Little League Question

[Anonymous]

My 7 year-old son is not at all interested in sports and is not particularly athletic (he does like to ride his bike and scooter and run). He has lots of interests but sports are just not among them. He's tried out a soccer class and basketball class but really did not enjoy them and I do not make him do extracurricular activities that he does not like. When I asked him if he would like to try Little League he said yes -- not super excited but interested enough to check it out. I looked into it and it seems that he has missed t-ball entirely so he'd be playing without the tee. My question for you little league veterans out there is have most of the kids on the 7 year old team already been involved in Little League? Do most of them know what they're doing? I'd hate for him the be the only kid who doesn't know what he's doing and probably won't even be able to hit the ball. If that would be the case, we could practice with him in advance to get him more familiar.

Thanks for any information.

[Anonymous]

At 7 he might still be able to play in the "A" league -- which is right after T-Ball but full of kids who are young, inexperienced and (for some) no T-ball experience. I think 7 is the max age for "A" though so look into it with your particular LL.

[Anonymous]

I would find out what your local LL is and then email the commissioner of the age group that your son would be in (it is usually on the website). I am sure they would be more than happy to answer your questions.

[Anonymous]

my son played tball last year after he just turned 7. all i did was using a false birth date when register. he had so much fun and is ready to play 'real' baseball next spring.

and yes, all of his friends (7 or even 6) who played baseball last year had played tball the year before.

[Anonymous]

7 is fine to start. Check out Takoma Park (TPSS) if you are in the area ... very encouraging, positive, noncompetitive -- a good place to start out.

[Anonymous]

OP, I could have written this post. My DS is the same way although he has a receptive speech delay, so it's one reason he has trouble with the group sports--to many moving parts to sort out. I am wondering where/when he can learn the basics to sports b/c the leagues are out of his league.

I was going to suggest swimming it can be individual (what your kid seems to like already) but also team oriented.

[Anonymous]

My son is 7 and will be playing LL for the third season this spring (and will play AA). All of the children on his team have played since tee ball with the exception of one child whose first season was last year (the team's A season). I would give him some sort of prep, as it was uncommon for kids to have to have the tee brought out in our A league last year.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies. Seems to be a wide range of opinions. I may contact the commissioner as someone suggested. It's a little sad for me to think that he's too old to start at 7!

[Anonymous]

Most LL programs require you to show a birth certificate the first time you register. But nice going, PP.

[Anonymous]

I would not worry about the age. I have coached girls softball for 5 seasons, and a 7 yo should be fine to start.

DO NOT LIE ABOUT THE AGE. First of all, if he turns out to be good, there is no going back. Second, it does not help anything.

[Anonymous]

My son played for the first time at 8. Babe Ruth, not LL, but they were able to accommodate him on a coach-pitch team.

OP, is your son interested in doing any clinics between now and the start of the season? That could help get him up to speed a little.

[Anonymous]

My son started in K in BCC baseball league - he was put on a team with first graders and by the second season they had abandoned the T for a pitching machine.... which basically sucked any of the fun out of it for him and we have now abandoned baseball, to my regret. My take is that it is a very tricky game for young kids, much more so than soccer or even basketball. The rules are complicated and the hand-eye coordination is way more than even the best, older kids on my son's team could manage. My son was lucky in that the team he was on had a wonderful coach, but I'm not surprised that fewer kids play baseball today than ever before. Bottom line: find your son a team with a T and keep him in that mode as long as possible so he can learn the skills and rules and develop a love for the game.

[Anonymous]

OP, your son and I could be one and the same!! We did have my son play t-ball last year (he was almost 6 when it started and was in kindergarten) and he says he wants to play again this year, although it would be baseball at this point. However, I can tell you that with the exception of 1-2 people who were on his t-ball team last year (one of whom was the coaches' son), none of them were great by the end of the season. And my son, who is not really athletic, was just getting the hang of the tee when things ended so I am sure he will be back to square one if we play again in the spring. T-ball for us was very relaxed - no scoring, no outs, etc. so I am unsure how it will work with the next level up, but if your son was on my son's team, I think he would be just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

My 7 year-old son is not at all interested in sports and is not particularly athletic (he does like to ride his bike and scooter and run). He has lots of interests but sports are just not among them. He's tried out a soccer class and basketball class but really did not enjoy them and I do not make him do extracurricular activities that he does not like. When I asked him if he would like to try Little League he said yes -- not super excited but interested enough to check it out. I looked into it and it seems that he has missed t-ball entirely so he'd be playing without the tee. My question for you little league veterans out there is have most of the kids on the 7 year old team already been involved in Little League? Do most of them know what they're doing? I'd hate for him the be the only kid who doesn't know what he's doing and probably won't even be able to hit the ball. If that would be the case, we could practice with him in advance to get him more familiar.

Thanks for any information.

I coached my daughters' softball team, ages 6-8. It's a very similar thing.

At that age, he'll play in a developmental league. And they MEAN developmental. On my team half the girls had played T-ball or coach-pitch before, the other half had not. I literally had girls run to third base when they hit the ball.

By the end of the season, they were rock stars and playing as a team. I was soooo proud of them.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the additional replies! They were very helpful perspectives. Don't worry -- I could never lie about his age; don't have it in me! I did look into the clinics last night and that is a possibility but I want it to be fun and not stressful -- I'd have to see if he had any interest because I'm not sure he'll want to do that much baseball! And to 10:06, you sound like a great coach -- your players are lucky to have you!