Fall Ball 2012

[phillyinnj]

This year my son decided to skip his last year of 12U to Babe Ruth and I feel pretty confident that he is going to do well...Today's the first game for a league over in PA. He's been looking good during practice so we'll see...Seems like just the other day I brought him to his first T-Ball game...goes by fast!

[HeinekenMan]

How did it go? We had a fall ball scrimmage today. I used it to teach some of my less experienced kids. Two kids pitched for the first time ever, and one kid caught for the first time ever. And my second baseman had never played in a single game before. One of the pitchers struggled with accuracy. The other pitched very well. My catcher was overwhelmed, but he threw out a guy stealing home by tossing the ball to the pitcher, who was covering. The second baseman caught a pop up and fielded a grounder to get two outs in the first inning.

But I almost blew my top for the first time ever. I had one kid swinging a bat in the dugout. He hit his own brother in the head. Three kids left the dugout to go talk to mom. One was whining to mom because he didn't like the position I made him play. Another kid was punching his teammates in the nuts. I told the kids to hustle onto the field after the third out, and they were standing around talking four minutes after the third out. I told them how to organize their hats and gloves, and they still couldn't find them between innings. My assistant coach had to ump the game, and the kids couldn't keep track of their spot in the batting order. So I had come to the dugout repeatedly to figure out who was supposed to be batting or on deck. I just had to take some deep breaths.

[raptor]

How did it go? We had a fall ball scrimmage today. I used it to teach some of my less experienced kids. Two kids pitched for the first time ever, and one kid caught for the first time ever. And my second baseman had never played in a single game before. One of the pitchers struggled with accuracy. The other pitched very well. My catcher was overwhelmed, but he threw out a guy stealing home by tossing the ball to the pitcher, who was covering. The second baseman caught a pop up and fielded a grounder to get two outs in the first inning.

But I almost blew my top for the first time ever. I had one kid swinging a bat in the dugout. He hit his own brother in the head. Three kids left the dugout to go talk to mom. One was whining to mom because he didn't like the position I made him play. Another kid was punching his teammates in the nuts. I told the kids to hustle onto the field after the third out, and they were standing around talking four minutes after the third out. I told them how to organize their hats and gloves, and they still couldn't find them between innings. My assistant coach had to ump the game, and the kids couldn't keep track of their spot in the batting order. So I had come to the dugout repeatedly to figure out who was supposed to be batting or on deck. I just had to take some deep breaths.

Just make them all run next practice until someone throws up. JUST KIDDING! Relax buddy things will get better! Have you had a parents meeting yet? Sounds like you could use some order and ground rules. They need to share some responsibility for the behavior of the team too! And do you have only two coaches? At that age appointing a "dugout czar" to help with batting order and keeping everything organized will help the boys out while they are learning.

[HeinekenMan]

Just make them all run next practice until someone throws up. JUST KIDDING! Relax buddy things will get better! Have you had a parents meeting yet? Sounds like you could use some order and ground rules. They need to share some responsibility for the behavior of the team too! And do you have only two coaches? At that age appointing a "dugout czar" to help with batting order and keeping everything organized will help the boys out while they are learning.

LOL. With these kids, I think they'd shove a finger down their throats and vomit before taking a single step. Part of it is that I just don't seem to scare kids. Maybe it's because I joke around and like to have fun. The other problem is that some of these kids have poor excuses for parents. That's just the awful truth. The nut puncher has a mom in drug rehab and a deadbeat father who probably needs to be in rehab himself. He lives with his grandparents. I could go on, but you get the general idea.

I do have a guy I wanted to be my bench coach. But he was asked to ump tonight's game. I have two other coaches, too. But one is a nutcase. There may be a comical thread on this guy at some point. He's a trip. I guess I told one parent a few days ago that he used to run a brothel in South America. LOL. He's not going to keep the kids in order. The other coach is only 14, and he's in way over his head. He's more of a practice helper than anything else. He's a real good kid, though. He wants to be a Marine. But I'm going to make him a teacher.

[HeinekenMan]

I keep getting double posts. What's the deal with that?

[raptor]

LOL. With these kids, I think they'd shove a finger down their throats and vomit before taking a single step. Part of it is that I just don't seem to scare kids. Maybe it's because I joke around and like to have fun. The other problem is that some of these kids have poor excuses for parents. That's just the awful truth. The nut puncher has a mom in drug rehab and a deadbeat father who probably needs to be in rehab himself. He lives with his grandparents. I could go on, but you get the general idea.

I do have a guy I wanted to be my bench coach. But he was asked to ump tonight's game. I have two other coaches, too. But one is a nutcase. There may be a comical thread on this guy at some point. He's a trip. I guess I told one parent a few days ago that he used to run a brothel in South America. LOL. He's not going to keep the kids in order. The other coach is only 14, and he's in way over his head. He's more of a practice helper than anything else. He's a real good kid, though. He wants to be a Marine. But I'm going to make him a teacher.

You can joke and be light hearted at times..but you gotta make it known that when you are practicing if a kid is messing around he is disrespecting the team. Once we do a drill its go time. Water breaks are a good time for humor as well as for talking to them. At some point they, and the parents need to realize they've made a commitment to a team. Kids shouldn't be scared of their coaches...we know what you mean, but they should fear for their playing time; through an understanding of playing time at their preferred position is won in practice.

[phillyinnj]

How did it go?

My boy had two games and went 3 for 4 with a double, 2 RBIs, 2 SBs and 1 BB (no K's)...not too shabby....They also started him the first game but only lasted 2 1/3...too many walks. We are going to go tonight and try and work on his stride....

[HeinekenMan]

My boy had two games and went 3 for 4 with a double, 2 RBIs, 2 SBs and 1 BB (no K's)...not too shabby....They also started him the first game but only lasted 2 1/3...too many walks. We are going to go tonight and try and work on his stride....

Sounds good. My boy grounded to short and walked. I sent him to steal home when the catcher threw back to the pitcher. He was halfway when he threw ball back but didn't take off until the ball reached the pitcher's glove. Then he sort of jogged/stumbled to home. He got under the tag but was called out. It was his fault, but I took the blame. LOL. He also pitched one inning and gave up one run. That was a huge improvement from his last attempt at pitching. And his best pitch was his last. He finally threw his hard stuff. He threw a perfect strike at about 45 mph. A kid made contact on it, too.

What is wrong with your boy's stride? I have a kid I've been working with since spring. He can throw about 55 mph. But his accuracy is horrific. At first, he was all over the place. Now he's just in the dirt or too high. I finally determined last night that his problem is his front leg. Sometimes, it barely bends. Other times, it bends way too much. Once he finds that happy medium, he's going to throw a few gems. I would love to see him toss a true no-hitter this season, and I think i can get him there by the last week. I mention this because your boy's stride problem might be a flex problem, too. I have tried to read all of the theories on what the front leg should do, and I haven't had a lot of luck.

[Roothog66]

Fall is the only time I get a chance to do any extensive work with my own kid. My wife has tried to get me to step away from coaching this year (no chance) because she doesn't feel my boy gets enough of my time during the season. We're playing a fall ball league this year with just one game every Sunday so we hold practice before or after the game. That gives me a couple of weekday afternoons/evenings to work with my kid. We spent the last month overhauling his pitching mechanics, especially working on getting maximum shoulder/hip separation. Last year at 12maj he was already throwing low seventies, but had some minor control problems and he just wasn't as effective as we'd like. The results showed on our first game Sunday. Against one of the better teams in our area, he struck out the side in the first and second (only pitched 2 innings) on just 23 pitches, owned the corners of the plate, and went 3-4 with 6 rbi's in a 12-7 win. Clocked at 79 mph max and was on the gun all day at 75-78. This is a 4-8mph increase since the last time he pitched in early June (we shut him down after he pulled a bicep), not counting a couple of rehab innings in July. Fall is a great time to try new drills and mechanics.

[HeinekenMan]

Wow. My 9-year-old son throws 85. I can't believe your boy only throws 79.

[Roothog66]

Wow. My 9-year-old son throws 85. I can't believe your boy only throws 79.

Yeah, I know. We're sending him away to a Japanes clinic for the next five years and see if we can't add that extra 1 mph to his pitch! I'm a little upset that I haven't seen any scouts at the games. Seriously, though, he was dominant with mid to upper seventies at 54'. Can you imagine what it was like for 12yos at the LLWS to stand in against that Japanes pitcher throwing upper seventies from 46'?

[HeinekenMan]

Yeah, I know. We're sending him away to a Japanes clinic for the next five years and see if we can't add that extra 1 mph to his pitch! I'm a little upset that I haven't seen any scouts at the games. Seriously, though, he was dominant with mid to upper seventies at 54'. Can you imagine what it was like for 12yos at the LLWS to stand in against that Japanes pitcher throwing upper seventies from 46'?

You don't really get it until you step into the batter's box with your old guy reflexes and try to keep up with that kind of heat. It's not easy. That's why bat speed is so important. I have to start my swing while the kid raises his leg. LOL

[mudvnine]

The other problem is that some of these kids have poor excuses for parents. That's just the awful truth. The nut puncher has a mom in drug rehab and a deadbeat father who probably needs to be in rehab himself. He lives with his grandparents. I could go on, but you get the general idea.

Living with one's grandparents, does not always preclude oneself from an excellent and loving upbringing......read Sparksdale's wonderful journey with his "son" in its entirety, if you need more proof.

[d-mac]

I am coaching my son's Fall ball team this season. I was hopeful he would choose football, but he is eaten up with baseball. It's a pretty high level rec league, with kids ranging from 10-12 years of age. Almost every team has 5-6 travel ball kids so the pitching has been pretty good. I've kept it very relaxed. At first I tried to practice quite a bit, but because of vacations and other sports, we were only getting around 6 kids to practice. So, since the games have started we have shut the practicing down. We basically play two games per week, 12 total, and play a short post season tournament. Team is 4-1 so far and we look like the clear 2nd best team. The one thing I enjoy about Fall ball is getting to coach different kids. Some years that can be bad, but this year it has been good. I've got a couple of kids that are a pleasure to coach. I've been able to step in and stop an overbearing dad from ruining his kid. I found a really good player that I have picked up for my travel team next year. And, I have watched our last pick in the draft, go from someone who I didn't think would ever hit a ball, go 2-3 in our last game. He has also caught three balls in the outfield, and made numerous outs from 2B. He has moved from 11th to 6th in the batting order and is pushing my 2nd baseman for the starting spot. He just needed someone to work with him.

[HeinekenMan]

Living with one's grandparents, does not always preclude oneself from an excellent and loving upbringing......read Sparksdale's wonderful journey with his "son" in its entirety, if you need more proof.

Agreed. But I will say this. The apple sometimes doesn't fall far from the tree. Sometimes, the father/mother are simply a product of bad parenting. When Generation Three are raised by Generation 1, there seems to be a fair chance that Generation 3 will turn out just like Generation 2. And the cycle just repeats. The cycle can be broken, though.

I don't know Barksdale's situation. But it seems clear that he has been both a good parent and good grandparent/guardian.