west_tip
01-06-2015, 02:09 AM
My 8 year old son is playing little league, he did T-ball as a 6 year old and coach pitch as a 7 year old and this year I am debating about putting him into coach pitch again or bumping him up to kid pitch as a lot of the 8 year olds do.
He is a middle of the pack player in terms of his catching and throwing and as a hitter he is not particularly powerful but he does make contact with the ball every at bat. When I throw a little BP or do soft toss in the yard he will consistently hit good quality line drives although having never played baseball I am not in a position to know how good his swing is from a technical standpoint. The biggest flaw he has is that he is very tentative and seems to be one of those players who lacks a little self assurance and who freezes up in games. He is not an exuberant kid he is more the quiet type and for this reason I think he will benefit from another year of coach pitch in that he will have another year to develop and hone his skills without facing pitchers trying to strike him out. One of the things I don't want him to do is have a lot of at bats that result in strikeouts or not getting on base as that will diminish his confidence and resultantly his enjoyment of the game and maybe he will decide that he doesn't want to continue playing.
I'm not under any illusions that my son is the second coming of Willie Mays or anything I just want to nurture his skills and his love of the game and I am wondering whether that will be best accomplished by moving him up to kid pitch of keeping him in coach pitch. As someone who has only taken an interest in the game since my son began playing two years ago I really don't have the necessary knowledge to know what is in his best interests. Any feedback greatly appreciated.
He is a middle of the pack player in terms of his catching and throwing and as a hitter he is not particularly powerful but he does make contact with the ball every at bat. When I throw a little BP or do soft toss in the yard he will consistently hit good quality line drives although having never played baseball I am not in a position to know how good his swing is from a technical standpoint. The biggest flaw he has is that he is very tentative and seems to be one of those players who lacks a little self assurance and who freezes up in games. He is not an exuberant kid he is more the quiet type and for this reason I think he will benefit from another year of coach pitch in that he will have another year to develop and hone his skills without facing pitchers trying to strike him out. One of the things I don't want him to do is have a lot of at bats that result in strikeouts or not getting on base as that will diminish his confidence and resultantly his enjoyment of the game and maybe he will decide that he doesn't want to continue playing.
I'm not under any illusions that my son is the second coming of Willie Mays or anything I just want to nurture his skills and his love of the game and I am wondering whether that will be best accomplished by moving him up to kid pitch of keeping him in coach pitch. As someone who has only taken an interest in the game since my son began playing two years ago I really don't have the necessary knowledge to know what is in his best interests. Any feedback greatly appreciated.