Select Baseball

[SWB]

Like it or not select is here to stay. And for leagues to survive, and to do well in All Stars, they have to get on board.Houston area leagues for years, have combined their leagues with select , here in SETX we need to do the same. Some are and are reaping the benefits.  The BC 12 s that just ran through district, all select players. The Lake Charles LL team that went all the way to LL WS last year, all select players. You cant convince me that playing more games against better competition doesn't make your players better. Baseball isn't just about athletic ability , it also takes a lot of hard work to get to the next level. And for my son and my players that is what we are doing, working to get to the next level. We have no pipe dreams, but would like to see our boys play high school ball and compete at that level. And if your not playing some select tournaments ,your boys are behind the eight ball. Yes anything done in excess can cause cause burn out and damage some arms , but in moderation and control, select ball is a great thing.

[VP93....]

The fact is you have certain people who like select and those who like league. So this topic can go on and on about this and get no where. If league is best for your kid play league if select is best for your kid play select. Both have their pro and cons..its just like asking the question which is better Pony Baseball or Little League we all have our on opinion.

[torbush]

I guess i feel so strongly about league because it just seems right. It seems classic American, and select is kind of a change for me. lol. I just love the all stars games, it has an incredible atmosphere for these youngsters, and can even make a comunity come together. League seems to build that chemistry between kids, and its (mostly) all fun, from watching the game before you waiting anxiously to go warm up, to after winning and going and getting a sno-cone from the concession stand. So i lean towards league just for the memories. Not saying select doesn't, but I can only speak for league.

[besbolbenbedygud]

VP   I like your post.....what works for one family might not be workable for another, especially at the younger ages.  Parents have to be available to get their kids from point a to point b.  Not all of us shift work or have a stay at home mom (or dad).  Not all work 9 to 5 and have bosses that are sympathetic to family living.  If you can make it work make it work.  If you have to chose one league over another then chose what fits your family best.  The point is we all want to make our children happy.  It they are having fun go for it.  We need to be our kids watch dogs and make sure we are able to pull back, and not push forward, when it is not so fun for them.  

I do favor that there is an age too young for select.  Nothing beats Dad and son in the front or back yard playing catch, hitting wiffoul (sp) balls, tennis balls, racket balls, and using smaller golf size balls ........and letting them have fun................all the while your incorporating drills they don't even know they are learning yet...........

I love this game!!!

And torbush:  there is nothing like being 10, 11 and 12 years old wearing your CITY colors and seeing packed stands.  I get the tight feeling in my chest just thinking about it today......

[reddog24]

U at work reddog?

Not now but I was..Off until Monday ;D..hope to come see TC play tonight..Good Luck

[diamond dawg]

We will be there Pal!!!!  I hope T.C.  shows up to play tonight!

[Guest Brubaker]

That's one of the problems that league kids and league parents have. They think because you play select that you think you are better than the other kids. For me and my kids that is not the case at all. The reason we play is to get better. The competition is better and almost all of the time the kids that are there really want to be there. We still go out to the league park and watch the kids that I coached. We don't think we are better we want to work on getting better and have made a choice in choosing the direction that we think will make them better.

Just my opinion, but baseball, more than any sport at a young age has very LITTLE to do with the competition.  I honestly think that until age 12 or 13 you could sit in the back yard with your kid doing tee drills and soft toss, throwing in a cage from 20 feet and develop a swing that would make you just as competitive (good) as spending 3-4 years hacking at a 70 mph fastball and 55mph curve from stud pitching.  Just my opinion.  Baseball is about fundamentals more than any other sport, you have to be fundamentally sound.  Hitting great pitching doesn't give you a fundamentally sound swing, so the competition arguement doesn't do much for me.  I've seen 10 year old teams working on holding runners on base, taking time working on an aspect of the game meant for higher levels, when in my opinion, they should be working on more fundamental skills.  Just my opinions, interesting discussion.

[thefan2]

If i am not mistaken people have the right to play where they want. Kids arms were hurting way before select ball,not from throwing too much from not throwing properly and throwing junk at a very young age.This is what I do not understand a kid throwing a curveball at such a young age.I have never heard of any 10,11 or 12 year old getting a scholarship. My son plays high school ball and pitches and did not start throwing a curveball until he was in high school. He has never had an arm problem. If you want what is best for your kid let them (dont make them) play as much as they want. Just watch over some of the decesions a coach may be making for your kid. Dont be afraid to voice your opinion if you believe someone has asked your son to do something that may hurt him now or later. I think any coach will listen to what you have to say long as it is done in the proper manner.

[Guest gladiator2]

I really enjoy both. The big disadvantage to league ball is all of the work that goes into it. There is a lot more work on the bigger fields and less help. We had the same 3 or 4 guys during the season keeping the field up. I'm suffering right now from overheating,exaustion, and spending way too much time at the field. Myself and a couple of other coaches were working the field the other day talking about how we didn't miss paying our $ and just playing select but we also want our boy's getting use to playing and gelling with the guys that they are going to play high school with. We've played a few select tournaments together and we will play more. I wish we could have done like BC has done since their kid's were like 8 or 9. The problem at a younger age was parents did not want to accept the positions that their kid's were playing. When you go to payed coaches, they expect to win and most times more than not the best player's will play where they are suppose to be. Playing league you also have a lot less time to work fundamental's with your own son as much as you would like. This year is the least that I have worked with my son one on one. His pitching and fielding has paid the price. His hitting has been good but could be better. He has problems at times but not for long because he has been taught for several years to hit the ball up the middle and therefore he stays on the ball longer. Most kid's that play just league ball are pull hitter's unless you have a lot of time at practice to work with them. Most of the time they are not getting any extra practice. Most of the time in league, no matter what or how much you do, someone is going to have a problem. Our president of our league was coaching all-stars and was getting cussed by another parent for not playing her son. It happened last year too. They had 15 player's on the team, honestly the parent should have been happy that he made it considering he hit .066 for the season. So what did the coach do after getting cussed, he inserted some subs with a 4 run lead and lost the game in the bottom of the 7th. The boy whose parent was doing all of the fussing made the first error to start the inning. Were having success with our all-star team and we still have parents complaining about playing time and positions. The manager told these boys and parents the day that we started all-stars that 3 players would be subbing and that there was no mandatory play time at this level. Instead of appreciating the time that we put into helping the kid's in league get better, you get bashed more times than not. The big problem with being able to play select is everyone does not have the money or they don't want to do fundraisers either. We went out of town to play in a tournament 2 weeks ago and a parent whose son has not played select told me that it was the most fun he had ever had watching his son play. So what do you do? Play league,select, or both!

[td]

That's one of the problems that league kids and league parents have. They think because you play select that you think you are better than the other kids. For me and my kids that is not the case at all. The reason we play is to get better. The competition is better and almost all of the time the kids that are there really want to be there. We still go out to the league park and watch the kids that I coached. We don't think we are better we want to work on getting better and have made a choice in choosing the direction that we think will make them better.

Just my opinion, but baseball, more than any sport at a young age has very LITTLE to do with the competition.  I honestly think that until age 12 or 13 you could sit in the back yard with your kid doing tee drills and soft toss, throwing in a cage from 20 feet and develop a swing that would make you just as competitive (good) as spending 3-4 years hacking at a 70 mph fastball and 55mph curve from stud pitching.  Just my opinion.  Baseball is about fundamentals more than any other sport, you have to be fundamentally sound.  Hitting great pitching doesn't give you a fundamentally sound swing, so the competition arguement doesn't do much for me.  I've seen 10 year old teams working on holding runners on base, taking time working on an aspect of the game meant for higher levels, when in my opinion, they should be working on more fundamental skills.  Just my opinions, interesting discussion.

Then that is exactly what you should do. Where in my quote did I say anything about working on a swing while hacking at anything much less 70 mph fastballs and 55 mph curve balls? I personally am only interested in my opinion when it comes to my kids and what they should do just as most parents are. If you think that is what I do with my team then you should come to a practice and then maybe you will see the difference in a league practice and a select practice.  I'm not downing either. I'm just telling you they are different because the kids interest are different. We do teach things that you can't or don't teach in league. Is it really too early to learn how to hold on a runner at 10? I think not and that's why we teach it. That being said if you think it is too early then you shouldn't teach it. To each his own. As long as you are teaching and I really mean teaching then you aren't hurting the kids. I can promise you one thing, fundamentals are the biggest thing we work on. I always find it interesting when someone disagrees with what I do when they know nothing about me, how I teach, who I teach or what I teach. Everyone is welcome to their own opinion. I just think you should know more about who you are talking about before you make a blanket statement. You have no idea how much time we spend throwing soft toss or anything else about us. Good luck. As long as you are spending time with your children, they will always remember that.

[Guest Brubaker]

Sorry, I thought you meant that the kids who play select turn out better because the competition is better.  I countered with I think at a young age it's not about the competition (ie how good the pitching is or talented someone else is), it's about how good you are becoming fundamentally and how your skills are developing.  At a young age, that has nothing to do with select or league.  I'm not downing you or what you do, I'm disagreeing with the statement I thought you made. 

[td]

Sorry, I thought you meant that the kids who play select turn out better because the competition is better.  I countered with I think at a young age it's not about the competition (ie how good the pitching is or talented someone else is), it's about how good you are becoming fundamentally and how your skills are developing.  At a young age, that has nothing to do with select or league.  I'm not downing you or what you do, I'm disagreeing with the statement I thought you made. 

OK. You did misunderstand my statement. The main thing I would say is different between league and select as far as developing skills go is the fact that in select you usually have all 10 kids that really want to learn v. 4 that want to learn 4 that just want to play and 3 that their parents want them to play.

[thetragichippy]

Sorry, I thought you meant that the kids who play select turn out better because the competition is better.  I countered with I think at a young age it's not about the competition (ie how good the pitching is or talented someone else is), it's about how good you are becoming fundamentally and how your skills are developing.  At a young age, that has nothing to do with select or league.  I'm not downing you or what you do, I'm disagreeing with the statement I thought you made. 

OK. You did misunderstand my statement. The main thing I would say is different between league and select as far as developing skills go is the fact that in select you usually have all 10 kids that really want to learn v. 4 that want to learn 4 that just want to play and 3 that their parents want them to play.

Is that the same 3 that build sand castles in the outfield?

[westend1]

I don't know about castles but I bet the dig a big hole with their cleats.     

[adminbaberuth]

Sorry, I thought you meant that the kids who play select turn out better because the competition is better.  I countered with I think at a young age it's not about the competition (ie how good the pitching is or talented someone else is), it's about how good you are becoming fundamentally and how your skills are developing.  At a young age, that has nothing to do with select or league.  I'm not downing you or what you do, I'm disagreeing with the statement I thought you made.  

OK. You did misunderstand my statement. The main thing I would say is different between league and select as far as developing skills go is the fact that in select you usually have all 10 kids that really want to learn v. 4 that want to learn 4 that just want to play and 3 that their parents want them to play.

Is that the same 3 that build sand castles in the outfield?

Yes, those sand castles bring back good memories when you have coached as long as I have. One of the sand castle builders was a great kid but he was as wide as he was tall at that age.

The other day I dropped by one of my favorites, Rao's, and as I was getting my coffee. There was a tap on my shoulder and a voice said "Hey coach". As I turned around I knew the face but couldn't quite recognize this 6'0'' body builder looking guy until I looked at his policeman badge and remembered putting him my lineup.

We had a great time talking about our Little League days.

[thetragichippy]

Sorry, I thought you meant that the kids who play select turn out better because the competition is better.  I countered with I think at a young age it's not about the competition (ie how good the pitching is or talented someone else is), it's about how good you are becoming fundamentally and how your skills are developing.  At a young age, that has nothing to do with select or league.  I'm not downing you or what you do, I'm disagreeing with the statement I thought you made.  

OK. You did misunderstand my statement. The main thing I would say is different between league and select as far as developing skills go is the fact that in select you usually have all 10 kids that really want to learn v. 4 that want to learn 4 that just want to play and 3 that their parents want them to play.

Is that the same 3 that build sand castles in the outfield?

Yes, those sand castles bring back good memories when you have coached as long as I have. One of the sand castle builders was a great kid but he was as wide as he was tall at that age.

The other day I dropped by one of my favorites, Rao's, and as I was getting my coffee. There was a tap on my shoulder and a voice said "Hey coach". As I turned around I knew the face but couldn't quite recognize this 6'0'' body builder looking guy until I looked at his policeman badge and remembered putting him my lineup.

We had a great time talking about our Little League days.

moments like that make it all worth it........even the castle builders

[td]

Sorry, I thought you meant that the kids who play select turn out better because the competition is better.  I countered with I think at a young age it's not about the competition (ie how good the pitching is or talented someone else is), it's about how good you are becoming fundamentally and how your skills are developing.  At a young age, that has nothing to do with select or league.  I'm not downing you or what you do, I'm disagreeing with the statement I thought you made. 

OK. You did misunderstand my statement. The main thing I would say is different between league and select as far as developing skills go is the fact that in select you usually have all 10 kids that really want to learn v. 4 that want to learn 4 that just want to play and 3 that their parents want them to play.

Is that the same 3 that build sand castles in the outfield?

I think it was more like digging holes out there, Hippy! But none the less, the same 3!  ;D

[td]

Sorry, I thought you meant that the kids who play select turn out better because the competition is better.  I countered with I think at a young age it's not about the competition (ie how good the pitching is or talented someone else is), it's about how good you are becoming fundamentally and how your skills are developing.  At a young age, that has nothing to do with select or league.  I'm not downing you or what you do, I'm disagreeing with the statement I thought you made.  

OK. You did misunderstand my statement. The main thing I would say is different between league and select as far as developing skills go is the fact that in select you usually have all 10 kids that really want to learn v. 4 that want to learn 4 that just want to play and 3 that their parents want them to play.

Is that the same 3 that build sand castles in the outfield?

Yes, those sand castles bring back good memories when you have coached as long as I have. One of the sand castle builders was a great kid but he was as wide as he was tall at that age.

The other day I dropped by one of my favorites, Rao's, and as I was getting my coffee. There was a tap on my shoulder and a voice said "Hey coach". As I turned around I knew the face but couldn't quite recognize this 6'0'' body builder looking guy until I looked at his policeman badge and remembered putting him my lineup.

We had a great time talking about our Little League days.

moments like that make it all worth it........even the castle builders

Amen! Don't get me wrong the hole diggers have a special place in a coaches heart just as the other kids do. If people only realized that most coaches do it because they love being around kids, all kids.

[spoonbill]

Sorry, I thought you meant that the kids who play select turn out better because the competition is better.  I countered with I think at a young age it's not about the competition (ie how good the pitching is or talented someone else is), it's about how good you are becoming fundamentally and how your skills are developing.  At a young age, that has nothing to do with select or league.  I'm not downing you or what you do, I'm disagreeing with the statement I thought you made.  

OK. You did misunderstand my statement. The main thing I would say is different between league and select as far as developing skills go is the fact that in select you usually have all 10 kids that really want to learn v. 4 that want to learn 4 that just want to play and 3 that their parents want them to play.

Is that the same 3 that build sand castles in the outfield?

Yes, those sand castles bring back good memories when you have coached as long as I have. One of the sand castle builders was a great kid but he was as wide as he was tall at that age.

The other day I dropped by one of my favorites, Rao's, and as I was getting my coffee. There was a tap on my shoulder and a voice said "Hey coach". As I turned around I knew the face but couldn't quite recognize this 6'0'' body builder looking guy until I looked at his policeman badge and remembered putting him my lineup.

We had a great time talking about our Little League days.

moments like that make it all worth it........even the castle builders

Amen! Don't get me wrong the hole diggers have a special place in a coaches heart just as the other kids do. If people only realized that most coaches do it because they love being around kids, all kids.

i remember one kid whose mom wanted him to play to make new friends. i couldn't get him to get into "ready" postion in the outfield since he had never played. i finally got him to squat like a sumo wrestler to get into position. every time for the rest of the yr when i said ready position, he would pick up one leg, then pick up the other and finally get in "ready" position. it was hilarious and he liked the attention. he finally got a hit in our next to last game and it was like he hit a 10 run home run. the parents went nuts. that's why coaches put in all the hours in little league...for moments like that.

[piratefan]

last year I put a kid who has never pitched and had a big heart...His dad helped me ,and was a great guy..His dad couldn't understand why I let him pitch. After a few batters his dad wanted me to go talk to him..I looked at the dad and said "you can". "You go talk to your son on the mound". Needless to say the dad was very proud and the mom thanked me later. She got a great picture of it and he will probably never go make a visit to the mound again and be able to talk to his son..

  And when I pulled the kid he tipped his hat to the crowd, and ran back to right field..

[Guest kf89]

its whatever works best for your kid & family.i know some that just play select & love it,some that just play league  & some that do both & love it.it doesnt matter what age u start n select or league as long as the kid & parents r enjoying it.ive seen some of the best baseball played by 7 yr. old select teams last year.as for as coaches being paid & lessons if thats what works 4 u then go 4 it but ive seen alot of not paid dad coaches teams beat the crap out of the so called higher level paid coaches it all boils down to the level of talent u have & how much of that talent u can get out of them.that goes for lessons too if it helps your kid than fine but alot of kids that dont get lessons are just as good and sometimes better.its mainly common sense if you love baseball &  played or been around the game alot than you can pretty much teach kids baseball.if you do it for the money & it becomes a job than it usually turns into a bad experience 4 everybody.you really dont know what is right or works when you are dealing with kids 6yrs. to 18yrs. they change their minds every 5 minutes,just gotta try it & see what u like so good luck.