Baseball - 10 year old - too late to start?

[Anonymous]

Baseball is a very nice game, and I really like it very much. The part that I like the most is that it unifies people. When I was a kid, I've been playing a lot of baseball with different kids from my hood. We were really good friends. I started playing baseball when I was 7, and everything was fine. I think that 10 year old is ok too, it's not too late yet. It was really nice, and this is why I love baseball so much. I play this game till today. Moreover, I have recently found an amazing article about top 10 wood bats, and bought myself a really good bat. It's a pleasure to play baseball with it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10 year old boy. We live in Lorton, VA area. He is in 4th grade - good athlete. Plays travel soccer, picks up any sport he tries pretty easily.

Is it too late for him to start baseball in the Spring? I know he will not be the star of the team, which will be frustrating for him, but he is ok with that. He is typically always playing the whole game in whatever sport he does.

Anything he could work on over the winter if he decides to play? He likes throwing the ball around in the front yard, practicing batting, etc. But by no means does he know much about baseball. Will he even get to play in the Spring? Or is he at an age where the coaches just sit the kids?

Take him to a lacrosse game. He'll forget about baseball in a heartbeat. And no, 10 is not too late to start.

Lacrosse is For unathletic white people but whatever

[Anonymous]

Of course not. A good athlete who actually cares and wants to play will always be welcomed.

[Anonymous]

This is crazy. I started at 10, played in high school, college, and adult league hardball until into my mid-40s.

[Anonymous]

My DS hadn't picked up a ball until he was 11 and by 12 was the starting all-star pitcher. His bat didn't develop until he was closer to 14 but he went on the have a ton of fun playing high school and travel ball, and would have played D3 this past year but for the COVID.

FWIW most of his travel teammates started at 11/12...the younger kids generally burnt out by the time juniors rolled around.

[Anonymous]

I have coached the 8-10 age group a lot in both baseball and softball. Ten is definitely not too late to start, if he is a good athlete he will pick it up easily and may even be better than some of the players on the team who have been playing for longer. We had a ten year old girl start softball with us last season and she is one of the better players on the team. You may need to work with him at home on basic swing mechanics, throwing mechanics, and what glove orientation to use when catching the ball.

[Anonymous]

Different sport but my daughter started playing field hockey at age 11 and is now one of the top players at her high school. I think it's never too late to start a sport, especially if they enjoy it and have a passion for it.

[Anonymous]

Baseball is the type of sport where playing rec little league can be fun to pick up almost any age (like soccer), but to develop the skills and mechanics to play at the next click up does require more development and coaching than you might think - and unlikely some other sports, things like developing your swing, etc. can vary more by the individual. As others mentioned, getting battling lessons and even some focused throwing/cathing for form as a 'boost' might be worth doing and depending on how athletic and 'naturally' you kid is in picking up quickly, he could get on par with a lot of the travel team kids pretty quickly. Also having some sense of the mechanics helps to avoid injuries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Baseball is the type of sport where playing rec little league can be fun to pick up almost any age (like soccer), but to develop the skills and mechanics to play at the next click up does require more development and coaching than you might think - and unlikely some other sports, things like developing your swing, etc. can vary more by the individual. As others mentioned, getting battling lessons and even some focused throwing/cathing for form as a 'boost' might be worth doing and depending on how athletic and 'naturally' you kid is in picking up quickly, he could get on par with a lot of the travel team kids pretty quickly. Also having some sense of the mechanics helps to avoid injuries.

+1

Not too late to start, and an athletic kid could be brought up to speed quite quickly if he puts in the effort (lessons are a great idea if you can afford).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Baseball is the type of sport where playing rec little league can be fun to pick up almost any age (like soccer), but to develop the skills and mechanics to play at the next click up does require more development and coaching than you might think - and unlikely some other sports, things like developing your swing, etc. can vary more by the individual. As others mentioned, getting battling lessons and even some focused throwing/cathing for form as a 'boost' might be worth doing and depending on how athletic and 'naturally' you kid is in picking up quickly, he could get on par with a lot of the travel team kids pretty quickly. Also having some sense of the mechanics helps to avoid injuries.

+1

Not too late to start, and an athletic kid could be brought up to speed quite quickly if he puts in the effort (lessons are a great idea if you can afford).

Other than some instruction on mechanics (and what not to do, ie throw junk pitches until after puberty is completed), I generally disagree with the notion kids need a ton of instruction. Good athletes can get it done. The most important thing about starting early is learning to work together on a team.

[Anonymous]

Oh JFC. Yes. It’s too late! How dare your 10-year-old decide at this late date that he wants to play baseball. No MLB in his future. Too bad. If only you had started him sooner.

[Anonymous]

A kid's athletic ability will have a large bearing on how late he can start and pick up the game. It would also be easier to become a pitcher than a position player. Read this article https://sportsandoutdoors.reviews/blog/how-to-become-a-professional-baseball-player/ . It is never too late, and hope you will be able to find the coaches and great teammates who will give your son a chance. Let your son be one of those guys, because it is a game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son played varsity baseball his senior year of high school on a winning team with multiple D1 recruits. He'd never played before. (He is a good athlete and was a recruit for a totally unrelated sport - ice hockey).

Point being: it's never too late. Certainly not at 10.

Multiple D1 baseball recruits? Which high school?

For 2021 rosters - VA HS w/multiple D1's
Bishop O'Connell, McLean, Langley, South Lakes,Westfield,James Madison, Yorktown, Lake Braddock, Mountain View, Patriot, Battlefield, Freedom SR, Independence.
Off the top of my head....