Playing Time
Image by Glover Bryant Communications via Flickr
Inclusive
Little League is inclusive. You don’t have to try out to get into the league , only to balance the talent among the teams. Anyone that signs up gets to play! That said, back in the olden days when I was playing, there were no minimum play rules. In fact, there were no reentry rules! Once you were out, you were out.
I also started playing as a 9 Year Old. There was no minors program, there were no developmental or t-ball programs either. The fact is that playing time in Little League has increased astronomically.
Earn Your Position
That said, this isn’t "feel good league", it is Little League. You have to earn your position on your team in the Major ’s. This is NOT a bad thing! This is a great life lesson . How many times have you thought Jimmy was going to be the shortstop but Johnny beat him out. Then Johnny worked real hard and won the spot back. What was the result? Two great shortstops!
Regulation IV (i) in the Little League rulebook requires that "every player on a team roster will participate in each game for a minimum of six (6) defensive outs and bat at least one (1) time."
In minors this year for the first time consecutive batting orders are mandatory. Many leagues already did this, but now it is the rule. The minimum play times in regulation IV still apply, but free substitution is now permitted on defense. Our league made a local rule that no player in minors may sit for more than three consecutive outs thereby guaranteeing that a kid in minors will play every other inning at a minimum.
What if Your Kid Isn’t Playing Enough?
What if you think your kid is not playing enough but is playing the league minimums? The board of directors has no choice but to hear your concerns, graciously console you, and then inform you that the manager is within their rights to manage the team as they see fit. As long as Jimmy is playing the minimum, there is nothing the board can or will do.
Now what to do? Some would be tempted to "take their ball and go home" and this reaction is understandable. But what are we teaching our kids if we allow them or even encourage them to do that? Wouldn’t it be better to take Jimmy to the field and work him out? Make it impossible for the coach to keep him out of the game? How about encouraging him to support his teammates? Stepping up as a moral leader?
There are so many valuable lessons to be learned in Little League. One of the most valuable is that you don’t always get your way, or what you want. You do what is best for the team and respect your manager’s decisions. Likely you are young or inexperienced if you are playing league minimums. Your time will come. Look up to the others, try to emulate them, try to make yourself better, and do everything in your power to improve.
Or you can take your ball and go home, another life lesson?
There is a kid waiting in minors that would consider it an honor to play 6 outs and bat once in the Majors.
How do you keep kids motivated that only play minimums?
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I think the minimum playing time is a total joke and if you are honest with yourself you would admit it. It’s not “feel bad” league either! How does a kid earn his position when he is prohibited from doing it? Why doesn’t the coaches kids have to earn their positions?
It doesn’t take a lot of common sense to know that this rule allows managers to play favorites- and they do! It also is no mystery that the kid who only gets one at-bat will never learn to bat. He will never gain any confidence. He will never develop his skills or his self esteem. For one thing, it takes at least one at-bat to feel the pitcher! Six defensive outs is also a joke. When you’re outfield, which is all your gonna get, you’re lucky to get any action at all in 6 defensive outs. Who do you think you are fooling?
You have managers who have kids sitting on the bench because they don’t know how to coach. This unfair behavior is unacceptable by the manager and should not be condoned. There is no excuse and you can’t rationalize it, justify it, or double talk it into anything more than a poor joke played on innocent kids who deserve and expect more. There should definitely be some accountability on the part of the managers and coaches. Why even have a board of directors at all if it is how you describe? And you really sound like a jerk when you talk about sending the parents on a wild goose chase only to waste their time and smirk about it. “There’s nothing you can do- Ha ha ha” The manager is the king of the world and he is now your god. Welcome to hell.” If that is a reflection of our values of society then no wonder we have problems.
If you lose a game, so what? Why do managers whine so much when they lose a game and punish certain players? They blame the parents or the kid. That should be a great opportunity for the manager to show what a good sport he is and to know he needs to step up to the plate and teach the kids better skills. If some kids aren’t playing well, it’s mostly because the manager or coach isn’t teaching them anything. Not because the kids have no potential. It’s easier for a manager to put their kid in the field with a bunch of above average players to win games and give their kid the credit than to really teach the kids how to play and make it a team that plays as a team. I see it all the time. Little league is not “sink or swim” time. The kids are supposed to be getting taught to play baseball. Not show how well a “stay at home” dad can teach their kid during off season. After all, what if a kid gets injured or can’t make it to a game or moves away? You can’t play a season with only nine players. You need at least 12, right? Well, don’t waste people’s time!
It is a proven fact that managers can’t be trusted to be fair.
And don’t preach about life lessons. It doesn’t sound like you have learned enough yourself. Kids this age will have plenty of time to learn life lessons- you are supposed to let them play ball and have fun. There are a lot more talented kids who were discouraged to play by corrupt managers than your short stop BS. Maybe that’s why we have so many foreign ball players in the big leagues now. You can’t tell me that there are so few good players in the States that they have to go to third world countries to get players. American boys just don’t know they can play because they never got the chance because the little league coaches didn’t do their job. So now we have to recruit them from all over the world. I think it’s great that they get such wonderful opportunities to come here and be pro ball players and make more money than they ever dreamed. But you can’t tell me that the American dream is only for foreigners now. No, that alone should be a sure sign that there is something wrong with our program and it has been going on for a long time and it’s getting worse because of your type of insane mentality.
The truth is that other countries don’t exclude children and discourage them from playing during these impressionable years. They let them play ball! They build them up, not chop them down. We don’t- we think it’s ok to make them sit on the bench, piss on their leg and tell them it’s raining! The values of American people, mostly fathers who only coach to promote their own kids, and these overly competitive parents who pump their kids up on grow hormones, punish their kids for striking out, and basically robbing their own kids of their childhood, are rotten to the core.
So now we have a youth program, that preaches “for the kids” and “positive experience” blah blah blah is about as corrupt as you can get with no checks and balances at all to protect the kids from stupid coaches. That’s why soccer is becoming more popular every year and little league is a farce.
I coached for years and I would never play a kid the minimum.
NEVER! I play all the kids, I play them fair, I move them around, give them equal time, I teach the kids how to play ball and to be a good sport. I make the kids feel like they are a team, give them confidence, they play well together and we win games that way and they are eager to play next year because they love the game. As a coach, I have a job to do. But I soon realized to my dismay that I was the exception, not the rule.
It isn’t my job as a coach to discourage kids, play favorites, oppress them, stifle them, frustrate them, make them feel inadequate, send them to the school of hard knocks to learn lessons that don’t have anything to do with the game of baseball and screw them up for life. Is is as crazy as it sounds. Everyone learns good lessons from going through hard times, but that is no excuse for little league baseball coaches who are downright unfair. And if that’s such a great philosophy, then why don’t you see more coaches using it on their own kids? NO WAY! You can bet their kids are playing first, pitching, second, short stop, and all six or seven innings! I don’t see coaches kids playing the minimum in the out-field! And it’s not because they are all such great players!
That “earn your way” lesson is a cop out that can only be spoken by a manager who plays favorites. In reality, the kid will never be able to “earn their way” because the goal of magically turning into your son is unattainable. If Johnny plays better than your son, he will be resented and held back even more.
No, little league is going to have to adopt more rules to make sure kids get a fair chance, learn the game, get some playing time, and managers and coaches do their job right or step aside. Kids don’t learn anything from sitting on the bench. Managers need to teach and lead by example. Don’t tell a kid to be a good sport when a manager is the one being a total jerk. The manager should be a good sport and let the kids play ball! All the kids!
I am saying all this because my son and I have been through the ringer with little league and we are fed up!
Jerry,
Thank you for the best comment I have ever had! You are obviously passionate about your position and I appreciate that. When I played Little League there were no minimum play rules and I often sat the bench the whole game as a 9 year old. Likewise, until recently, there were no minimum play rules for all-stars and the top 9 pretty much played the entire game.
This often meant that my son sat the bench. My daughters did not start any games this year because they chose to spend their time on the computer rather than practicing. Therefore, their hitting suffered.
There is always a problem w/ coaches and kids on the team. Unfortunately, when the league is run entirely by volunteers this is unavoidable. I have seen it both ways though, sometimes coach’s kids are better than coaches think and they don’t play them.
A coach once told me, “you are right I play my kid the whole game, that’s why I coach, I put so much time into it to assure that he plays, if they want their kids to play more, they can volunteer”. This is obviously a very bad position to take.
Minor programs exist where kids get more playing time. The majors are not designed that way. You learn more on the bench in majors than you do playing every day in minors.
There are only 18 outs in a little league game. If you have a legitimate major’s game w/ decent pitcher the score will be in the single digits. If we assume a score of 6-3 then that means only 24 batters came up for the winning team. Add a few left on bases and you have 30 at bats in a game.
If you have a team of 12 and you had a perfect world of free substitution, then 6 of the kids would get 3 at bats and 6 would get 2.
A coach in my league this year stated that you don’t learn baseball on the field, you learn it in practice. In practice you get 100+ swings if the coach knows what he is doing. In a game, you are lucky to get 5.
In minors we usually only get 4 innings in. That means that often a player only gets one at-bat anyway with consecutive batting orders. The fact is, there aren’t enough outs to accommodate the number of at-bats we would all love to see.
That said, I personally do my substitutions differently. If I have 12 players then I sub after the 2nd inning in the bottom 3 slots, then bring those guys back in the next 3 slots. Everyone plays 4 innings. My theory on this is I am not coaching to win today, I am coaching to prepare for the tournaments at the end of the year.
If someone is sick, or at a school function, I want EVERY kid on my team prepared for a pressure situation. The baseball Gods have a way of finding your weaknesses, so limiting them is the key to success in my mind.
The issue you are addressing here has nothing to do w/ the minimum play rules. It has to do w/ coaches that play favorites. This is an entirely different issue.
The rules of Little League Baseball are international rules. They are followed by every league in the world. All those chartered by little league must follow the same rules. So your statement about other countries rings a little hollow.
In fact, other organizations have less stringent rules than Little League. Little League’s are the most stringent. AAU and other travel programs have no minimum play rules and when I umpire those games kids sit out for entire games at a time.
I am sorry that you had a bad experience. I cannot speak to your specific experience because I was not there obviously. I would recommend that you manage your son’s team next year or join the board of directors and create change. Another great lesson little league teaches is that you can actually affect change by getting involved.
Hi. My 12 year old son is going through the same problems with Little League B-ball. He plays for a 12 year old team. Currently, he is on an All Star team. Today, he got one “at bat” and played in the outfield for 2 innings. I was shocked. Coaches kids get to play, except for the one who is in a cast. God forbid. The child that was playing my childs position, one of the coaches kids, made 3 errors and didnt get taken out, just moved to another position as my child still sat on the bench. I have no problem with my child sitting out, just let him know why, which we wont believe anyways, because he didn’t take out hardly anyone else, or the “clique favorites.” I believe, if you make an error, you get substituted until that child messes up, and if he doesn’t, at least rotate the kids every other inning. There shouldn’t be kids that always stay in, while a few select unlucky ones do. Especially in an ALL STAR Game. Any advice? Fed UP
Michelle,
Without hearing the coach’s side of this it is very difficult for me to comment. I will say that the minimum play rule in all-stars is one at bat and three outs in the field, so technically the coach played your son more than the minimum.
This is ALWAYS an issue in all-stars, on just about every team. For the sake of this reply, I want to play devil’s advocate for a moment.
Assuming your son did not sub for the coach’s son, there was probably no way to take his son out. Once all your subs are in and have met their minimum playing time, they can only reenter in the slot in the line up in which they started or entered in.
From what you describe above, it sounds like the coach may have been frustrated w/ his son and probably would have taken him out but he had no option to do this. It is not difficult to back yourself into a corner like this as an all-star manager.
I do have to disagree w/ you also about rotating players in all-stars. I am assuming you mean the little league tournament all-stars here. Little league has 3 distinct programs. Fall, where it is all instructional and players move around at will w/o regard to winning or losing, spring where the leagues are competitive, and all-stars where the best of the best compete in a highly competitive environment.
This is the best of all worlds. In all-stars, the ones the manager feels are the best play, the others do not. Hopefully the manager picks the best, and when the team is winning, this is usually how the parents feel. When they start losing though, suddenly the coach can’t do anything right. Rotatating players around in a all-stars should not be happening, that should be reserved for fall ball and spring ball during blowouts or games that don’t count in the standings.
That said, what is the best way to assure that the team is being run the way you think it should be run? Volunteer and coach the team. You may be selected as the all-star manager if you are good. Otherwise, the lesson here is, maybe the manager is right, maybe you are right, but either way, everything is legal.
Jerry and Michelle,
How cathartic to read your comments.
I got my first taste of All-Star baseball Saturday, when my 10-year-old son was allowed to play only three defense outs and a single at-bat. (He got hit by the first pitch, so never even swung the bat once.)
Who played? The coaches’ kids (6 in all) and three boys who played for the coaches during the regular season. They made repeated errors and stuck out repeatedly, but were never taken out. My son was among five boys who warmed the bench.
“Tommy” was a first-round draft pick during the regular season, a star pitcher, shortstop and catcher . . . However, he was never considered for a starting position by the coach, who has essentially ignored him and his considerable talent, even in practice.
When Tommy was upset at not playing during the game, the coaches told him to suck it up, because “baseball is a team sport.” It occurs to me that the 14-boy roster is primarily so my son and the other boys who didn’t play can share in the costs of the all-star tournament. (We have paid more than $300 so far).
My son can outplay any of the “starters” and regularly did so during the regular season. My solution is to let him play travel ball . . . so he can experience non-parent coaches for the first time.
Beth,
Thanks for getting involved! From the sounds of your reply, the game did not go well. I am sorry about that. Obviously I can’t really comment on your specific circumstance but I am intrigued by the fact that you have paid $300 for all-stars?
Why the additional fees? My prior league charged nothing and my current league charges a $35 uniform fee. Also, the draft selection process is strictly confidential, how do you know “Tommy” was taken in the first round? This information should never leave the room.
Little League had attempted to try to find ways to make leagues put more kids on the roster to get the experience, this is the downside. If you have 14 players, the maximum you can take, then 5 have to sub in for 5 others. That means only 4 play the whole game. This is a very difficult task for any coach to accomplish.
Travel ball is good for developing advanced skills but it lacks the sense of community that Little League has. Playing with your friends is always more fun. Likewise, I don’t know of many travel teams that have coaches that aren’t parents either. I know they exist, but not many.
Again, why not volunteer yourself? League will always take volunteers.
I am not defending your coaches, if they did not play the best players at the best positions in all-stars shame on them. Unfortunately, we often disagree on what is best, but we should always respect the manager. They are after all, the authority figure and teaching our children respect is much more important than winning one all-star game.
Thanks for participating!
Coach, thanks for your reply.
I am not sure why $300 in fees. For that, the boys received fancy uniforms, an all star jacket, and a batting helmet. I assumed the remainder was to fund the District tournament, but did not think to question it.
Tommy’s coaches told me at the first meeting of parents that he was the first round pick for the team. I didn’t know that information should have been confidential, though I didn’t relay the message further.
I would not take Tommy out of little league, but supplement it with a travel ball program that runs from the end of all stars through November. We are lucky enough to have a team run by ex-MLB players in our area. These gentlemen also give pitching and hitting lessons to area kids, including my son.
I am confident none of the boys lacks respect for the coaches. What concerns me is that the coaches are displaying a lack of respect to some of the boys which, during these formative years, threatens to negatively impact their self-esteem on a long-term basis. My son, who is incredibly “nice” and full of confidence, believed he would be lead off batter and starting shortstop. I spent two weeks before the tournament began trying to figure out how to lower his expectations, but in the end, there was no way to do that. (I concede I am ultra-concerned about my son’s emotional well-being as his father was a casualty of the Iraq war seven months ago; knowing what I do now, I would not put him in all stars.)
Thanks again for your counsel.
First, thank you for the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. I know I speak for everyone reading this that we sympathize with you and we are sorry for your loss.
We don’t get jackets and helmets, that is a huge expense and you probably have fancier uniforms than we have. Each district charges differently, but we pay $75/team to play in the tournament. That covers the cost of the flags, pins, etc.
Travel ball is a great experience. My son plays also, I wouldn’t push him into it, but he was asked and wanted to do it, so we let him. He definitely had fun, but he gets much more out of Little League. Of course that’s because he has such a great coach!!!..lol.
It has been my experience that kids are super smart, very intuitive, and able to understand situations much better than we give them credit for. How they respond is what they must learn because they do not always do the right thing.
We often don’t give them full credit for being able to handle things, but they are very resilient. Short term setbacks often lead to much higher self-esteem and a better understanding for the future. We cannot learn what right is, if we never experience wrong.
I agree 100% earning your spot is a good thing but what do you do when the player works hard and is obviously a better player but still doesn’t get more than the minimum playing time? According to the rules complaining to the board will make no difference. Plus it may just make you look like a whiner parent. Where will that leave you or your young player next season? In my case I let the boy use it to teach me a lesson. Here is the story. My son was chosen to play on the all-star team and out performed all others at his desired position, catcher. The manager, coaches, other teammates and other parents made this known to him at the beginning of the season. However, the catcher who played for the manager during the regular season who also made the team got the call. My son realizing the situation even worked on other positions before and after practice in order to show that he is more versatile and not just a one position player and still he sat. After the second game he asked me why. I could have only speculated at the reason and I did not have an answer so I told him to ask the manager. To his credit he did and the answer was “you have a great glove and a great bat but as the relief catcher I don’t want you to get tired out”. To my sons credit he accepted the answer, he continued to work hard played his two innings, one or two at bats and had a great time, on the way to a second place in state. He had the second best average at 571, was second in RBI with 12, and had the most assists and second most unassisted outs. Obviously better than a two inning player. I was the official team score keeper and statistician so I made sure the manager and coached were aware of the situation. I mentioned to the manager after the season I wonder what the possibilities would have been if one of the best players on your team would not have been riding the pine all but two innings a game. He just looked at me and smiled, he didn’t get it. He looked at the stats after every game and during practice and just didn’t want to see it. I shouldn’t have to tell you it was a hard season for us, his fans, seeing him not only work hard during practice but go early and stay late taking extra infield or fly balls and not getting recognized for it. He was having the time of his life so we kept our comments in check. To his credit as long as he did well achieved his goals, in practice and in the games, that’s all that mattered to him. Despite how difficult it was for us to watch I think he learned an important lesson. Sometimes when you work hard, and do exceptional things, its ok if no one seems to notice as long as you can be proud of what you have accomplished.
This was our third All-Star season and this was by far the worst case of favoritism I have witnessed. The worst part, of the all-star system little league its self for that mater, is the politics. So far every year there were two or three kids that didn’t belong on the team. They were there because they are the son of a board member or the son of a well liked coach. This is the worst because there is a player or two out there who deserves to be on the team but isn’t. I have an answer to this though. In stead of having the managers vote the nominees onto the team, by secret ballot in the dark of night, have a one day tryout. Durring the try out have all the managers score the players and pick the top 12 or 14 or what ever. This will increase the possibility to weed out the politic players that should not be there. From what I have witnessed if you could get a team of the truly best players based on objective analysis and managed the team in the same fashion it would truly be quite a formidable team. This cuts against the grain of basic human nature so it will never happen. It’s quite sad really.
First, congratulations on finishing 2nd in the state! Fantastic effort! Obviously you are very proud of your boy and his team as you all should be. Reaching that level alone is a great accomplishment.
Wow! This topic has defiantly struck a chord. LLDad I find it hard to disagree w/ anything you say here. Nobody is really wrong here in my mind, everyone played by the rules. Obviously, I cannot address your specific situation w/o hearing the other side. I know personally, I want the best bats on the field in the beginning of the game and I will make defensive substitutions in the end to strengthen the field if the situation arises.
Every league determines their all-stars based on their own rules decided by their board of directors. In our league we let the kids vote the top 8 and the manager is permitted to pick the remaining 4-6 players. In my prior league every coach voted the kids and the vote had to be unanimous, no matter how many rounds of voting it took.
Little League baseball suggests in its rulebook that the vote occur in 5 groups.
Group 1 – Players
Group 2 – League Officers
Group 3 – Team Managers
Group 4 – Team Coaches
Group 5 – Volunteer Umpires
Then all votes are to be tabulated and that makes the team. I have never seen it done like this and think it might be a logistical nightmare.
This is simply a “recommended method”, nothing is mandatory here. This plan is also from 1965! I prefer the method our league uses because it allows the players to pick the team, but the manager to make sure the unpopular kid who is a great player is not left off the team.
There is no perfect solution, we all know that. But for the most part, everyone is trying to do the right thing in their mind. Unfortunately, it does not always work that way. I truly believe 99% of the volunteers in Little League want what is best for the better of the league though.
I realize this is old, and I may not get any replies, but I’m frustrated and upset, so I’ll give it a go anyway. What if you have a coach who is playing your child the absolute minimum every game? It’s hard as a parent to see the other boys batting 2 or 3 times when your child is lucky to bat once. The last game they had, when my son was up to bat for the second time, they actually took the bat from him and put someone else in. My son is 10 years old and playing for little league. They hold tryouts for little league and he was thrilled to have made it. Not so thrilled now though, and coming home after every game frustrated and in tears, feeling like a very unimportant part of his team. What really bothers me is the coach’s son is not one of the best players either, but he rarely sits out. This is his first year on little league as well. The coach told the boys all rookies have to pay their dues, but it seems to me my son is the only rookie paying his dues. It breaks my heart to see him in the dugout by himself game after game. I’m extremely disheartened at the fact that my son will be on this team with this coach for the next 3 years. Any suggestions?
Kimberly,
I understand your frustration and have been on both ends of this issue. First, I feel that kids learn more sitting on the bench in majors than playing full time in minors. The environment is much more conducive for learning and the kids they are surrounded with are better, therefore, they elevate their game. Little League International sent us word that their evidence shows that moving kids up usually results in better players as well when we had an issue with it earlier this year.
The coach is doing nothing wrong, though I would think he could find a few innings for your son if the game is a blowout or something. Also, aren’t there any games with only 9 players present? Over the course of a season kids generally get a fair amount of playing time even when they only play minimums in some games.
It is hard to watch, I agree. But the way you deal with this will be imitated by your son. For instance, if you complain about him not playing, and openly, (even in the car on the way home) speak of the playing time in the negative, that is how your son will feel about it as well.
But, if you immediately deflect any negativity and encourage him to work harder, then the rewards will be 10-fold. If a kid is performing, a coach will put him in. Likewise, all the 12 year olds on the team will move up next year, so he will be 11 and likely a starter. Plus, he will have all that great experience of playing a year in the majors.
Turn frustration and tears, into desire, ambition, drive, and motivation. Offer to practice with him, take him to the cages, take lessons from a coach in the league you admire, the possibilities are endless. But dwelling on the negative will never do any good at all.
One other thing, while it always seems that you know what the league will look like next year, it never happens. Your team could get disbanded, an expansion team could come up and you could ask that your son be placed in the expansion draft. You can ask your coach to trade or release your son as well. But those are extreme options.
The bottom line is, 10 years old is a tough age for Little League. But the experience gained will be well worth the frustration of today. And next year, when your son is a starter and one of those kids getting the additional playing time, you will look back and understand this. Meanwhile, you will hear someone next to you complaining about their kid only getting minimum playing time.
It is one of the great cycles of Little League and one of the best life lessons the sport teaches.
Thank you for the reply. I have to admit it has been hard to hide my frustration when my son is upset after a game. I keep telling him that his time will come and that he needs to be supportive of his team even from the dugout. What’s been especially difficult for me are his questions about why the other 10-year-old boys are sitting out very little. I can’t very well say “well, they must be better players than you or they are the assistant coach’s boys.” It’s also been a tough year for us because his father is overseas. I’m dealing with this on my own and going into it without a lot of knowledge as to the whole little league experience. I wouldn’t consider asking for him to be placed on a different team unless I were to see that nothing had changed next season. I was, however, thinking about sitting in on a few practices just to see how he is doing. I truly have no idea what is going on with him, since I’m not seeing him play all that much. Sadly, at this point, I’m just hoping that the season will go quickly. Even just thinking about tomorrow’s game is turning my stomach into knots.
Thanks again for your help! Hopefully we will get through this and things will be much better next season!
Forgot to add…unfortunately, we have had one player out sick for a couple weeks and another 2 players that have been missing quite a few games lately, not sure why. As a result, my son spends a lot of time alone in the dugout, which makes it even harder for him. It wouldn’t be so bad if he had someone to share that bench with! Also wanted to add, I do have a lot of respect for my son’s coach and think he is a good guy. I’m just a little puzzled as to the rhyme and reasoning here. You had a lot of good points and basically have repeated what my husband is telling me from Iraq right now. He says I’m just being a mom!
I meant one sick and one missing quite a few games, and mine on the bench more often than not!
Kimberly,
I must disagree a little with you here. When he asks why the other 10 year olds are playing more, the answer should be “because the coach feels that is what is best for the team right now”. Then you should encourage him to figure out how he could help the team more. Maybe learn to bunt great? Play right field w/ a smile on his face aggressively backing up 1st base and nailing runners trying to advance to 2nd on overthrows. Whatever it appears the team needs.
Have him flat out ask the coach what he needs to improve to play more. Coaches respect this coming from a player. I always preface my answer w/ “you asked the question, I am going to give you an answer, do you really want the answer because it might hurt?” Almost always, the kids that ask focus on what it is I said they needed to do better and improve their game.
Do you support the other players on the team? He will act as you do. On our older softball team we have parents show up even when their kids aren’t playing to support the team.
One more thing, are his outs any less important than another players? If he bats once and makes an out, he is individually responsible for more than 5% of the team’s total outs for the game! How can his at bat not be important? Do his runs count any less? See what I am going after here?
BTW. Thank you for your service to our country and for sharing your husband so that we have the freedom to have discussions like this!
I hope you didn’t misunderstand me. I’m not telling my son the reason the other 10 year olds are playing more is because they are better players. I would never do that! But, I can’t help but wonder what is going on, especially in the one instance where I mentioned my son was up to bat and they put the assistant coach’s son in for him, who is not an especially good hitter, so not sure why they chose to do this. In a perfect world you won’t have coach’s who will play their sons more just because they are their sons and not because of skill or experience. Unfortunately, it does happen.
I actually did tell my son he should ask the coach what he can do himself to improve his skills. I will encourage him to do so again!
I’ve been involved in Little League for a long time both as a parent and a coach and I have come to the conclusion that coaches who make their less talented players sit out as many or more innings than they play are either incompetent or way too competitive for little league. The best coaches I’ve seen let all players get playing time in the infield and the outfield and it’s amazing to watch those kids improve during the season.
Don’t give me that crap that kids are learning more sitting on the bench. They excel when they have a coach who believes in them enough to let them play even if it might cost them a victory. I had a coach who believed in me very early on in my little league career when I couldn’t even catch a fly ball and I went on to be a great player in high school. Little league coaches who make players sit excessively do that because they don’t have what it takes to help them to improve.
John,
We ran an experiment in our fall instructional program a couple of years ago where we mixed all the kids from majors and minors onto one team. Remember, this was AFTER the spring season, so this group included all the kids that would be moving up in the spring, playing with all the kids who were the young players in the majors during the spring. Basically, the kids sitting the bench in majors mixed with the kids that played every inning in minors.
Hands down, without fail, the kids that spent time on the bench’s skills were far beyond those who had played every inning in the minors program.
It is great that you had a good coach at a young age and it sounds like you had a coach that understood you should definitely play that way in the minor’s divisions. I tend to believe that you probably would have been successful regardless of your coach, because true success requires individual drive and willpower, but again, your were lucky.
This article is in reference to the Major leagues up of Little League that are, by design, competitive and consist of only those kids with skills that are developed enough to compete at that level. You will not find a kid that cannot catch a fly ball in that division. In the minor divisions, absolutely, everyone gets a chance to play and at all levels, positive reinforcement is required.
Hi – great blog. I served for 4 years on my towns LL board in a small position – just to get my kid noticed. He still got crappy coaches and benched 3 innings out of every game he ever played. Private lessons and camps have made him an incredible pitcher and the few times that he has actually been used to pitch he has pulled more than one team’s fat out of the fire. Now my hubby is also on the board but he’s not an alpha male, so although he has a much more important position than I held, no one is afraid of him so our son still sits out most of EVERY game – and he’s in Juniors – ages 14/15. He’s played since he was 6. The coach uses his buddies’ kids and his own kids for every key position for every game, every inning. It stinks. My son goes home in tears game after game. How can I call this “coach” on his unfairness?
Thanks for listening.
Kate from CT
That’s a great question. I prefer the direct method. Ask the coach what your son needs to do to improve his game and work his way into the starting line up. Then, focus on improving whatever it is the coach feels he is lacking. Of course, there are some bad apples out there, but it is my experience that every coach is doing what they think is right, they have the best of intentions. Open lines of communications are often always best.
Sometimes coaches don’t notice improvement until it is pointed out to them, they go about things the same old way and resist change. In the future, you might want to volunteer to be the scorekeeper and team statistician. Then you can provide the coach each week stats that show how the team and individuals on the team are doing. They are often enlightening for both parties.
The way to make sure your kid starts in a little league game is to be the coach or volunteer for the league. Often, talent has absolutely nothing to do with who actually gets to play. I’ve seen very average players get brought along to become slightly above average players while natural athletes sit on the bench and scratch their heads wondering why . . . The life lesson learned in little league is that favoritism exists and the old boy network is alive and well in little league, pee-wee football, and even grass fairy soccer.
Scotty, I am sorry about your experience, but my experience of 20 years is much different. I have rarely seen a coach not play who they thought were the best players for that situation at that given time. I know people disagree w/ their decisions very often, but I have rarely seen them make decisions based on favoritism. Most coaches make decisions on their perception of talent.