I finally see why kids don't like playing baseball

[DrungoHazewood]

Then the kids themselves have to pitch and the result is typically 80% wild pitches and most of the runners advancing and scoring on WP.

You'd think t-ball was the low point. But it may be the best baseball many kids ever play. Machine pitch is t-ball with tons of strikeouts. And it appears that kid pitch is machine pitch with the machine set on totally random. It really must be 12-13 year olds before actual baseball looks like its being played. That's about the age I was during my brief little league career and I remember it being vastly better then my kids' leagues.

[Stotle]

I go ahead and delete the post when that sort of thing happens to me.

I do not. I let it sit and fester until the other poster is shamed enough to delete his post.

[Can_of_corn]

I do not. I let it sit and fester until the other poster is shamed enough to delete his post.

Good luck shaming me.

[Stotle]

Good luck shaming me.

I got nothing but time and the comfort that my post will continue to look better as that time passes. I'd delete now if I were you, but totally your call.

[Superbee83]

I have two kids, 8 and 7. They've both played t-ball/baseball and soccer. One played t-ball in the past, but now plays soccer. The other played soccer for four years, wanted to play baseball this fall season, but probably will go back to soccer in the spring. Remember, their dad is a huge baseball fan. They love watching the O's with me. They get up in the morning and watch Quick Pitch without prompting. But playing baseball on an organized team isn't doing it for them.

The reason? ORGANIZED BASEBALL FOR 5-8 YEAR OLDS IS RIDICULOUSLY STUPID IN EVERY CONCEIVABLE WAY.

Tonight, perfect example. Nate's 7-8 year old Nationals play the Rockies. Machine pitch - so there's this spring loaded contraption that throws 30 mph pitches, often in the vicinity of home plate. The Rockies are a bit more talented, meaning they often make contact (maybe 2/3rds of their players didn't strike out - yes the league probably has a 50% K rate.), so they usually max out their allowed five runs per inning. They're able to do this because the league BABIP is roughly .975. You'll see an out on a ball in play once or twice a game, on average. There were none tonight. Mostly the kids are kicking around in the dirt and looking at the lights, or the sky or their parents, because on any one pitch there's about a 10-20% chance the ball is hit, and maybe a 5% chance the ball comes anywhere near them.

Nate got to bat zero times this game, because he was 9th in the order, his team went 3-up, 3-down (all Ks) in two of the three innings, and they called it early because someone saw lightning.

So that's how a typical game might go. You never meaningfully touch the ball on defense, and you don't even get to bat. I think he has four or five at bats in four games. Practice is similar. With one pitching machine and a dozen players they get to bat once per practice.

It's pretty much insane.

Contrast this with soccer where kids of all skill levels are constantly running, touching the ball, doing drills. Breaking into small groups to practice specific skills. Everyone is always running, even back to get water on breaks. One of my rules as a coach is that you should absolutely minimize the time they're standing around. In games everyone plays, everyone touches the ball multiple times a game. In baseball they are standing around doing nothing literally 90% of the time and it really seems like they're barely participating.

I don't know the solution, maybe this is just a bad set of players/coaches, although previous seasons in t-ball weren't much better. I never played at that age when I was a kid. But if I were a kid now, like my kids, I'd make the same choice they are: soccer is fun, baseball isn't. My kids love playing baseball with me in the yard, but organized elementary school-age baseball is a huge dud.

I think the main issue is the way that the league is setup.

IMO, machine pitch for youth baseball is a very lazy approach to teaching the kids the game.

I think a much more viable approach is to have the kids play coach pitch the first year after tee ball, and a modified version with the boys

pitching the next year. My son started playing coach pitch at six years old. If a boy struck out, they would bring out the tee and let him put the ball into play. We would bat the entire lineup every half inning and he would play a 90 minute time limit. This way all of the boys got an opportunity to hit and to play in the field. We would move the boys into different positions. The next year we would have the boys pitch, but if they walked a hitter, the coach who was also the umpire would throw to the hitter until he hit or struck out. Both of these leagues were set up in a clinic format. Scores were not kept, but the boys knew who was winning and who was losing.

IMO, too much emphasis is placed on playing competitive games at this level. The boys need reps and to have the game played at a decent pace. Further, I am a firm believer that a player is much better off hitting off of live pitching than a machine. The boys need to develop their skills, and IMO there should be more emphasis on practice and less on the games at this level. Sorry that your kids are not having fun, it's a shame.

[Frobby]

It definitely gets better as the kids get older. The first year the kids pitch is pretty hard to watch, though. Almost all at bats are strikeouts or walks.

[Palmoripken]

Have to say while I loved baseball as a kid, basketball was my favorite to play since it was so quick and easy to set up. I also think too many baseball coaches over coach and don't focus on letting the kids learn and have fun. There's too much focus on winning not enough on learning the game.

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[DrungoHazewood]

Nate and I went out the yard today and I pitched to him for 15-20 minutes. Then we played catch another 15-20 minutes. Lots of fun, pretty much made up for last night.

I used to regret not really playing Little League, except for one abbreviated season, as a kid. Now I'm not so sure. I think I may have gotten more out of endless days playing pickup games with made up rules and ghostmen and keeping neighborhood stats that I'd post on the fridge than I would have in a more organized setting. At least if it was anything like my kids' experience.

[DrungoHazewood]

I think the main issue is the way that the league is setup.

IMO, machine pitch for youth baseball is a very lazy approach to teaching the kids the game.

I think a much more viable approach is to have the kids play coach pitch the first year after tee ball, and a modified version with the boys

pitching the next year. My son started playing coach pitch at six years old. If a boy struck out, they would bring out the tee and let him put the ball into play. We would bat the entire lineup every half inning and he would play a 90 minute time limit. This way all of the boys got an opportunity to hit and to play in the field. We would move the boys into different positions. The next year we would have the boys pitch, but if they walked a hitter, the coach who was also the umpire would throw to the hitter until he hit or struck out. Both of these leagues were set up in a clinic format. Scores were not kept, but the boys knew who was winning and who was losing.

IMO, too much emphasis is placed on playing competitive games at this level. The boys need reps and to have the game played at a decent pace. Further, I am a firm believer that a player is much better off hitting off of live pitching than a machine. The boys need to develop their skills, and IMO there should be more emphasis on practice and less on the games at this level. Sorry that your kids are not having fun, it's a shame.

Sounds like a better setup. The key is reps. They'll never learn anything getting 12 at bats a month as in my kids' league, and in games they get a max of six pitches an at bat regardless if any of them were hittable.

[McLovin]

My son played 7-8 rec baseball in White Marsh this summer. Getting a good coach helps.

This rec league is coach-pitch for part of the season, then kids actually pitch in the second half. If a kids throws 4 balls, the coach takes over until an out or hit happens. No walks, but strikeouts are enforced.

Anyway, I dunno, but we saw plenty of good baseball. Most teams had 3-4 kids who 'got' it; you put them in the middle and first. My son played SS mostly, and he had a good 5 DP's started. (All on caught fly balls and failed tag-ups.) He had a good amount of runners thrown out at first from SS too. His team's 3rd basemen could actually make the throw too.

There are other kids as good or better. White Marsh Travel players are required to play Rec, so each team has 2-3 more experienced players. And then there are kids like my son who is good enough for travel, but doesn't want to play.

There are at least 14 7-8 teams.

Don't get me wrong, it's painful to watch for stretches - but you would see several instances each game that looked like real baseball.

So, it might be a product of a bad league. I coach my other son's 11-12 team, and we play another town - their 'A' team - and they always stink.

[ChrisP]

My kids played 10 and 11 year old age groups. Their was a big difference in the 2 with the pitching and overall play. The coaches make a huge difference. Is it fun or do they play to win? My younger son was dying to pitch one inning.... Never got the chance because the coach had his favorite s who pitched every game no matter the amount of walks they allowed. It's like certain kids are being groomed, lol. I think my younger son was disappointed and will play another sport in the Spring.

[paulcoates]

I coached machine pitch a couple years and there is no value in taking 5 minutes of batting practice per practice. We would:

Run drills in the outfield 2 coaches in the OF with 5 players each

Coach 1 in the outfield

- (Flyballs and running)

Coach 2 in the outfield

- More hitting

Then, on the infield, the other coach

- Has the machine on it where one kids responsibility was to wear the catchers gear (very involved), one kid hit (what they all wanted to do anyway), one kid played SS and one kid played 2b (arm strength - fielding practice) and one played 1b (every ball hit, is thrown to you, so live action throws).

Our practices were not boring. Games are definitely another story. Most kids that age simply can't pay that much attention without thinking about Skylanders or Pizza or Spaceships 10 times during the course of a half inning.

[Stotle]

Nate and I went out the yard today and I pitched to him for 15-20 minutes. Then we played catch another 15-20 minutes. Lots of fun, pretty much made up for last night.

I used to regret not really playing Little League, except for one abbreviated season, as a kid. Now I'm not so sure. I think I may have gotten more out of endless days playing pickup games with made up rules and ghostmen and keeping neighborhood stats that I'd post on the fridge than I would have in a more organized setting. At least if it was anything like my kids' experience.

It sounds like your issue is more a shortcoming in implementation and not the game of baseball itself. I played "little league" and for the most part loved it. Became a passion during HS years, maybe 8th grade. I played soccer through 8th grade and thought it was pretty mindless and boring. Maybe that was implementation, too.

[weams]

Nate and I went out the yard today and I pitched to him for 15-20 minutes. Then we played catch another 15-20 minutes. Lots of fun, pretty much made up for last night.

I used to regret not really playing Little League, except for one abbreviated season, as a kid. Now I'm not so sure. I think I may have gotten more out of endless days playing pickup games with made up rules and ghostmen and keeping neighborhood stats that I'd post on the fridge than I would have in a more organized setting. At least if it was anything like my kids' experience.

Little League and Youth baseball were great in my era.

[weams]

It sounds like your issue is more a shortcoming in implementation and not the game of baseball itself. I played "little league" and for the most part loved it. Became a passion during HS years, maybe 8th grade. I played soccer through 8th grade and thought it was pretty mindless and boring. Maybe that was implementation, too.

I think soccer is boring.