9 YO told he is too good to pitch (baseball)

[Sam]

You apparently don't have an older daughter, so I'll forgive your ignorance regarding the differences between 16 year olds and 12 year olds.

I don't necessarily value a sports reporter's opinion over what I already know to be right.

LLB is no bastion of knowledge...they don't have D3K for 13 year old players....they have 220' fences for kids that routinely hit the ball 300 ' with their superhot bats. Wonder how LLB would feel if they forced a 9 year old to be in the Major Division with 13 year olds due to the competitiveness factor....and the 9 year old had his face smashed by a line drive from a 150 lb 13 year old....at least the 9 year old would know how to react:

1) Don't cry.

2) Wipe off the blood.

3) Tell the crowd what you learned from your teammates....."God-d@m, Mother -F'er, Son of a F-in Biotch."

Life would be so good in your little 12 year old world.

Kids get hurt in sports all the time. Mine had her face rearranged when she was ten. That's a story for another time, but today, she wears her braces like a badge of honor. You should see her smile! It sparkles! Literally!

And not once did I ever consider suing anybody because some bigger kid hit a ball really hard and my DD got hurt. In my little world we would call that 'pathetic'.

So let's see... it's okay for this kid to play below his skill level so he can rack up some practice innings pitching to girls in a developmental league?

Is that your coaching philosophy? Recruit the best players you can find and then go stomp on the easiest competition willing to play you? Did you send your kids to play rec ball so they could get in some valuable practice against kids nowhere near their skill level?

No, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure your kid played the highest level of travel ball against the toughest competition out there.

So how can you now advocate other people's kids playing down. A boy against girls, no less.

And thank you for your forgiveness. You're right, my kid isn't 16 or 15, or even 14. But she played with 15's last season, and maybe in my ignorance we just got lucky. Or maybe I wasn't quite so naive, but made a decision to put my trust in an experienced coach who proved himself worthy of that trust, and in a group of kids and families who may not have all been angels, but had enough respect and class to keep their personal lives personal.

I guess you're right - life really is pretty good in my little 12 year old world. (technically I live in a little 48 year old world, but it's 12 in giant leap years, and I'm sure that's what you meant )

In fact, I'm ready to concede you're right about everything. Let the kid pitch shutout after shutout against the little girls. Who gives a crap about their safety? Or his development? What's really important is that no older kids teach him to cuss, or talk about boobs around him.

"A Boy Named Sue in a Bubble."

Wouldn't life just be super awesome in his little 9 year old world!!

I saw your kid play last year. She played in 14's with an excellent coach.

A 40mph pitch isn't going to hurt a soul. He's playing against kids his own age. Maybe we shouldn't have let Cat Osterman pitch 18 Gold or even in college....shutout after shutout....she should have been playing up in 23U....What about the pitchers at 12U B ASA Nationals....I'm betting that they didn't get scored on in their rec league...you want to make them leave and go to travel...

You should be willing to concede the argument...you lost.

[dittoz]

So, I coached LL and TB in the baseball world for 15 years before moving over to FP a few years back and this whole arguement is pretty pointless. Whether it's Pony, LL or the local church league, it's all rec and they are tasked with pretty much allowing everyone to play. This kid comes along and they say he's throwing 40mph from 40' if they follow the LL format of fields. Let me tell you, 40mph from 40' isn't that fast in ANY kid-pitch league. I umpired and coached for a lot of years at that level and I don't think there were many who didn't pitch at least this fast at 9. I'm guessing the average was prob more in the 43-45 range. So if this is causing a raucus in their league, either this is a mis-print/misquote, or there is a heckuva lot more to the story than they're letting get out.

Then, Sam says...
"...they have 220' fences for kids that routinely hit the ball 300 ' with their superhot bats"

Maybe in your town there're some kind of juiced up monstro 12-yr old kids with hair on their palms that hit the ball 300' on occasion but that is not a routine distance for these kids. Even in the LLWS, which is a thin cover for TB players in my opinion, there is very rarely a shot much past 250. The fence was recently moved back to 220 and a fair number of balls are hitting the hedge just behind the fence. Even when we include Japan a few years ago that came out with the trampoline softball bats and hit HR after HR, they just weren't going that far. The pitches need to go faster than they do --> the hot bat just isn't enough.

[Demonboy]

"You should be willing to concede the argument...you lost"

[Ace]

The kid might be playing in the lower league to get pitching time...his parents may think he's not getting enough experience in the Pony League. Lots of #3 travel pitchers throw in rec leagues to get work in addition to playing on their travel team... has nothing to do with egos...everything to do with getting work and getting better.

Maybe you should try to understand the difference between a rec league and a developmental league. Are they really the same?

The only asinine comments made on this thread are those supporting placing a 9 year old with 13 year olds.

And how many 15 yo play in 18U tournaments with 19 yo? Or 12 with 16s, etc? A young lady in my hometown started playing varsity BB in 7th grade and was successful.

Your argument seems to stem from selisective memory and a bit faulty.

Ummm, unless you have been in a dugout with 18 yo "ladies" you probably shouldnt agree that its ok to mix the two ages. 18yo "ladies" say and do things that would make a sailor blush. Not a day, game or practice goes by with out over hearing things that I would not repeat in a bar. But if you dont mind your 14 yo hearing an angry 18 push her way through the dug out saying, "of course I was safe! The efen whre tagged me in the c***t!!" then go ahead. To me its just irresponsible parenting. And as far as it being a developmental league, I agree, but who said that this kid is donr developing? Let him develop, and let the batters he faces develop. Jeez, the best lesson in baseball is failure! If you fail 70% of the time, you goto the hall of fame!
But, I'm just saying

[anonlooker]

I saw your kid play last year. She played in 14's with an excellent coach.

A 40mph pitch isn't going to hurt a soul. He's playing against kids his own age. Maybe we shouldn't have let Cat Osterman pitch 18 Gold or even in college....shutout after shutout....she should have been playing up in 23U....What about the pitchers at 12U B ASA Nationals....I'm betting that they didn't get scored on in their rec league...you want to make them leave and go to travel...

You should be willing to concede the argument...you lost.

Bound to lose once in a while when playing up, especially against a brick wall!

And while I wouldn't make the pitchers who won 12 "B" Nats move to TB, I'd be very surprised if they didn't. Kids who work that hard don't rest on their laurels.

Can't agree Cat is a useful comparison to support your argument, as she was playing the absolute best competition at her age level. I'm pretty sure she never ducked that challenge by playing down.

Unlike Sue in a Bubble, who is playing in two leagues - one at his skill level, the other well below his skill level (vs. girls). I still don't understand how the latter is working to his benefit.

So what do you think? Should I check with DD's coach and see if she should play some wreck ball to get ready for HS? Or do we already know what he'd say?

btw, I spent a good deal of my professional life with 15-24 year old "girls/ladies"; and I was once a sailor; and Ace is right... they can get downright scary. So I 100% agree there are potential perils in putting kids into older age groups. But I think you'd agree I wasn't completely ignorant in choosing who my DD would learn from. Fortunate, no doubt, and a bit lucky perhaps, but not ignorant. At least give me that.

[MTR]

Ummm, unless you have been in a dugout with 18 yo "ladies" you probably shouldnt agree that its ok to mix the two ages. 18yo "ladies" say and do things that would make a sailor blush. Not a day, game or practice goes by with out over hearing things that I would not repeat in a bar. But if you dont mind your 14 yo hearing an angry 18 push her way through the dug out saying, "of course I was safe! The efen whre tagged me in the c***t!!" then go ahead. To me its just irresponsible parenting.

You are worried about simple words? Seems to me it would be more irresponsible for a parent to not take the time and explain to their children that other people aren't the same as you and speak differently and may use language of which they are not accustomed. It also wouldn't hurt to teach them that a word, regardless of what you think about it still isn't going to hurt and is best ignored.

[Ace]

Ummm, unless you have been in a dugout with 18 yo "ladies" you probably shouldnt agree that its ok to mix the two ages. 18yo "ladies" say and do things that would make a sailor blush. Not a day, game or practice goes by with out over hearing things that I would not repeat in a bar. But if you dont mind your 14 yo hearing an angry 18 push her way through the dug out saying, "of course I was safe! The efen whre tagged me in the c***t!!" then go ahead. To me its just irresponsible parenting.

You are worried about simple words? Seems to me it would be more irresponsible for a parent to not take the time and explain to their children that other people aren't the same as you and speak differently and may use language of which they are not accustomed. It also wouldn't hurt to teach them that a word, regardless of what you think about it still isn't going to hurt and is best ignored.

Nope, Im not worried about simple words. But the rest of the world is. And since I live in the real world, I try not to tell my 14 yo's to Hury the "F" up, and to MOVE their fat asses! But since those are just words, I'm sure you wouldnt mind me talking like that around your daughter. In fact I just got a new Gangsta rap cd we can play during stretching. I mean its hard to tell a young kid not be influenced by simple words when those words are directed at her. Like "what the f*ck is SHE doing on this team?!" or "I hate that little cry baby!". And thats just every day stuff. Just wait till the first "away" tournament and the team has "anitiation" for the new players in their hotel room. The team stays in their own rooms, your dd doesnt get to stay with you in high school. They go in at night, the door gets taped shut, and then the little ladies start reading eachother the bible until the drift away into a serenity filled sleep.

[Demonboy]

Sticks and stones......
The point was not that someone would say something that would "hurt' someone it was regarding the topics of discussion and how they would be age inappropriate. I agree that I don't want my 12 yr old hearing about how hammered her team mates got and who they had sex with.

He knows damn well what was meant. Sometimes it pays to ignore the contrary
Delaware pain in the ass with the Napoleon complex.