Baseball Development AMA

[Anonymous]

Are you still answering questions? Do you think it is better for a pretty good league age 10 player to be one of the best on AAA or to play majors? (For what it's worth our LL goes to League age 12). This would mean a second year in AAA and then presumably two years at majors after that.

We are leaning towards AAA for more playing time - especially pitching, etc. He was one of the better AAA players at league age 9, but not a phenom such that he would still be one of the best in Majors as a 4th grader. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you still answering questions? Do you think it is better for a pretty good league age 10 player to be one of the best on AAA or to play majors? (For what it's worth our LL goes to League age 12). This would mean a second year in AAA and then presumably two years at majors after that.

We are leaning towards AAA for more playing time - especially pitching, etc. He was one of the better AAA players at league age 9, but not a phenom such that he would still be one of the best in Majors as a 4th grader. Thanks!

Not the baseball expert, but just a parent here.

At least in our league, there are limits to how many LA 10s can be on each Majors team, so your child may not make Majors anyway solely because of age. The few who do make it are standouts- almost all travel kids- and often are limited in their playing time, not because they're bad, but because there are 11 and 12 year olds who are really good.

You know your LL best- will there be Majors teams next year stacked with dominant 12 year olds (like in our league)? If so, I'd definitely keep your kid in AAA for the playing and pitching time, and then have him apply for All-Stars.

[Anonymous]

What are the differences between Dig In, Koa, and BCC Prospects for a high schooler? They are all in the same geographic area, seem to market themselves about the same. Tryouts are spread from late June through August, and I can't figure out what to do if DC is offered a spot on the first team he tries out for, since he won't have tried out for the others yet. Any info on how they differ? We are not into the whole college showcase thing, but rather simply very competitive and challenging ball for our baseball driven kid. But this seems to be what is available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you still answering questions? Do you think it is better for a pretty good league age 10 player to be one of the best on AAA or to play majors? (For what it's worth our LL goes to League age 12). This would mean a second year in AAA and then presumably two years at majors after that.

We are leaning towards AAA for more playing time - especially pitching, etc. He was one of the better AAA players at league age 9, but not a phenom such that he would still be one of the best in Majors as a 4th grader. Thanks!

OP here....For a 4th grader it’s all about fun and development. Which means he needs more playing time. If it’s my child I think you’re on the right path with AAA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are the differences between Dig In, Koa, and BCC Prospects for a high schooler? They are all in the same geographic area, seem to market themselves about the same. Tryouts are spread from late June through August, and I can't figure out what to do if DC is offered a spot on the first team he tries out for, since he won't have tried out for the others yet. Any info on how they differ? We are not into the whole college showcase thing, but rather simply very competitive and challenging ball for our baseball driven kid. But this seems to be what is available.

I think I would rank them:
1. Prospects
2. Koa
3. Dig-in

This is based on my limited interactions with these programs. More importantly I would research who the coaches are and see if their vision for development and playing time aligns with yours and your players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you still answering questions? Do you think it is better for a pretty good league age 10 player to be one of the best on AAA or to play majors? (For what it's worth our LL goes to League age 12). This would mean a second year in AAA and then presumably two years at majors after that.

We are leaning towards AAA for more playing time - especially pitching, etc. He was one of the better AAA players at league age 9, but not a phenom such that he would still be one of the best in Majors as a 4th grader. Thanks!

Not the baseball expert, but just a parent here.

At least in our league, there are limits to how many LA 10s can be on each Majors team, so your child may not make Majors anyway solely because of age. The few who do make it are standouts- almost all travel kids- and often are limited in their playing time, not because they're bad, but because there are 11 and 12 year olds who are really good.

You know your LL best- will there be Majors teams next year stacked with dominant 12 year olds (like in our league)? If so, I'd definitely keep your kid in AAA for the playing and pitching time, and then have him apply for All-Stars.

I agree with this. It really depends on the league. In ours, I think they allow two 10yo’s per Majors team. The 10’s do get quality playing time (though they may not pitch much). Our league views 10s playing majors as prep for the 9/10 all star team (which the 10yo Majors players are usually leaders on- and roster is filled in with the best kids from AAA).

One of our kids stayed in AAA at 10 and didn’t try out of Majors, the other played Majors at 10. My DH has coached for years and felt hitting skills should be the deciding factor between moving up or staying down. The pitching in Majors is obviously much stronger (big strong kids throwing hard, not many walks- lots of strikeouts) you want kids to be challenged yet if a 10yo will be completely overwhelmed by it and lose confidence, better to play down. I’d say if hitting is a big strength for your son (hitting the ball to the outfield for legit doubles and triples, rarely strikes out, hits fast pitching well) then Majors might be a good choice. If his hitting is so-so, I’d probably keep him in AAA for another season.

It also depends somewhat on the particular year, at least in our League. Some years are more competitive than others (both in Majors and AAA).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you still answering questions? Do you think it is better for a pretty good league age 10 player to be one of the best on AAA or to play majors? (For what it's worth our LL goes to League age 12). This would mean a second year in AAA and then presumably two years at majors after that.

We are leaning towards AAA for more playing time - especially pitching, etc. He was one of the better AAA players at league age 9, but not a phenom such that he would still be one of the best in Majors as a 4th grader. Thanks!

OP here....For a 4th grader it’s all about fun and development. Which means he needs more playing time. If it’s my child I think you’re on the right path with AAA.

Thanks! that is what we were planning to do (already signed him up for it) but I wanted a sanity check.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the differences between Dig In, Koa, and BCC Prospects for a high schooler? They are all in the same geographic area, seem to market themselves about the same. Tryouts are spread from late June through August, and I can't figure out what to do if DC is offered a spot on the first team he tries out for, since he won't have tried out for the others yet. Any info on how they differ? We are not into the whole college showcase thing, but rather simply very competitive and challenging ball for our baseball driven kid. But this seems to be what is available.

I think I would rank them:
1. Prospects
2. Koa
3. Dig-in

This is based on my limited interactions with these programs. More importantly I would research who the coaches are and see if their vision for development and playing time aligns with yours and your players.

And that’s where it gets tricky - Dig In’s tryouts are first, so if they offer a spot you have to decide before you know if you made Koa or Prospects. In addition, there are multiple coaches (from what I understand) for different level teams on Koa and Dig In, at least. I don’t think the coaches are published. And what would research mean? I am I supposed to ask to interview them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the differences between Dig In, Koa, and BCC Prospects for a high schooler? They are all in the same geographic area, seem to market themselves about the same. Tryouts are spread from late June through August, and I can't figure out what to do if DC is offered a spot on the first team he tries out for, since he won't have tried out for the others yet. Any info on how they differ? We are not into the whole college showcase thing, but rather simply very competitive and challenging ball for our baseball driven kid. But this seems to be what is available.

I think I would rank them:
1. Prospects
2. Koa
3. Dig-in

This is based on my limited interactions with these programs. More importantly I would research who the coaches are and see if their vision for development and playing time aligns with yours and your players.

And that’s where it gets tricky - Dig In’s tryouts are first, so if they offer a spot you have to decide before you know if you made Koa or Prospects. In addition, there are multiple coaches (from what I understand) for different level teams on Koa and Dig In, at least. I don’t think the coaches are published. And what would research mean? I am I supposed to ask to interview them?

NP: I totally know what you mean. We are in the midst of doing the same. What has been helpful (my DH has been doing it) has been researching these teams on gamechanger. See how many kids are on the rosters, look through some games. Much useful info can be found. How many kids pitch in a tournament? How much do kids move around in the field? Are there a few kids who get almost no playing time? Look through a few games at the beginning of the season and at the end and see how much the roster changes (did kids leave? Did they add more?). That sort of thing. You may also discover an acquaintance’s kid plays on that team (someone you might be able to call or email for general advice), and the coaches are often admins on game changer so you can see who they are. Teams often keep a lot of players and coaches year to year so if your kid is say, 14u next year, look at 13u for this past year. You can also find info on USSSA etc if the team doesn’t have gamechanger.

[Anonymous]

OP here. You don’t need to interview coaches but teams should let you know who the head coach will be.l in advance.

I would do all the tryouts. If a team wants you and your kid is a desirable player (you should have a pretty good idea) I would tell the first team you aren’t ready to commit until your DS has finished all the other tryouts. They’ll wait for your answer if it’s only a matter of days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. You don’t need to interview coaches but teams should let you know who the head coach will be.l in advance.

I would do all the tryouts. If a team wants you and your kid is a desirable player (you should have a pretty good idea) I would tell the first team you aren’t ready to commit until your DS has finished all the other tryouts. They’ll wait for your answer if it’s only a matter of days.

The tryouts are a month apart - really annoying. I actually don’t know if my kid is a desirable player or not - or I guess I don’t know at what level he’s “desirable.” He is a really good pitcher on his B level travel team. He threw a complete shut out recently and at one game the opposing team applauded him when he left the mound. But he’s pitching against other B level travel teams. I have no idea whether that means he is good enough to play for one of the elite teams, which is what he wants to do (but I’m wary of due to time commitment).

Thank you for the guidance to do the tryouts - it certainly can’t hurt. And thanks also to PP with advice to look at game changer. I found that one of the teams seems to have a roster of 20!

[Anonymous]

I’m wondering if you have any general advice for the “small, going to be late to puberty” kid moving up to 13U in the fall? My DS (turns 13 in Jan) is currently 5’0” 85lbs soaking wet. Has played both LL and club the last 2 years but his current team is disbanding. The team was loosely affiliated with LL as an AS prep team and the kids are all moving to separate club teams in the fall (many of which are loosely feeder programs for their eventual high schools).

DS tried out for a great club team and made the team for fall. He is one of a few new kids for next year. DS got a few practices in this spring with the new team along with one tournament and a scrimmage before the team took June off. Practices will resume in July.

The team practices on a 60/90 field and often combines some of their practices with the next level up’s team (so next years 13U and 14U practice together at times and scrimmage each other). DS did much better than he expected with fielding and defense- has a very strong arm and after a bit of adjustment can make the throws on the 60/90 (they will play 54/80 tourneys this fall from what I understand) so he is fine there. Has one of the best arms on his new team despite his size (fastball about 70- they have 2 who throw mid 70s) so may pitch some as well, at least on Saturdays. Also is a great outfielder and 2B or 3B (probably not a shortstop). Also a good catcher but rarely caught the last season because he pitched more.

But the hitting...oh my. DS can barely get the ball out of the 60-90 infield (they seem to Barely hit the OF grass), and that is with his bat from this year! The other boys are all so much bigger and hit the ball waaaay farther. DS isn’t the shortest kid, but the next lightest kid is probably 20+ lbs bigger than he is. I don’t think DS is a bad hitter overall but it was a big wake up call for him.

I told DS he will eventually grow (DH is 6’2”, I’m 5’7”) so he would be average size Or better I imagine, but it may be awhile yet...

My question: any tips for how he can get playing time as one of the (likely) weaker hitters on the team, and also improve his hitting and adjust to BBCOR next year? Anything he should be doing? I think he is trying to figure out what his role might be on this team, and he seems to understand he may be seeing some bench time until he grows more. Trying to figure out how to guide him in the meantime. It is a big change for him.

FWIW this new team is particularly huge (even bigger kids than you see on a typical club team) and that may be what is giving us pause and making DS feel so nervous. . DS looks so out of place. They are big hitting team, riding a few big kids pitching on Sundays (fine), and have a lot of fielding holes from what we can tell. I think DS made the team due to his good arm and fielding (and can pitch and catch) because his hitting is quite mediocre compared to the rest.

Any general words of advice or wisdom? I know there are still a lot of small players at this age, but not on this team, it appears!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m wondering if you have any general advice for the “small, going to be late to puberty” kid moving up to 13U in the fall? My DS (turns 13 in Jan) is currently 5’0” 85lbs soaking wet. Has played both LL and club the last 2 years but his current team is disbanding. The team was loosely affiliated with LL as an AS prep team and the kids are all moving to separate club teams in the fall (many of which are loosely feeder programs for their eventual high schools).

DS tried out for a great club team and made the team for fall. He is one of a few new kids for next year. DS got a few practices in this spring with the new team along with one tournament and a scrimmage before the team took June off. Practices will resume in July.

The team practices on a 60/90 field and often combines some of their practices with the next level up’s team (so next years 13U and 14U practice together at times and scrimmage each other). DS did much better than he expected with fielding and defense- has a very strong arm and after a bit of adjustment can make the throws on the 60/90 (they will play 54/80 tourneys this fall from what I understand) so he is fine there. Has one of the best arms on his new team despite his size (fastball about 70- they have 2 who throw mid 70s) so may pitch some as well, at least on Saturdays. Also is a great outfielder and 2B or 3B (probably not a shortstop). Also a good catcher but rarely caught the last season because he pitched more.

But the hitting...oh my. DS can barely get the ball out of the 60-90 infield (they seem to Barely hit the OF grass), and that is with his bat from this year! The other boys are all so much bigger and hit the ball waaaay farther. DS isn’t the shortest kid, but the next lightest kid is probably 20+ lbs bigger than he is. I don’t think DS is a bad hitter overall but it was a big wake up call for him.

I told DS he will eventually grow (DH is 6’2”, I’m 5’7”) so he would be average size Or better I imagine, but it may be awhile yet...

My question: any tips for how he can get playing time as one of the (likely) weaker hitters on the team, and also improve his hitting and adjust to BBCOR next year? Anything he should be doing? I think he is trying to figure out what his role might be on this team, and he seems to understand he may be seeing some bench time until he grows more. Trying to figure out how to guide him in the meantime. It is a big change for him.

FWIW this new team is particularly huge (even bigger kids than you see on a typical club team) and that may be what is giving us pause and making DS feel so nervous. . DS looks so out of place. They are big hitting team, riding a few big kids pitching on Sundays (fine), and have a lot of fielding holes from what we can tell. I think DS made the team due to his good arm and fielding (and can pitch and catch) because his hitting is quite mediocre compared to the rest.

Any general words of advice or wisdom? I know there are still a lot of small players at this age, but not on this team, it appears!

ETA: obviously does not have to use BBCOR in the fall, but will need to for spring if he plays for the middle school team...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m wondering if you have any general advice for the “small, going to be late to puberty” kid moving up to 13U in the fall? My DS (turns 13 in Jan) is currently 5’0” 85lbs soaking wet. Has played both LL and club the last 2 years but his current team is disbanding. The team was loosely affiliated with LL as an AS prep team and the kids are all moving to separate club teams in the fall (many of which are loosely feeder programs for their eventual high schools).

DS tried out for a great club team and made the team for fall. He is one of a few new kids for next year. DS got a few practices in this spring with the new team along with one tournament and a scrimmage before the team took June off. Practices will resume in July.

The team practices on a 60/90 field and often combines some of their practices with the next level up’s team (so next years 13U and 14U practice together at times and scrimmage each other). DS did much better than he expected with fielding and defense- has a very strong arm and after a bit of adjustment can make the throws on the 60/90 (they will play 54/80 tourneys this fall from what I understand) so he is fine there. Has one of the best arms on his new team despite his size (fastball about 70- they have 2 who throw mid 70s) so may pitch some as well, at least on Saturdays. Also is a great outfielder and 2B or 3B (probably not a shortstop). Also a good catcher but rarely caught the last season because he pitched more.

But the hitting...oh my. DS can barely get the ball out of the 60-90 infield (they seem to Barely hit the OF grass), and that is with his bat from this year! The other boys are all so much bigger and hit the ball waaaay farther. DS isn’t the shortest kid, but the next lightest kid is probably 20+ lbs bigger than he is. I don’t think DS is a bad hitter overall but it was a big wake up call for him.

I told DS he will eventually grow (DH is 6’2”, I’m 5’7”) so he would be average size Or better I imagine, but it may be awhile yet...

My question: any tips for how he can get playing time as one of the (likely) weaker hitters on the team, and also improve his hitting and adjust to BBCOR next year? Anything he should be doing? I think he is trying to figure out what his role might be on this team, and he seems to understand he may be seeing some bench time until he grows more. Trying to figure out how to guide him in the meantime. It is a big change for him.

FWIW this new team is particularly huge (even bigger kids than you see on a typical club team) and that may be what is giving us pause and making DS feel so nervous. . DS looks so out of place. They are big hitting team, riding a few big kids pitching on Sundays (fine), and have a lot of fielding holes from what we can tell. I think DS made the team due to his good arm and fielding (and can pitch and catch) because his hitting is quite mediocre compared to the rest.

Any general words of advice or wisdom? I know there are still a lot of small players at this age, but not on this team, it appears!

ETA: obviously does not have to use BBCOR in the fall, but will need to for spring if he plays for the middle school team...

At that age I wouldn’t underestimate the importance of a speedy kid with smart base running skills who puts the ball in play. 13u is an error nightmare and nobody expects the prepuberty kid to be hitting home runs. Solid fielding and not striking out will serve him just fine on most travel teams!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m wondering if you have any general advice for the “small, going to be late to puberty” kid moving up to 13U in the fall? My DS (turns 13 in Jan) is currently 5’0” 85lbs soaking wet. Has played both LL and club the last 2 years but his current team is disbanding. The team was loosely affiliated with LL as an AS prep team and the kids are all moving to separate club teams in the fall (many of which are loosely feeder programs for their eventual high schools).

DS tried out for a great club team and made the team for fall. He is one of a few new kids for next year. DS got a few practices in this spring with the new team along with one tournament and a scrimmage before the team took June off. Practices will resume in July.

The team practices on a 60/90 field and often combines some of their practices with the next level up’s team (so next years 13U and 14U practice together at times and scrimmage each other). DS did much better than he expected with fielding and defense- has a very strong arm and after a bit of adjustment can make the throws on the 60/90 (they will play 54/80 tourneys this fall from what I understand) so he is fine there. Has one of the best arms on his new team despite his size (fastball about 70- they have 2 who throw mid 70s) so may pitch some as well, at least on Saturdays. Also is a great outfielder and 2B or 3B (probably not a shortstop). Also a good catcher but rarely caught the last season because he pitched more.

But the hitting...oh my. DS can barely get the ball out of the 60-90 infield (they seem to Barely hit the OF grass), and that is with his bat from this year! The other boys are all so much bigger and hit the ball waaaay farther. DS isn’t the shortest kid, but the next lightest kid is probably 20+ lbs bigger than he is. I don’t think DS is a bad hitter overall but it was a big wake up call for him.

I told DS he will eventually grow (DH is 6’2”, I’m 5’7”) so he would be average size Or better I imagine, but it may be awhile yet...

My question: any tips for how he can get playing time as one of the (likely) weaker hitters on the team, and also improve his hitting and adjust to BBCOR next year? Anything he should be doing? I think he is trying to figure out what his role might be on this team, and he seems to understand he may be seeing some bench time until he grows more. Trying to figure out how to guide him in the meantime. It is a big change for him.

FWIW this new team is particularly huge (even bigger kids than you see on a typical club team) and that may be what is giving us pause and making DS feel so nervous. . DS looks so out of place. They are big hitting team, riding a few big kids pitching on Sundays (fine), and have a lot of fielding holes from what we can tell. I think DS made the team due to his good arm and fielding (and can pitch and catch) because his hitting is quite mediocre compared to the rest.

Any general words of advice or wisdom? I know there are still a lot of small players at this age, but not on this team, it appears!

ETA: obviously does not have to use BBCOR in the fall, but will need to for spring if he plays for the middle school team...

At that age I wouldn’t underestimate the importance of a speedy kid with smart base running skills who puts the ball in play. 13u is an error nightmare and nobody expects the prepuberty kid to be hitting home runs. Solid fielding and not striking out will serve him just fine on most travel teams!

(I’m not the AMA expert, just a parent!)