Tournament for T Ball....really?

• thavoice

  Do you think there is really a need for a team to travel about hour for a TBall tournament? 5 year old kids and such and to play a game at around 830 AM and then again at 5pm?
  
  I was even surprised they kept score at such a game (even kept a book) and it has been very surprising.
  
  I am a baseball guy...from a great baseball town..played and coached it for a long time and I just think it is as absurd as a Jr High kids having a 58 game schedule with their club team.
  
  No wonder kids are quiting baseball and using that as their last sport....because by the time they get to HS they are burned out.
• HitsRus

  

  I have absolutely NO PROBLEM with jr high kids (7th and 8th graders) playing a 58 game schedule over the course of an entire summer, provided these are committed kids and parents that love the game. 58 games, however, seems a bit much, although 40-45 is probably plenty.
  
  I agree 100% that T- Ball tournaments for 5 year olds where they actually keep score and over-emphasize winning is completely ridiculous and counter-productive....and you can extend that right up through 9 and 10 year olds, too. Nothing will burn a 10 year old out faster than playing travel ball. Kids this age should be doing a wide variety of things, not spending their entire summers and weekends overplaying one single thing.
  Newer studies in othopedics suggest that concentrating one one sport, especially for developing bodies results in repetitive motion injuries, and I think that parents and coaches that subject children to this kind of stuff are doing their kids(your kids) a great disservice. I get especially peeved at high school coaches who demand/expect this...they should know better. Even a high schooler should NOT be playing a single sport year round.
  
  http://www.childrens.com/patientsfamilies/news/focus-on-one-sport-risks-injury.cfm
• gut

  Interesting stuff, HitsRus.
  
  I'd add that, at the end of the day, more games and practice really makes a difference only on the margin. It's no substitute for superior athletic ability, especially in sports like basketball and football. Does that pay off at higher levels as talent becomes less of a differentiator? More difficult question to answer, but the dividends probably start more with highschool, perhaps a few years earlier, than playing 90 games as a 7 year old.
  
  Completely agree with playing multiple sports. Kids should find the sport they enjoy best (and hopefully are best at) and get the opportunity to excel. No matter how much you want your son to play baseball, perhaps his best sport could be swimming.
• Mulva

  

  I have no problem with a T-ball tournament. Baseball is a game. There is SUPPOSED to be a winner and a loser. I fail to understand the point of emphasizing "try your hardest" as all that matters at that age and then winning suddenly becomes an important factor 5 years later. I don't like hypocrisy.
  
  That said, any parent who would drive an hour to take a kid to a T-Ball game needs to be slapped back into the real world in my opinion. And any league that would schedule a T-Ball game for 8:30 AM is also about as dumb as it gets. If I got called to umpire a T-Ball game that early my answer would be a a simple 6 letters: lol gfy.
• Iliketurtles

  

  Mulva;755655 wrote:I have no problem with a T-ball tournament. Baseball is a game. There is SUPPOSED to be a winner and a loser. I fail to understand the point of emphasizing "try your hardest" as all that matters at that age and then winning suddenly becomes an important factor 5 years later. I don't like hypocrisy.
  
  That said, any parent who would drive an hour to take a kid to a T-Ball game needs to be slapped back into the real world in my opinion. And any league that would schedule a T-Ball game for 8:30 AM is also about as dumb as it gets. If I got called to umpire a T-Ball game that early my answer would be a a simple 6 letters: lol gfy.

  I completely I agree with this!
  
  But Mulva can I ask you a question since you don't like hypocrisy? Do you have kids if so did you tell them there is such a thing called Santa Claus who brings them presents on Christmas?
• HitsRus

  

  I fail to understand the point of emphasizing "try your hardest" as all that matters at that age and then winning suddenly becomes an important factor 5 years later. I don't like hypocrisy.
  

  There USED to be a sign that hung in my school's and MANY other high school gyms when I grew up. I have not seen it in ONE in many years.
  
  "For when the one great scorer,
  Comes to mark against your name.
  He marks not that you won or lost,
  But how you played the game."
  
  Regrettably, this type of attitude in high school is forever lost. I am okay with that.
  But when it come to 5 to 9 year olds especially, I think it is our responsibility as adults to encourage a love of the game and the joy of competitive sportsmanship rather than emphasizing winning at such an age. A 5 or 6 year old who is constantly on a losing team isn't going to have much fun and is going to get discouraged. I don't have a problem with keeping score, but the emphasis at this age should be making the correct play, making an great effort, or in for some kids...just paying attention. The negativism associated with losing may be necessary, but is counterproductive if the goal is for a kid to develop a love to play. Tournaments for 5 year olds over emphasizes 'winning'...and for most of the kids who are going top end up 'losers', does nothing to foster a love to play.
  There is plenty of time for a kid to learn the pain of losing an 'important' game as he gets older and matures, without us adults prematurely constructing those kind of games for them.
• WebFire

  gut;755622 wrote:I'd add that, at the end of the day, more games and practice really makes a difference only on the margin. It's no substitute for superior athletic ability, especially in sports like basketball and football. Does that pay off at higher levels as talent becomes less of a differentiator? More difficult question to answer, but the dividends probably start more with highschool, perhaps a few years earlier, than playing 90 games as a 7 year old.

  I agree with this 1000000%. I have friend who have struggled with whether they should let their son play certain traveling teams and such since 3rd grade. She was afraid he would "get behind" if he didn't play. Your statement was always my answer, but I couldn't say it as well.
• WebFire

  Mulva;755655 wrote:I have no problem with a T-ball tournament. Baseball is a game. There is SUPPOSED to be a winner and a loser. I fail to understand the point of emphasizing "try your hardest" as all that matters at that age and then winning suddenly becomes an important factor 5 years later. I don't like hypocrisy.

  I think the first 2 or so years should be about learning the game, and learning to enjoy playing the game. Not who wins or loses. 5 and 6 year olds can lose interest real fast if they are losing all the time, and can actually create an acceptance of losing.
  
  After that, you are right. Win or go home.
• se-alum

  

  There should be a winner or loser in ANY game that you play. There doesn't have to be a huge emphasis on it at that age, but kids should still know what its like to win or lose. IMO, t-ball shouldn't even exist, as its basically useless.
• WebFire

  se-alum;756063 wrote:There should be a winner or loser in ANY game that you play. There doesn't have to be a huge emphasis on it at that age, but kids should still know what its like to win or lose. IMO, t-ball shouldn't even exist, as its basically useless.

  
  Most of the kids know whether you keep score for them or not. I don't have a problem with that. The competitiveness is a good thing. But like you said, it shouldn't be emphasized.
• september63

  

  4 and 5 yr olds dont need to keep score in tball and dont need winners and losers. T-Ball isn't about winning and losing.
• Mulva

  

  Iliketurtles;755670 wrote: But Mulva can I ask you a question since you don't like hypocrisy? Do you have kids if so did you tell them there is such a thing called Santa Claus who brings them presents on Christmas?

  
  No kids. Just turned 22. No interest in having any either. I understand your point though.
• password

  

  Score should not be kept in Tee-Ball. You should use this age to let the kids gain interest in the sport and be taught the fundamentals of the game. Then as they get older, 7 or 8 yrs old, you start keeping score and make it a little more competitive and continue as they get older but the Adults, Coaches and Parents are the ones who want to keep score and stats in Tee-Ball for their own glory and in time that just ruins it for some kids. Look at the number of kids who are tired and fed up with the parents making more out of the game than the kids do at a young age and end up quitting when the get old enough to have a say. Tee-Ball can be a great experience for the kids if you just let them have fun and interact with each other and not have parents and coaches screaming across the field at them. Tee-Ball tournaments are just a money maker for the leagues that host them because parents will pay for their kids to be an All Star at any age.
• september63

  

  password;756197 wrote:Score should not be kept in Tee-Ball. You should use this age to let the kids gain interest in the sport and be taught the fundamentals of the game. Then as they get older, 7 or 8 yrs old, you start keeping score and make it a little more competitive and continue as they get older but the Adults, Coaches and Parents are the ones who want to keep score and stats in Tee-Ball for their own glory and in time that just ruins it for some kids. Look at the number of kids who are tired and fed up with the parents making more out of the game than the kids do at a young age and end up quitting when the get old enough to have a say. Tee-Ball can be a great experience for the kids if you just let them have fun and interact with each other and not have parents and coaches screaming across the field at them. Tee-Ball tournaments are just a money maker for the leagues that host them because parents will pay for their kids to be an All Star at any age.

  
  I agree.
• BORIStheCrusher

  

  ccrunner609;756079 wrote:THis is the exact thing that is completely worng with youth athletics.
  
  58 games over a summer sounds ridiculous. Even JH/HS kids.

  
  When I was 14 my baseball team played 85 games over the summer, I don't see the problem with that. As far as 4-5 year olds, I have no problem with them keeping score. I just got my 4 year old daughter a glove and bat and these first few years are all about having fun.
• coyotes22

  

  May I say this:
  
  I coach Coach Pitch baseball, and my two boys play ( 9 and 7). We had a tournament this weekend. We are in Canton, and play for the Babe Stern Center (boys club). They held the event. Three of our teams from our league was in it, along with a team for Plain Local, Lexington, Rootstown and two other places that escape me now. I say all that to say this,,,,,,,,
  
  Rootstown kids------- WOW!!!!!!! These kids were machines! I have heard that they are born and bred to play baseball, and I believe it!! I have heard they are like Massillon with football, when it comes to baseball. They eat, s;eep and breath baseball. The run ruled us by the 4th inning, 12-2. Nothing got by them, and everyone of those kids hit the ball into the outfield. Even their warm-ups, were on par with an MLB team, WOW.
  
  /rant
• puffyisback

  Having coached tball this year and moving my son(will be 6 in 2 weeks) up to coach pitch this year, I agree score should be kept in tball, the kids want to know and most of them can grasp if they're winning or losing. We didn't keep score during the regular season, but my wife kept the book so I knew. However come tournament time we did.
• WebFire

  Sorry, tourneys for tball is just dumb.
• coyotes22

  

  WebFire;757002 wrote:Sorry, tourneys for tball is just dumb.

  
  Why, so we can instill false security, and tell them they are ALL winners? Well, guess what, in life, there are winners and losers, and the sooner they know that, the better off they are.
• WebFire

  coyotes22;757011 wrote:Why, so we can instill false security, and tell them they are ALL winners? Well, guess what, in life, there are winners and losers, and the sooner they know that, the better off they are.

  
  Such a simpleton way of thinking.
• coyotes22

  

  WebFire;757078 wrote:Such a simpleton way of thinking.

  
  So, kids should not be taught the lesson of winning and losing?
• WebFire

  coyotes22;757086 wrote:So, kids should not be taught the lesson of winning and losing?

  
  They have plenty of time for that. Refer to my earlier post.