase until you have something to show. The route is different for all and I get that. I just hate watching parents run their kid all over creation trying to find someone that will tell them their son is the next big deal. If you have to go far to get that information, I’m not sure how accurate it is.
@@RJM wrote, “You can practice to shine on the showcase field. Or you can play the game and develop.”
100% true! This is a simple way to describe where so many people miss the boat. IMO there is WAY too much focus on posting measurables and not near enough focus on becoming a better player. Those two things aren’t directly proportional. If exit velo goes up 3 mph that doesn’t necessarily translate into being a better player. My contention is that only 2 things that are measured at showcases matter - High FB velo & an exceptional 60 time - and only standout numbers in those areas will turn heads. Posting measurables won’t get you recruited. And even if somehow they do you have to be able to play once you get there, or what have you accomplished? Coaches look at how kids play the game. Recruiting and roster decisions are based on how well they play in game conditions - not the numbers they post in controlled settings.
@RJM "I had coached the kid through 16u and watched him play at 17u. I just didn’t get it. The kid was programmed to excel in showcases. What I saw on the game field was a lot of LOBs against quality competition. Mechanically, the kid was a stud."
Sounds like you are describing a mental/thought issue. Some people just have an issue with pressure. For every kid that wants to take the game winning shot, there are a dozen more would don't want the ball. The most likely reason he was the "real deal" was because if he was to ever figure out the mental thing he would be a monster. According to @Consultant he must have lacked the 6th tool 
Keep it fun. I see a lot of kids who have been moved from team to team, never get to develop relationships and feel part of something and quit loving it. Baseball sucks a lot of time and the things they miss have to be replaced with something more than stats. My son missed a lot of birthday parties, and activities because of baseball but he also played with a bunch of the same boys from the time he was 8 until he was 17. They weren't a power team, but they were his best friends (still are) and their parents were our great friends. Nights hanging out in the hotel lobby, kids running all over the place, playstation set up in the rooms. Whiffle ball in the parking lots. They are summers that I wouldn't trade for anything. And he still made the hs team and still got recruited
@baseballhs posted:Keep it fun. I see a lot of kids who have been moved from team to team, never get to develop relationships and feel part of something and quit loving it. Baseball sucks a lot of time and the things they missed have to be replaced with something more than stats. My son missed a lot of birthday parties, and activities because of baseball but he also played with a bunch of the same boys from the time he was 8 until he was 17. They weren't a power team, but they were his best friends (still are) and their parents were our great friends. Nights hanging out in the hotel lobby, kids running all over the place, playstation set up in the rooms. Whiffle ball in the parking lots. They are summers that I wouldn't trade for anything. And he still made the hs team and still got recruited
Couldn't agree more. 2021 son did two days of BP with 5 of the guys he shared his 9th birthday with at Sports at the Beach and that played together for 8 years. He's committed D1, one is playing at a CC, one is a DIII sophomore, one is DII freshman, one is not playing at all but they all still love each other like brother.
I think each league has perks and warts. A good test if your kid is HS ready, have him play on a daddyball coached team. If he is not on the field and hitting in the top 6, there is a good chance he won't be ready for HS unless it is a small program.
