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Pros & Cons of Rest vs Fall/Winter Game Play
I've never been too much of a fan of indoor ball for several reasons. First and foremost is giving the kids a physical and mental break, especially pitchers and catchers. Secondly, if the indoor facility is not large enough to accommodate outfielders and has a low ceiling, the game realism is compromised. Smaller indoor venues, IMO, are great for giving pitcher/catcher practice against live hitting, and batters get a decent amount of game situation hitting practice. But with a low ceiling and no outfield, that's about the extent of it. Is there really value there over and above what you can do on you own?
Pros & Cons of Outdoor Fall Tournaments
Squeezing in a couple fall tournaments when you have the best weather Ohio has to offer seems to be very popular. Getting your newly formed '09 summer team on the field for a look-see to gauge your winter priorities team-wise is a plus for that. But is this a good value in terms of cost/benefit ratio?
Pros & Cons of Indoor Dirt vs Turf
There have been several combinations of approaches - dirt infields, which provide realistic ball hop and sliding, but the dust hangs like indoor LA smog, Turf is much cleaner, but the bouncy ball hop will spoil infielders - just watch how many don't get their glove down when going from turf to dirt infield. Then you have the issue of turf burns with sliding, but at least that CAN be minimized with protective equipment.
After seeing a lot of Ohio college teams approach this, I think they have a great formula. Play a few fall tournaments which, as I said above, gives the coaching staff a great look at the new team. Then, take that knowledge into a winter program focusing on your weaknesses FIRST, then work on all the rest.
I still stick to my theory of finishing club ball tournaments by the end of July, then give at least a month COMPLETELY off, more if possible. I'm NOT promoting any one venue, but what I thought was interesting was a post on the General Forum about a 14u indoor winter league at All Stars in the Continent (Columbus) that runs from October 25th through January 31st. - finishing just as the high school season starts. This schedule gives 2+ months break, then stretches games over late fall and winter. It gives coaches an opportunity to work on all individual fundamentals - pitching, hitting and team concepts. Then you get a game every so often to see what progress you are making. The best of both worlds.
Thoughts, opinions??
I've never been too much of a fan of indoor ball for several reasons. First and foremost is giving the kids a physical and mental break, especially pitchers and catchers. Secondly, if the indoor facility is not large enough to accommodate outfielders and has a low ceiling, the game realism is compromised. Smaller indoor venues, IMO, are great for giving pitcher/catcher practice against live hitting, and batters get a decent amount of game situation hitting practice. But with a low ceiling and no outfield, that's about the extent of it. Is there really value there over and above what you can do on you own?
Pros & Cons of Outdoor Fall Tournaments
Squeezing in a couple fall tournaments when you have the best weather Ohio has to offer seems to be very popular. Getting your newly formed '09 summer team on the field for a look-see to gauge your winter priorities team-wise is a plus for that. But is this a good value in terms of cost/benefit ratio?
Pros & Cons of Indoor Dirt vs Turf
There have been several combinations of approaches - dirt infields, which provide realistic ball hop and sliding, but the dust hangs like indoor LA smog, Turf is much cleaner, but the bouncy ball hop will spoil infielders - just watch how many don't get their glove down when going from turf to dirt infield. Then you have the issue of turf burns with sliding, but at least that CAN be minimized with protective equipment.
After seeing a lot of Ohio college teams approach this, I think they have a great formula. Play a few fall tournaments which, as I said above, gives the coaching staff a great look at the new team. Then, take that knowledge into a winter program focusing on your weaknesses FIRST, then work on all the rest.
I still stick to my theory of finishing club ball tournaments by the end of July, then give at least a month COMPLETELY off, more if possible. I'm NOT promoting any one venue, but what I thought was interesting was a post on the General Forum about a 14u indoor winter league at All Stars in the Continent (Columbus) that runs from October 25th through January 31st. - finishing just as the high school season starts. This schedule gives 2+ months break, then stretches games over late fall and winter. It gives coaches an opportunity to work on all individual fundamentals - pitching, hitting and team concepts. Then you get a game every so often to see what progress you are making. The best of both worlds.
Thoughts, opinions??
