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MariettaDad
13 Posts |
 Posted - 10/01/2014 : 14:37:23
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I know it's really too early to start thinking about next year, but after watching my son's rec team this fall the travel team discussion has come up.
Our son, one of the top players in his rec league, played his first summer of All-Star baseball this year in 6U. He performed at or better than our expectations all summer.
Mentally and physically we believe he can handle travel baseball. He just loves the game and never complains when he's on the field.
Originally, we were thinking at starting travel at 9U but reading about all the 8U teams has made us think maybe 8U makes more sense.
Can any parents whose boys started travel at 8U provide any feedback. Specifically we were wondering about the tryouts and the process of switching from coach pitch to kid pitch.
Thanks, |
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Big Daddy
132 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2014 : 10:17:00
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| My son played on a travel team that started kid pitch at 8 and it was a lot of fun....and I'm glad we did it. Yes there were a lot of walks and yes some of the kids couldn't hit the broad side of a barn (my son being one), but it was fun to introduce them to a pitched ball at 8. As the season rolled along, the pitching got better and by 9, the boys were ready to play. It was interesting though that our county park officials were vehemently opposed to kid pitch at 8. Not sure I ever heard a reasonable explanation about that one. |
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kidsgame
35 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2014 : 14:22:41
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My son started travel at 9U. His 9U travel team had already played 1 year of kid pitch at 8U. Because the other kids had more pitching experience and we played on a competitive team, he did not pitch very many innings at 9U and that has seemed to carry over each year he has played, and he has had fewer and fewer opportunities to pitch. This may be a consideration for you if you would like him to pitch . . .
Not to say this will be the way things turn out for your son though - we saw that our son was playing elsewhere, and he was happy about that. So, we stopped pitching lessons in favor of hitting lessons more than 3 years ago. You could always ramp up pitching lessons to catch up with the other players, if necessary.
Our son is now 13U, and plays on a major team. He was picked up to play with another team last Sunday and they pitched him for 2 innings - he smiled almost the entire time. He had his catchers' gear back on for our team practice Sunday night and was happy there, too.
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Edited by - kidsgame on 10/02/2014 15:22:54 |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2014 : 14:48:35
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My son started travel ball at 9u...and if I had to do it over again we would have waited another year and had him start at 10u. 9u was painful to watch. It wasn't baseball, it was which team had a pitcher that could get it remotely in the strike zone and not fill the bases with walks. I would say 80% of our "runs" were from walks...not really fun to watch.
Now, throw in there that rec ball is 1/4 the price of travel ball and you have your answer on why we should have waited. If you want your kid to get exposure to more challenging baseball I suggest private lessons. Spend the money you would have spent on travel ball and the gas traveling and put it towards private pitching and hitting lessons, and maybe sign him up for Sped and agility classes. |
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wareagle
324 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2014 : 15:36:56
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Loved coach pitch! I wish we could still play it, but at 14U I do not think the coaches could get out of the way quick enough! Might be fun to see though.
In coach pitch, I thought the boys learned more about the fundamentals of throwing, fielding, batting mechanics, ect. The simply get more reps. Ideally, I would play 60-70 percent of 8u in CP, then move to KP to get ready for 9u. JMO |
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MariettaDad
13 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2014 : 11:22:00
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Thanks for all the feedback.
I find it interesting when you discuss the cost and benefits of travel vs rec ball. My son has been fairly lucky in having some decent head coaches during his rec playing time, but we fear the season with the new dad head coach which could hurt his development. Our rec team this season with a mix of 7U/8U finally has enough to field an infield that can catch which has helped his development after 6U All-Stars. But, we also have our fair share of kids on this rec team who misbehave because they don't' want to be playing.
It also sounds like that private lessons might be the way to go if we stay rec or travel for his hitting transition from coach to kid pitch.
Right now, our son says he doesn't want to ever pitch even though he has one of the stronger arms in the league. I am sure that will change once he sees his buddies pitch.
Does anyone have any tips for the first season of 8U tryouts? I am pretty sure that he will have to tryout for a spot on team pre-filled with a coach's summer all-star team. |
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DawgDad
1 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2014 : 15:47:12
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We are 2 months into 8U KP and so far our son loves it. He tried out for both KP and CP teams. The tryouts for 8U CP were similar to what we went through during All-Star tryouts. The tryouts for 8U KP were the same except they asked each player to pitch 10 to 15 pitches. During each tryout, the manager/head coach laid out plans for their team (i.e. team will start with KP, team will play hybrid schedule - CP/KP tourneys, CP through Fall and start KP in late Spring, number of tournaments they will play, etc). We were surprised by the different directions each of the teams were going.
Your last comment regarding pre-filled teams seems to be true across the board. Many of the 7U A Teams kept their core team together for travel at their home parks (i.e. OP, Hobgood, etc) and some took a core group to form other travel teams. Many of the tryouts were held to fill 2 or 3 spots. Some coaches were honest and stated that they were only looking for a few players. I would suggest asking questions before you tryout because many of them were scheduled for the same weekend/time. Some of the tryouts lasted 3 hrs due to the number of players trying out. There may be certain details like CP vs KP or the number of available spots that might direct you to one tryout over another.
Just my 2 cents as a parent that recently went through the 8U travel tryout process. |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2014 : 16:18:44
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quote:
Originally posted by MariettaDad
Right now, our son says he doesn't want to ever pitch even though he has one of the stronger arms in the league. I am sure that will change once he sees his buddies pitch.
Does anyone have any tips for the first season of 8U tryouts? I am pretty sure that he will have to tryout for a spot on team pre-filled with a coach's summer all-star team.
He will pitch because in a 6 game tourney with a 6 innings per pitcher limit, the coach will have worked on pitching with EVERYONE, just in case.
Don't assume 8U will be a team that has been pre-filled with a coach's summer all-star team...many travel ball leagues aren't out of rec parks, i.e. no all-star team. Track the message boards for tryouts and go try some. |
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AA17Dad
211 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2014 : 09:39:42
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Don't be overly concerned with development at this age. The number one thing to be concerned with is that he is having fun and to foster his love for the game. Young kids acquire their skills at different ages. It is more biological than training. Some kids learn to throw at 6 others don't master it until 9 or 10. Some never do, despite hours of training for years.
Enjoy the game, make sure he is enjoying the game. Kids handle pressure differently and develop at different rates.
If he is still interested and working hard, and good " after " puberty. You have a ball player.
Right now you have a kid that plays ball. Enjoy the experience. |
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BaseballMom6
233 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2014 : 13:35:19
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| Well said AA17Dad, my son started travel at 13. 2 years later he is playing up an age group, still loves the game, and doesn't have any overuse injuries. Let your child lead the direction they want to go, always making sure that having fun is number one on the list. |
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MariettaDad
13 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2014 : 15:22:18
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Thanks again for the feedback. Our son truly loves the game and never complains about practices or long games. It's actually pretty scary that he watches MLB Quick Pitch every morning at age 6. My wife and I feel though that he needs challenges to grow. Pretty much all sports have been very easy for him to excel at. However, he gets very frustrated with other things that require more work and practice.
It's just difficult to challenge him much in games or practices on a rec team, that's the main reason that we are looking at travel at 8U.
His season of rec fall ball has actually gone a lot better than we expected, and we are already looking forward to winter basketball and spring/summer baseball. |
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ABC_Baseball
90 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2014 : 12:18:15
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My kid's first year of travel ball and KP was at 8u. It was a good change from rec ball. There was one kid that joined us at 9u after playing 8u rec ball. His hitting was behind and he did struggle. By the later part of the spring and early summer, his bat came around. Personally, I'm glad we started travel ball at 8u. My son didn't pitch more than an inning all year. Despite having a summer birthday and being one of the older kids on the team, he just didn't have the accuracy to be a pitcher. Now his hitting was outstanding. He did struggle in the fall and winter during the transition to KP, but once we got going, he was the same good hitter in KP that he was in CP.
Fast forward to 9u and his accuracy went way up. We had been doing pitching lessons since the summer prior to 9u fall ball, but despite better overall throwing accuracy, he still struggled pitching. Not more than an inning and a half all season, but the signs of improvement were there. Now that we have started 10u, his pitching has been much better. Got his first start of the fall and had an 11 pitch inning, striking out the first batter and getting the next two guys out. Due to the rough, brief outings at 8 & 9, my kid would tell you that he "is not a pitcher." However, its a different story now. His arm is much stronger and he has the fine accuracy to log some major innings this year for his team. Yes the 8u & 9u years were tough on him mentally from a pitching aspect. However, it has taught him a value lesson. He has endured it and I think myself along with the coaching staff was very encouraged with what they see out of him in just one tournament this fall.
Lessons for everything help, pitching/hitting. Find someone that knows more than you do and let them help take your kids game up a notch. If you are going to pay $$$ to play travel ball, you might as well invest if you want them to be prepared to do well. |
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8U Travel Ball Decision 2015
