Too late?

Question
My son will turn 11 in a few months.  He is in great physical shape, has good size for his age, and runs regularly.  He has a total of 3 years in rec league ball, most recently 2 years ago in kid pitch and was average.  He was able to get the ball over the plate consistently and really wanted to try pitching, but only 3 kids got to pitch (2 coaches kids and the kid of a hot single mom - go figure).  My wife and I are struggling with how to tell him that it is probably too late to pursue competitive ball in our area.  Competitive leagues start at ages 6-7 and those are the kids who dominate the 10-11 year-old teams.  I don't know what happened over the last 20 years, but it used to be competitive ball started at ages 12-13.  If he would by chance make it on a team, I am afraid he would spend a lot of time on the bench.  Fortunately, he is a straight A student with a broad variety interests.  I know each kid is different, but would appreciate your take on whether it is too late?

Answer
Tony:  Thank you for your question.

It is definitely not too late!  If he has the interest to play, he should make it happen.

I don't think it matters what your geographical area is, politics in youth baseball are everywhere.  That, however, shouldn't be a reason not to play if he really wants to.

Without a doubt he will have some catching up to do; but that is some of the fun related to baseball.  Hitting, fielding, throwing and all else that surrounds the game are fun activities to do.  Baseball skills can be worked on without the need of a formal team practice.

Things like hitting whiffle balls off a tee, throwing yourself ground balls thrown against a wall, throwing at a standup screen with a strike zone in it if you are a pitcher, the activities are endless.

What he might find, if he sets himself up and works outside of team practices is that he may soon catch up to and pass many of the other kids, who only rely on their organized practice time.

Some of it depends on where you live.  My thought process always stems from where I live, which is Arizona.  Few are the days when you can't get outside and do something related to baseball.

If you are in an area that has hard winters, it may be possible to hit whiffle balls or smush balls off a tee in your basement.  May even find enough space to throw at a standup screen, so that you are getting some easy throwing, with the emphasis on balance and mechanics, and locating the ball where you want it to go.  It may not be ideal; but it will allow him to play some catch up, possibly while others are taking time off.

I have had some kids come out for baseball as late as their senior year, kids who were really good athletes that had been playing football all along; but hadn't played baseball since Little League.  It was tough for them, even with above average athletic talent, due to the loss of 6 years of baseball contact.  While they were effective and a positive presence on the team, it was frustrating for them.

Your son won't be that far behind at this age, and should soon catch up with some extra practice.

I have a website, www.theoleballgame.com, where you may locate some ideas on things to do, and skills to work on.

If you have additional questions, you can contact me here at All Experts or through the contact page on my site.

Good luck to you as you move forward.  He has a lot of baseball ahead of him, as well as you and your wife.  It's a special journey, that's for sure.

Yours in baseball,

Rick