Too good?

Re:Too good? (Philc)

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:34:06 GMT

I've coached and umped little league.

The key here for me is that this article describes it as a "developmental" league. That's a big distinction.  It's purpose is encourage kids to get involved in the sport- not a place for advanced players.

Frankly even at this age there are options for advanced players to showcase their skills- either in travel leagues or playing for a team with older kids.

If the kid is that good he's not doing himself any good playing in this league, he's not being challenged.  Rather than whining his parents should be more concerned about putting him in a position to improve rather than dominating kids with vastly inferior skills.

If the kid was in HS he'd be moved up to varsity not stuck on the freshman or jv teams just because of his age.

That someone would fight to keep their kid from moving up to a higher level is asinine.

Re:Too good? (ScottsdaleBlue)

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:43:08 GMT

I cannot believe that parents would allow this to happen. The people who run the little league should be completely embarrassed. What is there thinking? Little Johnny will strike out a couple times and look bad, so this kid can't pitch. Totally ridiculous. Connecticut has to be the dumbest state. The high school football rule is that if your team scores 50 or more points, your coach will get suspended. Dumb.

Re:Too good? (mgobluefan)

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:25:43 GMT

kentuckywolverine

I think he should be pitching in older leagues. If he's got the skill to pitch like that then he should be allowed in the older leagues. I don't think I would want my son or daughter who is more than likely still grasping at the skill of hitting off a pitcher facing a kdi that can smoke 'em in there like that. In 8 games he has not hit a batter....... yet. EVERY pitcher lets one go and hits a batter. A 9 yr old throwing 40 mph at other 9 yr olds is going to cause some damage.

I just think this situation should have been handled a little better by just moving that kid up a league or two to better fit his skill set.

Getting hit by a baseball is one of the risks you take by stepping in the batter's box. Like a previous poster said, is it fair to make him move up and try to hit against the older kids. Just because he can pitch doesn't mean he can hit with the older kids. At every level of sports there are going to be kids that are better than others. It is one of the facts of life. Instead of teaching the kids to not even try, why not teach them to get in there and swing the bat. I have a 9-year-old son, and that is exactly what I told him before he faced one of the best pitchers in his league this summer. Shorten up the swing and just make contact. He struck out twice, then blooped one over the first baseman's head for a single. He ended up scoring the winning run after the pitcher hit his pitch limit against the next batter. Sometimes striking out against better pitching is what a kid needs to get motivated to be better. See the article below:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=cerda

I know there are going to be differing opinions on this, and I know I'm not necessarily correct. I just think there are a few adults that handled things poorly in the original story.

Re:Too good? (andyum)

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:17:34 GMT

I just got done coaching my son's 8-9 year old team. There were a couple of 9 year olds, including one on my team, that were pretty much unhittable. From my experience, pitching is usually ahead of hitting at this age, which is why the first half of our season is coach pitch so the kids can get some hitting in before it goes to kid pitch. Also, our league does not let any kid pitch more than 2 innings out of 6 for the game. Therefore, if you happen to have a very advanced pitcher he is not allowed to dominate the whole game.

Re:Too good? (dopp_goblue)

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:07:15 GMT

kentuckywolverine

I think he should be pitching in older leagues. If he's got the skill to pitch like that then he should be allowed in the older leagues. I don't think I would want my son or daughter who is more than likely still grasping at the skill of hitting off a pitcher facing a kdi that can smoke 'em in there like that. In 8 games he has not hit a batter....... yet. EVERY pitcher lets one go and hits a batter. A 9 yr old throwing 40 mph at other 9 yr olds is going to cause some damage.

I just think this situation should have been handled a little better by just moving that kid up a league or two to better fit his skill set.

His skill set as a pitcher might be ahead of the hitters he is facing but it is not fair to move him up if his hitting is not there too. That is still punishing him for being good. How much more damage is a 40 mph fastball going to do to a 9 year old when it hits them than a 60-70 mph fastball hitting a 12 year old?

Re:Too good? (kentuckywolverine)

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:22:17 GMT

I think he should be pitching in older leagues. If he's got the skill to pitch like that then he should be allowed in the older leagues. I don't think I would want my son or daughter who is more than likely still grasping at the skill of hitting off a pitcher facing a kdi that can smoke 'em in there like that. In 8 games he has not hit a batter....... yet. EVERY pitcher lets one go and hits a batter. A 9 yr old throwing 40 mph at other 9 yr olds is going to cause some damage.

I just think this situation should have been handled a little better by just moving that kid up a league or two to better fit his skill set.

Re:Too good? (dopp_goblue)

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:11:45 GMT

I completely agree. If you never go against anyone better than you how are you supposed to improve? This comes from the same people that believe you should not keep score and give trophies to everyone. This is not real life. Kids needs to learn that they will not always win and get their way in everything they do. You have to work hard to be the best. Why punish a kid because he is good? He is not hurting anyone. I think I heard that he has not hit any batters.

Too good? (mgobluefan)

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:58:16 GMT

Any thoughts on what they are doing to this kid?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=3553475

Personally I think it is ridiculous. I also think the coach that pulledhis team off the field and forfeited is a weenie. You only get better when youplay against the best. But of course, that's just my opinion.

What do you think?