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If your son loves the game he will have fun at any level!
If it's not fun then you're doing it wrong.
There's only one time baseball isn't fun. It's when you're sitting in the locker room after your last game. You think to yourself, "When it (the uniform) comes off I'll never put one on again. I think I sat in front of my locker for an hour before deciding I couldn't wear it forever. Later, a smile comes over your face as you think, "Wow, I had fun."
Until it's over there will always be bad days and bad games. The fun is you get to bounce back the next game. I always told kids I coached in baseball, softball and basketball they didn't sign up to clobber the opposition. They signed up to have it all in their control in the last moments of the game. Now make it come true just like in your dreams.
Honestly, from a Dad's perspective, it is less fun. As a youth, the kid played 2-3 local league games per week at 6:00 pm and then maybe a tournament on every other weekend. Things were pretty close and I actually had some time to do other things.
At 15, it all changed. HS ball played at 4:30 -- so you rushed from work to the games. Then there is summer HS baseball -- which isn't really serious and can run on, and on. Add the summer travel team and those college campus tournaments. They are so freaking far away. And the slightest rain shuts them down. Since the kids don't drive yet, I feel more like an Uber driver.
With that said, the games and watching the kids play is still fun.
Little League = Super Fun
13 14 = Sorta Fun
High School = Some stress, but very fun
College = The Absolute Most Fun
I've never had anything but fun watching my kids play. I've approached it with, "I had my turn. Now it's your turn. You have the ability. Play hard." The only stress was when my son tore his MCL and PCL, missed almost all of the post junior year showcase season, then had shoulder separation surgery and became a physical question mark. It all worked out.
Heck yeah it's still fun. It's 110 degrees in AZ at the 15U JOs and there's nothing else I'd rather be doing.
Heck yeah it's still fun. It's 110 degrees in AZ at the 15U JOs and there's nothing else I'd rather be doing.
Same last week for the 14U week. It was awesome (and hot!)
An hour or two into the drive home, my son turned to me and said "This isn't the end [note: they had lost in disappointing fashion, and he doesn't take losing well]. I'll be back here, This is just the beginning." Put a smile on my face.
We always enjoyed watching our son play ball at every level. Though I think the HS years were probably the most stressful, but it was still enjoyable and fun. His college years have been the most fun and actually the least stressful except playoff time.
It gets a bit more serious, but you never stop having fun!
And remember the more fun YOU make of it, the more fun you and he will have!
Its about keeping it all in perspective. You will have fun if you keep it in perspective. If not get ready for a roller coaster ride that takes you on some serious low's, serious high's and every where in between. It strains your relationship with your spouse, other kids and your relationship with your son. When he has a good game you will have fun. When he doesn't neither will you. It will become all about your son. It will become a source of serious stress. Relief after a game when all goes well and stress after a game when it doesn't. You will find yourself almost wishing it was over at times. You will look back on the experience and wish you would have simply let it be fun.
If you can simply enjoy watching your son do something he enjoys. If you can remind yourself that some parent would do anything to see their son walk, play, walk through the door, speak and your worrying about a game? If you can remind yourself that this is a small part of your relationship with your son. That he will be a baseball player for a short time in his life but your son forever. That one day this will just be a memory and life will move on to much more serious matters. That you are blessed beyond words to have a healthy child to watch grow up and have a life. If you can keep it all in perspective yes it will always be fun.
It depends on how you approach your relationship with your son and the game. If you learn to just kick back and watch the kids play its fun. If you decide that your going to be stressed about every mistake your son makes or spend time trying to read into what the coach is thinking then it will no longer be fun. Heck it might even cause relationship problems with your son.
I was at my kids game yesterday. Sat with my wife for the first part of the game. She headed home early, once my son was removed from the game, to cook dinner. At that point I walked over by the "dads on the fence" to say hi to a few folks. It always interesting over there. Some dads are totally laid back, others fret over every pitch and every move the coach makes. To me it does not look like some of these dads are having fun.
Again, Coach May and TPM are spot on. For me, high school was not stressful in the least. There was never a doubt son would make the high school team, so we never worried too much there. Our high school was a 6A, which is the largest classification in the state, and had a history of being a very good program. In my opinion, the stress was in the summer because that is when all the "eyes" are on your son. As I look back now, I think it was WAY more stressful on me than on my son. If your son loves playing the game, I doubt he will ever tell you it was stressful. I think we as parents make things way bigger than they are. I am just as guilty, if not more so, so I am not on a soapbox. My son is just embarking on his college career. I can only imagine the stressful moments, assuming he gets mound time. But, one thing I have learned over the past few years, I am going to try to enjoy every single minute as much as I can because it will be over in the blink of an eye. I do know he and I have had conversations in the past when he was starting a big game or pitching in front of college recruiters or pro scouts. I would ask him after the game, "Were you nervous?" His typical reply would be something along the lines, "Dad, I didn't even notice anyone in the stands. I was just focusing on the mitt and hitting my spots." If you played sports competitively, then you know exactly what he is saying. I think it is always harder on the parents (or spouse as you get older) than it is on the player. The players are just doing their job. No different than if you were to go watch an open heart surgery. I guarantee you that you would be nervous that something was going to go wrong. That cardiothorasic surgeon looks at it as just another day at the office. Most everything depends on the perspective you are looking from. It's so cliche', but try to enjoy the ride and be there to support your son as far as this great game takes him.
The kids will always feel pressure during games, whether it's 8U or 17U. They'll always have ups and downs. One week they hit a walk-off to win a tournament, and the next week they give up the game winning hit. I think the recruiting part is similar. Sometimes you have a great game in front of recruiters and sometimes you blow it. This forum has lots of stories about kids playing poorly while their dream school is watching.
But the games will (should) always be fun. The fun changes over the years. It's fun watching your boy become a man. It's fun watching him get better. It's fun to spend time with your son during long car rides. It's also more fun watching a well played game.
For the kids, most will get some amount of joy from mastering the game and performing at a high level. Winning will always be fun. Performing well at a showcase is fun. The biggest difference for them as they get older may be preparation. If they want to continue to have success, and have fun, they will have to put in the hard work between games.
The journey remains a ton fun all along the way.
No.1 one thing to remember: Teenagers think about time completely differently than adults. I know that’s obvious, but this very fact can lead to undue stress. Adults can project out to next Christmas, next summer, even the basic road map for the following two to five years. Teenagers believe next weekend is the distant future.
No.2: This journey, any journey, is brand new to your son. Some parents have direct, personal experience with baseball success. All parents have made some similar passage in their lives – a series of little accomplishments lead to a greater success, opening doors to further opportunities.
My main point: Don’t track the process as a single list of steps that needs to be checked off and monitored. Each milestone is an atomic event for your player. For example, it’s likely the Freshman try-out process will be stressful to your son. Even if your player is a shoe for the team, this cut has consequences and spending two weeks with a few kids that won’t make it can be it’s own stress driver. This is not the time to bring up projected pitching match ups against the rival high school or the 15U Team USA tryouts in N.C. in July so your player will be more comfortable when trying to make the 17U Team USA 2 years later.
There will be no straight lines. There will be 0-fers stretches. There will be failures due to unpreparedness and others from over trying. There will also be moments of true brilliance; plays you never thought you player would actually ever make. All the while you’ll be hearing about “John” on Varsity, or at another school, or in another town who just committed to big-time school. It’s perfectly fine to ask around and find out what made John’s journey, John’s journey. But raise your kid; you’re not raising ‘John’. John won’t be coming to thanksgiving for the next 40 years.
I can tell you I felt more pressure than he did and it was ALL self induced. I think other than the pressure of games situations (which is normal, good and fun), he only felt pressure once and that was when a ton of scouts game to see him in one particular game. He knew ahead of time they were coming so he was really worked up before the game. He threw the first pitch and then he was just playing a game with his guys.
College is different for him. He was a 2 way guys and never came out in HS, In summer ball he took his turn sitting out but was still a guy who played almost all the time. In college he is a pitcher, mostly a starting pitcher. So he watches a bunch of games. It is different for him and I. He is ok with it, understands, had a chance to possibly be a two way player but realized within a week of being in college that for him his best opportunity to get on the field was as a pitcher and so he focused on that. That being said, he really misses hitting and being on the field. So it is different
Chef kinda hit on something that some of our parents are dealing with right now. Son is a 2017 and they are at the end of the HS summer ball season. Next week we start summer league playoffs. Last couple of games we have had a weird set of kids on the field. Lots of complaining from parents about the kids playing. "What is coach thinking", "Looks like he is only going to be playing Sr's next year", "Screwing over my kid again" etc.
Had a double header yesterday. My son played maybe 3 innings over both games. A lot of the kids played most of both games. Dads of the kids not playing were complaining, dads of kids playing were crowing about their kids playing time. I was sitting in the bleachers with my wife trying to ignore all the noise. During dinner that night my wife mentions something about "odd set of kids on the field today". My son nonchalantly mentioned to her "oh yea coach told me yesterday not to worry about playing time, he's trying to get a last look as the borderline kids as well as give the kids who won't see playing time in the playoffs some time on the field". Gonna be an interesting next couple of games.
I guess what I am getting at, is if you let these things bother you you will go crazy. If you just sit back and enjoy what is going on then your life will be 100% better.
Not sure if you mean for the kids or for the parents, but this sort of applies to both. I remember seeing a dad I know pretty well as he was leaving his kid's practice during freshman year of HS and I asked how he and his son were enjoying HS ball. The kid had been a stud LL player and after that, a starter on the best travel team in town. He said that the kid was doing great but that for himself it was an adjustment going from seeing his kid playing full time in 4 or more games per week to seeing him play about half the time as JV player two games per week. Fast forward a couple years and now the kid just finished his JR year as a late-inning defensive sub. I don't know about the kid, but I don't think his dad had very much fun, and he's not alone. A lot of kids who were stars in rec and travel become role players in HS, and of course a lot of them quit playing, whether for that reason, or for a host of others.
This reminds me of a friend of my sons, they played youth football together.
He was a stud in that 5th grade to 8th grade range. Started at DE or OLB, was the back up QB, played WR, was the kicker and punter as well. Literally played every down of a game. Made all stars teams every year ect. He was taller and bigger than most of the boys and actually had muscles. By the time freshman year of high school came around he was still starting, but just on defense and would rotate in at OT at times. Sophmore year came and he was a back up defense, junior year playing only kick coverage. He quit after his junior year.
What happened? Puberty basically. He was bigger and stronger when he was young....had whiskers at 12. The playing field level when the other guys caught up to him. The biggest thing with youth sports, I would include high school in this as well....enjoy the experience, have fun, make friends.
This boy, being a good kid and bigger/stronger than most would stick up for my son when he went through a period of getting picked on a bit one school year.
My son and this kid are still friends. They are in college now. My son used to come up to his chest freshman year of high school and now he is 3 inches taller. They are going sky diving later this month 
. Those youth sports friendships and experiences can really mean a lot to kids growing up, that should be the focus in my humble opinion.
I guess what I am getting at, is if you let these things bother you you will go crazy. If you just sit back and enjoy what is going on then your life will be 100% better.
Absolutely correct. There are bigger and more important things in life to worry about than playing time. Been there and done that.
I use to get uptight about playing time, etc, but I learned to sit back, cheer the team on and enjoy the game. I already have enough grey hairs.
Not sure if you mean for the kids or for the parents, but this sort of applies to both. I remember seeing a dad I know pretty well as he was leaving his kid's practice during freshman year of HS and I asked how he and his son were enjoying HS ball. The kid had been a stud LL player and after that, a starter on the best travel team in town. He said that the kid was doing great but that for himself it was an adjustment going from seeing his kid playing full time in 4 or more games per week to seeing him play about half the time as JV player two games per week. Fast forward a couple years and now the kid just finished his JR year as a late-inning defensive sub. I don't know about the kid, but I don't think his dad had very much fun, and he's not alone. A lot of kids who were stars in rec and travel become role players in HS, and of course a lot of them quit playing, whether for that reason, or for a host of others.
I can relate to the parental stress. As I type this, my 15 year old is a few miles away at his real first showcase experience. I stayed for a while to listen in on the parent meeting, but I really want him to be able to do this stuff on his own so I headed in to work. I am a bundle of nerves. I want to watch every minute and know how he's doing, but I also know that's not a very healthy attitude. So, I sit and wonder. Hopefully, I can concentrate, but I'm on here, so maybe not.
I know he's having fun. He's doing what he loves and he's meeting new people. We were talking the other day about whether the high school is going to have a fall ball team this year. Hi piped up and said he wants to play fall ball, even if we have to find a team. As long as that's his attitude, then I know he's having fun and doing what he loves. The rest is all stress that I am creating myself.
I certainly don't want to push any of your big buttons, red or otherwise. I have no right to name the the player that I mentioned, but if I did, you could see on MaxPreps that he got 5 PA's this past season as a junior on a very good HS team. You could also see his name on the USSSA website where he's listed as a member of a 14U team and 13U team that won multiple USSSA majors tournaments facing legit competition. On that team he was the leadoff hitter and starting CF, but you'd have to take my word on that. (BTW and FWIW my kid tried out for that team multiple times and was never chosen, yet started on the same varsity HS team as a soph) And I can think a few others around our area with similar stories. The fact that your anecdotal experience is different is not surprising, and somehow the difference doesn't make me leap to the conclusion that you're incapable of interpreting what you see or just making stuff up.
Not sure if you mean for the kids or for the parents, but this sort of applies to both. I remember seeing a dad I know pretty well as he was leaving his kid's practice during freshman year of HS and I asked how he and his son were enjoying HS ball. The kid had been a stud LL player and after that, a starter on the best travel team in town. He said that the kid was doing great but that for himself it was an adjustment going from seeing his kid playing full time in 4 or more games per week to seeing him play about half the time as JV player two games per week. Fast forward a couple years and now the kid just finished his JR year as a late-inning defensive sub. I don't know about the kid, but I don't think his dad had very much fun, and he's not alone. A lot of kids who were stars in rec and travel become role players in HS, and of course a lot of them quit playing, whether for that reason, or for a host of others.
A nearby kid who led his LL all star team to the LLWS didn't make the JV team in high school. The best LL pitcher in our district who never lost a game didn't make high school varsity. Both were hard throwing, physical early bloomers who never blossomed in high school.
The dominant 13u USSSA pitcher threw 80. He stopped growing and peaked at about 83. In 13u the dad looked at my 5'2" and chuckled. He explained while my son is playing for fun, his son is trying to become a college D1 player. My son never forgot the put down. When he was fifteen playing 17u he hit a rocket off the kid you knew was gone the moment it left the bat. On the way back to the dugout my son pointed at the dad, smiled and yelled out, "Now THAT was fun!" At that point my son was four inches taller. The future 13u D1 stud went on to pitch in D3.
That's three early dominant studs just from our area playing at my sons age level who failed.
Not sure if you mean for the kids or for the parents, but this sort of applies to both. I remember seeing a dad I know pretty well as he was leaving his kid's practice during freshman year of HS and I asked how he and his son were enjoying HS ball. The kid had been a stud LL player and after that, a starter on the best travel team in town. He said that the kid was doing great but that for himself it was an adjustment going from seeing his kid playing full time in 4 or more games per week to seeing him play about half the time as JV player two games per week. Fast forward a couple years and now the kid just finished his JR year as a late-inning defensive sub. I don't know about the kid, but I don't think his dad had very much fun, and he's not alone. A lot of kids who were stars in rec and travel become role players in HS, and of course a lot of them quit playing, whether for that reason, or for a host of others.
A nearby kid who led his LL all star team to the LLWS didn't make the JV team in high school. The best LL pitcher in our district who never lost a game didn't make high school varsity. Both were hard throwing, physical early bloomers who never blossomed in high school.
The dominant 13u USSSA pitcher threw 80. He stopped growing and peaked at about 83. In 13u the dad looked at my 5'2" and chuckled. He explained while my son is playing for fun, his son is trying to become a college D1 player. My son never forgot the put down. When he was fifteen playing 17u he hit a rocket off the kid you knew was gone the moment it left the bat. On the way back to the dugout my son pointed at the dad, smiled and yelled out, "Now THAT was fun!" At that point my son was four inches taller. The future 13u D1 stud went on to pitch in D3.
That's three early dominant studs just from our area playing at my sons age level who failed.
In Colorado, 83 with any control at all would make you a regular starting pitcher on almost any team in the state. I gun almost everyone and only saw two 80+ pitchers this season outside of the three on our own team. That's at 3A. Gets better at 4A and 5A, but, for the most part not necessarily that much better. Now, if you're in California, Texas, or Georgia, I can definitley see being a 12u stud who gets left behind if you happen to be in a school district where there were easily 15 youth ball studs all going to the same school in the same year. Numbers make it probable that someone gets left out.
I guess we're in extremely different talent pools, but I've seen this proved wrong more times than I can remember. Some stay dominant and some get passed by.
Success at 12 in no way guarantees success at 18. A little thing called puberty often kicks in.
I guess we're in extremely different talent pools, but I've seen this proved wrong more times than I can remember. Some stay dominant and some get passed by.
Success at 12 in no way guarantees success at 18. A little thing called puberty often kicks in.
A little thing called work ethic too. My kid played with two boys at 13U who were big, strong and quite gifted. Neither was a perfect player, but both were very, very good. Of those two, one is out of the game, and the other is a top HS player, plays for a regional powerhouse showcase team, and has a verbal to a Pac12 team. The difference is that one kid rested on his natural ability and resisted efforts from coaches help him get better. The other is coach-able, works his butt off to get better every day, and then works some more.
I am seeing super athletes with low baseball skill guys coming out of the woodwork at the 13/14u level. Speed, strength, hand eye coordination sure goes a long way! These guys are beating out the well trained baseball players that are average athletes hand over fist.
I am seeing super athletes with low baseball skill guys coming out of the woodwork at the 13/14u level. Speed, strength, hand eye coordination sure goes a long way! These guys are beating out the well trained baseball players that are average athletes hand over fist.
I guess we're in extremely different talent pools, but I've seen this proved wrong more times than I can remember. Some stay dominant and some get passed by.
Success at 12 in no way guarantees success at 18. A little thing called puberty often kicks in.
A little thing called work ethic too. My kid played with two boys at 13U who were big, strong and quite gifted. Neither was a perfect player, but both were very, very good. Of those two, one is out of the game, and the other is a top HS player, plays for a regional powerhouse showcase team, and has a verbal to a Pac12 team. The difference is that one kid rested on his natural ability and resisted efforts from coaches help him get better. The other is coach-able, works his butt off to get better every day, and then works some more.
Yes, still fun, especially if you enjoy roller coasters!
My son started school early, so he jumped from last year's 13U team to HS and 16U Legion team this year. It is definitely more fun, since they travel to remote areas in the state and compete in more tournaments. Surprisingly, not a lot of kids on the team are thinking about playing in college, or at least they (and their parents) don't tell us. They just play for fun and enjoy the games.
Yes, still fun, especially if you enjoy roller coasters!
Overall more fun for him and for me, the higher you go the better the ball that's played which we both like. The stress is higher but the rewards are great too. any day watching him play the greatest game ever invented is a day we're both having fun. Plus the older they get the more memories you make for your lifetime. My parents are both in their mid 70's and my dad says watching my son is extra special because he gets to enjoy him and remember watching me at the same time. enjoy every minute.
