What is a good age for youth players to start getting one-on-one paid lessons?

cheapnchong

New member
I have been doing some online research on what the proper age would be for a youth baseball player to receive one-on-one paid professional training. It seems like around 12 years seems like a good age. However, when we go to youth baseball games and tryouts I find out most parents have been taking their kids to these lessons since they were 8 or 9 years old. We all know baseball lessons (especially one-on-one) are not cheap. Can kids 8,9 and 10 year old really grasp the concept of advanced training they may receive or are we just handing over money to the professional and getting the "same" lessons perhaps a good little league couch can teach?

I was pretty resolute that "professional" training is not needed this early in the game play but the fear of missing out is starting to make me think twice. :)

thank you all in advance.
 
 
I have been doing some online research on what the proper age would be for a youth baseball player to receive one-on-one paid professional training. It seems like around 12 years seems like a good age. However, when we go to youth baseball games and tryouts I find out most parents have been taking their kids to these lessons since they were 8 or 9 years old. We all know baseball lessons (especially one-on-one) are not cheap. Can kids 8,9 and 10 year old really grasp the concept of advanced training they may receive or are we just handing over money to the professional and getting the "same" lessons perhaps a good little league couch can teach?

I was pretty resolute that "professional" training is not needed this early in the game play but the fear of missing out is starting to make me think twice. :)

thank you all in advance."
"Professional training" as in what?

One has to know someone who can help a kid at a young age. They just need to learn the fundamentals and how to bat, throw, field and pitch with proper mechanics. Ask the HS coach to help out. To go and spend a ton of money on a "professional" who is doing it for $$ isnt always the best bet.

Throwing BP, hitting ground balls, T and soft toss and long tossing, and doing it properly, shouldnt need a $$$ professional. I guess if the dad doesnt know a danged thing about the game....

Dont compare yourself to other parents. Many feel money spend = ability and success of the player when in reality a dad who has a decent clue who takes his kid out a couple of times a week outside of team activities will give them a big heads up
 
"Professional training" as in what?

Thank you for your responses!!!

I meant taking kids to a paid lessons (hitting/pitching/fielding etc.). I said professional because these trainers are usually former MLB players or higher school head coaches that are doing this as their full time/part-time job.

This is coming from a dad who did not grow up playing baseball and all the baseball knowledge came from YouTube videos or online forums. (this should give you an idea of my baseball training acumen :p). with that said, I have spend a LOT of time reading and watching videos so I can teach my kids the "proper" mechanics. Between me and the local rec ball coaches, that should be enough "proper mechanics" for the 8/9 or 10 years old?

@green_genes:
I guess in a way that is my question is that how proper should the mechanics be at this younger age? Should we strive to get the best training from the get go (obviously the answer is yes if money was no object or dad is trained former baseball player) or learn what we can till the kids are a little older and then have the experts show them the absolute best way when they can actually comprehend what the coach is saying and implement them in their routine. (essentially get the best bang for your buck).

Is waiting till when they are 12 or 13 years old risks forming bad habits that are difficult if not impossible to correct?
 
Clearly at age 6, I was down in the Mexico- and those kids down there are amazing- and all of them spoke Spanish, and thats a hard language
 
I have been doing some online research on what the proper age would be for a youth baseball player to receive one-on-one paid professional training. It seems like around 12 years seems like a good age. However, when we go to youth baseball games and tryouts I find out most parents have been taking their kids to these lessons since they were 8 or 9 years old. We all know baseball lessons (especially one-on-one) are not cheap. Can kids 8,9 and 10 year old really grasp the concept of advanced training they may receive or are we just handing over money to the professional and getting the "same" lessons perhaps a good little league couch can teach?

I was pretty resolute that "professional" training is not needed this early in the game play but the fear of missing out is starting to make me think twice. :)

thank you all in advance.
Never
 
Thank you for your responses!!!

I meant taking kids to a paid lessons (hitting/pitching/fielding etc.). I said professional because these trainers are usually former MLB players or higher school head coaches that are doing this as their full time/part-time job.

This is coming from a dad who did not grow up playing baseball and all the baseball knowledge came from YouTube videos or online forums. (this should give you an idea of my baseball training acumen :p). with that said, I have spend a LOT of time reading and watching videos so I can teach my kids the "proper" mechanics. Between me and the local rec ball coaches, that should be enough "proper mechanics" for the 8/9 or 10 years old?

@green_genes:
I guess in a way that is my question is that how proper should the mechanics be at this younger age? Should we strive to get the best training from the get go (obviously the answer is yes if money was no object or dad is trained former baseball player) or learn what we can till the kids are a little older and then have the experts show them the absolute best way when they can actually comprehend what the coach is saying and implement them in their routine. (essentially get the best bang for your buck).

Is waiting till when they are 12 or 13 years old risks forming bad habits that are difficult if not impossible to correct?

I think you are probably at the same point I was when my kids were that age. I have four boys, all of whom had varying degrees of success at HS sports. First and foremost, a lot of what happens in high school is going to be dependent on factors out of your control. If your goal is for your kids to enjoy the experience, accept the reality that you have no control over genetics at this point. My kids range in size from 5'7" to 5'9" and are "normal" in that they can't dunk a basketball from a standing start or run a sub 11 second hundred meters. No amount of coaching, personal training, etc. was going to make them good enough to be the starting PG or QB in high school.

My oldest didn't do anything other than play rec baseball - practice starting in late April or early May and 15-20 games. They were lucky to practice once a week after the season started. He was cut from the freshman team at a large, all-boys Catholic HS on the first day of tryouts. He transferred back to our local public school for his last three years and was a "couple innings at the end of a JV game - <10 varsity at bats in his career" type. He loved playing and still loves baseball to the extent that he found an apartment across the street from a MLB stadium after college. Not being good enough to play in HS didn't kill his love of the game, but he never had a chance to be good enough to play anywhere but a school that didn't have to cut kids from the roster.

I personally coached my second oldest from 10U through 12U. I don't have a playing background and, like you, taught myself through Youtube, online resources, etc. He is the least gifted athletically of the four but was the best hitter out of all of them. He quit playing after 12U because he doesn't like sports. The time we spent working together definitely paid off, though.

My youngest two have had the most "professional coaching," mostly in soccer. One was a 3 year starter in HS, the other probably would have been, but gave up soccer to focus on place kicking and baseball. His baseball swing is broken, however, and you can definitely tell between the two sports which one I spent the money on outside coaching.

I know, TLDR. My thoughts as they've all grown up and aged out of youth/HS sports...

Yes. Good coaching is important, and if you can afford it it will pay dividends. As I said in my original reply, however, a lot depends on how naturally athletic your kids are and how much they practice what they are taught. Finding a good team that's run by people who know what they are doing (multiple practices/week even during the season, efficiently run practices, league and tournament games with an appropriate level of competition, a focus on developing all of the kids on the roster as opposed to winning) will go a long way.
 
One more thought: my kids have had teammates who played "rec" ball at 9 or 10 and then gravitated to travel ball/private coaching at 11 or 12 and have developed into all-league/all-district caliber players.

I have also coached kids who I would have laughed out loud at the prospect of them being varsity baseball players at 12U who were all-league kids as seniors - and it wasn't because of anything I taught them at 12U for sure.

I don't think waiting until 11 or 12 is going to set someone back as long as they get the coaching and the reps at some point. Once you get to 14 or 15, though, it's hard to rework a swing without putting in a ton of time. My 17 year old absolutely cannot keep his hands inside the ball when he swings and has zero chance of hitting a baseball on the inner half thrown harder than about 70 MPH.

Once that muscle memory gets developed it's hard to break. At 9/10 the velocity/location is all over the place and it's hard for them to develop too many bad habits as long as they have the basics, IMO. If you can get him to learn basic concepts like getting his hands/weight back slow and early and starting his swing with his lower half I think he'll be fine when it's time to learn the finer, more technical points.

I wish I had made all of my kids catch at that age so they'd have gotten over any fear of the ball early - and gotten used to seeing velocity so it didn't faze them and they could focus on their swing mechanics in BP and game at-bats.
 
I think you are probably at the same point I was when my kids were that age. I have four boys, all of whom had varying degrees of success at HS sports. First and foremost, a lot of what happens in high school is going to be dependent on factors out of your control. If your goal is for your kids to enjoy the experience, accept the reality that you have no control over genetics at this point. My kids range in size from 5'7" to 5'9" and are "normal" in that they can't dunk a basketball from a standing start or run a sub 11 second hundred meters. No amount of coaching, personal training, etc. was going to make them good enough to be the starting PG or QB in high school.

My oldest didn't do anything other than play rec baseball - practice starting in late April or early May and 15-20 games. They were lucky to practice once a week after the season started. He was cut from the freshman team at a large, all-boys Catholic HS on the first day of tryouts. He transferred back to our local public school for his last three years and was a "couple innings at the end of a JV game - <10 varsity at bats in his career" type. He loved playing and still loves baseball to the extent that he found an apartment across the street from a MLB stadium after college. Not being good enough to play in HS didn't kill his love of the game, but he never had a chance to be good enough to play anywhere but a school that didn't have to cut kids from the roster.

I personally coached my second oldest from 10U through 12U. I don't have a playing background and, like you, taught myself through Youtube, online resources, etc. He is the least gifted athletically of the four but was the best hitter out of all of them. He quit playing after 12U because he doesn't like sports. The time we spent working together definitely paid off, though.

My youngest two have had the most "professional coaching," mostly in soccer. One was a 3 year starter in HS, the other probably would have been, but gave up soccer to focus on place kicking and baseball. His baseball swing is broken, however, and you can definitely tell between the two sports which one I spent the money on outside coaching.

I know, TLDR. My thoughts as they've all grown up and aged out of youth/HS sports...

Yes. Good coaching is important, and if you can afford it it will pay dividends. As I said in my original reply, however, a lot depends on how naturally athletic your kids are and how much they practice what they are taught. Finding a good team that's run by people who know what they are doing (multiple practices/week even during the season, efficiently run practices, league and tournament games with an appropriate level of competition, a focus on developing all of the kids on the roster as opposed to winning) will go a long way.
Thank you for taking the time to explain it in detail. This is very helpful. Trying to navigate this has been very confusing to say the least. My goal is to have them try to at least make it to HS sports. I guess we'll see how it goes.
 
"Professional training" as in what?

One has to know someone who can help a kid at a young age. They just need to learn the fundamentals and how to bat, throw, field and pitch with proper mechanics. Ask the HS coach to help out. To go and spend a ton of money on a "professional" who is doing it for $$ isnt always the best bet.

Throwing BP, hitting ground balls, T and soft toss and long tossing, and doing it properly, shouldnt need a $$$ professional. I guess if the dad doesnt know a danged thing about the game....

Dont compare yourself to other parents. Many feel money spend = ability and success of the player when in reality a dad who has a decent clue who takes his kid out a couple of times a week outside of team activities will give them a big heads up
^ This
 
Thank you for your responses!!!

I meant taking kids to a paid lessons (hitting/pitching/fielding etc.). I said professional because these trainers are usually former MLB players or higher school head coaches that are doing this as their full time/part-time job.

This is coming from a dad who did not grow up playing baseball and all the baseball knowledge came from YouTube videos or online forums. (this should give you an idea of my baseball training acumen :p). with that said, I have spend a LOT of time reading and watching videos so I can teach my kids the "proper" mechanics. Between me and the local rec ball coaches, that should be enough "proper mechanics" for the 8/9 or 10 years old?

@green_genes:
I guess in a way that is my question is that how proper should the mechanics be at this younger age? Should we strive to get the best training from the get go (obviously the answer is yes if money was no object or dad is trained former baseball player) or learn what we can till the kids are a little older and then have the experts show them the absolute best way when they can actually comprehend what the coach is saying and implement them in their routine. (essentially get the best bang for your buck).

Is waiting till when they are 12 or 13 years old risks forming bad habits that are difficult if not impossible to correct?
green_genes has given some great advice.

I would add the following.

Do not equate playing pro ball or college ball as being qualified to teach mechanics. There are all kinds of charlatans out there who will sell you that they know everything but were simply given a gift from God of an arm and their teaching skills lack. I have seen numerous parents blow gobs of money on coaches who were not very good.

In baseball quality reps matter. In most other sports reps can supersede quality to a degree. Keep in mind I said to a degree because reps matter. In baseball if you have a bad habit at the plate taking 100 extra swings without correction will only reinforce a bad habit more.

The best baseball hitting and pitching mechanics instructor I was ever around never played in HS. He was simply a very cognitive guy who taught himself through books and clinics years ago to coach his sons and is still dynamite to this day in his mid 60's. I've watched him make chicken salad out of chicken $chit.

It will never hurt to get your kid 3rd party instruction at any age but be sure to talk to others he has coached, do not over pay, seek out local HS coaches and former dads willing to help, and learn yourself. You can do it.
 
I have been doing some online research on what the proper age would be for a youth baseball player to receive one-on-one paid professional training. It seems like around 12 years seems like a good age. However, when we go to youth baseball games and tryouts I find out most parents have been taking their kids to these lessons since they were 8 or 9 years old. We all know baseball lessons (especially one-on-one) are not cheap. Can kids 8,9 and 10 year old really grasp the concept of advanced training they may receive or are we just handing over money to the professional and getting the "same" lessons perhaps a good little league couch can teach?

I was pretty resolute that "professional" training is not needed this early in the game play but the fear of missing out is starting to make me think twice. :)

thank you all in advance.
Coach Aspero from DHC starts training at 4 years old I believe.
 
green_genes has given some great advice.

I would add the following.

Do not equate playing pro ball or college ball as being qualified to teach mechanics. There are all kinds of charlatans out there who will sell you that they know everything but were simply given a gift from God of an arm and their teaching skills lack. I have seen numerous parents blow gobs of money on coaches who were not very good.

In baseball quality reps matter. In most other sports reps can supersede quality to a degree. Keep in mind I said to a degree because reps matter. In baseball if you have a bad habit at the plate taking 100 extra swings without correction will only reinforce a bad habit more.

The best baseball hitting and pitching mechanics instructor I was ever around never played in HS. He was simply a very cognitive guy who taught himself through books and clinics years ago to coach his sons and is still dynamite to this day in his mid 60's. I've watched him make chicken salad out of chicken $chit.

It will never hurt to get your kid 3rd party instruction at any age but be sure to talk to others he has coached, do not over pay, seek out local HS coaches and former dads willing to help, and learn yourself. You can do it.

Thinking of a local guy whose name rhymes with "Go Ball..."
 
green_genes has given some great advice.

I would add the following.

Do not equate playing pro ball or college ball as being qualified to teach mechanics. There are all kinds of charlatans out there who will sell you that they know everything but were simply given a gift from God of an arm and their teaching skills lack. I have seen numerous parents blow gobs of money on coaches who were not very good.

In baseball quality reps matter. In most other sports reps can supersede quality to a degree. Keep in mind I said to a degree because reps matter. In baseball if you have a bad habit at the plate taking 100 extra swings without correction will only reinforce a bad habit more.

The best baseball hitting and pitching mechanics instructor I was ever around never played in HS. He was simply a very cognitive guy who taught himself through books and clinics years ago to coach his sons and is still dynamite to this day in his mid 60's. I've watched him make chicken salad out of chicken $chit.

It will never hurt to get your kid 3rd party instruction at any age but be sure to talk to others he has coached, do not over pay, seek out local HS coaches and former dads willing to help, and learn yourself. You can do it.
Yes, I have watched tons of videos on proper mechanics and taught my kids what I could. They have done relatively well so far. My 11 year old has done rec ball up until 9 years old then did one year of travel ball. Up until this point it has all been either me or the team coach (parent coach). At this point I really believe I have maxed out on my ability to teach him anything more. I fear if do teach him it probably wouldn't be correct. So this summer I took him to couple of places for few pitching lessons. The first lesson we went to was spot on what you described above. He didn't learn anything. No joke, after the session was over I asked him, so what did you learn today and he said "Nothing"... kind of caught me off guard. Needless to say we didn't go back. Then we took him to a second coach based on few of his teammate's dad's recommendation. I asked him the same question after the first session - his answer was "I learned how to throw cutter and how to pronate my hand when throwing change up. I have a homework to practice at home before our next session". BAM! I thought I found the right coach and the timing (at 11 years was right for him).

Now, I also have a 9 year old that I was thinking about doing the same thing as his older brother - meaning do as much as I can until 11 or so and then take him to lessons. But at this same place we also saw many kids what looked to me like 7-9 year olds also coming for hitting and fielding and two kids even pitching lessons (Also met parents at tryouts for next year said similar stories). And that's what got me thinking... Am I being too cheap to wait till 11 and holding my kids back? I know there is no one right answer and all kids are different but what I wondered is, if we took 100 kids from a neighborhood, and give 50 kids lessons starting at 7 years old and 50 kids starting at 11 years old, by the time they get to high school will it really make that much different if you start them at age 7 or 8 as opposed to 11? I do not know enough about baseball statistics to figure this out but I'm sure their has to be some general consensus at some level. May be not....
 
Dont compare yourself to other parents. Many feel money spend = ability and success of the player when in reality a dad who has a decent clue who takes his kid out a couple of times a week outside of team activities will give them a big heads up
Thank you and I'm banking on this.
 
Yes, I have watched tons of videos on proper mechanics and taught my kids what I could. They have done relatively well so far. My 11 year old has done rec ball up until 9 years old then did one year of travel ball. Up until this point it has all been either me or the team coach (parent coach). At this point I really believe I have maxed out on my ability to teach him anything more. I fear if do teach him it probably wouldn't be correct. So this summer I took him to couple of places for few pitching lessons. The first lesson we went to was spot on what you described above. He didn't learn anything. No joke, after the session was over I asked him, so what did you learn today and he said "Nothing"... kind of caught me off guard. Needless to say we didn't go back. Then we took him to a second coach based on few of his teammate's dad's recommendation. I asked him the same question after the first session - his answer was "I learned how to throw cutter and how to pronate my hand when throwing change up. I have a homework to practice at home before our next session". BAM! I thought I found the right coach and the timing (at 11 years was right for him).

Now, I also have a 9 year old that I was thinking about doing the same thing as his older brother - meaning do as much as I can until 11 or so and then take him to lessons. But at this same place we also saw many kids what looked to me like 7-9 year olds also coming for hitting and fielding and two kids even pitching lessons (Also met parents at tryouts for next year said similar stories). And that's what got me thinking... Am I being too cheap to wait till 11 and holding my kids back? I know there is no one right answer and all kids are different but what I wondered is, if we took 100 kids from a neighborhood, and give 50 kids lessons starting at 7 years old and 50 kids starting at 11 years old, by the time they get to high school will it really make that much different if you start them at age 7 or 8 as opposed to 11? I do not know enough about baseball statistics to figure this out but I'm sure their has to be some general consensus at some level. May be not....
You got solid grasp on this stuff dad.

If your kid wants the added instruction have at it. It cannot hurt. I have seen plenty a dad force the added instruction on their kid and your case does not sound like that. In fact, it sounds like you are being cautious for all the right reasons. Baseball is a skill game so any instruction is good but it has to be the kid that wants it.

Your last statement is why I am against "travel ball" at such an early age. It bottlenecks your talent pool. You could have a dynamite athlete down the street but if he does not pick up a bat until 12 years old while his lessor athletic friends have been playing since 9U he is behind the eight ball. Since we cannot stop idiots from starting a select few kids in baseball at 8U you have to manage it as best you can. Sounds like you are on the right path.
 
You got solid grasp on this stuff dad.

If your kid wants the added instruction have at it. It cannot hurt. I have seen plenty a dad force the added instruction on their kid and your case does not sound like that. In fact, it sounds like you are being cautious for all the right reasons. Baseball is a skill game so any instruction is good but it has to be the kid that wants it.

Your last statement is why I am against "travel ball" at such an early age. It bottlenecks your talent pool. You could have a dynamite athlete down the street but if he does not pick up a bat until 12 years old while his lessor athletic friends have been playing since 9U he is behind the eight ball. Since we cannot stop idiots from starting a select few kids in baseball at 8U you have to manage it as best you can. Sounds like you are on the right path.

Rossford had enough kids at 9/10 and 11/12 to have it's own league 15 years ago...

8 years ago it dwindled to two teams at each age group and playing in the Genoa Little League.

Not sure what it will look like going forward.
 
Rossford had enough kids at 9/10 and 11/12 to have it's own league 15 years ago...

8 years ago it dwindled to two teams at each age group and playing in the Genoa Little League.

Not sure what it will look like going forward.
Rossford's location doesnt help either. You got Dream Park, Total and the Tritons all in your back yard, cash registering a lot of families. I can tell you this year that Genoa league had a few of the communities put together "select" level teams to play more LLWS rules and such. The rec league still had 20+ teams. Out of all the communities that did (Woodmore, Lake, Oak Harbor, Otsego), Rossford has the highest enrollment and "didnt have the numbers" according to their now ex head coach.

I spent many summers down at the Marina, Beech Street, and the IBEW fields umpiring games for Rossford teams. I can tell you, the times have changed.
 
Rossford's location doesnt help either. You got Dream Park, Total and the Tritons all in your back yard, cash registering a lot of families. I can tell you this year that Genoa league had a few of the communities put together "select" level teams to play more LLWS rules and such. The rec league still had 20+ teams. Out of all the communities that did (Woodmore, Lake, Oak Harbor, Otsego), Rossford has the highest enrollment and "didnt have the numbers" according to their now ex head coach.

I spent many summers down at the Marina, Beech Street, and the IBEW fields umpiring games for Rossford teams. I can tell you, the times have changed.

Location is definitely a problem. It seems like communities that try to run it through a rec program have issues, too. The Oregon league seems like the bottom fell out of it, and when Rossford rec ran the baseball program people started leaving in droves. The varsity coach tried to develop a feeder program, but it didn't solve any problems. Half the parents wanted a rec experience and half wanted full travel at a discount price. In the end, no one was happy.
 
You got solid grasp on this stuff dad.

If your kid wants the added instruction have at it. It cannot hurt. I have seen plenty a dad force the added instruction on their kid and your case does not sound like that. In fact, it sounds like you are being cautious for all the right reasons. Baseball is a skill game so any instruction is good but it has to be the kid that wants it.

Your last statement is why I am against "travel ball" at such an early age. It bottlenecks your talent pool. You could have a dynamite athlete down the street but if he does not pick up a bat until 12 years old while his lessor athletic friends have been playing since 9U he is behind the eight ball. Since we cannot stop idiots from starting a select few kids in baseball at 8U you have to manage it as best you can. Sounds like you are on the right path.
I would have preferred to stay rec but felt like I didn't have a choice. When we played t-ball we had 80-100 kids but by the time coach pitch was done we had less than 50 kids and once the travel team took bunch of these kids, some other good kids went to clubs, we were essentially left with kids ranging from I have other sports as my first choice to I only came here cause parents made me. I really wished all those kids (that went to travel team and club teams) had stayed in the rec so we would have had a decent league of our own for a fraction of the cost of travel play. To me it feels like most of the money (we paid to travel team) went to jersey and tournament fees and not any skill development. For that reason, I do not plan to put my 9 year old in any travel teams but instead may be use that uniform money to take him to some paid lessons... for that reason I wondered if taking him to lessons now would be helpful or wait a little longer like I did for the older one.
 
I would have preferred to stay rec but felt like I didn't have a choice. When we played t-ball we had 80-100 kids but by the time coach pitch was done we had less than 50 kids and once the travel team took bunch of these kids, some other good kids went to clubs, we were essentially left with kids ranging from I have other sports as my first choice to I only came here cause parents made me. I really wished all those kids (that went to travel team and club teams) had stayed in the rec so we would have had a decent league of our own for a fraction of the cost of travel play. To me it feels like most of the money (we paid to travel team) went to jersey and tournament fees and not any skill development. For that reason, I do not plan to put my 9 year old in any travel teams but instead may be use that uniform money to take him to some paid lessons... for that reason I wondered if taking him to lessons now would be helpful or wait a little longer like I did for the older one.

You can always start your own...

Just kidding. As I said, a good travel program is hard to find. Maybe start a thread on "how to select the right travel team." I will say, having coached a couple of years of "travel" for an organization started by a guy like us who was unhappy with the rec experience as opposed to guys who do this as a part/full-time gig, there are a lot of expenses that you don't account for when you start out.

Rental of practice space over the winter, fields for practice and games during the season, etc. is a big one.
 
You can always start your own...

Just kidding. As I said, a good travel program is hard to find. Maybe start a thread on "how to select the right travel team." I will say, having coached a couple of years of "travel" for an organization started by a guy like us who was unhappy with the rec experience as opposed to guys who do this as a part/full-time gig, there are a lot of expenses that you don't account for when you start out.

Rental of practice space over the winter, fields for practice and games during the season, etc. is a big one.
That would be a disaster - LOL.
 
I have been doing some online research on what the proper age would be for a youth baseball player to receive one-on-one paid professional training. It seems like around 12 years seems like a good age. However, when we go to youth baseball games and tryouts I find out most parents have been taking their kids to these lessons since they were 8 or 9 years old. We all know baseball lessons (especially one-on-one) are not cheap. Can kids 8,9 and 10 year old really grasp the concept of advanced training they may receive or are we just handing over money to the professional and getting the "same" lessons perhaps a good little league couch can teach?

I was pretty resolute that "professional" training is not needed this early in the game play but the fear of missing out is starting to make me think twice. :)

thank you all in advance.
One-on-one lessons at a younger age might not be the best idea, but small group lessons at a reputable facility with knowledgeable coaches that focus on the basic fundamentals can be beneficial. When my kid was 8, he took a couple classes called Hit, Run, Score at Pinnacle in Medina County. Coach Goddard from Wadsworth was the lead coach and he had some younger coaches assisting. One of the assistants was a kid named Drew Saylor (he went on to much bigger and better professional coaching roles). Classes were 45 minutes of skills/fundamentals, then 45 minutes of live game (coaches pitched). When they worked on fundamentals, it was the basics from how to hold the ball and throwing mechanics to how to run the bases. My kid got a lot out of the classes and has continued to find much success in baseball. Another kid that was in a couple of his classes is now a freshman starting SS at some big university in Columbus.....and his dad was a very well known and respected high school coach.

If I had to do it again, I would do the same exact thing. BTW, the cost of 6-weeks of group sessions wasn't much more that what one private lession would have cost.
 
I didn't read every word of every post here, but from what I've read, there is a lot of good advice from people who appear grounded and understand the big picture. So I'll just add a little bit.

IMO, from what I've seen as a high school coach, the easiest thing to correct is defensive fundamentals. For this, you can get the basic fundamentals from YouTube, have your son watch and understand the videos, and just rep the crap out of it. The sooner he can master the fundamentals, the sooner he can consider more advanced defensive lessons. But really, I don't think that's necessary. I'm afraid taking defensive, position-specific lessons too soon would pigeonhole your son into certain position(s) too early on. Just rep it out. And if he gets to middle school and his likely positions begin to become clear, advanced lessons are fine if you think they are necessary.

Second easiest to correct would be tweaking someone's swing. Notice I said "tweaking," not teaching. Certain mechanics are harder to change than others. For example, learning how to use one's lower body properly, and maximizing the kinetic chain within one's swing, are tougher to teach than bat path and upper body mechanics. They're still fixable, but not as easily.

With that said, most people spend there money on the swing. But be careful - I know many "hitting coaches" who simply make money using their facility for BP. No teaching, no explaining, no videos, no feedback... just a little tee work, a turf cage, and a fancy pitching machine. If they are taking lessons at a young age, they need to be primarily focused on learning the different aspects of the swing. Balance. Purpose of the stride. Lower half mechanics. Swing sequence: Hips --> shoulders --> arms --> hands. Palm-up palm-down through the zone. How not to drop the shoulder, etc. And LOTS of tee work. So if you are going to spend money here, don't keep sending your son if you're not getting these things.

And with hitting, there are hundreds of hitting gurus with hundreds of different techniques and philosophies. It really all boils down to the same stuff in the end, while also understanding that every batter is different. Anyone promising to magically create the perfect swing for every batter is lying.

The third hardest thing to teach is baseball instincts ("baseball IQ"). Whether it's baserunning, remaining calm and knowing what to do under pressure on defense, or understanding your approach at the plate, the best way to build baseball instincts and IQ is just to play. A lot. While I am a big supporter of local kids playing rec ball with their local community team (albeit against travel tournament competition), those teams and leagues normally don't play many games. The more games you can play in those middle elementary grades, the better (to an extent, obviously). HOWEVER, this only applies if you have coaches who treat the boys' arms properly. If you have the Johnny All-Star Coach throwing the same 2 pitchers every game and not moving the players around defensively, find another team. And I'm also an avid proponent of playing as many sports as possible, so by "the more games, the better," I just meant during the summer. Boys' arms need a break. If they don't play a fall sport, that's a great time for rest and to hit the weight room (or do something else, anything else).

The hardest thing to correct is someone's throwing motion. If you were ever going to spend money on anything, I'd spend money getting good help to teach your son how to throw properly. Breaking hands apart at the belly button, power position, arm path, using the wrist, finishing over the opposite knee, tucking glove into chest/armpit, etc. I've coached 15+ years combined at high school and 14U, and you'd be amazed how many middle schoolers cannot throw properly. And by that age, it is really, really, really difficult to correct how someone throws. This doesn't have to be pitching lessons - just playing catch properly. 'Cuz let's be honest, if you can't throw, you're going to be stuck without a position unless you're an exceptionally rare athlete who can rake.

Sorry, I ended up typing more than I planned. Just my $0.02
 
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I played and now coach travel ball. My boys started doing hitting lessons about once a week when they were 8. I trust the guy explicitly and needed a different voice from my own. I also learned a lot watching the lessons.

Haven't done fielding or 'pitching' lessons but lord knows my kids could use better arms!
 
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