Congrats!!

Has anyone heard the scoop on how the breakup of Wildcatters Rusk happened? Seems wild that a team like that breaks up during the season.

Bassmaster said:

---

Has anyone heard the scoop on how the breakup of Wildcatters Rusk happened? Seems wild that a team like that breaks up during the season.

---

I don't know the whole story but I know a bit because my boys do hitting lessons with Ray Rusk and we know most of the kids on the team but don't know the whole story.

A big thing was some of the parents wanting to practice 3-4x per week and Ray resisted. Partially because he makes a decent an out on private lessons. There were also an evidently some parental egos butt-hurt over playing time, positions, etc. There's a lot more too but I'm not getting too nosy into their business. This stuff was volunteered.

From what I hear they're likely to come back together in 13U but they're being coached by a guy named Dominique Lewis who was coaching their top 14U team and he's been a long-time Dynasty coach before Wildcatters.

I can tell you as you know I'm a director with the Ditos and Banditos are recruiting hard to get some of those guys change uniforms. See how it all shakes out

Registered for rec ball today!

7u and 10u


my 7u has a ton of skill ... at other sports. he is playing with a cousin and we hope that makes him enjoy it more!


10u kid is excited b/c he loves fallball.

What are some important things for a kid to learn when first starting to pitch?

Strikes, strikes and more strikes (don't worry about velo). Go from the stretch, not the windup. Know how to come set, avoid balks.

Has to be able to get it over the plate 70% of the time, period. This usually involves learning the fundaments of movement like kick, arm angles, etc.. Part B of this is doing it in the game, in front of the crowd.

Next step is learning placement - can he put it where he wants it (high and inside, low and off the plate, etc.). I found the net with the 9 box was really helpful for my son.

Next step is develop a change up, and learn when to throw it, along with when to place it where. Situational pitch selection at U12-U14 is a huge game changer. My son was getting much better results than kids who could throw is 65 when he was only hitting 55, because he got this concept very quickly.


After that he needs to do two things: develop velocity and develop a breaking ball. I think the hardest thing to do with a developing pitcher (and I'm going through it right now) is to intentionally keep them away from these focal points until they have mastered the first three steps and physically matured their arm strength.

My sons velocity is rising right on schedule, and he can get the slider where he wants it about half the time. Not quite good enough to use in the game unless he's up 0-2 with no one on.



Just my opinion going through this

Thanks. My son (8) is going into kid pitch for the first time so I am going to try and develop him a little.

He's not going to hit any of the metrics discussed above. Honestly remind him to have fun and stay loose. Find a comfortable pitching mechanism and make it repeatable. This will eventually get him to more consistent strikes.

Congrats on beginning what can be a really fun journey together.

I'd focus on teaching him to have no memory and no worries. I used the goldfish thing before Ted Lasso made it popular.

redline248 said:

---

Thanks. My son (8) is going into kid pitch for the first time so I am going to try and develop him a little.

---

At that age, balance and arm slot.

Great times and a lifetime memories. Enjoy every second.

How's tryout season going? Have the Wildcatter's picked everyone they wanted so we can get the leftovers?

I'm still looking for 1 kid. It's hard not to sound like a ******, when parents call wanting a private tryout for my 11major team and their kids have never played select before…..

PhatMack19 said:

---

How's tryout season going? Have the Wildcatter's picked everyone they wanted so we can get the leftovers?

I'm still looking for 1 kid. It's hard not to sound like a ******, when parents call wanting a private tryout for my 11major team and their kids have never played select before…..

---

Wildcatters rosters have to be finalized by the end of the day today. We didn't try out there but are still close with a number of families there and coaches and they've had a lot of shakeups. Like the 13U headed to 14U level- a whole lot of kids on the top teams are c/o 2027 but instead of playing with their graduating class they were playing age level and the org forced all kids who are 2027 and up to play with their graduating class regardless of age. I know one kid who is 2027 who showed up to try out for 14U and was told he couldn't and had to try out for 15U.

And there were a whole bunch of 2027 kids on their 13U teams from the spring that are moving up to play 15U despite being 14U eligible by age. There have been some coaching shakeups too- Chip Ambres's 13U team split up as he's going to focus solely on coaching the HS teams and being the director of the HS program/recruiting. Ray Rusk who had the top 12U team has passed those kids off to a different coach (partially due to stuff discussed ITT) and is starting over with a new 10U AAA team that will be Houston Blast with the plan to build them into a major team. Mike Coburn who had their top 9U team is stepping down and I don't know who is taking his spot. But the organization has added former Astros pitcher, Brandon Backe, as a coach.

We didn't do any tryouts as both boys were invited back to their respective teams based on their spring performance. And especially in the case of our older boy, I really feel like we're in a good spot. Great organization that's been established for almost 20 years, great track record of developing players, and excellent coaching. Plus, despite being a brand new team of kids this past spring who had never played together they played over .600 ball and it's a team of kids who are not only talented but they're good kids who work hard. There were no bad attitudes whatsoever and the parents are all really solid with no drama.

Our 9u team, not in TX, has been doing some optional workouts over the summer. If you were in town and could make it kind of a thing. We have just started to ramp up practices as of this week. We have kept the same core players together again and have added in another 5 to complete the team and fill spots of players who weren't ready for the move up. 8u we played full kid pitch last season also and learned a bunch!

We start our first ever tournament as a team in Sept and then our league play kicks off as well. Right now we have a full Fall league scheduled and 3 tournaments sprinkled in.

It's hotter than hell outside! (AZ team checking in)

Anyone doing the PG All State Games this weekend?

I'm sure it's just a money grab, but the kid wanted to do it and it's in Houston this year, so it's easy. I'm also looking forward to him being coached by someone other than me. Although I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with myself during the games. Any tips would be appreciated…..

PhatMack19 said:

---

Anyone doing the PG All State Games this weekend?

I'm sure it's just a money grab, but the kid wanted to do it and it's in Houston this year, so it's easy. I'm also looking forward to him being coached by someone other than me. Although I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with myself during the games. Any tips would be appreciated…..

---

I was just about to ask the same thing. We will be there - 12u. Haven't heard what team yet.

We'll be there this weekend with 11U, I'm kind of the same way in expecting it to be primarily a money grab. My son made an all tournament team last year but it was in AAA so he didn't get an invite. A close friend of his did so he was disappointed. When his team decided to move up to majors this year he made it his goal to make all tournament and get an invite. I would rather him take a break but he set a goal, went through three pairs of batting gloves this season hitting off the tee in the garage, made all tournament twice this season, and earned his invite so I wanted to make sure he got the payoff.

PhatMack19 said:

---

Anyone doing the PG All State Games this weekend?

I'm sure it's just a money grab, but the kid wanted to do it and it's in Houston this year, so it's easy. I'm also looking forward to him being coached by someone other than me. Although I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with myself during the games. Any tips would be appreciated…..

---

Man-child was invited but we didn't do it. He's doing the Middle School Matchup although somewhat reluctantly- one of his select ball teammates wrangled a bunch of kids into it. They'll be playing 60/90 as incoming 8th graders. There are a couple kids playing on his team who are in the same age-group where they have summer birthdays so they're young for the grade and have been playing age level vs. grade level- those kids will be jumping from 50/70 since they played 12U in the spring instead of 54/80 like mine did playing 13U.

It's gonna be hot as balls. Thankfully his games are Saturday morning at Rothwood so it's natural grass instead of turf.

We are playing Middle School Matchup at Scrapyard at 10am and 2pm. It is definitely going to be hot.

lil99chris said:

---

We are playing Middle School Matchup at Scrapyard at 10am and 2pm. It is definitely going to be hot.

---

Fortunately for us Scrapyard can't accommodate 60/90 play. We're at 9 & 11. That 11am gonna be hot as balls.

Anybody have any 10 year olds swinging a drop 8 bat?

Jbob04 said:

---

Anybody have any 10 year olds swinging a drop 8 bat?

---

Mine did when he was 10. Swung a 30" -10 in the fall but went to a 31 -8 in 10U spring. He just turned 13 but is moving to 14U and swings a 32" -3 BBCOR now.

at what point/age did y'all start considering buying composite bats? I've started seeing them in our 8U league, and I was just mind blown parents would drop that money at that age

redline248 said:

---

at what point/age did y'all start considering buying composite bats? I've started seeing them in our 8U league, and I was just mind blown parents would drop that money at that age

---

It's not uncommon to see kids with $1600 worth of bats in their bag. I'm of the mind that a $400 bat doesn't fix a $5 swing.

TarponChaser said:

---

redline248 said:

---

at what point/age did y'all start considering buying composite bats? I've started seeing them in our 8U league, and I was just mind blown parents would drop that money at that age

---

It's not uncommon to see kids with $1600 worth of bats in their bag. I'm of the mind that a $400 bat doesn't fix a $5 swing.

---

While true, it is also unrealistic to believe a kid could have a million dollar swing yet hits the same with a wooden bat vs a modern composite bat.

I try to find a bat that's a nice middle ground of performs pretty well but won't bankrupt me, lol

If my kid had a million dollar swing, I'd probably go ahead and buy the 350+ bat

Cru said:

---

TarponChaser said:

---

redline248 said:

---

at what point/age did y'all start considering buying composite bats? I've started seeing them in our 8U league, and I was just mind blown parents would drop that money at that age

---

It's not uncommon to see kids with $1600 worth of bats in their bag. I'm of the mind that a $400 bat doesn't fix a $5 swing.

---

While true, it is also unrealistic to believe a kid could have a million dollar swing yet hits the same with a wooden bat vs a modern composite bat.

---

The point is to spend more time & money working on the swing than buying a bunch of different, expensive bats.

Regardless, they ain't gonna be cheap but $350 for a composite bat for an 8-10 year old ain't gonna make a ton of difference.

I bought the older boy a -5 Meta in 12U that he broke about a month after the warranty ran out. It was the 2021 model (black & gold) that was on clearance. I replaced it with a 2023 -5 Meta (the green one) that he broke in about 6 weeks. I haven't completed the warranty claim yet though.

TarponChaser said:

---

Cru said:

---

TarponChaser said:

---

redline248 said:

---

at what point/age did y'all start considering buying composite bats? I've started seeing them in our 8U league, and I was just mind blown parents would drop that money at that age

---

It's not uncommon to see kids with $1600 worth of bats in their bag. I'm of the mind that a $400 bat doesn't fix a $5 swing.

---

While true, it is also unrealistic to believe a kid could have a million dollar swing yet hits the same with a wooden bat vs a modern composite bat.

---

The point is to spend more time & money working on the swing than buying a bunch of different, expensive bats.

Regardless, they ain't gonna be cheap but $350 for a composite bat for an 8-10 year old ain't gonna make a ton of difference.

I bought the older boy a -5 Meta in 12U that he broke about a month after the warranty ran out. It was the 2021 model (black & gold) that was on clearance. I replaced it with a 2023 -5 Meta (the green one) that he broke in about 6 weeks. I haven't completed the warranty claim yet though.

---

True.

My 8 year 2 week old broke his 6 month old Axe about 3 weeks ago. I'm noticing a difference in how he's hitting his new Easton vs that one. For now I'm attributing the poorer results to break in. We'll see what happens as it gets more action.

Jbob04 said:

---

Anybody have any 10 year olds swinging a drop 8 bat?

---

About half of my 10u team was using -8 this year. My kid isn't big, but strong with a good swing and handled it fine. They adjust to the weight pretty easily. Going up in length is a bigger adjustment imo.

My All State Games thoughts

-It's a money grab. Pretty sure the All State team was picked before we ever played a game.

-I paid $250 for 6 plate appearances. He went 3-5 and had a solid weekend. We were the only team with 13 kids. 5 teams had 11 and 16 teams had 12. I got some BS response when I asked, but having 13 really cuts into playing time and AB's.

-Those poor kids doing diamondkast were getting hounded by the mommas. It was wrong most of the time and the mommas let them know. The "coaches" didn't help much turning in half filled out lineup cards or none at all. Multiple games the DK guy skipped batters or had wrong order.

-We didn't really have a coach. Just got who was in whatever dugout our team walked to. My kid played every position on the field except pitcher including some positions he normally doesn't play. Most kids were out of position, mainly because the coaches didn't know them and just sent them out there.

-No way any coaches or whoever picks the All State team saw anything in these games with 4 fields going at a time and over 250 kids our age. If they go by stats, those were off in every game we watched.

-He had fun getting out of his comfort zone and playing with new kids that he didn't know. Overall it was ok. I don't think we will do it again next year.

Glad we didn't do that but I also kind of wish we didn't do Middle School Matchup either. Went 1-1-2, tied both pool play games.

First, it was hot. Like brutally hot. Our Saturday game at 9 and Sunday game at 8 weren't bad but the second games at 11 & noon respectively were absolutely brutal. I really felt for the kids who were catching. Especially the noon game on Sunday with a turf infield I think it was pretty unsafe. I know my kid drank at least a gallon of water during those games plus a couple Liquid IVs and he still game home from yesterday's noon game that we lost feeling pretty crappy- headache, starting to cramp, etc.- he was fine after a cold shower, rest, and more hydrating but I think he was mildly dehydrated. I don't think the kids could even get enough water or stuff like Liquid IV, etc to stay hydrated. And my kid is pretty used to working in this kind of weather having done S&C all summer, outside from 9:30-11:30 every morning.

Second, it was bad baseball. The teams are a crapshoot. You might get a team with a few kids who play high-level baseball but then there are a bunch of kids who maybe play league ball and a couple who might have never even played. And for the vast majority of kids headed into 8th grade none of them have played 60/90 so the bigger field makes it tough. We had 3 kids who are like my son who were 12U in age last year but were in 7th grade and now headed to 8th grade, only those 3 all played age-level instead of grade level. So they were jumping from 50/70 to 60/90 vs. my son who has been playing with his graduating class for 2 years now and practiced at 60/90 (that being said, he never pitched at that distance and he struggled with his control a bit- especially on the breaking ball). And it was the same on every team- the games were walk-fests and lots of errors or low-baseball IQ plays.

Third, it was hot.

Bump for those playing fall baseball and especially for those of us who want to talk about something other than the Rangers collapse or Dusty sabotaging the Astros.