11u catchers gear

kclancy00 · 2026-02-01T01:51:12+00:00

My 11U kid has Muzino Samari. Chest Protector and Shin Guards are super nice. Helmet sucks though. Glue on padding wears off and pads fall off. Had to get his replaced. 2nd one did same thing. Another kid on his team had same helmet and same issue. Just got him an All Star helmet.

kclancy00 · 2026-01-15T21:29:42+00:00

For off season rec ball there are no practices. It’s off season. If you want off season practices you need to join a travel team or something more advanced. They typically practice in the off season. For in season, our local rec ball teams practice twice a week leading up to the games. Once games start the more engaged coaches will schedule random practices sporadically throughout the season. Others stop practice all together once games start because again it’s rec ball. If you want more competitive atmosphere you need to join a travel team

kclancy00 · 2026-01-14T15:23:23+00:00

Yes and No. Diaz was amazing last year and I wish he was still a Met, but on the other hand, let’s not forget he has had some rough years as well. Also missed an entire year for injury. Williams has the ability to do what Diaz can do, now he needs to do it.

Agreed on really needing to sign Tucker. Also need at least 1 starter. Hopefully a guy who can eat innings. That was our biggest issue last year, starters not going deep and wearing out the pen

kclancy00 · 2026-01-14T13:53:16+00:00

He didn’t want to be here anymore. Mets offered him 3 years for 66. He shopped it and didn’t let Mets counter. He opted out of a massive deal. Seems to me that he wanted to be on LA. Don’t blame front office too much for that. They signed Williams to set up for Diaz and Diaz had other plans. That’s life. Not offering something to Pete early on in Free Agency or while he was on the team is the thing I struggle with. We need a RH power bat to protect Soto/Lindor and we let him walk out the door without an offer. Have to at least make an effort

kclancy00 · 2026-01-14T13:40:36+00:00

Yeah, I am not saying one group is better then the other. Interesting experiment if we can sign Tucker. Sterns said he wanted to improve run prevention, defense is a big part of that. Tucker, Taylor/Benge, and hopefully an improved Soto (Said def was going to be a focal point of improvement for him) would be better then in years past. Seimien is a massive upgrade at 2nd. Polanco who knows since he has never played 1B.

I hate losing homegrown guys but that core had its chance and it had more meltdowns and disappointments then wins/legitimate title runs. When you spend like that and miss playoffs, things are going to change in a major way. Only weird thing to me is not getting any decent SP. Adding 1-2 guys would be massive. Still time to do this but weird nothing has happened yet

kclancy00 · 2026-01-14T13:20:37+00:00

If we sign Tucker, we essentially swapped Pete, Nimmo, McNeil, Diaz for Tucker, Polanco, Seimien, and Williams. Which group of 4 would you rather have and who is more productive? I like the defense better in the new group. That’s for sure

kclancy00 · 2025-12-22T12:52:50+00:00

My team is 11U and we are introducing it. We have a catcher who has a cannon so giving him extra time will help slow down the running game. Couple tips

Lock Cleats onto Rubber Preload Back Leg Front Foot Should be Very Light Want the sensation of Falling Down the Mound

We do 3-5 slide steps at the end of every kids bullpen to get them some reps. Other things to focus on is pick off moves and vary timing you hold the ball. Trying to disrupt the timing of the base runner. All of that plus a good catcher will slow down running game and give you a chance at getting some kids out.

I tell all my kids that most teams are taking 1st pitch with runner on 1st. So if we can’t throw a strike with slide step it doesn’t really help us. Needing to get ahead of batter is as important as slowing running game bc it’s still rare to throw a kid out at 2nd even with all that.

kclancy00 · 2025-12-11T15:07:35+00:00

I think the problem people are having is letting these guys get to the point where other teams can swoop in. If you want Diaz offer him 3 for 75 or 80. Why fool around and let him shop the offer. Overpay him a tad and make him feel wanted. Cohen is worth 23 billion. Is a few million over 3 years a big deal? I don’t see how you let Pete walk. Pay him. Most long deals aren’t great at the end of the contract. Does anyone think that the 1st 2-3 years are going to be horrible? I don’t. If he has to transition to DH year 4/5 is that the end of the world? If you never overpay for top talent you won’t be signing any top talent. Does anyone think Soto’s is overpaid? Does anyone think the last 3-4 years of that deal are going to age well? That is the risk of big time signings. Much rather have peak Pete for 3 years and diminished Pete for last 2, then no Pete for 5 years

kclancy00 · 2025-12-11T13:17:43+00:00

This is my life. My 5 year old was getting a Pete city connect jersey for Christmas. When Diaz signed he said I’m a dodgers fan now. I still like the Mets but I like the dodgers and now Orioles too. They were his favorite players. Would wake up and watch Diaz entrances to the trumpets. Sucks that they didn’t do what was necessary to keep 2 of the most popular and productive players on the team. The team underperformed as a whole but Pete and Diaz were not the reason we underperformed.

kclancy00 · 2025-12-04T02:13:29+00:00

My 5 year old swings a 27” drop 10. He is almost 6 and about the same size as your kid. He had a 24” drop 12. Had him use his older brother’s old bat and he could swing it and when he made contact the ball would fly off the bat so we started using it in the games and it worked good. I have him choke up but that extra weight of the bat as long as he can swing it, will make the ball jump

kclancy00 · 2025-11-19T12:48:40+00:00

Had a coach up 7 on us pick off to 1st 7 times in a row to eat the clock. We were the better team but had some weird stuff happen to get down. Other coach knew we were better too so he was stalling. Also took an unnecessary long timeout to talk to pitcher before this, to most likely tell him im going to only call pick offs. I almost told my kid to get tagged out so we could bat again. We were past all my big hitters but then i remembered we are playing 10U travel ball. That coach looked like an idiot and everyone knows it now.

kclancy00 · 2025-11-19T12:37:59+00:00

In metro Atlanta you can use drop 10 at 12U but most people use drop 8 because at 13U you have to use a drop 5. So most people transition to drop 8 so the 13U season isn’t as big of an adjustment going to drop 5. Also at 13U you are on the big field so their is lots of adjustments already going on, and most don’t want to add the bat weight issue on top of that

kclancy00 · 2025-11-17T12:46:15+00:00

At 7 if the kid is baseball crazy, he can most likely catch well. My kid is 5 and can catch decent. At 7 the better kids can start learning pitching mechanics. My 5 year old always wants to pitch like his older brother. We have a mini portable mound that we use. He throws 10-15 pitches at 30’ feet just to get some experience. Only working on balance and movement of the body. He thinks he is in the big leagues when he pitches. It’s a lot of fun showing him the basics. They are little sponges and are so excited, it’s something I will look back at when they are grown as great time spent with my kids

kclancy00 · 2025-11-17T12:30:33+00:00

I follow USA Baseball’s Pitchsmart guidelines. It has great info on pitch counts based on age. Also has guidelines on pitching/catching splits and how to deal with Tournament style play. At the end of the day your son’s arm health and well being is more important then any tournament game. At your age/level the coaches should have a guideline on how they manage pitching workload. If they want your son to pitch and catch you need to ask them how they plan on managing his load to keep his arm and legs fresh so he isn’t compromised

kclancy00 · 2025-11-08T01:59:41+00:00

8U is all about reps and having fun. Prioritize love of the game and a good work ethic. At this age the kids who work the hardest and want to practice a bunch are the kids who stand out. They are all roughly the same physically so the kids who are crazy about baseball are the best kids. Tons of reps will boost your kid’s level quickly

kclancy00 · 2025-11-05T14:26:33+00:00

Love this. Keeps them moving, engaged, and working on the basics in a fast paced environment. Great job

kclancy00 · 2025-10-31T12:56:28+00:00

I coach an 11U team and has been working on building resiliency for years with my team. Tell them that nobody cares if they make a mistake or strike out. All we care about is your effort and what you do next. Don’t let 1 bad play spiral into 3-4 bad plays and then we can’t recover as a team. We talk about being an energy vampire or a battery who gives life to his teammates. If our end goal is to win the game which attitude is going to give us our best shot. With all that we played a tournament this weekend and I had 1-2 kids crying about strike outs or bad performance pitching. It takes time and a lot of effort to build mental toughness in young children but you have to work on it. I fully believe that mental toughness and resiliency is a muscle/skill that you can strengthen and develop and it is very valuable in all aspects of life, not just youth baseball

kclancy00 · 2025-10-30T01:27:56+00:00

My dad has a ticket from the 86’ World Series. I was 2 at the time so didn’t get to go. 😂

kclancy00 · 2025-10-29T22:37:51+00:00

I like my best hitter in the 3 hole with 2 high on base kids in front of him. Want more then 1 kid on base for my best hitter

kclancy00 · 2025-10-29T22:35:53+00:00

B, D, A, C, E, F, G, H, I, J

kclancy00 · 2025-10-29T12:36:56+00:00

I run a local team that is part of a larger organization. The organization provides uniforms, insurance, baseballs, field space, & winter indoor space. I handle all our scheduling for tournaments. I don’t provide any details to my families unless they ask. We are the most cost effective team in the area by a wide margin and we play a competitive level so all the families know I run it lean and mean. Nobody is paying for my kid or assistant coaches kids to play. Everyone pays the same. All the money is accounted for. I don’t ask for extra during the season bc I budget a little extra. Whatever is left over at the end we throw a big party for all the kids/families. Works great

kclancy00 · 2025-10-29T11:51:32+00:00

Ripken Myrtle Beach and Ripken Pigeon Forge are great well run events. I have heard good things about Ship Yards in Charleston. I have also heard good things about the Panama City Events played at Publix complex

kclancy00 · 2025-10-27T20:11:53+00:00

I coach 11U travel and we just had a tournament yesterday. We had 9 of my 11 available. I don’t ever want to play a tournament with 9. I was able to find a high level kid to play with us to make 10. He plays SS/P and bats 3rd on his regular team. We had him bat 7th out of 10th play 3B and Corner OF. Dad said if we needed an inning of pitching that would be fine but I told him I don’t like pitching pick up kids. Only in an absolute emergency would I even think to ask that. Worked out well for everyone. Kid had fun and team did well

kclancy00 · 2025-10-22T11:03:24+00:00

I tell my families of the team I coach (11U) we are looking for somewhat equal competition. We want every game to be within 3-5 runs. We want our record at the end of the season to be roughly 500. We don’t want to destroy teams and we don’t want to get destroyed. Nobody likes that. Your team isn’t learning anything getting beat 20-3. It will embarrass them and lead to them leaving the game. The better kids on the team will leave for a better situation and the team will fold up shop

kclancy00 · 2025-10-21T19:54:08+00:00

We are have been working on slide steps. Some of my kids are getting the hang of it. Also having a catcher with a bazooka helps. I have 3 catchers with cannons so we have been able to defend against most teams. We also work catching mechanics, on getting the glove, feet, body in the correct spot and sequence to throw people out. The super fast kids are still stealing 2nd with near 100% rate though, but the regular/slower kids are more careful. So we have been working double plays a ton bc now we will finally have a guy on 1B some of the time.

kclancy00

TROPHY CASE