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Son being benched repeatedly!!
by Gio
Gio asked: My son is 10 years old and on a full time travel league. For the last 4 years my sons heart has been into baseball, let me add he is pretty good at it too. ;) This is just my opinion, for what it's worth, at the level you are speaking of, players should be taught to play all positions on the field and have the opportunity to play those positions at some point in the games. Deciding at 10 years old who is a budding shortstop or centerfielder is way too soon. When kids learn how to function at all spots, it eventually makes them more versitile and subsecuently more valuable to all the teams they will play for in the future. It is a valuable thing for the kids. I would be unable to find any good reason why coaches would stop coaching the bases or stop encouraging their players. I would say that, as a group of team parents, you might all want to look elsewhere for a place for your kids to play where the players self worth is not determined by whether they win or lose, or make errors or mistakes. Errors and mistakes are all a part of the game. If you are not making them, you aren't playing. Practice is where you teach them how to play, the games show you what you need to work on, and then it's back to practice to work on the details. It is all a process whereby players learn to focus on the process and the results will take care of themselves, a very important learning point for young players. The umpires always used to say "play ball". It was never "work at baseball". If the game is work to the players at 10 years old, few of them will ever see a level above JV high school ball. Cheering players on is all about being a fan and a parent. It becomes a coaches job to help the players seperate themselves from what is being said around them, and focus on what is in front of them at the moment. It is all a learning process. A situation I once ran into at a game. We were behind in by 2 runs, in the 5th inning of a varsity baseball game. Had done little to effect the pitcher, who was cruising along. As it can be in baseball, the pitcher lost it and walked our 8,9 and 1 hitters to load the bases. Our 2,3 and 4 hitters were some of the best hitters I had ever had as a group. You have to feel good, standing in the coaches box at third base, knowing that these 3 are coming to the plate. Short version: Each one came to the plate, heard their parent or patents yell out, "hit it outa here", and two popped up, one struck out. We ended up losing that game by 2 runs. Parents fault? No. Players fault? No. The fault would be mine, hadn't gotten them to the point mentally that they could block out what was being said and concentrate on seeing the ball, trusting their skills and hitting it hard somewhere. That separation and concentration is a long learning process. You can't legislate the quiet on a baseball field, like they do on a golf course. Players learn to seperate it through repetition, just like they learn to hit, field and throw through repetition. Ten years old is not to early to start, it is too early to expect fantastic results. The talking portion of their rule I can understand. Let the kids concentrate on the game and enjoy it for what it is. It is their time to share those moments with their team mates and coaches. I don't have a foolproof solution for your current situation. If you are the only family effected, and the coaches and board have no process for solution, you would be best served to locate another venue for your son to play in. If players are not having fun, it is not a good situation for them. Baseball is all about fun. Well, I did some rambling of my own here. I would be interested in knowing if there are league rules and such, and how it is going as you move forward. Keep supporting your son and stay positive with him. This is only one team and one season, in what may be a long and memory filling baseball experience. He doesn't need to be defined by this one team experience. There is a lot of baseball in front of him. Good luck. I know this is not easy by any means. Yours in baseball, Rick
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