Depending on the little league entry at 5th grade spring can be really tough. And dangerous if he can’t catch a ball well. Hopefully you are not in Vienna or Reston.

A great non-LL option would be Bulldog Baseball at St. Alban's. Great coaches. Super Positive. And welcomes the beginner as well as the seasoned players. https://www.bulldogbaseballdc.com/

I’d have him start with some winter camps to gauge interest and skill level. Then research your local LL for the spring season. Just beware that some LLs take the spring season more seriously than others because players at that age are competing all season for coveted summer All Star team roster spots. Fall ball is a better entry time. The good news is that travel ball has exploded in this area so many LLs actually probably welcome new players at any skill level.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Baseball is a great sport! Something I want to point out is that if he never played before, depends on his skill level, he might have to play at a lower level, like AA, or AAA, versus some 5th graders are at the "majors" level. What I am saying is he might have to play on a team that's mostly 3rd or 4th graders. Just want to bring this for your awareness. All rec leagues welcome all skill levels, but for the safety of players, kids have to be placed at a level they can play on.

A 5th grader can't be placed at AA - they've aged out of that level. They might be AAA or majors, depending on skill level. But LL is also cognizant of age in making cutoffs for the different divisions.

In our LL (and all of this pretty much comes down to the specific LL), all 11 year olds have to be placed on a AAA team at a minim and all 12 year olds have to be placed on a Majors team. If a very small 11 year old tries out, we may make an exception and have them play AA...but usually, kids want to stay in their age cohort.

Every year we have one or two 12 year olds come out and play who have never played before and they are placed on a Majors team.

Anonymous wrote:Baseball is a great sport! Something I want to point out is that if he never played before, depends on his skill level, he might have to play at a lower level, like AA, or AAA, versus some 5th graders are at the "majors" level. What I am saying is he might have to play on a team that's mostly 3rd or 4th graders. Just want to bring this for your awareness. All rec leagues welcome all skill levels, but for the safety of players, kids have to be placed at a level they can play on.

A 5th grader can't be placed at AA - they've aged out of that level. They might be AAA or majors, depending on skill level. But LL is also cognizant of age in making cutoffs for the different divisions.

Baseball is a great sport! Something I want to point out is that if he never played before, depends on his skill level, he might have to play at a lower level, like AA, or AAA, versus some 5th graders are at the "majors" level. What I am saying is he might have to play on a team that's mostly 3rd or 4th graders. Just want to bring this for your awareness. All rec leagues welcome all skill levels, but for the safety of players, kids have to be placed at a level they can play on.

Baseball is a great rec sport for a not-particularly-athletic kid. We absolutely love BCC/Rockville if you're in the Bethesda area. It is very well run/organized and the coaches and other families tend to be really nice.

The most important part of baseball is that you have to practice. It's all about reps. It really is the key to improving and gaining confidence. Make sure to get outside and throw, catch and swing with your DS. There are a ton of youtube videos to show you how if you're not familiar. It's also a great way to spend time with your kid.We have the best chats while playing catch!

The other important thing to know about baseball is that it's mostly failure and that's okay!! It provides incredible lessons about perseverance,frustration tolerance and being present in the moment (can't waste energy on the last strike when you've got another ball being pitched to you!). As a parent, help set expectations about what success means in baseball and he will feel fantastic when it comes! Good luck--hope you give it a try and he has a great time!

There is also BCC Baseball Rec League if you do not want to play Little League in down county Montgomery County

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look for your local little league. LL requires you either live or attend school within it's boundary, so your LL may or may not be one that's closest to you.

Most extreme example is that in MD you may live across the street from Cap City Little League, but live in MD. Unless you attend a private school in DC within the boundary, you can't sign up for that LL. You would have to register with MoCo Little League. Every LL should indicate it's boundaries.

Your child will have to attend tryouts, but everyone is placed on a team. Just understand that it's still a tad late to start LL for your kid...tell him to work hard and have a good attitude, but don't expect to be placed in the plumb positions or top of the batting order until he shows he can play somewhat.

Its. Not it's. Understand the difference between the possessive (the first two times) and the contraction for "it is" (which you used correctly in the third paragraph.

What a great addition to the conversation. Anything to add about youth baseball?

I would look at the rules for your specific Little League (zoned by address or school). Ours has the standard 3 strikes you're out in 5th and doesn't allow kids that age to play down (a 4th grader could go down), so if he can't hit, find a batting cage and practice. Kids notice the kid who strikes out every time every game.

It isn't too late, we had my DS's 5th grade friend join for the first time last year and he loved it. He spent this last summer going to bsaeball camps and working on skills for this year.

Forgot to mention, one of the reasons why we didn't look into Little League was because by my older kid's age, they needed some kind of exception because they were older with no experience.

So figured that the other leagues were easier to register for because they didn't have those flowcharts or exceptions you had to follow.

Some of the other leagues have more advanced rules then Little League and players go back and forth. And like I said, my kids did pretty well playing with and against them, including in summer camps. So it's not like the other leagues and Little League are any lesser or better than each other.

Our family started out with just wanting to make sure our kids were comfortable enough to play baseball/softball if they had to play it in school. In my youth, PE was a bit of a nightmare because I wasn't comfortable playing those sports at all.

When I saw they weren't bad, decided to put put them in a rec league and they did pretty well in there. My older child, started a bit later too and ended up playing the key positions on their teams, catcher, pitcher and centerfielder. So don't listen to some of the posters that will say 5th/6th grade is way too late, your kid will be competing against kids who have been playing since kindergarten, etc. There's some truth in it but it's also about the quality of time they played, not just the length of time.

There's a saying or something to play catch with your kids ten minutes a day and I'm a big believer in that.

The only thing I'll add to poster from 11:38 is that while Little League is really well organized, there are other leagues and organizations in the area too. Not sure where you are but they may be worth looking into too.

Anonymous wrote:Look for your local little league. LL requires you either live or attend school within it's boundary, so your LL may or may not be one that's closest to you.

Most extreme example is that in MD you may live across the street from Cap City Little League, but live in MD. Unless you attend a private school in DC within the boundary, you can't sign up for that LL. You would have to register with MoCo Little League. Every LL should indicate it's boundaries.

Your child will have to attend tryouts, but everyone is placed on a team. Just understand that it's still a tad late to start LL for your kid...tell him to work hard and have a good attitude, but don't expect to be placed in the plumb positions or top of the batting order until he shows he can play somewhat.

Its. Not it's. Understand the difference between the possessive (the first two times) and the contraction for "it is" (which you used correctly in the third paragraph.

Look for your local little league. LL requires you either live or attend school within it's boundary, so your LL may or may not be one that's closest to you.

Most extreme example is that in MD you may live across the street from Cap City Little League, but live in MD. Unless you attend a private school in DC within the boundary, you can't sign up for that LL. You would have to register with MoCo Little League. Every LL should indicate it's boundaries.

Your child will have to attend tryouts, but everyone is placed on a team. Just understand that it's still a tad late to start LL for your kid...tell him to work hard and have a good attitude, but don't expect to be placed in the plumb positions or top of the batting order until he shows he can play somewhat.

5th grader is interested in trying (rec) baseball for the first time. What do I need to know?

(Kid is not particularly athletic, and not non-athletic. Goal might be having fun and learning enough to play later in life)