If your kid wants to wear wristbands in basketball, batting gloves in baseball, or eye paint in football or soccer, I say buy it all! Don't use the time when you're at Wal-mart or Academy trying to teach your kid about fiscal responsibility.
Anything you can do to get your little one to love sports is a big first step in their success on the field. While you hear 'dress for success' in the workplace, this holds even more true for the young ballplayer. If a player feels like a player, or thinks he's 'cool' wearing some wristbands, he will be a more focused and confident player, even if he's not the most talented kid out there.
In short, just buy the darn wristbands!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
What glove to buy my 7 year old
Glove size is very important to a player's ability to catch and field a ball. As a coach, I have seen far too many kids with gloves that are either far too small or so big that they can't close them. We all know that our kid probably won't go on to play in the major leagues, but it is also important to put kids in positions to succeed.
If your son is 7, you may already have a few seasons under your belt. If that's the case, then you've had some time to diagnose his strengths and weaknesses catching and fielding. My only recommendation is to stray away from any glove less than 9.5" and nothing above 11" unless you have a unique child, or a kid who is significantly larger than what an average 9 year old is (exception would apply at first base only). Kids get older quick, and their hands grow, so I suggest going with a glove with an easy break-in. If you get a fancy leather glove, then the first step you want to do is break it in.
If your child has trouble learning how to catch a ball, and you've tried the 'clock approach' and it seems to work, maybe a new glove is just what the doctor ordered.
If your son is 7, you may already have a few seasons under your belt. If that's the case, then you've had some time to diagnose his strengths and weaknesses catching and fielding. My only recommendation is to stray away from any glove less than 9.5" and nothing above 11" unless you have a unique child, or a kid who is significantly larger than what an average 9 year old is (exception would apply at first base only). Kids get older quick, and their hands grow, so I suggest going with a glove with an easy break-in. If you get a fancy leather glove, then the first step you want to do is break it in.
If your child has trouble learning how to catch a ball, and you've tried the 'clock approach' and it seems to work, maybe a new glove is just what the doctor ordered.
Best baseball bat for 6, 7 and 8 year olds
My boys have been playing tee ball and coach pitch for the past three years, and I recently decided to take the plunge, sacrifice a few hundred dollars and buy a good bat.
I have spent a lot of time researching bats over the past few months, and while there are some good sites out there, I did not see a lot of help. In fact, several of the comments I read suggested that the kind of bat did not matter, and teaching fundamentals...swing speeds, etc... For the novice or child just starting out, this is not bad advice at all. However, I disagree on that point for several reasons for the more advanced player.
The best comments I saw through my research were that each child is different, and it is important for someone to test bat sizes and lengths with their own kid. Through my experience in coaching, I could not agree more with that comment. I have for kids that as of January, 2011 are 7, 6, 4, and 2. My 7 year old used a 27" bat as a 5 year old, moved up to a 28" when he turned 6, and has moved back to a 27" in his first two seasons in coach pitch. My second boy is using a 26" bat as a six year old in tee ball.
However, there are all kinds of things that will guide you in the right direction if you are simply an online shopper, or don't know where to start. Should you get composite? How about barrel size? Drop weight? Is bat speed more important or sacrifice it a little for a larger barrel?
When it comes to composite choices, if you are in a league that is designed for Little League play, composite bats are outlawed, so you will be sticking with the aluminum bat. It is my recommendation that you go with a 'drop 12' (-12) bat to maximize bat speed for anyone from the ages of 5-8. If you are playing solely on a tee, you can afford to go with a little larger bat size to make the ball go further.
The league we play in is designed for Pony league play, so for the time being, composites are not officially out of the question. There are some pony leagues in areas around the country that have formally announced that composite bats are not allowed, and some that say they are welcome. By tournament time, I would expect that there will be a formal announcement by heads of all Pony leagues. For now, they have protected themselves by being vague, saying they allow metal, aluminum, and graphite bats with no mention of what might qualify as composite. They have, however, issued a statement lowering barrel diameter to 2 5/8" vs 2 3/4.
Basically what all this means is that if you have an advanced player from the ages of 5-8 and want to take that plunge to spend $200 on a bat, I recommend Mikken or ComBat for Pony league play (senior league bat, 2 5/8" barrel size, drop 10) 1 piece composite bat.
I welcome all comments and am looking for feedback.
I have spent a lot of time researching bats over the past few months, and while there are some good sites out there, I did not see a lot of help. In fact, several of the comments I read suggested that the kind of bat did not matter, and teaching fundamentals...swing speeds, etc... For the novice or child just starting out, this is not bad advice at all. However, I disagree on that point for several reasons for the more advanced player.
The best comments I saw through my research were that each child is different, and it is important for someone to test bat sizes and lengths with their own kid. Through my experience in coaching, I could not agree more with that comment. I have for kids that as of January, 2011 are 7, 6, 4, and 2. My 7 year old used a 27" bat as a 5 year old, moved up to a 28" when he turned 6, and has moved back to a 27" in his first two seasons in coach pitch. My second boy is using a 26" bat as a six year old in tee ball.
However, there are all kinds of things that will guide you in the right direction if you are simply an online shopper, or don't know where to start. Should you get composite? How about barrel size? Drop weight? Is bat speed more important or sacrifice it a little for a larger barrel?
When it comes to composite choices, if you are in a league that is designed for Little League play, composite bats are outlawed, so you will be sticking with the aluminum bat. It is my recommendation that you go with a 'drop 12' (-12) bat to maximize bat speed for anyone from the ages of 5-8. If you are playing solely on a tee, you can afford to go with a little larger bat size to make the ball go further.
The league we play in is designed for Pony league play, so for the time being, composites are not officially out of the question. There are some pony leagues in areas around the country that have formally announced that composite bats are not allowed, and some that say they are welcome. By tournament time, I would expect that there will be a formal announcement by heads of all Pony leagues. For now, they have protected themselves by being vague, saying they allow metal, aluminum, and graphite bats with no mention of what might qualify as composite. They have, however, issued a statement lowering barrel diameter to 2 5/8" vs 2 3/4.
Basically what all this means is that if you have an advanced player from the ages of 5-8 and want to take that plunge to spend $200 on a bat, I recommend Mikken or ComBat for Pony league play (senior league bat, 2 5/8" barrel size, drop 10) 1 piece composite bat.
I welcome all comments and am looking for feedback.
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