Due to covid restriction, my second-grade grandson played in the metroplex for the first time this year. Coach pitched in their league. He went from having no baseball IQ (but is a great athlete) to making the all-star team for the league at the end of the season. I loved seeing how everything they did in practice and warm-ups was intentional and geared to making the kids all better players. Great coaches for his team. So a second grader can catch up. Yes, he and his brother play catch and practice batting with my son.agsalaska said:
In all farness, starting a kid in 2nd or 3rd grade is really late. Usually at that point they are so far behind the other kids that there is not a lot the coaches can do in the limited time they have to get them caught up. Kids learn some very basic things in t-ball and coach pitch that they don't want to have to deal with in kid pitch. Things like getting in and out of the dugout, using the restroom before the game, knowing when it is your turn to bat, knowing not to randomly swing bats or throw balls, not playing in the dirt, etc. Never mind the basic rules and how to catch and throw and protect themselves at the plate.
We have one this year and had one last year that started in third grade. Fortunately the parent this year understands how far behind her son is and appreciates what we are doing. The parent last year didn't get it.
Yes, there are certainly some crazy parents. And coaches. And even grandparents. But it is a loud minority.
Some can, but most cannot. Your grandson has the advantage of being a great athlete and having a brother that will play catch with him. In my experience the vast majority of them cannot.3rd Generation Ag said:Due to covid restriction, my second-grade grandson played in the metroplex for the first time this year. Coach pitched in their league. He went from having no baseball IQ (but is a great athlete) to making the all-star team for the league at the end of the season. I loved seeing how everything they did in practice and warm-ups was intentional and geared to making the kids all better players. Great coaches for his team. So a second grader can catch up. Yes, he and his brother play catch and practice batting with my son.agsalaska said:
In all farness, starting a kid in 2nd or 3rd grade is really late. Usually at that point they are so far behind the other kids that there is not a lot the coaches can do in the limited time they have to get them caught up. Kids learn some very basic things in t-ball and coach pitch that they don't want to have to deal with in kid pitch. Things like getting in and out of the dugout, using the restroom before the game, knowing when it is your turn to bat, knowing not to randomly swing bats or throw balls, not playing in the dirt, etc. Never mind the basic rules and how to catch and throw and protect themselves at the plate.
We have one this year and had one last year that started in third grade. Fortunately the parent this year understands how far behind her son is and appreciates what we are doing. The parent last year didn't get it.
Yes, there are certainly some crazy parents. And coaches. And even grandparents. But it is a loud minority.
His younger brother was playing for the first year in tball (kinder). Coaches did little to make the players better and it is clear that great coaching is the answer. We are all hoping that when the little one moves up next year, he will get this great team of coaches. We wish they could be on the same team, but the 7 year old will be moved to kid pitched next year.
My personal opinion is that it's OK as long as they don't start throwing curve balls until later. I don't think that needs to happen until they are 12 or 13. I think that's why you see so many arm injuries these days. We did let ours start throwing a curve until we felt his arm could handle it....and we are still careful with how much he throws it.3rd Generation Ag said:
Nine year olds pitching worries me. Back in the 80's when my son was in Hillside Little league, Laredo, only the ten year olds on the teams were allowed to pitch. They used to say it was bad for the shoulder for them to pitch at an early age. Wisdom of the time. I realize it has changed.
That is the general position of most people in the business today. Even 12 is a little young for it really. MLB actually puts out very detailed instructions for youth pitchers, specifically around types of pitches, arms, rest, etc. I think it comes from Ohio University Med School but that may be wrong. Anyway that is the guidelines that we follow.BohunkAg said:My personal opinion is that it's OK as long as they don't start throwing curve balls until later. I don't think that needs to happen until they are 12 or 13. I think that's why you see so many arm injuries these days. We did let ours start throwing a curve until we felt his arm could handle it....and we are still careful with how much he throws it.3rd Generation Ag said:
Nine year olds pitching worries me. Back in the 80's when my son was in Hillside Little league, Laredo, only the ten year olds on the teams were allowed to pitch. They used to say it was bad for the shoulder for them to pitch at an early age. Wisdom of the time. I realize it has changed.
That's really important. Counting pitches. We are pretty protective about how much our son throws. I was told by someone too that it's important to factor in all the warmup pitches and throwing they do. In the end, it's not going to matter if you win games when they are 9 to 12 years old. You want them to learn to do things the right way, whatever it is.3rd Generation Ag said:
Not arguing. I know two on my high school students who were both all state pitchers and one that went on to the majors had dads in high school that actually counted not innings but number of pitches and would insist coach take them out at whatever magic number they used. The coach wanted to win games, but the dad's were looking at the kids future.
Sounds like the coaches are doing it the right way. That's very important. To me it's more important than them winning every game, as I said. Kids can learn life lessons from stuff like that. How they interact with others.3rd Generation Ag said:
Bo, I know a lot more now. Jude, the seven year old is having a great year even if it is his first to play. Yes, he is still lacking on baseball smarts, but is learning quickly. Yes, it is pony league rec ball..a great place to learn the game. He will be 8 next month so this is coach pitch..but he was nominated for all stars and was one of 12 of 35 at try outs who made the first team of 12. They had a second team of 12 in their league since so many play. He is playing third base and second. To me he is best at second, but they like his really strong arm thowing runners out third to first. And he is LOVING it, even in this heat when the weekend tourneys are 100 degree plus. I am mentioning it since we talked of pitchers. He has another year in coach pitch..and needs it to learn more of the baseball smarts..but his all star coach said he really is ready to move up. My son knows that Jude is still not always comfortable with what to do after he catches the ball..and will probably keep him in coach pitch for another year.
But coaches are telling his dad that with his strong and accurate arm, he needs to be on the mound when we get to kids pitch. I still fear a nine year old pitching...but the coaches promise that when taught to do it the right way, it does not harm his arm for later. We will see. All stars have only lost one game..by one run..at a non pony league tourney (pony restricts bats is that make sense) to a select team from somewhere with big bats. Coach said they needed to learn how to lose and he still had our guys playing by our rules. Guess we are going to be a baseball family. The six year old will for sure move up. He is bored in tball even if his little team were the "league champs".
