| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Harry.Doyle
8 Posts |
 Posted - 07/14/2017 : 10:42:08
|
I'm looking for the community's advice. I have an 11 year old that's headed to 6th grade. He has played travel for the last couple of years on AA and AAA teams as a pitcher, catcher, corner infielder and #3 hitter. His school has a middle school team that's comprised of 6th - 8th graders that play 60/90. The school is small and have been told he is all but a lock for team. Assuming he does make the team, our expectations are he would be a backup/bench player with 7th and 8th graders playing ahead of him.
My question is around a travel team. When looking for a travel team should we prioritize the most competitive team? Should we look for a team that has several of his friends, which might not be as talented? I expect him to experience some growing pains at the middle school level so should we look for something travel team wise that's a bit more relaxed? Being on the top travel team and collecting a bunch of hardware is not a top priority. We believe there's time for that in high school if the interest is still there. Looking for anyone that's had a similar situation. |
|
|
turntwo
955 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2017 : 14:46:06
|
So an 11 (assuming will be 12 in the next 9 months or so) wants to play 60/90? That's a significant jump. With a mesh of ages (11-14ish?) and playing on a 14U sized field, then I assume -3 for bats as well? Unless you've got a BIG 11U, that jump could be extremely tough for him.
Also, I don't know of many 11 (or 12U) teams that would be as 'tolerant' to "school ball" as say 13U+. So, is making the middle school team to sit the bench, really worth juggling 2 baseball schedules?
In terms of the type of team you seek, most will say: choose the team that is the HIGHEST level your son can MAKE and get PLENTY of playing time. Again, no sense in barely making a Major team, to sit the bench/bat last (if at all). He needs to make a high enough level team where he's 'pushed' by not only opponents, but teammates as well. Once he's easily the top 3 on a team, it's time for a higher level team. Just my opinion. |
 |
|
|
in_the_know
985 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2017 : 15:33:30
|
Put him where he will play.
If he will be on the middle school team and get reps vs. bench time, play there. If he won't and you'd have to supplement him being on another team to get reps, then skip the middle school team altogether and play on a travel team where he'll get reps.
There is absolutely no reason or advantage to deal with a middle school team to simply ride pine. Waste of you and your son's time and money and will likely have little bearing on whether he makes a HS roster or not. |
|
|
|
Harry.Doyle
8 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2017 : 15:43:58
|
| Thanks for the feedback turntwo. A few more details. It's a small private school that plays other private and public middle school teams in Atlanta area. 6th graders can swing -10 bat to ease the transition. My son has a late birthday, won't turn 11 until later this month. Middle school team rarely has games on Friday or weekends to minimize scheduling conflicts as several kids play on travel teams and participate in other school activities. |
|
|
|
ECB.Phenoms
20 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2017 : 20:22:41
|
Hi Harry, great moniker BTW.
Two of our friends, whose 6th grade boys both attend private school, played for either the same league/ conference that you are considering last year, or one much like it. Both families said the competition was really weak in that middle school league. They both have March/ April birthdays so they are always some of the younger kids on our travel teams. They both made the better of the teams being offered by their middle school programs as 6th graders. So stick to a decent travel team with solid coaches. There isn't a lot to gain by "playing down". |
|
|
|
Harry.Doyle
8 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2017 : 22:24:08
|
| This was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks! |
|
|
|
morrsco
55 Posts |
Posted - 07/24/2017 : 14:21:07
|
| My son did just what you are asking about this past season. He was a sixth grader with a late birthday. He played for both his middle school team and a travel team. One good thing about middle school is the practice schedule. His team practiced every M,T,TH,F right after school. Most travel teams just don't practice that much. That team really worked on infield defense, and my son improved a good amount in that area. He also got to be the starting shortstop as a 6th grader so that was good for his confidence. He got to see some high velocity from the older kids, but the 60 feet gave him time to still hit the ball. The biggest hurdle is pitching on a Tuesday night game at 60 and then pitching on Sunday at the shorter distance. |
|
|
|
CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 07/25/2017 : 08:45:42
|
The fastest way for a elbow growth plate issue is to pitch on two teams at the same time. 11u-13u has the largest occurrence of growth plate issues. Seriously folks, tell the middle school team the kid does NOT pitch. You will save yourself some major medical bills, and your son will be able to pitch in high school.
Several of you are shaking your head going, oh it's not too many pitches, he would tell me if he is sore, I'm sure he will be fine. You really want to take that risk for a middle school team that has little to no affiliation with the high school team? You really want to risk his elbow not growing correctly, affecting him for the rest of his life? You really want to increase his chance for Tommy John Surgery when he's older? I have seen it more than 10 times with my own eyes. It's too much stress on a growing body. You want him healthy, have him only pitch on ONE team.
|
|
|
|
Harry.Doyle
8 Posts |
Posted - 07/25/2017 : 09:58:13
|
| Thanks for sharing your experiences. The middle school team does practice more frequently than our past travel teams, so I think there would be some benefit from that. I also hear you about the pitching for one team at a time. If a coach or a team has a problem with that, then it's not a good fit for us. |
|
|
|
CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 07/25/2017 : 14:26:48
|
Keep in mind Harry.Doyle, travel ball is your sons avenue to playing in college, if that is what he wants to do, middle school will not likely be good competition.
At 11u my son didn't pitch much, I didn't push the issue, I'm glad I didn't. Many 9u-12u players were getting several lessons a month from hitting to pitching to fielding, I'm glad he didn't. Many 9u-12u players were lifting weights, bench presses, leg lifts, personal trainers, ....etc..., I'm glad he didn't. While I am knocking on wood, my son has NEVER had an arm/shoulder/back/knee issue. Now that he is older (started to shave), starting to work out, starting to gain the muscle mass that was waiting to be earned, he has surpassed most pitchers in his age group. Pitching will likely be his avenue to college baseball.
Many will say there is nothing wrong with any of the above, they could be right, but the path I took my son on turned out fairly well and was FAR cheaper than many other people's paths. |
|
|
|
morrsco
55 Posts |
Posted - 07/25/2017 : 16:32:12
|
Pitching for sure was my one concern with letting my son play both a middle school and travel ball schedule at the same time. You have to really watch the pitch counts. I went to all of the games and kept a counter on him. We also discussed the situation with both coaches at the start of the year. We communicated with the coaches about when he pitched last and how many pitches were thrown. The middle school coach kept to a firm rotation so that team was actually easy to work around, and my son wasn't one of the most frequently used pitchers on the travel team. You have to stay on top of the situation, but it can be managed.
The big benefit was the extra practice time. He worked harder last season than pretty much all of the other travel ball kids, and the work showed in the amount of improvement he showed. The middle school coach was also a paid professional coach so the practices were excellent, and it cost a fraction of what the travel ball team cost. |
|
|
|
ngaballdad
7 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2017 : 09:57:36
|
| My son played 11U and also played (mostly sat) for his middle school team, as well. The jump to the -3 bats was a huge problem for him at 11, but the increase in on-field practice time gave him a huge boost on the weekends. He could barely get the -3 around, but it helped him to destroy the ball with the -10's and -8's. As for pitching, same thing. He only pitched sparingly in JV games, but the distance increase, and the confidence gained from pitching to older kids, helped his weekend pitching tremendously. So for us, his being on the middle school team was a great way to get some weekly reps that improved his game for his "real" team. |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Topic Locked
