Select teams for 9 year olds

[Danielh41]

All:

I've been a baseball fan since I was in my 20s, although I regret to say that I never played myself. But my love of the game seems to have transferred to my firstborn. He has played two years of T-Ball (Shetland division in the PONY league) and two years of coach-pitch (Pinto division). He recently made the all-star team after his rec-league season, and we just finished our last tournament.

He will move up to the Mustang division for fall ball, the first year of "kid-pitch" (9 and 10 year olds). He loves the game, and he is very serious about playing. Together, we have been to games in four major league parks and three minor league ones. Last fall, we went to game 3 of the World Series, sitting just four rows from the field.

My question to those with more experience in youth baseball is, when should I consider getting him on a select team? I would like to find a really good coach with some experience to work with him. Does anyone know any good web sites where I might find some select teams in my area (the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex)?

[TG Coach]

First we need to come to terms on the word "select." Select and travel can be two different things. To me, the word select denotes something elite. My son plays on a select 16U team. All the players are the best fifteen year old players at their respective high schools. They should all be starting on varsity as high school sophs. All the coaches are former college and/or pro players. The team has a major facility sponsoring them they can use for workouts. After travel expenses, it's over 2K to be on this team. This is my concept of select.

When my son was nine he played on a "travel" team. It was a community based travel team. We "traveled" the local tournament circuit on weekends. The tournaments were never more than thirty minutes away. The purpose of playing on this team was to extend the season past mid June, not develop kids into high school, college and/or pro players. The team played 28 games. It was a nice addition to the 18 rec games. The cost of this team was $100 plus a few gallons of gas and a couple of hot dogs each weekend.

At age nine, do not listen to promises based on spending a lot of money to turn your son into some kind of stud. Talent can't be purchased. Most talent is innate. If you discover your son has innate talent after he hits the full size field, then look into a program to cultivate his innnate ability.

[Danielh41]

Thanks for replying TG Coach...

It's definitely the traveling team that is referred to as "select" around here, at least in my son's age group. I was thinking about getting him on one of these teams because, from what I've heard, they play together longer and more often. This year he has played in the spring rec league, then on the tournament all-star team, and then he will play in the fall rec league. I'm still wondering what would be better for him, playing on three teams in one season with three different sets of teammates, or playing on the same team throughout the year. He's still young enough, that I'll probably keep him where he's at for awhile.

[shake-n-bake]

D...41, Finding a coach to work with your son is all well and good, but you are the guy whose going to have the biggest impact on his development as a player.

Here's why - Credentials as a former player doesn't automatically translate into a coach that will serve as a fountain of knowledge for your boy. My son's experience working with a college level pitching coach, in retrospect was a step backward. It wasn't quite a one-on-one situation, so the coach (as all youth coaches do) focused on the basics. Many times, depending on the talent level of the whole group or team, its your kid's least common denominator. Also, your son, unless he's a robot, will invariably have some aspect of his game that isn't text book, but works for him. It is your job to play a billion hours of baseball with him and have a realistic sense of what can, should, needs, and should not be changed.

Second. You know your kid's personality. A lot of people think that I am an absolute s.o.b. for how I push my son at times. The one person whose opinion matters to me on this (him) - doesn't. So, we practice very hard and the expectations are high. Some days we sit in the dugout and talk very quietly about what he needs to do to get better. Other times we both run until I get tired. It is really unfortunate that he views running as a punishment and that it is so effective in behavior modification. Point is though, you know when your kid needs a pat on the back and when you need to get his attention.

Finally, when you say he's very serious about the game, then the time a coach spends with your son is a drop in the bucket. My son's All-Star team has been practicing (or playing) seven days a week for about 3 weeks now. They took the 4th off. We didn't. We practiced for about 3 hours. Everyone on his team gets to practice early, usually about 20 or 30 minutes, we start between 1 to 2 hours prior to that and stay sometimes until dark, another 2+ hours afterward. If I'm off work, we spend a lot of time outside those practice times talking about all the different games within the game, watch videos, workout, run, and maybe throw in another practice session in the morning. He's 10. We started playing everyday (weather even remotely permitting) since age 6, and he'd play much longer if I could stand it. You're the only one who'll sacrifice that kind of time to work on his game.

I love the game and played a little, but I lacked a lot of knowledge in the beginning. He got a t-ball set from my brother on his second birthday and shortly thereafter it was obvious that I had a ball player. At least a kid that loved the game because that's all he wanted to do. He played with that thing constantly day after day. I learned enough to get him started. Since then, he's got as much or more baseball knowledge as I do. It is not uncommon to find him coaching me on how to throw certain pitches or what to do in certain situations. But sites like this one and immersing yourself in baseball is a good start in knowing what he should be learning.