r/BaseballCoaching

Hey Guys,

My son will be playing 13u next summer ('27) and he's currently 4'10 1/2", and about 85lbs.

(Note - For OBA (Ontario Baseball Association) 13u, up to drop 10 is allowed. For 14u & 15u it goes to drop 5 or less.)

He turned 12 at the end of August.

He's a lead off hitter with some pop & crazy speed. He's all lean muscle.

He swung 2 bats this season, the 29" -10 2025 Icon & a 30" -10 2026 Supra.

He trained with the Supra all last winter & ended up using the Icon in most games.

Now he won't touch the Icon, & is training with the Supra. (Listing the Icon on Marketplace today ..lol)

I grabbed him a 31" -10 2027 Easton Hype Fire this weekend, and now I'm wondering if I should have stayed at the 30" sizing and gone with a -10 or -8.

The season starts in 8mths, and he usually grows 2.5"-3.5" during this window. Thinking he will be approx. 5'0 to 5'1" by the start of the season, with a few more lbs.

The thought process was that he will have to go with a -5 in 2028, so wanted to get him use to a heavier bat, with better plate coverage.

He will start S&C training today for the next 24 weeks, in addition to his winter team training Dec-April. This is to help build up his core, arms, shoulders, legs, and overall strength to hopefully guard against future injuries. (We had a shoulder growth plate injury in mid June this year from pitching over use, and he didn't throw the rest of the season. He DH & pinch run for the remainder of the season)

Any thoughts on the new bat sizing?

Cheers!

I have been playing in my local adult leauge and we have a pitcher who last played in the majors threw out his arm and is rehabbing with us. As a catcher how can I transition easier from catching 75-85 mph to 95-100 when they put him in. I’m having issues blocking 75-85 no problem. I just can’t seem to drop fast enough for the 100mph in the dirt any tips or drills I should be doing? I am 32 in good physical shape ish lol. I am also selected for the all star team this season as a DH so that’s cool!

As a parent what are your thoughts on your kids coach, coaching two teams but not inviting your child to the second team?

A little background; I'm a headcoach for a 9U select team that is between the AA and AAA level. We have a significant range in skill/interest level on the team; 1/3 would be considered "advanced" and has high ball IQ and LOVE baseball.  1/3 would be kids that have great potential and are eager to develop and also LOVE baseball. The last 1/3 struggle to keep up, show little intrest in developing, and baseball is not their #1 sport. I believe it is my job as the HC to develop all of my players, but at the same time it is very difficult to develop players that show little interest in developing. While my son would love to start traveling for tournaments, our teams makeup just isn't right for any travel or high level competition.

My son is among the boys that would be considered advanced. He lives and breathes baseball and is self motivated to get better. We have great parity in the local leagues we play in with around 12 teams being in a similar skill range makeup on their teams. I have a good relationship with 3 other coachs. And we all enjoy the competition we have locally, with no single team dominating and any team being capable of winning any game. But we also agree it would be both fun and developmentaly beneficial for our boys who are "advanced" and eager to learn to play together. We've discussed a scenario where we join together to play travel tournaments with 3-4 boys from each team. To be clear, we have no intention to join together permanetly, only for 1 or 2 out of town tournaments. I am also aware of the temptation that comes with forming a travel team.

So my questions are:

As a parent, how would you feel if you found out your kids head coach took 3 boys from the team to play in a travel tournament with a different team (but not yours)?

Would you want to hear it from the coach or through the grapevine?

As a coach, would you feel obligated to be transparent? Or to keep quiet knowing your true intention is to continue coaching the regular team?

I am currently coaching Juniors. In our fall league, 2/3 of the league is kids moving up from lower levels. Most of our travel ball kids stay away from rec so the league is pretty even. No blow out games, mostly 1-2 run wins/losses.

That being said, half of my team is struggling to get hits due to timing issues. They all have little hiccups in their swings but nothing major. The mound distance is a bit further but it is not like it is 10 feet. They are also mostly facing the same pitchers as they did in the spring due to everyone moving up.

I have kids who hit between .300-.500 last year who arent close to hit the ball. I have been through every drill I can think of and some I have looked at online. I am not looking to have a team of sluggers but no kid want to go through a whole season and not get a hit.

I am wondering if anyone has any tips to help these kids be more successful at the plate.

If you coached a HS team, which would you choose for your players?
Hoody
Cage Jacket
Sleeveless Hoodie
Old school dug out jacket
Other

We want to look sharp and match in warm ups and traveling. Which option would you choose if the costs were all close.

A coach recently mentioned that my son may have too much upper body rotation (twist) during his load, which could make it harder for him to get on time against faster pitching.

We haven’t really noticed timing being an issue so far, but I wanted to get some additional opinions from those who have experience with swing mechanics.

Based on the video, do you see excessive upper body rotation during his load? Is this something you’d recommend correcting, or would you leave it alone if he’s consistently making solid contact?