Youth Baseball: Batting Gloves or No Batting Gloves

Update:

I told the coach today that he will work out with the gloves, if he chooses and that's all I want to hear about it. Coach agreed without a fight.

At breakfast, I told my son that we will go to the cages to work on hitting today and that I want him to wear the gloves and tell me what he prefers. And we'll proceed from there. He smiled as he devoured his Apple Jacks.

It is a struggle for my son as he was clean up last year but skipped a level and is having a hard time. He skipped a year of preschool and is the youngest in his class. Now he is playing with his grade but not his age.

 

Wow, I played in a pretty competitive little league and we didn't do all-stars until you were playing in the "majors" which was the 10-12 age group and only the 11 and 12 year-olds were eligible. That means, you had played two years of T-ball, one year of "farm" league, 1-3 years of "minors" and then you could try out for the "majors".

These days it's insane. The league my oldest plays in might be a little too low-key for my tastes, but I'd rather that over exposing kids in kindergarten to an ultra-competitive team sport.

My neighbor was recently told that if he didn't sign his 8-year-old up for the traveling baseball team, he was going to hurt his chances to make the high school team.

It's amazing what people do to take the fun out of everything for kids these days. I was one of those ultra-competitive types and I never played on anything resembling a "traveling team" until I was 11, and that was considered young then.

 

That's a lame statement. Coaches like that need to be reported to the Board as to whether that's the type of coach you want out there. Parents entrust their most precious things to these coaches. Let that sink in. Is that what you want your kid being taught? The worst thing you can be is a girl? No this is not helicopter parenting, its about the message.

I'm the asst. coach and that's what I always remind myself when I interact with my players. After I prod a kid a certain way, e.g. I told one kid he was a great player and needed to start playing like he's the best player out there, not like a scared kid, I told his parents exactly what I did and wanted to get their thoughts as to whether that was the best way to approach it. After 6 years I have found that approach works very well.

 

Jock straps and protective cups are for girls!

 

How about:
Youth sports are loaded down with unnecessary expenses, and batting gloves are a prime example.


Would that resonate?

 

Batting helmets are for wussies. Ted Fucking Williams never needed a helmet and was only forced to in his last couple of seasons by the league.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if that was true, not only because of ability, but because of the politics involved.

You get coaches that choose between a kid who played in the "system", or some kid they don't know, they'll choose the "system" kid all the time, unless the unknown kid is Roy Hobbs Jr.

Youth sports have not just gotten ridiculously competitive, it's ridiculously political as well.

 

Substitute hockey for baseball and that is the reality for many parents up here who think little Johnny is the next Gretzky.

 

The youth system has done its job though. Today's athletes are way, way better at their sports than any generation past.

 

It has gotten so bad in our league that players are no longer being drafted in order of how hot their moms are. Kids of single moms can't even get a break anymore.

 

That is always how the last cut is decided.