Kids and baseball

[lawmaker]

Crazy article about kids and baseball.

Also notice the WSU reference towards the end of the article.

http://www.kansas.com/news/nation-world/national/article159159054.html

[washedup]

Crazy article about kids and baseball.

Also notice the WSU reference towards the end of the article.

http://www.kansas.com/news/nation-wo...159159054.html

Shockers now recruiting 10-year olds?

[ShockBand]

Shockers now recruiting 10-year olds?

Must be six feet tall already.

[CharlieHog]

Coach seems like the kind of guy that would lie about his kid getting recruited, tbh.

[Dan]

I have a good friend in Houston that had his kid playing this level. He stuck with it and got a scholarship to pitch at U of Houston (he's a HS senior this year). I asked my friend if all the costs and travel through the years was worth a partial scholarship to the hometown school. He just laughed and shrugged and said they had a lot of fun but the costs far outweighed the scholarship he received.

[1972Shocker]

I have a good friend in Houston that had his kid playing this level. He stuck with it and got a scholarship to pitch at U of Houston (he's a HS senior this year). I asked my friend if all the costs and travel through the years was worth a partial scholarship to the hometown school. He just laughed and shrugged and said they had a lot of fun but the costs far outweighed the scholarship he received.

The thing is this kid may have done that without going through this kind of thing. I think what the Good Lord and your parents have blessed you with genetically perhaps have as much to do with that as anything else. But if he had fun doing it and the parents were will and able to fund it more power to them. And maybe it was a help in getting a college scholarship offer. Who knows.

[Dan]

The thing is this kid may have done that without going through this kind of thing. I think what the Good Lord and your parents have blessed you with genetically perhaps have as much to do with that as anything else. But if he had fund doing it and the parents were will and able to fund it more power to them. And maybe it was a help in getting a college scholarship offer. Who knows.

I agree with you. Some parents think they have to put their kids at the highest level so they don't get left behind developmentally. I'm of the mind that if your kid is gifted, they will rise to the top and get noticed no matter where they are playing.

[Boss1786]

Reading about clubs and coaches like this infuriate me. It has taken me an hour to write this post. This, unfortunately, does not pertain just to youth baseball but in every sport that has "club level" competition. Club Sport have convinced parents to treat their kids as commodities and not kids...leads to unreasonable expectations. And shame on the parents for allowing it to happen. Treat your kids as kids and let them enjoy sports...not be burdened by them.

[BOBB]

Multisport, with a specialty camp or two mixed in each year seems maximally appropriate. The cream will always rise to the top. The amount of money and heartache parents expend are worth far less than 4 years tuition, board, and books.

[pogo]

I was never destined to be a good kids coach. I coached my sons T Ball team and the first meeting with parents only went like this. "T Ball is probably the first experience your son will have with organized baseball. Some are going to be better than others and thats the way life is. Me and the other coaches will teach them how to play the game and how to play different positions and a general idea of what they need to do on the field and at bat. We expect you to spend as much time with them as we do at games and practice. During games and or practice we want you to yell encouragement and support not only for your son and our team but for the other team if you are so moved. I will not tolerate criticism aimed at any player. This is T Ball and the most important thing is that they have fun doing it and your support. If anyone here thinks that they aren't comfortable with this concept then you need to find a different team for your son." We had a great deal of fun and some of them got a lot better as the season went on and I only had one father that wasn't happy about the concept.

[Kung Wu]

Reading about clubs and coaches like this infuriate me.

Yup. It's happening right here in Wichita with youth soccer. Thanks for dismantling the integrity of the sport at the youth level, FC Wichita.

[1972Shocker]

Not quite this far back but my childhood experiences were closer to this than what was is described in this article:

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/kids-go-hand-over-hand-up-the-side-of-a-baseball-bat-to-news-footage/139418855

The thing is I remember those times quite fondly. I had a blast. I enjoyed the organized sports I played but no more so than the sandlot and backyard ball that I played sans adult involvement. And we played a lot. No video games and not much on TV in those days. MLB did have the Game of the Week, however, which we rarely missed.

Didn't give a second thought to using a bat held together by Elmer's Glue and electrical tape or balls that had been re-stitched (several times) using nylon fishing line. Playing on lousy fields at the schoolyard or in the backyard. Using the fork in the ElmTree or the swing set to practice field goal kicking. Plywood backboards attached to the garage.

Holy crap! I was deprived and didn't even know it.

[pogo]

We used to play baseball in the back yard until we got big enough to start breaking windows with batted balls.

[1972Shocker]

We used to play baseball in the back yard until we got big enough to start breaking windows with batted balls.

That's when you switched to whiffle ball.

[1972Shocker]

Coach seems like the kind of guy that would lie about his kid getting recruited, tbh.

Coach Butler denies the little league coach's claim.