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Personally, when our kids were that age we signed them up for T-ball so we could sit in the stands and chat with other moms .
Have no expectations, none. Your life with children's sports will be MUCH easier that way. You can expect your child to finish what they start and to be at practice on time and listen to the coach but after that, just let them play. If they happen to be good at it, great, if not, so what. Kids handle these things WAY better than parents ever do.
T-ball and soccer parents were great. Hockey and football not so much, I don't miss the drama of those sports.
Hockey was our favorite sport but the parent drama some seasons was a nightmare. Tryouts, the worst.
You live in Jersey Dave? Are you going to get him into hockey? 4 years old is the perfect age. Of all the sports my boys played, hockey was the most fun IMO.
T-ball is great. They probably won't keep score and they'll let your son swing the bat until he hits the ball because I don't think they actually record "outs" the first season. If I remember right everyone get's to bat once and then switch to outfield and do that for like 4 innings.
Soccer is also a great sport for a 4 year old. Soccer helps prepare them for almost any other sport as it teaches them balance and footwork.
I played hockey as a little kid in Mass and then later when we moved to NJ. I did not like playing in NJ and it hasn't gotten better in this area.
Too many kids playing and not enough rinks with ice time. Some of my students play now and one is one a team that has practice from 9-11pm three school nights a week. Another has icetime at 5-7 but since he misses the bus his mom then drives him the hour to school.
Also, hockey is easily the most expensive school sport to play.
I played hockey as a little kid in Mass and then later when we moved to NJ. I did not like playing in NJ and it hasn't gotten better in this area.
Too many kids playing and not enough rinks with ice time. Some of my students play now and one is one a team that has practice from 9-11pm three school nights a week. Another has icetime at 5-7 but since he misses the bus his mom then drives him the hour to school.
Also, hockey is easily the most expensive school sport to play.
That does not sound like a good situation at all. I'm in Minnesota here and we didn't have practices later than 7pm until my boys where 16 years old or older and the rinks were usually within 20 mins of our house (I live in hockey central--suburb east of St Paul).
T-ball and soccer parents were great. Hockey and football not so much, I don't miss the drama of those sports.
Hockey was our favorite sport but the parent drama some seasons was a nightmare. Tryouts, the worst.
I will agree with you for the most part. One couple we know, soccer parents, are the WORST for drama, etc.
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Originally Posted by PullMyFinger
That does not sound like a good situation at all. I'm in Minnesota here and we didn't have practices later than 7pm until my boys where 16 years old or older and the rinks were usually within 20 mins of our house (I live in hockey central--suburb east of St Paul).
Hockey, it isn't a sport, it's a way of life . I know plenty of kids in MN that have late practices for hockey, or 5AM practices. The high school kids get ice time right after school, everything else is secondary. One of our friends son had either 5 AM practice or 10:00 PM practice in KINDERGARTEN. Our oldest expressed interest in hockey but when I told him the practice schedule he dropped that quickly. I am very glad.
I started my son at Tball when he was 4 and I really regretted it. He hated the slow pace - waiting, waiting, waiting. I don't think he was ready and I don't think many of the other boys there were ready either.
I saw them playing in the dirt while waiting in the outfield, looking bored, searching for bugs, picking up sticks - ANYTHING because they were so bored.
Anyway, it turned my son off of tball, baseball forever. He enjoyed soccer because there is a lot of activity and running.
Just my experience. IF I had it to do over again - I would have waited at least a year.
Every league and kid is a little different. I had the experience of twins (1 boy, 1 girl) playing T-ball at the age of 4. The girl definately had more patience for the game and still plays today (softball). The boy wanted to quit after a few seasons, so he did. He now lives and breathes football.
It really boils down to good parents and coaches. I coached because I was asked to by the league commish whom I knew fairly well. I didn't particularly enjoy coaching but i did my best. From a coaches standpoint you need good parents. Parents who are willing to help, help a lot. I needed several parents to help out at each game. I told them all up front that if you hope to simply come to a game, sit in the stands and watch, I got news for you.. its not gonna happen.
Now every league is different and rules determine the amount of structure required. The more structured the league the more parents required to help. I needed 2 parents in the outfield to keep kids alert. I needed 2 parents, 1 on 1st base and 1 on 3rd base to tell kids when to run and stop. Typically the same parents in the outfield also coached the bases. I needed a parent in the dug out to keep the kids from killing each other with a bat. I needed a parent at the plate to help the kids when it was their turn to bat... i needed a parent to help with the score book and score board..
Every game was a juggling act to say the least. Typically the same parents would start volunteering to help coach at each game that is except for the dug out which was always the hardest and least fun place to be for the parents.
I was fortunate in that I always had good parents. Parents who were more concerned about the amount of fun their kid was having and less about the score. I always made a point to give out a game ball after each game. I made sure every kid got recognized after each game and every kid eventually got a game ball. They all looked forward to getting that ball. I also gave out a dug out award.. the kid who behaved the most in teh dug out. I gave out a pack of baseball cards to teh dug out award winner. I also tried to make sure each kid won that award at least once but that one is not as important as the game ball.
Just make sure your kid has fun and make sure he doesn't quit just because he is no longer having fun. Keep an open communication line with the coach. If you don't like something he is doing, tell him... Just dont' be a jerk about it.. just mention, hey my son only batted twice the last 3 or 4 games because he is so far down the lineup.. I wonder if you would think about moving him up the line up for a game. Or, my son is really bored in right field, can you move him to 2nd base in the final inning?
I always made sure the kids got to play several positions and I always made sure each kid got to bat 1st in the lineup during the season but not all coaches approach it that way. I was more concerned about the kids learning the game and having fun and their not gonna have fun in right field batting last for an entire season...
I think you will have a blast watching your son play T Ball. It is such a pleasure to watch them hit the ball and get excited when they cross the plate or tag someone out. I distinctly remember one game when my daughter was on 1st... the ball was hit to the second baseman and she took off. She could tell immediately that he was gonna tag her out so she started to veer off the base path and into the outfield. The 2nd baseman eventually caught her and tagged her out.. She put her head down knowing she was out and the 2nd baseman put his arm around her as if to say, its ok.. the outfield parent (for the other team) came over to her and she jumped in his arms and he carried her back to our dugout, all the while the parents from both sides were cheering wildly for her and the second baseman... Its those type of moments that I remember most.. not the scores of the game..
I thought it was t-ball? like with a t and a ball on the t? its not?
Our league was both. We didn't have a ton of kids so we combined the 4,5 and 6 years olds. We used a combination of coach pitch and Tball. Each kid got 3 pitches from the coach, if they didn't hit the ball off the coach, then they got the T.
I actually liked this approach a lot that is of course until you hit a kid while pitching.. that's no fun.
Our league was both. We didn't have a ton of kids so we combined the 4,5 and 6 years olds. We used a combination of coach pitch and Tball. Each kid got 3 pitches from the coach, if they didn't hit the ball off the coach, then they got the T.
I actually liked this approach a lot that is of course until you hit a kid while pitching.. that's no fun.
Here, at age 4 it is all hitting off the t. At 5 or 6 they coach-pitch, then hit off the t if they didn't hit the pitches. Then they move up to all coach pitch. That's a far as we've gone so far.
We live in South Jersey, right down the road is the Flyers hockey rink that has a league. Its expensive but we have considered putting in it. We were thinking of waiting a little longer until the cost was offset by the experience but if you guys have had good experience with younger kids and hockey then maybe we might give it a try. Does he need to know how to skate first?
It certainly would help! How will he be involved in a play if he can't skate?
Kids around here will start skating early, then enroll in Learn to Play Hockey. Then they start mini-mites or mites.
If your son can't skate, he won't get all he can from his on ice time.
And I agree with a previous poster.... hockey IS a way of life, not a sport!
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