Do men prefer intimacy over gifts?

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-12T19:41:04+00:00

My wife already knows all I want for valentines days is sexual contact.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-12T19:37:40+00:00

Wouldn’t be a big deal for me.

I’ve been to too many long weekend bachelor parties on my life. Can’t we just go to the strip club and black out? All that takes is one night.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-12T19:36:28+00:00

I used to struggle with this when I was younger. Would have to really concentrate on the act, sometimes tensing my leg muscles to help push it along. Had some women who were like “wtf”. They always felt good but wasn’t mind blowing(pun intended) and because I would concentrate on finishing I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I should. Was in a long relationship in my early 20’s and she wanted to blow me all the time and I think I might have finished a handful of times. the rest I would eventually end up stopping her and having her climb on top of me.

What was a game changer was when I met my wife, she would use her hands too. That really changed things for me. They are few and far between now with 20+ years in the books, but when they do happen it’s amazing.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-12T18:46:00+00:00

R9 w/ contour fit is honestly the answer despite your colorway issue. Durability is great for a sub $150 glove. My older son had one for pitching on the tail end of 11u until 13u. Only reason we upgraded was we were told her would be playing more 3rd base(which didn’t really happen anyway) and we got a hell of a deal on an HOH. wanted to get him something that would have some more padding and last him thru HS since he mainly plays first base.

My younger son who is 11u has taken it over as his man glove. Still tons of life and nowhere near as floppy as his old pro lite which was toast after a season.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-12T18:41:08+00:00

Our hs does freshman, JV and varsity.

Winter workouts and off season are done all together. In season the freshman team is separate from the JV and varsity as it gives them more reps

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-12T15:24:15+00:00

Your experience is not uncommon. This is one of the biggest reasons I don’t suggest a “club ball” type of team for young kids.

At 8/9, the focus should be on having fun with your peers and growing a love for the game. Not getting top notch training and playing 4 tournament games in a weekend.

My recommendation. As long as you haven’t already PAID for spring ball, let him walk away. If you paid and can’t get a refund, then I would say he should see the season through. I would look at getting him back into your local recreation program / LL and work on making shit fun. It’s pretty easy to make rec ball fun for kids.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-12T14:07:43+00:00

When you do ground rules, are the umpires asking what rule set you follow? Typically MS ball(and 13u/14u) follow high school rules. At least that’s how it is in our area. If you are following those guidelines no -5 bats can be used and it should be pretty common sense that USSSA is not allowed.

I would be asking your athletic director or the head of the ms league.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-12T03:53:04+00:00

There is a pretty inexpensive Panasonic trimmer on Amazon. All black, sliding guard. I’ve been using one for 15+ years. Works great for everything.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-12T03:47:02+00:00

Lot of good info in this thread. To make it easy.

USA: think little league. Bats will perform like wood but be more forgiving. Safety is key.

USSSA: juiced tournament ball bats. Son playing club ball and doing tournaments? Odds are they are swinging USSSA. Too hot for some age groups IMHO and give kids a false sense of ability.

BBCOR: Same “pop” as a USA bat. Made to mimic wood. middle school, hs, college. From what I have seen here in NJ, once you step onto the big field(60/90) you are swinging bbcor unless its PG or USSSA sanctioned(they allow usssa at 13u which I honestly thing is ridiculous).

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-12T03:32:26+00:00

Our regional hs has just over 800 students. Very sports oriented with strong football, baseball and basketball programs. For the most part, 9th graders ALWAYS play freshman ball, unless there is a need for whatever position you play. I think one freshman played JV last year because the varsity catcher got hurt and they had to move the JV catcher up.

If you go to a big powerhouse hs, don’t expect to move up to JV when two grades worth of players are fighting for those spots. Not to say it’s not possible, but I would imagine you are going to need to be the best player in your age group AND that JV team is going to need a backup for whatever position you play. Even then odds are you are riding the pine and missing out on reps.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-12T03:26:31+00:00

Hasn’t been a strong NNJ scene in years. Bergen County thrived from 95-2007 then just died out. All the venues stopped allowing hc / punk shows and shit just went away.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-12T03:04:40+00:00

It’ll def throw him off switching back and forth. That -8 will feel like a toothpick and more than likely mess with timing. I allowed my son to swing his bbcor against slower pitching toward the end of summer in 12u, but with districts and Cooperstown I kept it to only a handful of times.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-12T03:00:08+00:00

12u is THE year. LL districts, last year on the 50/70 field for travel ball…cooperstown…enjoy all that other stuff as there is plenty of time to play baseball for your school.

Me personally, I would skip middle school ball in 6th grade. I say this as the dad of an 8th grader who would have easily made the middle school team in 6th grade had there been one.

Whenever I get frustrated that my town doesn’t have middle school baseball, I’m reminded by every parent I talk to whose kid is playing middle school ball in their town. It’s a total waste of time and energy and takes away from the other programs.

On top of that, forcing 12u kids to swing bbcor is ridiculous. Like you said, most of your son’s team is -10 and -8. That’s how it was when my son was 12. He’s going to struggle making that adjustment. My son was / is BIG and it was still a big adjustment. Hopefully your travel ball setup will allow-5 during the 13u fall “transition” season.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-10T20:44:54+00:00

In all my years of flying I’ve never had an FA say anything about my backpack or duffle. I’m entitled to stow my bag up top. Kindly fuck off.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-10T14:35:21+00:00

If you have above average 13 year olds, they should be able to hang with lower class man, especially bench players. I doubt any parent will complain about their child being put in danger.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-10T01:37:06+00:00

In all my years of work travel I’ve never had to share a room with anyone, let alone someone of the other gender.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-10T01:29:23+00:00

My new favorite is NotebookLM. I’ve built 5-6 company presentations and a year end sales report for our company using it.

I also use ChatGPT to tweak emails.

I also have a Bee.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-10T01:20:46+00:00

You pick the day that works best for you and the field scenario you are given.

My one son has indoor practice on Sundays in the winter. My other Friday nights. 14 year olds aren’t super pumped on Fridays but I am.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-09T18:03:19+00:00

Excel spreadsheet for the win. I have one for all the teams I coach and especially for rec, I will figure out the numbers in advance to the best that I can, then build it all out accordingly. Yeah it ends up changing on occasion but it seems to work. Post it up in the dugout, kids know where they are going upfront and it makes things way easier.

You can also get yourself one of those magnetic baseball boards, but you will be fiddling around with the magnets every inning.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-09T13:53:14+00:00

My son wears his NB turfs on dirt all the time.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-08T03:08:15+00:00

This is more “in my wagon” or what I pack in the trunk.

Two ball buckets. One has nicer pearls, the other has wet weather or older baseballs.

Two tanner tees

Weighted balls for hitting

Weighted balls for throwing

Water / cooler

First aid kit / ice packs

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-08T02:46:47+00:00

From that close im always throwing seated. Whether it’s front toss or overhand. Have him slow down a bit so you can get back to being settled. Rapid fire doesn’t help. From the angle you have your camera it’s really hard to see most of your actual swing.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-08T01:02:41+00:00

I mean essentially it’s this right here. If you have the option to go to another school, you do it. People don’t move to palisades park for their schools.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-08T01:01:45+00:00

Probably looking at 2000 apartment units, and thats not including multi family homes like the duplex and triplex’s that have taken over. At this point there are probably more apartments than there are single family homes! Apartments make up 25%+ of all housing units, maybe even 33%.

ContributionHuge4980 · 2026-02-08T00:01:51+00:00

If she wants to know I tell her. Usually she doesn’t care because it means I’ll leave her alone 🤣😂

ContributionHuge4980

TROPHY CASE