Quote:
Originally posted by jicecone
Remember this day. You will burn them out!!!!
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Believe me, the points you raise regarding burning kids out are not lost upon most of the coaches and parents that live in the world of competitive ball.
You have to be sensitive to the temperment of the player. If the player only has a casual interest in baseball (regardless of his talent), forcing him to "waste" his entire summer playing 60+ ballgames is certainly the path to burnout, I'll agree.
But, in many cases, the players on the team are his FRIENDS! Being with his friends is what the player WANTS to do! Besides playing baseball, they swim together ... spend the night at each other's house ... ride bikes ... and go to movies.
Would you say that a child who is extremely active in Boy Scouts and goes to every meeting ... attends all their activities ... is in risk of "burnout"?
It is only burnout if it is burning them out. If the child rolls his eyes when Mom and Dad say, "Put on your cleats, you have practice in 15 minutes," then perhaps that child is showing signs of burnout.
Believe it or not ... there kids out there who LOVE to play baseball. These kids thrive in the competitive environment. Playing only 15-20 baseball games in the 3 months they have off from school would be an outrage to many of these kids. It's what they LOVE to do!
Admitedly, it's not for everyone. Do some kids not belong in the competitive environment? Certainly!
It is such a trite criticism that "all" these kids are going to be burnt out by high school. And yet, *ALL* the truly great high school players come from the world of competitive baseball. No - that's not even true. Whether great or not, in this area, *ALL* the high school players come from the world of competitive baseball. I can not think of a single recreational walk-on. It just doesn't happen.
It's all about the temperment of the player. For anybody to prevent an outstanding recreational player from playing competitive ball because they are ostensibly doing the player a "favor" by not allowing him to be burned out - could actually be denying that player what could possibly be the greatest experience of his life. This is particularly true if it seems the boy has a true passion for the sport.
Can a player get burned out playing competitive baseball? Sure! But to pretend that it happens routinely is a gross overstatement. It happens, sure. But for every competitive ballplayer that is getting burned out ... there is a talented recreational player out there languishing in a sea mediocrity and being frustrated by his surroundings and who would
thrive in another world.
I think baseball at ALL levels is good! I'm not trying to be critical of ANY of them. I think the most important thing to do is *match* the player to the level of play that best suits his temperment. Do some parents make bad choices? Yes! Are *all* competitive players on the path to burnout? No!