My son, who says he loves baseball and doesn't want to quit, spends most of the game playing in the dirt. He likes to hit and does pretty well when he's paying attention in the field, but he has to be told again and again by us and the coaches to pay attention, and even then he goes right back to kicking the dirt. The coaches recently had him play catcher and sit out (more kids than positions) one inning and almost had him sit out a second inning until we questioned it, so we feel like they're going to try not to play him if they can get away with it. What can we do to help him pay attention? Is it fair to say he can't play if he's not going to pay attention? He also plays soccer and doesn't have the problem with soccer (of course it's faster paced). He says he's bored, but he's the first to yell that he had fun at the end of the game. We've told him if he doesn't like it, then it's ok to say so, but he insists he does like it. We're frustrated and not sure what to do.
Thanks to everyone for your answers! You all have made me feel a lot better! I also want to say that I'm not concerned about the sitting for an inning, but when it was about to be sitting for two innings and they only played three innings in the last game, that didn't seem quite right. I agree...God bless the coaches and I wouldn't want to do it, so I apologize for coming across like we were telling the coach what to do. My husband was near the dugout and heard the coach tell our son that he'd already played and needed to sit again and my husband mentioned that he had just sat out. Our primary concern is his safety and then that he has fun. The next game is on Saturday, so we'll see what happens. Thanks again to everyone...you are wonderful!
The past two games have gone really well. We've just been staying positive with him and stressing that we don't want him to get hurt. The dirt-playing has gone from (literally) about 65 times per game to 10. He's been hitting the heck out of the ball (3-3 last night, with a double, three runs, and three RBI's) and that seems to have changed things a little with the coaches as well. He sat out one inning in the last two games, but as noted before, pretty much everyone does. He got the game ball last night and was really happy. Thanks to everyone for your help and support!
Keep him in soccer, take him out of baseball until he developes a longer attention span.
Blessings.......
Totally normal!! We have had 2 children play baseball/tball at that age. One did somersaults and picked flowers and the other played in the dirt and talked to the other team while they were on base. They both enjoyed it and were not the only kids on the team who would get distracted. Baseball is a tough sport for a young kiddo. It's slow moving and can be quite boring. At this age as long as they are having fun that is all that should matter.
Totally normal - it's a slow game unless you're at bat, pitching, or have a ball coming at you. Five is very young for a kid to focus on what other kids are doing on the other side of the field.
A good team will rotate the kids and not just play the "good" ones. At this age, it's about participation and not winning. Find out what the league's philosophy is and what the coaches' guidelines are. They should be rotating kids in and out of the game, and also playing them at different positions so that they learn the game. They shouldn't get to choose their favorite positions at this age unless there is a physical issue, and everyone should learn fielding, catching, throwing, hitting, baserunning, and strategy equally.
If this is a highly competitive team for 5 year olds, I'd question it and find something more supportive from a developmental standpoint.
My son doesn’t play baseball but in our city just about all the boys do and that is exactly the comments I hear from most the parents.
One Mom was saying her son doesn’t pay attention and just looks off into the distance, but that he LOVES baseball. A Dad said he had seen an interview with Alex Rodriguez – A-Rod of the Yankess, and he was saying that he (A-Rod) in little league would be doing the same thing and his Mom complained about it all the time, and now look at him!
From what I understand, very common.
Just wanted to add that =-)
Also curious is this the first time your son is playing baseball with a league? Maybe he just needs more time.
I was the player agent for the little league my kids played for and trust me ... this is COMPLETELY normal behaviour for a 5 year old LOL Most 5 year olds have an attention span of about 5 minutes LOL And baseball CAN be a slow moving game.
It is important for him to try to pay attention ... but my suggestion is to stop talking to him about it and let nature take it's course. One time of him getting hit with a baseball (and with a bunch of 5 year olds the chances of it being very hard are pretty low, but it will still sting) will get the message across.
If the league is a Little League International chartered league there are mandatory playing times they must follow for ALL players. As long as each child is playing their mandatory minimum there's not much that can be done to the coaches. But it also might be incentive for the kiddo if he is played only the minimum. Maybe explain that to him as part of an incentive to pay attention while playing.
Good luck and if he really does love the game ... he'll get better and have more focus as he gets older.
I was the unoffical photographer of my son's baseball team last year. 7 year olds. About 1600 photos, for 11 kids.
The team FAVORITE series was everyone's "I'm not BORED, I promise" photos. Cartwheels in the outfield. Grass "hats", grass rain, grass fights. Dirt, dirt, dirt (raining, scuffing, sand castles, sitting in it, rolling in it, drawing in it, sweeping it, etc). Mits were on each and every single players face at least once throughout the season (because I have 11 great individual shots). Twirls, handstands, monsterfaces, climbing fences... you name some form of goofing off... and I've got photos of it.
I've (of course) got the great "intense" photos as well (running bases, hitting balls, throws, etc), "surprise" (omg it's it MY mit! How'd it get there???), etc. But, hands down, the team favs are the goofy ones.
What concerns ME however, is you son not being "played". They're FIVE for heaven's sake, and baseball is BORING (swing 37 and a ...miss! Swing 38...) for fielders. In our league it's required that everyone plays. And our coach rotated the kids so that they played a different position every inning (all 3 of them, and 3 innings tool 1-1.5 hours). So every player played every position a couple times by the end of the season. Ditto, because it's little kid little league, there are WAY more players on the field (some teams had up to 16 players on the field). The only team that "sat" players during innings had 23 players on it. Total screw up... that's enough for 2 teams. Don't know how THAT happened. But yeah. The fact that any players are sitting out at FIVE YEARS OLD really concerns me.
heee!
after over a decade on the LL field with my boys, i have to say this one made me giggle.
yes. five year olds who LOVE baseball and would be devastated if they couldn't play do indeed play in the dirt during the game. and watch birds. and catch bugs. and scratch themselves like puppies. and hit each other.
do not stress over this. do not get frustrated. do not make him stop playing. let the coach handle it, and enjoy yourselves!
:) khairete
S.
My son did the same thing at age 5. By the end of the season he was saying it was too boring but then the next spring he wanted to play again and did a lot less playing in the dirt :) Let the coaches keep doing their job of reminding/coaching him and he will eventually click into focus as he matures.
Its normal. Its baseball its very boring for a young child to be standing out in the field and I actually agree w/ the coach keeping him on the bench if he isn't paying attention its a safety issue. We had a child get hurt and had to leave for the ER because he wasn't paying attention and got nailed hard in the head w/ a baseball our baseball coach will pull a child out and put them on the bench if he catches them not paying attention on the field.
Edited: I am sure they aren't putting him on the bench because he is missing plays but because of the safety concern. They don't want to see him get hurt.
Isn't that what they all do? At least the younger ones who haven't really gotten into the game yet?
I've been to my share of t-ball games, and seen my share of 4, 5, & 6 year old outfielders picking flowers, or their noses, or their butts, spinning until they fall down, etc.
I think it's completely developmentally normal. It is a pretty boring game, after all. I wouldn't read too much into it.
My son tried a t-ball class at 4, and it was very hard to keep him interested and doing what the coach instructed. So we tried soccer. Much faster paced, involving all the kids most of the time, and he was like a different kid. And this was immediately after t-ball, so there was no real maturing that toook place to constitute the difference in him. He loves soccer and does much better with staying on task because he's involved all the time.
I think it may just be the nature of t-ball... to be a little less exciting. And he is only 5, right? Really nothing to be too concerned about at this point...
Absolutely! It's part of the joy of watching the game at that age :)
My husband coached non competive baseball for years and always said there was some great artwork in the field!
It is normal. and it is also normal for a coach to move kids around. Not so much at this age because he is not paying attention so much as to just give all the kids a try at all the spots on the field. It is also a safety issue when a child is not paying attention and a ball comes flying at his head. when my son was 5 he would lay down in the field and watch the clouds lol. he hated standing around. now as he got older he got more into it. played till his senior year in high school. give it some time. but you might want to be careful of criticizing the coach. question him if you want but do it off away from the kids. there was a saying we used to have on the bottom of a baseball note. It came out from the league. It went something along the lines of "to all you parents who want to coach from the sidelines. This is a volunteer league. Either put up or shut up, if your not going to do some coaching on the field then you don't get to criticize those who do" It was mainly for those parents who thought their first grader was the next babe ruth and ran down the other kids and the coaches. not saying your like that lol just be careful of being overly critical of those who give the time up to coach.
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my son would count the airplanes overhead... he didn't like the slowness of the game.. he loved baseballl but wanted to keep moving.. we tried soccer.. faster game.. no real down time... he loved it... and at 14 he is playing soccer and basketball.. still likes to play baseball with freinds.. but not on a team.
First, every kid has to sit out an inning or two...your son is no exception. He is a five year old boy, of course it is normal for him to play in the dirt.
I wouldn't let him play in the pitcher's position until he pays more attention because it can be too dangerous.
Totally normal! In fact, my son was so bored during baseball at age 5 that he spent half the time in the outfield, chasing butterflies.
I can hardly stay awake during baseball, lol! It's not a very engaging game, so I am not surprised that he is bored......esp. at his young age.
If your son is happy let him have his fun. I have four kids and there have been many times where I thought I would get involved for my child and "help him" but all it did was make him uncomfortable on the team. If the coach thought it was in issue he would bring it up but at that age there should be no pressure. Sit back and start journaling these cute encounters to share with him later. When he is ready he will start paying more attention. And baseball is boring. Soccer you can't look away for a second. But again I think kids need to learn to be bored so they can appreciate that it is okay to not be moving every second of the day. I know if I have heard time watching, I stop watching. It's not about us, it's for the kids.
LOL - Yup! Normal little boy!
Sounds totally normal to me. I am 40 and most little league games are so boring to me *I* want to play in the dirt, lol!
Seriously, even though he 'loves' baseball- at his age, he means he likes being in the group, wearing his team colors, etc. He doesn't know all the stats and plays and scores the way he might later when he is older!
Just remind him gently to keep paying attention when he is in the field and don't worry about it. I remember one kindergarten soccer game where my son's team finally got the ball for the first time in the game- and all those little kids ran the entire WRONG way down the field and scored a goal for the other side, lol!
All of the parents were yelling "Wrong Way! Turn around!" But the kids had fun and that's what mattered.
When my daughter started T-ball at age 5, ALL the kids were pretty interested in the dirt and had to get lots of reminders to watch for the ball. But really, it's hard to blame them too much -- most of the time, the hitter didn't get the ball past the pitcher anyway, so with their short attention spans it's just hard for them to keep an eye on the ball when they're not really expecting to get to catch it anyway. Plus, at least for my daughter, she never really got to play in dirt otherwise, so it was a big novelty. This is not to say that you can't or shouldn't keep encouraging your son to pay attention, but just that his behavior is normal. It also sounds, though, like the expectations are a little higher in your son's league. In my daughter's league, there were just 3 innings and everyone batted each time and played a field position each time, so there wasn't pressure that they'd be sitting out. Maybe he needs a more casual league?
Maybe a smaller team.
It is possible he is having fun, when he's actually doing something. Kid baseball is a lot of waiting around and the truth is, it's dull. Just take a breath and smile when it is his turn at bat.
My girl, now 6 11/12, was the gymnast during T-Ball for a couple of years. She constantly turned flips in the infield and the outfield, in the dugout, or she was playing in the dirt. It's just part of the fun of them playing at that age.
Yep--the dirt is the biggest draw of baseball! LOL
My DH manages a team and it IS really dangerous if the kid isn't paying attention to the point where they could get walloped by a hit (or a hard throw).
My son is on the 6-7-8 team right now (fall ball) and although 97% gone, there are still some dirt diggers!
If they are in the outfield, they will play in the grass. If they are in the infield, they will play in the dirt. I have seen 9 and 10 year olds do it. Baseball is boring if the kids aren't hitting and at 5 they have problems hitting the ball off the T. I do not believe though, that a child should sit out 2 innings. I understand one, but at 5 it shouldn't be 2.
Have fun at the next game!
I agree with what someone else said. Even though he claims he likes baseball, I really don't think he does. When he says he likes baseball, I think he is referring to just playing in the dirt. Since he doesn't play in the dirt during soccer (I agree, it would be much harder to do that during soccer), I really think he is bored with baseball. Baseball is very slow paced and more boring than soccer. Forget baseball - at least for now.
