I'm so glad I had my son skip..

For my son, it was could he make the throw on a steal. He always had the intelligence and did pretty well accuraccy wise but never had a strong enough arm.

Fall is a great time for experimentation, especially with the change to the big field.  Things are a lot more loose and laid back in the fall.  Things will change again in the spring. Once he reaches HS I would have him play in his class, except for maybe a special event every once in a while.  Have him work on his flexibility, getting more agile, quicker and stronger.  Good luck to your son moving forward!

4seamer, you didn't just jump him over 13u, you skipped 12u as well.

 

I just had my son skip 13u, but it was so he could play with his grade and get on the big field, plus he's 5'9, he really had no business swinging anything but a BBCOR!

 

The transition has gone well.  His throw downs are spot on from behind the plate, and while he has seen a major improvement in pitching accuracy from 12u he has noticed that the backstops seem to have gotten MUCH further away!  His curve ball breaks better than ever from the mound, and he's still able to hit the gaps to both sides, plus he loves that the gaps are even bigger!

 

No complaints about skipping over 13u from him, as for me, I like that he isn't the biggest one on the team anymore :- )

I don't know.  Around my parts, no 12u kid is going to be able to complete at 14u.  Can he throw to 2B on a line, no rainbow?  Otherwise, I'd be worried about some bad mechanical habits creeping in. 

Is he playing fall ball in little league or local travel team? 

Was it a tryout situation? So will he play w 14 yr olds in Spring as an 12 yr old? How's his hitting?

 

just remember many K kids start school reading, but by second grade they are all rdg

son is ahead of age peers now but other kids usu catch up. Good luck making the best of the opportunity of being there early. 

I'm a big proponent of raising the bar and taking every advantage of being able to play at a higher level as I feel it can only be a positive.  By doing so, you learn whether he can succeed at a higher level or not.  If he succeeds, then you look for more opportunities to raise the bar.  However, I would not "push" him to these levels as it should be your son's decision that he can enjoy what he wants to do.  The players that really succeed are those who have the drive to push themselves where they want to go. And your support in helping him achieve what he wants will go a long way towards his success.

I think it would depend on his size Golfman25. I know my son last year could have been competitive on the big field at age 12 in the Spring, but it was more fun to watch him tower over the other kids at Cooperstown. 

 

When he was called to the mound from 1B to pitch to the last few batters of the last inning there was an audible groan from the opposing team, looking at a 70mph pitch from a 50' mound had to have been scary!

He's not even close to the other kid's in strength or size. So no, his throws to second aren't on a rope, his hits to the outfield aren't as deep, and it takes him longer than everyone to get down the line. But that's my point - with 17 kids on the feeder team, and all of them several years older than him, he's always in the lineup game day (3-11 with 6 walks), he's catching the championship games now (to the horror of some of the parents), and yes, he's even thrown out a few runners (a rope that bounces 30' in front of bag and probably gets there in 2.6 or so). So for those questioning if he is going to really compete at that level, no, of course not. Clearly he's doing ok behind the dish but that's why I have him there - to have a chance to slow the game down a bit earlier in his career.

Being "always in the lineup game day", I'd say he's competing just fine.  And he's probably learning a lot playing at this level now.  GOOD for him! 

I'm happy that you are happy 4seamer.  If you start to feel unhappy about your son's performance or his ability to truly hang with the older players, or his lack of playing time; I would encourage you to take a step back a year or so until the puberty stick evens out a few things.

I have a similar situation were I have two sons 11,13. We had to play fall baseball at 14u and only two players were 14. After a 20 game season playing at 60'6" mounds and 90' bases. I'll be coaching our 12u majors next spring and my 11 year old(he'll be 12) and the four other kids that also played on the fall team, that'll also be 12, look at the 12u field like a tee-ball park. All five I honestly don't know how other teams are going to make contact when they pitch. The confidence in pitching and almost effortlessly way they drill the ball over the fence is going to be nothing but fun. We live in a small town population less then 6,000 and I'm going to be coaching 4 kids who can hit over 65 on the gun. It seemed to all be linked to jumping up to regular size field's then back to LL fields. I've been coaching in some way since all these kids were 8 and look forward to a break out season next spring. Three years ago when I suggested to our board that this group should be groomed for the majors division when they turn 12  all thought I was dreaming. Now they see it takes years to build top competitive teams and it's very possible even with a pool of 35 kids to pick from.

...have fun run ruling everyone!

Yeah I don't think you are following my point, as a small town we usually can't complete against 90% of the teams we play. This is the first year were trying to play at the highest level and it took years of work to get a good program on track. Maybe you think baseball is about winning and losing but for me it's away to teach young kids that anything is possible if you work for it. I've coached plenty of games were we were the recipient of teams running up scores against us to get a higher seed in some tournament. Can't control that, can't complain, but if you work hard in practice and believe that you can improve, over the course of years a program with 35 kids can take on programs with 300 kids trying to make the "majors" team. So when our little farm town takes the field against big suburban teams, win our lose we will complete and we will complete because the lesson of hard work, goal setting and teamwork will pay off. That's a lesson each kid will take away and be able to use their whole life and that's why I coach.

JT37, welcome to the site.  I read your bio.  Pretty cool that you have kids who love the game so much.  There is no doubt that it will be fun for them to hit a few out on the short field. However, you may want to consider a few things...

 

If they love the game as much as you say, they undoubtedly want to play at the next level and the next, etc.  They would benefit far more, in that regard, from playing on the big field this coming spring instead of wasting a year playing against competition that can't even touch their pitching.  If they are as good as it sounds, it probably wouldn't be to difficult to get the next league up (pony or whatever 13 ad up league is in your area) to allow them to play.

 

It really won't be all that much fun for them if the team is going to be as dominant as you indicate...  not for them and certainly not for the other teams.  If they have to play on the small field again, it may make sense to offer to "split up the dynasty" and spread these kids around so there will at least be competition among the teams.  Then the boys can play together in all-stars and go up against the leagues with more kids to draw from.   

 

I know these thoughts are not going to be well received when you first read them.  Try to think two years down the road... four years...   Also, try to think ahead as to how the 12 majors season will play out for everyone in the league.  Yup, dominating in a league where maybe you and the boys have taken some lumps in years past probably has quite a bit of appeal at first glance.  What would really be impressive, though, is if you could look beyond and see the big picture.

 

In any case, congrats on being able to enjoy kids who love playing!

PS - I didn't see your second post while I was typing.  If competing against bigger neighbor towns (I assume, during all-stars) is and has been a goal the boys (and coach) have been working toward the last few years, I would re-emphasize my second point.  If you split up the better players (sounds like you will have most of them), it will create at least a little better competitive environment for the regular league season and allow the better hitters and pitchers to battle against each other instead of being mostly on one team. 

Thank you for reply. It's not about revenge or winning by run rules. I'd take a .500 season with wins and losses decided by 3 or less runs. I do plan on playing in tournaments were we'd be playing up and anytime we may ahead I'd practice class be not running up the score. These kids took a lot of lumps and worked hard to become better. They have a legitimate chance to compete against some of the best programs in our state and win or lose they earned it. There's 3 divisions we can play in and we've decided to play in the toughest against the best programs in or state. Big picture is I don't what these kids to peek at 12 and our varsity team hasn't had a winning season in over 30 years. I'm just trying to build a program from the ground up. Following kids from when their 8 until their young men when thier seniors. State titles, tournament championships are great but more importantly is if you truly want to succeed in life, or any other goals you set, hard work over time, educating yourself about what you want to achieve and bouncing back from setbacks can help you become anything you want. Not complaining about how other teams are bigger or the have more kids to pick from. Almost anybody can succeed with smart hard work and true dedication. Baseball is something I understand and I try to use it to do more than make good ball players but good well rounded young men who understand how they can achieve what they want in life.

I do not like to talk in age groups.. its about competition. Competition drives you to be better... or not.  You see it in younger siblings that are driven to compete with the older ones. "Water will seek its own level" BUT the challenge must be presented.  More is gained by the team that is challenged, struggling to be .500; than the team that "blows the competion away".  

As a catcher, the first time I warmed up an outstanding pitcher, his first pitch hit me in the chest!!! That never happened again! 

That's partly my whole point, these kids have been beat up over and over then started making progress toward the point where they can now compete with towns tens times bigger with much more of a pool of players to pick from. I'm not anticipated we're going to blow out any teams but it'll be fun to watch them play and compete with the teams that always seem to be in the state finals in toughest division. That's the lesson, it doesn't matter how big or good your opponent is because you can only control how much you what something and if you want it bad enough you work, educate yourself, and go get it. You can't make excuses that we're to small and don't have enough standout players to play with the big boys. You work, practice and play. If we wanted to we could play with other teams from towns or size but with no disrespect we'd probably destroy them. Instead we feel we have a chance against the very best. My guess is that we finish slightly over .500.

Well, I guess I'm just really confused by the information. 

Earlier, you said " I'll be coaching our 12u majors next spring and my 11 year old(he'll be 12) and the four other kids that also played on the fall team, that'll also be 12, look at the 12u field like a tee-ball park. All five I honestly don't know how other teams are going to make contact when they pitch." 

 

And now you say "My guess is that we finish slightly over .500."