re: Question about youth sports

Just lay low, don't rock the boat and your kid will be be getting free shoes from sponsors in no time. In 20 years he'll be pulling trim with a cool story about how he played rec league with a semi pro player.

quote:

---

That’s exactly what I tell my players who don’t like being in OF. The quickest way to get out of a position you don’t like is to show me that you know how to play it.

---

almost everything you've said has been a crock of shite. Your mindset is that of the other idiots around you in tournament ball, and why baseball in Baton Rouge sucks and why most youth sports in this town suck for the most part.

Why are you relegating a 9 year old to the outfield only? Do you work with him in practice on ground balls and playing infield, or do you just stick him in the outfield every practice?

I am more than aware that every kid can't be good enough to play shortstop. It's not a big deal to let a kid that's not that good play 3rd base sometimes, or if they are decent enough let them play 2nd. You can't just stick a kid in the outfield every practice and game and expect them to get better. You are pretty much telling them that YOU don't believe in them, so why would they believe in themselves.

You need to remember that 9u baseball isn't about winning those stupid fricking plastic rings every weekend. It's about learning the game of baseball AND HAVING FUN. there's nothing fun about a kid playing right field and sitting the bench every game. IF you are expecting a fricking 9 year old to go the extra mile and pay attention at all times then you're fricking retarded.
If you end your season and 9 and 10 year old kids from your team never play baseball again, which sounds like absolutely has happen with you as coach, then you failed as a coach. But i guess you don't give a shite, b/c those kids were weak in your mind. That should be the mindset of every youth coach, to make sure when the season ends EVERY kid got better, had fun, AND WANTS TO CONTINUE PLAYING THE GAME.



i bet at practice you put the 9 kids in the field and hit a bunch of balls to the infielders, not realizing you haven't hit a single ball to the outfield in 10 minutes, then you decide to be an arse and hit a rocket to the outfield unannounced and then yell at the 9 year old outfielders for not paying attention. "that's why you aren't going to play in the infield little johhny!"



I've seen that mindset of never giving all the kids a chance except the good ones in every youth sport in baton rouge; football, baseball and basketball. You have to get lucky to get a good coach that actually cares about developing all the kids and making sure they all have fun. and im talking about 10-11 under here. Soccer at BRSC is probably the only sport in town that has an interest in developing ALL the kids over winning at all costs, and they have their own issues as well, but at least they are all about development of every kid. By the time they are about 12, sometimes 11, it's time to start getting more serious in each sport, but that still doesn't mean not playing kids, which absolutely happens in football and basketball. It is absolutely stupid to have a 12 team basketball team for kids that are 12 and under. keep it to 8 and set up practices where there's always another team practicing with you so you can work on 5 on 5. I'll give it to most baseball teams in that they keep the rosters to about 11 most of the time to make sure everyone is playing a good bit. Just about every middle school tackle football team loses well over 50% of their kids they had in 3rd and 4th grade by the time they get to 7th. They quit having fun being hollered at constantly by drill sergeants that think they are coaching adults, and the 15-20 kids that never play a snap finally say the hell with this and go play other sports. We do a really good job of weeding out any kid who isn't awesome when they are 9-10 years old by treating them like shite and basically telling them to quit.

It is hilarious to me how there are people that are mad that a certain 8th grade local middle school basketball team who's really good, and has no players on their team that play football. They are mad watching how aggressive and athletic these kids are playing basketball, and call them pussies for not wanting to play football. Newflash dipshits, you gave up on those kids in 3rd and 4th grade, and surprisingly they got older, and bigger, and stronger, and got more athletic, b/c that's what happens to kids. But you invested your time on the kid that was bigger than everyone in 4th grade, and now is just a normal size kid now that everyone else caught up to him and passed him up. They have no interest in helping your football team out anymore. They don't like football, b/c you made them dislike it when they were 8 and 9 years old.

Good thread. I wouldn't base your son's experience on just the games. Are you at the practices? Is he being taught at the practices? Does your son enjoy being on the team? And last but not least, is your son practicing outside of team practices?

I have coached both competitive and recreational leagues for years. From high school down to 2nd grade. Most coaches try to balance winning and development. A coach should try to develop all their players, but coaches and athletes want to win. Better players play more than the others, even in rec leagues. Your example sounds too weighted towards the best player, though. Most development comes from practice and not games. Many parents think playing time should be equal. Nope. Not in any league. The parents that complain usually aren't at practice, and their kids often don't work on their game outside of the limited time spent at team practices. Most of the better players have spent more time developing their skills. The limited amount of team practice time is not enough to develop good skills.

I don't know your answers to my questions and am not assuming anything about you. I am not trying to bash you in any way. Just sharing one coach's sentiment on how to get the most value and a good experience for your kid. Don't judge the value for your kid based on games alone. Good luck.

quote:

---

A lot haven’t ever picked up a baseball or bat yet. Catering to the weak at the expense of the strong? Are you fricking serious? At that age they need to be learning.

---

Agree 100%. They ALL need to be learning. That includes the better players as well. The new players will make the most gains, and they will make most of those gains IN PRACTICE. If you are forced to play every player 1 inning of IF, you can only hide that player at 2nd or 3rd. Now your talented catcher has third base stolen on him constantly because the kid there won’t catch it. Or if you put the kid at 2nd, your talented SS will never have an opportunity at a double play. Oh and guess what else? We need to deaden the bats because we are forced to play kids in the IF who can’t pay attention and couldn’t defend themselves even if they were paying attention. Stuff like this is the reason rec leagues start losing all their best players around this age to select ball. And that’s a shame because there is so much value in playing locally with the kids from your school. We didn’t have these rules when I was playing Dixie in the 80s and 90s.

quote:

---

I can’t believe there are parents that care so deeply about winning they are willing to make a kid miserable and quit, even though he actually wants to try and play.

---

Happens in every youth sport in Baton Rouge, and it's dumb. It's why i coach my kids in just about every sport. And my kids are good, but i do it so that the kids that aren't good leave my team at the end of the season still wanting to play basketball, or football, or soccer, or baseball.

quote:

---

At 8u it’s still coaches pitch in all rec leagues. There is no stealing.

---

My bad. You are correct. I keep forgetting my kid is 11U now. 11U is when we get rid of fair play. I wish there were no fair play 10U/9U. 8U is coach pitch, and I am fine with fair play at that age.

Maybe he’s trying to teach your kid how to be a team player?

The worst “dad coaches” are the ones who think it’s about winning at 8 years old.

YES, you want to teach the kids to win but you also have to teach them to play and LET THEM PLAY. At 8 yrs, it’s about playing and learning.

When they get older, it’s about competing and winning. When they are that young, it’s their time to play. Period.

The best coaches at that age have the kids playing every position. Even the best kids need to learn the lesser positions.

My son’s football team (8-9 yrs) had the win-at-all-costs coaches. Their sons played the entire game. My son barely played. Flash forward 8 years later and my son is playing high school football while none of the coaches’ kids are playing any sports.

quote:

---

I would find some group drills elsewhere for specific skill development and just let him play on this rec team for fun.

---

My kid is only 5 but I went to baseball Thursday. The coach was out of town so all the dads stepped in. They had good drills set up and all the kids even participated when they were not digging in the dirt.

The one on one practice for hitting was so great. All the kids felt so awesome when they would get a hit and no ones child was treated special. It was actually fun to watch.

Now when game season starts it may be different. I'm just more worried about what snack to bring.