Long story short, my son changed travel take this year to a program that came with some good recommendations. Winter workouts come, and the entire winter they had the 10, 11, and 12 year olds running their own batting practices (once a week of the 2 days of winter training). My son approached the coaches who were supposed to be versing the practices, and never got any feedback, just told “you’re doing great” and pushed along. Parents aren’t allowed in the training area, so you can sit in your car and o serve from your car. The fielding day was more of the same.
Needless to say, we’re moving on from the program after this season. Not worth $3/k for kids to coach amongst themselves. Next season is a big year, moving on up to the big diamond. So my question is, what do travel teams have as expectations for a player who is 12, trying out for 13u? My son is 5-6, 120lbs so he’s definitely got size to him, hasn’t hit puberty so he hasn’t gotten his big guy body yet. There is such a difference from the 13u tryout summer to the spring when they actually play. We’ve been doing a lot of long toss and taking him out to practice on the big diamond to get him ready, but wanted to see where we need him to index. What are realistic expectations at this age and what are coaches looking for?