The R9 are pretty close to broken in when you buy them but you can go to Dick's and they have a steamer to help accelerate the process as needed.

Steamers aren't great for the leather.

Farmer1906 said:

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Steamers aren't great for the leather.

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And dunking it in water is?

Been a big fan of Nokona glove conditioner for a long time. That and pounding a baseball in the pocket will get you 90% of the way there.

We've gone to getting better gloves and using a glove break in service. We have some local to our area where they do their magic for a week or two and it comes out great. There are services available online where you can mail it in too.

Finally did this when no matter how much I worked on the glove it was so stiff. Well worth the money

TarponChaser said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Steamers aren't great for the leather.

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And dunking it in water is?

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Doesnt damage anything.

Got my 9yo an R9 for Christmas and I would say the glove is mostly broken in now after his spring season. It did come partially "broken in" but that means it's just not stiff as a board. I endlessly slammed balls in the pocket, beat it with a mini bat and had it wrapped tightly many times. Takes more to break it in for a 9yo versus an adult who has a lot more hand strength.

Thanks for all the recommendations and info!

Farmer1906 said:

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TarponChaser said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Steamers aren't great for the leather.

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And dunking it in water is?

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Doesnt damage anything.

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There's a lot of folks who disagree and people on both sides of the debate for this and steaming a glove.

We've never done either but they are options. I'm much more traditional- liberal use of glove oil rubbed into the glove, then beat the hell out of it with the mallet, and lots of catch. I'll use both Rawlings Gloveoleum and Gold Glove Butter.

Oil makes the glove heavier. Try conditioner.

Farmer1906 said:

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Oil makes the glove heavier. Try conditioner.

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An ounce or two of oil conditioning the glove doesn't make a difference.

Farmer1906 said:

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TarponChaser said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Oil makes the glove heavier. Try conditioner.

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An ounce or two of oil conditioning the glove doesn't make a difference.

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It literally does.

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TarponChaser said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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TarponChaser said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Oil makes the glove heavier. Try conditioner.

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An ounce or two of oil conditioning the glove doesn't make a difference.

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It literally does.

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Would there be a difference swinging a 33-30 and 33-31 bat? Of course. So why would could there be a difference holding and moving a glove that weight an ounce or two difference? Especially for youth who need a light glove.

Farmer1906 said:

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TarponChaser said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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TarponChaser said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Oil makes the glove heavier. Try conditioner.

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An ounce or two of oil conditioning the glove doesn't make a difference.

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It literally does.

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Would there be a difference swinging a 33-30 and 33-31 bat? Of course. So why would could there be a difference holding and moving a glove that weight an ounce or two difference? Especially for youth who need a light glove.

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It's all relative. 1-2oz in a glove that weighs maybe 32oz is not a discernable difference, even for a 9-year old. With bats it's much more about the balance point. A 31oz bat that is balanced or has the weight more towards the handle will have a lighter swing weight than a 30oz bat that's end-loaded.

I turn the shower on hot and turn the glove upside down and get it just wet enough. Then I take a tee ball bat and beat the hell out of it inside out and right side out. Then I get a massage gun and just sit there with that making the pocket and the hinges. Works well for us.

Massage gun is a great idea

11 inch softball makes a perfect pocket.

Google Wilson and glove break-in and you'll find step by step method.

As for the original question, given the age and price range, the Wilson A1000 is the ticket.

Seems like the board fell off after injuries to the top contributors. Anyone playing at Omaha this week? Catching a few CWS games this week and my 13u starts Monday.

We are here. Start Monday. 12u

Pretty sure the Slumpbuster rosters were locked a month ago. Will be interesting to see

agsalaska said:

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What a game. Jace ribbed that HR right in front of us.

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Can you at least smile next time?

Ha. Wasn't quite that close.

We are headed to Charleston, SC on Sunday. Only team of 24 from Texas.

Got back from Cooperstown yesterday. My son played at ASV and we got beat in the semis for our only loss of the tournament. His team has been up and down all season playing 12u major in Houston, but it all came together for them last week and it was fun to watch. We got beat by a major team from Cali who is nationally ranked. We had runners on base every inning, but just couldn't push them across. Lost 8-3. After the game, we packed up my son's bunk and he was real quiet in the back seat and a little emotional, and I've never seen him emotional over baseball. I told him they just got beat by a better team, no shame in that. He said "it's not about that, I'm just sad it is over." It was an awesome experience for him. When deciding which team to join this season, we wanted two things (1) play good competition, and (2) go to Cooperstown. We got both of those. If any of you have younger kids, I highly recommend finding a team going to Cooperstown when they are 12.

Ready for our season to be over. My son has always been one of the top hitters but this year he can't hit anything. It's all mental I guess. He does fine practicing and in cages and machine work. He was his normal self the first two tournaments of the season but after that, nothing. I can't help him with his mental block so we are probably done with the travel ball bs after this season.

It is all mental, and summer messes with kids.

My son (pitcher) was on a 7 game winning streak with all complete games up until his last tournament. A against a team he'd beaten soundly twice, suddenly he can't find the strike zone. He hit 3 batters and walked 3 batters in the first inning, ends up with 6 earned runs and 2 unearned. Ouch.


Had a nice bounce back for the 2nd and 3rd, but the damage was done. Chalk it up to a learning experience.

My advice is "Good", it's a chance to learn how to come out of a rough patch. To be a long term baseball player that's just part of everyone's game.


Look at Montgomery - probably the best overall player ever to wear maroon. But towards the end of SEC play he hit a major slump, it happens. But he bounced back helped get us through the regional.

Jbob04 said:

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Ready for our season to be over. My son has always been one of the top hitters but this year he can't hit anything. It's all mental I guess. He does fine practicing and in cages and machine work. He was his normal self the first two tournaments of the season but after that, nothing. I can't help him with his mental block so we are probably done with the travel ball bs after this season.

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Do Franklin.

Jbob04 said:

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Ready for our season to be over. My son has always been one of the top hitters but this year he can't hit anything. It's all mental I guess. He does fine practicing and in cages and machine work. He was his normal self the first two tournaments of the season but after that, nothing. I can't help him with his mental block so we are probably done with the travel ball bs after this season.

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*I've tried to respond like 3x but TA keeps eating my posts so I hope this works*

Really sucks to hear that for your boy. If he wants to keep playing I hope he sticks it out.

Going through bad slumps happens but it's magnified in seasons like this where you might play 35-40 games and only get 60 plate appearances. The only things you can do, IMHO, are keep grinding out those reps in the cage, BP, and lessons and to work on the mental game.

From a reps perspective, if you don't have a good hitting coach to do lessons I'd recommend looking into that because if your kid wants to keep playing then it can definitely be worth it. I say that hiring a coach actually saves me money on blood pressure meds and therapy bills. A coach can probably ID things you can't (definitely the case with me), has drills to try to fix the problems he identified (also true with me), and can communicate those concepts better (again true for me). Plus, I definitely find it to be the case that my boys will listen to a coach better than they will listen to me on these things.

From a mental perspective, you have to get him to understand a couple things: 1) getting out 6-7 times out of every 10 you're at bat is still wildly successful; and 2) focus on the process/approach rather than the result.

Have a process and approach to each AB and swing that's consistent and less focus on the outcome. Failure is inevitable. You will strike out and there will be times you hit a ball on the screws and still get out. That's just how baseball works. There will also be times where you hit a jam-shot blooper over the 2nd baseman's head (for a RH hitter) that drops for a hit and scores a couple runs.

I don't say anything to my boys about striking out unless you can tell that they weren't mentally locked-in and ready to hit (you can probably pick up on this with your kid based on body language). And even then it's not until later and I flip it around to ask, "Do you think you were mentally ready for that AB? Did you stick to your approach/process??" They're going to feel bad enough but getting them past it mentally is the key.

Watch the Aggie hitters- between pitches they'll step out a little, sort of stare at their bat, and then step in. It's less noticeable now with the pitch clock but Dylan Rock took like 10-15 seconds between pitches back in 2022 doing it. Anyway, I have my boys do likewise- step out, focus on a spot on their bat (the USSSA or BBCOR stamp), take a deep breath, and clear your mind to center yourself. Visualize yourself hitting the ball hard. It only takes a few seconds to mentally reset and refocus.

It really helps.

If you are a parent that takes video of your kid's ABs, look at what he is doing now and compare it to what he did when hitting well. If there is not a mechanical difference consider pitch selection and what he was and is swinging at, and what he is and was taking in the zone.

Slump treatments often include simplifying what you are doing whether mechanically or approach or pitch selection. For example, he may try laying off of anything that is spinning or lay off of it unless it is up in the zone. He can only swing at fastballs in a certain location. He can take more pitches to see more pitches.

If mechanics look the same, how is he getting beat- velocity, location, both? Is he taking good pitches to hit? If he has a 2 strike approach, in the near term, try to start using it in 0-0 counts.

These may be short term adjustments, but he may continue to use some items that help.

Hitting is an aggressive endeavor; but the #1 rule of hitting is to get a good pitch to hit- tw.