Intense T-Ball

quote:

"I'd say this group has been on a baseball field together over 500 times in three years,"

Many of those times they were learning to ride a bike, finding Easter eggs, playing tag, or whatever. It sounds like a great case of "Daddy/Mommy Ball" where the kids wonder why their parents spend so much time at the ballpark. At the same time the kids think that parents who do not spend time at the park must not love their kids. At this age kids are not doing what they want rather they are doing what they are told. Get back to me in 10 years and most of these kids will be on skateboards or in therapy with Mom/Dad.

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Bizazz,

Can you link this please?

Thanks,

44

Here's the link. You'll have to register to read it (it's free).


T Ball Champs

You have to be kidding me !!!!!

Who changes the diapers on the 6U team ??

Oh......my......gosh

Here comes baseball burnout...by age 7!

A clear sign that Armageddon is upon us.

This is insane.

80 games as 5 yr olds??? I can't fathom the kids focusing for that long much less the fact that 10-12 families have bought into this mularkey!!!

The punishment for child abuse involves inserting a living snake up........??

Idiot parents is an understatement. How sad IMO

OS - I've got a 2u.....wonder if he could play up?

I agree, this is totally insane. My son played Tball and the whole team spent most of their time running around and playing in the dirt, had a blast! How on earth does anyone organize them to play in a decent game, let alone 80?! Drug them?!

MMac:

quote:

Originally posted by mmac:
How on earth does anyone organize them to play in a decent game, let alone 80?! Drug them?!

Drug them? Well not exactly...but close!

Let's do the math...

(80 games/season)X(2 or 3 snacks and drinks that are just short of pure sugar/game)=A frenzied T-ball League with players who would make Robin Williams look like Perry Como.

Forget about playing in the dirt or picking dandelions...if it doesn't have enough sugar in it they won't touch it, let alone eat it...perhaps they played with popcorn balls and batted them with over-sized Pixie Stix...you know..."the penny candy that kept kids coming back for more. Brightly colored paper straws filled with delicious, flavored sugar"?

I can just imagine...

Fructose Flyers vs. Glucose Giants...27 inning marathon ends with the Giants crashing to the ground, as their sugar was depleted in the 25th inning...the Flyers were also nearly depleted, but a 26th inning sweep of all of the coaches and parents bags and purses yielded two and a half rolls of Rolaids® Extra Strength Tropical Punch antacid and 20 or so FLINTSTONES MULTIVITAMIN WITH EXTRA VITAMIN C along with a half pack of Nicorette Fruit Chill gum. Just enough late game sugar boost needed to nip those Giants.

Oh those lucky frequent Flyers!

WOW, how sad.

My son started playing this year (finally, whew) at the tender age of 6, LL machine pitch. He played 12 regular season games, 2 playoff games and one championship game, which they won (whoo hoo). By the 6th reg season game and almost every game after that he kept asking, "dad when is baseball season over?" I kept telling him, "when we play the last game son, now quit asking me and go to right field"

When the final game was over and he was handed his trophy, I thought all was lost and we'd have to have another kid, becuase this one didn't want to play baseball (i'm just joking about the extra mouth to feed).

However, after all his complaining about baseball being too hard and it being too hot, he asked me this question, "Dad, when does baseball season start again?" After wiping my eyes dry, I told him "It starts next Spring kiddo.... now go play with your buddies on the playground"

If he wants to play he'll play, if by the age of 11 he decides he doesn't want to play, well then, having another son may be an option!
just joking.....

Does anyone else wonder what this age group will think of the "game" of baseball when they are 25, 35 or 45 years old?

Will it still be a "game" anymore? Or will it be a job?

Will baseball and "fun" be synomymous? Or will baseball and stress or pressure more likely go together?

I love baseball. I love the "game." I love the pace of the game. I love the atmosphere of the game. I love the memories of hot summer nights of neighborhood baseball. I love the memory of my 1st major league game with my father where Hank Aaron hit a home run. I love the "game" within the game. I love the characters of the game. I love the culture of the game. I love the FUN of the game.

I always thought my job as a youth coach was to help the kids I was coaching to love the game too. My most important yardstick on myself was whether or not the kids signed up the following year. I'd like to run into the kids I coached at a future game where they're coaching their kids. To me thats whats important.

6-year old championship baseball is nonsense. Competitive stuff comes soon enough. I am very sad to read this stuff.

justbaseball....

Attrition is the name of the game.

Whether @ 6 or 8 or 14 some just get tired of
it, but it doesn't mean they don't love the game!

Others go on to college and beyond.

I thought my guy played a bunch (36 games) when he was 8!

That team now counts 5 D1 baseball players, 1 D1 football player, 1 college wrestler and some great athletes that did indeed burn out along the way.

Btw, I know for a fact that these boy's never felt 1 iota of pressure while they finished 36-0!

I guess the older I get, the more I realize what a dinosaur I've become.

Oh well.

It would be interesting to track the players on this team and see how many continue to play at each level. Too bad there's no way to compare that with kids who don't enter competitive ball until sometime later.

While I raised my eyebrows when I read this story, I have to be careful. To some degree many of us have put our sons into a situation where they are putting a lot of time and effort into their craft. While we just did rec ball until my son was approaching high school, others were playing competive at earlier - and later ages.

I don't think there's a definitive brightline where you can say "It's ok to start playing 80 games a year." Some don't think it's ever ok. Others say "As long as our boys are doing what they want to do, it's ok."

To me, it seems excessive for 5 and 6 year olds to be on the field 500 times in a three-year span. But, I'm not directly involved. These coaches may be providing a tremendously positive experience for these kids. The area of town this team is located in is a basic middle-class area, not something affluent like suburban Atlanta.

On the other hand, devoting this much time into practicing and playing involves a tremendous commitment of time and possibly money. I hope parents aren't investing in the false (and misguided) hope that playing competitve t-ball will automatically translate into college scholarships and big draft bonuses.

Does this team have a website? Congrats on such a remarkable accomplishment! It would be an honor to actually know and talk to a real world series champion! Schedule an even 100 games next year.

justbaseball:

quote:

Originally posted by justbaseball:
I guess the older I get, the more I realize what a dinosaur I've become.

Oh well.

You're just now realizing what a dinosaur that you are becoming?

For years...no... decades...I've been running around with a fielder's mitt on my left hand half the size of Navajo County,AZ...prepared for that next big meteor that would make guys like us extinct...for our sakes', when the next big one comes hurtling our way, I've just got to remember...drop step...first step back!