I have been playing and coaching baseball for 35+ years and I have enjoyed every minute. I have a very good 13U team and the boys are really developing well, but over the last couple weeks I have lost 2 kids to arm injuries b/c they have been working out with weights in school which I don't understand. Anyway this has left me scrambling to find new kids. I'm really considering hanging up my coaches hat and just focus on getting my son better and ready for High School ball. I have put a ton of time in on other peoples kids but not my own, don't get me wrong he is really good but could always be better. I have one more spring season left before high school,but just might move him to another team and just be a Dad in the stands I don't know yet. This will be a hard move for me because I really enjoy coaching I guess this is something I'm going to have to think about over the fall season. Just wanted to get this off my chest as this has been bothering me the last few days and losing kids.
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It is about that time. Better to have someone else in the drivers seat if he is planning on playing past HS. They will not take what you are saying with as much input as someone that is not related to the kid.
Plus it is kinda fun to just sit back and decide where to go eat and not worry about all the stuff that goes along with it. -
Did they get injured while lifting or did they get injured while throwing because they had also been lifting. Just trying to understand the issue.Comment
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I would highly recommend stepping back and enjoying watching your son. Best decision I have made. Now just need to make that decision on my youngest and football.Comment
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14U is a great time to turn em over to paid coaching. Your son is getting to the age where he will take constructive criticism much better from someone else. Hormones and puberty just makes it hard. Plus there is always the daddy ball stigma, even if you are tougher on your own kid than the rest. Just the way it is. You will have the energy needed to put in extra work with him in the cages and long tossing. My 14U and I still hit/throw almost daily.
I’ve been through this with all three boys of mine and 13/14 always felt like the best time to make this transition. I have no regrets whatsoever. Good luck with your decision.
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Its nice to just watch baseball and not be involved with the drama. My son likes it when I coach. He gets to hit first and play SS when he isn't pitching. Just kidding.Comment
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What part dont you understand? Do you not understand why the kids are working out with weights at schoo or do you not understand why they have gotten hurt while working out with weights and playing baseball?
Sounds like you are an opponent of baseball players lifting weights. If I have that wrong, please accept my apology. Any athlete, in any sport, lifts weights. They are not going to get any better without a proper weight program.
What kind of arm injuries? Are we talking sore from weights or actually injured to the point where they cant throw and might have to have surgery. Are you sure that it is an actual injury at 12 years old and just not arm fatigue? Have they been diagnosed?Comment
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Haha, my son is just 9U but he's on a team with a rotation of paid coaches. I absolutely love it because I have to do nothing and can actually enjoy watching him play. Plus, these guys were all pretty high level players themselves, and the improvement is very noticeable.
Let it go. Focus on the time you have left and enjoy watching your kid play.Comment
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Good threadComment
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This thread is strange. Maybe should be multiple posts to touch on the different subjects better?
I am a HS HC, and coach my boys baseball team outside of school. It is definitely a grind going from my "real team" straight to my kids. But I enjoy working with my son, and he is a ball player. Planning to put him on a team next year so I can just focus on his development and watch.
At his age I think you will definitely enjoy being able to watch him play and not worry about the other kids.Comment
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Don’t understand why these middle school coaches think these boys should be maxing out on a weight bench either several reps that’s the problem. I get working out and showing them the correct way, but these coaches are making them mac out with reps as well. This has nothing to do with over throwing. I get stepping back did the paid coach thing and it was a joke so I took it back over and the parents and myself where a lot better off. Some need to understand just because the coach played “PRO’ ball does not mean they are good coaches they just like to tell parents how great they where and charge for it period.Comment
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I’m working it the other way around- high school and college coach for a decade- have coached select ball for about 15 years- but I don’t have a desire to coach anything younger than about 15....
My sons play for other people until I see a need or it will be necessary to step in and I get to work with them everyday- then they will play for my teams starting around 15. That way I know that they are getting what they need at a very critical time and I get to enjoy being a Dad at the younger ages.Comment
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I'm a baseball/softball/football/basketball coach up until about 10u - most all were successful teams (especially for just being a Dad who learned how to coach on-the-job). Stepping away from my two daughters softball and basketball teams to let them be coached by another was very liberating. Plus, the timing worked so that my son was old enough to start playing and I can focus on coaching him....but I'll do the same thing...around 10u is my coaching skill limit and he just turned 6.
As a coach, I've dealt with crazy parents and now I use my experience to try to diffuse the potential toxic situations in the stands when I see them.Comment
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Maxing out has a purpose. Most coaches and strength programs lift based on a percentage of a total, therefore there has to be a max out weight for the kid to get any stronger, see any gains, etc. If there is no baseline or anything to measure against, then why even lift. How are you going to know if the kid is getting stronger; how would anyone know whether or not to adjust the workout; why even lift if a kid is going to put a 5 lb weight on each side and never lift anymore than that. It starts in middle school. I obviously like weights and a weight program. Without it, kids are just spinning their wheels. A good weight program must be the basis for any athletic program and sport. Without it, the kid is not going to benefit. Just my two cents.Comment
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These coaches are maxing out plus reps until they can’t lift it anymore. I get the baseline but not lifting max weight until they drop.Comment
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