Surviving Little League

So, your son or daughter is playing Little League...that's great. For the duration of the 3 plus months of the season, you, your child, their teammates, and their coaches are on a journey that most, but not all, will survive.

Little League, at the 'major league' level (usually 10, 11, and 12 year olds) can be a very difficult course to maneuver. Starting with the 'tryouts', the field is tilted away from new players at a dismayingly sharp angle.

Imagine if you were to be put in to this situation: It's January, and it's cold or raining or both. Because of the holidays, or the weather, or schedules, your son has yet to don his glove and take a few grounders. Your daughter has yet to swing a bat. Your 10 year old, who had a decent year in the lower leagues last year, is now on the field with 50 or 70 or 100 other kids going through the same ordeal...the dreaded tryout.

And, to top it all off, the player (or imagine you in there, mom or dad) is now going to be asked to perform in front of maybe 20 or 30 judges...the coaches viewing the tryout.

After some warmup tosses with the coaches buzzing around them like starving flies, they'll run the bases. Easy enough. Next come some ground balls, hurtling toward your player over bumpy, muddy, or wet ground. Nice catch! A throw to first base (wow, never realized it was so far over there, dad!). Well, two out of three ain't bad, is it? The coaches nod and write. They nod and write some more. The kids seem to be OK, but the parents...well, they're parents.

Okay, now it gets tough...they're called to bat. A few swings, a lot of misses, and maybe a connection or two. Bravo! More nodding and writing. On to the fly balls. Finally, the kids walk off the field...some elated, some wondering why they ever signed up for this duty.

You can see that this process does not exactly instill confidence in your typical 10 or 11 year old. But, let's say they make the cut and get to play in the major leagues with the 'big kids'...lots more 11 and 12 year olds. Those who are not selected play in the minors, and better luck next year.

How to survive?

First, prepare your player. Even though it's cold, rainy, and dark at 5 pm, you've got to find the time to get them on a field or in the back yard and do the simple things...catch and throw. If you have a batting cage in your area, take advantage of that...your Little Leaguer will thank you later.

Next, it's on to practices, personalities, and

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