Scrimmages are ending and UIL Baseball games start this week!

TarponChaser said:

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Lonestar_Ag09 said:

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TarponChaser said:

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Bassmaster said:

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45-70Ag said:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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That's somewhat true for HS, but for most kids who play after HS "baseball IQ" is about on the bottom of the totem pole as far as being recruited. It's the stud athletes who get the offers. This isn't every case, but the majority. I think the struggle for most parents is the money spent from say an 8 year old kid to 17 year old playing select ball really "worth it"? Thats for each family to decide, but yes playing select ball for that long in competitive leagues will surely make the player's baseball IQ improve over those who dont commit that level of time. However, it isn't necessarily going to increase the kids opportunity to play after high school if they don't have that extra level of athletic ability.

I also think a lot depends on the quality of the little league programs, etc wherever you live.

AustinCountyAg said:

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TarponChaser said:

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Lonestar_Ag09 said:

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TarponChaser said:

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Bassmaster said:

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45-70Ag said:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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That's somewhat true for HS, but for most kids who play after HS "baseball IQ" is about on the bottom of the totem pole as far as being recruited. It's the stud athletes who get the offers. This isn't every case, but the majority. I think the struggle for most parents is the money spent from say an 8 year old kid to 17 year old playing select ball really "worth it"? Thats for each family to decide, but yes playing select ball for that long in competitive leagues will surely make the player's baseball IQ improve over those who dont commit that level of time. However, it isn't necessarily going to increase the kids opportunity to play after high school if they don't have that extra level of athletic ability.

I also think a lot depends on the quality of the little league programs, etc wherever you live.

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Yeah, I don't debate the athletic ability component at all. In fact, the A&M coaches will flat out tell you that kids from about 12 or 13 through HS need to spend more time on getting faster, stronger, and more explosive than they do working on baseball skills. They want athletes and can coach the baseball stuff.

I know that our closest "league" is horribly hollowed out by no later than 9U. You could take a good 9U major team and wipe the floor with a 12U "all star" team in the local league. And because the league isn't affiliated with Little League Baseball any all star team can't even try to get to the LLWS so there's no reason for kids to stay in the league with that goal like you see with Pearland Little League or Post Oak Little League in the Houston area. And even with those Little Leagues every kid who is making their all star teams also plays select. Hell, there's not even a Little League close enough to us for us to live inside their boundaries and play there if we wanted to have a shot at all stars and Williamsport.

The last 5-10 minutes they discuss youth baseball…probably an unpopular take on this board

Lonestar_Ag09 said:

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The last 5-10 minutes they discuss youth baseball…probably an unpopular take on this board

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I don't get why you think that. I would think that most of us agree with what he was talking about.

Don't believe I've heard a single person state they believe select shouldn't be done before 11/12 and should only be top 5-10 in the league

I don't think it's at all unpopular and they're pretty spot on. They also have a different perspective because of their careers and expertise. You're not getting 1/10th of their knowledge from the average league ball coaches. And they also came up before there was much of a select ball world, certainly there was no select ball until HS for them.

It's all dependent upon us as parents to find the right select team situation. You want the kids to have fun, learn to love the game, and get as many quality reps (ie- with quality instruction) as you possibly can. Winning is secondary just as long as the kids win often enough to keep it fun and see that their hard work pays off. The level of seriousness should increase in direct relation to age.

My thoughts on their points.

Loney:

• watered down select that's just a money-maker; agree 100% but we ain't getting that toothpaste back in the tube.

• outplay their league before going to travel; sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy because while neither of my boys were the best in their league before going to select, they would have been had they stuck around one more season because the handful of players ahead of them left- I'd imagine that's similar for lots of folks. And if my boys went back to league now my 8-year old would have to play with 10-year olds and my 12-year old would have to play with 15-year olds to be on par with what's in the league now.

• select before 10/11 years old should really be about reps; also agree 100%, too many people don't see this and expect their kids to be winning and kicking ass in select immediately when it's about the process over results. Unfortunately, you quite literally cannot get the kind of reps and the amount of reps necessary to develop in league ball unless you're exceedingly lucky.

Plouffe:

• reps and eventually need better competition (talks about their boys being 7-8 years old); also agree 100%
• make it fun so the learn to love the game and then get more competitive; agree 100%

Lonestar_Ag09 said:

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Don't believe I've heard a single person state they believe select shouldn't be done before 11/12 and should only be top 5-10 in the league

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Loney says he doesn't think you need to be in select before 10 or 11 you need reps.

That's the rub though because 99% of the time or more you cannot get those reps just with league.

Lonestar_Ag09 said:

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Don't believe I've heard a single person state they believe select shouldn't be done before 11/12 and should only be top 5-10 in the league

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I think most of us agree that in a perfect world that would be the case.

He also talks about reps. One of the many, many problems with Rec ball is lack of reps.

Part of the flight from Rec ball to select ball is that select ball offers a better product beyond just the better players. I wish that wasn't the case but it is.

For the record I kept my son in Rec ball til he was 11. He played both. So did his entire select team. That is the way to go.

agsalaska said:

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For the record I kept my son in Rec ball til he was 11. He played both. So did his entire select team. That is the way to go.

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That's not an option in a lot of places.

There's literally no point to sticking around in our league past 8 or 9U.

What does a weekly schedule look like for a select ball player?

Farmer1906 said:

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TarponChaser is a disciple of Teacherman Hitting

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Woah woah woah. Let's not get crazy.

TarponChaser said:

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Lonestar_Ag09 said:

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Don't believe I've heard a single person state they believe select shouldn't be done before 11/12 and should only be top 5-10 in the league

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Loney says he doesn't think you need to be in select before 10 or 11 you need reps.

That's the rub though because 99% of the time or more you cannot get those reps just with league.

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That's definitely an issue. With my middle son's rec team (9u), we can't hold two practices a week. We can't even depend on everyone to be there for 1 practice a week. Also, parents don't want to sit out there for 2 hours when we do practice.

My oldest plays 12u major and a typical week is practice 2x for 2 hours and sometimes one additional "voluntary" practice is thrown in. They are practicing 3x a week right now until their first tournament next weekend. All of the kids do hitting and or pitching lessons with private coaches (not our team coaches) outside of that once a week. Then once tournaments begin, we'll play every other weekend.

He played AAU basketball over the winter and I can't figure out how select baseball gets such a bad rap while AAU basketball goes unscathed. It is a disaster.

Farmer1906 said:

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What does a weekly schedule look like for a select ball player?

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Completely depends on age.

Our older son is in 7th grade, he's 12U by age but rather than play 12U major like a lot, he's playing 13U AAA. Baseball IQ levels are probably similar between the two but we're playing on a bigger field (54' mound; 80' bases; usually 300' minimum fences and sometimes play 60/90) and kids are generally bigger and more physically mature. Right now he's also running track (runs hurdles & throws shot and discus) so his typical week is this:

- Monday: arrive at school at 6:45 for thrower workout (7th grade has 1st period athletics), hurdles workout after school until about 5:15. Then, depending on whether or not we played a baseball tournament the preceding weekend and whether or not he pitched, pitchers & catchers have a bullpen from 7-7:30/7:45 and the whole team has BP from 7:30'ish to 8:45.
- Tuesday: same track program but then from 7:30-9 he goes to a speed & conditioning/strength training workout at a place called Texas Footwork and works out mostly with HS kids and some guys who are going off to play college ball. There's a couple guys who have played in the NFL but recently got cut and are trying to get back who workout/coach here too. This isn't just for baseball, this is all around workout for football and track too.
- Wednesday: morning track workout, track meet after school, baseball practice from 7:30-9:30
- Thursday: their school district has "late arrival" days on most Thursdays so school doesn't start until 10. He sleeps in, makes sure he's up on all his school work (he's a straight-A kid in all pre-AP/honors stuff). Then track practice after school. And we do his extra hitting & pitching lessons that night.
- Friday: morning track workout and after school too but no other activities.

Weekends- if we have a tournament he plays baseball, if not we go fishing or hunting.

Our younger son is 8 and it's actually calmed down because his basketball season wrapped up last week (for the last 6 weeks we've had basketball, flag football, and baseball practice overlapping so he just skipped baseball since we don't have his first tournament until this coming weekend) but right now it's baseball practice M/W from 5:45-8, flag football practice T/Th from 7-9, and flag football games on Friday evenings at 6. When flag football ends he'll do an extra BP session once a week on Tuesday or Thursday. Weekends are the same routine as big brother.

Bassmaster said:

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My oldest plays 12u major and a typical week is practice 2x for 2 hours and sometimes one additional "voluntary" practice is thrown in. They are practicing 3x a week right now until their first tournament next weekend. All of the kids do hitting and or pitching lessons with private coaches (not our team coaches) outside of that once a week. Then once tournaments begin, we'll play every other weekend.

He played AAU basketball over the winter and I can't figure out how select baseball gets such a bad rap while AAU basketball goes unscathed. It is a disaster.

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In my experience baseball parents are pretty tame on the whole when compared to AAU basketball and the more competitive "peewee" football leagues.

Bassmaster said:

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My oldest plays 12u major and a typical week is practice 2x for 2 hours and sometimes one additional "voluntary" practice is thrown in. They are practicing 3x a week right now until their first tournament next weekend. All of the kids do hitting and or pitching lessons with private coaches (not our team coaches) outside of that once a week. Then once tournaments begin, we'll play every other weekend.

He played AAU basketball over the winter and I can't figure out how select baseball gets such a bad rap while AAU basketball goes unscathed. It is a disaster.

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Does it? I have never once heard a good thing about AAU basketball. It has a terrible reputation.

Generally, about 6 hours of practice either with the team or alone plus games. Doesn't sound too crazy. We're still in rec ball for the first spring season. We have two 1.5-hour practices plus games. My child wants to play more at home so it's not uncommon to put in another hour or three in the driveway during the week. Comparing ball to dance, my oldest puts in about 9 hours a week.

I fully recognize that, especially for my 7th grader, it is a lot. We try to monitor closely for signs of burnout but he wants to keep pushing. He says his goal is to play football and baseball at A&M.

And frankly, 7th grade for me was the time I really started working and set my goal to play college football. I wanted to play college baseball too but I wasn't that good at baseball. I played travel soccer which was year round and overlapped with football, basketball, track, and baseball. It was also when I started doing a lot of extra workouts too. It wasn't organized like things are today but growing up in BCS I had a number of buddies who's dads played sports at A&M and some professionally and they'd take us up to the HS practice fields and have us run sprints, do agility drills, and start teaching us how to lift weights.

I guess it's a function of your environment and your peers because most of my close friends from HS played sports in college and a number played professionally. I played at Rice myself but injuries cut that short.

Push your kids and have high expectations on & off the field is my philosophy.

Loney's point was not to be the top player by default just because the kids that were better than you left...that's completely opposite of the point. As I listened I understood what they were saying to mean reps...as in practice, lessons etc. a kid can play ever inning in a weekend tournament and only make 5-10 plays. That isnt getting reps. Going into the same games, lets say 6 games, 3 at bats per game: 18 at bats

That isnt Reps. In my opinion no sensible person believes "reps" to mean playing more games.

When you're talking about going to lessons, that has nothing to do with playing select either that can be done while playing rec ball.
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On a slightly separate note I believe it needs to stop being called "select" because it isnt. When the majority play in it, it is no longer select, its just travel ball.

I understand all about what he was saying regarding reps and in 99% of the cases kids in a quality travel/select program will get more rep in one practice than an entire season of league ball.

That's why we made the move, even though they wouldn't have been the top kids in the league at the time. The better quality coaching, more reps & better reps, and kids who want to be out there not just out there to be out there.

And it's pretty unrealistic to think kids will be happy doing nothing but lessons & practices without playing. I'm not saying the usual tournament format is remotely perfect but it's what we've got.

I rarely hear anyone discuss aau basketball. Anytime select baseball is brought up, here comes the waves of people mocking kids and parents. Perhaps it's just my experience. It certainly doesn't have the bad rap that select baseball has on Texags.

I disagree that reps doesn't equal playing more games. It does. You can't simulate a live at bat like an actual game situation. A live ab off of a teammate doesn't do it. You know their tendencies, they know yours, there are no real consequences.

Deluxe said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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TarponChaser is a disciple of Teacherman Hitting

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Woah woah woah. Let's not get crazy.

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I think I need some more background on this teacherman guy

Bassmaster said:

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I disagree that reps doesn't equal playing more games. It does. You can't simulate a live at bat like an actual game situation. A live ab off of a teammate doesn't do it. You know their tendencies, they know yours, there are no real consequences.

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I'm saying reps don't come from JUST playing more games. I agree that you cant duplicate game events....but there is a reason a pro ball player still takes infield practice and batting practice and works in the cages even though they play almost daily and 162 games.

redline248 said:

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Deluxe said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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TarponChaser is a disciple of Teacherman Hitting

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Woah woah woah. Let's not get crazy.

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I think I need some more background on this teacherman guy

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Full disclosure: I actually like Teacherman, but he's a bit polarizing.

One of my side passions is studying the baseball/golf swing mechanics. To the extent that I constantly watch baseball instruction YouTube and walk around my house with an old wooden bat trying to replicate feels. My new wife finds this behavior peculiar for a 38 year old given that I don't intend to play actual baseball, but I digress haha.

It took me a little while to feel what Teacherman is trying to get across. But once I felt it, it made alot sense. The snap just helps get the bat on plane as quick as possible. From there it's all synchronized extension and rotation. Still trying to properly feel the load he teaches.

First wife but we haven't been married for long

Deluxe said:

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redline248 said:

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Deluxe said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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TarponChaser is a disciple of Teacherman Hitting

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Woah woah woah. Let's not get crazy.

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I think I need some more background on this teacherman guy

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Full disclosure: I actually like Teacherman, but he's a bit polarizing.

One of my side passions is studying the baseball/golf swing mechanics. To the extent that I constantly watch baseball instruction YouTube and walk around my house with an old wooden bat trying to replicate feels. My new wife finds this behavior peculiar for a 38 year old given that I don't intend to play actual baseball, but I digress haha.

It took me a little while to feel what Teacherman is trying to get across. But once I felt it, it made alot sense. The snap just helps get the bat on plane as quick as possible. From there it's all synchronized extension and rotation. Still trying to properly feel the load he teaches.

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We could be IRL friends.

Might be a little off topic…but

My son is a catcher…his current mask is getting a little small. It's really tough to find somewhere in BCS to try on youth catchers gear. We are going to be in DFW next weekend. Anyone know of a store that has a variety of youth catchers gear to try on?

Thanks!

Farmer1906 said:

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What does a weekly schedule look like for a select ball player?

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This is my schedule

December & January- Off

February - June- two practices a week and usually 2 tourneys a month

July & August- Off

September - mid October(Football season)- Fall Sunday double header league. No practice, just show up to 2 games on Sundays. Treat it like practice with everyone pitching 1 inning and moving around.

Mid October - November- practice twice a week and play 3-4 tourneys


We have 4 months totally off, plus another 6 weeks of fall practice League. We will play 70-80 games

Super NIT roll call. Who's coming and what division?

750 teams from 25 States playing in "Houston" this weekend.

PhatMack19 said:

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Super NIT roll call. Who's coming and what division?

750 teams from 25 States playing in "Houston" this weekend.

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Be coaching Banditos 14U Majors