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Be69chevy
18 Posts |
 Posted - 10/24/2014 : 12:35:56
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Ok just found out about this site and this is my first post....
Need advice on where to play my 8u son in the spring. He is currently playing rec ball 8u CP. He will be 9 - 11/1/15. We like ball through the local rec dept but he is more advanced that most of the other kids in the league hitting and fielding. Should we stay in rec ball so he still gets to play with his classmates or try to find a travel team in our area? Feel like he needs more of a challenge vs being big fish in little pond. What is the best way to find a travel them in our area? Do travel teams permit you to play rec ball as well? |
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Shut Out
512 Posts |
Posted - 10/24/2014 : 15:38:39
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| Stay in rec ball. Have fun the rest will come. |
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CoachCross
107 Posts |
Posted - 10/24/2014 : 23:16:41
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Don't rush it. If there's a travel team at your park, you might take a look at it, but don't work too hard to find a travel team.
If he's good, he should have a chance to play All-Stars this coming summer. If he likes that, maybe take a look at playing with a local travel team. Whatever you do, try to make sure he can play other sports in the fall and winter. |
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bstand
56 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2014 : 17:12:27
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For what its worth as someone who had kids play in JC and high level tournament ball, as well as having coached both, I would recommend playing both sides of the fence. He needs to stay with his classmates and in the JC system if you plan on him playing school ball at JC. If you exclusively play tournament ball it is a lot harder to return later into a "circle of acceptance".
I agree with others you shouldn't rush it, but if you don't have your son playing kid pitch in 8U or as a 9U next fall, he would be at a disadvantage to all those who did participate in kid pitch at that age. If your kid is a stud, he will likely remain a standout until he hits puberty much later. I also agree its great if he's into other sports to give the arm rest and to avoid burnout.
Having said that, if he has a passion for the game, you are actually punishing him not letting him play in the spring and fall. You just need to take it upon yourself to educate yourself about good mechanics and best practices to prevent injury, and only trust your player's development/instruction to coaches/instructors you trust and that have a sound knowledge of proper mechanics and are ultimately concerned with keeping your player healthy. There are plenty of dads and other "coaches" out there that will be more than happy to abuse and overuse a strong player just to get wins.
There are good resources on the internet and plenty of academies/instructors around if you aren't sure about fundamentals, mechanics, injury prevention, etc. This forum is also loaded with quality individuals with a wide range of experiences and will be very helpful.
Jackson County just started feeder teams for the school program within the last year or so starting at around 12u. If your schedule allows it, you could always volunteer and coach a team at the JC rec. its a great opportunity to give back, have a firm hand in the development of your player, as well as spending quality time with your son. The trick is to remember he is 8 and your son. Where you can differentiate between dad and coach, your son can't, so every correction he will likely take personally unless it's delivered correctly. Hope this helps and best of luck. If he sticks with it you guys are in for tons of great times and memories as you progress on your baseball journey. |
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Be69chevy
18 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2015 : 12:45:24
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We decided to stay in rec ball for spring 8u coach pitch. But it worked out great one of the dad's in the league put together a weekend tourney team and my son in playing on that team as well as the standard rec team. He had his 1st rec team practice this weekend and really showed out....all the parents and kids were kind of in shock... Hit 2 homers, 3-4 more just miss going out and a bunch of hard grounds to the fence.
What kills me about rec ball is the talent is spread out evenly between the teams, 1/2 the kids on the rec team barely know which end of the bat to hold.
At what age do most of those kids drop out or is that who rec ball is for and we need to move on?
Not trying to be mean in any way just asking.
We spend lot of extra time doing father son practice and it shows that others don't . |
Edited by - Be69chevy on 02/23/2015 13:47:46 |
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LittleDawg
91 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2015 : 14:02:20
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Rec ball is designed to be just that. Recreational. Not every kid nor family needs to be uber competitive and Rec provides that. It's got volunteer coaches and is meant to teach the basics. For those who want more competition and to play at a higher level, Travel or tourney ball provides that.
But as others above state, don't rush it. If your son and your family are ready for the commitment (both time and financial) than by all means, consider travelball. If not, wait another year, use the money for private lessons and let him enjoy playing with some friends.
As an FYI, also don't expect that all 11 kids who play on a travel team at 9U are going to be at that much of a higher talent level. What travelball does do is weeds out the kids who simply don't want to be there.
Again this is not a Knock on Rec. Sometimes, kids just want to play.
Good luck with whatever you decide |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2015 : 15:56:49
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When my son was 7 his all star team formed a local travel ball team, we were invited but declined. I thought 8 was just too young for travel ball and didn't want to feed into all the hype so instead I jumped him from 7u to 9u to give him more of a challenge.
Ultimately, it didn't work. You still had the 2 kids in fall ball that had never put on a glove...and I had to remind myself that this was rec ball and they had a right to want to learn how to play baseball. One of my final straws was when I noticed my son not throwing hard from SS to 1B, so I questioned him. He said he knew the kid at first couldn't catch the fast throw and he wanted the out so he sent the kid a rainbow throw which was easy to catch...NOT COOL!
Bottom line, if your kid has surpassed rec ball he has surpassed rec ball, and you have to move on. If he is diminishing himself as a player just to get an out, yeah, it's time to go! I would recommend easing into the travel ball scene. You will have plenty of time to get on an academy team..in other words if you hear that team X has the most kids get college scholarships in your area then don't start out at that park. This is something to ease into, or it will be a culture shock for sure.
Our first travel team had a couple 1 day only tournaments and hitting over Fall/Winter; this was when most of the team was in either football or basketball, then we did about 15 tourneys in the Spring, 2 practices a week, with an out of town finale of sorts at Panama City Beach. Fast forward a few years and it is frowned upon (on OUR team) to play any other sport. Fall you have 8 tourneys, 4 days a week practice. Winter you have 2 indoor hitting sessions and 1 speed and agility sessions per week, specialty night practice(catcher only/pitcher only/...etc) with individual workouts to be done at home and signed off on (on some teams), and 15+ tourneys in the Spring with MANY at Lakepoint/Emerson and East Cobb to get to the PG events...a hike for you.
All I'm saying is, ease into this...it WILL get extreme, so take it easy now and enjoy it. |
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Need advice for 8u Jackson county player
