Hello ladies!
My question is this: What is more important at this age? Friends or skill level?
My oldest son-age 6, will be attending his second season of baseball soon, registration is upon us... last year was his first year to play and he loved it! T-Ball is the first level...but you can do it twice (age wise). So, this year we have the option of sending him again in T-Ball or moving up to the next level " Rookies"? - We want him to be good at baseball, and enjoy it...but he needs to learn technique and honestly he could barely hit the ball off the T last year. Both his Dad and I played as kids and love it and plan on having him go every year at least until he's 12/13, then he can make his own sports choices...or until he tells us he doesn't want to play anymore.
He ended up having 2 kids from T-Ball in his Kindergarten class...one is a close buddy, who he has had play dates with and the other is the coach's son. Both boys will be moving up to Rookie this year and we really enjoyed the coach, who will be going with his son, of course. - Both boys are at a slightly higher skill level than my son... my son does not totally suck, he is good at catching and throwing, mostly:).... bu we want him to feel good about his ability...so what do you all think?
Allow him to move up with his buddies and the known good coach OR Stay back one year and get more practice before having to move up to "coach pitch"???
Thank you Ladies!
Excuse my briefness but: friends hands down. Some kids are still unable to tie their shoes (but that doesn't count because of velcroe).They have a lot going on at six. In school they are using their small muscles. They are learning to use their their large muscles with skills and t-ball is good, but don't expect a star.
Karma - I'd say move him up now because you know you like the coach and so he can be with his friends. My daughter can't hit off a T to save her life, because she's always been thrown the ball. It's a different skill, and it's better he learn it sooner rather than later. What if he stays behind, learns the crutch of hitting off the T, and then next year at 7 has to move up to Coach-pitch and start from scratch all over again?
I believe the fun is more important, and I would guess that he will be more comfortable to make mistakes around people he knows.
If you find a good coach stay with him! It is always luck of the draw with coaches. You drew a good one. He has a greater chance of developing good skills by staying with a good coach. If you stay back and get a so-so coach your son may actually lose skills.
Good luck.
(BTW: I'm a mom of 3. All are in baseball/softball.)
My son didn't start playing little league until rookies, so I can't tell you anything about tball.
Based on watching my son play rookies and farm, I would consider one thing that you didn't mention. Can your son stay focused on the game? Most of the boys on my son's rookies team could pay attention in the field. There was one boy who was building sand castles in the infield. This wasn't very safe and was really frustrating for the kids.
There are varying skill levels in rookies, so if your son isn't great yet, I wouldn't worry too much. If you think the coach does a great job and your son enjoys playing with him, I might have him play on that coach's team.
Our league has a weird setup, so we have not had that issue - it's age-only based until you are 9. But I think since you know that coach and he knows the kids' skill levels, you should definitely ask his opinion.
My instinct is that he will be fine moving up with his friends as long as he's up for it. Being around other kids who are a little better will encourage him to work harder, and you can give him some extra practice at home.
Karma-
At this level of play, letting your son go up is fine. It's when the kids are a few years in to the sport that it becomes quite obvious who is struggling and with what skill. I asked my 11 year old and he said that for some kids it's easier to hit the moving ball than off the tee. Even at my son's level there are kids that are new to the sport and the more advanced kids are really supportive and most coaches are great and want to help kids develop their skills.
Have a great season, from one "stadium mom" to another.
S.
Let him become a Rookie. The friendships are more important than star quality. Our little guy grew in his game when a couple of father's came early to help each one with his hitting and pitching blockages. Now he's on his high school team. The early training in making friends was the best investment because now he has sports and friends.
Let your son move up. It might be a blow to his confidence if he doesn't get to move on like his friends are. Your son will learn more and get better quicker if he is the worst player on the team compared to being the best player. I agree with the other posters about letting your son decide. He will probably choose playing with his friends. Having a good coach is extremely important to.
Talk to your son. How are the Rookies different? Ask your son what he would prefer and make sure you can talk about differences of T-ball to Rookies and before that, ask your son about how he feels about his skills and what he wants to work on this year. Once he is more informed about his skills and what he wants to work on and also the what happens in T-ball versus Rookies, he can help make the decision of where he would like to be. After you have discussed skills and differences of the leagues, let him know where his friends and old coach will be.
I think at age 6 they can have some say in what they want to do.
D.
I understand you wanting to keep him with his friends. It is up to you at the end of the day, but even if you had him do Tball again for another year he could still play with the other boys right? My concern is, that if he isn't at the same skill level as the other kids that he may get disapointed in himself. I know my 5 year old is very hard on himself. He told me one time "I want to be good at everything right away" that was when I told him that he had to practice at something. Or you could sign him up for the rookies and you or your husband go out with him everyday and work with him on hitting and pitching and catching... My boys love to go play baseball with daddy!
I have coached many levels of baseball and it has been my experience that kids rise to the challenge. I also feel that it is easier to hit a thrown ball than one on a T...I currently coach fastpitch at the high school level and you would be surprised how dificult it is for some of the girls to hit off a T, yet they can smash a pitch thrown 50+ miles per hours....My vote would be to move him with his friends and the coach you enjoyed. I hope you have a wonderful season and your son continues to learn this great game.
Hi! I was a T for my sons team last year. In our town league goes by age so its not too much of an issue. My son was ok hitting the ball off the Tee, but he could send the ball flying if it was pitched to him...all kids have different skill levels. I would let my son pick what he wanted to do..my son would probally want to move up with his friends while I would want him to continue with T ball another year:) I think that his confidence is most important! Would he feel ok if he wasnt able to hit the ball and the other kids could? Maybe he'll end up being the best catcher on the team! Is there other kids on the T ball teamm that he knows? That might help if he knows some of the T ball kids...my son loved playing teams when he knew some of the players..he was very proud. I guess there is no right answer...whatever you decide, just have fun with it!!
I could have written your post!! We have the same dilemma with our 6 year old. We decided to put him through one more year of t-ball because he will have other friends there as well. In addition, our other son will be in his first year of t-ball and this might be the only time they can play together. We didn't want to feel that we were rushing him by putting him coach-pitch. One more year won't hurt him a bit, only build confidence. :)
So..He's going to be in 1st grade next fall? I am trying to remember what we did with our little baseball lover. I think he had t-ball at age 4 and 5 and at 6 (summer before 1st grade) he started baseball. He is a great player and really really enjots hanging out with his friends. At such a young age, all the kids are starting at a different place. Some are extremely good and have been in many skills programs...Others have never played a sport of any kind. As long as the coaches are good and the parents are well behaved, your son would probably be fine moving onto baseball. If you think the coaches are not very supportive or if you know any of the other players' parents are over-competitive, then maybe wait a year.
After being raised with 4 brothers and 3 boys of our own, I have found that having friends on a team that may have more skill can ony cause your child to rise to a better level. I even encounterd where my youngest son was on a team above his age bracket and every boy was exceptionally
good and were all friends because they played on several teams together, except my son who was new to the team. Eventhou it caused him to rise above his level and become a good player it began to take an emotional side. He was starting to feel like an outsider and we brought it immediately to the coach's attention, and he changed the routine up and he did very well. Sometimes we just have to monitor the results, you say he loved it, and he already have friends on this team, this could possibly help his skill and encourage him in what ever he choose to play
Much blessings
I would ask him and do what he wants. You have to remember you let your kids try out sports so that THEY can see which ones are the most fun and they like the best. So, if he wants to go where his friends go because it will be fun, then definitely let him.
my son did t-ball when he was 6 and had problems hitting off the t. then the following year he was in baseball and he did great. he loved having the challenge of trying something new. we even got him his own helmet and his own bats....that really gave him the boost to try even harder!!
