What equipment do you keep once they are off to college.

Hey Mom,

I'd just wait until the next time he comes home and go through it together.  It can be a fun little memory lane walk.  Have him tell you what to toss.  Every kid is different but I'm guessing you'll be surprised at how much he will be willing to let go of... and you don't have to worry about being the bad guy.  

What is provided at the school depends on the level and the specific school.  Pretty much every summer college league uses wood.  Again, some provide and some do not.

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PIFBS reduces barriers to play and promotes youth development by providing equipment directly to leagues, schools, and organizations around the world to start, continue, and/or expand their programs. Over the past decade, Pitch In For Baseball & Softball has donated more than $9 million worth of equipment to 800,000+ kids in every state in the U.S. and 100 countries internationally.

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I have not gotten rid of anything the first year for 2019. Mine got everything he needs for practice and games including sliding shorts, cold gear, long sleeve and long pants for under uniform.  But not the same everywhere.  Bigger the school, more stuff.  They will typically only give him one glove a year for where they plan to use him.  Absolutely keep wood bats.  If he plays summer leagues, most give very little so they wear their college stuff and even high school stuff.

We went through closet this Christmas as he has a load of clothes that he will never wear and doesn't have room to take with him to dorm.

I have also intentionally kept some things in case he happens to make it big for momentos or to sell on ebay for retirement. 

baseball mom2020 posted:

So I am looking at the humungous accumulation of baseball stuff around the house -wood bats, metal bats, gloves, all sorts of swing and pitching aids as well as a batting cage and hack attack jr.

When do you start getting rid of stuff? I am assuming( maybe wrongly) that in college they will be given all the same bats and gloves ( he has outfield and Infielder gloves). Will he need a wood bat at all? If he is fortunate enough to play in one of the summer college leagues do they use wood or metal?

I'd love to make room in the garage, but I'm sure I'll shed a tear or two when I finally do clean it all out.

About the only athletic gear my son took to college was his, batting gloves, fielders glove and cleats.   He left behind his catcher's glove and gear as he was recruited for 1B (He had been the primary catcher for his travel team, Legion team and sophomore year on Varsity).   College provided the uniform, hat, socks, etc.

Believe it or not we still have most of his gear even though he hasn't played since 2015.

My son's bag was stolen out of my husband's car at an out-of-state tournament last summer.  It was the glove he missed most.  That was an expensive trip! We still have my husband's grandfather's glove, which is cool. 

Omg I have my sons very 1st batting gloves. They are so tiny. So yeah, we hung on to meaningful stuff. I also have his 1st HR bat, 1st glove, HR balls, Cooperstown 12u bat and glove. Other stuff that he outgrew was given away to select people/players. We also have a bucket of dead BP balls. Can’t seem to, part with those. Hubby, me and son spent countless hours throwing and shagging BP since 9 years old. Good times. I was once at an event where a mom was knitting a blanket from the wool that was saved from dead BP balls. 😢

Probably more to your point, I would plan on keeping any wood bats that he still uses, as he may need for summer league assignment. Also good to have a spare glove that he likes in case something happens. 

We are giving a lot of his old stuff that no longer fits or is appropriate (bats, for instance since he's now a PO) to HS and local Little League coaches to distribute among kids who need gear and can't afford it. There's a few things he wants to keep, but it's a pretty short list. All the old jerseys and tournament t-shirts I had made into a baseball quilt for him at graduation.

PitchingFan posted:

 

I have also intentionally kept some things in case he happens to make it big for momentos or to sell on ebay for retirement. 

It's weird to see someone trying to make a buck on keewartson's baseball cards on eBay.   (I will have to check the sold column to see if any have sold lol)

I have packed away every hat and little league shirt plus all the travel jerserys.  I wish I had kept his very first pair of baseball pants.  They were so tiny!   The socks I donated to a fellow on this site that was doing research on the wear of baseball socks.  Son and I went through the bat bags and other gear to give away.  We have a "Buy Nothing" FB group for our area that is great.  The HS swag stuff we gave to a younger player.  

We have some exposed rafters in our basement area and I just went and counted.....we still have SIXTEEN wood and metal bats from years and years of play stored up there! 

keewart posted:

PitchingFan posted:

 

I have also intentionally kept some things in case he happens to make it big for momentos or to sell on ebay for retirement. 

It's weird to see someone trying to make a buck on keewartson's baseball cards on eBay.   (I will have to check the sold column to see if any have sold lol)

I have packed away every hat and little league shirt plus all the travel jerserys.  I wish I had kept his very first pair of baseball pants.  They were so tiny!   The socks I donated to a fellow on this site that was doing research on the wear of baseball socks.  Son and I went through the bat bags and other gear to give away.  We have a "Buy Nothing" FB group for our area that is great.  The HS swag stuff we gave to a younger player.  

We have some exposed rafters in our basement area and I just went and counted.....we still have SIXTEEN wood and metal bats from years and years of play stored up there! 

I remember the tiny pants. He was maybe 4 years old. But we couldn’t save them since there were holes in them from sliding around the bases😂. In fact, most of his jeans, sweatpants etc had holes from sliding around the house. No hand me downs for little bro. 

Glove: Any all-purpose fielders glove 13" should work.
Shoes: molded cleats (can be a little uncomfortable for multiple games a day) or trail running shoes (check 6pm.com for a great end of life deals from Zappos/amazon).
Bats: There are two main materials for bats so check with league rules which are allowed. Composite and Alloy. Composite bats are the more expensive but longer hitting bats

regards, onplanners

My wife saw a cool thing on Pinterest.

We saved all his travel ball jerseys and are going to make a quilt from them all for him when he goes away (2021) or for later.

Equipment is all gone. He's a PO so we got ride of his old cleats, bats, etc. Kept his 1st baseman's glove and pitching glove, in case he makes it or wants to do something with them. Everything else we got rid of.

I'll be happy to sell my Stalker Pro2, LED Display, Core Velocity Belt and other stuff I got for him when he goes away to school. 

Purge, baby, purge!  I did think the travel ball jersey quilt was a cool idea and wanted to share

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