re: Youth Coaches - Cutting a Player

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I didn't know this was a thing.

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quote: I coach youth baseball at a competitive level

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It is. OP is talking about the USSSA programs probably. It is a crap system filled with over zealous dads who think they know how to coach baseball simply because they played high school ball when they were younger.

Probably true to a certain degree...but in my experience many play travel ball because the rec leagues appoint "buddies" to be coaches and they teach kids incorrectly. REC coaches are most likely to be the ones who played HS ball and that was it. They are also the ones who most likely are reliving their childhood through their kids.
If your child loves the game and wants to improve, put them in a position to get quality coaching, play with kids who play at a higher level, and on a team where he has to work hard everyday just to get playing time. If not willing to do this....play REC ball...where everyone has to play.

Your assumption about the coaches are pretty much the opposite of all my experiences. The REC coaches are more likely to be a dad who volunteers to be there with their kid and help them and their teammates learn while having fun, or the dad who doesn't work shift work so he gets nominated head coach b/c he can make all the practices. It's the guys paying $1000+ for their 8 year old to play "tournament ball"(this somehow seems to be thought of as it's own sport)that are the ones that go overboard b/c they are trying to accomplish something through their kids. I was talking to one of these such coaches recently and his main topic of conversation was how much the trophy weighed in the next tournament they were playing. He said "those other guys(tournament hosts) are going to have to step up their game." My child loves the game and definitely works hard to improve, but you can't improve if you aren't playing. Why would anyone want their young kid on a team strictly b/c he has to work harder to get playing time? I would prefer to have him working hard while playing. There is a time and place for everything. Repetition of fundamentals should be the main focus, b/c one day the 8 year old that hits a bunch of fly ball triples/HRs is going to get passed by the one who can out run a deep ground ball to short.

Stupid idiots paying thousands for their 8 year Olds to play travel ball. Then giving up all their weekends to be a shirty baseball fields amongst other idiot parents. They are the worst parents on my opinion

Having friends who have girls, I hear that competition cheerleading is getting worse than tournament ball.

What happened to the days where you played baseball in Spring/early Summer, Football in late Summer/Fall and Basketball in the Fall/Winter? I see too many kids playing one sport year round. That has to get boring quick.

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Nothing beats daddy ball.

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Yep. It gets pretty amusing actually seeing so many dads thinking their kid is a good ball player. I have no illusions mine is in the bottom quarter in baseball and middle of the pack in football.

The son of one of our assistants plays QB and is likely the 5th or 6th best option on the team.

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Why would anyone want their young kid on a team strictly b/c he has to work harder to get playing time?

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Because in my experience -

rec practices usually last an hour because other teams need the field to practice.

Travel ball practices are 2-3 hrs which gives kids equal reps and coaches aren't worrying about time limits....and neither are the kids.

The time to improve is during practice, not game days.

I'm sure not all rec leagues are the same but in our area....rec ball is terrible because qualified people who want to coach aren't selected. The board selects buddies who are limited in the knowledge of the game. Also kids who really want to excel do not want to be on a team where john boy is terrible and is playing because its a league rule and or daddy wants his son to play ball even though johnny is better suited staying home playing minecraft.

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What happened to the days where you played baseball in Spring/early Summer, Football in late Summer/Fall and Basketball in the Fall/Winter? I see too many kids playing one sport year round. That has to get boring quick.

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IMHO the worst is soccer. It cost me 3x as much for ypd soccer as it does for travel baseball. The damn season already last about 6 months. Now Chicago Fire decided to start a summer league that they suggest all ydp players join. They already had winter camps. When my son moves to competitive at the end of next year, the cost double and the season extends possibly another month or two.

Patrick Mullins was one of the best kids from this state (possibly ever?) and all he plays is MLS. He didn't even go to Europe. It keeps my son healthy but seems pointless in the long run. Most major Universities don't even have a men's soccer program.

More kids should get exposed to t&f early IMO.

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I'm sure not all rec leagues are the same but in our area....

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To be totally fair, this statement is very true. But at the same time, I think the mentality of "it's only rec ball" has had a lot to do with it. When we ONLY had rec ball, the teams were very competitive b/c everyone was playing together. Then money came into the picture. People made it a business and saw that they could profit off of parents by telling them how 'travel ball' would be better for their kids. Slowly more and more players left their rec leagues which naturally watered them down. Especially in the more populated/higher income areas. Everyone is free to do as they please, but I think their is a misconception that 'rec ball' is for those that can't play, and that 'travel ball' is the only way you'll ever play HS baseball. I live out away from all that and have never had to deal with a board that selects coaches(when I was a kid and now as a coach). The mentality of the coach you have can make a huge difference on learning. I'm a 2hr practice coach. If we can't get a field for that long, meet me in that open grass lot this weekend and we'll catch fly balls for 2 hrs. If I don't do everything I can to get improvement out of my players, then I failed, not them. All 11 players I have are my son for however long they are on my team. There is no "coach's kid" b/c they are all mine for that time period. It's just that 10 are lucky they don't have to live with me.