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How to Reinvigorate Youth Baseball/An Alternative to Letting Kids Fail this Baseball Season
At a time when 1) one of the things the Chicago Cubs organization is most excited about is the purchase of land in the Dominican Republic to build a baseball training facility, 2) foreign-born players make up approximately 50% of minor league baseball’s rosters, 3) the World Baseball Classic elicits a collective yawn across the country (while the World Cup goes prime time), and 4) kids have many more recreational options than they did in the past, it is probably time to reinvigorate youth baseball in the U.S.A.
Those of you who follow Major League Baseball know that new rules were implemented a few years ago to protect Major League players by expelling and suspending pitchers who purposely throw at a batter. As a result, a Major League pitcher can now be thrown out of a game - and possibly suspended - if, in the umpire's opinion, he purposely throws at even one batter, regardless of whether the batter is hit or not.
What this essentially means is that getting hit with the ball is no longer considered a part of the game by Major League Baseball – witness the probably 300+ pound Prince Fielder trying to storm the LA Dodger locker room after a game last season to confront the pitcher who had hit him with a pitch. The only thing that makes that story different is that Prince Fielder didn’t immediately charge the pitcher after being hit – as Major Leaguers many times do even if the pitcher just comes close to hitting them.
What impact have the new rules had on Major League Baseball? On a broadcast of ESPN's Baseball Tonight a few years ago the panel discussed Major League batters' improved performance under the new rules because they don't have to be quite so afraid of getting plunked in retaliation for an earlier hit batsman due to a pitcher's fear of being suspended.
While simply changing the rules may work at the Major League level - where, prior to the new rules, many, if not most of the batters hit by pitches were hit purposely by the pitcher - it won't work for youth baseball since hopefully all of the batters hit by pitches at that level are not hit purposely.
So while Major League Baseball has adapted, youth baseball hasn't, and, since young batters and pitchers have not yet developed the physical coordination of older children and adults, young batters are hit by a pitch much more frequently than Major Leaguers.
Some people make the argument that the youth game has changed – and needs to adapt - because the skill level of young pitchers, particularly in the so-called ‘house’ leagues, is lower than it was in the past, for several reasons. Among the reasons given for the drop off in skill level of young pitchers are 1) the emergence of travel baseball, which takes the better pitchers out of the house leagues, 2) the emergence of first youth soccer, and then lacrosse, both of which siphon away talented athletes, 3) the relatively recent trend of many of the usually more athletic kids concentrating on one sport year around, 4) the recent implementation of pitch count limits, which results in more, possibly less-skilled kids pitching than in the past, and 5) the demise of so-called sandlot baseball, where kids could hone their pitching skill outside of formal practices or games.
Many coaches, parents, league officials and former players attribute the declining participation level and low retention rate in youth baseball to the fear of getting hit by the ball while batting and the poor batting skills that result from that fear, especially if a player has been hit previously.
The low batting averages that result from the poor batting skills – that result from the fear of being hit with the ball - hurt youth baseball’s appeal.
To have a kid continually fail not only lessens the appeal of the game for everyone – the players, coaches, parents and spectators – it lowers a kid’s self esteem.
The following is quoted from an article on the Internet titled "Youth Baseball Participation Up Due To Bad Economy":
"For 12 years the numbers of youth baseball participation has been declining in the USA and now - only because of the bad economic times - it will pick up some. It is a shame that we have to depend on bad economic time for it to pick up, in fact I am very disappointed…… The reason baseball was declining before the economic down-turn still exists... kids are bored when they go to practice and they're failing as individuals in games.”
If you don't think that the fear of getting hit with the ball while batting factors into the declining participation level – especially with all of the other recreational options available to children nowadays - consider the following segment from a 2003 PBS report by Jeffrey Kaye in which he interviewed John Young, who started Major League Baseball's RBI program, which stands for 'Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities’:
JEFFREY KAYE: "RBI's founder is former major league scout John Young, who started the program in south L.A. in 1989. Young says even the toughest inner-city kids can be intimidated by baseball."
JOHN YOUNG: "The toughest thing to do in sports is hit a baseball. So many kids that haven't played are afraid of the ball. We get kids who come into this program, they are kids from tough neighborhoods-- they see a lot of gang violence, you know, tough kids-- but they are afraid of baseball. They are afraid of being hit by a baseball.
If you follow Major League Baseball you have probably noticed the increasing number of foreign players in recent years. The following is quoted from an article on the Internet titled "Major League Baseball’s Demographic Demise”: In 2008, of the 855 players on MLB rosters at the start of the season, 239 (or 28 percent) were born outside the 50 states……. More incredibly, 3,356 of the 7,021 minor leaguers, or 47.8 percent, were born outside the 50 states.
One of the possible reasons for this shift is that children in the United States simply have more recreational options than children in many other countries, and when children are presented with more recreational options, those options viewed less favorably lose out. Is baseball viewed less favorably than other recreational options? Many kids who quit playing baseball at a relatively young age either continue or go on to play other sports.
The following is quoted from an article on the Internet titled "Little League Losing its Grip on Kids” by Los Angeles Times Staff Writer Dave McKibben:
"A summer ritual will unfold next week in Williamsport, Pa., when the 58th Little League World Series (news - web sites) gets underway. Sixteen teams from nine countries will compete for the most prestigious championship in youth sports.
But in the United States, where the game was born, fewer young people will notice. Coaches and youth sports organizations say a lot of American kids are losing interest in baseball.
"Every year, it gets tougher and tougher to keep kids on the field," said Mike Hirschman, administrator of the Little League in Northern Delaware that appeared in last year's World Series. Even with that success, Hirschman has struggled to recruit players.
"It's really getting disheartening," he said. "I don't think Little League will ever fade away. But kids are just spread so thin. There's so many more options."
Probably the most common feedback we hear from coaches and parents is how our baseball batting safety vest helps kids regain their confidence to stay in the batter’s box, their batting skill and their interest in baseball after they have been plunked a few times - versus the alternative of backing away from the plate for the rest of the season.
You might be surprised to learn how many kids in the 8-10 year-old age group would opt to wear a batting safety vest – even for just part of the season - if given the option. It's interesting that in lacrosse - which has exploded onto the youth sports scene in sections of the country recently - many of the players, particularly at the youth level, wear protective gear on their torso - and seem to not only not mind it, but get a kick out of it. Witness the following copied from a youth lacrosse-oriented website:
Scott said lacrosse, as a spring sport, has a lot of (to) offer children who don't want to take up baseball…..He added the pace of the sport is part of its appeal. "The kids like the fact that unlike baseball, this is a moving sport," he said. "Everybody's a part of the action. It's a continuous thing. Guys are running around everywhere. The other thing is the gear. Kids are gear junkies….
The wearing of protective gear in baseball isn’t a revolutionary idea. Major League Baseball allows the use of elbow protectors because - like the ribs of an eight-to-twelve-year-old child who has not yet developed any muscle mass in the torso – the elbow doesn’t have any muscle over it to soften the impact of a baseball. Major League Baseball also allows the use of padding for the torso to protect a player’s ribs. Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers wore rib pads during last year’s World Series.
The difference between a Major League player and a youth baseball players is that because the torso of an 8-to-12-year-old child is undeveloped, anything that is going to provide them with sufficient protection probably cannot be worn under the uniform for the duration of a 2-hour baseball game, especially in warm or hot weather.
Following is some of the feedback we have received on our Pro Vest Baseball Batting Safety Vest, which will give you an idea of the impact a batting safety vest will have on your program. As the feedback attests, adopting the optional use of a batting safety vest in your league will result in the players having more fun, developing better skills, being more successful, getting hurt less often and regaining or maintaining their desire to play baseball.
"We have just been so amazed by this product and what it did for our son. We knew he had some ability, but he had just completely lost his confidence. This product allowed him to dig his left foot in and not back out. He trusted the product to work and it did. I'm just thankful we found it. We actually found another product first....I believe it's from "Adams"...or something like that. The vest simply doesn't compare to the Pro-Vest."
"I have an 11 year old boy who was ready to give up baseball due to being hit by over a dozen pitches a year ago. By the end of the year he was stepping out of the box on every pitch. I took it upon myself to search the web and I came across your product. I purchased it and he used your vest this year. His confidence was unbelievable. He was the strongest batter on his team this year. He has hit for one triple, multiple doubles and literally put the ball in play in almost every at bat. Both he and I credit your Pro-Vest. His excitement for the game of baseball has returned…"
"We have only used the vest in one practice and one game, but I can see the results immediately….. The vest has made a tremendous difference in their confidence. I am also pleased with the range in size the vest can accommodate. With the Velcro the vest comes on and off quickly and easily. "
"They are great for those kids that are afraid of the ball. It gives them a little more confidence to stay in the batters' box because they know if the ball hits them that it will not hurt them."
"He wore the vest while he played 3rd base and also when he batted. He had a great game and was not restricted while wearing the vest. Good luck, and thank you for your product."
"Thank you. We got it last night just in time for his game. He felt so much more confident and got some hits! He used to tremble at the plate-literally. I appreciate your customer service."
"It is much easier for a ballplayer to play his/her best and to be able to concentrate on his or her ability to hit the ball……knowing that the vest is there to protect them as it is in so many other sports.”
"The Pro Vest is well worth the small investment to give the child the piece of mind they may need to stick in there. I'd recommend them to anyone! I wish they were there when my own son was playing - he may still be playing baseball."
PRO VEST INC., www.pro-vest.com
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