Starting T-ball this summer, what to expect (kids)

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by laulob

Wow, here kids get mostly apparel at the end of the year if anything. Cool team soccer socks or headwarmers, or knit hats with the name of the town in flag football. Nothing in basketball or baseball. Sometimes there is a pizza party or ice cream but no trophies. I'm talking about elementary aged kids and younger. I'm sure middle and high schoolers may have awards ceremonies though.

I have been trying to get various coaches to give out t-shirts, etc. instead of trophy's for YEARS but no luck. The kids all say they would LOVE a T-shirt vs a trophy but oh well. These would be awards for top finishers in various tournaments, etc. so appropriate too. The kids would rather wear a t-shirt that says "top finisher at XYZ Tournament" then sticking ANOTHER trophy or medal in their closet .

[JustJulia]

All the kids got trophies when my son was in T-ball. These were little kids, though, and I don't know if we even kept score. Everybody got to hit once, then the other team hit, and that was an inning. Three innings to a game. If somebody made it to home plate, there was a lot of cheering and high-fiving, but for the most part the games were not competitive enough to make a "winner" anything meaningful. Congratulations, you are the least goofy of all the five-year-olds!

My son loved his trophy. He'd run to get it so he could show it to anyone who came to the door, especially older girls.

Everybody also got a team shirt at the beginning of the season, as well as a hat.

[eastwesteastagain]

Originally Posted by JustJulia

Congratulations, you are the least goofy of all the five-year-olds!

Haha! My kids aren't quite at organized sports age yet, but I have fond memories of watching my (10 years younger) brother play t-ball at 4 and 5. Truly hysterical stuff at that age - like running the wrong way around the bases, swinging the bat at everything but the ball, bumping into each other while chasing the ball. I can't wait until it's my own kids' turn!

[Obrero]

My friend, who coached t-ball last year, was talking about his experience and said that if he only had 5 minutes left to live he would spend it coaching t-ball. I remarked how sweet that was and he replied "no, it would just be the longest 5 minutes of my life". ha ha ha.

[AJBarney]

Originally Posted by Dave5150

My son is 4, just turned in October. In 2 weeks we are registering for T-ball. For the first season of organized sports what should we expect?

Expect most everyone involved to take things waaaaaaaay too seriously.

[Dave5150]

Yeah I am preparing for that! My own FIL got booted from a game or two when his boys were younger for fighting with the coach. Like come on guys its not the MLB, it T-ball

[Uconn97]

Well, my son is 6 and since he is also doing swimming and soccer, we gave him the choice this year and he opted to not do t-ball this year. I will always have fond memories of him at 4 and 5 doing t-ball. Wearing the shirts that were always way to big and the excitement in his eyes when he would hit the ball and run the bases.

Generally our experiences were pretty positive. Our first year the coach asked parents to take turns bringing a drink and snack so after each game the kids would be able to hang out and have a treat while the parents talked. There will be some crying if a kid is having an off day and expect all the kids to run to the ball when someone hits it, until they figure out they should stay in their position.

Our rules were pretty simple. Everyone batted once and kept trying until they hit the ball, then we would switch with the other team and that would be an inning. They would do 3 innings and by then you would start to lose one or two kids in the "outfield" so I think 3 was just the right number. Generally, it was boring. There is no way around it. There is a lot of standing around as you wait for the kid to try to hit the ball for the 10th time.

My most frustrating part was the uber competitive parents who always had a comment about someone or something. This was rare, but I do remember one mom in particular who would keep count of how many "outs", "fouls", etc a player would have and announce it and I really just wanted to turn around and smack her in the head. But again, this was just one person and I just made it a point to bring a lawn chair and not sit anywhere near her on the bleachers….

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Uconn97

Well, my son is 6 and since he is also doing swimming and soccer, we gave him the choice this year and he opted to not do t-ball this year. I will always have fond memories of him at 4 and 5 doing t-ball. Wearing the shirts that were always way to big and the excitement in his eyes when he would hit the ball and run the bases.

Generally our experiences were pretty positive. Our first year the coach asked parents to take turns bringing a drink and snack so after each game the kids would be able to hang out and have a treat while the parents talked. There will be some crying if a kid is having an off day and expect all the kids to run to the ball when someone hits it, until they figure out they should stay in their position.

Our rules were pretty simple. Everyone batted once and kept trying until they hit the ball, then we would switch with the other team and that would be an inning. They would do 3 innings and by then you would start to lose one or two kids in the "outfield" so I think 3 was just the right number. Generally, it was boring. There is no way around it. There is a lot of standing around as you wait for the kid to try to hit the ball for the 10th time.

My most frustrating part was the uber competitive parents who always had a comment about someone or something. This was rare, but I do remember one mom in particular who would keep count of how many "outs", "fouls", etc a player would have and announce it and I really just wanted to turn around and smack her in the head. But again, this was just one person and I just made it a point to bring a lawn chair and not sit anywhere near her on the bleachers….

We've run into plenty parents like that over the years. The one thing they all fail to realize is that their behavior gets noticed by the coaches. Then down the road when their "superstar" wants to play college whatever, they just can't understand why no colleges are talking to them. What they don't know is the first question a college coach asks the high school coach is "what's the kid like". They want to know if the kid is responsible, shows up for practice on time, isn't a whiner, etc. The second question they now ask is "what are the parents like"....that usually kills the deal for these kids.

[Siggy20]

I loved T-ball for the first few years my son played. We had a rather inexperienced coach and I even volunteered for the first and only time to be team mom. That was a ton of work since I helped the little fellows practice, got them into batting order and pretty much worked my tail off. I loved it though because ALL the parents were really mellow and it was a low pressure situation. Lots of standing around, telling the various kids to stop playing in the dirt, pay attention, etc. Enjoyable season.

When my son moved to baseball, it was a totally different experience. Intense parents and wow, the kids on the team were good. My son played in a recreation league but half the team was filled with the travel team kids who played throughout the year. He pretty much either sat on the bench or played outfield the whole season. The critical positions were filled by all the travel kids. He is also very small for his age and most kids outweighed him by 20-30 pounds. We are trying out soccer again this spring. Our rec league is pretty mellow and at least all the kids get to play.

[gimme it]

When my daughter was five she played t-ball for one season. She spent her time in the outfield, playing with her hair and praying that the ball didn't come to her.