It might sound a bit crazy to baseball parents who are new to the scene, but a comprehensive pre-season meeting for parents and players should absolutely be part of the equation. Even for a 7u rec team.

Here’s why: Setting clear expectations is crucial to team chemistry and viability, regardless of age.

Yes, baseball coaches do play favorites. Sometimes for the RIGHT reasons.

Here’s the thing about college baseball.

If you want to play and you have some level of talent, there’s almost always a school out there somewhere that’s a match for you.

An increasing number of “national” teams are going to these high end tournaments, and tend to carry lots of pitchers on their rosters. But should you pigeon hole your child to a PO role at an early age, just to play on a high caliber team?

We’ve talked about how private baseball lessons are an investment. We’ve talked about how to maximize your budget to ensure lessons are part of the overall training plan. Now let’s talk about how to protect that investment.

It’s hard to find a downside to private baseball instruction…aside from the cost. So let’s get into it and find ways to help make that less of a burden. The reality is that private instruction is an investment that pays dividends in multiple ways.

Depending on where you live, the age of your player, and the level of competitiveness of your team, baseball team fees can vary greatly. We break it down in the blog so you can be well educated on what’s really included when it’s time for you to pick a new program.

Today I watched a player throw 118 pitches in a playoff game. And before you say…”well…it’s a playoff game…” let me also tell you that this same player threw 63 pitches in yesterday’s pool play game. And if that isn’t bad enough, let me also tell you that this player is only 10 years old.

I’ve seen too much of this lately, so I’m calling it out.

Here’s what’s happening far too often: organizations with multiple teams at each age level basically swapping rosters between their A team and B team just to get tournament bids. At 10u. And I’m not talking about 1 or 2 fill in players because kids are on vacation. I’m talking about deliberate roster manipulation.

Yes. There is a giant 8th grader somewhere throwing 87 mph. But what those leaderboards don’t tell you is the REST of the story.

That 8th grader is big. He throws hard. But maybe he re-classed and is a 15 year old 8th grader. Maybe he also has trouble locating his spots. Maybe he walks or hits batters. A lot. Leaderboards and radar guns won’t tell you that part of his story.

Sure, they love baseball. But how do you know if they’re in it for the long haul? Here are 5 ways to tell.

The truth is, most kids recognize the problems in the game, even their own, on their own. You don’t need to shove it down their throats immediately afterwards by saying things like, “what were you thinking swinging at that pitch!!” There’s a time and a place to review and discuss. The car ride home isn’t always the best idea.