I usually don't seek advice on a public forum but since I know there are baseball dad's here I wanted some advice on how to handle this issue. First off I'm not a "Baseball guy" I watch the occasional Astros game and go to a few each year but Basketball (I played and now coach my little brothers 18 yr old team) is front and center in my household followed closely by Football. This is why I'm so paranoid, I can't see what baseball guys see! You know the small details and things that he does right and wrong. Long story short my oldest is 6 year old for some reason since 3 has had a thing for baseball (Threw me for a loop!) As of now he plays in the HBA 6U league (coach pitch) has literaly been playing for 6 months (one and a half seasons) but shows great game awareness (plays the pitchers mound) can catch line drives, pop ups, grounders and hits consistently (3rd or 4th BO) and has almost taken some out of the park (125 feet) Our current coach tells me my son needs to go select and told a select coach friend of his about him. Said select coach approached me during last nights game and wants Isaac to go to some practices with his team. I don't want to rush him into something I don't know much about. My biggest deal is he's only been playing for half a year and is really young to the game. He loves baseball, I mean loves it! The way I love Basketball, if he could practice everyday he would! Sometimes I feel bad because I can't coach him or help him with game or swing mechanics like I could if it were Basketball. I just need info and experiences from Dad's or Mom's so I know what to expect and to make the right decicion. Thank you in advance.
Personally I think the schedules and general insanity of most of the tournament and/or traveling style of baseball is way too much for little leaguers and kids of that age. I would try and send him to a week-long camp that helps with mechanics or something like that rather than get involved in something that can end up taking over all his free time. That type of baseball can be good for kids too...and I think it should be later. At a teenage level or so...or maybe if you push it, around 11. That's just my opinion
6 does seem young, if it's like select for older kids, you'll be traveling on weekends for tournaments. Probably practicing 1-2 nights during the week, and then tournaments on weekends. That's pretty serious commitment for 6 year olds (and for parents of a 6 year old), but if he's that good and loves it... it's just one of those calls you have to make as a parent. The team will be counting on him, and that could be a difficult thing to understand for a 6 year old if he burns out and doesn't want to play. Wrap that up with, you'll be playing on a team with parents who are -very- serious about their kids being good at baseball at a very young age.
I love baseball. I love being around it. Both of my boys play it, and I alternate each year coaching their teams. And I think 6 years old is way too young for the demands of a select league team. Just my two cents.
Agree with the above, my oldest son played at 9 and it was eye opening for him. He is pretty mature and laid back, but I don't think he could have handled it at 6. If you do go that route be prepared to have the same issues you have in league ball, with the exception that the players usually have more talent. You will still experience drama with parents, have coaches that don't always know what they are doing, and have issues with umpires/tournament rules. Add to that the travel and greater expense and some of those issues magnify. Don't get me wrong, the select experience has been good for my son, but there are people we know that expected it to be much less of a headache than league ball, and they where surprised when that wasn't the case. I'll also add, the little league my younger son plays in has seen a surge of 11-14's coming back to league play. Most of them have said the gains their kids made on the field didn't justify the cost and travel off the field.
I don't know. 6 is young. It's great that he loves the game and has a natural aptitude for it. I would keep it pure fun at this point, and introduce the kind of pressure, and do a camp and that kind of thing. I think later on he'll be able to go select when he's a little bit older. I just wouldn't expose him to some of the parents, and pressure of that thing just yet. Though, if you do, I don't think it will be that bad. There are definitely worse decisions you could make. Just keep an eye on how much fun he has, and how much time it takes up.
I don't see that he's missing an opportunity by skipping select at this age. He just needs to go out and hit throw and catch. Even if it's with his non-baseball dad. Youtube tutorials can teach you more than enough about the game for his level if you're worried about your skill -- though even that's probably overkill. He'll have plenty of time to learn positioning and the other nuances of the game as he gets older. Seems like an awfully big commitment in time and money for a kid that young in a league in which they're not even pitching. But your call. Just be wary of the hype. Do what's most fun for him. I don't think you can go too far wrong as long as you don't let yourself, or others push him to the point he's no longer enjoying it. And I don't think he's missing anything by staying in a 'lesser' league at this age.
part of me doesnt like the current system for all sports where a kid has to choose early which sport he will play otherwise he is disadvantaged for playing in the highly competitive leagues. I was always pushed to football, but lately i have been having fun playing rec league softball. I wish i could have played baseball in school but i quit little league when i was 9 because we moved. I could have sucked then so maybe it wasnt the system, but let me have this.
Take him to the practices. It won't hurt. Maybe he'll learn something. I wouldn't commit to the Select team unless your son really wants to do it. Unfortunately I sucked at baseball. My 5 year old can't catch, can't get the glove on his hand, can't throw straight (though he has shown some promise hitting), so I can't really give much perspective.
Yeah I practice with him as much as I can. Like you said basic stuff, he's moving up from underhad coach pitch to overhand coach pitch. I have a hard time pitching underhand correctly so I've been overhand throwing to him for a while and has no problem hitting either way. I'm leaning towards this advice, everyone here has been very helpful.
It's not too late to switch him to basketball. Bargain with the kid. Offer him ice cream or something he likes in exchange to play basketball instead. Over the years he'll learn to like basketball and never knew why he switched.
LOL,Dude this boy is Rockets to the core! I had a thread a while back about him. He hates the Jazz, Mavs and Spurs. I figure he's around basketball so much he'll have to play eventually. We play outside every now and then and he goes to our practices at the gym and runs drills with the team, but like I said he gravitated towards Baseball really early.
The first sport a kid plays he is likely to get tired of as he gets a little older. For me it was baseball but being a pitcher it gave me a huge serve and I excelled in tennis. Maybe you can get him to burn out of baseball and switch to basketball .
I am the head coach for my sons 5u team and was asked to move my son up to select, and I said no. And I would say it at 6 as well. I am also a coordinator for the league and I see the demands and expectations that are put on the select kids and it is ridiculous. I would consider it at kid pitch but not this early.
First, my 9 year old son does not play select baseball but has had teammates that do. Usually the best player on his current team also does select baseball. From what I gather, select baseball is a year round thing and thus a bigger time commitment than you might expect. My son does take private batting lessons. (I got tired of each new team coach telling him to do different sometimes conflicting things.) The guy who gives the lesson also manages a select baseball team fwiw. We are extremely pleased with how the lessons are going. Other parents who have had multiple kids go through little league have told me that batting lessons can really help and are worth it. Doing the right mechanics in batting will increase contact and distance. The more your kids hits, the more he will enjoy baseball. My suggestion would be to start with hitting lessons and latter to explore select baseball.
Listen to this!!! This is great advice! Seriously. And also...make sure you protect him from those that take the game so seriously that they rob all the joy out of it. If it starts feeling like work, then it's not worth it. In all likelihood, you're not raising a major leaguer...you are raising a boy to be a man, though, and baseball provides some great teachable moments for life lessons about dealing with failure and getting back up again.
