The youth sports thread

[Jeromy in SLC]

Lost 10-2. So he finished the season 16-8, 2nd place state finish.

Good for him. Was his opponent the same kid that has whipped up on everyone all year?

[Jarid in Cedar]

Good for him. Was his opponent the same kid that has whipped up on everyone all year?

Yep. Wayne County. He was pinned in the first round by this kid 4 other times in the last 4 years.

[Scratch]

Here's a kind-of-follow-up question. At what point in coaching youth sports do you start treating the kids unequally in terms of playing time and positions? I coach my 2 sons' baseball teams, and my oldest is in a league of 6 and 7 year olds, in which we don't keep score. Thus far, I have set up a chart at the beginning of the year that makes sure every kid plays every position completely equally, and bats in every lineup position equally. Next year, I'll be coaching a team of primarily 8-year-olds, with a few 9-year-olds, too. In that league, they do keep score and keep track of wins and losses. I'm not saying I would play the worst kids only in RF the whole game or something like that, but at what point would you start playing the better kids more at the premium positions? Thanks.

[Two Utes]

Here's a kind-of-follow-up question. At what point in coaching youth sports do you start treating the kids unequally in terms of playing time and positions? I coach my 2 sons' baseball teams, and my oldest is in a league of 6 and 7 year olds, in which we don't keep score. Thus far, I have set up a chart at the beginning of the year that makes sure every kid plays every position completely equally, and bats in every lineup position equally. Next year, I'll be coaching a team of primarily 8-year-olds, with a few 9-year-olds, too. In that league, they do keep score and keep track of wins and losses. I'm not saying I would play the worst kids only in RF the whole game or something like that, but at what point would you start playing the better kids more at the premium positions? Thanks.

It's not fair or right at some point to treat kids the same. Some are better. At school, we put the smart kids in accelerated classes. Plus at some point, you put a kid who is a bad athlete at pitcher or catcher and he looks terrible. And it's your fault because you set him up to fail.

I remember having a parent on one of my little league football teams complain about his kid not getting the chance to play running back. The kid was terrible. I was afraid he was going to get hurt. I finally relented and gave the kid a chance to run the ball. He got drilled by a couple of big defensive linemen. He had to be helped off the field, crying. Hope his dad learned a valuable lesson.

I'd say 8 or 9 is when you can start treating the kids differently.

[Rocker Ute]

It's not fair or right at some point to treat kids the same. Some are better. At school, we put the smart kids in accelerated classes. Plus at some point, you put a kid who is a bad athlete at pitcher or catcher and he looks terrible. And it's your fault because you set him up to fail.

I remember having a parent on one of my little league football teams complain about his kid not getting the chance to play running back. The kid was terrible. I was afraid he was going to get hurt. I finally relented and gave the kid a chance to run the ball. He got drilled by a couple of big defensive linemen. He had to be helped off the field, crying. Hope his dad learned a valuable lesson.

I'd say 8 or 9 is when you can start treating the kids differently.

Agreed, it also depends on what kind of league you are in. If you are in a competitive league, then yeah of course. If you are just a rec league, you can start to place kids at their strengths, but also give other kids a shot and PT.

[480ute]

Here's a kind-of-follow-up question. At what point in coaching youth sports do you start treating the kids unequally in terms of playing time and positions? I coach my 2 sons' baseball teams, and my oldest is in a league of 6 and 7 year olds, in which we don't keep score. Thus far, I have set up a chart at the beginning of the year that makes sure every kid plays every position completely equally, and bats in every lineup position equally. Next year, I'll be coaching a team of primarily 8-year-olds, with a few 9-year-olds, too. In that league, they do keep score and keep track of wins and losses. I'm not saying I would play the worst kids only in RF the whole game or something like that, but at what point would you start playing the better kids more at the premium positions? Thanks.

When I was coaching 8/9 year olds I tried to give every child equal playing time, but the better players spent the bulk of their time in the infield. All of this is dependent on punctuality and attendance though. I don't care how good a kid is; if they miss practices without notifying me or are continuously late to practices and/or games, they sit. Every parent has my cell #, and email so there's no excuse for not shooting me a text or email if they're not gonna make it. It might sound silly to some, but I'm trying to instill the discipline that will be necessary to be successful later on.

I'm currently coaching 9-12 year olds, and making things fair is next to impossible. The talent level is so much higher overall that it's very difficult to give equal playing time to everybody. I have eight girls on my team that I can confidently put in the infield at just about any position (besides catcher and pitcher). My "starters" actually don't come in until the second inning. I reserve the first inning for my second string players. In our league they cap the first inning at six runs for each team. I figure that if there's any inning to have some errors, the first is ideal. I also typically have my best pitcher starting and closing the game (with a one or two inning break in between) so the chance of any real damage being done in the first inning is minimal. I actually think my system is just about as fair as possible, and we win a lot of games, but we still get shit from the helicopter parents. I've given up trying to make all the parents happy all the time as it's a futile effort.

I will add this: if a child shows a willingness to learn, and is on time to practices and attentive, I will work with them as much as possible, and try to give them chances to play whatever position they are passionate about. At this age there are still some girls who have not had the ability to properly develop due to never playing before, or just having coaches who didn't bother with them. I hate to see these girls try so hard, and not get a fair shake, and I've found a diamond in the rough more than once. Of course all of this is in regards to rec league ball. Club ball is a whole different animal. Hope this was helpful.

[Jarid in Cedar]

I think that there is an element of safety that you cannot ignore. There are players that are just not capable of fielding a soft hit groundball, let alone a ball hit right on the screws. In that situation it is a safety hazzard to have that child at an infield position. Many times the reason that a player is in right field, is that it the position that they are the least likely to see a sharply hit ball that could hurt them and ruin the game for them in the future.

[480ute]

I think that there is an element of safety that you cannot ignore. There are players that are just not capable of fielding a soft hit groundball, let alone a ball hit right on the screws. In that situation it is a safety hazzard to have that child at an infield position. Many times the reason that a player is in right field, is that it the position that they are the least likely to see a sharply hit ball that could hurt them and ruin the game for them in the future.

This is true for baseball. In softball it isn't as much of an issue. Balls are not typically hit very hard by 8/9 year old girls, and a softball is not near as dense as a hardball (baseball). Either way, your weaker players tend to find their way to the outfield so injuries are rare.

[tooblue]

Here, we play little league (house league) football in the spring. My 13 year old and I will pick up his equipment this Saturday. I have coached for the past several years starting with my two older sons. Once upon a time I shared my playbook on another message board. UtahDan poo poo'd it, saying it was too complicated. Four championships later and the rest of the league now running variations of my scheme suggest Dan was mistaken. Considering I only get a week of practice before the first game to teach the kids, many of which have never played football before, says something

Here's my 12 year old, playing with Bantam age boys ranging from 12 - 15 maintaining outside contain. He's a good athlete. Sturdy on his feet and certainly not afraid to hit. This year he's older and bigger; should be a fun season for him.

Z1.jpg

Z2.jpg

Z3.jpg

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Here's a kind-of-follow-up question. At what point in coaching youth sports do you start treating the kids unequally in terms of playing time and positions? I coach my 2 sons' baseball teams, and my oldest is in a league of 6 and 7 year olds, in which we don't keep score. Thus far, I have set up a chart at the beginning of the year that makes sure every kid plays every position completely equally, and bats in every lineup position equally. Next year, I'll be coaching a team of primarily 8-year-olds, with a few 9-year-olds, too. In that league, they do keep score and keep track of wins and losses. I'm not saying I would play the worst kids only in RF the whole game or something like that, but at what point would you start playing the better kids more at the premium positions? Thanks.

I coached 5th grade basketball and football this year, playing time was equal regardless of skill or attention. Carrying the ball, being point guard, etc was based on skill and effort in practice.

[mUUser]

Here, we play little league (house league) football in the spring. My 13 year old and I will pick up his equipment this Saturday. I have coached for the past several years starting with my two older sons. Once upon a time I shared my playbook on another message board. UtahDan poo poo'd it, saying it was too complicated. Four championships later and the rest of the league now running variations of my scheme suggest Dan was mistaken. Considering I only get a week of practice before the first game to teach the kids, many of which have never played football before, says something

Here's my 12 year old, playing with Bantam age boys ranging from 12 - 15 maintaining outside contain. He's a good athlete. Sturdy on his feet and certainly not afraid to hit. This year he's older and bigger; should be a fun season for him.

Z1.jpg

Z2.jpg

Z3.jpg

Lost 10-2. So he finished the season 16-8, 2nd place state finish.

Hey you two its been almost 4 years. Did your pride and joy(s) continue to do great things or have they moved on to other things. How about an update?

[U-Ute]

Keep this in mind if your son continues want to play football.

[mUUser]

A question for any of you that might be neck deep into competitive baseball with your child -- Other than the Marshalls and the Bucks, which programs in the area (between Weber & Utah counties) enjoy a strong reputation for 15-17 year olds?

[mUUser]

How great is this photo? Plus, you know any 9 year team with names on the jersey are the real deal.

https://twitter.com/JoeyGallo24/stat...e-team-as-kids