keeping youth baseball in perspective

[bp14]

http://swingingbuntz.com/2012/04/20/...n-perspective/

[CircleChange11]

http://swingingbuntz.com/2012/04/20/...n-perspective/

http://swingingbuntz.com/2012/04/20/...n-perspective/

1. I like the article and the scenario it presents for us to think about.

2. People need to stop saying things like this "The odds of a child who plays elite level travel baseball making it to the major leagues are roughly one in a thousand. Please read that again before going any further.". People hear and repeat things like this ALL of the time.

The odds of a young person making it to the TOP of ANY field are long against. Doesn't mean that kids and parents shouldn't do everything they can to make it happen, if it is the goal. I'll leave it that.

As for the HR situation, I suppose there's an aspect of "rules are rules", and I am fine with kids learning lessons "when the price tag is small". So, to me it's not a huge issue that the kid was ruled out for not touching 1st base. Mark McGwire had to go back and touch first when he broke the record as he was over-excited with the 1B coach. In the end, the ruling doesn't overshadow the fact that the kid went deep. His teammates still think it's awesome, the parents are still impressed, and the kid knows that he launched a ball over the fence. For me/us, I wouldn;t let the ruling on the field overshadow the accomplishment of the hit.

If the coaches, the umpires, etc all saw it to the point that an appeal was made and supported, then it was probably pretty obvious. The situation could be made as big or little or one wanted it to make. A dropped thirst strike is not recorded as an out. But everyone in the park knows what happened in the pitcher-batter showdown.

[Roothog66]

"The odds of a child who plays elite level travel baseball making it to the major leagues are roughly one in a thousand."

So you're saying there's a chance?

[Jake Patterson]

"The odds of a child who plays elite level travel baseball making it to the major leagues are roughly one in a thousand."

So you're saying there's a chance?

I doubt these numbers.... or they need further definition... What age, what league, how do you define elite, etc.
NCAA came out with numbers a few years back that 1:16,000 HS ball players make it to the pros... I used to tell parents you felt they had the one to go make a list of the other 15,999 HS players.

[Roothog66]

I doubt these numbers.... or they need further definition... What age, what league, how do you define elite, etc.
NCAA came out with numbers a few years back that 1:16,000 HS ball players make it to the pros... I used to tell parents you felt they had the one to go make a list of the other 15,999 HS players.

Yeah, I had to chuckle at the 1:1,000 number. I wish that were the odds. And, I imagine that 1:16,000 is the "pros" and not "majors."

Still: "So, you're saying there's a chance." - Jim Carrey - "Dumb and Dumber"

[CircleChange11]

So like one in a hundred?

I'd say more like one in a million.

So, you're telling me there's a chance. I read ya.

------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------

IIRC, not too long ago the odds were better for a player to make it to professional baseball than for a student to make it to medical school (namely due to lower numbers being enrolled).

I completely understand people wanting others to keep things in perspective, but part of the fun of baseball is being under the delusion that if you work hard enough you might one day "be one of those guys". Baseball is still one of those sports that encompasses enough skill aspect to it that it's not completely genetics/athleticism driven.

At the rate society's going I'm happy with families that do ANYTHING with passion and commitment, because so many folks are simply aren't doing anything that's not entertainment media based.

Again, we send mixed messages all over the place. We want people to keep things in perspective, and understand that hardly anyone makes it, so just relax and have fun and stop working so hard at everything ... and then all of our movies, inspirational stories coaches use, etc all feature accounts of people that worked harder than everyone else and overcame "impossible" odds.

We cannot write a book for each parent and their situation to know exactly when they should push and when they should pull back. Sometimes the line between dedication and abuse is fishing line thin.

[songtitle]

So you're saying there's a chance?

Dads don't listen to odds, their kid is different. He's the one.

[pcarnette]

[Han Solo]Never tell me the odds![/Han Solo]

[shake-n-bake]

It's a great game. You're very lucky if you've got kids that are currently playing and you can share the experience with them. You're lucky to have had the opportunity to share the experience. And, you're privileged to be coaching and being let into the world of a group of kids that can effect you as much as you can them. That should be good enough. Allowing kids to have fun and get better.

My thoughts are that there's too much importance placed on evaluation and comparisons too early. It's turned having big dreams from what most of us remember as part of being a kid into being viewed critically and some type of perversion. I think the 6 y/o that, bite my tongue for even muttering such a thing, isn't an all star on an academy team that plays 70 games a year still has the right to dream about hitting a walk off HR in game 7 of the World Series.

[shake-n-bake]

So like one in a hundred?

I'd say more like one in a million.

So, you're telling me there's a chance. I read ya.

------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------

IIRC, not too long ago the odds were better for a player to make it to professional baseball than for a student to make it to medical school (namely due to lower numbers being enrolled).

I completely understand people wanting others to keep things in perspective, but part of the fun of baseball is being under the delusion that if you work hard enough you might one day "be one of those guys". Baseball is still one of those sports that encompasses enough skill aspect to it that it's not completely genetics/athleticism driven.

At the rate society's going I'm happy with families that do ANYTHING with passion and commitment, because so many folks are simply aren't doing anything that's not entertainment media based.

Again, we send mixed messages all over the place. We want people to keep things in perspective, and understand that hardly anyone makes it, so just relax and have fun and stop working so hard at everything ... and then all of our movies, inspirational stories coaches use, etc all feature accounts of people that worked harder than everyone else and overcame "impossible" odds.

We cannot write a book for each parent and their situation to know exactly when they should push and when they should pull back. Sometimes the line between dedication and abuse is fishing line thin.

Well said.

[tg643]

I doubt these numbers.... or they need further definition... What age, what league, how do you define elite, etc.
NCAA came out with numbers a few years back that 1:16,000 HS ball players make it to the pros... I used to tell parents you felt they had the one to go make a list of the other 15,999 HS players.

Here's some added persepctive. If a player is good enough to get signed to a minor league contract he now has a 2% chance of ever seeing a MLB field and a 1% chance of earning a living on the MLB field. Many people don't know after the first ten rounds of the draft players get a 10K signing bonus ** and $800 per month in season. They get $24 per diem for road trips. It get better in AA. Most players don't make it to AA.

** With new CBA all draft choices get slot pay. No more drafting a player committed to college in late rounds and luring him to sign with a lot of money.

[tg643]

Dads don't listen to odds, their kid is different. He's the one.

I crack up when dads of young kids think their kids have what it takes to be a MLB'er. I've seen plenty of dads of high school seniors find out their son's are going to be future MLB'ers in the first or second yer of college ball. The dads of youth players have no idea how far they are from finding out.

[tg643]

Each year I told the team and parents there's a scoreboard and therefore the objective is to win the game. But I told them winning is a function of having enough talent and more passion than the other team. Development, hustle, proper mental attitude, enough talent and passion lends itself to winning. You never lose if you're playing hard. Sometimes you're learning what it will take to win.

[shake-n-bake]

I crack up when dads of young kids think their kids have what it takes to be a MLB'er. I've seen plenty of dads of high school seniors find out their son's are going to be future MLB'ers in the first or second yer of college ball. The dads of youth players have no idea how far they are from finding out.

I just sort of went along with what my son's dreams were. So, I guess I was one of those guys. My son's a freshman in HS and his dreams are really no more than being able to keep putting on a uniform for awhile and maybe lightning will strike for him, but he's still got doing well in math and science as pretty high priorities. So, I share in that now.

[tg643]

I just sort of went along with what my son's dreams were. So, I guess I was one of those guys. My son's a freshman in HS and his dreams are really no more than being able to keep putting on a uniform for awhile and maybe lightning will strike for him, but he's still got doing well in math and science as pretty high priorities. So, I share in that now.

There's nothing wrong with dreaming as long as there's the balance you've provided. When a kid is looking objectively at athletics and academics I would call that a plan.

My son just happened to be exposed to a lot of minor league life from friends, sons of friends, older brothers of teammates, and now teammates who signed out of high school. The exposure created a lot of balance in his perspective. Two travel teammates were very high picks. Even though they are considered top pro prospcts they both say life in the minors sucks.