1st practice of spring season

[tradosaurus]

My son's 14U team had its first practice of the season. There were 2 new kids trying out.

A little bit of rust was being knocked off but the exciting part is we are now at 60/90.

After 7 years of baseball it's time to play big boy ball.

The coach mentioned that most of the tournaments will be 60/90 although there is a chance there maybe one 54/80.

I'm debating on whether my son will play 54/80 Pony league ball this year.

[Standballdad]

My son's 14U team had its first practice of the season. There were 2 new kids trying out.

A little bit of rust was being knocked off but the exciting part is we are now at 60/90.

After 7 years of baseball it's time to play big boy ball.

The coach mentioned that most of the tournaments will be 60/90 although there is a chance there maybe one 54/80.

I'm debating on whether my son will play 54/80 Pony league ball this year.

Might get some that do not agree with this answer but, I don't see a problem with it as along as he is also playing on the 60/90 field as you have mentioned. Playing on the 54/80 field has its advantages. The shorter field will speed the game up for your son in all aspects which too me is a good thing. As your son gets into higher level baseball speed of the game and being able to adjust is what starts to separate the players. JMHO

[tg643]

If a kid plays on two different size fields the worst that will happen is he may launch a ball/overthrow on the smaller field. Who cares! It's reps.

[tradosaurus]

I may end up coaching the pony league team again this year because I want to give back some of the things I've learned by watching my son's travel team practice.
The competition is average.

Last year one of the Pony league teams we played looked like they never played a game of baseball. We were an average pony league team and we beat them 26-2. I sat the three best players on the bench for most of the game although we batted through the lineup like we did every game.

I guess it will depend upon how many show up for the league team. I think 15 is the max although I would rather only carry 12. The main reason I let my son play last year so he could use his wood bat in games.

[raptor]

Its why kids who play LL under the old rules hit better..they adjust to 12 yr olds from 46' rather than 50'. If the basepaths are shorter kids who differentiate arm slots learn do or die fielding a little quicker.

[tradosaurus]

Its why kids who play LL under the old rules hit better..they adjust to 12 yr olds from 46' rather than 50'. If the basepaths are shorter kids who differentiate arm slots learn do or die fielding a little quicker.

Well these would be 13/14 y.o. and the pitching distance is 54 ft.

Personally I would rather see 50 ft at 12 y.o. because there are some pitchers at that age that can bring the heat.

[tg643]

The problem with the age/date change is it put 1/3 of 7th graders in 12U age ball. Before the change it was 1/12. This is based on our school deadline being 9/1. The later the date the more 7th graders playing 12U ball.

[Ursa Major]

Trade, my son played two years of Pony 13-14u ball. The first year was at 54/80, as the prevailing wisdom was that the big diamond was too big for the kids. The problem was that there was only one other Pony league at that age level in our area, with two teams. It basically was the development team for that areas high school team and they killed us.

The second year our league moved to 60/90 so that we could enlarge our circle of competitors and tournaments. It was probably for the best. Sure, the runners have farther to go, but the fielders pretty much station themselves in the same place, so the throws really weren't much longer. And, of course, for pitchers it was an easier jump to HS ball. But, yeah, for kids coming out of 46' pitching distances, there were a few walkfests.

[HYP]

My son's 14U team had its first practice of the season. There were 2 new kids trying out.

A little bit of rust was being knocked off but the exciting part is we are now at 60/90.

After 7 years of baseball it's time to play big boy ball.

The coach mentioned that most of the tournaments will be 60/90 although there is a chance there maybe one 54/80.

I'm debating on whether my son will play 54/80 Pony league ball this year.

All I can say is enjoy it. It does go fast. I remember waiting for my kid to play on the big field and the next thing I know he was done with high school. Goes fast, so enjoy the moment.

[tradosaurus]

All I can say is enjoy it. It does go fast. I remember waiting for my kid to play on the big field and the next thing I know he was done with high school. Goes fast, so enjoy the moment.

With two older sons that went through league ball I've realized the same thing. I try to enjoy each at bat, each pitch, every practice when possible.