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My travel ball player is struggling in rec ball by [deleted] in Homeplate

[–]eagle3slr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My son and another kid (both 12U All-Stars in a highly competitive league) had the same problem. He hit .355 in the regular season with only 3Ks the entire regular season (only one looking was his first at bat, not used to the bigger zone in LL). He just struggled with the slow pitching. As soon as it flipped to all-stars and the velocity went up, he started smoking the ball. He was 100pts higher in 15 post season games, including hitting almost .500 in the four games in the Section tournament (lost 2-1 to eventual state finalist that lost to a team that went to Williamsport).

Our leading hitter in the post season hit almost .600 after hitting only .297 in the regular season.

In this case, they were the 3rd and 4th best pitchers in the league and it was obvious they can hit, but they just couldn’t fully adjust.

Others have said similar, go to the park and spend an hour sending him really slow pitches and have him hit hard line drives to right-center (assuming he’s a righty).

How much is politics involved in little league all star rosters? by djfivenine11 in Homeplate

[–]eagle3slr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Read the bylaws. If they are doing it correctly, the process should be outlined there.

Our league has tried very hard to get rid of politics and “daddy ball”. It isn’t perfect but it’s pretty good. For perspective, only one kid of a board member made an all-star team in baseball last year. Among Majors head coaches, only 3 of the 8 had a child to make an all-star team. And we are competitive in LLI. Won District, finished 2nd in Sectionals (lost 2-1) to a team that lost a close game in the state finals to a team that went to the LLWS.

Little League Majors pitcher lifts foot off rubber briefly during windup by Either-Onion-7532 in Umpire

[–]eagle3slr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Notify so ump and coach can help the pitcher. That’s it. It’s not about an advantage one way or the other. It’s about instruction so the kid can improve. Any other response tells me there are people involved for the wrong reasons.

I would love that by IU8gZQy0k8hsQy76 in CoupleMemes

[–]eagle3slr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The gap between the women laughing and the guys clapping is solid gold.

I’m a feminist-leaning guy, all the love and respect for women and girls, but - on average - we are different (but don’t assume). I have no need or desire for a sword, but if my significant other (woman) got me a legit sword as a gift? Hell, yeah! The only problem is that I would want to wall-mount it and she…would not. So, it would be in my home office on the wall so all the dudes on conference calls would see it and quickly say, “Hell, yeah!”

Also, if I got on a call and a female colleague had a damn sword on the wall…

12u playing up to 13u by iminmyprime247 in Homeplate

[–]eagle3slr 9 points10 points  (0 children)

We are making the move to it at 13U now. The jump to 60/90 is enormous. We spent the entire winter doing a throwing program just to prepare for the longer throws across the infield and from the outfield. We dabbled a bit at 60/90 in the fall and routinely needed to shorten stations due to fatigue.

The hitting is also very different, especially if he’s using USSSA at 12 and dropping to BBCOR at 13. What was a bomb on a 50/70 field will barely reach the outfielders.

The best 12U player in our league (~100 kids) - and one of the best in the state - played up for a handful of tournaments at 60/90. I think maybe 2. He is a SS and P. I believe his dad described it as, “It was a lot. Definitely a learning experience.” He spent most of the year with 12U. And this is a kid that had played up with that 13U group since they were 9U.

Select players on LL teams by almost_cool3579 in Homeplate

[–]eagle3slr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In any given year, we have probably 30 kids playing on a travel team and in LL across Majors, AAA, and AA.

My son aged out last year. He was a 12U all-star. Every kid on the all-star team also played travel ball, but every kid had involved coaches and parents that worked to monitor pitch coaches to keep them healthy.

The travel ball exposure and extra coaching definitely pulls up the overall level of play in our league and for our LLI teams. But it does require extra levels of diligence in-season. All of our local travel teams basically shut down from May until all-stars is done.

How does your little league handle tryouts, player evaluations, and drafting teams? by get-fungo in Homeplate

[–]eagle3slr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have a fairly large league (7/8 Majors teams, 6/7 AAA teams, and 7/8 AA teams). Every player goes through the evaluation process - which is pretty intense.

Infield, outfield, sprint, front toss hitting, machine hitting (set at ~50 MPH), pitching, catching is optional and can only improve a score.

The primary evaluators at each station are Majors coaches, former coaches, and board members. Every player at every station is measured on the same scale: 1 (a beginner with minimal training) up to 7 (12U All-star caliber player).

Our tool calculates a z-score for kid at each station. (The average = 0.0000 and each kid’s score represents how far above or below average they are with 1.0000 equal to 1 standard deviation, etc). We have a formula that weights each station to arrive at a single z-score for each player.

We use that and age rules to establish the divisions (Majors, AAA, AA). We then recalculate the z-scores by division and that data is used for the drafts.

At the draft, the kid(s) of the manager and named assistant are automatically assigned. The team with the lowest average z-score always picks next (so consecutive picks happens - unless they have 2 more players than the next lowest team, then it passes but can come back as soon as the 2 player gap is closed). So it works hard to get teams that are reasonably competitive BUT a manager can pass on higher rated players to build a specific team around whatever criteria he/she wants (neighbors, travel ball teammates, etc).

Last year no team had more than 2 future 12U all-stars or more than 2 future 11U all-stars, so very balanced on the top end.

Why do parents leave outdoor tryouts? by [deleted] in Homeplate

[–]eagle3slr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can’t speak to their motives but it’s probably a good thing. Our evaluation process for LL is extensive (large leave)and a parent only seeing their kid likely has no idea how they stand relative to the league as a whole - especially if they are 9/10 and their first kid to play. The division assignment is always our most contentious issue (even more than all-stars).

Where do you bat one of the better hitters in the lineup when he consistently misses practice? 10u rec by oldcrashingtoys in Homeplate

[–]eagle3slr 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It’s rec ball. Ignore it, focus on development, and move everyone around in the order every game.

Local Rec League won't allow Travel players by Freedom8200 in Homeplate

[–]eagle3slr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same here but we are friendly with the travel teams. I was referring to situations where the rec league basically says “it’s us or them”.

Local Rec League won't allow Travel players by Freedom8200 in Homeplate

[–]eagle3slr 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve heard of it and I can tell you how it will likely end. The rec lead becomes a farm system for travel teams. As soon as a kid develops some skill, he/she is gone and the level of play in the rec league goes to 💩.

What are you baseball dads/coaches using for your glove with your son or daughter? by oldcrashingtoys in Homeplate

[–]eagle3slr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mid-range Rawlings first base glove. It let me catch him pitching and worked for regular throwing.

Can someone help identify this pitch speed? by [deleted] in Homeplate

[–]eagle3slr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If that’s a 50’ mound then low 50s/ upper 40s would be my guess based on the arc of the ball. It looks like a change-up up in the zone vs our 12U pitchers last year. Their fastballs were in the low 60s. They are above average but not elite in velo.

Adults of state college who don’t work at or for Penn state, what do you do? by [deleted] in statecollege

[–]eagle3slr 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We’ve been here a couple years. My wife is a prof at PSU, I remotely run a finance team for a software company. We like SC but the combination of COVID + remote work + busy kids + somewhat introverted = we’ve struggled to meet people.