Is 10 years too soon to do this to a ballplayer/kid?

OPP,
I think I would tell him that kids change so much between 10-12-14...Once the football coaches get a hold of the "annointed" catcher or even the wanna be, the kid may make a change. For now, parent needs to let the kid have fun & enjoy the game, learn the game. Pressure from dad will backfire...Running to a new town will teach him to run from a challenge!
Who wants the wanna be to play? Dad? or kid?
I moved my kids to public school when son finished 6th grade, daughter had finished 8th grade. The politics & parents are the same in this "town of 100,000" as it was in Dallas...
Daughter is in college. Son is a senior, committed to Tulane, setting up those in-home visits you are familiar with.
Changing from private to public was the thing we were focused on. Public to Public will probably be much of the same "life" they know now.
Kids grow by leaps & bounds, lose interest, work harder, pass up others...It goes both ways.
I'd say the parent needs to "chill" & encourage his son to do his best. If possible, & the kid wants to get better the parent may want to supplement with lessons...Who knows, he may become the "new annointed".
I'd never move because some parent thinks he's got the next Johnny Bench!

Hows that handsome Zach??

Our "annointed" catchers for the past couple of classes have all chosen the truck, girl, and job over baseball. We've been fortunate to find a hard working kid that had skills fill the spot without ever missing a beat. Who knows how much a kid is going to grow, mature, or maintain their desire when the given age is 12? Heck no, don't give up on your child's position. My child is the "annointed" one in our community. However, she has stiff competition coming along. She knows that. It only makes her better. I think knowing a player is out there trying to take your position is an essential in player development. JMHO!

OPP You know the answer to your post

The only anointing I know is in religion and even there they screw up

When my son was 10, and went to the local HS Coach's camp where we lived at the time, he told him to start working on his outfield skills, because as fast as he was, he would be a centerfielder.


Today, he's a centerfielder, although we moved. In his case, it was a wise decision.

opp, first let me clearly state that I will NOT be running for office

the "anointed player" syndrome is wide-spread at that age - it is a BIG factor behind the recent growth in travel baseball, because if you look hard enough you can find a team where you have a shot at getting some of that anointing.

your situation is made tougher by the fact that it's a small town - but that's nothing a baseball mom (or dad) with wheels can't overcome

so if your opporunities are limited ya can either live with it or -

Have glove, will travel

maxing your development before you have to make a choice for HS

good luck

and again, I will NOT be running (probably not anyway)


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OPP,
The scenario you describe is very common. I think we are all guilty of not practicing what “we preach”. In this case everyone needs to stay focused on their goal and work hard; player and the parent both. If the boy wants to catch then he needs to catch. Da** the torpedoes, full steam ahead! There will be distractions and negative “press” from now on. I remember when my son was a rising freshman in high school that he (and I) was told there was another player (one year older) that had third base locked up. So? Poor fellow .... he finally quit the team.
I started my business in 1981. I was told the failure rate was over 90% within the first five years. Since no one else was on my side why should I expect the odds to be there? Go for it!
Fungo

My recommendation to the parents would be to hire Drew Rosenhaus as the kids' agent.

Shoot ... when mine was 9, I was certain he was a catcher. When he was 11, I thought he'd play 3rd. At 13, he was an excellent 1B. He always hit for power and average.

But he never stopped pitching ... one of the "Annointed" catchers from the 10-11 year age never grew... and neither did his arm ... fell by the wayside. Junior kept going to the mound .... Now, when you look at the roster, the R, R stands for Throws: Right, Bat: Yeah, right, sure he bats hehe.

You never know. But have him play EVERYWHERE he can. There isn't any reason to limit his position at that age. He can catch? Great... play OF?? Wonderful. He's more valuable because he's flexible. Regardless of who is "ordained" at a young age, the best hitters play.

Good luck.

OPP, I guess they could hire that cheerleader mom if she is out of jail by now...

Talent and desire will eventually win out. Others DO become distracted with other interests and drop by the wayside. Unfortunately, in a samll town, if the talent is equal, then politics WILL win out. It happened to my 2nd son when he chose to move to live with his mother in a small town. He couldn't get on the field as a Junior in football or baseball. When he finally did, he excelled, making all-district teams in both sports as a Senior. But he was also at the point of giving up both sports as a Junior. I told him he should always finish what he started, then decide at year's end if he still wanted to quit. He's glad he didn't. So were his teammates...and so were MOST of the parents.

Did I miss something or was it a "12 year old in the 4th grade?"

I would completely ignore the "anointed" thing and have him play the position he wants to play the most. Those things change so much over time that projecting what someone is going to be doing in 5 years when they are 10 is just laughable. The kid who was the catcher on my son's all-star team at 12 (ahead of my son) was the RF when they were 15, while my son was catching. (they both catch now, at rival high schools) Kids change, even if their parents think they won't.

What kind of coach "annoints" a single 12yo catcher? On our travel team we have "annointed" 5 catchers on our 11-man roster. We also have 3-1Bs, 2-3Bs, 3-SSs, 3-2Bs, 6-OFs and 8-Ps. We believe in the "plug-N-play" approach. Why limit a kid at this age? The more versatile the player the better! JMO.

R.

You know...when my son was approaching HS, I used to "hear things" and worry about this stuff. In the end, not much of it seemed to pan out the way parents said or predicted.

I wouldn't worry about it at this time.

quote:

Originally posted by itsinthegame:
My recommendation to the parents would be to hire Drew Rosenhaus as the kids' agent.

How many times when you watch a pro game they say that they drafted this guy as x position and changed into y position?

IF MLB TEAMS can't predict a guy future how can a parents on a 1o year old.

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Couple things I agree with...

- Many college teams sign athletes and then feel free to switch positions.

- Always told mine, "You don't like the politics? Then woork so hard and be so good that you are beyond the politics."

- Does anyone really need to remind us that there is a lot of life bwteeen 12 and 17?

- The higher the level the harder it is to hold the real athletes back.

We were told when son was a freshman that the next varsity shortstop....Jake, also a freshman....well to quote..."It was always known that Jake would be the next varsity shortstop". Jake was awarded JV SS as a freshman...before tryouts...and then just took over Varsity SS as a junior. He averaged 1 error in 3 plays....and the amazing thing is...he stayed playing SS until he graduated. One parent would shout at the other team to "Hit to the right side" when they were at bat.....but it never changed.....sometimes Jake would be so frustrated with his errors...he'd throw his glove.....got so you felt sorry for him....

One family moved their son to another public high school because of it....problem is they didn't "move"....only rented a room in the new high school attendance area....got found out...and their son had to sit out a year of eligibility.

We decided son's strength was as a hitter...and it would be in his best interest for him to make the most of second base...and concentrate on offense.

Some battles won't be won.....so pick them carefully......

Think the SS was hurt more than helped....and so was team morale.....to this day...and probably for many more....we will never understand why the coach let it happen....so what if the SS's dad taught at the same school as coach?

Politics......everywhere......

"Talent & desire will always win out". I like that; I am going to use that. My youngest was the the star pitcher last year but he is bored with pitching. So, he plays 3rd an outfield. The coach is irate. I told him that my son doesn't want to pitch, but he is willing to play any other position. Also, that he will close tight games if he really needs him. It works for us. My point is that the DESIRE part of the equation is more inportant than talent. Keep it fun!!!

I thnk we all have a couple stories of this nature.

A kid we knew at 12 was known as the "next major leaguer" He was about 6" taller than most kids on the "elite" team he played on. He was something to see!

Unfortunatly for him, after his freshman year of HS, most of the other kids had caught up, and surpassed him in height and talent. Maybe the others just continued to work hard? I think so.

the word "anointed" says it all. that is the trouble today. coaches play the best players. If the word is "anointed" then I must have has an ongoing anointing because lineups and positions changed as needed,

My guess is the parents may have annointed him, but I am sure the HS coaches will make up their own minds when the kids actually get there.

I guess we have all been there-- I remember a parent sitting with me when my son was 13 asking me how high I thought he would be drafted.

The kid had not even made the HS team yet

Strange how peoples minds work

BIG, you are so right about the coaches having their own thinking

bigwi - agree,
but the point is, this IS COMMON in youth leagues & if ya find yourself in that situation, your player could be blocked out of a position until HS - losing yrs of development



.

TR, your response should have been....

The Draft? They started that up again, I thought they got rid of that after Vietnam!?

May be a small town but how far can it be from Dallas, Houston, San Antonio or Austin?

Get him on an independent team or a travel team with non-parent coaching.

We're talking about a 12 yo, right? I wonder if anyone asked him what he wants to play. In LL, I noticed that the coach's kids always seemed to be pitchers and SS's Most of them did neither when they hit HS, if they played at all. My son had a coach in Minors that told the kids they would play every position that yr. 'cause you don't know what ya like if ya haven't played it. When he had the All-Star team that yr., he asked for volunteers to play OF. Of course, since ALL the coach's kids made the team, no one except the kids from our team had ever even seen the OF. My son has been a SS, pitcher, or thrower as he likes to call himself, CF, LF and catcher. He's even been known to play 1st and 3rd on occasion. He caught alot during LL and that's where I thought he'd stay. After informing us of the damage to the knees in later yrs, he mainly played OF and loves it. Played CF mostly in HS, gets to college and they put him in the 1 position he never played in his life - RF. Worked his butt off and got back to Left and Center before the season was over. Who knows about this season. I wouldn't let anyone tell my son what he should play, at least not at that age. Only he can decide where he's comfortable and he'll probably change his mind in the coming yrs. anyway.

Thanks for all the responses, lots of good ones and even some that prove that the hsbaseballweb may be harboring some future politicians!

Only once was I a "manager" of a team that my son was on(in the same small town referenced to start this thread). He was 12 and I was secure that he understood that he could make his own way among his peers on a baseball field.

As the "manager" I made out starting line-ups with kids that had NEVER before been allowed to be a starter in a game. I also made sure that my son played less innings than any other player on the team, not a whole lot less, but still the least of them all(he and I had this discussion prior to season starting).

I had a kid get his first hit in 3 years of playing in this league, in the first game that he had ever been allowed to be a starter. I knew that my team would not win enough games for me to be the all-star manager, but hey we came in second!

When it came time for All-star nominations, I let my players vote on who should be nominated, and I submitted the players that the kids felt were the best.... sorta funny how the kids were able to "see" who the best players were without input from the adult/coaches. I like to believe that they appreciated that their opinion was asked.

I "went to bat" for one of the nominees and got him selected(as the last player) to his first all-star game. When the all-star coach told the kid's parent that the kid would most likely not get much starting time in the all-star games, the parent took the kid off the team. I felt that maybe I had been TOO fair.

I do not have any specific point to make with these comments.... well, maybe just that I feel that way too often parent/coaches/managers lose track of the real purpose of youth developement leagues and get wrapped up in being the "best/winningest", most son-promotingest parent/volunteers and then find it HARD to imagine that they have lost sight of the real reason these leagues exist.

OPP

As a manger, what you did by not giving your son "special priveledges" most probably taught him some life lesson that helped him to get to
where he is today.

The greatest thing my husband ever did was step aside when he was younger and not be his coach. He wanted for him to play on his own merit, not because Dad was coach. And we never sponsored a team.
There were also many times when coaches asked son to play, no fee, because they "needed" him. We never gave into that, we didn't want special favors. I also have seen where some kids suffered because dad was coach, they had to sit while others played, year after year, so it didn't look like dad was coaching just for the son to play. Many of them were really good players and should have been in every game because of their ability. Many gave up ball because of that. It is a double edge sword, can work for or against you, in some cases.

I feel sorry for the annoited one, as many of these kids that get to play because of parental influence end up going nowhere because they didn't have to WORK at being better, it came too easy for them.

JMO.

quote:

Did I miss something or was it a "12 year old in the 4th grade?"

BEEing from Illinois, you may be unaware and uninformed (ignorant) of the way we do things down here in Texas.

We hold the annointed ones back.......

And, can't you tell it's working?

It is known as the "Kentucky" rule.

PDiddy, git your chair, I just slapped three states with one stroke of the pen.........