When Do You Give Up On Your Little League Roster? A Talent Problem...
March 31, 2009
Riddle me this Batman...
You're a youth baseball coach and have tracked with a team of kids in a decent Little League system for the last four years. When you're coaching a team of 5 or 6 year olds, the system is pretty simple. Lots of encouragement, and you do the best you can. You might have 1 or 2 players who stand out, but the rest of the kids are pretty bunched together. As a result, the batting order and positions played are best left to socialism. Everyone's equal and everyone hits from a different part of the lineup every game, and everyone gets to play both infield AND outfield. Everyone's happy.
Then, around age 7, things start to change a bit. Score is kept, and standings are tracked. Other teams start to minimize the amount of rotation through the positions, with the best kids left in the infield (where all the action is...). Once you get to the 8's, almost everyone is locking in.
So, what would you do as a coach? If you have 5 kids who are clearly superior at this point, do you lock them into the top part of the lineup and the infield slots, or do you rotate? Confounding the issue is the fact that at least a couple of the kids want nothing to do with the rockets that come off the bat as they stand in the premium infield slots.
When do you start messaging that some kids are better than others? Help a Capitalist out and hit me in the comments with your coaching expertise...
Signed - Trying to Delay the Real World
8 year olds are not "locked in" to anything other than hoping they get decent snacks at the end of the game.
You're over-thinking this.
Don't worry about trying to slot the next A-Rod into a position that will make him millions. Just make sure that the kids are having fun. Make practice fun. Teach 'em how to properly spit sunflower seeds. Teach 'em how to be good teammates, a skill that will take them very far in real life.
Posted by: Robert | March 31, 2009 at 09:53 AM
Just get involved and stay involved. I agree with Robert's comment that you are over thinking this one. If more parents would step up, it would help to make sure that all kids that want to pay have options and good coaching.
Posted by: Jeffrey | March 31, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Interesting topic as I am going through a similar situation right now. Although, the parents of my kids do think their son is the next A-Rod. I try to maximize visibility for the kids while limiting the risk. My kids are 8-10 that I coach, so the key positions for us are 1st base, Pitcher, Catcher, SS, and Center Field. If it is coach pitch or machine pitch, catcher is one of those positions you can put kids in since they love to dress up in the gear, but if it is kid pitch you want strong players there. Very rarely do balls get hit down the 3rd base line, so it's pretty safe to rotate your least skilled players there for the infield experience. 2nd base is for the kids who aren't as scared of the ball, but are working with a pea shooter instead of a cannon. At this level if you can work the kids into those two positions for the other team's bottom of the line up it limits your risk and increases the fun level for the kids because they aren't stuck in the outfield all the time. Tommy Lasorda has told me a couple of times that the thing that saddens him most is when kids come to him for autographs and he asks them if they play ball and they tell him that they used to but stopped because they weren't having fun. Kids develop at different speeds, but if they continue to have fun you give them a chance to keep playing and get better. Good luck. T
Posted by: Tony | March 31, 2009 at 11:52 AM
Really interesting post and dilemma. I still think at 8, kids should be more interested in just being out there, having a run around, and enjoying being part of the team. I think part of the problem is that today, we put kids in 'organized' sports at a much younger age, so the progression from 'fun' to 'competitive' happens a lot faster. The worst result is not losing a few games, or having the top players have to spend some time out of position, the worst result is turning some kids off to the game for good because it stopped being fun. I admire and say thanks for guys like you willing to get out there and coach, it is not an easy job.
Posted by: Steve Boese | March 31, 2009 at 12:28 PM
This one hits my hot button. My sons are now 16 and 24.
I still remember the church league coach who "cut" my 8 year old son from his team because it was "too dangerous" for him to play with the team (it was his third season). I was in chemotherapy treatments at the time and didn't have the energy to push back. We still see the coach once in a while and wonder why we didn't laugh it off as ridiculous.
My three kids all played along with lots of other sports. Little league baseball seemed to attract more coaches prioritizing their own egos ahead the kids they coached. Was this a boomer thing?
Kris - I suggest your survey the dads reading this blog.
"Was your most fun season the one your parent DIDN'T coach?"
I usually liked to be involved with my kids activities, it was enlightening to find out 1)Played because I was the team mom or 2)Wished I'd just cheer from the sidelines like all the other parents.
Posted by: Rochelle | March 31, 2009 at 01:52 PM
Thanks to all for the comments. A nice run of thoughts...
Robert - I wish I was overthinking it, but I don't think I am. At our complex we have 4 fields where the 5, 6, 7 and 8 year olds play, respectively. I coached my younger son's team in a game (no score kept), then was talking to a friend as I watched the end of the 8 year old game. What a different world for the kids. As for me, I'm cool with not winning a game if the kids get good stuff out of the experience. the problem is that when you put the kids who aren't ready in the tough positions in the field, they get embarrassed when they aren't successful in a game where people are screaming and score is kept - which might drive them from the game quicker. That's the issue.
T - got your notes and agree with the position assessments.
Rochelle - I volunteer my time to coach, care enough about the kids to post and ask for thoughts, and I'm the problem? Really? Wow, that's jaded. I'm not the guy who cuts kids. I'm the guy who spends time with kids when parents can't and won't be there.
Steve - agree on the organized issue. If we didn't keep score at 8 years old, I wouldn't have the same set of issues.
Jeffrey - Some step up from the parents would help. Just play catch with your son, please? 30 minutes a week? Please?
Posted by: Kris Dunn | March 31, 2009 at 07:56 PM
My 9 year old had a game last night. We lost 15-6. The majority of the runs we allowed were on over thrown balls from our catcher when the other team was stealing bases (just think of the Britney Spears song "like a circus" when this happens....it's really funny). One of the coaches from another team in the league said that he does not allow his players to throw down to second when a player is stealing. He just gives up the base. His teaming is leading the league after 5 games. But are the kids really learning baseball or just learning how to win? Should we be teaching our players how to back up a throw, or to catch better or to play the odds? I took a quick poll of parents and found that both strategies have their proponents.
Posted by: Greg Grichuhin | April 03, 2009 at 11:31 AM
as someone who was lucky to even be in the outfield, I would submit that the kids that are taken out of the "action" are not always upset by it. In fact, sometimes they are relieved. They can still attend the pizza party without all the stress of playing infield.
Posted by: Meg Bear | April 05, 2009 at 10:46 PM
WOW, I messed up this communication big time! This is the penalty for multi-tasking.
I didn't mean to imply you were the jerk who cut my 8 year old. I read your blog every day, even before Dear Abby and the LA Times.
My apologies.
As a condolence gift I'll help you plan the food for your team party. This is a link to Normar Garciaparra's Carne Asada recipe http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/food/la-fo-carneasada16-2008jul16,0,2189305.story
I bet you can use Nomar's quote below in an HR Capitalist Blog Entry
Nomar Garciaparra Says...
"When I was a kid, I tried all the positions, and I enjoyed them all. Back then, my idol was Bugs Bunny, because I saw a cartoon of him playing ball - you know, the one where he plays every position himself with nobody else on the field but him. Now that I think of it, Bugs is still my idol. You have to love a ballplayer like that."
Thanks for all you do Kris. You are most appreciated!
Posted by: Rochelle | April 09, 2009 at 12:58 PM