To Jump 4oz or Not?

[tradosaurus]

5' 9", 126lbs is more than enough to handle drop 3 bat. You should at least let him swing it in BP. My son started using drop 3 bat(31/28) before turning 12 at 4'11" 87lbs.

Your son would have had fun catching up to some of the speeds we have seen at 12U and 13U tournament play (majors level) using a -3 drop.

My son is 5-11", 170 lbs and there is no way I would let him use a -3 drop in tournament play against some of the faster pitchers. He did use a -3 wood bat in 14U league play (54/80) this year and did fine but the pitching wasn't as fast.

[lancers]

Your son would have had fun catching up to some of the speeds we have seen at 12U and 13U tournament play (majors level) using a -3 drop.

My son is 5-11", 170 lbs and there is no way I would let him use a -3 drop in tournament play against some of the faster pitchers. He did use a -3 wood bat in 14U league play (54/80) this year and did fine but the pitching wasn't as fast.

My son is 14 now. When he was 12, he played against kids throwing over 70's from 50ft and never had problem to turn on those fast pitches.

Using a heavier bat is a good check point for the swing mechanic. It helps to expose the problem and not the problem itself.

[kimbercarry]

My thoughts exactly tradosaurus. It will be in the bag for sure.

Just keep the older lighter bat just in case you face a pitcher throwing some heat.

[lancers]

My thoughts exactly tradosaurus. It will be in the bag for sure.

You need to encourage him to use the heavier bat. There's no question he may feel over-matched at the beginning. Just keep on swinging it. Starting with tee shot, then soft toss. Buy him a cheap wood bat so that you don't need to invest too much for now.

[tradosaurus]

My thoughts exactly tradosaurus. It will be in the bag for sure.

Some people like to rush the process. And every kid develops faster than others.

Depending upon the level of competition your son will face you will find out the best bat size for his age.

[trademark]

I'm a firm believer in progressing slowly with bat weight. My son has swung a lighter bat pretty much until this summer when he progressed from a drop 8.5 to a drop 5.
He just turned 14. He's 5'1" and weighs about 105. Looking back at the beginning of this last season… all the other dads boasted how their kids were swinging drop 3 bats now as if they were better for swinging a heavy bat… LMAO. In the end, my son had the best average on the team. Obviously there is more to it than the weight of the bat, but I believe it is one part many that leads to success.
I'm a firm believer that for most kids, it's best to progress gradually as the kid matures physically.

[tradosaurus]

I'm a firm believer in progressing slowly with bat weight. My son has swung a lighter bat pretty much until this summer when he progressed from a drop 8.5 to a drop 5.
He just turned 14. He's 5'1" and weighs about 105. Looking back at the beginning of this last season… all the other dads boasted how their kids were swinging drop 3 bats now as if they were better for swinging a heavy bat… LMAO. In the end, my son had the best average on the team. Obviously there is more to it than the weight of the bat, but I believe it is one part many that leads to success.
I'm a firm believer that for most kids, it's best to progress gradually as the kid matures physically.

Our 13U team was a majors level team this year. Not one kid used a -3 drop bat in a game.

Hell we even had one kid that is 6' and 195 lbs and he still swung a -5 drop bat. Could he have swung a -3 bat? Sure. But it's all about reaction time. I'm sure there are a few kids at age 13 that see the ball better than most and can react quickly.

One tournament this year there was an opposing pitcher with such velocity my son even went down to a -10 drop bat just to give him a little more reaction time.

[lancers]

Our 13U team was a majors level team this year. Not one kid used a -3 drop bat in a game.

Hell we even had one kid that is 6' and 195 lbs and he still swung a -5 drop bat. Could he have swung a -3 bat? Sure. But it's all about reaction time. I'm sure there are a few kids at age 13 that see the ball better than most and can react quickly.

One tournament this year there was an opposing pitcher with such velocity my son even went down to a -10 drop bat just to give him a little more reaction time.

My son started his first ever game with -3 bat against the then so called #2 13U team in the country,the Stingray when he was 12. Our team was quickly dismantled by them 13 to nothing in 4 innings. The pitcher throwing serious heat and struck out almost everybody except my son. He went 2 for 2 with this double



I mean check the size difference

My point is don't underestimate your kid's ability to make the necessary adjustment. Batting average at youth level is overrated. You play the game at this level for development, not for stats. So why not go for it.

[lancers]

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[Bolts-Baseball]

Batting average at youth level is overrated. You play the game at this level for development, not for stats. So why not go for it.

True... I'm a firm believer of this... My kid used a -5 the entire Spring/Summer 12u on the 50/70 youth field, then was using a -3, the day after his 12u season was over, when he moved to a 60/90 field, that was 2 years ago... Starts High School on Monday... has had over a year of BBCOR and Wood already... I'd hate to have a kid that hasn't played at least an entire season with BBCOR come out for HS Tryouts without the game experience and confidence gained from using them, and think that they will have any success when the proverbial "crap hits the fan"...

[tradosaurus]

My son started his first ever game with -3 bat against the then so called #2 13U team in the country,the Stingray when he was 12. Our team was quickly dismantled by them 13 to nothing in 4 innings. The pitcher throwing serious heat and struck out almost everybody except my son. He went 2 for 2 with this double



I mean check the size difference

My point is don't underestimate your kid's ability to make the necessary adjustment. Batting average at youth level is overrated. You play the game at this level for development, not for stats. So why not go for it.

Well one more point I forgot to mention is that the head coach would frown on the -3 drop bat.

I think your son sees the ball and reacts better than most at the plate.

Do you think your son would have hit the ball just as well with a -5 drop bat?

BTW, how can a 13U team be ranked?

[tradosaurus]

Swinging a -3 drop versus a -5 drop or even a -10 drop is not about batting average but about contacting the ball, putting the ball into play. It's also about bat speed.

Most 12 to 13 y.o. don't have the muscle development to swing a -3 drop and get enough bat speed. Can he swing it and make contact by timing the pitch? Sure.

My son will be 15 y.o. when he finally gets to 60/90, high school level ball. He will play 14U league ball next year and swing nothing but a -3 drop bat.

He actually played 3 games this summer with a 17U high school summer team. He had to swing a -3 drop bat and frankly his opinion was that he had more reaction time at 60 ft than at 54 ft. Granted the pitchers were not throwing 90 mph.

I say if you can swing a -3 drop bat and make contact consistently then go for it. It will certainly prepare you sooner for high school. You just don't want your son to get in a hitting slump because he is swinging a bat that is too heavy at an early age.

[Bolts-Baseball]

Our 13U team was a majors level team this year. Not one kid used a -3 drop bat in a game.

Really...? Our entire team used -3 BESR bats in the Spring 13u season... We rarely ran across a team that primarily used -5 bats...

BTW, how can a 13U team be ranked?

travelballselect.com, USSSA power rankings... there are a few ways...

[tradosaurus]

Really...? Our entire team used -3 BESR bats in the Spring 13u season... We rarely ran across a team that primarily used -5 bats...

travelballselect.com, USSSA power rankings... there are a few ways...

If I was your team's coach and faced a pitcher that was striking out the side (except for your son) I would have mandated a -5 drop for that game only. Just curious. What was the pitching distance in your Spring 13U season?

I don't trust power rankings for select ball because how can you rank a team that hasn't faced competition from across the nation? We beat a team in the world series that was something like 74-6 in the season. I don't know what their "power" ranking was and frankly it wouldn't have mattered.

[lancers]

If I was your team's coach and faced a pitcher that was striking out the side (except for your son) I would have mandated a -5 drop for that game only. Just curious. What was the pitching distance in your Spring 13U season?

I don't trust power rankings for select ball because how can you rank a team that hasn't faced competition from across the nation? We beat a team in the world series that was something like 74-6 in the season. I don't know what their "power" ranking was and frankly it wouldn't have mattered.

No I don't care for their ranking also. But that was truly the best team I ever seen. They have the players from L.A county, Orange county and Riverside county. I also heard they even have a player flying over from Vegas for some of the tournaments. And we have a team from the same zip code

For 13U, they play 54/80

[Bolts-Baseball]

60/90... we never played one single game on a 54/80...

In Fall of 13u season, we actually played all 14u events, then in Spring we, played some 14u and 13u...

I disagree on the rankings... "USSSA power rankings" are EXTREMELY accurate...

14u: http://www.usssa.com/sports/Rank2.as...6&RankSystem=0

13: http://www.usssa.com/sports/Rank2.as...6&RankSystem=0

What 'world series' did you play in...?

[kimbercarry]

A few years ago that kid flying in would have been Bryce Harper. Read an article that said this is what he did at that age. A hired TB gun so to speak. His dad set the deals up and they would go every weekend to play for a TB team
[QUOTE=lancers;2048644]I also heard they even have a player flying over from Vegas for some of the tournaments.

[tradosaurus]

60/90... we never played one single game on a 54/80...

In Fall of 13u season, we actually played all 14u events, then in Spring we, played some 14u and 13u...

I disagree on the rankings... "USSSA power rankings" are EXTREMELY accurate...

14u: http://www.usssa.com/sports/Rank2.as...6&RankSystem=0

13: http://www.usssa.com/sports/Rank2.as...6&RankSystem=0

What 'world series' did you play in...?

How can they be accurate classification of any team who hasn't played across the nation? What about or travel ball leagues?

We played in the Triple Crown World Series in Steamboat Springs, CO this July (13U Div 1). Ended up 3rd place and we were seeded 2nd out of 26 teams.

[Bolts-Baseball]

How can they be accurate classification of any team who hasn't played across the nation? What about or travel ball leagues?

We played in the Triple Crown World Series in Steamboat Springs, CO this July (13U Div 1). Ended up 3rd place and we were seeded 2nd out of 26 teams.

Congrats on your finish... Triple Crown puts on some nice tournaments.

We played in the 13u 60/90 Summer Nationals in Myrtle Beach last year and finished 3rd out of 64 teams... We lost to a team called SBA Canes out of NC... They were really good, best team we had ever played that season... They also went on to win the AAU National Chanpionship, and they finished 5th at the Elite 32...

http://www.triplecrownsports.com/sho...mobileout=True

We ended up finishing 11th on the USSSA Power rankings last year:

http://www.usssa.com/sports/Rank2.as...5&RankSystem=0

FYI: We were invited to play in the Elite 32, only 2-3 of our regular players played in it though...
Mostly all of the team didn't want to play on the 54/80 after playing 60/90...

Based on what I've seen this is a very accurate listing of the best teams in the country, IMHO...

Have you ever played (or know of any teams that have played) any of the teams on the 13u rankings list?
http://www.usssa.com/sports/Rank2.as...6&RankSystem=0

or, any of the teams at this year's 13u Elite 32?
http://www.usssa.com/sports/Tourname...amentID=858928

[ralanprod]

How can they be accurate classification of any team who hasn't played across the nation?

Most of the 13U and 14U teams on that list have played across the nation. Crazy amounts of travel on some of those teams. I've seen a good number of the teams on the list play, and while giving them an exact ranking would seem difficult - and trivial really, I would say it seems to be fairly accurate.

Flying in from Vegas is nothing... I know of one Elite 32 13U team that flies in pitchers from other COUNTRIES.

[tradosaurus]

Most of the 13U and 14U teams on that list have played across the nation. Crazy amounts of travel on some of those teams. I've seen a good number of the teams on the list play, and while giving them an exact ranking would seem difficult - and trivial really, I would say it seems to be fairly accurate.

Flying in from Vegas is nothing... I know of one Elite 32 13U team that flies in pitchers from other COUNTRIES.

So again, how does that accurately portray a team when they are flying in players to help them win?

Personally I don't get excited about rankings. I think last year (12U) we were ranked in the top 25 (USSSA). We then moved to triple crown because our H.C. became peeved that we were moved up twice in classification on a Thursday when we had already scheduled motels and tournament that weekend at a certain classification.

The main reason I'm investing in tournament ball is to make my son a better player. League ball just can't cut it.

I also want a competitive team for my son to play with as well as decent coaching (which we have both).

I don't think looking back I or my son will care how we were ranked each year in whatever travel league we play.

[CircleChange11]

I think your son sees the ball and reacts better than most at the plate.

I hope no one takes this the wrong way, but the 2 clips of well struck balls we've seen from this kid have been on cockshot fastballs up in the zone, one was belt high, one was ribs high.

How they are able to handle a bigger bat on pitches in, low in, etc should determine what size bat to use. I wouldn't base much, of anything, on how batters handle centered pitches.

Having said that, we know from the other thread that I like the kid's swing, so nothing I am saying here is "the kid", only about the situation of "we've seen 2 hits, both on pitches that batters generally don't have much trouble handling ... so let's not read too much into one individual or small sample".

I'm not a "bat guy" and so I am wondering if there are general guidelines out there to be tried/applied when selecting bat sizes and weights for batters at various ages. I ask because my guy just turned 11 and plenty of buddies are at the stage where what bat you use is more important than how well you hit.

[ralanprod]

So again, how does that accurately portray a team when they are flying in players to help them win?

I think it portrays them as being insane personally.

[Standballdad]

I hope no one takes this the wrong way, but the 2 clips of well struck balls we've seen from this kid have been on cockshot fastballs up in the zone, one was belt high, one was ribs high.

How they are able to handle a bigger bat on pitches in, low in, etc should determine what size bat to use. I wouldn't base much, of anything, on how batters handle centered pitches.

Having said that, we know from the other thread that I like the kid's swing, so nothing I am saying here is "the kid", only about the situation of "we've seen 2 hits, both on pitches that batters generally don't have much trouble handling ... so let's not read too much into one individual or small sample".

I'm not a "bat guy" and so I am wondering if there are general guidelines out there to be tried/applied when selecting bat sizes and weights for batters at various ages. I ask because my guy just turned 11 and plenty of buddies are at the stage where what bat you use is more important than how well you hit.

I think the goal here is to at some point get your son to a -3 BBCOR and be comfortable with it when they reach HS. My son swung a -5 31 inch for 13U and then moved to a drop -3 31 inch when he played 14U. First summer of HS baseball he moved to a drop -3 33 inch bat and played varsity. He is 5'7" about 140 lbs. I feel the key was the progressive weight increase.

[Roothog66]

My son is 14 now. When he was 12, he played against kids throwing over 70's from 50ft and never had problem to turn on those fast pitches.

Using a heavier bat is a good check point for the swing mechanic. It helps to expose the problem and not the problem itself.

Ding! Ding! Ding! This is the correct answer. Most of us over 45 grew up without the choice of ultralight bats and we learned to hit just fine. And, yes, there were kids throwing heat back then, too.