Question about youth baseball

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The above poster summarized it well. It is all star season, so I’m sure a lot of the posts are about that, as teams all over Virginia win their district and move up the ladder toward the state tournaments. They make a ridiculously big deal out of this, like the kids are superstars. That’s probably what is coming across in the many posts you are seeing. In our experience a lot of these kids quit or discover they aren’t as good as they thought they were once they are out from under the Little League dadball nonsense.

Travel is also overblown with each organization that puts on tournaments having a “state championship” or “nationals” or some other thing. Some tournaments will even name all stars for the tournament, and invite those players to another event. All of which is just a huge moneymaker, of course. Plus there are normal tournaments every weekend, mostly with 8ish teams, and they’ll name a champion for each of those events.

Certainly an accomplishment for all of these teams, but likely not as impressive as parents make it out to be.

You’ll see the herd thin out when they move to the bigger field at 13 and again when they start facing good pitchers regularly (HS). In the meantime, lots of big dreams without the requisite dose of reality. The posts should slow by then

This is all true. But teams that win at the District level in the DMV area are all highly skilled and work their tails off. With the amount of games the kids play in the LL summer tournaments the teams have to be stacked with talented pitchers and hitters. There are few if any extra roster slots to hide the coaches kid if he can’t play at a high level. And the teams that win at states are the best of the best. Most of these kids will never even play in college, but their dedication to the sport and many years off sacrifice are to be commended in this era where most of their peers play video games all day.

Omg the OP is literally talking about people like you and you are so cluelessly unaware.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS (age 10) was not initially interested in baseball so never played on a team but based on the hype he hears from his friends and soccer or basketball teammates, he now feels left out. But he now thinks he is "too old" to join a little league team because his friends have a few years head start and he won't know how to play or be good.

10 definitely is not too old to start rec baseball!

I’d sign him up for fall ball at your local little league. Fall ball is developmental and non-competitive, and generally fewer kids play (some kids play other fall sports, and some baseball kids play travel/club in the fall). Fall is the perfect time to start as a beginner.

I’d email the league and ask what level they recommend for a beginner 10yo. Typically they might recommend playing one level down (in our league most 10s play AAA, but there are always at least a few who play AA with the 8-9s) This would not be considered that strange or unusual (some kids play down a level to play with friends, with a particular coach) and also little league age is not always the same as grade level so it isn’t weird for classmates to play different levels.

This summer, try to play catch every day (even if for a few minutes). After awhile, take him to a LL field and let him practice throwing the ball to 1st base etc. If you have time, hit (or even throw) him some grounders and low pop ups and let him try to catch them. Make sure he knows the basic rules (outs, balls/strikes, and where all 9 fielding positions are). Throw him some balls underhand and have him try to make contact. Once he’s doing that well, take him to the batting cages and let him hit (40s cage probably). If you can afford it and have extra time, would be even better to get him a few batting lessons. They aren’t all that expensive.

He definitely is not too old! Not at all. My son has a friend who started playing last year at 9 for the first time ever, and is on the 10yo all star team this summer already (decent team too, they win districts etc). Just a really athletic kid who caught on quickly. Not that unusual.

Great advice and practice suggestions... Thanks! DS is very athletic so he should be more confident about picking up a new sport. But he needs to drop a sport for a season (soccer, year-round AAU basketball) to make time in the schedule for baseball. I think he has good potential and should at least give a good try.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The above poster summarized it well. It is all star season, so I’m sure a lot of the posts are about that, as teams all over Virginia win their district and move up the ladder toward the state tournaments. They make a ridiculously big deal out of this, like the kids are superstars. That’s probably what is coming across in the many posts you are seeing. In our experience a lot of these kids quit or discover they aren’t as good as they thought they were once they are out from under the Little League dadball nonsense.

Travel is also overblown with each organization that puts on tournaments having a “state championship” or “nationals” or some other thing. Some tournaments will even name all stars for the tournament, and invite those players to another event. All of which is just a huge moneymaker, of course. Plus there are normal tournaments every weekend, mostly with 8ish teams, and they’ll name a champion for each of those events.

Certainly an accomplishment for all of these teams, but likely not as impressive as parents make it out to be.

You’ll see the herd thin out when they move to the bigger field at 13 and again when they start facing good pitchers regularly (HS). In the meantime, lots of big dreams without the requisite dose of reality. The posts should slow by then

This is all true. But teams that win at the District level in the DMV area are all highly skilled and work their tails off. With the amount of games the kids play in the LL summer tournaments the teams have to be stacked with talented pitchers and hitters. There are few if any extra roster slots to hide the coaches kid if he can’t play at a high level. And the teams that win at states are the best of the best. Most of these kids will never even play in college, but their dedication to the sport and many years off sacrifice are to be commended in this era where most of their peers play video games all day.

Omg the OP is literally talking about people like you and you are so cluelessly unaware.[/

Unaware? Have you ever tried to get a hit off a 12 year old who can through 65- 70mph and mix in off speed? He’d make 99% of the dads in the DMV look silly, especially your husband. These kids are very talented and are excelling in a game of failure that is teaching them incredible life lessons, which is what it’s all about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The above poster summarized it well. It is all star season, so I’m sure a lot of the posts are about that, as teams all over Virginia win their district and move up the ladder toward the state tournaments. They make a ridiculously big deal out of this, like the kids are superstars. That’s probably what is coming across in the many posts you are seeing. In our experience a lot of these kids quit or discover they aren’t as good as they thought they were once they are out from under the Little League dadball nonsense.

Travel is also overblown with each organization that puts on tournaments having a “state championship” or “nationals” or some other thing. Some tournaments will even name all stars for the tournament, and invite those players to another event. All of which is just a huge moneymaker, of course. Plus there are normal tournaments every weekend, mostly with 8ish teams, and they’ll name a champion for each of those events.

Certainly an accomplishment for all of these teams, but likely not as impressive as parents make it out to be.

You’ll see the herd thin out when they move to the bigger field at 13 and again when they start facing good pitchers regularly (HS). In the meantime, lots of big dreams without the requisite dose of reality. The posts should slow by then

This is all true. But teams that win at the District level in the DMV area are all highly skilled and work their tails off. With the amount of games the kids play in the LL summer tournaments the teams have to be stacked with talented pitchers and hitters. There are few if any extra roster slots to hide the coaches kid if he can’t play at a high level. And the teams that win at states are the best of the best. Most of these kids will never even play in college, but their dedication to the sport and many years off sacrifice are to be commended in this era where most of their peers play video games all day.

Omg the OP is literally talking about people like you and you are so cluelessly unaware.[/

Unaware? Have you ever tried to get a hit off a 12 year old who can through 65- 70mph and mix in off speed? He’d make 99% of the dads in the DMV look silly, especially your husband. These kids are very talented and are excelling in a game of failure that is teaching them incredible life lessons, which is what it’s all about.

I’m a seasoned baseball mom well beyond LL AS summers. Of course the kids work hard and some of them may even have a decent curveball. Nobody cares—that’s what you’re unaware of. OP is wondering if all of these children can possibly be the superstars their parents vomit all over social media, and the answer is no.

[Anonymous]

So..I’m the mom who posts on my social media maybe 2-3 times year (maybe a summer vacation pic, and a pic at the holidays or something)- I don’t use it to share the day-to-day. Many others do (including various kid and family achievements) and that ls fine. I don’t really see any particular themes...if it isn’t team sports, it’s dance pics, martial arts (hey Larlo earned his brown belt!), various music and academic achievements (I’ve even seen a few post good report cards LOL). Sometimes I can’t help rolling my eyes, yes...other times it is interesting I suppose.

Do all of these people seriously think their kid is a superstar? I highly doubt that...maybe some? I think many of them are just sharing what they did this weekend, what Larlo and Larla are up to. At least I hope so.

I don’t know any parents who think their kid is a genius or on track to go pro at any particular sport. LOL. Maybe I hang out with a strange crowd?

Personally, I hope my oldest is able to play his main/favorite sport in high school (he’s 14) but that’s pretty much it. I don’t think playing in college is a realistic goal for him. I still enjoy his achievements. The other 2 are younger and involved in lots of things- again, I enjoy their achievements but they are just kid achievements and don’t mean anything in the long run.

For every parent that seems nuts, there is at least one more who has a more realistic perspective on this stuff. I think a lot of parents (and people, in general) over share on social media these days, and this is just an extension of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay I am laughing at this.

Says the parent from the video game camp.

I am laughing too. Signed, mom of 3 multisport tween/teen players sick of the marketing and hype around youth sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know basically nothing about youth baseball as my son has zero interest in it. But I am seeing so many posts on my Facebook feed from parents of boys who are playing. Based on their posts it seems like all of them are all stars winning games and heading to some major championship game or tournament. Am I just friends with people whose kids happen to all be amazing at baseball or are there just a ton of leagues and championship/all star type games in this sport? It seems like every post is about how their kids' team won the championship or if they just win this one game they are going on to play in some major championship. These are all teams in the state of VA. Surely there can only be one champion at the state level? All these parents' posts make it sound like their kids are on the verge of winning something really prestigious. My son and the kids of people my age are just getting to be old enough for semi-serious youth sports so it's interesting to see all the social media posts about baseball.

You are probably seeing a lot because Fairfax Little League won the Virginia State Championship at the 11u age.

And if you are friends with anyone in Fairview, Bonnie Brae, Oak View, Terra Centre- you are seeing a lot of their posts or likes about this. It’s a big deal not just for the players and their families- a lot of other families play In FFXLL and in 2019, FFX lost to Loudoun- which went to the LLWS. Covid cancelled the LLWS in 2020. So the likes and shares are all one big club magnified on Facebook because the baseball moms all share and post the same things and like each other’s posts.

And the championships are grouped by age- so they roll for district tournament to state to regional to the LLWS at ages 10, 11 and 12. The tournaments are also staggered by age due to field availability too.

It’s a whole thing. If your kid isn’t into baseball, I wouldn’t worry about it. Especially if he is only into it because his friends are into it and he has FOMO. The time commitment is extensive and it is not cheap. I don’t see my baseball mom friends until January- when they aren’t shuttling their kids back and forth 7 days a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The above poster summarized it well. It is all star season, so I’m sure a lot of the posts are about that, as teams all over Virginia win their district and move up the ladder toward the state tournaments. They make a ridiculously big deal out of this, like the kids are superstars. That’s probably what is coming across in the many posts you are seeing. In our experience a lot of these kids quit or discover they aren’t as good as they thought they were once they are out from under the Little League dadball nonsense.

Travel is also overblown with each organization that puts on tournaments having a “state championship” or “nationals” or some other thing. Some tournaments will even name all stars for the tournament, and invite those players to another event. All of which is just a huge moneymaker, of course. Plus there are normal tournaments every weekend, mostly with 8ish teams, and they’ll name a champion for each of those events.

Certainly an accomplishment for all of these teams, but likely not as impressive as parents make it out to be.

You’ll see the herd thin out when they move to the bigger field at 13 and again when they start facing good pitchers regularly (HS). In the meantime, lots of big dreams without the requisite dose of reality. The posts should slow by then

This is all true. But teams that win at the District level in the DMV area are all highly skilled and work their tails off. With the amount of games the kids play in the LL summer tournaments the teams have to be stacked with talented pitchers and hitters. There are few if any extra roster slots to hide the coaches kid if he can’t play at a high level. And the teams that win at states are the best of the best. Most of these kids will never even play in college, but their dedication to the sport and many years off sacrifice are to be commended in this era where most of their peers play video games all day.

Omg the OP is literally talking about people like you and you are so cluelessly unaware.[/

Unaware? Have you ever tried to get a hit off a 12 year old who can through 65- 70mph and mix in off speed? He’d make 99% of the dads in the DMV look silly, especially your husband. These kids are very talented and are excelling in a game of failure that is teaching them incredible life lessons, which is what it’s all about.

I’m a seasoned baseball mom well beyond LL AS summers. Of course the kids work hard and some of them may even have a decent curveball. Nobody cares—that’s what you’re unaware of. OP is wondering if all of these children can possibly be the superstars their parents vomit all over social media, and the answer is no.

To be fair, both things are true. To win Districts and States is prestigious. And nobody outside the youth baseball world cares.

[Anonymous]

My DD made one of the all star teams. There were like 3-4 from the league based on the age, however, so while it's nice, it's nothing to social-post about. Maybe it's a spring thing only though? Anyway, it seems like 50% of the league gets selected for some all star thing after the post-season league tournament. Selections also seem to be dependent upon availabilty if interested in making your kid eligible. You had to list all of your other non-baseball plans from mid-June through the end of August. If you're on vacation during the first week of the first all start tournaments, your kid won't get selected.