Different strokes for different folks

This will start the multi sport debate...

I'm all for doing whatever you want, 1 sport or 10, have at it. Good luck to him.

2019Lefty21,

Based on what you've shared, I think it is fantastic you are letting him choose his direction.  Parenting is not easy.  We have to give them a nudge every now and then.  You've given your son the freedom to choose, and I can only assume he has earned that freedom.  Good for him.  This is part of growing up and I think you'll find many of today's ball players focusing on what they like or what they are good at or possibly both.  My kids made similar decisions along the way, but they also had the opportunity to try different things and sports to find what they like most.

PS...Young men grow up, and they have to start somewhere.  Your reference to "little league mentality" is referring to an organization (or similar recreational baseball organization) where many of the young ball players start playing baseball in the US.  These kids get to play with their classmates and friends......nothing wrong with that....this is just one step in how the wheat is separated from the chaff in the baseball world.  Some continue to play baseball and other sports at a young age and others don't.  It is the natural progression of life.   We get your point, but I probably would have selected different words than "little league mentality" because it may come across as insulting to some.   JMO.

Sorry if little league mentality was a poor choice of words. I am relatively new to this board, and trust me in more than one thread I have seen discussion where that has seemed appropriate to me. This is the hsbaseball web.com isn't it?

I think there's  a lot more to Fenway's post than his gentle suggestion re: terminology.

Best of luck to your son.   Most (but certainly not all) kids eventually reach a point where they want to, and probably should, concentrate on one sport.  Fifteen is certainly a reasonable age to do that.  

I can assure you, Fenway meant no disrespect with his comment about your use of the phrase "little league mentality."    I don't particularly like the term either, but I make no assumptions about people who do use it.  At least not the first time.  ;-)  Over time you will find that Fenway probably does not have an offensive bone in his body, and is an extremely valuable resource to parents whose kids are going through this process.  

My only became "baseball only" this year. He originally wasn't going to play basketball because it always ends with him starting the baseball season banged up with sore knees and ankles. He was talked into playing anyway and was having a pretty good season (10 pts and 11 rebounds a game), but quit because his knees were killing him, mainly due to sprints in conditioning. His choice. He had felt trapped into playing a sport he didn't really even enjoy. Being 6' 4" at a small school will do that.

I'm sorry, didn't mean to appear to down on Fenway at all...just poor choice of words on my part

Let's not get too PC here.  I think everyone knows what "little league mentality" means.  And I see it as more of a generic term than one specifically assigned to Little League (note the caps for the organization).  Many people say they played little league, when, in fact it was something else.  At least in my generation...

Anyway, I think "little league mentality" is akin to Little League as saying "kleenex" is to tissue paper.  No need to get bent out of shape about it.  Not that anyone has...

bballman posted:

Anyway, I think "little league mentality" is akin to Little League as saying "kleenex" is to tissue paper.  No need to get bent out of shape about it.  Not that anyone has...

Or, as all those oddballs in the midwest refer to Coke as pop 

Nuke83 posted:

bballman posted:

Anyway, I think "little league mentality" is akin to Little League as saying "kleenex" is to tissue paper.  No need to get bent out of shape about it.  Not that anyone has...

Or, as all those oddballs in the midwest refer to Coke as pop 

Is he having fun? One of the reasons pros retire is "It stopped being fun. It started feeling like all work." When players move up the ladder more hard work is required. But the game should never stop being fun. My son returned from two major injuries to play his senior year of high school . I asked him how he felt. He said it was more fun than pain.

Re: LL mentality

it exists. From the time I started coaching 7/8 machine pitch I tried to teach parents how to be sports parents. If more coaches used this there would be less LL mentality. And less LL mentality in high school.

i once pulled a LL parent aside and stuck a finger in his face. I told him don't ever, EVER again say out loud at the park your kid is better than this kid and that kid. In fact, you're doing your kid a disservice by even mentioning it to him.

I've heard dads and kids in Burger King after practices and games running down teammates and deciding who's better than whom. My son knew. When he compared players I stopped him. He was only allowed to discuss with me what his teammates were capable of doing.

Again I realize next year I get to graduate!  The big time!  High school baseball, where only millions and millions have gone before.  Then I can look down my nose at those overzealous youth parents!

i guess I'll just go back to the shadows and stick to reading other people's posts....at least until I realize how my words will be dissected and all my hidden meanings come oozing out

It's not a matter of looking down because your kid advanced. There's a behavior some exhibit that's insufferable. And I can guarantee you it doesn't end in high high school. There's a lot of jealousy and innuendo when the players come from multiple youth leagues. Then there's the "he thinks his kid's (fumes) don't stink. He played travel. He was too good to play with our kids."

2019Lefty21 posted:

i guess I'll just go back to the shadows and stick to reading other people's posts....at least until I realize how my words will be dissected and all my hidden meanings come oozing out

Don't be afraid to be an equal opportunity offender. Just don't purposely direct it at any one person. Sometimes learning involves stupid questions. Without stupid questions you will get stupid results.

2020dad posted:

Again I realize next year I get to graduate!  The big time!  High school baseball, where only millions and millions have gone before.  Then I can look down my nose at those overzealous youth parents!

The above comment from you is more than likely why you feel that way.

Someone comes here and posts a really nice post, only to be taken in another direction... something that you do often.

2019Lefty21 posted:

i guess I'll just go back to the shadows and stick to reading other people's posts....at least until I realize how my words will be dissected and all my hidden meanings come oozing out

Dont feel that way, you explained yourself and your comment was not meant to offend.

I understand, what you are trying to say, when HS rolls around its time for parents to grow up too!

Nothing wrong with  playing one sport, son played baseball only in HS.

BTW, it is in HS that many players do drop out, and a lot has to do with burn out.

On a lighter note I do get to take a weekend off from preparing tax returns this weekend and get to go watch Coastal Carolina play Ohio State Saturday and maybe Duke on Sunday! 

RJM posted:

Then there's the "he thinks his kid's (fumes) don't stink. He played travel. He was too good to play with our kids."

In this part of the country we just say "that kid's parents have the travel ball mentality."  ;-)  

That's a joke people.  Well, sort of.

MTH posted:

RJM posted:

Then there's the "he thinks his kid's (fumes) don't stink. He played travel. He was too good to play with our kids."

In this part of the country we just say "that kid's parents have the travel ball mentality."  ;-)  

That's a joke people.  Well, sort of.

I stuck to answering questions about travel. I never poked parents about travel. I stayed removed from parents because they wanted me to second guess the high school coach (I coached). I refused to do it except in confidence with two travel dad buddies.

One dad asked me to take him to a scout league game. He was shocked at the level of competition. I told him my son goes from being the stud to a face in the crowd. Some parents were taken back I would go say hello to parents of the opposing high school. Some were parents of teammates or former teammates. 

One time I was on the other sideline when the pitcher (a former teammate) K'ed my son. I took a huge razzing from the parents. I was back on our side when my son crushed the ball next time up. As he was rounding the bases I gave a thumbs up to the other side. They laughed and boo'ed me at the same time. It's not life and death. It's baseball. It's fun.

When my son came up a third time the catcher said, "(pitcher's name) said best of three?"

Here in Small Town U.S.A. it's more of legacy problem than a travel ball one. The high school has a long history of success and a lot of the parents of kids in high school now played on state championship teams. They have a feeling of entitlement concerning their kids and varsity roster spots.

The best seat in any HS stadium is always the one furthest away from the rest of the parents.  The dad of one of my son's teammates was a D1 head coach.  He always sat in a lawn chair outside the stadium.  

I think 15 is a good age to Specialize. What is bad is baseball only at age 11 or so since baseball is a very unbalanced unilateral sport and not great at developing movement skills and athleticism.

however at age 15 the athletic foundation should be there already.

My son played three (baseball/football/basketball) sports until last winter when he decided not to play basketball and started speed and strength training instead. His goal at 14 is to play two sports in high school and college. That's his goal for now and I will support him but have regular conversations about the amount of commitment it will require of him. He also knows if his grades slip in any way, he will play zero sports. 

I've had a few conversations with a well-known college coach who said that he personally prefers multi-sports athletes and called off the names of about seven current major leaguers that he coached  who played multiple sports. Now, that's not why my son plays multiple sports.  In fact, he knows nothing of that conversation. He is at the point where he can make his own decisions unless the reason behind it is a girl. LoL

MTH posted:

The best seat in any HS stadium is always the one furthest away from the rest of the parents.  The dad of one of my son's teammates was a D1 head coach.  He always sat in a lawn chair outside the stadium.  

I have a "friend" who uses a cell phone when one of "those parents" is coming.  Grab it like an important call just came in, cover your other ear and say "hello," and head off in the opposite direction.  

This technique comes in handy.  Nothing worse than listening to a parent gripe about the coach....   Unless it is followed by a rant about their kid:  he's underutilized, he's not getting to play "his position," he's not being given the same playing time so-and-so's kid gets, etc.

2019Lefty21 posted:

On a lighter note I do get to take a weekend off from preparing tax returns this weekend and get to go watch Coastal Carolina play Ohio State Saturday and maybe Duke on Sunday! 

There's a post I like !   Go Chants!  And go UVA.   I hope they win em all now.   Can only help CCU RPI ! 

hshuler posted:

My son played three (baseball/football/basketball) sports until last winter when he decided not to play basketball and started speed and strength training instead. His goal at 14 is to play two sports in high school and college. That's his goal for now and I will support him but have regular conversations about the amount of commitment it will require of him. He also knows if his grades slip in any way, he will play zero sports. 

I've had a few conversations with a well-known college coach who said that he personally prefers multi-sports athletes and called off the names of about seven current major leaguers that he coached  who played multiple sports. Now, that's not why my son plays multiple sports.  In fact, he knows nothing of that conversation. He is at the point where he can make his own decisions unless the reason behind it is a girl. LoL

Is it realistic to play two sports in college? I'm all for multi sports but college baseball plus the academics alone is already a pretty big workload.

MomLW posted:

MTH posted:

The best seat in any HS stadium is always the one furthest away from the rest of the parents.  The dad of one of my son's teammates was a D1 head coach.  He always sat in a lawn chair outside the stadium.  

I have a "friend" who uses a cell phone when one of "those parents" is coming.  Grab it like an important call just came in, cover your other ear and say "hello," and head off in the opposite direction.  

This technique comes in handy.  Nothing worse than listening to a parent gripe about the coach....   Unless it is followed by a rant about their kid:  he's underutilized, he's not getting to play "his position," he's not being given the same playing time so-and-so's kid gets, etc.

Do what I do.  Speak honestly about their kid.  They will never approach you again.

Dominik85 posted:

hshuler posted:

My son played three (baseball/football/basketball) sports until last winter when he decided not to play basketball and started speed and strength training instead. His goal at 14 is to play two sports in high school and college. That's his goal for now and I will support him but have regular conversations about the amount of commitment it will require of him. He also knows if his grades slip in any way, he will play zero sports. 

I've had a few conversations with a well-known college coach who said that he personally prefers multi-sports athletes and called off the names of about seven current major leaguers that he coached  who played multiple sports. Now, that's not why my son plays multiple sports.  In fact, he knows nothing of that conversation. He is at the point where he can make his own decisions unless the reason behind it is a girl. LoL

Is it realistic to play two sports in college? I'm all for multi sports but college baseball plus the academics alone is already a pretty big workload.

I am not sure if he can or will but I did many moons ago. 

2019Lefty21,

First off, I was not offended at all.  My skin is significantly more thick than that.  

As baseball parents, we all start somewhere and most of our kids started with recreational baseball when they were young.   I think most of the parental contributors on this website have graduated from recreational baseball, but there are many reading this website who are not contributors or who's kids are just starting out.   Let's give them the benefit of our experiences.  Again, I agree with your point....parents need to think about the bigger baseball picture as they move up the baseball hierarchy.  But I also think parents and players should never forget where they came from.  JMO.

Point well taken! I will be more careful with my words. Sons little league won a state championship as 10 yr olds and he and I were just reflecting on that and how nice it would be to win a state championship in high school baseball on the way to school today! I guess I really could've made my point and chosen different words...as a former little league coach, I have a very definite opinion on some "parental mentality" I have experienced previously. Trust me, I coached a team of kids nobody wanted (as per the league president) as 6 year olds and watched them reel off 14 straight wins...so I am very familiar with the positive influence of little league baseball!

Dominik85 posted

Is it realistic to play two sports in college? I'm all for multi sports but college baseball plus the academics alone is already a pretty big workload.

A kid from my son's HS is at Yale now, as a freshman, playing football and golf. Hopefully he's able to swing it.  Literally and figuratively.

A kid on my sons baseball team just ripped an ACL playing winter league basketball last weekend...this is a kid who is 100% a baseball player. Not saying he shouldn't play hoops, my son does as well but at some point you need to decide what you are and what you want to focus on.

old_school posted:

A kid on my sons baseball team just ripped an ACL playing winter league basketball last weekend...this is a kid who is 100% a baseball player. Not saying he shouldn't play hoops, my son does as well but at some point you need to decide what you are and what you want to focus on.

A player can also get injured crossing the street. My son snowboarded every winter in high school and winter break in college. He kick boxed for physical training and reflexes. You have to live your life. In high school the coach warned anyone caught playing any other sports after 3/1 would be suspended from the team. That's when the kid stopped snowboarding.

I'm inclined to agree with RJM.  My son missed the start of his senior season because of elbow soreness.  I'll never be able to prove it, but I'm convinced it was caused by playing his Strat three hours a night in preparation for a gig.  But, seeing his band playing that event was priceless.  There is more to life than baseball.

RJM posted:

old_school posted:

A kid on my sons baseball team just ripped an ACL playing winter league basketball last weekend...this is a kid who is 100% a baseball player. Not saying he shouldn't play hoops, my son does as well but at some point you need to decide what you are and what you want to focus on.

A player can also get injured crossing the street. My son snowboarded every winter in high school and winter break in college. He kick boxed for physical training and reflexes. You have to live your life. In high school the coach warned anyone caught playing any other sports after 3/1 would be suspended from the team. That's when the kid stopped snowboarding.

There is no argument for this, it absolutely could happen anywhere. In this case it happened 2 weeks before the season starts for a key year in his development playing a game he honestly didn't give a damn about...and that really sucks.

MTH posted:

I'm inclined to agree with RJM.  My son missed the start of his senior season because of elbow soreness.  I'll never be able to prove it, but I'm convinced it was caused by playing his Strat three hours a night in preparation for a gig.  But, seeing his band playing that event was priceless.  There is more to life than baseball.

there ya go, it was worth it to you and hopefully him. to mine it certainly would not be worth it.

My son suffered two severe injuries. The torn PCL and MCL occurred in a baseball game. The shoulder separation and surgery was from falling down during an agility drill rehabbing his knee. He never got more than dinged up participating in any other sport. Live your life. Don't look back wondering what you should have done.