For boys: team sports to start in middle school

[Anonymous]

Another poster saying not to write off baseball. My friend's son in Falls Church made the HS baseball team after just a couple years of rec baseball in the different non-baseball area.

[Anonymous]

Chess

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another poster saying not to write off baseball. My friend's son in Falls Church made the HS baseball team after just a couple years of rec baseball in the different non-baseball area.

It depends on the school. Falls Church doesn't have a very competitive program. It would be nearly impossible to make the Madison or MeLean teams without high level talent. That's hard in a skill-based sport like baseball if you havent been fielding balls and swinging the bat for years.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for ultimate frisbee. Great teamwork and cooperation.

[Anonymous]

I would see if you can find friends/people with older kids in HS, and find out what the HS teams need in terms of #s.

It could depend on the HS. Track, cross country, wrestling are all good options, but your particular HS may have desperate needs for other sports as people have mentioned, this can vary--so it's worth asking around.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for wrestling esp if your kid is at the high or low end for weight. While the actual match is very much an individual performance, there is lots of team camaraderie and is usually a no cut sport. Plus your kid will be in incredible shape at the end of the season.

[Anonymous]

Competitive Math

[Anonymous]

I think you might want to ask people in your local HS pyramid, because based on the responses above, I think this varies a lot. At our Maryland school, baseball isn't really that competitive. (My sense is that it may be MUCH more competitive in Virginia than MD, but it may just be our school.) On the other hand, lacrosse is perhaps the most competitive team to get on, period. And football is walk-on (large team and parents/kids shying away due to head injury threat).

[Anonymous]

Do NOT write off baseball. There are two types of people in the world, those that can hit a pitch and those that can not.

If you have the ability to hit, you can go out for baseball for the first time your freshman year of HS and make the team.

That also means that you son can play even rec league ball in 6th or 7th or 8th and figure out if he can hit or not.

Growing up I watched my two brothers play. They were really close in age, one the oldest of his year and the other the youngest in the same year.

The older one really wanted to play and was on every team he could find from the time he was 6.

He saved all his money and bought a pitching machine to practice during the 8th grade. He needed it despite all the years of work and being a solid infielder.

My 2nd brother had never played because my first brother had been bigger the year they turned 6 and he felt intimidated.

Well by the time the pitching machine arrived they were close to the same size. I don't know how my 2nd brother ended up trying to hit the machine but it was like watching a second machine.

He never missed from the moment he picked up the bat. OK, I admit it wasn't the fastest or fanciest pitching machine but still he completely outclassed his brother despite all his experience.

My first brother talked him into going out for baseball his freshman year. They both played that year and on JV as sophomores.

As juniors, my first brother's obvious inability as a hitter got him cut and my second brother just stopped going to practice when that happened.

The rumor was that the coach had joked that if he could have melded my two brothers together the resulting player could have made the major leagues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do NOT write off baseball. There are two types of people in the world, those that can hit a pitch and those that can not.

If you have the ability to hit, you can go out for baseball for the first time your freshman year of HS and make the team.

That also means that you son can play even rec league ball in 6th or 7th or 8th and figure out if he can hit or not.

Growing up I watched my two brothers play. They were really close in age, one the oldest of his year and the other the youngest in the same year.

The older one really wanted to play and was on every team he could find from the time he was 6.

He saved all his money and bought a pitching machine to practice during the 8th grade. He needed it despite all the years of work and being a solid infielder.

My 2nd brother had never played because my first brother had been bigger the year they turned 6 and he felt intimidated.

Well by the time the pitching machine arrived they were close to the same size. I don't know how my 2nd brother ended up trying to hit the machine but it was like watching a second machine.

He never missed from the moment he picked up the bat. OK, I admit it wasn't the fastest or fanciest pitching machine but still he completely outclassed his brother despite all his experience.

My first brother talked him into going out for baseball his freshman year. They both played that year and on JV as sophomores.

As juniors, my first brother's obvious inability as a hitter got him cut and my second brother just stopped going to practice when that happened.

The rumor was that the coach had joked that if he could have melded my two brothers together the resulting player could have made the major leagues.

Good post

[Anonymous]

Do not write off baseball. My husbands is a coach. Is your child fast? Does he have good hand/eye coordination? Does he have good focus?If so get some private lessons to catch and he has a shot. Baseball is a game where focus and coordination is huge. Most kids do not develop these skills early and so it is easy to catch up when kids are finally getting it.

[Anonymous]

Competitive eating

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you might want to ask people in your local HS pyramid, because based on the responses above, I think this varies a lot. At our Maryland school, baseball isn't really that competitive. (My sense is that it may be MUCH more competitive in Virginia than MD, but it may just be our school.) On the other hand, lacrosse is perhaps the most competitive team to get on, period. And football is walk-on (large team and parents/kids shying away due to head injury threat).

+1. This is very dependant on the school. At some high schools almost everyone makes the team. At other schools, boys need to hit an 80 mph fastball to make the team. No matter how coordinated and fast twitch, a kid who has never played is not going to be able to do that. At DS's high school, 60 kids who have been playing travel ball since they were 10 will tryout for 9 roster slots. I've never heard of a kid who hasn't played make the team. Don't invest in private lessons if your kid is going to this type of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you might want to ask people in your local HS pyramid, because based on the responses above, I think this varies a lot. At our Maryland school, baseball isn't really that competitive. (My sense is that it may be MUCH more competitive in Virginia than MD, but it may just be our school.) On the other hand, lacrosse is perhaps the most competitive team to get on, period. And football is walk-on (large team and parents/kids shying away due to head injury threat).

+1. This is very dependant on the school. At some high schools almost everyone makes the team. At other schools, boys need to hit an 80 mph fastball to make the team. No matter how coordinated and fast twitch, a kid who has never played is not going to be able to do that. At DS's high school, 60 kids who have been playing travel ball since they were 10 will tryout for 9 roster slots. I've never heard of a kid who hasn't played make the team. Don't invest in private lessons if your kid is going to this type of school.

Agreed with this 100%.
Baseball (like any sport) depends on the school. At our high school your kid practically has to be playing from birth to get a roster spot and the starters will almost certainly go on to play in college (some Division 1, some Division 3). Most are doing elite travel showcase teams on the side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never for baseball.
My son and his friends have high level played travel ball for 6 years (on top of Little League for the first 4) and we have no idea if any of them will make their high school teams.
These are kids who have lived and breathed baseball for the better part of a decade. It's just so competitive in this area. It stinks.

Not even REMOTELY true. My son made JV, did not play much. Then made JV again and started mid way through the season. Made Varsity this year as a Junior and is starting. NEVER played baseball until 9th grade and all of his teammate played years and years in travel baseball. He was always a kid that never wanted to commit to s sport and just had fun at the rec level up until high school. We are in ashburn, highly ranked team.