Kids and baseball

[RoyalShock]

I coached my younger son's Babe Ruth league team (13-15 year-olds) through 2015. The high school coach also had an American Legion team/program in the summer. The kids who played for me were considered 2nd-class citizens to the high school coach. Bottom line was, unless a kid's talent level was clearly superior, he had to play for the coach's Legion team to have a fair shot. That HS team did win a state championship in 2016.

That's just how youth baseball (or sports, really) is these days, especially if the goal is to be part of a winning program and/or have an opportunity to play in college.

Tennis has been this way for awhile. Even when I played in the 80s, the kids who took private lessons with country club tennis pros and played the summer circuit (ie. privileged kids with stay-at-home moms) had a huge advantage in high school.

[shockmonster]

This coach mentioned above may be the way things are going in the future, but this is an extreme anomaly at this time. The biggest problems with Little League Baseball usually isn't Summer baseball teams right now. It is that they play year around, taking athletes away from other sports, or getting in the way of other important events in their lives. Some kids burn themselves out and drop out at early ages. Baseball isn't the only sport that this is happening in theses days. It happens in basketball and even football (football is to a lesser extent) too. Kids are told that they will be world class athletes and earn college scholarships. I think that the best athletes will earn these opportunities anyway, and some kids just need to mature.

[rrshock]

When it comes to basketball, the AAU tourneys get kids alot of chances to be seen. Especially kids from smaller, less known schools. Im betting not many coaches outside of the NAIA or Juco level saw ron baker play hs games. And with baseball, i had always heard that a kid was more likely to be seen in American Legion ball instead of hs games as well. Thats just how it is, and in some cases has been that way for quite a while.

[Dan]

I'd say in bigger cities with a lot of competition to make the varsity team, kids are starting to specialize in a sport starting around 6th/7th grade. Where I live the public schools have around 800 per class. You have to be a damn good athlete at any respective sport to make the varsity team, not many kids play multi sports in high school. Many of my friends have their kids in secondary sports like track, lacrosse, swimming, etc. just so they have a chance to continue playing sports in high school.

At my daughters middle school, they had 160 girls try out for the 7th grade volleyball team. It's a brutal reality these kids are facing.

[MoValley John]

Both of my older boys made the high school baseball team coming up theough rec ball. My oldest, a soon to be senior and his younger brother going to be a sophomore. It wasn't easy. They had to be clearly better than their travel team counterparts, but they were. They worked their asses off just to be noticed.

The funny part is going to the games and just listening to other parents. Parents of "select" players are the whiniest asshats in the world. Pathetic! Unfortunately, this is the future of sports. Freshman year, they had three practices before cuts. Three! Not even a week. The coach knew the names of every "select" player, but none of the rec kids. My kids aren't great, but both can knock the cover off the ball, they got noticed because of their hitting. If not for that, they would have been cut.

The saddest part is that kids develop at different rates and high school coaches have become lazy. The rely on travel ball to set their teams, yet they are loosing a ton of talent that often grows bigger and stronger, they just didn't pay to play from 10u.

[Mr. Obvious]

Saddest part of all in baseball, is these kids don't play sandlot 8 hours a day growing up and don't develop any instincts with the game. Look at some of the goofy baserunning shat the Shockers exhibit.

[MoValley John]

My younger of the two is a beast. Just turned 15, 6'2", 235, benches 250, plays first base. As a sophomore, he is going to be the starting varsity center. His football experience was playing CYO ball. After games, coaches from "programs" were recruiting him. It was bullshit. I just let my kids play for fun. The current mentality of youth sports is sickening.

[WuShock16]

Saddest part of all in baseball, is these kids don't play sandlot 8 hours a day growing up and don't develop any instincts with the game. Look at some of the goofy baserunning shat the Shockers exhibit.

My uncle loved baseball and bemoaned that while today's MLB players are certainly better athletes, he did not think that their baseball IQ was as high.

[The Cat]

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.

Could not agree more, and you get to pay at least 2k a year for your trouble.

[MoValley John]

Could not agree more, and you get to pay at least 2k a year for your trouble.

Soccer gets intense earlier than baseball. The money parents throw into soccer will never be recouped through scolarships, but I know literally dozensof parents chasing the soccer scholarship dream.

Here is the quote you here over and over, "I don't push my kid, he just loves it. I hate spending the money and most kids never make it, but honestly, my kid is one of the few that's good enough. I would be doing him a disservice to only let him play rec."

[MoValley John]

And yes, the mom with the bedazzled "Soccer Mom" shirt is an absolute nutbag. I don't care if she has a nice rear and big rack, do not engage her in conversation.

[Dan]

Soccer gets intense earlier than baseball. The money parents throw into soccer will never be recouped through scolarships, but I know literally dozensof parents chasing the soccer scholarship dream.

Here is the quote you here over and over, "I don't push my kid, he just loves it. I hate spending the money and most kids never make it, but honestly, my kid is one of the few that's good enough. I would be doing him a disservice to only let him play rec."

If you have a daughter that's really good, then go for it. Boys soccer scholarships are almost non existent.

[DJShocker10]

I may be able to offer a slightly different opinion here. While the guy in the article is way over the top and extreme, I have absolutely no problem with select travel ball. I played for Standiford with the Wichita Sluggers Academy and was able to receive D1 offers due to good showings my senior year, specifically when the UNL coach asked to see me pitch at Haymarket. For the right kids and the right families, select travel ball can be a huge blessing (though an expensive one). Exposure can be a great thing for a ball player. The problem lies often times in the coaches of high school teams that play politics with the select teams. A high school coach that only cares about having select players on the roster is no longer a coach, he is merely a recruiter.

[The Cat]

Big difference between 18 and 8 year olds.

[DJShocker10]

Big difference between 18 and 8 year olds.

I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. I was probably 13 or so when we started traveling more.