re: Decline of little league baseball

We quit playing in then local league when I was 10. The league was awful. Our team won the league but if you took me off they wouldn't have won a game. So it wasn't much fun for me.

But the reason we left is because of the number of innings the better pitchers would have to throw. I'd throw 6 every week during the week and 12-15 on the weekends depending on the tournament rules. Also, our league didnt let us lead off until 13 or 14.

I didnt end up hating baseball

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I know of, and I'm sure several posters on this site know him as well, a kid who turned down a baseball scholarship to LSU because he was tired of playing baseball. Just wanted to live his life after high school. Maybe playing 80 games as a 10 year old wasn't such a good move.

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not saying that it doesn't happen, just saying that situation is not common. 80 games as a 10 year old? Yikes! 80 games at any age (pre college)is too much.

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Half my friends I grew up with burned out after freshman year of sophomore year of highschool.

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I have several long time friends that hate the game now as well,it's sad. Honestly, most of the travel ball dad's I know now were horrible at sports... go figure

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Not to mention, puberty changes everything.

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Yep.

For instance Jefferson Parish Recreation Department (JPRD) ran the Babe Ruth circuit in the 90s. Some absolute studs at 13/14 years old couldn't even see the field on Catholic League teams once they hit high school.

Kids who weren't as good in Babe Ruth worked hard at their skill while their bodies developed. Those guys turned out to be HS studs and played in college

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ball(we have 4 kids and would be difficult to manage). He's 10

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mine is 11, and i am in the same boat as you. we make it work. it is hard since every weekend we are going somewhere for baseball, but he loves it. lucky for us though my oldest can drive, so when she is not running track she is our third driver