View Full Version : Smallest Player on My Team
Fivensbaseball
07-15-2009, 03:24 AM
I have a player on my 8u travel team. Not even sure if he is 55 lbs. He is one of my best pitchers and leadoff hitter.
In 7 games and 21 AB's he does not have any strikeouts and he has 9 hits and 4 walks.
He came to me yesterday disouraged that his ball doesnt have the pop on it that the other kids may have. He wanted to know if there is anything I can work on with him.
Have you had this problem? Is this just a growth thing.
He scatters his balls around and sometimes through the infield.
My son is 8 and weighs 50 lbs. There is only so far that a child that size can hit the ball. He has a quick bat and occasionally hits the ball over the outfielders head, but it takes all that he has. It can be a bit frustrating to see a 110 lb kid with a crappy swing hit the ball 50 feet further, but looking at the big picture, if the kid has a good swing and a quick bat, the pop will come - maybe not as a HR hitter, but as a nice line drive hitter. There is nothing wrong with hitting grounders, especially when 8 year olds are fielding them. Now as for that 8U "travel" thing, I personally find that to be silly.
benz99
07-15-2009, 05:39 AM
My kid just turned 10 & is still at 60 lbs. He has a pretty decent swing. The biggest problem with the smaller kids IMO is the outer third of the plate, they loose their connection and are slapping at it & with the little weight they have it normally is a weak grounder. Pitches on the inside of the plate he can drive almost as far as some of the big kids. Hopefully in time he will hit a growth spurt & gain some weight but i have come to realize it is what it is & just have as much fun as you can. I agree with Syx about the 8u travel ball, we just played 8 & 9u travel & are probably going to take a year or two off. To many insane dads trying to win a trophey at all cost's.
Fivensbaseball
07-15-2009, 06:41 AM
Thanks for the response. We have been pretty lucky at the 8u thing. We have some great coaches who seem to have their heads on straight.
Emanski's Heroes
07-15-2009, 08:37 AM
Try to get him to focus on the process, which I would guess can be hard at that age. If he has a solid swing, just give him time to grow and get stronger and look out. We have a kid on our JV baseball team who has a great swing, great fundamentally, great kid, but he's small. Guess what? He's in the gym all the time, getting stronger, and once he has even a small growth spurt, I think he's going to be a good one.
Jake Patterson
07-15-2009, 08:49 AM
I have a player on my 8u travel team. Not even sure if he is 55 lbs. He is one of my best pitchers and leadoff hitter.
In 7 games and 21 AB's he does not have any strikeouts and he has 9 hits and 4 walks.
He came to me yesterday disouraged that his ball doesnt have the pop on it that the other kids may have. He wanted to know if there is anything I can work on with him.
Have you had this problem? Is this just a growth thing.
He scatters his balls around and sometimes through the infield.I had a player in HS who was 5'06 135 soaking wet. He always led the team in BA, BB, steals, etc, etc... He had one HR in 4 years. The best thing you can do is show him how valuable that is compared to some one who can hit a HR but does not hit the ball as well. Sometimes a little math lesson is the way to solve these types of problems.
blackngold29
07-15-2009, 09:00 AM
He's almost batting .500, so I would agree with Jake to show him how a quick guy like Ichiro is just as valuable of a guy to have as someone who strikes out half the time, but hits HRs.
shake-n-bake
07-15-2009, 01:40 PM
The little fellers can always wait for football and basketball season where they put umteen number of rules in place to level the playing field and insure safety - as the parent of an 11 y/o who wears size 12 shoes, hasn't shopped in the "Boy's Dept." for quite some time, and makes the scale say "one at a time please," you don't want to hear my translation of those rules.
Rajun Cajun
07-15-2009, 07:01 PM
My shrimp will be 11 in September. Plays AA select/travel.
-Lead off batter last two years, and for 2 different teams/coaches
-second in stolen bases
-highest on base percentage
-leads team in singles and tripples (stretches doubles due to speed)
-Not many doubles though
-Plays SS if not pitching
He doesn't like to be teased about his size, 58 pounds as a 10 year old. He often cries about it if he gets picked on by the bigger kids. But probably plays harder because it is an issue for him. It limits his options as far as coaches and teams that are interested in him.
Distance he can hit is limited by physics. He can generate bat speed, but most kids are swinging bigger bats and therefore the same bat speed applied (all other things being equal: and they rarely are) the ball won't go as far. But, right now, does it really matter? Baseball is one sport where heart, and desire make up for size. David Eckstein is a good example. Everyone wrote him off.
Fivensbaseball
07-17-2009, 08:45 AM
real good stuff.
I cant wait to see him tonight.
BTW he pitched last night 2 innings 5k's and he grounded out hard twice to the 2nd baseman.
a real good kid.
dominik
07-17-2009, 09:30 AM
Work on his technique. Especially use of the core and hips and wrist snap. He will have great motivation to work on this stuff. And when he finally grows he will kill the ball and leave his bigger peers behind.
Of course one could also do athletic training(med balls...) but with 8u players this is not an option.
Fivensbaseball
07-17-2009, 10:36 AM
HGH?
lol....
He is just one of those kids every coach wants.
Best part is he parents suck.
he is nothing like them.
Good suggestions here on the hitting. I had a tiny son and a few other small guys. Good thing about "too small" is it makes them modest enough to listen. Their willingness to remember and use ideas about the Edges. Little guys can learn to play smart ball. Gives them plenty to do while growing into the hitting.