Everyone wants the best for their child and no one wants their child to be left behind. I have heard parents say WELL so and so has extra batting lessons with this great coach — we better start them right away for our child. It never ends.
You have to think about how much a few months of this or that is going to matter when the kids are older. When a child is 5, a year is a big percentage of their life. When they are 17, well its not as big. Every little inch of trying to get ahead fades over time.
The best example is when a child should be moved to kid pitch instead of coach pitch. Many parents like to rush to kid pitch as it's “REAL BASEBALL.”
Whatever.
Kids get more strikes in coach pitch, and they don’t have to deal with fear of the ball — which diminishes as they get older anyway.
I kept my boys in coach pitch as long as I could and have no regrets. It was a LOT of fun for them at that age and a LOT of fun for me.
My seasons coaching them in kid pitch weren’t nearly as fun. Dealing with tears as they were hit time and time again by errant pitches — dealing with strikeouts as new umps -- who are always working AA -- call one pitch over the middle a ball and the other one over their head a strike.
Kid pitch is not for the faint of heart and the longer you can put it off -- put it off.
I’ve coached all levels, and of course this advice isn’t good for everyone. If your child is just crushing every ball in kid ptich — well then move them on up. But if there’s any doubt — Take your time — you have more time than you think.
