How does New Hampshire improve the quality of baseball through out the State

i have coached in the babe ruth level 13-15 yr olds.and in the cal ripken level 8-12 yr olds.i honestly believe it starts in the minor league levels and cal ripken -little league levels.it seems a lot of kids these days are not properly coached in the lower levels.so when it comes time to play babe ruth baseball they really do not want to play anymore. we have really seen a decline in the number of kids who want to play .seems like video games,lack of ambiton and other sports like s****r and lacross also have some to do with it.but i would like to see better coaching in the younger levels. spend more tme teaching basic baseball skills. i can see why parents will spend the extra money for the travel baseball and not play for the local town leagues.

i agree good coaching is lacking. i have always felt LL doesn't teach baseball . sure the basic baseball skills are there and everyone can play. i just would like to see a 70 foot basepath 50 pitching with leading and stealing league for these kids. i think most of todays players are shocked when they get to babe ruth and the big field. that can turn most away. we spend the informative years teaching LL stratagy that really doesn't teach the whole game. i am probably alone in my thinking, but it would go a long way in teaching both coaches and players the whole game. did cal ripken do this transistion?
i know LL is well recieved in the community's because every one can enjoy success. but i don't think it really helps in the long run. i know these things run in cycles and i think we are on the down cycle. i agree we can do better, but it's tough being the odd guy out on these things.

Having just come from the Cal Ripken level I think the shortness of the schedule is part of the problem here in NH. We can't get on the fields until the last week of April if lucky and then have to have the season completed in time for all-stars in early June. That leaves 6-8 weeks to have a meaningful season and try to get practices in. Parents don't want to be at the field 4 times a week so scheduling practices (if you can find field time) is tough. You try to teach them what you can in that time frame but it is tough.

That being said, I do think that the better players do get more playing time and receive solid practice time during All-stars. Here in Nashua we have 4 Cal Ripken leagues and a LL so primarily the kids who play Babe Ruth were all All-stars in their leagues. In the smaller towns I can see where this lack of skill training could come into play. I know Nashua NW is trying to address the issue at the younger level with less games and more skill training right through the Minors level.

Personally I think another issue is that parents do not teach their children how to catch a ball or hit a ball anymore. It used to be that you couldn't wait till they were old enough to go outside and play catch or even risk ticking the spouse off by playing catch inside Now they dump the kids off at the field and don't even know if little Johnny throws with his left hand or his right. That is the start of the problem right there. Then add in the limited time for actually coaching the kids in practice and you can't put a lot of the blame on the coaches. But I agree that proper coaching does make a difference. We were lucky in my son's case. I had him throwing ASAP and hitting little plastic balls in the house when he was 2..lol But when we went to teeball as a 5yr old we had a head coach who played in college and wanted to teach these kids right. We had organized practices that taught the basic skills needed to play the game the right way. Well we were together for 2 years and from that group of 11 kids 7 kids played all-stars for the league and the two girls on the team are softball all-stars. So that is one heck of a ratio. But that is the exception to the rule.

I think NH ball will improve as more and more travel teams are formed. Just look at how many more there are in just the last 3 years!! These programs give you structured winter workouts and they let the kids who are serious about Baseball play 20-30 more games in a season and then they would have and usually against better competition. The down side is most travel teams won't let you play Babe Ruth so that league is going too suffer. Thankfully the travel team my son is on allows it's players to not only play School ball but also Babe Ruth. In Addition they want the kids to represent the town by trying out for their Babe Ruth All-star teams as well.

just my two cent long ramblings on the subject....lol

Arent ALL STAR Teams by selection?---how do you try out for an All Star team?

They are by selection but from the pool of players available. So they hold "tryouts" for the age appropriate kids and the coaches select from that pool of players. I know it sounds foolish but in this politically correct time that we live in, it makes the league feel good that it gives the appearance that every kid had an open opportunity to make the team. I don't like it and feel that it hurt our Ripken All-star team as they took it too far and would carry the few extra kids who showed up who weren't All-star caliber. This would dilute practice time and scrimmage time for the kids who truly were All-stars and need the work. I was not in favor of this system but then again I'm not a big "PC" kind of guy anyways..lol.

To me being named to an ALL STAR team is an HONOR---screw the PC garbage and all the feel good stuff--get to HS and you either make it or you don't--

By the way most kids adpat to the bad stuff better than you think---in fact you would probably find that the kids with lesser talent are there because of Mommy and Daddy, not because the player wants to be there


EXAMPLE:
Had a kid on my LL team--average ability---shows up for the first game in full uniform and tells me he does not want to play--"Coach, I do not want to be here. My parents made me sign up." Had a nice chat with his parents and he turned in his uniform that day

I agree with redsox .you can really see adifference with the kids that their parents spend time with playing catch and pitching them balls at home.its really to bad that some kids will not ever get that at home.i miss those days with my 2 sons. i used to look forward to coming home from work and always having somebody to play catch with.its to bad some kids never get that attention.some parents just drop off there kids and expect there coaches to do it all.

TRhit - You are preaching to the choir...I agree with all of that and also came across plenty of kids who were only there because mommy thought it was good to be playing a sport. Regardless of the child's athletic ability or desire to play.

Personally, I think the influx of local training facilities is going to have the biggest influence on the future of Granite State Baseball. When my son was younger, the closest indoor facility was in Lawrence, MA. We spent a lot of time playing catch, and I did my best to toss balls for him to hit, but being able to go to a facility with a pitching machine was fabulous! And we have more true baseball coaches working with the kids now - guys who actually played college and/or pro ball. They have the ability to teach the kids nuances of the game that parent/coaches aren't aware of.

Redsox, I believe you'll find that the influx of travel teams is not necessarily going to improve the level of play in the state. While there are organizations that have been developed by former pro and college players, there are also teams that have been put together by parents whose kids tried out for other travel teams but didn't make the cut. Some of the organizations will be very good and the others will fade into oblivion once the founders's kids get older.

The addition of middle school teams will hopefully improve the quality of Nashua baseball as time goes on, however, our state is going through a cultural change, just like the rest of the country, with lax and s****r rising in popularity among both players and fans. What I heard most often in the Nashua high school scene is that kids prefer the faster pace and more physical nature of the other sports.

I guess I agree with everyone who has posted so far. Parents are not involved enough, the quality of coaching at the LL and AAU level is not great, video games, kids losing interest, weather and so on and so on. I’m not sure the lack of talent is from not playing enough…. Talent seems to come in waves and the last few years have been down in NH. I was brought up playing s****r in the fall, basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring. As a high school coach I feel it makes you a better well rounded athlete and most of the college coaches I talk to feel the same. I have coached at all levels and own a baseball softball training facility and I have seen it all. Kids who play all year tend to burn out and lose interest as they get older. They are also subject to injury elbows, shoulders which is much more common than years ago.

In the last 10 years here are some things that we do and how it’s turned our high school program around from not making the tournament to being a top 5 team year in and year out and competing for a state championship every year.

1) You have to start at the LL level by the time they hit high school it’s almost impossible to change all the bad habits. We do coaches clinics and our team puts on youth clinics every year (we will have 70+ kids at the two clinics we put on also a great fundraiser for the program and gets the community involved). We try and get the kids to come to games to see what they have to look forward to. We will also ask for bat boys to help out at home games. This all creates excitement in the baseball community and keeps them interested in baseball. 2) Help the Jr. High coach. You need a feeder program if you want the high school program to be competitive. The high school coaches talk to the Jr high coaches on a regular basis (drills, bunt defense, 1st and 3rd defense, practice management and so on). Invite the Jr high team to your practice and games. 3) Get involved in summer baseball. I don’t coach summer ball anymore but I make sure that qualified coaches are (high school JV coaches or alumni) who know what your trying to teach are involved.

The old saying is Rome wasn’t built in a day and these are just some things that have worked for us and we will continue to do. One last quick story and then I will shut up  Last June we were very fortunate to play for a state championship at merchantsautostadium.com and as we were walking off the field two LL age kids from our community came running up to me and said “coach someday we will be playing for you in this game……”. As a coach I feel I have already won!!!!!

coach c
can't beat a plan, and you seam to have a good one. no a great one.

Coach C - We have one of your up and coming kids on my son's 13U AAU team. He is from Brookline, a 7th grader this year. I'll have to keep an eye on him for you, let you know how he does..lol.

I know that the Coach at Nashua North has started doing clinics with the local Ripken leagues in his area. We attended the last two and they were well received by the players and coaches. He also emphasized good grades and staying out of trouble. The last few years he has lost several good players to grades or disciplinary reasons. so not only did he teach the kids several drills etc, but really let them know that if they wanted to play high School ball then they needed to hit the books hard and keep their noses clean. As a parent I really could appreciate that advice for my son. I look for that program to continue to improve as well down the road.

"I know there are High School coaches in this State who build up their egos by coaching and quite frankly demoralizing kids in the process and just collect a check"

I am curious about this comment. It seems to me that, for someone who is intersted in promoting positive conversation, making statements like this does just the opposite. Unless you are on the staff of a high school team, I fail to see how you can make this statement. How could you? You have no inside access to what really goes on. Of course, you could have a son on a team and that does provide a window, but we all know that teenage perception is not always reality. Most coaches put in countless extra hours with college coaches, reporting games, keeping statistics, preparing for the next game or the next practice, dealing with parents who "know" much better how to run the team, and the list goes on. Of all the coaches I have known or coached against I have yet to meet one who is in it to just collect a check.
I am not trying to jump down your throat (sorry if it comes across that way), I know you are a nice person. I just get frustrated by comments like these.
I also wanted to say that I have seen your program and I think it is a positive step for NH baseball.