wanna b - All three of my boys played baseball from the age of 4, sometimes we had 3 games to go to at the same time, 3 different fields. Putting 1,000 miles a month on my car would not be an exaggeration! Only one (the youngest) is still playing baseball.
We did nothing extraordinary to keep his interest and we did nothing extraordinary to have the other 2 lose theirs. It just happens. As hard as it was to see the other 2 leave the game it was up to them. Oh, you can encourage them, but ultimately if it's no longer a passion (and it HAS to be PASSION when you consider the time THEY have to put into it) it's time to go. But if you see your SON's, not YOURS, ABSOLUTE desire and fire to play this game evolve, you support him and take it from there. If you push too hard, it will become a chore. Guide and encourage, don't push.
When my son was 12, it was more than obvious that his interest was still baseballbaseballbaseball and being a pitcher, he started seeing a professional pitching coach who observed his mechanics and suggested some new techniques (even if ever so slight) to avoid injury. It was money well spent. He went on to pitch in HS and is currently playing in college now.
Ages 7, 8, 9 may be a little young to know where this will all lead for your son, but enjoy the ride! It's an awesome time for you and your little guy!!
Wanna b,
If you're like most people, you are going to do what you want. What you think will be best for your son.
Though many of the posts on this thread agree on certain things, it's easy to see there is no perfect formula. Things have worked out well or worked out poorly in almost every path taken.
Everyone talks about having fun and I certainly agree with that. But to do it all over, think I'd make sure to have more fun myself. FWIW You might want to think about that.
If you're like most people, you are going to do what you want. What you think will be best for your son.
Though many of the posts on this thread agree on certain things, it's easy to see there is no perfect formula. Things have worked out well or worked out poorly in almost every path taken.
Everyone talks about having fun and I certainly agree with that. But to do it all over, think I'd make sure to have more fun myself. FWIW You might want to think about that.
Jerry imo you hit a home run with that last post.
Wanna B, for every locale there are different dynamics which will influence how youth baseball is played. Both of my sons had a taste of limited exposure, limited practice rec ball at 5 & 6 & began playing in a local travel league & tournaments by 8. Have had many family acquaintances whose boys kept playing in the rec leagues, very few ever played into middle school baseball. That's just our local youth baseball culture/experience. For our family, many options were weighed & it turned out to be the best option for our boys. Each were also standouts in football, so only playing a few fall baseball tournaments fit well.
At 7,8,9, while there needs to be fun, what I've witnessed is if the emphasis is all about fun, with a rationing of quality teaching, the experience will not capture the wills of many of the more dedicated & gifted players. That said, one can go totally overboard at the young ages. Locally, over the last decade plus, there has been their share of 50-0 & 60-0 t-ball teams
(could barely understand the point, & neither of my boys ever played t-ball). Of course, each of these t-ball operations tried to keep it going in machine pitch & kid pitch. By 8, most of these teams played way over a 100 games & multiple WS's each year. While many of the dominant players played on, & still are standout players in middle school, HS & college, quite a few players fell out in these early years. At the same time, few of these teams were together or nearly as dominating by 11 years old.
At the early youth ages, I'd look at what your local community & nearby communities have to offer in youth sports programs. At 7,8,9 some form of baseball league ought to be played, & I'd encourage your young one & his friends to play several seasonal sports. If by 10, league baseball is extremely weak & even playing up a year, the teams are not much better, its probably time to practice more, travel & scrimmage against quality teams, & strictly play AAA-Major type tournaments. With a group of strong coaches & talented dedicated ballplayers, there can be a lot of fun & long lasting memories.
At 7,8,9, while there needs to be fun, what I've witnessed is if the emphasis is all about fun, with a rationing of quality teaching, the experience will not capture the wills of many of the more dedicated & gifted players. That said, one can go totally overboard at the young ages. Locally, over the last decade plus, there has been their share of 50-0 & 60-0 t-ball teams
(could barely understand the point, & neither of my boys ever played t-ball). Of course, each of these t-ball operations tried to keep it going in machine pitch & kid pitch. By 8, most of these teams played way over a 100 games & multiple WS's each year. While many of the dominant players played on, & still are standout players in middle school, HS & college, quite a few players fell out in these early years. At the same time, few of these teams were together or nearly as dominating by 11 years old.At the early youth ages, I'd look at what your local community & nearby communities have to offer in youth sports programs. At 7,8,9 some form of baseball league ought to be played, & I'd encourage your young one & his friends to play several seasonal sports. If by 10, league baseball is extremely weak & even playing up a year, the teams are not much better, its probably time to practice more, travel & scrimmage against quality teams, & strictly play AAA-Major type tournaments. With a group of strong coaches & talented dedicated ballplayers, there can be a lot of fun & long lasting memories.
I’ll take the OP at face value and throw out my two cents. I’ll have to qualify my advice by saying that I haven’t raised a player to the D1 or Professional levels; in fact my “player” is only a few years older than the 7 to 10 range.
I will say 7 to 10 year-old players are a lot of fun, but they should be thought of as kids first. They love to play and love to hang out with their Dads. They can range from sponges of instruction to complete incompetence, all within a five minute span. I found the biggest determiner of success on any given day was the quality of their snack before they got to the field.
I’d recommend lots of practices. Limit the number of games. There’s just not enough repetition in a game for 8U and 9U players to be improving any skills. Make practices fun. Run relays after they take grounders. Play over the line. Concentrate on physical fundamentals and don’t get overly concerned with game strategy. Mostly, enjoy the kids.
My son is in the 12U to 14U range. And I can already validate what’s been said before: There’s no straight line to success. This new age-group is defined by the nearly unbelievable differences in player size. Every team has a 6’ player and a 5’ player. I can’t imagine any other age group or level of sport where a 12 inch height and a 70+ pound weight span can be considered “normal”.
Remember, no manager fills out the Line-Up card based on “projectabilty”. So the 10U Super-Star now hits in the 7 spot and fights tears hoping he’s a late-bloomer and not doomed to be shorter than his mom. And the forgotten 9U from your league, who still can’t run, but now has arm pit hair, has grown to your height, has hooked up with another team and throws a fastball from 54 feet that scares your player’s right to their core.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, the challenges of each level are unique. I’m not sure you can plan for them much in advance. Look one season ahead. What can the kids do now so that next ____ they’ll be ready.
I will say 7 to 10 year-old players are a lot of fun, but they should be thought of as kids first. They love to play and love to hang out with their Dads. They can range from sponges of instruction to complete incompetence, all within a five minute span. I found the biggest determiner of success on any given day was the quality of their snack before they got to the field.
I’d recommend lots of practices. Limit the number of games. There’s just not enough repetition in a game for 8U and 9U players to be improving any skills. Make practices fun. Run relays after they take grounders. Play over the line. Concentrate on physical fundamentals and don’t get overly concerned with game strategy. Mostly, enjoy the kids.
My son is in the 12U to 14U range. And I can already validate what’s been said before: There’s no straight line to success. This new age-group is defined by the nearly unbelievable differences in player size. Every team has a 6’ player and a 5’ player. I can’t imagine any other age group or level of sport where a 12 inch height and a 70+ pound weight span can be considered “normal”.
Remember, no manager fills out the Line-Up card based on “projectabilty”. So the 10U Super-Star now hits in the 7 spot and fights tears hoping he’s a late-bloomer and not doomed to be shorter than his mom. And the forgotten 9U from your league, who still can’t run, but now has arm pit hair, has grown to your height, has hooked up with another team and throws a fastball from 54 feet that scares your player’s right to their core.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, the challenges of each level are unique. I’m not sure you can plan for them much in advance. Look one season ahead. What can the kids do now so that next ____ they’ll be ready.
T-work. I would have done a lot more t-work. When my boy was 5,6,7,8, and up. I felt t-work was for the poor hitters. Think about it your child's first experiences at baseball (coach pitch) After the poor kid miss the ball 6 times the "T" comes out for the final hamilation. Now every batting practice starts with at least 30 swings from the t.