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Hello Dave,
Happy New Year!
What Damage is Happening to Your Kids Caused by Entertaining Grandma
Youth baseball for the most part caters to the entertainment needs of the “Big-people”. The “Big-people” are infatuated with watching their kids play ‘real baseball games’. Grandma wants to go see their grandkids play every Tuesday and Thursday. Grandma (and all the ‘Big-people’) yearn to go see the ballgames with all the hullaballoo and excitement surrounding the competition.
Unfortunately, providing entertainment for Grandma and the rest of the ‘Big-people’ is not in the best interests of the kids player development needs and is causing huge harm to the longevity of youth ballplayers.
The people who administrate the leagues and the tournaments are basically carnival promoters. The baseball complexes are used to provide the carnival entertainment of ballgames for Grandma and all the ‘Big-people’ to experience. The youth baseball games truthfully are closer to “baseball dress-up” day then anything resembling player development.
One of the problems is that the “Big-people” cannot and will not wean themselves off the desire to watch their kids try to play ‘real baseball’. The ‘Big-people’ fail to realize that kids 10 & under, many 12& under and even many 14 & under are not physically mature enough to play ‘real baseball’.
So, while soothing their entertainment needs to watch their kids try to play ‘real baseball’ they miss the big picture right in front of them, “Youth baseball kids are not physically developed enough to perform the baseball skills necessary to play ‘real baseball’.
Youth baseball kids lack the motor skills to perform basic baseball skills to adequately play baseball. To make things worse, the coaches are not trained to help kids practice basic baseball skills in well planned on-field practices.
What is the Outcome of Entertaining Grandma (Playing real baseball games) Doing to Your Kids?
- Kids are forced to play ‘real baseball’ prior to them being physically able.
- Kids lack motor skills that are acquired more often after puberty.
- Kids play lots of competitive ‘real baseball’ ballgames that are slow moving, lack reps, provide few baseball encounters.
- Kids rarely have well organized, fast-paced, on-field baseball practices.
- Kids spend eight or more years in youth baseball playing ‘real baseball’ games and rarely spend time practicing baseball skills and are developmentally deficient in the basics.
- Kids reach the middle school ages lacking basic baseball skills, arm strength, accuracy, ball handling, hitting, baserunning and position versatility.
If I Was In Charge of Youth Baseball
1) Play Less Competitive ‘Real Baseball’ Games: Whatever the ‘real baseball’ competitive games are it is not developing kids to improve their baseball skills at a necessary pace. Way too much standing around, games lacking action, batting only once or twice, not many balls hit, pitchers and catchers struggling to catch and throw.
Kids spend 7-8 seasons doing this and end up at age 13 and 14 lacking basic baseball skills. But hey, at least Grandma is happy watching season after season of boring baseball. For most kids the ballgames are just “baseball dress-up’ day and lack very many baseball ‘encounters’.
2) Practice Twice: Play Once: USABaseball/MLB recommend this ratio in their report which you should take a look yourself. Unfortunately, kids are not given the opportunity to attend on-field baseball practices twice per week but instead will play competitive ballgames twice per week instead. Or tournament teams might practice on field once per week (four per month) and play eight or more ballgames per month.
Why do kids need more on-field practices than ‘real games’? Because the games lack reps, lack baseball encounters, lack action, lack development opportunities. USABaseball/MLB knows this. The ‘real baseball’ games are not the best instrument to develop kid’s baseball skills.
3) Use Modification and Adaption of the Rules: USABaseball/MLB knows that pre-puberty age kids largely lack the motor skills to adequately perform ‘real baseball’ skills. Most kids struggle with ball handling, catching, throwing, hitting and performing the basic baseball skills. To accommodate the lack of motor skills we should make modifications and adaptations of the rules in order to fill the void and buy some time until the kids reach post-puberty and the motor skills largely catch up with the kids age.
4) Show Coaches How to Practice: Youth baseball coaches are volunteers and mostly lack any training, experience and baseball background. Coaches need help. Coaches need to be shown how to conduct a simple baseball practice that keeps kids very busy, give kids numerous baseball encounters, includes fun competition, in-team scrimmages, promotes arm strength and accuracy, sampling numerous positions, allows baserunning opportunities and fosters teamwork and grit to work at the game.
5) Eliminate All-stars: Much of the drive to force kids to play ‘real baseball’ stems from the ‘Big-people’s’ attraction to all-stars, national play-offs, weekend tournaments. Leagues and tournament teams stay locked in on playing ‘real baseball’ in order to prepare their local all-star teams and tournament teams.
Rather than using modifications and adaptations to the rules and helping kids to develop for the long run, the “Big-people’ only want immediate gratification to “win” and advance in tournaments. Forcing kids to play ‘real baseball’ with no interest in long term collateral damage by concentrating on competitive games instead of adaptations and adding on-field practices is selfishness by the ‘Big-people.
The ‘Big-people’ would rather continue being entertained with post season and weekend tournaments than trying to help the larger masses of kids to advance their longevity with badly needed baseball skills.
If you are serious about improving your youth baseball situation then check out.......
SIDE NOTE: For the month of January 2025 I will have my 3 Course Bundle available for $25 (regular $199)
Just email me for a discount code.
INCLUDES: 3 Course Bundle
1) 5 Steps to Youth Baseball Coaching Excellence Course (for all youth baseball levels)
2) High Tempo© Baseball Team Practice Plan Training Course (teaches how to run scrimmages within your own team)
3) High Tempo© Baseball Development Competitive Scrimmage Course (teaches how to adapt, modify and conduct competitive games).
Keep in mind, according to USA Baseball/MLB recommendations, the correct goal should be to practice two times per every competitive game.
If you have any questions, need to share your situation, want to know more about High Tempo© Baseball Systems, have any ideas, want to report in on your journey then reach out to me at....
Email: holtbaseball24@gmail.com
Phone: 8 six three 968-6485
What others say....
"I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the tools and resources you provide to youth coaches like me. Like I stated in an earlier email, I have read your products, and the products you recommend (i.e.the Matheny manifesto).
We have started our spring little league season. The parents were impressed with the no nonsense, direct message in the preseason letter. I made little laminated cards for the kids, so they know/understand what is expected from them. Everyone has been great and they are buying in!!
Practices have been FUN! Kids are getting a ton of reps with the rapid fire fungo, our various stations and the three team scrimmage!
My favorite part of the season was when Dr. Z (all players who want a nickname have a nickname) said: “I have never been on a baseball team that scrimmages, THIS IS AWESOME!!”
Anyways, thanks again. You put all the hard work into your products, and I am just copying your technique. I feel like I am getting credit that isn’t deserved… you deserve the credit."
Sam F.
"Dave, I have seen your High Tempo Practice System with 3-Teams and I know it works. The kids love it. We just don’t have much time to use it since we play games all the time. I have heard you talk about your High Tempo Baseball Development Competitive Game System.
I know about your modifications and variations to “real baseball” and believe this would bring more fun to game for the kids and allow player development to accelerate much, much faster. I’m ready to make the switch to High Tempo Baseball Development System and at least try it for a season".
Email Dave
Podcast CYB 093: Sorry Not Here to Entertain Grandma
Podcast: CYB 088 Everyone Loves a Carnival
Podcast: CYB 086: The Perfect Hitting Technique
Podcast: CYB 081: Have We Been Duped?
CYB 80 Measure Twice
CYB 078: It Only took Me 25 Years to Learn This
CYB 079 The Word For the Year: 'Practice'
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