Youth Baseball: Batting Gloves or No Batting Gloves

A bit of a dilemma in my house.

I have a 10-year-old son who just hasn't been hitting as he usually does. Lacking confidence.

His new coach says, "batting gloves are for girls!". As he respects the adults in his life, he has hit this year without batting gloves. Power is down. Contact is down. Strikeouts are way up.

The simple answer, I think, is for him to wear the batting gloves again. Any good comebacks for an overbearing, know-it-all coach about this?

(Looking to you, Bob Cook)

 

How about, "My son is going to wear batting gloves because he wants to do his best for his team, and you better not say a damn word about it."

That's the closest thing approaching appropriate I can think of.

 

If you had a daughter, at any age, I'd encourage her to kick that coach right in the balls.

Tell your son that any man who says "X is for girls" has a really, really small penis.

 

Nice work, buck.

In all seriousness, I know a lot of people are worried about being one of "those." But there's a huge difference between being an overbearing parent and letting a coach talk shit to a little kid. Someone should say something to that asshole.

 

Thanks, all.

He is "playing up" this year -- skipping a level from last year and, of course, that is the primary reason for struggles. However, I just want him to feel most comfortable at the plate.

 

Has he tried cutting the sleeves off his jersey?

 

Let your son wear batting gloves. If your son thinks it makes him a better hitter, it will make him a better hitter. If he goes on a hitting tear after wearing batting gloves, respect the streak and credit the gloves. Your son's coach is an idiot. The sooner your son's baseball season is over, the better.

 

Being the contrarian as always, I say leave it alone.

If you don't want to be the parent who complains to the coach about unimportant issues, then don't be that parent. Is the coach being a dick? Sure. It's still his job to decide how the kids hit.

I'm sure you have the absolute best intentions and all, but it's way easier to identify this behavior in others than it is ourselves.

I see:

1) Making excuses for the kids' performance.
2) Complaining about the coach's rules.
3) Intervening when something doesn't go the kids' way.


The road to helicopter parent hell is paved with batting gloves.

 

Yes and no. I probably push too far in the "non-helicopter" direction as I've seen far too many youth sports parents.

I don't say a word during the games. Don't cheer. Don't bitch. My son and I have a "no criticisms at the ballpark" rule. I'm just trying to find his ideal comfort level when he's hitting. His confidence is shot.