How much work does it take?

THe only motivation that last and works is "self motivation". Does he love it?....no... does he love it enough to give up other parts of his life that most kids think are very important.

There are 100's of good baseball players but only a few with the talent AND the love of the game to play in college.

What you want is not nearly good enough to sustain him.

My child hits 150 balls a day. Fields 100 groundballs and gets in her throwing work. Typically warmup and then 3 inning simulated game. She is 12. Every coach is going to have their standard that they want. However, I don't think it is a "timed event" as much as it is a repetition type thing. Those repetitions are worthless if done incorrectly.

My advice is to allow your child to feel out the experience and decide exactly what they want to do. Can you help in this? Certainly! However, is has to be both beneficial and fun. If it stops being either one, it is time to either adjust or take some time off. JMHO!

I agree with Coach on this one. You get into it what you put into it. It takes as much work as necessary to be good. You have to do as much work as it takes to succeed above all others.

i am 14, and i love the game. i play catch with my father 5-7 times a week working on my arm, and he throws me grounders, pop ups etc. i also take wiffle balls off the tee 1 or twice a week. and i go out during the day almost every day during the week and throw the ball of my brick garage and take grounders.

My son does something with baseball every day. It could be swings, throwing, groundballs, short hops, receiving drills...

As soon as I get home, he asks me to do something with him regarding baseball. He loves it and I am here to help him get better.

At least three hours a day, 5-6 days a week either in the gym, taking BP or hitting off the tee, catching bullpens, running or playing in games,scrimmages or practices.

The key here is this: how much time does the kid WANT to spend? I see all these workouts listed here, and they are great...as long as it is the KID'S idea and not the parents (no accusations here - just a general point!). I have seen TOO many parents who think they can force kids to become great ballplayers, and we all know how ridiculous that is.
Bottom line is that a player will only become a player if they are doing it for THEMSELVES...it is the only motivation that will endure over time.

Coach Knight -

During the off season? When he was actively practicing during the off-season, he would work-out one to three days a week. This was mostly long toss and soft toss. During football, the baseball specific training just about ceased except for a few fall ball tournaments. The baseball season would start in February and fall ball would end in October. I tried to shut his throwing down for at least a month (November??) to allow his arm to recover. He would resume long tossing in mid December if he had a Christmas showcase and then continue for a couple of days a week until spring baseball started. He had a soft toss machine and a net in the basement and he would just “hit a few” a couple of times a week.
Fungo

I believe in provided the opportunity to work at the game. I don't believe in making a kid work at the game. Our year is broken down like this. Feb to May High School baseball season. June to Early August summer baseball. August 1 to mid Jan off season strength and conditioning program. Fall baseball mid August to early Oct. These are the opportunities that we make sure we provide to all the kids that want to take advantage of them. It is up to them to make the decision wether or not they wish to do so. I have never made my kids work at any sport. I do make them work in the yard and around the house and at Grandma's house. It is a game. If you want to work at it to be the best you can be I will provide the opportunity for you to do so.

My son hits 100+ baseballs every single day. He has done that for so long that I can't remember when he didn't. His hands have the calluses of a lumberjack and he absolutely believes that he will be a great hitter someday. How much work does it take? I don't have a clue, but hopefully I'll be able to answer that someday. For now, I'm just along for the ride and it's a lot of fun!

I must say that I have loved baseball since I was a kid and my three sons have all played at higher levels than I ever thought possible. They have worked exceptionally hard on baseball, with me there much of the time. That said, they never could have hit 100 or 150 balls every day. And 100 ground balls a day? I cannot even imagine that. Nor would I want them to have done it. At some point they would have become absolutely sick of baseball -- along with me.

Sometimes, variety and a break are very, very good things.

jemaz, I heartily applaud your perspective!!

Post by Coach Knight

quote:

The key here is this: how much time does the kid WANT to spend? I see all these workouts listed here, and they are great...as long as it is the KID'S idea and not the parents (no accusations here - just a general point!). I have seen TOO many parents who think they can force kids to become great ballplayers, and we all know how ridiculous that is.
Bottom line is that a player will only become a player if they are doing it for THEMSELVES...it is the only motivation that will endure over time.

How True!!!

"Knight" On!

I think I am going to agree with jemaz. I work on baseball everyday, but I can't say I hit 150 balls and take 100 grounders. I usually work on baseball for about an hour and a half.

I can only tell you what my son does......as a college middle infielder. There is something to work on every day. Even recovering from his recent surgury, he still took his swings......

There is BP, soft toss, sprints, long toss, gym time.......no day passes without some scheduled baseball related activity. It may only take as little as 30 minutes out of his day, but he finds the time to get it in.....

I don't recall my kid ever working at baseball.

I do recall him playing organized ball in the spring, summer, fall and even winter indoor leagues. I do recall him driving over 40 miles one way all four seasons to get to somewhere he could do that.

I also recall him spending time many, many off days either playing catch with dad, hitting with the solo-hitter, or one of his favorites hitting wiffle balls over the roof of the house.

However, it wasn't so much a program of how to improve his skills - it was simply that swinging a bat and throwing a ball was far and away his favorite form of entertainment. Period.

I always thought every kid had a bucket of rice in their bedroom and ther-bands were a part of door in everyones house.

Some kids love to fish it is their passion. Some kids love to hunt or ride ATVs etc. Some kids like to do alot of different things. My son has always wanted to play and work at baseball. I have to force him to take days off and do other things. Everyday that he does not do something related to baseball he ends up saying "I need to throw and hit tomorrow". It just has always been his passion. Its what he does. It is a huge part of his life. Not because I force it on him or constantly remind him of it. Self motivated and determined to be good at what he loves. I think alot of kids of parents here are like that. I really think the key is to stay out of it and let them decide how much they want to work at it. If they really love it they will do what they need to do. Yes you can encourage them but their is a fine line between encourageing a kid to do something that is supposed to be fun and pushing them to the point that it is no longer fun but a pain in the ***. JMHO

Thanks to everyone for their input. My son's goal since he was around 8 has been to play at our local university and beyond. He's always been talented and works hard. I usually leave it up to him when to practice. He does need to be coaxed a little bit when he's vegging out in front of the TV or Xbox. He has a Solohitter in the garage and spends a lot of time with that.For groundballs in the winter we go over to the college (2 or 3 times a week, a twenty minute drive) they have an indoor facility with astroturf. But it can be kind of hit or miss on whether or not its occupied. There is a net that we can use for soft toss and basketball hoops while we're waiting for the turf. The coaches gave us a couple of their old batting cages that had some holes between the two we were able to patch one to hang in my dads barn. ( A 5 minute drive.)

He's still young but I'd like him to work on his footspeed. He does'nt show much interest right now.

I wish he could find a workout partner, He gets pretty frustrated with me throwing BP. He is a switchhitter. I can throw about 70% strikes RH when he bats LH its maybe 35%. I get Steve Blass disease.
Its getting to the point when we long toss that I can't even get the ball back on the roll.

I like whats been brought up about taking a month or two off from throwing. My son is not primarily a pitcher. But he is good at it. 2 years ago he was pitching without regards to pitch counts, along with quite a bit of catching. Long story short He hurt his elbow and spent a month in a cast and spent 2 months with no sports. Thankfully he is fully recovered and we both talked to his coaches and his innings were greatly reduced.

I guess what the basketball coach said about work in the offseason would apply more to basketball. Where repetitions might pay off more with shooting, dribbling etc.

I'm sorry for rambling so much. I'm just really thankful for this site. I've been lurking for about 3 yrs. Thanks to MN-Mom and others for keeping it going.

Well heres how much work it takes, it takes as much work as the KID is willing to give. Not the parent, i've seen plenty of good baseball players quit, or not blossom due to their parents pushing them too hard. I personally was never pushed by my parents to succeed in sports, all they ever asked is if i WANTED to play, and if i wanted to play, they were willing to go to any lengths to support that effort, whether it was paying to play in the league or paying for showcases to get my noticed. Ask your kid what they want to do, if they want to play ball, then try your best as parents to support that effort and give them the best oppurtunity to move to the next level, whether its them playing on a traveling team, getting them personal coaching from a pitching or hitting coach, or taking them to showcases. The bottom line is that the kid is going to be as good as HE/SHE wants to be, some have the drive to be the best, some dont. Just support your kid with what they want to do. Thats what my parents did, and it seemed to work out pretty good for me. (just signed with the Texas Rangers in the 4th round out of High School)
Bottom line, if your kid wants to be good, he will be good!

AHSPitcher and Coach May,
If the kid is not in to working out you will not accomplish anything because you can not get better without the intent to get better.

After reading some of the post, which I assume were related to my previous post, I would like to say that those numbers are not my idea. My child wanted to know what it took to be good enough to make the Olympic Team. She set the numbers! Heck, I bought my yearly golf membership and have only golfed 5 times this year due to her workouts. If it is something that your child wants to do and you know they have a passion and if you have the facilities, then I feel you should support it. I do intend to go golfing this week. However, it is raining now and so, we will be in the cage in the gym doing our daily workout soon.

Along the lines of the post, it is different for everyone. My child is not a natural athlete. Some are and they don't have to work as hard. When you have something very special is when they have the natural talent and then want to work very hard. However, the backbone of America, in my opinion, is those people that overcome their given abilities to do special things. JMHO!

Like so many things there is no one size fits all answer to this. Athletic talent, coaching quality etc. all play a huge role in how hard a kid has to work to excel. Some kids will excel with little effort, some will not excel even though they work their tails off.

How much easeir it is for the player who loves the game. When you are having fun doing something it does not seem like work at all. These are the kids that will tell you they never work at it - because in their mind they did not.

If your kid has the drive to be better I believe you should give him/her every possible tool to get better. Never force anything on them but if they have a love and passion for something we as parents should be there to support them.

CoachB25

I always chuckle when I read or hear comments about how much my son works at hitting. "Oh, we see Boomer out there every day, you are pushing him too hard!" That was when he was 9.

Now the people around here use him as inspiration for their son's and what I typically get is.. "Oh, we see Boomer out there every day. I tell my son he should work like him!" Too funny really, because you can't make a dog hunt. He either has the desire or he doesn't. I cound't make my son work like he does. It has nothing to do with me. In fact, he is burning ME out....

So don't apologize or try to explain your daughter's desire. So few kids have it. You will continue to hear all the warnings from those that don't.

Callaway, thanks for the thoughts! I would add one more thing to this thread. How hard a child works often has to do with the environment. We get to work in an air conditioned gym and we take several breaks and she decides when she goes from one activity to the other and what order she does that day. Variety is good. However, I think that the main thing, as a parent, that I have to do is to keep the experience positive. While I coach her some, she works a lot harder when she receives several pats on the back. Finally, as I posted in another thread, we've turned certain portions of her hitting practice into games. That fosters competive drive and yet, she laughs a lot also. If any adult turns practice into pure work, I think that the player will get less from their experience when THEY are making the choice to do it.

Coach its funny that you took this thread in that direction. Today I was having a conversation with one of our assistant coaches. He has a son that is a rising 8th grader. His son works hard and seems to really like the game. I noticed that several times over the past couple of months that the coach has gotten on him pretty hard while throwing bp to him in the cage at the HS. The boy will kind of drop his head and get really frustrated. I just gave him my 2 cents worth hoping to lighten everything up a bit for both of them. I told him when I first started coaching my sons when they were 5 6 years old that I didnt expect a whole lot from them. I spent all my time praising them , kind of like this "That was a great swing now keep your head still". In other words I never left them with a negative I always left them with a positive. I wanted them to have fun and enjoy what they were doing. As they got older around 10 11 I started to catch myself expecting a whole lot more from them. Instead of praising them all the time for the effort I caught myself always pointing out what they were not doing right. I have learned that positive reinforcement and teaching them can be one in the same. And it fosters a love of the game and a desire to work even harder. We all need to check ourselves from time to time. In order to love something it has to be fun and an enjoyable experience. I have a rule for myself. As long as my kid or anyother kid is trying to do their best I stay positive and teach. The only time I get on them is when I dont see a genuine effort to give their best at what they are doing. JMHO

JDsDad

My son has been in shut down mode since Aug 1 when he finished at Clearwater, Fla.

He had been pitching continuously without a break in 2004 right through Christmas/New Years (Australia) in 2005 and then went right into pre-season in January 2004....and has been playing baseball without stopping right through Aug 2005.

Well over 200 games.

Quite frankly, he's tired.

I told him to do whatever he wants, anything but baseball.

He went camping with his friends and they have been partying everynight as their group gets ready to break up as they are all headed their separate ways to various colleges.

He hasn't picked up a ball near three weeks...he earned it.

Ramrod,
You are one of the coolest dads in the world. How many dads let their kids party all night? That would be cool.

Callaway ...

quote:

"Oh, we see Boomer out there every day, you are pushing him too hard!" That was when he was 9.

That made me chuckle .. we started hearing the same thing when ours was 10. Dad had painted a home plate and a pitching "rubber" on the cul de sac street surface so son could practice hitting his spots. Several neighbors commented on how he was being "pushed" ... the same neighbors who never criticized the competitive dancers or musicians in the neighborhood. Now they all seem to want to share in his successes ... even tho they did nothing more than watch and comment on his practices. Funny how that works, isn't it?

As for shutting down ... ours did it at different times in the year depending on age and level of play, but he always took at least 2-3 weeks off from even picking up a ball, and 5-6 weeks off from actually pitching. He must have done something right as he has a very healthy arm to go along with his desires and dreams now, and he has already thrown 160.1 innings this season ... second most in all the full season leagues (with 3 more starts to go and an average of 6+ innings a start). And when he isn't pitching, he is counting the days till he throws again.

We raised several children, only the last was a bb player although others went to college on athletic scholarships, we found that once the child gets into high school, giving advise (pushing the player, etc. by the parent) even when it was something that needed to be said, was a waist of time (as this is the time for independence and growth) we got around it by suggesting to their private coaches(pitching instructors, etc) thoughts that we had without our son hearing us, for example what we had seen at a recent outing, need for more practice time, etc. The instructor always seemed to get the result we hoped to get without us having to be the one pushing.

I go to the gym 6 days a week so thats about 1 hour a day. Then if my dad is up to it we go to the fields and he hits me pop flys, grounders (for outfield), and then he pitches to me. I think were gonna start doing long toss to strengthen my arm. I would say about 2-2 1/2 hours a day.

Coach May, your previous post is a great example of why I'd love to go watch you practice with your team and to see you in a game. I KNOW I'D ENJOY IT!

To anyone one that thinks I'm driving my kid too much, she might have some time off. Today, while stealing second, she might have broken her thumb. She is devistated! All of the coaches here know the routine, RICE!!! Tomorrow, x-rays. It happened the second game of a double header. She lost her first game this year in Middle School ball (4-1) in the first game. She was 4-4 in second game and then the steal in the last inning. Anyone know of some place I can rent a rubber room for a month or two. I know a kid that is going to be bouncing a lot.

Coach May - Your point is so well taken on leaving on a positive note. As a coach, you chose the impressions that the kid will leave the field with. I think there can be a lot said for honey instead of vinegar! JMHO!

Thanks coach I appreciate your kind words.