Originally posted by d-mac
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Youth Phenoms
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Originally posted by d-mac View Postfwiw, the kids mom ran track in college and the dad played football in college. Both are tall and the dad is a big strong guy.
Your last paragraph is really what I was looking for. The kid could end up the next Josh Hamilton or the next preteen superstar never to be heard from again. I'm just curious how everyone would handle a kid like this.
I have a friend whose daughter is 11 and she is a high level gymnast. They are looking at moving to Texas or Colorado so their daughter can train. I guess it's apples and oranges since the lifecycle of a gymnast is so short, but it amazes me how insane girls sports are compared to boys sports. This girl has trained 20+ hours per week since she was 6 or 7.
Since the kid pitcher has former athletes for parents hopefully they have perspective and aren't looking to fulfill failed dreams. The kid has something big in his favor. He chose parents from the right gene pool.
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Originally posted by tg643 View PostColleges don't recruit first basemen unless they're expected to develop into big time stud mashers. In college DH and first is where hitters without positions are placed. A friend's son was an All Amereican shortstop for two years before being drafted. His freshman year he played first since the team had a senior shortstop. When he was done playing first the team alternated two catchers at first who were top hitters.
So you guys with younger kids make sure and work in some other positions. My kid can hit and will land somewhere, but here in Fla, it will be most likely D2 or NAIA if he wants to play next level. Still pretty good brand of baseball at that level down here, but very little interest from some of the D1s out of state that I have watched in person. This was a bit of a head-scratcher until I realized what TG said about 1B is absolutely true. 1B is the last position recruited, if at all, and likely lowest amount of $$$ but, you can of course alter that with production once you get there.
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Originally posted by d-mac View PostIt listed him at 22 innings for the season. Control issues are the biggest reason for the lack of innings though. When we faced him, he K'd the first batter and then walked the next 5 and was pulled. Our kids couldn't even see the ball. In the kid's defense, the umpire couldn't pick up the ball either and he had quite a few strikes that were called balls. His future may not even be on the mound, it may be in CF. I see a lot of kids that are good now, that you can tell don't project very well as they get older. This kid seems like he should just get better and better. He has the build. Lanky, strong, fast, with an arm.
If he was my son I would tell him that control is the key at 10 y.o. and as he develops the speed will catch up.
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Originally posted by tg643 View PostThese are things we dont know about the big picture. Is this an early developing kid with a 5'8" father? We had a dominant kid like this in a nearby LL who grew an inch after LL. His 75 mph LL fastball peaked at 78 in high school JV ball.
I've been through this with my son. He was a Hoop Scoop Top 10 10U point guard in basketball. I thought is was absurd any magazine ranked ten year olds. My son was asked to play on one of the top AAU teams in the country. He would have been the only white kid in an otherwise all black team from the ghetto. The coach told me my kid was the quickest player ithe court. I liked the coach and kids. They were rivals we played in every tournament championship. But I wasn't going to allow my kid to get at caught up in one sport at ten. We approached basketball each year as business as usual until he stopped playing in high school when baseball and soccer became time consuming (son was also a college soccer prospect).
If this was my kid I would get him periodic pitching lessons so he doesn't hurt his arm. He would keep playing other sports. He would continue playing baseball with the same kids. At 13U i would look at the best travel experience in the area. If he's still a stud at fifteen he could tryout for the 16U national team. What I would not allow is a travel coach to use and abuse his arm as a meal ticket to tournament glory.
well height is important but not everything. there are plenty of 6"4 guys who throw 87 and then there is tim collins who is 5"7 and throws 95. lincecum is 5"11 and kimbrel who throws upper 90s is also like that.
the most important thing is really how explosive you are (fast twitch muscles or whatever that means). height is only part of what power is.I now have my own non commercial blog about training for batspeed and power using my training experience in baseball and track and field.
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To Dom's point, 5 of the top 10 hardest throwers in the majors are 6' or below (and usually a pitcher listed at 6' in the majors is probably more like 5'10"):
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Originally posted by d-mac View PostI have mentioned a 10 year old in our area that is off the charts in just about every category. Here is a small blurb about him.
Now here is my question. If you were the parent of a kid that can throw 70+ at 10 years old, how would you handle the situation? Would you put him on a national team, would you play league and hire a pitching coach, would you just let him develop naturally, etc.? Just curious of everyone's thoughts.
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Originally posted by dominik View Postwell height is important but not everything. there are plenty of 6"4 guys who throw 87 and then there is tim collins who is 5"7 and throws 95. lincecum is 5"11 and kimbrel who throws upper 90s is also like that.
the most important thing is really how explosive you are (fast twitch muscles or whatever that means). height is only part of what power is.
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Originally posted by mcloven View PostTo Dom's point, 5 of the top 10 hardest throwers in the majors are 6' or below (and usually a pitcher listed at 6' in the majors is probably more like 5'10"):
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/20...rdest-thrower/
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Originally posted by azmatsfan View PostMy oldest was clocked throwing 69 mph when he was 10. At the state LL 9/10 all-star tournament he threw two no-hitters. We never signed him up for any elite teams. He played LL in the Spring and on travel teams with his friends in Fall. We kept a watch on how much he was pitched. Despite our efforts he still had issues with an irritated growth plate due to how hard he threw. We shut down his pitching at age 12, and he did band exercises regularly. He's just starting to pitch again as a Freshman. He currently throws mid-80s and he's far from done growing according to the doctor. (he's 6'3", but weighs only 150). We still keep an eye on his shoulder to make sure the issues don't come back. The orthopedic doctor said the good news is that once the growth plate is closed, his shoulder looks great. I don't see any reason to make a big deal out of a 10-year-old. I've learned it's a long journey.
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Originally posted by pcarnette View PostI'm curious. What are some specific things you see about these kids that tell you they don't project very well as the get older?"He who dares to teach, must never cease to learn."
- John Cotton Dana (1856–1929) - Offered to many by L. Olson - Iowa (Teacher)
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72 from a 10yo is amazing. However, it's obvious he's still almost useless as a pitcher because he has no control. That's probably a good thing though, after seeing his picture, I'm agreeing with CO from what we can see. Still, even if he had amazing accuracy, I would use him probably less than my other pitchers. 72mph on a 10yo arm is bad news, IMO. I don't believe, for one second, that he's so far an advanced maturer that his growth plates aren't still open at that age.
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Originally posted by clayadams View Post72 from a 10yo is amazing. However, it's obvious he's still almost useless as a pitcher because he has no control. That's probably a good thing though, after seeing his picture, I'm agreeing with CO from what we can see. Still, even if he had amazing accuracy, I would use him probably less than my other pitchers. 72mph on a 10yo arm is bad news, IMO. I don't believe, for one second, that he's so far an advanced maturer that his growth plates aren't still open at that age.
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Originally posted by mcloven View PostTo Dom's point, 5 of the top 10 hardest throwers in the majors are 6' or below (and usually a pitcher listed at 6' in the majors is probably more like 5'10"):
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/20...rdest-thrower/
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Originally posted by azmatsfan View PostMy oldest was clocked throwing 69 mph when he was 10. At the state LL 9/10 all-star tournament he threw two no-hitters. We never signed him up for any elite teams. He played LL in the Spring and on travel teams with his friends in Fall. We kept a watch on how much he was pitched. Despite our efforts he still had issues with an irritated growth plate due to how hard he threw. We shut down his pitching at age 12, and he did band exercises regularly. He's just starting to pitch again as a Freshman. He currently throws mid-80s and he's far from done growing according to the doctor. (he's 6'3", but weighs only 150). We still keep an eye on his shoulder to make sure the issues don't come back. The orthopedic doctor said the good news is that once the growth plate is closed, his shoulder looks great. I don't see any reason to make a big deal out of a 10-year-old. I've learned it's a long journey.
I'm impressed you shut down his pitching for a few years. The temptation to have him be seen as a hard thrower can be too much for some.
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