When you just know the end result before they get there.

For the handfull of those kids I've seen, I've seen another 20-30 of kids who looked like they had no business on a baseball field as youngsters and then totally do a 180 from 10th-12th grades. One of them is featured in the PG banner ad at the top of the page...

I've seen one of those guys. Coaches spoke in hushed whispers about his size and strength. He's now a senior in high school and turned out to be 5'6". A lot of the other players are now bigger, faster and stronger.

Two kids I remember vividly from my son's AAU and LL days...Dustin Ackley and Cameron Maybin. Maybin hit the bottom of a 300' fence against us in LL all-stars...AS A TEN YEAR OLD!

I remember a kid like that when my son was 12---he hit 3 HR's against us in select Regional finals game. After the season our coaches approached this kid since his team was in question for funds the following year.
This young man and his parents trusted our coaches and signed on. We had a full roster with returning guys at all positions. They sat him on the bench the whole following season. When asked about their decision---they said "we'd rather have him on our bench then playing against us" then they laughed about it. My heart went out to this young man and his parents at the time. But, then we faced this young man in highschool---he kicked our butts in State his Junior year with a walk off homerun "I wonder if what was going through my mind was going through his as he jogged those bases" WHAT GOES AROUND COME AROUND...His name will certainly be in the June draft this year...and I wish him well!

They sat him on the bench the whole following season. When asked about their decision---they said "we'd rather have him on our bench then playing against us" then they laughed about it.

bob s.

that is just not right. he must have felt good about that little payback.

we had a kid in our community that was the 4th pitcher,in ll all stars. not evan on the radar in BR. 11 yrs later, he ended up being the only one still playing. life is strange.

I actually don't have much interest in seeing what many kids are like until they're at least 13 and playing on the big diamond. I've found that so many of those young players who were better than anyone else just don't develop, and their best days were those spent on a 60 ft. diamond. There are players who are better than the rest early and who maintain it, and they're fortunate as many don't.

On the other hand, I love finding a kid who was just average when he was 13-15 who is a late bloomer that ends up becoming special, and there are plenty of those.

I can count far more late bloomers who ended up being special than I can early bloomers who continued to outpace everyone else.

Yeah, there are a few great athletes that I've had the opportunity to watch from Jr Hi through pros, and they always were way better than everyone: Jeff Francoeur and Herschel Walker come to mind first. Herschel was a track star in HS and we ran against them pretty often. He was huge and so fast--seeing him on the blocks was strange compared to the other little skinny guys and he always won... Jeff played out of a local little league park. Another athlete was Cindy Brogdon, a WBL hall of famer and Olympic basketball player--she was on my high school team and I had the luck to play with her. We went to state every year. And Amanda Weir, Olympic swimmer, was a kid on my son's local swim team. All these kids, you just knew they were in an elite group.

BUT, there are far more that never did what everyone thought they'd do because they stopped trying or stopped growing or stopped improving.

I don't think at 10 you can identify, but I suppose there are a few that stand out even younger who will someday play on the pro level.

I think that more parents have this view of their players than others. It's a good thing, IMO, not to compare your player at a young age against others.

Be objective.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
I don't think at 10 you can identify, but I suppose there are a few that stand out even younger who will someday play on the pro level.

I think that more parents have this view of their players than others. It's a good thing, IMO, not to compare your player at a young age against others.

Be objective.

10 year old is way too young to talk about Pro ball talent. As I always skeptical about baseball talent, I can not be sure any of our top tavel team players can even make to the college. Life is full of surprises, nothing is a sure thing until it happens. I know a kid at 11 year old he is an exceptional pitcher, has a good fastball and a nasty curveball for strike. He pitched for the 11U state championship game, and won it easily by throwing a 6 inn, 8:0 shut out. Everyone think he will be an awesome player when he grow up. But by the time of age 14, he is still 5'7'', fastball topped out at 68mph, and everyone just smack his curveball due to the lack of velocity. He couldn't last 2 inns against our team. That's just sad. As a parent you almost have to live year by year, keep you expectation current. You never know what will happen next year, a simple shoulder problem can easily end your HS carrer as I knew one of the youth stud did. So I usually keep my expectation at season by season time frame. I may brag for one season because my son is really good during that time frame, but you may never hear me again when his game falls apart or he can not compete with the best players out there. This is the sad reality of sports, the "pyramid scheme".

Genetics help. One of my son's teammates for years in LL and youth ball was the son of a former NBA star, 1st pick in the 1979 draft. His mom was a D1 volleyball star. Two older brothers, both D1 basketball players.

He weighed 90 pounds in kindergarten. Big, fast and coordinated. It was pretty clear the kid had all the physical skills. He will be at UCLA next year if he doesn't go high in the draft.

I remember sitting at a game, my kid was no involved and was still in 8th grade--a gentleman sits down next to and begins to chat--all of a sudden he says to me--"What round do you think your son will be drafted in?"---Where did that come from ?


My answer was simple---"he has to make the HS varsity first"

LL studs do not a varsity star make==I say this over an over---we had a great 12 year old team that was the class of the region but only one of those players went on to college baseball---that is one out of 15---tells you what the odds are doesn't it !!!!

My guy was taller than most (pencil thin with pitchers frame) and threw harder than most at 8-12. BTW, the furthest thing on his mind was to be a pitcher only someday. And that didn't mean he was going to be better someday, and when 15-17 came around into the puberty years, there were some that caught up (though never really in height) and some that were the stars starting losing ground (many due to injuries). IMO, those younger years are the learning years, and we never kept a record, or counted it for much other than he, like everyone else, loved the game and couldn't get enough of it and had a lot of fun. So did we. That is what counts the most, IMO.
I don't get it when parents recount to everyone the early years of their players success, it means little, except to the parent. Yes, we all can look back on some players and say that you knew that they would go farther than most, but what is the point, IMO, nothing counts until you reach whatever goal you are looking to achieve beyond those early years, whether it be to make the HS tream, top travel team, college or pro ball.

I am sure we all here can all reflect back on the early years and see our players as those that might move beyond the herd, I think that is why most of us are here, because our players have had success over others. That makes them all special.

The only kid in my Little League who made it to pro ball didn't stand out until he was is high school.

I've seen a lot more of the youngsters that do well but you know it won't last than vice versa. Early maturity, attitude, or something of that nature often tell you that the success won't last.