If your child plays 13U baseball, what is the plan for next year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can give you the benefit of hindsight...but it's hard to decide if you want to follow.

The quality of a 14u travel team doesn't mean anything at all. If there is one affiliated with your kid's HS, you should look into that only because the HS coaches will then get to know your kid.

However, if you don't want to travel all over, find one that just plays NVTBL DHs each week and maybe one local tournament.

The tournament circuit is a terrible racquet. There are tournaments every weekend at the Patriot Park complex out in Fairfax such that no local 14u team has to leave town if they don't want to leave town.

Play for the team where your kid gets to play a ton and has fun.

This is the best advice

All 13u baseball is a mess. The pitching looks odd to the batters because it is so slow and far away that it has time to drop like a curveball. The third basemen can barely throw to first. Base running is a free for all because the catchers can’t make the throws. Pitching is horrendous. Doubles on the 12u field are barely out of the infield. The worst coaches for the 14-18u programs get the youngest kids. Half the kids haven’t hit puberty yet. It is all a disaster. Go with the best run organization and reassess if you need to do the showcase circuit for 15u. If he sticks with it with a decent team, you’ll be spending the entirety of the HS summer seasons traveling all over. Just survive this time without blowing out a throwing arm

I would even say you can wait until 16u for showcase teams…and only if you think you will get college looks at 16u.

My kid’s now 17u team (with lots of D1 commits) shed 60% of their 16u team (some families who had played since 12u), because 17u is really “the show” and if they don’t think your kid has any reasonable shot of attracting college interest then you are dead weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can give you the benefit of hindsight...but it's hard to decide if you want to follow.

The quality of a 14u travel team doesn't mean anything at all. If there is one affiliated with your kid's HS, you should look into that only because the HS coaches will then get to know your kid.

However, if you don't want to travel all over, find one that just plays NVTBL DHs each week and maybe one local tournament.

The tournament circuit is a terrible racquet. There are tournaments every weekend at the Patriot Park complex out in Fairfax such that no local 14u team has to leave town if they don't want to leave town.

Play for the team where your kid gets to play a ton and has fun.

This is the best advice

All 13u baseball is a mess. The pitching looks odd to the batters because it is so slow and far away that it has time to drop like a curveball. The third basemen can barely throw to first. Base running is a free for all because the catchers can’t make the throws. Pitching is horrendous. Doubles on the 12u field are barely out of the infield. The worst coaches for the 14-18u programs get the youngest kids. Half the kids haven’t hit puberty yet. It is all a disaster. Go with the best run organization and reassess if you need to do the showcase circuit for 15u. If he sticks with it with a decent team, you’ll be spending the entirety of the HS summer seasons traveling all over. Just survive this time without blowing out a throwing arm

Truth right here ⬆️⬆️ Have a HS player and a 13U.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can give you the benefit of hindsight...but it's hard to decide if you want to follow.

The quality of a 14u travel team doesn't mean anything at all. If there is one affiliated with your kid's HS, you should look into that only because the HS coaches will then get to know your kid.

However, if you don't want to travel all over, find one that just plays NVTBL DHs each week and maybe one local tournament.

The tournament circuit is a terrible racquet. There are tournaments every weekend at the Patriot Park complex out in Fairfax such that no local 14u team has to leave town if they don't want to leave town.

Play for the team where your kid gets to play a ton and has fun.

This is the best advice

All 13u baseball is a mess. The pitching looks odd to the batters because it is so slow and far away that it has time to drop like a curveball. The third basemen can barely throw to first. Base running is a free for all because the catchers can’t make the throws. Pitching is horrendous. Doubles on the 12u field are barely out of the infield. The worst coaches for the 14-18u programs get the youngest kids. Half the kids haven’t hit puberty yet. It is all a disaster. Go with the best run organization and reassess if you need to do the showcase circuit for 15u. If he sticks with it with a decent team, you’ll be spending the entirety of the HS summer seasons traveling all over. Just survive this time without blowing out a throwing arm

I would even say you can wait until 16u for showcase teams…and only if you think you will get college looks at 16u.

My kid’s now 17u team (with lots of D1 commits) shed 60% of their 16u team (some families who had played since 12u), because 17u is really “the show” and if they don’t think your kid has any reasonable shot of attracting college interest then you are dead weight.

Agree! And by that time the recruitable kids know several coaches and vice versa and can find a team that best suits their recruiting needs.

[Anonymous]

Thank you PPs. Very helpful. Just want my kid to have fun and not throw out his arm. Shouldn’t be so hard, but glad to hear that 13u overall is kind of a mess. A lot of the above resonates with me. Son is being recruited by pretty much every coach he meets, but I honestly don’t know who to trust. Maybe best to stay with the devil you know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can give you the benefit of hindsight...but it's hard to decide if you want to follow.

The quality of a 14u travel team doesn't mean anything at all. If there is one affiliated with your kid's HS, you should look into that only because the HS coaches will then get to know your kid.

However, if you don't want to travel all over, find one that just plays NVTBL DHs each week and maybe one local tournament.

The tournament circuit is a terrible racquet. There are tournaments every weekend at the Patriot Park complex out in Fairfax such that no local 14u team has to leave town if they don't want to leave town.

Play for the team where your kid gets to play a ton and has fun.

Good insight. Thanks. Why do you say the quality of the 14u team doesn't matter though? I feel like my kid has actually gone backwards in ability since starting with a new team since the hired coach doesn't seem to be as invested as other coaches might be. No one seems to be happy on the team, but maybe it's not worth doing anything about it. They will try out for HS teams in 9 months or so.

By quality of the team...I meant don't worry about joining some travel team that feels like they are some high-level team that needs to travel to Georgia or NJ or really anywhere requiring lots of overnights, not the quality of the coaches.

Thank you. We definitely don’t want to travel to Ga, but some travel would be nice. It’s fun for the kids. Patriot park not cutting it.

Well, OK. I thought you said you didn't want to be traveling all over the place.

PBR and Perfect Game host tournaments at Patriot Park that are no different than what they do in Richmond. Literally, no difference except the Richmond tournaments are more spread out. Patriot Park is a huge step up in terms of facilities for the DMV area.

If PG hosts does that mean no hype fire bats?

Yes but I thought only the drop 5 was banned thus far. At any rate, 14u needs to be swinging BBCOR.

No, 14u needs to be using a -5 or -8. BBCOR is for high school. It's called player progression.

It isn’t worth arguing about, but most national tourney orgs I am familiar with require BBCOR at 14U. I think the local middle school teams in my area allow -5s but any kid intending to make the HS team will be swinging BBCOR by 8th grade at latest.

There may be local leagues (depending on one’s area) or rec ball orgs that allow lighter bats at 14U- that I don’t know.

Yes, almost all tournaments will require BBCOR at 14U.

I'm in Maryland, but I think even the more competitive leagues (like MABA) require BBCOR at the level, but could be wrong

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can give you the benefit of hindsight...but it's hard to decide if you want to follow.

The quality of a 14u travel team doesn't mean anything at all. If there is one affiliated with your kid's HS, you should look into that only because the HS coaches will then get to know your kid.

However, if you don't want to travel all over, find one that just plays NVTBL DHs each week and maybe one local tournament.

The tournament circuit is a terrible racquet. There are tournaments every weekend at the Patriot Park complex out in Fairfax such that no local 14u team has to leave town if they don't want to leave town.

Play for the team where your kid gets to play a ton and has fun.

This is the best advice

All 13u baseball is a mess. The pitching looks odd to the batters because it is so slow and far away that it has time to drop like a curveball. The third basemen can barely throw to first. Base running is a free for all because the catchers can’t make the throws. Pitching is horrendous. Doubles on the 12u field are barely out of the infield. The worst coaches for the 14-18u programs get the youngest kids. Half the kids haven’t hit puberty yet. It is all a disaster. Go with the best run organization and reassess if you need to do the showcase circuit for 15u. If he sticks with it with a decent team, you’ll be spending the entirety of the HS summer seasons traveling all over. Just survive this time without blowing out a throwing arm

100%

13U feels like the first year of kid pitch back in 8U.

It definitely turns a corner in 14U though. Strikes become more consistent and infielders have adjusted to the bigger field/longer throws

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you PPs. Very helpful. Just want my kid to have fun and not throw out his arm. Shouldn’t be so hard, but glad to hear that 13u overall is kind of a mess. A lot of the above resonates with me. Son is being recruited by pretty much every coach he meets, but I honestly don’t know who to trust. Maybe best to stay with the devil you know.

A coach that is actively trying to recruit a kid from a team mid-season is not a coach you want to play for.

Huge red flags

[Anonymous]

Hi OP,
Here's a thought; 14 U Spring season can be a little weird since some kids are in high school already and playing on their HS team, and others are still in 8th grade and playing travel.

That aside, if your child is serious about baseball and playing in HS, I'd think about focusing on their individual development and maybe doing something with an area trainer/gym. Strength training, arm care, throwing program, hitting lessons, etc. Like a major tune up before 15U/HS. Your kid will get focused attention and hone skillsmore effectively than maybe getting 1 or 2 plays in the field or at bats over a 6 hour day spent at a sports complex somewhere.

That said, if they just love to play, then disregard this idea, get 'em out onto the field in a way thats most convenient for your family. As others have mentioned, if they stick with it, it really gets much more time intensive. Enjoy the respite now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you PPs. Very helpful. Just want my kid to have fun and not throw out his arm. Shouldn’t be so hard, but glad to hear that 13u overall is kind of a mess. A lot of the above resonates with me. Son is being recruited by pretty much every coach he meets, but I honestly don’t know who to trust. Maybe best to stay with the devil you know.

A coach that is actively trying to recruit a kid from a team mid-season is not a coach you want to play for.

Huge red flags

For the fall, not now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you PPs. Very helpful. Just want my kid to have fun and not throw out his arm. Shouldn’t be so hard, but glad to hear that 13u overall is kind of a mess. A lot of the above resonates with me. Son is being recruited by pretty much every coach he meets, but I honestly don’t know who to trust. Maybe best to stay with the devil you know.

A coach that is actively trying to recruit a kid from a team mid-season is not a coach you want to play for.

Huge red flags

For the fall, not now.

Honestly, I still think that's shitty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you PPs. Very helpful. Just want my kid to have fun and not throw out his arm. Shouldn’t be so hard, but glad to hear that 13u overall is kind of a mess. A lot of the above resonates with me. Son is being recruited by pretty much every coach he meets, but I honestly don’t know who to trust. Maybe best to stay with the devil you know.

A coach that is actively trying to recruit a kid from a team mid-season is not a coach you want to play for.

Huge red flags

For the fall, not now.

Honestly, I still think that's shitty.

Wait till the kid comes to an open practice or a try-out, and then give them the sales pitch. But to do it mid season is pretty bad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you PPs. Very helpful. Just want my kid to have fun and not throw out his arm. Shouldn’t be so hard, but glad to hear that 13u overall is kind of a mess. A lot of the above resonates with me. Son is being recruited by pretty much every coach he meets, but I honestly don’t know who to trust. Maybe best to stay with the devil you know.

A coach that is actively trying to recruit a kid from a team mid-season is not a coach you want to play for.

Huge red flags

For the fall, not now.

Honestly, I still think that's shitty.

NP here. I thought technically the coaches weren’t supposed to recruit for the next season until the current season is over. Clearly it happens a lot but agree…still shitty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you PPs. Very helpful. Just want my kid to have fun and not throw out his arm. Shouldn’t be so hard, but glad to hear that 13u overall is kind of a mess. A lot of the above resonates with me. Son is being recruited by pretty much every coach he meets, but I honestly don’t know who to trust. Maybe best to stay with the devil you know.

A coach that is actively trying to recruit a kid from a team mid-season is not a coach you want to play for.

Huge red flags

For the fall, not now.

Honestly, I still think that's shitty.

Why? Tryouts are in may for fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you PPs. Very helpful. Just want my kid to have fun and not throw out his arm. Shouldn’t be so hard, but glad to hear that 13u overall is kind of a mess. A lot of the above resonates with me. Son is being recruited by pretty much every coach he meets, but I honestly don’t know who to trust. Maybe best to stay with the devil you know.

A coach that is actively trying to recruit a kid from a team mid-season is not a coach you want to play for.

Then maybe best to stay away from these types of coaches. I’m just trying to learn the ropes.

Huge red flags

For the fall, not now.

Honestly, I still think that's shitty.

Wait till the kid comes to an open practice or a try-out, and then give them the sales pitch. But to do it mid season is pretty bad

[Anonymous]

Mine tried out for the high school team but didn't make it so went into a private league for u14