? For travel baseball parents

I am looking for feedback on what you would have done given my situation. I will keep this as short as I can so not much backstory. My son is 13 and has played travel for the last 2 years. He plays down from his grade level since he didn’t make the 12u team is first year then just stayed with the same team last year. Over the last 2 years he has become a very good player and is now being recruited by the team that cut him. His options were play up to 14u(much better team) for next season or stay with his current team. 14u only carry’s 11 and starts the best 9 so no guarantee he would start. Rumor was he would be the starting right fielder but that was what his friends said. The coach said he couldn’t guarantee he would start. Other option was to stay with his current team and play were ever he wanted and start. He was catcher, shortstop, or second base last year with some pitching. Also if he didn’t stay with his team from last year they didn’t have enough kids to make a team (5 quit from last year)

He chose to stay with his team from last year even though he really didn’t want to but he felt keeping that team together was better than having them join with another school. Also he said it’s better to play and loose than sit on the bench and win. Was he right in choosing to play for a lesser talented team to get more playing time than moving up to a better team but with no guarantee?

Play for the lesser team and actually play. This is kids sports not the MLB. Sitting on the bench sucks. Then the season after he will be even better. Pretty easy choice.

I have a similar situation but with a 15year old hockey player. He plays to have fun and enjoys playing hockey. Next year he will have the choice to try out for JV or an Jr. Gold team. He can choice what he wants with no pressure from me.

Whichever he thinks will be most fun, period.

Stay & play like BC said.

Thank for reinforcing what I thought. My wife and I wanted him to stay and play as well but the other team is all his school friends so that was the driving force to play up. Funny thing was at the end of last years school ball season the head coach for the other travel team asked my son why he isn’t playing for them and my son replied “because you cut me”

I don’t think there’s a wrong answer here. If he plays for the 14U team he would have some additional motivation to improve his game so he can be an every day starter.

At 12U he will still continue to develop and there’s no guarantee that he’d develop better at 14U vs 12U.

It’s really up to him and what’s most important to him.

We’re in a similar situation with my daughter in hockey. We wanted her to play up with the 10U girls so she had teammates with similar abilities or we had the option to choose to play on an A Mites team at her age level with the boys. We wound up on the boys A Mite team but felt either direction would’ve been good. The only option that wasn’t on the table was the 8U girls team again because the gap in abilities is so large. It would’ve been a losing situation for everyone including the other players on the 8U team. She also told us she preferred to play with the boys so it all worked out.

dirtywater wrote:

Whichever he thinks will be most fun, period.

This.
The rest will work itself out later on.

Ripjiggen wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>dirtywater wrote:</div>
Whichever he thinks will be most fun, period.

This.
The rest will work itself out later on.

x2

One question I would have is, do you think him being cut by the coach in his 1st year was a correct call by the Coach? If so, then neither you or you son should have any ill feeling toward the coach. He may have done what was best for your son by cutting him. This may have allowed your son to get more playing time and thus getting better by playing down those 1st few years. He will most likely only continue to get better by playing against better competition. I would probably say if he’s now good enough to play with his friends who are his own age, that may be a better decision going forward. I guess it all comes down to what you son wants to get out of playing. I guess not having anyone I know playing youth baseball, I don’t fully understand how it all works. It seems a little odd to me that a player can play down a Grade level. Is that something that is allowed no matter the age?

I didn’t read through all of the responses.

I think this really depends on the child.

things to consider:

physical size

14U baseball is now 90 foot bases and 60ft 6″ pitching mounds…… this is what he will have the rest of his days during school and summer baseball. Drop -5 USSSA and -3 BBCOR bats as well

13u Shorter distances and lighter bats….

Do you want him to have experience at these distances yet?

If your son intends to play HS baseball…… what is his realistic positions?

While a player may not play in the field as much, he will get better practices with players who all can make all the throws at the appropriate velocity and likely in their “natural” positions. you mentioned middle infield….. to practice with kids that can make and learn ss/2b exchanges and throws increases your sons learning curve.

Gopher State, MBT and MSF all use continuous batting yet at 14… so everyone bats. (assuming we’re talking MN….. and not CLUB ball)

if your son has no desire to play HS baseball then I would say he should stay down and have “fun” (whatever that means).

if he intends to continue playing then I would prove to the other kids he belongs.

FT, travel baseball is based off age not grade level. My son is young for his grade level so he can play down grade wise not age wise if that makes sense. He is a June birthday so he is 13 and in 8th grade. My son had no competitive baseball experience prior to tryouts 2 years ago so getting cut from that team was probably best for him and we don’t hold that against the coach.

Joe, my son is smaller but very athletic. He is the fastest kid on his team and is in the top of his class when it comes to physical competitions for gym class so I’m not worried about the added distance and heavier bats. He will get a new bat this year but it will be a -3 so he can use it for 8th grade school ball. He will also play high school baseball so this is preparation for that. I know that 14u can bat all players they just don’t on that team so his playing time isn’t guaranteed. He does get asked to try out for club teams like Mash and swing kings but we just can’t commit that kind of time.

My daughter went through this same type of thing with her different club softball teams.

The first thing I would ask him is if there is ANY thought or chance he might want to play college ball?

After reading your last post here saying he is the fastest kid on his team, a great athlete, etc. I might have chosen to challenge him.

When it comes to development, IMO, being the best on the team or the worst on the team is not where you want to be. If you feel your kid is in that middle of the team range, then he is probably on the right team.

If he is flat out dominating, that isn’t doing him a ton of good development wise if in fact he has aspirations to play after high school. It WILL however have him gain all kinds of confidence and if that is an issue, then letting him be the best for awhile can be a good thing too.

All this said, in the end it’s about having fun and making boys into men, etc. Probably can’t go wrong as long as the team chemistry and coach are good.

tough call Stanley……. it will be odd going from school ball 90 ft back to summer short distances, only to come back to 90 ft the following spring.

If he’s a good, athletic kid then it should all come out in the wash either way.

I never speak of the possibility of politics to my sons…. I only say “the best will always play”… if you don’t like something then you have the power to change it.

Stanley wrote:

FT, travel baseball is based off age not grade level. My son is young for his grade level so he can play down grade wise not age wise if that makes sense. He is a June birthday so he is 13 and in 8th grade.

That make total sense. I misread it as playing down a Age level not a Grade level. I wish him the best no matter what he decides. Its always great to see kids involved in sports.

Joe-winter nailed it. If his intentions are to play high school ball always push yourself. Baseball is a sport where you can be a great teammate and have some great fun on the bench also. I had 3 boys play thru high school and one on to college ball. All had there turns on the bench. Get the better practices. In your age group keep playing ball no matter what age group. Things will work out. I’ve seen the top kids get moved down and bottom-middle work there way up. Good luck and enjoy watching it all.

Seems odd they want to recruit him but then say he might not play? Sounds like a crap deal.

Is he able to play up if they are short players for a tourney here and there? I like to always keep those bridges intact and let the coach know if he gets some players on vacation and needs a spot filled keep ur kid on the shortlist to call.

Sports are cruel and at some point you may have to just look at it as fun. The days of everybody gets a trophy are going away. Sometimes promoting optimism just makes for more disappointments. Lots of us have been thru this at the level you are at right now.

Let the boy decide where he wants to play.

Deuces wrote:

Seems odd they want to recruit him but then say he might not play? Sounds like a crap deal.

Is he able to play up if they are short players for a tourney here and there? I like to always keep those bridges intact and let the coach know if he gets some players on vacation and needs a spot filled keep ur kid on the shortlist to call.

I think he would make the team and play since they tried recruiting him but I wasn’t there when the coach was asked about his playing time so I would guess he was trying to cover his butt if it didn’t work out. (I would do the same thing) as far as playing up if needed I don’t think kids can be on 2 different rosters for the same school.

To the guys saying he should be pushed, I agree and I’m not trying to make him out as a superstar on his current team because he’s not and that’s why I think the more playing time will help him but there is way more knowledgeable people here than me. That’s why I’m asking. When it comes to athleticism he is the best on team but game play knowledge he struggles with a little and he had one of the lowest batting averages last year on the team. He just really struggled at the plate. He did however have the most stolen bases of the team so when he did get on base he made up for it. I wasn’t a big athlete growing up so I’m learning as I go as well and trying to help my kids make the best decisions for their sports of choice.

chuck100 wrote:

Let the boy decide where he wants to play.

He did originally sign up for 14u and was ready to try out and if he didn’t make the team he wouldn’t have had a season. That was his choice and we supported him. Then one of his coaches called and asked if he would play for them again because they didn’t get enough kids for a 13u team at signups and would have to combine with another school. I know not my problem but wanted to let my son know and he chose to play for them again to keep the team together and guaranteed playing time. He will get to play with his classmates for school ball.

I’d have him go up. If that is his grade level, might as well have him play with the kids he’s going to play HS ball with. The earlier the better for the team. Sounds like he has no problem with putting in the work. You’re only as good as your competition. Only thing I would worry about is going to the bigger field, but if he’s playing outfield already, he should have enough arm to get it across the diamond. Now pitching, that’s a whole other animal. But by now I’m sure that team has its pitching covered hopefully. Did he play fall ball? Typically fall you play next level up. That may have answered your question if he was ready.

He didn’t play fall ball. Chose football instead but said this is his last year of football so maybe next year. His favorite sport is wrestling with baseball becoming a close second now lately the more he plays. He has an arm and throws upper 50’s but not much control. He played infield all last season with mostly catcher by the end of the season.

He is better off staying where he will play. There is nothing that compares to actual playing time. You gain nothing from sitting on the bench watching. If you did we would all be 50yo QBs in the NFL.

Traveling teams at this age is when things start to get blood and guts, and highly competitive. The players that don’t play a lot, number 10 through 15, usually get less playing time not more. And that can be even more devastating than the fact that they got to make the upper team. Except for the people that are watching their kids play in the major leagues we’ve all been through this and had the disappointment at some point.

He’s gonna be fine Stanley.

I would really encourage consistent arm strength workouts (can simply be long toss)….. year round… especially with longer distances in the near future…. A second sport is great as well…. keep competing.

If you forsee him playing outfield in the future (when he plays up eventually), you should make sure he works on fly balls and outfield skills too… more catching and infielding this year will only give him more options in the future.. utility guys always find the field.

tee work and baseball workouts don’t need to be long ….. 1/2 hour to an hour daily makes a big difference.

good luck

Stanley wrote:

He didn’t play fall ball. Chose football instead but said this is his last year of football so maybe next year. His favorite sport is wrestling with baseball becoming a close second now lately the more he plays. He has an arm and throws upper 50’s but not much control. He played infield all last season with mostly catcher by the end of the season.

Have him play football. I hate sport specialization.

As someone who has coached at the varsity level – multisport athletes generally learn concepts faster, have more rounded coordination and athleticism, learn time management, and are often easier to coach in general.

I don’t think it really matters what team he chose. Sounds like he is a marginal starter in his grade, so if he wants to play thru HS it will largely depend on what he does outside of organized practices. Everyone does those, so if he wants to get better than his competition there should be a lot of catch and BP at home with Dad or his buddies.

For those that don’t know about fall baseball……

fall baseball in the Mankato area is very low commitment (in order to not steal athletes from fall sports). Double headers on Sundays and 1 to 2 practices a week (our coaches let it be known that the practices are optional). My 8th grader plays football and fall baseball. My 11th grader doesn’t play a fall sport so really enjoys more baseball.

this may vary for your area..

of course there is also Fall Club baseball….. much more expensive and likely more competitive…. these kids likely don’t want to play a fall sport.

multisports should definetly be encouraged……

that said….. If you wish to be good…. year round work (not necessarily game play) is necessary…. ie. there is plenty of time in my teenagers day to get in dribbling, shooting, tee work, long toss, weights/plyometrics…. some sort of weekly plan in the off season for the sport or sports HE/SHE loves to play is sure more benefical then the screens they would be watching if not planned for them.

this also leaves plenty of time for them to be kids in case you are worried about that.

We absolutely put the options on the table for our kids and let them choose…. if they choose to not play sport…. their option is then a job…. not the couch (HS ages).

My 11th grader is my fishing child… he knows that fall baseball is done in time for when october fishing starts…. he’ll be with me on pool 4 and our local lakes up to Thanksgiving/basketball season.