I wanna quit.

I would just let it be--if he changes his mind it will happen on his own terms

The only thing I would tell him is to realize that the decision he makes now he has to live with all season. I don't know if he is old enough or mature enough to understand what that means.....

If he wants to quit there is not much you can do.
Just say thats fine because we weren't getting enough house chores done running around to all that baseball. Tell him you will set up a list of chores for him to perform each day this year.
Is 10yo too young in your s

I think you hit it right on the Bobblehead.
Because if i'm not outside someplace watching you play baseball.
I'm at home doing the Baseball Honeys Do List.
And guess who's helping me, Thats Right. LOL

I would give him a few days and once his friends are playing ball, and spring hits, He might have a change of heart.

10 yrs is OK to expect him to make occasional good "choices",
but too young & inexperienced for important "decisions"

soo, I'd take him to a specialist for a "brain scan"

if the scan DID confirm a functioning brain we'd head on over to the "Western Auto store"
to pick out a new glove, cleats, cap, & bat (and a big bag of baseball trading cards w/gum)

if the scan DID NOT confirm a funtioning brain we'd buy a soc-cer ball


.

Fungo

Burnout at 10yo?? I hardly think so, especially if he is the star. Like Bee said, there would be something wrong with his head. They don't burnout at that age if they are good. You must have forgotten what your star 10yo was like.

Make him play a game? Why? If he says he doesnt want to play leave it alone. If he likes to play, sometime during or after the season he will realize that he misses it alot and will let you know about it. Forcing him to play will only drive him away from the game not towards it.

10 year olds don't get burned out. 15,16,17 year olds get burned out. Or they realize they aren't as good as they were at 10, or they want to have more of a social life, girlfriend, other interests. Their whole life from about 8 on was consumed with baseball, travel teams, tournaments, lessons, they just want a break, some need a break.

Problem is we expect our teens to be as enthusiastic about a sport as they were when they were 10. Most are not anymore.

Maybe there's a reason for it. Has he had problems with teammates, coaches,etc.? My son played at nine, then quit when he was ten. I found out later that it was because of some hateful remarks made by parents. We finally got him back playing when he was 11. I'm sure that year off hurt him a little, but not as much as those comments. Have you tried to figure out what is really happening? Sometimes its really hard to get a 10 year old to really open up.

my frist season was when i was 8 and because of my mom i didnt play again until i was 13 and this yr i didnt make the highschool team and i might of made it if i played those 5 yrs

While our son never actually said that I know he thought it several times, especially at age 13 when he played 80+ games for an intense travel team coach and met some new kids at middle school who spent all their time on the couch, GameBoys in hand.

From about age eight, our policy was simple and consistent. He had to really committ to at least one primary activity of his choice. It could have been or martial arts, music, art or, heaven forbid s****r , but he had to find something else before he could quit baseball.

Age ten is too young to make such a "permenent decision", especially without some other organized outlet for his energies. Also, one year off, unless caused by illness, injury, or other extenuating circumstances, is effectively the end of baseball.

I've seen a kid quit baseball at age 10, he was a pretty decent player too. In this case he was getting pushed real hard by his grandfather (who had played AAA ball with Pete Rose but had to give it up because he couldn't feed his family with what he was earning). I felt bad for the boy, I never heard one word of encouragement from his grandfather, always just criticism for what he should be doing better. Seems like adults often take these things way too seriously and take the fun out of it for the kids. Not saying that's the case for the youngster in question, but you've got to wonder if there's a grownup involved somewhere in the equation.

As Coach May reminded us, it's playing a game.

My older son became a mercenary pitcher at 14 because he would play for any team that asked.

My younger son would rather play with his friends rather than travel ball. His freshman year he opted to play Little League and AAU rather than high school ball. He played with his buddies that he grew up with and wanted to repeat as District Champs.

I would rather have my children happy than have them fulfill some desire they do not share.

Haverdad, I doubt one year off of baseball at the age of ten is effectively the end of his baseball career. My son took one year off and came back and became captain of the all star team. Come on, the kid is only 10!

I know a kid who quit baseball for golf his sophomore year at high school. The universal view was that that was that for him and baseball. He later pitched for three years at the University of Southern California and is now playing professional baseball. The reason: His talent.

Fungo,
I assume this is a hypothetical scenario...I would reevaluate the amount of baseball my son were playing...perhaps he just wants to be a little boy and do little boy things and is being consumed by playing select and travel and LL etc...perhaps just playing town ball would suffice to keep him in the game but providing the necessary time needed to just be a "boy"....remember this is a game where fun is supposed to be had...if it becomes a burden or evokes hostile emotions on the players part....it is no longer a game but a chore IMHO

A 10 year old not playing for a year, isn't that big of deal.
If it went beyond 2 maybe 3 yrs then he'll be lagging behind.
My feeling is that real baseball doesn't start till 15 to 16 yrs old.
Everything before that is learning the basics of how the game should be played. It should be fun time, not a grind. Not win at all cost type baseball.
World Championships at 10 yrs old??
Does the 10yr old have an older brother that maybe has had a lot of success, and he might think he can't quite match up to what big brother has done. Feels it's easier to not try to live up to exspectations.
Maybe more one on one training without games. Work on improving skills like an off season. Pitching, Long toss. hitting.
So if, are when he does decide he wants to play again. He won't have missed a beat. the EH

catchermom03,
No, this is not a hypothetical situation ---- this actually happened with my son. As I think back I think he was actually nine years old. He did get “burned out” toward the end of the previous year during the 99 degree weather. During the state tournament he told me he didn’t want to play anymore. It understood where he was coming from--- the heat was brutal. I “made” him finish the year out and the next spring when it came time to sign up for baseball he said he didn’t want to. I “asked” him to do it for two weeks as a favor to me and if he felt the same way after the two weeks, then I wouldn’t ask him to play any more.
He never mentioned another word about quiting and 12 years later he’s still playing.
Fungo

Fungo,
As a fellow catchers Mom I can understand the heat issue...in moments of high heat and humidity mine would express similar sentiments about not playing but when the next game came along he was dressed and ready to go...it was me who would worry about dehydration, heat stoke etc and pray he would not go and mine, too is still playing at age 21 and at age?????? I still worry

Fungo, thanks for the insight. I remember a couple of years ago when my son (then 10) caught 2 complete tournament games back to back in 95 degree heat. He was pretty wasted after the first game, said he felt ill. Head coach gave him that old pep talk about being tough, helping the team win, etc. Well, he hung in there and finished the second game but I'm sorry I allowed it. All-star tryouts were the next day, the poor kid was absolutely dragging butt and had a horrible showing.

quote:

Originally posted by Fungo:
He did get “burned out” toward the end of the previous year during the 99 degree weather.

Fungo - I'm not sure if I ever wanted to hang it up but I was a catcher and I passed out once when I was 12 (?) from the heat. I don't think I'll ever forget the look in my dad's face when I came too. HE may have wanted me to hang it up that day though.