Baseball Parent Guide: One Player, One Season, Three Teams - How Much Baseball Is Enough?

By Guest Author:Dr. Warren Bruhl

Youth baseball is a pastime shared by millions. In virtually every town in America on a summer evening, a baseball game is probably played. Perhaps, 10,000 or more games may be played even simultaneously and the outcomes while important to the participants ultimately have little significance in world affairs. Still, many young people and their parents devote countless hours to the preparation, practice, transportation, and games of baseball because they enjoy the game. Dreams of becoming professional ball players abound for pre-teen and teen players. However, the reality for millions of these players is few will actually realize a big-league dream.

The talent and skills necessary to become a professional player are scarce and only found in a select few. Of these players with a chance at a big league dream, the way to realize the dream requires hours of practice and playing hundreds of baseball games during a youth career. The only way to improve at the game is playing it. Repetition is the secret to becoming better at anything. Playing baseball and practicing baseball makes average players become good players and good players become great players or even exceptional players. Playing time mixed with consistent practice is often a recipe for success. In warm weather climates, players usually play longer seasons and have a stronger advantage over players in cold weather climates. In order for cold-weather climate players to improve, they have to play more games in compressed periods of time. To improve, players seek the best competition during these compressed periods of baseball worthy weather. However, some argue there may be too much baseball if five, or six or even ten games are played in a week for an 8-12 week period in the late spring and summer.

How much baseball can a young player play? Does playing five or six days a week make a player better? Is there something to the mental toughness a player develops by playing the game everyday and even for more than one team? What other intangible attributes are learned, mastered, and developed when a player plays "a lot of" baseball? Does a player become more confident, exude stronger leadership, and maybe even have more fun through more involvement with his/her friends on multiple teams?

This spring and early summer, I discovered some of the answers to these questions while coaching my son in three baseball programs simultaneously. While my son and I did not originally set out to become involved in three programs at the same time, opportunity and whispers from divine places seemed to indicate this was a path to take at this time in my son's life in the game.

Another aspect related to this decision was my son's age and the milestone leap he was moving into and leaving in the game of baseball. As a twelve year old 7th grader, he has played with boys mostly a year or more older than him. Since the age of eight, he was playing 9U baseball and continued playing with older boys through his baseball career. When boys move on to 13U baseball, as many involved in the game know the field dimensions change to Pony dimensions with longer bases, 54-foot pitching distance and deeper fences. The game takes on larger proportions. The 12U fields are approximately 10-15% smaller on average and this can have notable outcomes on the players' effectiveness and contribution in the game.

Recognizing this time as a one-year window for him to play both dimensions and perhaps have some great experience being a mentor and leader on a 12U team while playing 13U baseball also, we decided to pursue the challenge to play on two travel teams in the spring and summer. Moreover, because of the rules of our village, my son would also be required to play on a house league team during the months of April, May, and early June. Therefore, he would be on three teams simultaneously while most boys would only play for two teams.

The schedule would be rigorous from early April to late June, playing over 60 baseball games in this short 10-11 week period. The average player would play 30-35 games. There would be a number of days he would play 3 games in one day for two different teams or maybe even all three teams. Some parents and coaches would question whether this is possible to do without too many game conflicts ensuing and conflicts would usually occur if some preplanning and scheduling did not happen. In order to make this happen, we examined the usual routine of our house league and the beginning and ending seasons of the two travel teams for which he played. While there was some overlap, we recognized most of his house league games would be played on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from mid April to mid June. Therefore, his travel games with his 12U team could be scheduled for Saturday and Sundays and some Tuesdays and Thursdays. He would have games 5-7 days a week on average with some double headers on weekends with tournaments etc.

To make this program of baseball work, we had to have agreement from coaches that my son would miss some house league games to play with his 12U team in travel games and also his 12U coaches would not expect him to make every practice scheduled during the playing season. Additionally, he had to make his 13U team a priority if they had a game and miss 12U games if there was conflict with a 13U game. In total, during the months of April, May, and June, approximately 8-10 game conflicts arose and the agreement was fulfilled by my son to play where he suppose to play.

One of the most interesting challenges in coaching him and helping him navigate this process was switching between different uniform and equipment needs for the different teams. Baseball in 13U uses metal spikes and 12U still uses cleats so he needed two pairs of shoes. He had four different uniforms, one uniform for house league, one for 13U, and two for 12U (one for home games, one for away games). Many times we had to pack three uniforms and head out the door. We had to make sure he had both pairs of shoes, both batting helmets from his two travel teams, and all his gloves.

As a parent and head coach for one of teams and an assistant for the other two teams, I also had to be very organized. I laid out all my equipment daily and prepared all my line-ups in advance. Communication via email was pivotal to the success of this endeavor. Using GPS to find travel games all over our region was also a necessary component. My wife and other family members showed patience while I participated with my son in these games. Getting rides from other coaches and parents also become necessary at times because of various work conflicts, which arose.

In assessing the value of the experience for my son, my conclusion is he benefited from the intensity of the experience and the repetition of the game. He was given great responsibility to help his 12U team and afforded the opportunity to play in virtually every position on the field because of his skills. For his 13U travel team he usually plays second base only and pitches occasionally. By playing all positions in the field, he learned the game from numerous perspectives and became a smarter baseball player. He also developed his defensive acumen of the game and became a stronger field general on the infield and outfield. He came to enjoy playing catcher; a position for which he had shown little interest in before and he showed great skill when given the chance by playing 12U baseball. His hitting improved in his house league over previous seasons and his confidence at the plate improved. While his overall batting numbers did not jump off the page, his quality at the plate improved by having a better ability to foul off pitches, make contact with the ball, and find ways to get on base.

There were some small consequences of playing so much baseball in that he had little time for some of his other friends or interest during this time. He also was tired at times and perhaps felt some reservation about throwing on the uniform and playing once again. However, he always moved forward and when he got to the field, he went about his business and gave his best on the field. I believe he learned a great deal about himself in this process. He learned he is capable of doing more than he thought. He realized he could be a leader on a team and others looked to him for leadership. He had enjoyment through his interactions on and off the field with 34 other players from three teams. Some of the core intangibles his 12U coaches shared with me are how his presence on the field inspired his teammates to improve their awareness and game skills. Having him around gave them more confidence.

My hope is the experience will translate for him to more success in the game of baseball and in his life. While it is too early to know if he has significant future in baseball, the odds are not likely, I know he has a future path in life. The lessons learned on the diamond this year, I am certain will translate into leadership in some future endeavor. I always like to think that we never know how far reaching something we say or do today may have on someone or something in our lives. This past baseball season is reminder of this belief.

Dr. Warren Bruhl is a practicing pediatric chiropractor in Glencoe, IL. Dr. Bruhl has coached youth baseball for 11 seasons and spent thousands of hours developing youth baseball players. Dr. Bruhl is available for questions and comments at dc4kids@aol.com.

Dr. Warren Bruhl

Dr. Warren Bruhl has practiced on the North Shore of Chicago for 21 years. He is board certified in chiropractic pediatrics through the ICA Council on Chiropractic Pediatrics. Dr. Bruhl has been featured on ABC News and Parenting Life. He is the author of, "The Chiropractors Exercise Manual." Dr. Bruhl practices a variety of soft chiropractic techniques that involve no cracking of the spine. He also offers his patients traditional cracking spinal methods. His practice is diverse and offers massage therapy, exercise rehab, physical therapy, clinical detoxification programs, and nutritional therapy. Dr. Bruhl is a practitioner who practices what he teaches. He is a former bodybuilder and triathlete. He loves to coach little league baseball and is highly active in the community. Dr. Bruhl is married with three children. He is available for public speaking and writing health related articles for publication. Dr. Bruhl may be reached at (847)835-4700 or contacted through his website at http://www.lakefrontchiro.com

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Problems With Travel Baseball: Not Enough Practice Time

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Problems With Travel Baseball: Not Enough Practice Time
By Andy Pohl

When travel league schedules revolve around tournament play, winning inherently becomes the primary focus. Rarely do these teams have time to practice due to the heightened amount of travel and games. This is a glaring problem with travel baseball, as kids need a combination of practice and games to best facilitate athletic development. Simply throwing young kids out on the field to play as many games as possible does not necessarily facilitate athletic development, as younger athletes need considerable practice time to develop their hitting and defensive skills in a pressure free environment.

Basically, what travel baseball has done is put 8-11 year olds in an adult created setting where the pressure to win and perform takes precedent over the emotional and athletic development of the players themselves.

A bi-product of this reality is the coaches themselves acting as if they were managing professional players - the yelling, the throwing of equipment, the arguing with umpires, the sulking after losses. And while it may appear that these travel coaches know what they are doing with their custom made dry-fit coaching shirts and Oakley Sunglasses resting on the brims of their fitted caps, the fact of the matter is that most of travel coaches possess the same amount of knowledge as your average house league coach. In fact, the majority of travel players are being coached by parents who don't know the first thing about baseball or the social and emotional development of kids. Many of these parent coaches cannot even properly parent their own kids!

Rather than winning, the focus for youth baseball needs to be on development. After all, once these kids hit puberty, it is really not going to matter which travel team your son played on and how many tournaments they won. Athletic excellence and success cannot always be identified at an early age, and inferior athletes will frequently blossom and attain success in later years given the right opportunity to compete and develop their skills. Consistent practice time is a critical component to this development.

Though some may disagree with several of the statements in this narrative, understand that my goal is to report in an honest and straightforward manner what I know to be true from my many experiences working with youth baseball players. I have no hidden agenda. The well-being of kids is always my top priority, hence the reason why I created this article.

Andy Pohl - Co-Founder, DNA Sports

DNA Sports specializes in personalized baseball and softball skill programs, college recruiting education and preparation, and coaching clinics. Learn more: http://www.dnasportsonline.com

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Is Travel Baseball Right For Your Kid?

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By Matthew Jorn

Throughout my years as a young baseball athlete I have played on many different traveling teams, as well as local and high school teams. From this experience I have come to find out all of the different pros and cons of each type of league. Many parents ask "Is it better for my child to play on traveling AAU or non-traveling City Leagues?" Some even want to know if they should play neither and simply wait till high school to travel. For each individual the answer is different. Based on the availability of money and time to drive the child all over the country, it is primarily also related to the passion that the individual has to actually play baseball now or even at the next level.

Starting with the local City Leagues there are many great opportunities for your child out there. Depending on the area in which you live there are usually several quality City Leagues for them to participate in. The upside of City League is that it is relatively inexpensive, almost all of the games are played on the same set of fields close to home and the games are usually scheduled around school obligations. This makes it easy for parents to get the child to the game, be able to afford the required equipment and keeps the kid from missing out on necessary school work or sleep.

City League has some downsides. For one, you get what you pay for. Many of the coaches are dads who have volunteered there time that really do not know much about the nuances of baseball, let alone teaching it to your child well enough to prepare them for the next level. Also, the equipment supplied by the city is usually beaten hand-me-down items which in turn means buying extra equipment. If your child is just looking for something fun to do on the weekends and you are desperate to get them out of the house then City League is for you. However, if your child wants to excel at the next level and learn from the best then you should probably look into some sort of traveling team.

This brings me to AAU and USSSA; these are the two principal traveling ball leagues. These leagues are nationwide and require a very large amount of time to be put in by each player. The expression "you get what you pay for" applies here as well, only the player gets the highest quality baseball education available. Depending on the popularity of the team the cost is as much as $5,000 per season. Where that may seem like a lot of money it covers all of the uniforms, top dollar equipment, entry fees for games played in huge stadiums, and the knowledge of a highly experienced coaching staff. The upside to traveling ball is that your child will receive the best training, play more games than they can count, and visit places that they have never been before. Every ten year old dreams of playing in Yankee Stadium and many times these teams do play in Minor league stadiums or spring training stadiums. The only real down side to all of this is that it is expensive, requires at least one parent to, for the most part, not have a job and can really burn your child out if they are not that serious about the sport.

Now that you see the difference in the two types of leagues you may be thinking well why not play both? Well if your child is that dedicated and you have the time and money then maybe they can play in both leagues. I will caution you though; it really can burn your child out both physically and mentally.

Mentally you may see a fall in academics because all they think about is baseball and becoming a professional so they don't need school. This is wrong because you have to go through high school and college ball to play in the pros these days. Physically, playing that many games can really take a toll on a developing body. While they may be young and not feel the effects immediately, once they are 20 years old and playing in college they could finally tear that ligament or rip that muscle that has been over used throughout the years. Playing in both leagues means that you play all year long with no breaks, which is terrible for the healing process of muscles and non vascular tissues. In my second year of college ball I tore my Labrum which required surgery. I was a star pitcher in Florida and now I can barely play catch with a child. This was all due to over use, playing nonstop in high school and AAU as well as City League. Taking care of your arm and body in general is always priority to playing as many games as possible. If something doesn't feel right take some time off to heal, in the long run it will pay off.

The best advice I can give you is to ask your child to evaluate their passion for baseball. If you think they have the skill to take it to the next level then stick to travel ball for all of their pre-high school playing days. Once high school rolls around have them concentrate on playing for their school. If your child is good enough a college or even pro scout will find them no matter what league they play in. Just remember to play with moderation because a broken player is not a player at all.

Email the author of this story at Strikeout1352@aol.com

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When and Why a Player Should Play Travel Baseball

When and Why a Player Should Play Travel Baseball
By Jack Perconte

Whether a child should play travel baseball and at what age they should begin playing travel is often a tough call for parents. Deciding to go the travel baseball route too early in a player's career can be detrimental to their desire to continue playing baseball in subsequent years. When anyone of the key factors listed below are missing, it may lead to unhappy ball players. Whereas, not playing travel soon enough can feel like a year wasted, it is usually not so serious because a player can try out the following year for travel ball. I believe a player's talent will come through in the end whether they play travel baseball or not. But when a child seems to be bored or not challenged at the in-house recreational league, it is time to consider playing travel baseball. Every travel team and community is different, but generally, travel baseball provides a higher level and more interested player. Also, baseball players who are around good players and are challenged correctly have the opportunity to improve their skills at a quicker rate.

There are four key things that can help determine when and whether a kid should play travel baseball. The key things are listed in my order of prominence but the importance of each factor is a little different for each family, based on their particular situation.

1. Interest level - parents should talk to their child about travel ball and observe their actions when playing baseball to judge weather a child appears to have the added interest that travel ball requires. The decision to play should not be because the parent wants them to play.

2. Skill level - putting a player in a level they are not ready for is the quickest way to have them want to discontinue playing. Parents should check out travel ball player's skill level before tryouts, when possible. Asking for an outside opinion about their child's skill level from their previous season's coach may be helpful. Even having a player try out for a team - when they are obviously not ready for that level of play - can hurt a child's self-esteem and desire.

3. The coach - in my opinion, having a child play for a knowledgeable, well-respected coach is priceless. When parents hear of such a coach they should look into the possibility of their son playing for his team. Good coaches help players even beyond the playing field and serve as positive role models for kids.

4. Time commitment - meeting the demands of much more playing can be tough to balance while having kids stay involved in other activities, including non-sport related ones. It is never a good idea to have every hour of a kid's day and week scheduled, providing no free time for kids to just "hang out" with friends and family. Playing travel ball with more than one sport, when their seasons overlap, can cause this type of over-scheduling.

Of course, there are many other factors that may go into the decision to play travel baseball. Among those, a family's financial situation as well as the effect on other family members must be considered.

Former major league baseball player, Jack Perconte gives baseball hitting tips and batting practice advice for ballplayers of all ages. His baseball playing lessons, books and advice can be found at http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball

Jack is the author of two books, The Making of a Hitter and Raising an Athlete - his positive parenting advice and books can be found at http://positiveparentinginsports.com

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