Hi Andy, thanks for the kind words and for pointing me to your beautiful piece. So many lessons and so many parallelisms to some of the things I’ve shared about car rides, not letting the game define who you are, gratitude. Sounds like you’ve raised some fantastic kids. Congratulations!
Kudos to Alex for taking care of himself. And lots of great points you made, Tony. My larger concern — and something I feel doesn’t get brought into the conversation enough — has always been the tournament structure (mostly in regards to travel baseball). Lot of throws going on over those weekends compounded over many years.
Too many throws bc not everyone on the team pitches and the kids who do are pitching in two tournaments a month. It’s a heavy load on a young growing body that doesn’t include all the other throws they make during games and practices.
Great stuff!! Coincidentally, I did that same stretch (kneeling with the band) this morning (even more important if you’re 50!).
You had me at “structured training plan”. I was thinking of that for my own 11year old son. He goes to baseball camps, hits in the yard, does grounders, and occasionally works out and drinks a protein shake. But it’s all kind of haphazard, he has some routines but not much structure. He’s 11 so it’s not necessarily a problem, but eventually he’s going to need a plan that’s all encompassing.
I downloaded your template, going to take a look and show him. I don’t have any illusions that he’s going to follow something 100% everyday from this day on, but always good to plant the seed. And he can learn that having a plan and following it is a great way to achieve your goals, whether it’s become a better baseball player, applying for college or med school or trying to get your dream job in your desired industry.
This means a lot — thank you. You nailed it: the plan is about more than baseball. Planting the seed at 11 is exactly right. Please keep in touch, and if I can help with anything, don't hesitate to ask. ps we all need to do more stretching. 😎
Really important piece, thank you for writing it. As the father of a pitcher as well, I can relate to a ton of it. As a Little League coach, I'm always striving to not be the guy purely "chasing Little League glory" but to listen to the kids and watch closely how they are doing. Also, Little League coaches who have select kids on their team, be in good touch with the parents about their work over the weekend at tournaments. I usually just join their select team's GameChanger. First, because I love seeing how my kids are doing and second, because then I can see their pitch counts right there.
Baseball dad here. Great piece (and great other pieces). My son is now 17 and tore his hammy in HS ball and missed three weeks, but recovered for playoffs and summer. I wrote a piece here about a bad tournament and the emotional toll. Thought you may like (Post Facto - he's doing great).https://substack.com/@lessgrindmorejoy/note/p-207464454?r=3te0lu&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web. THX for sharing all your wisdom.
Hi Andy, thanks for the kind words and for pointing me to your beautiful piece. So many lessons and so many parallelisms to some of the things I’ve shared about car rides, not letting the game define who you are, gratitude. Sounds like you’ve raised some fantastic kids. Congratulations!
Kudos to Alex for taking care of himself. And lots of great points you made, Tony. My larger concern — and something I feel doesn’t get brought into the conversation enough — has always been the tournament structure (mostly in regards to travel baseball). Lot of throws going on over those weekends compounded over many years.
Too many throws bc not everyone on the team pitches and the kids who do are pitching in two tournaments a month. It’s a heavy load on a young growing body that doesn’t include all the other throws they make during games and practices.
Great stuff!! Coincidentally, I did that same stretch (kneeling with the band) this morning (even more important if you’re 50!).
You had me at “structured training plan”. I was thinking of that for my own 11year old son. He goes to baseball camps, hits in the yard, does grounders, and occasionally works out and drinks a protein shake. But it’s all kind of haphazard, he has some routines but not much structure. He’s 11 so it’s not necessarily a problem, but eventually he’s going to need a plan that’s all encompassing.
I downloaded your template, going to take a look and show him. I don’t have any illusions that he’s going to follow something 100% everyday from this day on, but always good to plant the seed. And he can learn that having a plan and following it is a great way to achieve your goals, whether it’s become a better baseball player, applying for college or med school or trying to get your dream job in your desired industry.
This means a lot — thank you. You nailed it: the plan is about more than baseball. Planting the seed at 11 is exactly right. Please keep in touch, and if I can help with anything, don't hesitate to ask. ps we all need to do more stretching. 😎
Really important piece, thank you for writing it. As the father of a pitcher as well, I can relate to a ton of it. As a Little League coach, I'm always striving to not be the guy purely "chasing Little League glory" but to listen to the kids and watch closely how they are doing. Also, Little League coaches who have select kids on their team, be in good touch with the parents about their work over the weekend at tournaments. I usually just join their select team's GameChanger. First, because I love seeing how my kids are doing and second, because then I can see their pitch counts right there.
Thank you, Michael! Great point about syncing up with the others teams some of these kids play for via GC. Important especially for pitchers.