Is 12 too old to start sports

[OceanAnnie]

Thank you.

I try not to complain. It is hard but I know lots of people have it worse than us. We are just trying to do the best we can and help him be as strong and as successful as he can be. It is no different than anyone else.

Thanks again.

It's a lot to watch unfold. I can't imagine how hard it must be on so many levels.

Your son will always remember the things you have done for him.

You sound very strong and you have a good attitude.

 

[EMode]

Here too, the really good kids play the whole game. Though sometimes if they pitch they sit out after they've reached their pitch count.
I agree they should go for it, but be realistic.

The sad part is that some of those kids who don't get benched should, but because they a coach's kids friend or somebody's cousin they get to play.
My ds started the season with alot of bench time because his fielding needed work. He was an exceptional hitter though so they started putting him in the field more so he could be in the line-up more. By the end of the season he was in the field the whole game and I felt incredibly guilty because one of my friends' ds was still spending more time on the bench than in the field. I was happy that my ds got his chance but it is hard to watch other boys not get it.
Neither one is playing this season and are just starting out new sports. I think they both had enough of the politics of LL here and we mom's aren't upset at all about it

 

[tink20]

OP here, like I said we have our glove and he has been practicing with dad. We will get a bat this weekend. Also, I am taking him for a trial session at a training facility on Wednesday. If he likes it we will sign up for the monthly classes.

There is also a summer camp at one of the colleges here, its like $150 for the whole week (8-3) so may do that this summer.

A friend in his class has a brother in 8th, that is on the team this year at school, so I also thought it would be fun to go watch them play.

If he sticks with it, I will let you guys know how it turns out

Again.....THANKS!

 

[PizzieDuster]

In fact, a coach might find an easier time with a brand new player (who hasn't formed any "bad" habits) than one who has played for 6 years, but has habist so "ingrained" they can't shake them.

Exactly how my father use to feel about coaching kids who never played before.

Ugh. My friend's husband coaches freshman baseball. There are many times I want to slap him for what comes out of his huge ego mouth. Oh, let's say, when he talks about playing a player because his mom is hot. How he was bragging about just being at happy hour with some player's parents who were paying for his drinks, sucking up to him. And how upset he was when the bartender cut him off. Oh, and how he was handing out suckers and made a joke to the players about learning how to suck. Oh, just stuff like that. I once got into it with him about it. He is a law suit waiting to happen. My friend breaks it up by saying "who cares, at least someone is giving him attention because I don't want to."

Don't have a coach like that.

 

[declansdad]

Even the rec leagues here assume a certain level of familiarity with the fundamentals of the game. I don't think there's anything wrong with that - the teaching and practice is geared to the level of the group, and fundamentals of shagging ground balls, properly holding and swinging a bat, etc. were covered years ago. The 10 kids who have been playing for years aren't interested in going back to the level of practice they got when they were 6 or 7 so that one late starter can try to catch up.

Exactly.

First off, you guys really need to read up on long-term athlete development. Second, a 12 year old would move through learning the fundamentals a lot quicker than a 6 year old.

With what I am reading on this thread it isn't any wonder obesity rates are up and kids are opting for video games.

 

[declansdad]

Here if you are just starting at age 12 unless you are a prodigy you will only get the minimum playing time in games. The coaches are not going to put him in so he can sharpen his skills during the game, he will play the kids who already have sharp skills.
Practices are different, the kids will all be doing the drills but when it comes to game play a newcomer is going to sit on the bench more than he plays.

Here most 12 year olds are in the majors but we did have a few in the minors. We also had 9 year olds in the majors, sometimes you are placed according to your ability after try-outs, it isn't always by age. And the major coaches scout out the minor games to see who they want to pick for the next season. LL is very competitive here.

This is one of the most asinine things I have ever heard. These coaches are doing kids a disservice and shouldn't be coaching this level. By only focusing on a few, they are not only hurting the kids but they are hurting the future of the game.

 

[redrosesix]

OP here, like I said we have our glove and he has been practicing with dad. We will get a bat this weekend. Also, I am taking him for a trial session at a training facility on Wednesday. If he likes it we will sign up for the monthly classes.

There is also a summer camp at one of the colleges here, its like $150 for the whole week (8-3) so may do that this summer.

A friend in his class has a brother in 8th, that is on the team this year at school, so I also thought it would be fun to go watch them play.

If he sticks with it, I will let you guys know how it turns out

Again.....THANKS!

That sounds like an awesome plan. And since he's 12, he can watch videos and youtube to improve his technique -- if he's really interested he's going to learn a lot faster than he would have at the age of 6.

 

[Colleen27]

Have any of you been to a Little League game? There are plenty of kids in the Majors here (10-12 usually) who suck. Kids who have been playing for years, but never get a hit. But when you're 12 you automatically go up to the majors whether you're "good enough" or not....

I just don't see the big deal. The kids who only want to be around the best of the best are chosen for all stars and join club teams. LL is for everyone regardless of ability.

Between my three kids I've been a baseball/softball mom for a combined 15 seasons. I've seen more games than I ever wanted to (which is saying something because I'm a big fan of the game). I agree that at 10/11 you still have some players who "suck". They tend to quit at 12/13 because the level of play gets so much more competitive and intense at that point. My son was one of them

First off, you guys really need to read up on long-term athlete development. Second, a 12 year old would move through learning the fundamentals a lot quicker than a 6 year old.

With what I am reading on this thread it isn't any wonder obesity rates are up and kids are opting for video games.

I'm not arguing that this is the way it should be. I don't coach and I don't claim any knowledge of athlete development, long-term or otherwise. I'm just a mom with kids in the program. Would it be better if there were a purely non-competitive layer to the program so kids could learn the game at any age, and keep playing regardless of ability? Maybe. Heck, that would probably be a good thing even at the high school and college level. But the reality is that in our program we've barely got enough girls to have one full team in each of the older age groups (9/10 and 11/12), and most of the kids have been playing since t-ball. A lot of the girls on DD's team, DD included, have hopes of making the HS team and know they're coming in at a disadvantage because they didn't make the jump to the year-round travel team. So they want to be working on more advanced skill development, competing in local tournaments, and playing at a level that doesn't really leave much room for a first-time player trying to catch up.

 

[JVL1018]

Between my three kids I've been a baseball/softball mom for a combined 15 seasons. I've seen more games than I ever wanted to (which is saying something because I'm a big fan of the game). I agree that at 10/11 you still have some players who "suck". They tend to quit at 12/13 because the level of play gets so much more competitive and intense at that point. My son was one of them
.

Regular Little League Baseball ends at 12 years old and then they go to another town league that's for 13-15 year olds, which is still open to everyone(as in no one gets cut), but the kids who aren't good at baseball don't really go on to that.
So here, they finish out Little League and that's that. But I'd say virtually all of our 11 year olds come back. No one wants to quit for their last year, they finish out their Little League career and move on.
My son will be one of them, he's not good enough to play with the big boys, LOL.
He loves loves loves football and will stick with that.

 

[Colleen27]

Regular Little League Baseball ends at 12 years old and then they go to another town league that's for 13-15 year olds, which is still open to everyone(as in no one gets cut), but the kids who aren't good at baseball don't really go on to that.
So here, they finish out Little League and that's that. But I'd say virtually all of our 11 year olds come back. No one wants to quit for their last year, they finish out their Little League career and move on.
My son will be one of them, he's not good enough to play with the big boys, LOL.
He loves loves loves football and will stick with that.

Here our program started including 13yos because there's no 8th grade team and no other rec/town league so most kids were faced with a gap year between aging out of LL and starting high school. There's nothing beyond that except school ball and the highest age division of LL for both boys and girls is pretty competitive. DS played one year in that highest level and decided not to come back; for him baseball was just something to pass the time between football seasons so when it ceased being fun he gave it up to focus on football.

 

[JVL1018]

Here our program started including 13yos because there's no 8th grade team and no other rec/town league so most kids were faced with a gap year between aging out of LL and starting high school. There's nothing beyond that except school ball and the highest age division of LL for both boys and girls is pretty competitive. DS played one year in that highest level and decided not to come back; for him baseball was just something to pass the time between football seasons so when it ceased being fun he gave it up to focus on football.[/QUOTE]

I am living that myself with my son!

 

[luv2sleep]

Here if you are just starting at age 12 unless you are a prodigy you will only get the minimum playing time in games. The coaches are not going to put him in so he can sharpen his skills during the game, he will play the kids who already have sharp skills. Practices are different, the kids will all be doing the drills but when it comes to game play a newcomer is going to sit on the bench more than he plays. Here most 12 year olds are in the majors but we did have a few in the minors. We also had 9 year olds in the majors, sometimes you are placed according to your ability after try-outs, it isn't always by age. And the major coaches scout out the minor games to see who they want to pick for the next season. LL is very competitive here.

It's that way here I know for club soccer. I don't know about baseball.

What's sad is that a young 12 year old kid might be discouraged from having fun at a sport because SO many kids around here start sports at 4 and 5 years old. My son is 7 and not interested really in group sports. I hope he will be interested at some point so that he can learn how to play a sport, make friends, and get used to working in a competitive team environment. Seriously around here I feel like he's behind already. Sports are insane around here. I'm not pushing though. I hope that when he's 12 there will he somewhere he can play, have fun, not be intimidated, make friends, and just enjoy himself.

 

[DisneyPanda17]

It's not too old. He just won't make club teams or top level travel teams he will start off at beginner teams and work his way up.