Navigating through the world of baseball with your child can be very difficult. Knowing what to do, how you should be doing it, and putting yourself in the right places isn't always easy. But coming from a former high-level baseball player, here's some lessons I've learned and some advice for you to make your journey easier.
Ages 5-12: At these ages, just make sure your child is having fun playing the game. There's no scouting going at this point, so there's no reason to put a lot of pressure on them. But while they enjoy playing the game, you want to focus on helping them build strong baseball fundamentals with great swinging, fielding, and throwing technique. If you have the budget for private lessons, this is a good time to start.
Pushing your child to start to work on their conditioning and fitness with basic exercises like pushups and jogging, will help them get ahead as well. When your child gets to the age of 11 or 12, you should also start moving all your practice to the larger size fields. This will help make the transition to the bigger fields much easier.
Ages 13-15: At this point you start playing on the larger field, and now all your child's games will be with 300+ feet fences. You're also starting to venture into the world of school ball and more competitive levels of travel ball.
The key here is for your child to continue to build their skillset. For hitting, spend time learning how to hit curveballs and other off speed pitches. For pitchers, learn some new pitches. Overall, just make sure your child continues to build on the fundamentals with more advanced skills and techniques.
This is also a good time to get into more advanced weight training programs. If you have the budget for personal trainers or gyms with guided programming, it's a very worthwhile investment. Being a better and stronger athlete will always make your child be a better baseball player.
Ages 16-18: Here you're most likely watching your child play high school ball in the spring and fall, and showcase ball during the summer. The stakes are higher, and if you pay attention, you'll begin to see a lot of scouts come out during this time.
The key is that when your child is playing, you want them to be on winning teams. You may not have much control over how good the school team is, but with travel ball teams you do. The more your team wins, the more tournament championship games your child plays in, and the more talented players your child is around, the more likely your child will be seen and scouted. It's really that simple.
You can also increase the odds of your child getting college offers by attending camps hosted by colleges during the summer. They can be pricey, but if you can afford it, it's worth the money.
Lastly, if or when your child does get college offers, make sure they choose their school with academics in mind. Baseball beyond college is anything but guaranteed, and their time in college needs to be taken seriously.
In all, do the best you can with what you have. Enjoy the journey, and give your child every opportunity to chase their baseball dreams.