For those of you who can remember....

at what age did your son become interested in baseball? Or for any type of ball that you could kick, hit, bounce, throw......whatever?

My son just turned two Monday, and it is all about cars and monstor trucks. Honest to goodness, he will sit down and ask me to turn it to the Speed channel and watch auto racing.

I like racing and all too, but I'm starting to think that a motorsports hobby for the youngin is gonna cost me a whole lot more than baseball in the future.

At christmas and then again for his birhtday, every present was "supposed" to be a "car" in his mind.

On top of that, I certainly didn't inherit the mechanical gene that my father has. I think I could be in trouble.

 

age?

My son played football at age 8.

Basketball: Age 8 thru this year

Baseball: Started at age 10, and has never looked back.

When they are ready they will let you know, for my son it was dinosaurs up until age 8 and then he decided sports might be fun. He still has dinosaurs in his room and he still plays sports.

 

Baseball on TV

It used to be easier to get them interested in baseball at an early age when the Atlanta Braves were on TBS every night. My son would stand in front of the TV with his minature bat and swing when the pitcher pitched the ball. Those were some fun days.


Now we have to teach our kids to type so they can be like Braves on TBR!!!

 

At about age five, my son discovered the joys of playing catch. He would meet me EVERY night at the door with two gloves and a ball. I would stand in the yard with my suit on and play catch with him until I finally said "I have got to go inside and say hello to your mother". Great times, and I miss them dearly. Well not so much the mother, but the catch.

 

Walt wanted his own cleats at 2. He wore them around the house for months. We had to drive all the way accross town to find him a team to play on. he didn't care what it was, he just wanted to be on a team. So he played soccer before he turned 3. Baseball started with coach pitch at 4. he didn't want the T. Duncan waited until he was 4.

My kids liked being on a team and competing. They played with cars like every other kid. They even got in to the battery power RC stuff. I think 2 things swung them to sports. 1) they liked the social part of being with friends and meeting people, 2) that's where I spent most of my time with them. We fish and snow ski a little but at young ages we worked on some kind of sport every day. And as they got older we limited TV unless it was ESPN.

 

When my son was 9 years old, playing pee wee football, he could run the ball like a gazelle. It broke my heart when he told me the next year that he wanted to play fall baseball instead of football. This was his first expressed interest in baseball and I prayed he would change his mind. Now I thank God for unanswered prayers.

 

I can remember like it was yesterday standing in the yard with my four year old son telling him, “just hold your glove up and I will hit it with the ball”. I would throw it in and he was so proud to catch it. Now we stand in the yard and he tells me, “just stand still and hold your glove up, I will hit it”. And yes, I am so proud when I can actually catch it.
Where did the time go?

 

Baseball Recipe

For all you new Dad's.......

Here's the Recipe

Step 1. A Baseball Glove (thrown into the crib everytime Mom isn't looking).

Step 2. A Brand New Baseball (thrown into the crib everytime Mom isn't looking).

Step 3. Substitute the Baseball for his Binky, Security Blanket or any other device he puts in his mouth.

Step 4. Praise him for throwing the ball. It doesn't matter where he throws it or what it breaks.

Step 5. At around 2 years old get him an "incrediball" and a broken in ball glove and start throwing him ground balls in the hallway. Ground balls are easier to catch and will help him gain hand eye coordination without too much frustration.

Step 6. Take him to see Baseball Games, Watch Baseball Games on TV, Talk about Baseball and it's rich history, buy him bats and balls and gloves to take the place of lame toys like army men and/or firetrucks,

Step 7. Watch "Baseball" marinate into the very fiber of his being!

Is this Brainwashing? Probably!

If it is.....I'm blaming my late (great) Dad. He used the recipe on me and then passed it down for me to use on my son.

Frankly, my son doesn't really know that Baseball is optional.

Of course it is....but I'm not going to be the one to tell him.

 

At what age....I think conception ! Seriously, I can't remember him ever not wanting a ball in his hand. When he was born, my husband took our 4 year old daughter to buy a gift for her baby brother. She picked out a Charlotte Hornets basketball and came to the hospital and placed it in his bassinet. Maybe we can blame (or thank) his sister for his obsession! If he wasn't playing with a ball, he was watching it on tv. I couldn't believe that an energetic 2 year old could watch a 9 inning baseball game, but he did. I do confess.... he had to get up and swing, pitch and run the bases at times, but he never lost interest.

aguyyouknow....sometimes I was the one throwing the sports equipment in the crib !

After the ground balls in the hall, and they are a little older...tennis balls off the fireplace hearth works really well too!

Oh and step #6...let them have the firetrucks too...there are many great ball players who at some point need a way to make a living and they are now at the fire dept! Got to prepare for the future too!

Other than those few things...I really like your list!

 

Technicality

I know I'm being technical here but my recipe limits the items to BASEBALL!

Sports Equipment is too broad a topic. I'd throw Home Plate or 1st Base in the crib before I'd leave a soccer ball anywhere near a baby. That's child abuse!