Consider Playing Up

It is not uncommon in youth baseball for younger players to join and play on baseball teams with older players. This is referred to as playing up. If your son’s athletic skills are advanced for his age, you might want to consider looking at older teams. There are good reasons to have your child play with older kids, as well as reasons to not have them play up.

Some Leagues Say No

Some people believe under no circumstance should kids advance pass their own age group when playing baseball. They typically say that it puts undue pressure on a child, or they feel for social reasons they should not play up. Some of these people include league directors and park board members. So before even thinking about it, check to make sure your league rules will allow for kids to play on the same teams with older kids. Some leagues prohibit playing up.

My Youngest Did It

My youngest son is six years younger than his next oldest brother. This older brother played competitive baseball and usually played sixty or seventy games each summer. So the youngest son pretty much grew up on a baseball field. Once he was old enough to play catch he was warming up with the team. By the time he was old enough to start playing baseball his skill level was very high.

Starting at the age of seven he was playing for a team of nine-year olds. He played with this team until he was the age of ten. Then he joined a team of eleven year olds. I have to say that playing at higher skill levels than his own age really benefitted my son. He is in high school now and has enjoyed a great deal of success.

Maybe my son would be just as good if he had played with his own age group all the way through little league. But I know of other players who played up and all are very good high school players. This experience has made a believer out of me about playing up.

Advantages of Playing Up

The advantages of playing up are pretty obvious. To get better at something you need to compete against good competition. Playing with older kids should provide a more challenging environment. Even if you are not playing competitive ball, but playing recreational baseball, I would still consider playing at the right skill level, not necessarily the right age level.

Disadvantages of Playing Up

Some of the drawbacks of playing up include not playing with your own classmates. Many teams start out with players all coming from the same school. They may all live close by each other and practices are probably going to be just a short distance to travel. You may already know many of the parents and your son is well acquainted with his teammates.

Playing on an older team probably means you may not know any of the other players and their parents. They have probably played together for a couple of years and your son is the hotshot young kid crashing their party. A lot of how the beginning goes depends on the coach. If you see him as a coach who communicates well, then he probably has the situation already under control.

However, many coaches may not foresee a problem and just wait to react. If that is the case you may receive a cold shoulder or two. And your son may get some ribbing from the other players. You know your son the best, so if this could be something that would bother him, playing up might not work. Or, you may need to find a team with a coach who can prevent this problem.

Move Back To Your Own Age Group

When the older boys on the team turn fifteen, most will be freshmen in high school. During the spring baseball season they will be playing high school baseball. You may want to find a team your son’s own age before that happens. Sitting and not playing a whole spring can be a problem for some kids. I would suggest going to your own age at thirteen or fourteen.

From my experiences playing up in the right situations can be very rewarding for good players. Finding the right team with a good coach is still very important. Be sure to think this over and check out many teams before making your decision.

This is for parents and coaches who are thinking about having their son play fall baseball, or thinking about coaching fall ball. The first thing you need to ask yourself is will you have fun with fall ball? Before you just say yes to that question, think about it long and hard.

Summer Baseball Is Competitive

Summer baseball, even in the park and recreational leagues, can be a hot bed of competitive fire. Of course it is the adults, coaches and parents, who are the culprits. But do not kid yourself, the kids feel the heat. After a long hot summer they are not ready to do it again in the fall. Give them a break and let them have some fun with fall ball.

My First Fall Ball Game

My first time coaching in fall baseball was a real eye opener. Another coach suggested I try it out. I checked with my summer team and most of them wanted to play. We had a few football players who could not play, but the league had some extra players to give us.We signed up and started practicing just once a week.

We arrived at our first game and I walked out for the coin toss. I remember winning the toss, because I chose to be the home team, and the umpire and other coach gave me a strange look. I didn’t think anything about it, and we played the game.

Game Over – What?

Time limit for this league was one an hour and a half. Well, at exactly an hour and a half the umpire stopped the game. We were on the field. It was in the middle of an at bat. I asked the umpire if we were going to finish the inning. He said no, game is over after ninety minutes. Now I know why I got the strange look for wanting to be home team.

That league at that time was fall ball at its purest. No score was kept. Nobody ever won or lost. It was organized because we had set opponents and there were umpires to call balls and strikes and safe or out. Kids played new positions and some even tried pitching for the first time.

There were three strikes and you are out, or four balls and you walk. We changed sides after three outs. We had a batting order, but everyone batted. It was more like a competitive practice than it was a game. Everybody had fun with fall ball. And players and coaches learned a lot.

Find New Pitchers Right On Your Team

We discovered a couple of new pitchers during that fall ball season. And if I remember right a new catcher. It was a very rewarding season for everyone except a couple of dads. They decided if there were no winners or losers, then it was a waste of time. They no longer attended any games. Their excuse was they wanted to stay home and watch football. Let me tell you, we were better off without them.

Fall Ball Is Different Now

However, people like them have prevailed. Most fall ball leagues now keep score and play for a league championship. And there are lots of fall tournaments being held. In my opinion, unless these are high school juniors and seniors playing in front of college coaches, I’d prefer not to have fall ball so competitive.

But that team, and other teams I coached continued to play fall baseball. The fall weather in the Midwest where I live is perfect for baseball. Kids are in school so you can not practice that often, or very late. There are just too many good reasons to play fall baseball.

But I still continued to coach as if score was not kept. I played players at new positions. I used pitchers who had never pitched before. I encouraged players to try switch hitting.

Communicate With Parents

But I did learn to have a parents meeting prior to the start of the season. And I made sure everyone knew we were not playing to win games. If we happened to win a few games that was great. But we were not changing positions or pitchers only for the reason to win games. I never had anymore complaints or anyone quit fall ball because of this strategy. Competitive parents were actually happy to have a break from win at all cost baseball too.

So have fun with fall ball. Your players are much more likely to work hard over the winter after having a fun fall season. Who knows, you might even like it.

If you do enjoy Porsche racing, it is likely that you’re going to want to show your love of the sport by wearing some type of Porsche shirts or other racing apparel. This is true, regardless of the sport that you happen to watch. In fact, the next time you’re in a public location, take a look around at all of the sporting apparel that is being worn. This is true both of men and of women’s racing apparel that you will find in many instances as well. These are individuals that not only enjoy watching the sports that they may be passionate about, they also enjoy letting other people know about their favorite team but most especially, about their love for the event.

This meeting may be the first opportunity for you to meet the parents and players who are anxious to learn what your knowledge base is, your coaching experience, and what style you use. Stating your objectives for the team and what it is you want to accomplish will put the parents and players at ease.

From my experience based upon youth feedback, youth baseball players want to experience success and have fun. As the coach you need to keep in that in mind, and so do the parents. But keep in mind that the reality is some parents view winning at all costs is the only thing that matters is their little superstar.

Explaining your coaching philosophy, rules for playing time, will it be equal playing time or based on performance, this will most likely depend on the age level you’re coaching, and player positions, how will you determine who plays where.

Parental involvement is sometimes glossed over. Since most kids state fun as their main priority, a close second is to be engaged with their parents. I stress the need with running practices, pre-game warm ups, and base coaches. Kids see this as an opportunity spend quality time with their parent. It is important that parents view it the same way.

You may want to comment for the benefit of the parents unwilling to participate on the field their assistance will be needed in other areas. In youth athletics there are numerous opportunities for parents to get involved by volunteering to coordinate any fund raising events, securing hotel rooms if your team is traveling out of town, will there be money that needs to be collected, what about the concession stand, so helping the team run smoothly is not limited to just the field.

Don’t over look the communication. Email is a great way for the Coach to disseminate information quickly, and for parents and players to keep the coach informed. As the coach you should informed the parents they can discuss anything with you, except playing time or positions. I have found this will eliminate the majority of your headaches if you state it like that.

Player expectation’s also needs to be expressed. Part of the learning process is how to take responsibility for themselves. Each player needs to be accountable for himself.

Baseball players need to think on their feet, react, adapt, overcome, by letting them know they, not their mother are responsible for insuring all their equipment is ready to go, is a great way to start teaching accountability. They further need to know there are consequences to not being accountable or improper behavior

Remember your job is to be the teacher, and at times a mentor. I would suggest that you start a list of items that need to be addressed at your parent/player meeting and add to it throughout the year as things come up. This will help you in future years to avoid any pit falls along the way.

Now that I have retired from the active ranks of baseball coaching, I can express my opinions without appearing smug or confrontational, or whatever other emotion I may provoke from others’ toes I may or may not inadvertently step on.

You may question my credentials and why I think it gives me the right to offer my opinion. Simply put, over 45 years of coaching, playing, dealing with players of all ages and their parents’ personalities and inner demons which they feel must be vented at someone, which is usually the coach.

Youth Baseball coaches, for the most part, are the salt of the earth. They are not paid a dime and always end up taking a large chunk of change out of their own pocket for treats, equipment, tournament fees, loss of overtime income at work because they had a ball game that night, and a dozen other normal expenses.

They devote every spare moment of their time throughout the season to the Team and live and die with the win and loss column, not for their own ego, but for the kids and their pride and sense of accomplishment. My hat is off to every baseball coach out there, winner or loser, because in my opinion they’re all winners.

The very first issue a Rookie coach must resolve is “What kind of coach am I going to be?” I must admit I cringe when I hear a coach say “As long as the kids have fun.” That’s a cop out and a mask to hide the coach’s inability to teach the game of baseball.

1. Winning is fun. I’m not talking the type of coaching attitude which create raging monsters who scream at kids for losing or making a mistake, but I do think coaches have an obligation to teach kids they can be successful through hard work, which is not only a baseball value but a life enriching value players will carry with them their entire lives.

Coaches are instilled with the responsibility of teaching kids how to achieve goals in life through hard work, persistence, high morals and teamwork. Your chances of winning the lottery are much greater than the chance any ball player you coach reaching the Major Leagues. However, with the grace of God, all of your players will reach adulthood and you will have an input into what kind of adult they become.

2. A coach must either know the game of baseball, or be willing to surround themselves with people who do. Most people, unlike you, don’t have the guts it takes to raise their hand and say “I’ll be responsible for this team.” However, there are many who will volunteer their time and skills as long as they have that inner peace they’re not obligated to be at practice or a league meeting.

A coach must be willing to capitalize on these situations and take whatever help they can, when they can, from people more knowledgeable than themselves. Why would a coach do this? Why share the glory with someone who is rarely there to help with the work? Because you have a responsibility to teach the kids, by whatever means necessary, how to properly play baseball.

These are but two goals of a baseball coach, but they are the very foundation from which a good coach becomes a great coach. He must realize there is a fine line between being obsessed with winning, and the goal of teaching kids winning is the ultimate goal of hard work and effort.

A coach must consider he’s not only teaching, or not teaching, the game to the kids for this season, but instead for the players’ entire future. A marginal player, who loses a year of learning required baseball skills, may Never catch up to their peers.

It’s a heavy yoke for a coach to carry, but anything worth achieving is worth the risk, and I can’t think of anything more worthwhile than helping kids develop into fine adults.

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Baseball players may not be gymnasts, but the benefits of having extended levels of flexibility will give you an edge over your competition. Keep your muscles warm, stretched, and flexible. This allows you to make more natural movements such as tracking a fly ball, going deep in the hole, or running out an infield hit, as well as hitting.

Exercises that emphasize stretching and flexible resistance are important in developing flexibility. Flexibility and agility will help you with the following:

1. Speed – A big portion of being agility is your speed. Being able to move quickly and effortlessly is important, especially in team sports. Increasing the speed of your movements, gives you an increased chance of making the play. A good jump rope used in conjunction with gymboss is superior for building speed and overall fitness. Also, Drill exercises, such as jumping from one portion of the ground straight up in sets of 10 – 20 or running sprints will increase your speed. Interval training using the gymboss is exception for this.

2. Reaction – Training yourself to decrease your reaction time and increase your reflexes is one of the best ways to improve your agility. Plyometric drills teach a player to react quickly and will increase their overall conditioning. A quick reaction time will also allow you to recover faster.

3. Drills – Some common drills used to increase speed and reaction time are used for many sports. One of the drills (mentioned earlier)is a pyrometric exercise. This is done in the standing position, then squatting down to jump straight up in the air as high as you can. Other drills one can utilize are ladder drills, cones drills, basic form running, and working on lifting your knees high. Kettlebell training is a form of training gaining in popularity yet offers athletes a different option for training.

Having a variety of exercises and workout routines, is pivotal to keep from getting bored, and promotes a better level of conditioning.

4. Conditioning – As an athlete you are only limited by your own thoughts. Baseball players will work on their physical conditioning, but will also work on fielding, hitting, and base running. Everything you will do in a game they work on.

Today’s athlete trains all year round to ensure they are in peak condition before the season starts.

Remember that agility is more than one element-it is balance, coordination, strength and speed all working together to improve the overall athlete.

Well, well, well, what we all thought was one of the best teams in Major League Baseball history, turned out as one of the biggest “choke jobs” in sports history. Now there was one thing that bothered me, really bothered me about this choke job, and that’s the fact that it didn’t bother me much at all, in fact it felt all too familiar. Pre 2004, this was a consistent feeling in September & October, something you came to expect of the Sox teams year in, & year out. But after the ’04 World Series I thought those feelings were gone forever

In the spring of 2011, the Boston Red Sox and Theo Epstein had (on paper) what many experts thought was the favoite to go to the World Series out of the American league. Had the season been played from May through the end of August, that might have been the case. However, unlike the Boston Bruins, the Sox counterpart from the NHL, They didn’t have the excuse of a Championship hangover, and even though April Fools Day lasted an entire month, the boys of summer made it into September with a 9-1/2 game lead in the Wild card race.

With the additions of Adrian Gonzalez, & Carl Crawford, along with what Sox brass hoped would be bounce back seasons from ace Josh Beckett, & John Lackey, Epstein & Co. thought they had the recipe for success, and that may have been true, take Gonzalez, Crawford, Beckett, Lackey & stir in a Pinch of Papi (David Ortiz), a dash of Jon Lester, & a twist of Kevin Youkilis, & you should have the makings of something pretty darn good, unfortunately it seems like some of the ingredients spoiled (rotten) long before the main coarse was ready to serve.

Okay, you probably didn’t need a cheap cooking analogy to figure out that I’m taking the cooks side in all of this, & the cook in this case was Terry Francona. Now someone who won two World Series in eight seasons & had to deal with Manny Ramirez through most of that. It’s hard to believe he suddenly lost the team at 8:45 pm September 5th in Toronto. In this case the team lost Francona, who may have been the best skipper they’ve had in decades. Now for those of you who don’t mind a good cooking analogy, maybe it’s time we get away from spending all our money on the brand names, sometimes the generic brands (Kevin Millar, Bill Miller, Orlando Cabrera) are just as tasty, as for me....I’m just not that hungry right now.

Pinpoint Your Requirements

This is the first step that you need to take. Do you need to get your hands on something for your little leaguer or do you need something that could suit the demands of a professional baseball player? There are a variety of speeds that are available to help make each choice more tailored towards how it’s going to be used.

A lot of the cheap pitching machines are mainly targeting those who want to help their young stars improve their batting and catching skills. These types are actually less speed than you would find with the ones that are targeting the more skilled leagues.

Do you need battery power or will traditional electricity work?

There are really two types of pitching machines. The ones that have a battery pack which is the one that’s designed to be the most portable. Others actually have to be hooked up to an extension cord so they have to be used where there’s a source of power that you can access.

If you practice where there’s no power then you need to go with your battery operated options, whereas if it doesn’t matter you can consider the ones that hook up directly to a power outlet.

Will you need to practice infield and/or outfield catches?

Some pitching machines will actually provide you with the ability to swivel it to practice infield and/or outfield catches while others are only designed for batting drills. If you need to practice catches than you need to make sure that your prospect is one that can be swiveled to suit your needs. If not, you may be finding yourself in an undesirable position when it arrives at your door.

Do you want to use regular balls or lighter balls?

For those who are focused on safety for their little ones you should probably use the pitching machines designed to pitch the lighter balls. These types eliminate the risks of the users becoming bruised or experiencing stings when the ball hits them. However, if the player’s skill is pretty high than you want to make it as realistic as possible by choosing the machine that allows you to feed the regular sized balls.