So do you not believe in Rec baseball all kids should get to play and learn?
2023 youth baseball/softball check-in
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Last: 17 days ago by TarponChaser
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I also have a problem with the dads who thought they were athletes in there but never even sniffed to college level. Now those same dads am have no semblance of the athleticism and the work ethic they want to see from their kids
I coached at a high school for 10 years and I love seeing kids learn how to compete in little league. Don't care how good they are.
Seeing the clown show that is select is humorous. dads are clowns, the kids seldom do anything beyond high school baseball if they make that team and the select coaches are at best, morons with a knack for stealing parents money.
Seeing the clown show that is select is humorous. dads are clowns, the kids seldom do anything beyond high school baseball if they make that team and the select coaches are at best, morons with a knack for stealing parents money.
45-70Ag said:
I coached at a high school for 10 years and I love seeing kids learn how to compete in little league. Don't care how good they are.
Seeing the clown show that is select is humorous. dads are clowns, the kids seldom do anything beyond high school baseball if they make that team and the select coaches are at best, morons with a knack for stealing parents money.
OK so I will give you a short response and then a request.45-70Ag said:
I coached at a high school for 10 years and I love seeing kids learn how to compete in little league. Don't care how good they are.
Seeing the clown show that is select is humorous. dads are clowns, the kids seldom do anything beyond high school baseball if they make that team and the select coaches are at best, morons with a knack for stealing parents money.
First. I agree that kids should stay in league. My son played thru 11. But your second paragraph is a complete mischaracterization of select baseball. For the vast majority of parents and kids it has nothing to do with 'doing anything beyond high school.' That's not why select is taking over rec. Parent are choosing select over rec because it offers a better overall experience for kids and parents both. Parents get to pick their coaches, kids get to stay with their friends, and for a lot of families weekend baseball tournaments are just a lot of fun.
I run and am a part time coach for a Select baseball team. 11u AAA. I also coached rec ball in 6u, 8u, and 10u and still volunteer and coach a 6u t-ball team even though my youngest is 11. After coaching and observing several hundred baseball games in the last six years I do not see more 'dads are clowns' or moron coaches in select over rec. If anything it is worse at rec ball.
Yes there are a some clowns and some morons and certainly some parents with unrealistic expectations, but that's true anywhere.
Last, this happens every year on this thread. Someone will come in and just trash the **** out of select ball, calling dads clowns and coaches morons and all of that. Understand that most of us on this thread are dads and coaches. While a debate about the merits of select or select v rec is fine considering the seasons hasn't started yet, please don't let this thread turn into a bash all things select thread. Feel free to start another thread for that and I am sure most of us will join. But this thread is for discussing our kids, our teams, and their successes and failures.
Thanks.
I'll also agree that I think kids should stay in league/rec ball, but it all depends on the league. Our league everyone bolts for select ball so early that the league doesn't even remotely have a chance to be competitive, so league ball is absolutely terrible.
My son is highly competitve, and said the rec league games just weren't fun and asked if he could just quit baseball because they were boring. I got lucky and was able to meet some of other dads and we played league ball at 7U last year and started a tournament team with kids from our league (mainly parents we liked hanging out with). The jump the boys have made since we started has been incredible and its really fun. The Mom's have a Mom's night out once a month and the dad's have a poker night once a month.
I've definitely seen some of the **** show and money grabbing select organizations/coaches out there, but we are just dad's out there that want to have fun with our kids and teach them to compete. I was a good high school player, but the dad's I coach with all played in college, so the knowledge they have to share has been incredible. Only charges we have are for fields and facilities we have to rent to practice on, and it's split amongst the team, then tournament fees. We were able to get some sponsors to keep some of these costs down as well.
Select ball can be what you make of it, and we are only at 8U, but our first spring and fall have been a ton of fun. Even my wife who was extremely leery of select ball, has said it's the best decision we could have made for our son. Now he also played flag football in the fall while doing a Sunday baseball league, and he's currently in basketball as we gear up for spring baseball, so we are not singularly focused on baseball by any means. I just want him competing and having fun. The added bonus of select, is we only play tournaments every other weekend, so every other weekend is free to hunt/fish etc. If we don't have sports, we are out on the water fishing, and if its hunting season we are down hunting at the ranch.
Select ball can be whatever you want to make of it, if you can find the right situation. We'll see how it changes over the years, but my only goal for our kids is to have fun, learn to compete, and hopefully grow their love of the game.
My son is highly competitve, and said the rec league games just weren't fun and asked if he could just quit baseball because they were boring. I got lucky and was able to meet some of other dads and we played league ball at 7U last year and started a tournament team with kids from our league (mainly parents we liked hanging out with). The jump the boys have made since we started has been incredible and its really fun. The Mom's have a Mom's night out once a month and the dad's have a poker night once a month.
I've definitely seen some of the **** show and money grabbing select organizations/coaches out there, but we are just dad's out there that want to have fun with our kids and teach them to compete. I was a good high school player, but the dad's I coach with all played in college, so the knowledge they have to share has been incredible. Only charges we have are for fields and facilities we have to rent to practice on, and it's split amongst the team, then tournament fees. We were able to get some sponsors to keep some of these costs down as well.
Select ball can be what you make of it, and we are only at 8U, but our first spring and fall have been a ton of fun. Even my wife who was extremely leery of select ball, has said it's the best decision we could have made for our son. Now he also played flag football in the fall while doing a Sunday baseball league, and he's currently in basketball as we gear up for spring baseball, so we are not singularly focused on baseball by any means. I just want him competing and having fun. The added bonus of select, is we only play tournaments every other weekend, so every other weekend is free to hunt/fish etc. If we don't have sports, we are out on the water fishing, and if its hunting season we are down hunting at the ranch.
Select ball can be whatever you want to make of it, if you can find the right situation. We'll see how it changes over the years, but my only goal for our kids is to have fun, learn to compete, and hopefully grow their love of the game.
Very good post.
In our local rec league, you will see a decent migration to select baseball after 8U. The fact is that parents are willing to pay the fees, rosters need to be filled, and parents do not want their son to be 'left behind' in the social circles of baseball. It does not matter if the kid is ready for select baseball.
My son played in our local rec league through 10U. He started playing select at 11U in Fall '22. He was extremely nervous the first tournament, but quickly became comfortable and has done well.
We are creating somewhat of a 'semi-select' organization right now for our 9U rec league division that may expand to others. They will have an opportunity for players to try-out to join the 'semi-select' organization that will play in select tournament once a month through the rec league baseball season. They will practice/play with their rec league team throughout the week. This will allow families an opportunity to 'dip their toes' in select baseball and also play in the local rec league. It also allows the rec league to retain good players (and coaches).
In our local rec league, you will see a decent migration to select baseball after 8U. The fact is that parents are willing to pay the fees, rosters need to be filled, and parents do not want their son to be 'left behind' in the social circles of baseball. It does not matter if the kid is ready for select baseball.
My son played in our local rec league through 10U. He started playing select at 11U in Fall '22. He was extremely nervous the first tournament, but quickly became comfortable and has done well.
We are creating somewhat of a 'semi-select' organization right now for our 9U rec league division that may expand to others. They will have an opportunity for players to try-out to join the 'semi-select' organization that will play in select tournament once a month through the rec league baseball season. They will practice/play with their rec league team throughout the week. This will allow families an opportunity to 'dip their toes' in select baseball and also play in the local rec league. It also allows the rec league to retain good players (and coaches).
If I were to make a guess it would be that far fewer coaches in the Rec leagues know what they are doing. However, it's mostly dads who volunteer their time and that should be applauded, because it's not easy to find folks to do it in the first place. Nor is it easy to coach kids at certain ages. Especially the ones who don't really want to be there.
Also, since there are people involved, there are plenty of jackasses, both parents and coaches, in Rec leagues. It is not unique to select. Or even to baseball, for that matter.
Also, since there are people involved, there are plenty of jackasses, both parents and coaches, in Rec leagues. It is not unique to select. Or even to baseball, for that matter.
Let me just say, as the president of our local rec baseball and softball league, this thread is interesting.
This is the way. But it is hard to do.Quote:
We are creating somewhat of a 'semi-select' organization right now for our 9U rec league division that may expand to others. They will have an opportunity for players to try-out to join the 'semi-select' organization that will play in select tournament once a month through the rec league baseball season. They will practice/play with their rec league team throughout the week. This will allow families an opportunity to 'dip their toes' in select baseball and also play in the local rec league. It also allows the rec league to retain good players (and coaches).
I live in a smaller town(one 6a high school) and we have been able to keep our kids in rec and select for the most part through 10u. We have over 600 kids playing rec baseball and softball, and opening weekend is always a really big event. Our dropoff is at 12u where the select kids stop playing league, mostly because they are pitching and parents want to limit their throwing.
I wanted our league to do the same thing yall are doing by sponsoring, or managing, select teams thru the league, thinking that would keep all of the kids in the league thru 12u. All of our good players play both rec and select anyway so why not? Though everyone I talked to about it thought it was a great idea on paper I couldnt get any real support. But if it was my world I would do it.
My daughter who is 8 is asking for a new glove. She has a playing in an 11" cheapish Rawlings baseball glove. I think she needs more length and "grip". What is the next step?
Baseball?dummble said:
My daughter who is 8 is asking for a new glove. She has a playing in an 11" cheapish Rawlings baseball glove. I think she needs more length and "grip". What is the next step?
She plays softball (11" ball) but has a baseball glove. She was not interested in the softball specific gloves at the time of purchase.
I think being "ready for select" is not really a function of skill or talent level but the mindset of wanting to work hard and get better to compete. In league/rec ball there are way too many kids who are just out there to be out there.
I've posted pretty much every year on our experiences and why we've went select so rather than re-typing it, here's a link to my long post about it last year: https://texags.com/forums/53/topics/3268082/replies/61586044
Anyway, my oldest has his first tournament this weekend. We joined a new team- RC Elite Mizuno and are on a AAA squad. Being 12U eligible and playing up to be on grade level he's not ready for major, largely from a physical perspective. Because despite being 5'8" 150'ish he hasn't hit puberty yet and when you look at most 13U major teams they're recruiting kids who are almost grown-ass men. Anyway, we could have stayed with the Wildcatters team he was on in the fall but we weren't happy with the coach, the overall team, or the way the organization is being run. His coach quite literally did almost zero instruction in the fall and let the kids grab-ass way too much (his kid was the ringleader). They just didn't care or really work to develop. No gripes over playing time or that kind of stuff but we want him getting a lot of instruction to be ready to play HS ball and he wasn't getting that.
We're not concerned about winning rings right now or anything like that- it's playing the long game so that when he's more physically mature and hopefully hits the 6'4"-6'5" projected height that the physical talent and fundamental skills/baseball IQ intersect. Make the HS team and then see what happens.
Thus far we like what we're seeing in practice. Virtually every rep gets either positive reinforcement or correction. The kids are having fun but mental focus is a non-negotiable demand.
We have the same mindset for our 8-year old though it's less intense due to him being younger.
I will say that a whole lot of the craziness drops away as kids get older. From about 7-11 or 12 parents seem to think their kid is the next Bryce Harper. By 13 or 14 they're just hoping their kid can make the HS team.
I've posted pretty much every year on our experiences and why we've went select so rather than re-typing it, here's a link to my long post about it last year: https://texags.com/forums/53/topics/3268082/replies/61586044
Anyway, my oldest has his first tournament this weekend. We joined a new team- RC Elite Mizuno and are on a AAA squad. Being 12U eligible and playing up to be on grade level he's not ready for major, largely from a physical perspective. Because despite being 5'8" 150'ish he hasn't hit puberty yet and when you look at most 13U major teams they're recruiting kids who are almost grown-ass men. Anyway, we could have stayed with the Wildcatters team he was on in the fall but we weren't happy with the coach, the overall team, or the way the organization is being run. His coach quite literally did almost zero instruction in the fall and let the kids grab-ass way too much (his kid was the ringleader). They just didn't care or really work to develop. No gripes over playing time or that kind of stuff but we want him getting a lot of instruction to be ready to play HS ball and he wasn't getting that.
We're not concerned about winning rings right now or anything like that- it's playing the long game so that when he's more physically mature and hopefully hits the 6'4"-6'5" projected height that the physical talent and fundamental skills/baseball IQ intersect. Make the HS team and then see what happens.
Thus far we like what we're seeing in practice. Virtually every rep gets either positive reinforcement or correction. The kids are having fun but mental focus is a non-negotiable demand.
We have the same mindset for our 8-year old though it's less intense due to him being younger.
I will say that a whole lot of the craziness drops away as kids get older. From about 7-11 or 12 parents seem to think their kid is the next Bryce Harper. By 13 or 14 they're just hoping their kid can make the HS team.
The fact that you coached high school doesn't lend your opinion any more credence. The bolded is such an overgeneralization, it makes me wonder whether you have any recent experience with select baseball. This is coming from someone who has a kid in select and a kid in rec.45-70Ag said:
I coached at a high school for 10 years and I love seeing kids learn how to compete in little league. Don't care how good they are.
Seeing the clown show that is select is humorous. dads are clowns, the kids seldom do anything beyond high school baseball if they make that team and the select coaches are at best, morons with a knack for stealing parents money.
Bassmaster said:The fact that you coached high school doesn't lend your opinion any more credence. The bolded is such an overgeneralization, it makes me wonder whether you have any recent experience with select baseball. This is coming from someone who has a kid in select and a kid in rec.45-70Ag said:
I coached at a high school for 10 years and I love seeing kids learn how to compete in little league. Don't care how good they are.
Seeing the clown show that is select is humorous. dads are clowns, the kids seldom do anything beyond high school baseball if they make that team and the select coaches are at best, morons with a knack for stealing parents money.
There are a lot of bad select organizations and coaches out there but that's where parental due diligence comes into play.
And frankly, unless your kids is a stud athlete the odds of making the HS varsity team, let alone being a contributor, are very small without the instruction and competition in a quality select program. Especially at pretty much every program in the Houston area. The HS my sons will attend had 4 kids in their 2022 class sign D1 scholarships and 4 more sign with jucos or D2 programs.
TarponChaser said:Bassmaster said:The fact that you coached high school doesn't lend your opinion any more credence. The bolded is such an overgeneralization, it makes me wonder whether you have any recent experience with select baseball. This is coming from someone who has a kid in select and a kid in rec.45-70Ag said:
I coached at a high school for 10 years and I love seeing kids learn how to compete in little league. Don't care how good they are.
Seeing the clown show that is select is humorous. dads are clowns, the kids seldom do anything beyond high school baseball if they make that team and the select coaches are at best, morons with a knack for stealing parents money.
There are a lot of bad select organizations and coaches out there but that's where parental due diligence comes into play.
And frankly, unless your kids is a stud athlete the odds of making the HS varsity team, let alone being a contributor, are very small without the instruction and competition in a quality select program. Especially at pretty much every program in the Houston area. The HS my sons will attend had 4 kids in their 2022 class sign D1 scholarships and 4 more sign with jucos or D2 programs.
Playing select before 11 has ZERO impact on making a HS team. Now to say you played Rec right up until HS yes you'd be at a dis advantage probably. But if you were an athlete and taking lessons etc it is still doable. I'd bet you couldn't even do a test case though because select has become so prevalent.
The best cases that are made on this thread are those who's kids play both and treat select the way it was decades ago, as an extension of the season and higher competition on weekends and into the summer.
Edit to add: it does not take a stud athlete to make a freshman baseball team. It would take a stud to play 3-4 years at a varsity level but not to just make the team.
Absolutely, the problem we ran into and I don't want to get verbose on is, kids that have never played that want to and show effort- let's go. Kids who've never played and show up and the parents have done nothing to help them along and at 10 they stare at the ball rolling by them at half season is super frustrating for the team.
Those players rotate in RF. Simple as that
We did that. I mentioned watching balls roll by and we gave him extra attention to catch him up and he didn't grasp the game. I've now beat this to death with you, but it sucks for kids who give a *****
Lonestar_Ag09 said:TarponChaser said:Bassmaster said:The fact that you coached high school doesn't lend your opinion any more credence. The bolded is such an overgeneralization, it makes me wonder whether you have any recent experience with select baseball. This is coming from someone who has a kid in select and a kid in rec.45-70Ag said:
I coached at a high school for 10 years and I love seeing kids learn how to compete in little league. Don't care how good they are.
Seeing the clown show that is select is humorous. dads are clowns, the kids seldom do anything beyond high school baseball if they make that team and the select coaches are at best, morons with a knack for stealing parents money.
There are a lot of bad select organizations and coaches out there but that's where parental due diligence comes into play.
And frankly, unless your kids is a stud athlete the odds of making the HS varsity team, let alone being a contributor, are very small without the instruction and competition in a quality select program. Especially at pretty much every program in the Houston area. The HS my sons will attend had 4 kids in their 2022 class sign D1 scholarships and 4 more sign with jucos or D2 programs.
Playing select before 11 has ZERO impact on making a HS team. Now to say you played Rec right up until HS yes you'd be at a dis advantage probably. But if you were an athlete and taking lessons etc it is still doable. I'd bet you couldn't even do a test case though because select has become so prevalent.
The best cases that are made on this thread are those who's kids play both and treat select the way it was decades ago, as an extension of the season and higher competition on weekends and into the summer.
Edit to add: it does not take a stud athlete to make a freshman baseball team. It would take a stud to play 3-4 years at a varsity level but not to just make the team.
I didn't say they would be behind if they didn't start select before 11. But based on what I've seen the instruction and competition is needed by 12 or 13 at the latest.
And I made the caveat about varsity not just the freshman team. If you just want to be a guy then whatever but if you want to be a dude then what you're talking about isn't enough. If you're not exceptionally skilled with a high baseball IQ you'd better be a stud athlete. Particularly in the 6A programs around Houston.
Both play multiple sports. The 8-year old plays basketball & flag football. The 12-year old plays football and is doing 7th grade track right now- throwing the shot & disc and running hurdles.
I'm in a similar spot except my player is a little younger. I am looking at Bradley then maybe something more fun when she's ~9. Either customer Bradley or 44 as a birthday or Christmas present.dummble said:
She plays softball (11" ball) but has a baseball glove. She was not interested in the softball specific gloves at the time of purchase.
Alright.....got a tournament out in Beaumont next weekend. Any recommendations for hotel?
lil99chris said:
Alright.....got a tournament out in Beaumont next weekend. Any recommendations for hotel?
It's Beaumont man, just zip in & out for the day. You'll be happier for it.
Anyone have favorite youtube channels for tips on hitting or pitching?
redline248 said:
Anyone have favorite youtube channels for tips on hitting or pitching?
This is a good one for all around stuff IMHO: https://www.youtube.com/@AntonelliBaseball
Tom House has an app called Team Mustard that's pitching centric. But personally, I think that if you don't have the expertise yourself getting professional instruction for pitching is huge, if for no other reason than protecting a young arm from potential injury due to poor mechanics.
TarponChaser is a disciple of Teacherman Hitting
I like Antonelli. He has a good channel.
True......living in Cypress makes it a bit more difficult.TarponChaser said:lil99chris said:
Alright.....got a tournament out in Beaumont next weekend. Any recommendations for hotel?
It's Beaumont man, just zip in & out for the day. You'll be happier for it.
lil99chris said:True......living in Cypress makes it a bit more difficult.TarponChaser said:lil99chris said:
Alright.....got a tournament out in Beaumont next weekend. Any recommendations for hotel?
It's Beaumont man, just zip in & out for the day. You'll be happier for it.
The Hampton Inn is pretty decent. And there's a Twin Peaks across the parking lot. The talent ain't bad for Beaumont but the food is better than most other chains there.
But there's a cluster of places off 10 & Walden Road that are all national hotel franchises decent enough places. And there's a Pappadeaux's, Cracker Barrell, and Waffle House in addition to the Twin Peaks so you've got food there too. It ain't the Ritz or high-end food but it works.
edit: also, you can go the back road down Fannett Road to get to Ford Park and don't have to deal with the construction on 10.
Stay at a classic, MCM Elegante.
Maybe look into Rico Gloves. My son has a catcher's glove that is holding up well after the fall season.Quote:I'm in a similar spot except my player is a little younger. I am looking at Bradley then maybe something more fun when she's ~9. Either customer Bradley or 44 as a birthday or Christmas present.Quote:
dummble said:
She plays softball (11" ball) but has a baseball glove. She was not interested in the softball specific gloves at the time of purchase.
Also really digging the Marucci Cypress glove we got for this season.
Anyone have any recommendations for best camera setup to use for live streaming games? Was looking at the DJI Pocket 2.
I think most people use GoPro, although I think preference is Mevo since it's better integration I to Game Changer.
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