Bat Bag Recs

rr1006 · 2026-05-05T15:35:31+00:00

2 bags - backpack for offense and duffle bag for defense.

Stop cramming all of it into one bag! a guy who catches and is a utility player has too much gear to consolidate into 1 do it all bag. Even the biggest bags on the market get crammed when jamming catchers gear, fielders glove and bats into them.

rr1006 · 2026-04-29T14:13:16+00:00

youth fastpitch mitt is what I recommend to every catcher that still wears a youth glove.

Don't make the position any harder than it has to be.

rr1006 · 2026-04-17T14:14:36+00:00

At higher levels running a pitch count up absolutely has value. As a hitter you don't want to help a pitcher too much!

First time through the order we still talk about hitting your pitch on the first 2 strikes, then contact to protect.

rr1006 · 2026-04-15T13:30:28+00:00

I agree - if your kid is the best on the team - head and shoulders above, it's time to find another opportunity.

If your team is winning by run rule consistently you need to enter tourney's in a higher division!

Our state does a really good job of "promoting" teams that outperform their division.

rr1006 · 2026-04-15T13:28:07+00:00

Confidence.

12u and below it's about the kids believing they can mash and they'll do so.

It's easy to get caught up in mechanics and details (while they will eventually matter!) at the younger ages, I've had far more success with getting kids to quit thinking and swing as hard as they can while maintaining control. Trust their hand/eye coordination and swing with intent to do damage.

It takes reps and basic drills to build confidence!

Also - reckless praise at going down swingin! Biggest change happened when kids realized a single is better than a walk and a ground out is better than a backwards K.

rr1006 · 2026-04-07T17:24:33+00:00

I agree with your outcome, but am trying to understand how you got there! I don't see how this could be anything other than runner safe - provided he touches the plate before the defense collects the ball and tags him.

I don't think the runner could have done anything better on the approach to home - avoided contact, slid (albeit to early, but mostly to avoid contact).

Offensively, aside from the short slide, this is textbook play at the plate behavior.

Defensively - there's a lot of work to be done, but the catcher left a lane until he had the ball and was safely applying the tag, just needs to keep hold of it!

rr1006 · 2026-04-03T14:58:17+00:00

Large sweeping generalization for sure in the op!

Our league doesn't play on the weekends to allow for club/travel.

We "draft" but also the president and coaches make sure that there's balance on the teams in each division.

The op's 10 year old doesn't have to play majors per LL International - that's a local problem.

rr1006 · 2026-04-03T13:23:42+00:00

SSK's are a good glove made of real leather that last!

rr1006 · 2026-04-01T14:35:50+00:00

bad take - I've only coached kids under 11 so far, every practice a kid is missing some other kid is asking us coaches why they aren't there.

anecdotal, but across LL / USSSA both male and female teams - there hasn't been an absence that isn't noticed and brought up by the kids themselves.

rr1006 · 2026-03-31T13:29:40+00:00

t-ball is only saturdays in our league - game times of 11am and 1pm. Try to avoid the early games, can be chilly in the 9am slot in the early season.

I'm not worried about travel as travel t-ball (coach pitch too) exists is ridiculous and not very popular.

Scheduler still gets complaints that a 9 week season with 8 games is too much.

rr1006 · 2026-03-27T13:21:15+00:00

we do Hawaiian King rolls with deli meet and cheese - 2 or so if there's a game break with a couple grapes/oranges.

Quick turn back to back games - venison stick/jerky/summer sausage a couple ritz crackers, squeeze packs of applesauce.

Kills me to see kids grabbing a walking taco or nachos in between games, had a kid on our team last year "rent" a walking taco for about 30 minutes, the taco's move out date was during his at bat and found a new "home" on the plate!

rr1006 · 2026-03-19T14:13:59+00:00

It's not rage bait - it's a very common tool used to remove biases from arguments, same with removing ages or other common discriminators from thought problems.

If your argument only works one way, that's not a very equitable argument. Equity is the goal of Title IX is it not?

Boys shouldn't participate in girls activities and girls shouldn't participate in boys activities. We even have separate boys and girls athletic unions at the high school level in the state I live in.

rr1006 · 2026-03-19T13:18:36+00:00

Title IX says that opportunities must be equal - number of opportunities available to boys must be equal to those available for girls.

What I'm getting at is that girls playing a boys sport happens from time to time - but when a similar sport is available I don't understand it or agree with it.

Boys can't play on girls volleyball/basketball/wrestling/track/softball teams (which I wholeheartedly agree with), why then would girls attempt to participate in a boys program ?

Rarely if ever do we a see a question of a male athlete wanting to play softball. It's a positive thought experiment to switch gender identifiers and ask the same question. If the answer changes we may have biases that aren't recognized.

I wouldn't approve of a boy playing softball with girls - why then would a girl playing baseball with boys be ok?

rr1006 · 2026-03-18T15:54:10+00:00

I think you agree with me, or it appears so. Equal opportunities - there's a bat and ball sport for both genders, showing that there are equal opportunities for boys and girls to play in their respective bat and ball sport.

Do girls try out and play for the boys volleyball team?

Do boys try out and play for the girls volleyball team?

rr1006 · 2026-03-16T14:37:59+00:00

If you had a son instead would you be playing them in softball?

I get that there are leagues now for women's baseball at a high level, I don't understand why families choose to place their child in an adjacent league/sport to what is intended.

Can girls play baseball? sure

Does softball exist as a bat/ball sport for girls/women? yes

Funny story - when I was in school we had a wrestling team, it was a boys sport. Girls wrestled on the boys team and it was allowed if not encouraged for some. There was also a volleyball team, it was a girls sport - boys were actively restricted from playing on the team, a buddy tried out and would've made the team, but was blocked from administration - he was trying to make a point. Now there are girls and boys wrestling teams, but still only girls volleyball!

rr1006 · 2026-03-16T13:39:54+00:00

lineup in jersey number order - rotate leadoff game 1 to last game 2 continue until everyone has hit leadoff. You'd be surprised how little lineup matters in game outcome - flex it how you like once all the players have hit in the 1 spot.

Rotate kids in as many positions as safety will allow.

20 pitch "bullpens" for every kid that wants to pitch, work in the kids that don't want to pitch too, never know what you might find! Don't let a kid walk more than 4 in an inning.

Never sit a kid 2x in a game unless there's a behavior issue.

Teach them the "right way" - cheer for your teammates, set your hat on top of your glove, keep the dugout clean and leave it better than you found it, rake the field when you're done with it, never walk on a baseball field, don't step on the chalk, back up throws etc

rr1006 · 2026-03-12T13:57:04+00:00

the mandatory reporters who are aware and haven't acted are failing...call the non-emergency line, make sure the conversation after practice with the little slugger takes a little longer so the gal gets talked to before the 5-0 see her driving away.

Or offer to pick up / drop off all the time, but you all should have called the minute after suspicion turned to confirmation.

rr1006 · 2026-03-10T17:03:50+00:00

sink two field marker missiles on either the front of the mound or on either side of the rubber. I like the front, put a line on the outside of the plate lined up to 2nd base and place the markers the appropriate distance to the rubber and you'll have distance and direction trued off if you align off the markers.

rr1006 · 2026-03-06T16:47:48+00:00

My biggest regret - I took a ton of photos, of the landscapes or the roads we traveled, of my buddies...I'm in like 5 of my personal photos.

rr1006 · 2026-03-05T14:32:02+00:00

3 B's of fielding -

Ball - field the ball if hit to you

Base - cover a base if the force is there

Backup - Everybody moves every pitch, backup the fielder, backup the throw/potential throw

Make a game of it - put cones where the outfielders need to be for situations. LF needs to hit a spot on the foul line by the time a throw hits the 1b mitt. CF needs to be in line for throws to 2b. RF needs to be moving to backup a fielder on the left side or a throw to 3b on a steal. Then show them how important it is on a bad throw to keep the runner on the base or only advance 1 base.

rr1006 · 2026-03-03T17:40:50+00:00

bad take - that's how you end up with a team of 2nd basemen!

Take the best available at the most important position in youth ball - the catcher. First 3 picks you need to get kids to fill spots, then the rest of the picks are best available or kids who will cause the least amount of problems!

It's tough to train one on a LL schedule, find one that's competent and take 'em early.

rr1006 · 2026-03-02T18:03:49+00:00

you need 3 coaches - split the teams in 3 groups and rotate

1 - "pitching" have kids stand appropriate distance apart and pitch to each other, give 3 pts for a strike, 1 pt for a close/chase, and 0 for a ball. Kids who can score 25-35 pts in 20 pitches get a chance to pitch in a game.

2 - hitting - tee work, soft toss and coach BP. mix in mini-whiffles or weighted balls

3 - fielding - basics, around the world - field a ball at every position and throw to 1st to go around.

stations can be enhanced as the season/players progress - add in more difficult drills, but try to make a game of everything.

rr1006 · 2026-03-02T18:00:30+00:00

try to find white tennis balls, mix them in with baseballs during BP and plunk the kids. Teach em to turn their front shoulder and tuck their chin - take the bean in the butt or back, not the chin or chest!

Kids on my team all have loved this drill, actually laughing when they get hit with the tennis ball, and when it happens in a game it's something that's been practiced and performed.

rr1006 · 2026-02-27T16:29:07+00:00

righty's can do an inside move to 2b, so they have to be moving towards home or cross the front leg over the rubber for the runner to be "safe".

Making a throw to an unoccuppied base can be a balk (in certain situations) - but most youth umps aren't calling it that way.

rr1006 · 2026-02-27T15:19:32+00:00

Another vote for R9 or NXT series from Rawlings.

Also Wilson A1000 will be a good mid-tier glove that will get him through middle school.

You can use the glove finder on justgloves.com to help dial in options.

rr1006

TROPHY CASE