I've been coaching my son for the past five years from t-ball to minors. Each leap up the baseball foodchain can be daunting for the kids. Moving from hitting a ball off the tee to hitting a ball thrown by a coach is really tough. Then, moving from coach pitch to the more erratic kids pitch can be tough too.
When you move into minors (9-10 year olds), just about everything is on the table. Every kid must play infield and outfield. Every kid can only play one position for up to two innings. There is a five run rule on every inning, except the last inning. Kids pitch and catch. On passed balls or bad throws back to the pitcher, baserunners can steal, etc.
At this level, the team with the most solid basics win. As my brother Paul said to me when he was at this stage with his son, Jonathan, if they are able to catch the hit, throw it to the right base and that person catches it, you win. That's it. Because most kids can't do those basic things every at bat.
So, last night was my nine-year old son's first minor league game of the season.
He started off pitching for two innings, striking out four. We led after two innings 6-2. Going into the fourth inning we were up 11-5. During that last inning our pitcher threw a lot of walks and the other team started to catch up. My son, now catching, overthrew two balls back to the pitcher, allowing two runs to score. At the bottom of the last inning we were now losing 12-11... two of those runs due to my son's mistakes. As he was taking off his catcher's gear in the dugout, he was pretty bummed, knowing that he may have cost his team a win.
I asked him how he was going to respond.
So, in the bottom of the last inning, he came up to bat with a man on third, still down 12-11. He hit a single and scored the man in from third to tie the game, 12-12. On pitches to the next two batters that made it passed the catcher, he was able to steal second and third. When the next batter walked, the catcher overthrew the pitcher and my son stole home, sliding in under the tag and scoring the winning run.
So, I guess he responded pretty well. It made for a very exciting game.
I couldn't believe how intense I get during these little games. You want them to have fun, but you also want them to compete, understand their responsibilities and understand that their actions have consequences. And, lets be honest, you want them to win.
So, last night, we did. It was a nice way to start off the season.
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2 comments:
Pete,
With Jonathan playing Pony ball now (13-14 year old), I still see a lot of players with poor fundamentals in throwing, and, especially, in hitting. Teach your players to square up to their target when throwing. If they are pitching from the stretch, encourage them to minimize their leg kick since this is a major cause of stolen bases at the Pony level. For the hitters, have them keep their hands up by their ear and make sure the distance between the two is constant through the first half of the swing. Also, teach them to throw their hands at the ball, don't sweep the bat. It is hard to catch up to a fast ball when your hands are dropping and the bat is sweeping.
Paul
Good points, Paul! I'll have to let him know.
Ma - I'll relay your messages to Gabe.
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