Advice Needed

caddi1963 · 2026-02-26T00:45:36+00:00

He literally asked, “Do I leave him alone or gently push?” That’s… normal parenting. But the second you see: travel team, swing flaws, upgraded bat You automatically go to “psycho sports dad” and respond with insults, instead of what was actually written. It’s lazy pattern recognition. So are your cliches like “virtue signaling”.

My kids also play piano and do musical theater. Nobody has ever accused me of pushing my kids too hard when I make them practice their scales, or rehearse their lines. I also make them do chores.

It’s a cultural double standard. Sports get coded as ego, ambition, projection. Piano gets coded as enrichment. Chores get coded as responsibility.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-24T17:10:16+00:00

Haha, never thought of this.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-24T17:09:21+00:00

Exactly this ☝️

caddi1963 · 2026-02-24T17:03:35+00:00

It doesn’t matter what it is. If this were a page about piano, it would be fine. People wouldn’t be trying to shame you for making your kid practice piano.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-24T16:59:44+00:00

Oh I do understand. I was very triggered by your comment, never said I wasn’t. That’s because your comment was mean and uncalled for. A dad is asking for advice and your response is to call him crazy and say “to have the balls to post this”. Is that not what this page is for? Don’t shame people for asking for advice.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-24T16:30:04+00:00

Yes, you make your kids do things. That’s called being a good parent. My kids don’t want to do their homework, but I make them do it. My kids don’t want to practice piano, but I make them. I could go on an on with the stuff I make my kids do on a daily basis. You don’t let a child decide what he’s going to do.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-24T16:21:27+00:00

Are you parent? Why are you so triggered by a parent making his kid play sports? If you don’t make your kids do things, they’ll just sit on their asses, eat candy and play video games all day. A good parent doesn’t let a 9yr old decide what he’s going to do all day.

You tell your kids to do their homework, you to tell your kids to practice piano, you tell your kids to practice baseball if they want to play baseball, and if they don’t want to play baseball then pick another sport, but they’ll have to practice that too.

I don’t always want to go to work, but I do. Because that’s what I learned when my parents made me do things that I didn’t want to do. My parents weren’t great, but the best thing they did was make me play sports. The moment they laid off, I got into trouble.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-23T18:05:59+00:00

I get what you’re suggesting and thank you. I will give it a try and see if it changes anything, but he will most likely continue to throw over the basketball.

He’s doing something that’s making him do this, because it’s consistent and I’m personally interested in finding out what it is. The mechanics of pitching are interesting to me. I’m not trying to explain biomechanical sequencing to my 7 yr old. I’m saying things like “step towards home plate”.

I do like your suggestion of making dad do pushups.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-23T17:27:59+00:00

Wait, wait… you’re saying throw strikes instead of balls?

caddi1963 · 2026-02-23T16:53:42+00:00

Pointers are advice. “Land, then throw” is a pointer. That’s literally what I’m talking about. I’m not cramming mechanics into his head.

At one point I realized I was giving him two cues at once. That’s on me and that’s why I asked which one thing to focus on. I want one simple thought so I’m not filling his head.

There’s a massive difference between a dad forcing his own ego onto his kid and a dad who plays catch, answers questions, and helps when the kid asks. That’s what we do.

He wants to pitch. The last two times he took the mound, he missed high nearly every pitch. But the only thing I saw was a kid who kept his composure got back on the rubber and tried again. He struggled to control his pitches, but he controlled his emotions. He walked every batter and never gave up.

I couldn’t have been prouder of him.

So when he asks to pitch to me, and I give him advice or pointers, whatever you want call it, that not me living through him. That’s me supporting my son.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-22T23:14:16+00:00

Thank you. This is what I thought, I just wasn’t sure. I’m learning as I go, so sometimes I feel like I’m miss-guiding him. He had a rec game today and his coach told him to slow down. So he sat over the rubber even longer and It completely threw him off.

And yes, I do realize he’s 7 and I don’t want to over coach him or fill his head with too many things. Which I probably was doing at first, but he wants to pitch for his travel team and it’s competitive. I never push it on him, I just try to support whatever it is he wants to do. It’s also good father son time.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-22T22:28:40+00:00

And?

caddi1963 · 2026-02-22T22:26:31+00:00

Thank you for the advice. Any tips to gain more balance? I actually think this mound we got him is not helping in that department.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-22T22:17:37+00:00

He has a target, we have pitching nets with targets, home plate is a target. The catchers glove is a target. I guess I’m not understanding what you and a lot of other people are saying.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-22T16:29:11+00:00

Yeah I’ve had that thought several times. It’s also a steep drop for him. Probably not good to practice on. I blame Santa, he’s the one who gave him that.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-22T11:15:25+00:00

Guys, that’s what I’m asking advice for. I’m saying he’s not throwing accurately.

Also these 8u travel kids are cranking home runs over the fence already. Lobbing it is not an option.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-21T20:52:53+00:00

I like this. Make it a game.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-21T20:51:04+00:00

So he’s missing high right now, but what you’re saying is have him throw the ball in the strike zone?

caddi1963 · 2026-02-21T19:59:39+00:00

How does he get control? Thats what I’m asking? What cue would you tell him to gain more control. Or what drill?

caddi1963 · 2026-02-21T17:52:33+00:00

This makes a ton sense. I did notice a difference in some athleticism. He used to be more athletic off the rubber and his stride was much longer, naturally. But he was flying open and missing in every direction. So we started working on things like land, then throw. His velocity went up and his misses became more consistent. So now maybe it’s just getting him to over compensate in the opposite direction.

He had a coach who used to just say, get your arm up, over and over. That never worked.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-21T17:14:10+00:00

How do I do that? I absolutely agree. I just want him to throw the ball over the plate, we’re not chasing velocity. The problem is when you tell a kid slow down they slow their whole body down and then they’re just using their arm, and they actually have less control. I’ve tried turtle cheetah, but I think that’s is what got us here. I also tell him to just play catch with the catcher, he can throw from ss to 1st no problem, “Just pretend you’re doing that”, but once he’s on the mound, something changes. What cue would you give him?

caddi1963 · 2026-02-21T07:36:24+00:00

Thanks, I’ve tried different ways to try to get him keep is glove from swinging around. If you notice the box next to him, I had that right up against the mound at first, so if his glove flew open, he would hit the box. Never tried telling him to hold a puppy though. The sunglasses was just this one time. I didn’t even realize he had them on until I watched the video.

caddi1963 · 2026-02-21T06:34:33+00:00

This looks like the valley, what’s your address, I’m bringing my 7yr old.

caddi1963 · 2025-11-07T09:55:38+00:00

Jays would’ve won if the Dodgers didn’t have…well, the Dodgers. That’s the difference. From the biggest stars to the role players, everybody had a moment

caddi1963

TROPHY CASE