A suggestion:

It is not a big issue to start at 12, but obviously there is some catching up to do. How do you do that?

1. Sign up for Fall ball near you. Does not really matter as long as his placement on a team is assured.

2. Make arrangements for several half-hour batting lessons at a baseball training center near you. Twice a week through the summer should be good.

3. Make arrangements with a local high school player from your immediate area to meet twice a week for an hour at a local field early in the morning for throwing, catching and fielding lessons. Ask around. You are looking for a 16-18 year old who plays on a local team and who would like to work with a beginning kid who is 12. Your kid will respond better to a young instructor. An hour is sufficient time. Early mornings are great as fields are unused and high school kids are available. I would say - pay $50 an hour and you will have no problem finding guys welling to do the job. They can focus on fielding and throwing mostly.

By September your kid should be ready to go. You can decide how much to continue on based on time. I would add though that lots and lots of kids keep up private training year round.

Does Arlington Babe Ruth allow League Age 12 kids to play majors in the fall for one last season? I know our non-BR, regular Little League allows LA12 to play majors for one last fall season; might be worth looking into as fall’s definitely less intense than spring, as others have noted.

I don’t know if this would become overwhelming, but aside from becoming technically proficient in hitting and fielding, I’d make sure he learns baseball IQ for sure. Doesn’t matter if you can hit or catch the ball if you don’t know how to run the bases correctly or where to throw the ball. Kids who are 12 have typically been playing for several years and will already have some baseball awareness.

Also, C-flap helmet for sure as some 12s are throwing heat and those inside pitches are scary, to say the least.

Anonymous wrote:I'd take him to a batting cage and let him hit balls for a while a couple times a week to see if he likes it.

This, but at 12 baseball is much more than hitting. He really needs to be able to catch balls. Grounders, flies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Babe Ruth Baseball is suppose to be a great Rec League for kids in MS. You might want to see if there is a program near you.

I think babe Ruth ages out after 12. Plus the season is almost over. Not sure if they do a summer league. I think arlington little league does. I would recommend some camps. Check out coach Padgett at o’Connell and Virginia baseball club at greenbrier. I think they both still have slots available.

Agree on both of these camps! Kids of all ages/abilities and they have a ton of fun. It’s not too serious but still good instruction.

Yes to VBC camp this summer!

Also pick up a tee, a net to hit into, and a pitch back. Maybe do one lesson a month so he doesn’t practice any bad hitting/throwing habits. Those pitch backs are great for fielding practice

Anonymous wrote:Babe ruth starts in middle school.

Arlington babe Ruth starts when kids are in teeball. It goes through 12 yo. Senior babe Ruth is 13-18.

Babe ruth starts in middle school.

Fall little league is very low key. It would be good to work with him just playing catch, throwing grounders and getting to a batting cage as much as you can between now and then.

I'd take him to a batting cage and let him hit balls for a while a couple times a week to see if he likes it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Babe Ruth Baseball is suppose to be a great Rec League for kids in MS. You might want to see if there is a program near you.

I think babe Ruth ages out after 12. Plus the season is almost over. Not sure if they do a summer league. I think arlington little league does. I would recommend some camps. Check out coach Padgett at o’Connell and Virginia baseball club at greenbrier. I think they both still have slots available.

Agree on both of these camps! Kids of all ages/abilities and they have a ton of fun. It’s not too serious but still good instruction.

Definitely sign up for fall ball. It’s much more low key than spring. I prefer babe Ruth over little league, but do whichever one he knows kids in.

Anonymous wrote:Babe Ruth Baseball is suppose to be a great Rec League for kids in MS. You might want to see if there is a program near you.

I think babe Ruth ages out after 12. Plus the season is almost over. Not sure if they do a summer league. I think arlington little league does. I would recommend some camps. Check out coach Padgett at o’Connell and Virginia baseball club at greenbrier. I think they both still have slots available.

The rec baseball season is ending for the spring, but that's probably helpful in this case.

If you're in N. Arlington, try doing a couple sessions at Ignite, outside of Ballston. A little one-on-one coaching on hitting, throwing and catching technique will be a good foundation. (He'll need his own glove, broken in.) From there, sign him up for a week or three of summer camp -- Arlington County, Falls Church City, and Fairfax all have rec camps. This will be good for him to learn the strategy and situational awareness of the game, which is so important when fielding and base-running.

In the fall, depending on his age then he can register for a team in either Babe Ruth (which in Arlington goes through age 12) or Arlington Senior Babe Ruth (which is 13-18).

Babe Ruth Baseball is suppose to be a great Rec League for kids in MS. You might want to see if there is a program near you.

We are in N Arlington…

Are we just too late to start him in baseball now? Growing up sports were never this competitive for 6th grade. Is there a team that would take him without having played before?