Son starting T-ball - suggestions?

[jyl]

My son (5 y/o) is starting T-ball. So we got him a kid's glove and a "soft baseball" and went out in the front yard for some gentle tossing and catching. He caught the ball sometimes (effusive praise), and othertimes got hit in the chest, shoulder, head, and (finally) eye. Back in the house with ice . . . glad we got the "soft" ball.

Hmm, should we start with a whiffle ball instead?

I never played baseball as a kid. Can throw accurately and hard, but that's from nailing things with rocks, not from any organized sport. Naturally, there's not much call to catch rocks.

[JavaBrewer]

Actually the best thing is to get him a t-ball stand and let him practice hitting that first. It's a good lesson that teaches him how to swing straight and directly at the ball. Tennis balls are good for practicing catch/fielding. Don't worry, nearly every kid at this level suck at catching and throwing. If your son can catch 3-4 out of 10 he's doing fine. Practice practice practice.

Whiffle balls are awesome when your son moves up to a slow pitch machine ~ 40mph. You get to sit in a lawn chair with a beer and throw them all day. I also highly recommend a batting cage. My son's team spent a ton of time in the batting cages this wet winter and as a result they are all hitting regularly.

Take lots of pictures!

[Jims5543]

Make sure he has fun. Everything else will come with time.

Being from a competative Ballplaying background, it ruined me for a few years growing up. One of the kids on my Midget team was the son of a Mets pitching coach. He was on my team for 2 years. I did not know what it was to loose. If we ever fell behind he was put on the mound and would kill the other team. I did not know who his dad was until we won the championship 2 years in a row. His pitching was amazing.


But, after that I would flip out if my team lost. It really screwed me up. Make sure you teach you're boy that its all for fun. (unless you are planning on this being his carrer when he grows up.) Its o.k. to loose and its all about having fun.

I have purposfully kept my kid away from team sports for this reason. We fish, Golf, Bike and work out together instead.

I have gotten him into a Racing Kart and he runs in the SCCA at Autocrosses but there is hardly ever another kid there so he is just out for the fun of driving the Kart. Even when another shows up and beats him, he is more impressed at how fast the other kid is rather than mad he lost.


Make sure he has fun.

[JavaBrewer]

Also depending on his maturity level an hour or so watching he "big" kids play is helpful. Take him to a Giants game, dog and soda pop. Buy him a Giants hat. Kids who love baseball are the ones that do well.

[jyl]

I never played any team sports as a kid.

I ran X-C, played a ton of tennis, skied a lot, backpacked. All individual sports, basically.

Feels like I missed something as a result. Grew up rather solitary and have spent much of my adult life learning how "team spirit" works. Thus I'm hoping for my kids to do a mix of team and individual sports.

I agree on the winning vs having fun thing. The moment I see my kids' teams getting too focused on beating the other side vs playing skillfully and trying hard, I'm pulling them out.

[jyl]

Why didn't I think of a tennis ball - duh.

Yes, a Giants game is in our future. I'm really looking forward to it!

[K.B.]

The hitting is the fun part for a lot of kids. A couple of years ago, my daughter started this. She finally got the hitting part when I bought one of those cheap fat plastic bats. I had her hit a tree over and over to get the feel of hitting something. She enjoyed the hitting, and also running around the bases. The running was the most fun for her, so now she is in soccer too. She plays soccer year round and softball in the summer only.

There are a lot of lessons to be learned in sports. The important part is to get out there and have fun.
KB

[gchappel]

I helped coach Tball and pitching machine for a couple of years- teams did well, regionals etc. As stated above make sure this is fun for the kids. Parents ruin the game. The kids want to have fun, hit the ball, watch the ants crawl around and laugh when a bird sh~ts on the batter- yes it all happens. It is the parents that want the team to win, pressure the coach to bench some players so the team can win, yell at the kids if they miss a ball, etc. Practice, even practice at home, can be stressful on the kids- they can tell if you think they are uncoordinated because they miss the ball. They are trying so hard to please their parents. Take a couple of deep breaths and let it go. Play ball with your kids- but it is not practice at this age. Play. Catch a ball, a frisbee, play catch with the kid and the dog, laugh when they fall down, when they throw the ball the wrong way. Our league improved when they stopped keeping score, but the parents went crazy, so scoring came back. Treat the kids the same whether they win or lose- especially under 8 or 9 they don't care unless you do. Even praising them when the catch it, and saying thats ok when they miss reinforces that they are not "good" unless they catch it all the time. Until they are about 9 you can't tell if they have any talent or not- I mean real talent. Some "great" 8 year old players never get better, and get passed by late bloomers. With the young kids, my goal was always to have the kids want to come back. That was it, a simple goal, to want to come back next year and play. They will learn along the way, they will never learn if they don't want to play. My kids are now in college- and I still see a bunch of the players from 10-15 years ago, so we must have done something right. A couple are playing at college level, that vast majority- including our best 5-7yr old players are not. Make this another outlet to have fun with your kids- they grow up and move out way too soon.
Make sure you enjoy it , the kids will too.
Gary

['89cab]

I coached my sons in baseball for a dozen plus years. Make sure your boy has fun. Tennis balls are great. Don't need to start with the glove. Use two hands to catch. Try to center the ball with your (his) body. Above the belly button - thumbs together. Below the belly button - pinkies.

To throw, make a tee with arms parallel to ground. Feet are perpendicular to target and glove hand pointing at target. Step toward target, keep throwing elbow above shoulder and follow through - both feet end up pointing toward target and throwing hand ends up below waist on non-throwing side.

Learn how to do it yourself and model for him. The glove gets in the way of fundamentals. Master throwing and catching a soft ball first.

I'm envious. I really miss the coaching/teaching/learning.

[M.D. Holloway]

You can teach him to catch a baseball if you start with a small beachball and tell him he has to catch it with both hands, then gradulally move to a smaller ball till you get to the baseball.

As far as hitting goes, start with a tennis racquet then a fat wiffle ball bat, then a baseball bat, and start with the small beach ball then work down. I did this with my son (then 3) and he does great now (6).

As far as the tee goes, never used it with him, went straight to the pitched ball - he is the only kid on his team that can hit a pitched ball. I think it has to do with the "step-down" process.

BTW - my boy thinks that baeball/teeball is boring, most of the kids can't hit and the ones that do don't hit out of the infield. I think it is a bit young for them to start but...

[juanbenae]

make sure he knows to never let a girl beat him. most important thing.

[M.D. Holloway]

or a democrat!

[jim72911t]

No kids here, but I have been a volunteer little league coach for the last four years, starting with t-ball. The most important thing is that the kids have fun. Encouragement is key. Be a little goofy if you have to. At age five, all the kids want to do is hit, and they occasionally do just that! When they're in the field, some of them are building sandcastles, some are talking to their buddies, and a few are actually paying attention to the game. A big thrill when I coached t-ball was when they actually got an opposing payer out.

I cannot stress enough: Make sure he is having fun. Winning and losing are irrelavant at his age (we didn't keep score until this year, and the kids are now 8-10 years old, and I think I liked the old way better.)

As a coach, the second biggest thrill is when the parents request that their kid be assigned to your team the following year. Makes you feel like you did something right.

The biggest thrill is seeing former players on the field the next year, and having them be happy to see you, and knowing that you might have had a small part in them deciding to play another season.

Just happened Saturday, as a matter of fact.




Have fun; I know you will.

-Jim

[Moses]

T-ball was a blast. I remember watching kids hit the ball and run to the wrong base or not run at all. My son is 14 and he's been playing for 9 years now. Still having fun.

Suggestions for a happy life in baseball;

Emphasize sportsmanship, focus and keeping your head in the game. Never allow your son or his teammates to criticize the play of others. These lessons will serve him well throughout life. We spend most of our lives on one kind of "team" or another. T-Ball is a great place to learn how to be a good teammate.

De-emphasize performance. No one wants to boot a routine grounder or overthrow the first baseman, but it happens (a lot!) We keep things light by teasing each other. My son is a pitcher and sometimes I'll say, "Man, that kid tattooed your fast ball. I wonder if the airport picked the ball up on radar?" My son never feels any pressure. He still loves the game.

Pics of my boy at age 10, 12 and 14.

[widebody911]

Get him started on steroids now so it's not so obvious later.

[Burnin' oil]

Teach him how to charge the mound, even in T-ball. It will come in handy in Little League

[mattdavis11]

Originally posted by Burnin' oil
Teach him how to charge the mound, even in T-ball. It will come in handy in Little League

ROTF, haha!

Buy him a cup before you let him try that one. Protect thy family jewels first!

[bryanthompson]

My girlfriend's little brother is 5 and kicks ass at all sports... it's amazing. Hockey, baseball, soccer, basketball, football... he just dominates. I was playing catch with him a few months ago, and as we got going, he was throwing really really hard, enough to sting through my glove. Then I started throwing harder to him, and got to almost my limit before backing off. I was amazed.

For his birthday, his dad built a baseball diamond in the back yard. It's got a backstop, fence, everything. And be built this cool gadget out of PVC that has a few bends in it and drops the ball, so you can hit it. You drop the ball in the top, and it bangs around in there for a few seconds, then falls out and you have to hit it. It gives you just a split second to see the ball and swing, and it's pretty hard to anticipate when it'll come out. It really helps with the whole hand-eye coordination thing.

[M.D. Holloway]

just don't try pitching a golfball to him - I am a very stupid man with a very bruised shin! I would be dead if he hit me in the noggin - true Darwin award.

[bryanthompson]

Mike, is that one of those "it seemed like a good idea at the time" things, or one of those... "hey, grab me another beer and take a look at this" things? Seems like that one could go either way