r/Homeplate

My son is 7.. this is first year doing coaches pitch..today ar practice, when it was his turn to hit, he must’ve missed the ball at least 8 times before he made contact.

He’s using a Marrucci Reckless,, 26” -11..

He can hold it 30+ seconds, and with the knob in the center of his chest the end of the barrel reaches his fingers tips..

One coaches mentioned that the bat may still be too short(idk, I’m still very very green with baseball, I’m learning with him)

I don’t want him to be discouraged, and want him to still have fun, but when he sees other kids hit and he doesn’t, it’s natural for his age for him to be disappointed in himself..

All the coaches praised his swing mechanics, he stays connected pretty well, and uses his hips well..

He’s just missing. I’m sorry for this long post..i feel like he’s swinging way too late, but idk..

My skill set is abit low so I'm trying that route.

My son turns ten in June and loves baseball. He wants to make his high school team. I love that he has a goal and something he’s passionate about.

He’s played rec baseball yearly since kindergarten. He’s now in AAA/ 4th grade. He’s always been in the 25% of players on his team, but never the best. He’s not that fast but he hits for power and can throw hard and far and is a solid fielder (3rd and 1st mostly). He also understands the rules/ has a high baseball IQ relative to others his age.

What should I be doing to help best set him up to potentially make that high school team down the road?

We play lots of catch at home and he’s been doing weekly batting private batting lessons (started a month or two ago).

Is travel ball needed to actually make a high school team these days?

Looking for perspective from other travel ball parents on whether this is normal or a red flag.

We joined a travel baseball program in the fall that was described as a structured, competitive high school prep environment with defined teams based on performance.

After the fall season, teams were finalized, but there was significant turnover heading into spring—roughly a third of the original players left and several new players were added. The B team now has a large portion of new players, which has made consistency and development difficult.

Each team is also relatively small, and even mid-season there have been additional players added to the A team to “strengthen” it, while the B team has not seen similar adjustments despite struggling.

We are paying a fairly significant monthly cost plus additional tournament fees, so the commitment is not small for families.

The overall structure has also been lighter than expected for a “competitive” program: typically one field practice, one facility practice per week, and games every other weekend.

There also seems to be a noticeable gap in resources between teams. For example, the A team has access to more advanced in-game tools, while the B team does not. Pitchers on the team also rarely get structured bullpen work with catchers or consistent pitching reps in practice.

In games, most opposing teams we’ve faced have multiple coaches and a much more active in-game coaching presence. Our team has had only one coach at games, and there is very little in-game adjustment or instruction during play.

We’ve also had multiple parents raise concerns directly to owner, but the feedback has essentially been acknowledged without any real changes implemented.

We also have a large upcoming tournament where teams are being combined, but many of the players have not played games together beforehand, which makes it feel like a very unprepared group going into a major event.

Overall, the experience hasn’t matched what was originally presented, and we’re trying to figure out if this is typical for travel ball or if we should be looking at other organizations.

Curious if others have experienced similar situations and how you handled it—stick it out, move on mid-season, or look for a different organization?

I have two kids in LL. One is 10U the other is 8U. We get the boys to the field at least twice a week in addition to their LL practices and games. The older one is also on the Little League District team which acts sort of like a league sponsored travel team. The training regimen for this particular team is a lot more intense for obvious reasons. In addition to a bunch of drills, the head coach also told us to not let the kids hit off a tee for practice.

I absolutely understand why he doesn’t want the kids doing this. And I absolutely agree with it….bbbbbbbbut. I’d like to have a t and net setup in my yard so the kids can practice their swings when I’m not around. As long as their mechanics are correct, will it really be that detrimental to their development? Pitching in our yard is not an option, we live in an urban environment so even a wayward pitch will end up in another yard.

Any thoughts? Or suggestions on a different type of passive training my kids can use for swinging?

The situation: My 11-y-o plays in 2 completely unaffiliated leagues, and I coach in both. He plays on what I'd call a fairly competitive rec league team which starts its playoff tournament tonight. 3B/SS/P ... he also plays in a less competitive coach-pitch league, where I'm his head coach.

So ... the kid has been finishing up w/his more-competitive team where I'm an assistant coach. He hasn't been at all of my practices & has had to miss a game due to the other team's game schedule. My plan was to put him at 1B for the coach-pitch league, because he has the best glove & highest baseball IQ. But a funny thing happened:

There's this kid who has generally been a jagoff for the last 3 years, but he told me that he'd like to play 1B this season. I let him, for the first 3 games. He's been serviceable — and has really bonded w/the rest of the IF. He's also trying in a way I've never seen before, and I don't want to quash that effort. I mean, sometimes he still screws up, but it's screwups from effort now and not from lack of it. I can deal with the first.

My kid is a better fielder, has higher baseball IQ, and I can count on him to not make a dumb mistake either from trying too hard or not trying hard enough.

Kid 2 is having the baseball season of his dreams so far. Four homers in 3 games, trying his ass off at 1B.

Now here's the dilemma: I've been trying to decide how best to integrate my kid into this team without it screwing up some really good team chemistry. I could literally put my kid anywhere on the field and feel good about him being there from a fielding/throwing standpoint. But every other IF position is rock solid (for this league) other than 1B.

So how would YOU handle it? I've always prided myself on being the kind of coach where you can't tell which kid is mine while they're on the field at practice or in games. I feel like if I put my kid at 1B, I'm robbing this other kid of a real chance to grow in the only league where he can play in his last year playing. My kid will go on and play fall ball, play 2 leagues in the spring again next year, and then probably play some travel.

But I also know that if I leave the other kid at 1B, it's going to come back to bite us in the ass at some point.

I've been wrestling with this shit since Saturday night. LMAO. Coaching youth sports is fucking nuts.

Background - My 10yo son is a standout ball player and plays up on an 11u select team. He was previously playing 9u rec when we were contacted last fall by our league affiliated club team about trying out for the 11u AA team. He had some extremely successful seasons on his rec team, which was made up of his friends. At that time, he always batted at the top of the lineup, played shortstop regularly, and rarely sat out on that team. Disclaimer: I was not the coach, so no daddy ball favoritism.

He tried out and made the select team last fall. He was very proud of himself, and I was proud of him also, for making the leap as a 9yo up to 11u. He played 3rd base predominately last season on the select team and batted middle of the line up, ending with a rather average season in comparison to his rec performance, which was expected taking quite a step up in competition.

He was very excited going into the spring season with this team, however, over the off-season our head coach made the decision to step away for personal reasons and the team changed hands. Our new coach made some roster changes and brought on some players from his previous team.

My son had to tryout again, and again he made the team with the new coach complimenting his skills. The new coach is a good coach. I'm not upset with him and my son likes him. The new coach has moved him to a 2nd base position when he is placed in the infield but now he plays predominantly outfield. He has also been moved to the end of the batting line up for most games. On a positive note, the coach has given him opportunities to pitch,even more than some of the other players and he has done well on the mound.

I believe this has effected his confidence somewhat, due to his previous rec league experience. In his mind, it was the the lesser skilled players on the team that were usually placed in the outfield and routinely batted at the end of the lineup. I feel he is now questioning himself too much and wondering if maybe he isn't good enough and thats why he has lost some preference. He still makes plays and gets hits but I can tell he is less than thrilled about these changes.

When him and I have talked about it, I told him that someone has to bat at the end of the line up and someone has to play the outfield no matter what. It's not necessarily a bad thing or because he isn't good. I've expressed that in life, you won't always get what you want, you wont always get the position you want, and to be the best you can be where ever you find yourself. I've tried to guide him into a utility player mindset and voiced to him that at higher levels he will have to be prepared play whatever position is available to him, if he wants to be on the team. I've reminded him that he is still playing up and won't always get to be the rockstar on the team. He is a grade younger than all the other players on this team and it's possible this coach feels my son should just be happy to have a spot on this team at all, being younger.

I just don't want him losing some of his enthusiasm for the game. He says that he gets bored in the outfield and wants to contribute more to the team. I don't want to make it seem like my son is spoiled or expecting special treatment. He is still a team player and likes this team of boys, so much so that I don't even want to take him off this team and chance moving to another team where he dislikes the coach or players.

My delimma is, should we stay and play on this team going forward, even if he doesn't get experience at the positions he would like to play? I know that he is not guaranteed to get playing time at those positions elsewhere either. I don't want him to get type-cast, so to speak, in this coaches eyes and only seen as an outfielder or a kid who should settle for whatever slot he gets because he is younger.

Should we stay back and play for another team in his age group to level the playing field and get him more opportunities at the positions he wants? I know success in baseball is greatly impacted by your self confidence and I don't want that to be damaged.

Is there other advice I should give him to help him remain optimistic with these changes?

I haven't told him to speak to the coach directly about it, because I want him to earn his respect on the field rather than seem like he is complaining or expecting something. Is that something he should consider?

I’m probably trying to find a unicorn. But I’m looking for a camping/bag style chair for watching my kids’ youth baseball games. I would like an oversize chair for comfort and I like the softer/wider armrests not the skinny metal ones but mostly I’d like a more supportive bottom that you don’t sink into. Ideally it would have a 400-450 lb weight limit so I don’t need to worry if a kid or two plops on my lap. Oh also I’d like it to be under $150. Any magical chair out there??

I work with middle school and high hitters. I see guys every year switch from a balance bat to heavier swinging bat and suddenly their swing sucks

Atlas to Combat

Meta to Power Select

The vast majority of guys will end up struggling with the transition, get on top of the ball, and create ground outs.

DONT DO IT!

Middle school kids who switch from a -5 to a -3 between school and travel; use the same style of bat.

Only switch bats at the end of the season. Give your body a full offseason of training to train the stabilizing muscles in your wrists, forearms, etc.

Lastly, if you kid is a small kid - don’t chase the hottest end loaded bat. He won’t get the value out of it.

Frankly most hitters can’t, get the best balanced bat. Build a consistent, quick swing that generates singles and doubles.

Most HS kids lack the size to get the most out a Goods, Power Select, Combat. The potential 5-15 feet, and 5-10 mph of exit velo will be sacrificed in game when the athlete turns the bat and dumps the barrel.

We acquired a heavy-duty 12x12x55' nylon batting cage net. We are planning to extend it to 70' and need to figure out the best way to hang it. Would like to avoid setting lumber in concrete, as all materials need to be hand-carried a few hundred feet down slopes. Would also like something cost-effective. Permanence isn't a huge factor, will likely end up taking it down in winter anyway. Does anyone have any pictures/suggestions? Looked into EMT and galvanized top rails, 4x4s. Pictures/supply lists would be super helpful if anyone has suggestions. Thank you!

Son has had his 28’ Clout for a year now and wants a new bat. Anyone have a recommendation? Gotta keep him off the Baseball Bat Bros YouTube channel!

Height: 51’

Weigh: 55lbs

My son started LL this year for the first time. My husband grew up in the baseball world had family members that played minor leagues, etc. So we were prepared for the political nature of the game. Which is particularly bad where we live. We also made it a point to let him know that he was starting kind of late (he never did teeball/coach pitch) and to expect a steep learning curve, and that he would be behind kids who have already played for years. That being said, I'm now pretty frustrated. I was feeling good after the first parent meeting in which the minors coach stated he would shift kids around, let them play all the positions because they are all learning etc. He explained he would have a rotation list to try to ensure fair play time for everyone. In the first game, the coach's kid was pitching and it was pretty bad. He walked so many kids and threw so many wild pitches it was 9-0 and 2 outs. I felt bad for him, but he started having an attitude, intentionally not catching the ball when the catcher threw it back, rolling his eyes when the ump called "ball" etc. ​​His dad (coach) finally said "if you don't stop it, I'm pulling you out and putting someone else in!". He then (after the next wild pitch) put my son in. It was totally out of the blue (he was not on the list- my husband is assistant coaching and was shocked) I think it should be noted that my kid is the ONLY one on the team who has never played before. I was so stressed for him. He rocked it, struck the next kid out, and then followed it up with a no run inning, in which he walked one kid that never made it past first. I was so proud of him! They have now had a few more games and gone through the "rotation" multiple times. They have been 10 run ruled in every game. My son hasn't pitched since that first game, and other kids have pitched 2-3 times since that first game. I can't help but feel that the coach was trying to use my inexperienced kid as a confidence booster for his own kid and is mad it backfired(maybe I'm reading too much into it). I just can't figure out a reason "fairness" or otherwise that he wouldn't have had a turn again when all the other kids have, but he's had the best pitching in a game so far. I am in no way under the impression that my kid is some kind of star who is the best, but he is respectful, hardworking and has played well at every position they have put him in so far. The coach even told him to be prepared to pitch at our game today, and then put his son in again. I want to say something but I'm not sure it would go well...