Hello Traders!
Here is my youngest son playing catcher on my oldest son's team. He got called up to help out his brother's team because they are down two players from his team. One has an index finger that is healing due to an accident, and another boy broke his wrist.
He went 2 for 4 on this day ... and my oldest went 4 for 4 ... in an 8 to 5 loss to a very good hard fought baseball game. Way to go ... Sean and Brennan!
I am so proud of them both ... with that being said ... I am a very competitive person by nature.
So here is my question ... if you are in an instructional coach pitch league should other teams stack one team with "A" players to dismantle other teams?
Our latest game we had tonight they lost 10 to 0 and unfortunately had little if any chance to compete against a team loaded with older ballplayers. They returned 9 from last year's team. The other team in this group is made up of very young ballplayers and was not any challenge to play against ...
Our league divides it's talent at the 7 and 8 year old level so teams are basically "balanced" to some degree or another ... with the exception being coaching.
I will admit that the team we played tonight was a well coached team and played very well together ... in fact I think they could have beaten some 9 and 10 year old teams with this hand picked team they played against ...
Being a proud dad of my boys, it is hard to watch them play against a team they had little chance of winning against at what should be an instructional level of play. Also, as a dad, it is hard for me to remain silent to see the total lack of respect our team was shown ...
What does it teach youngsters at this age ... winning is everything at the age of 7 and 8? It this the way of the world ... that we have to instill that form of thinking to our children?
I think it is a crying shame to place so much emphasis on winning at such a young age ... our school has 3 teams and we have them equally divided so that all kids get the chance to play at various positions.
The team we played against tonight had 11 players ... 9 of which were A and B players, with 2 C players on the team ... I suppose that I would like for the kids to retain their youth for as long as they can and not to have that winner takes all at such a young age ...
You are only young for such a short time of your life ... and I do believe there comes a time when you place your best players on the field to try to dominate other school systems for the bragging rights ... but is it necessary to do so at the instructional coach pitch level?
Thank God for the 5 run rule tonight per inning or we might still be playing that game right now! I think it is a shame that some school systems (programs) but the emphasis on winning at such a young age ... when we should be doing our best to get more youth involved ... all we do is isolate at a young age looking for the future all-stars ... heck I was an all-star myself and a pretty good baseball player for my time ...
But I don't remember it being so competitive win at all cost at such a young age ...
I suppose one of my many faults is having Irish blood in me and a hot temper ... I know that I would be an excellent coach at an older age when you try to stomp on the other team and then kick them when they are down ... but is it necessary to instill this behavior on our children at such a young age?
All they see from their "dad" is a hot head that loses his temper occasionally ... I do my best to remain silent ... but it is so hard to do so when the game is stacked against the boys ... life is hard enough as it is ... why do we want to introduce this to them ... let them remain boys full of fun, and good times for as long as they can ...
Our youth is over way to fast ... the "glory days" are over before they begin ... why ... well we all know the why ... with all the money being thrown at these players and the various leagues to play in ...
I suppose I am a dreamer to think that the game should be fun ... sure winning is fun ... but should it be all or nothing at such a young age? I am of the opinion to teach and continue to teach the fundamentals of the game divide up the talent at the younger youth levels and let the best team win ...
In other words, place only so many A players, B players, and C players on each team across the league to make it a fair competition at the younger levels ... there is plenty of time to get competitive as they grow older in age ...
My 2 cents on the subject ... I am a very proud dad of my boys and fierce in my devotion to them ... to see the deck stack against them at such a young age simply makes my blood boil.
David
