Baseball for novice 9-year-old?
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Anonymous
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My son has never been athletic--no interest or inclination. (He's fit and healthy but more of a tree-climber than a sports kid.) We signed him up for various organized sports when he was younger (honestly, without his buy-in) and nothing took. Now, suddenly, he is OBSESSED with baseball. He wants to play it every morning and evening in our tiny backyard. He plays daily at recess (though not with the kids who play in leagues). I'd love for him to get regular playing time with someone other than his parents, and I know he'd like to have a better grasp of the fundamentals. But it feels like every other 9-year-old boy has been playing for years. I don't want him to sign up for a team, only to lose his enthusiasm when everyone is waaay better than he is.
So, is there something like remedial baseball for elementary kids? Or should I just leave him alone and let him keep playing when he can? |
Anonymous
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Big Train Baseball camp has many beginners. It might be a good introduction if you're open to camp.
DS plays for RBBA (Rockville). I don't know where you live but they welcome players of all abilities. |
Anonymous
| I am open to camp! I'll look that up. We are in NEDC, so Rockville is unfortunately out of our range. |
Anonymous
| Our league is too far for you (Columbia) but at this age they split the kids into two mini-leagues, kid pitch and coach pitch. They put all the newbies together in coach pitch, and that seems to work nicely for everyone. So call around - you might find other leagues have something similar. My son is obsessed with baseball and has been since he was four, but he happily plays on teams with kids who are just learning, as long as they want to be there and are interested in the game! |
Anonymous
| My friend's son just started baseball for the first time at age 13. Definitely not too late to start at 9, although you may need to remind the coach occasionally that he's new. It doesn't seem to take the kids long to get the hang of it. |
Anonymous
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Not sure what is available in DC, here in VA Virginia Baseball Club (VBC) has classes and camps where players of all ages can work on the fundamentals. Our local little league will sometimes organize pick up games in the summer. You don't have to be a member to come play. You might try calling a league or taking to a parent who is involved in the teams at your school to see what options are available. The Nationals have week long summer camps throughout the DC area where kids are divided by age and ability to work on fundamentals.
Your son is probably not the only one just getting involved. like PP, my DS will have fun playing catch with anybody, even his much younger and smaller kid brother. |
Anonymous
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Little league is just about done for the spring.
Have your son do a few weeks of summer camp and then sign him up for fall little league. In DC it goes by geographic area. In much of NWDC it's Northwest Little League. In NE I think it's Cap City Little League or Bannecker Baseball League. Then there is Capitol Hill Little League for the 'Hill. Fall is a good time for a new player to start because the players get ranked by skill and drafted in the spring but in the fall they just sign up to play. |
Anonymous
Really? That is so interesting. See, I know nothing. I think I will sign him up for Home Run camp and see how that goes. Thanks to everyone who chimed in. |
Anonymous
12:54 again, yes, have him do some Home Run camp! That is a a great starting point to help him figure out how much he likes baseball. If he does want to do a fall league, you need to register him early---like Aug by the latest. The leagues do cap enrollment at some point each registration season because they can't keep adding teams due to not having unlimited field space (there are only so many baseball diamonds in the city and each game takes 2 hours). |