ajtj99's Market Pulse

[ajtj99]

Wow, what an amazing job you did with those kids, Justa! From what I gather, it appears the age group was 10-12 majors. It sounds like a lot of work, but more fun than the t-ball/coach pitch stuff I'm watching with aj & tj. That's excruciating!

I always thought the limits they put on innings a kid could pitch was plain dumb in the 10-12 age group. If the kids throw straight heat, there's not much stress on a good arm. When I was that age I could have pitched a game or two every day, no problem, but they wouldn't let me. Your situation was dictated by the talent, so you handled it real well.

I can totally relate to the strategy of hiding your weaknesses and playing to your strengths. I can not relate at all to the parents who think you need to take the competitive aspects out of the game and neuter every boy who plays. Most kids thrive on competition. Not every kid responds to the same competitive challenges, but most will respond to some kind of challenge regardless of their fear of failure or their apathy for sports.

As for soccer, I appreciate it, but I think any game you can't use your hands with is just too limiting for me. Our youngest is showing signs of great talent at soccer after just turning 3, so I'm preparing for my own special hell <G>

As for the talent, you can usually tell just by watching someone run whether they can be taught the game or not. Athletic kids show great body control at a very young age, and their disposition is also very apparent too. It's pretty fun to watch all that develop, isn't it?

Anyway, thanks so much for sharing your little league coaching experiences. It sounds like you and your son ended up having a great season!