Maybe at a school like Silver Grove where the numbers are so low that they don't even have football but if you look at the Boone, Ryles, Conner, Holy Cross, CovCath Beechwood, Dixie the numbers are there.

 

Baseball is a game where the average size kid can play. You don't have to be huge like in football or tall like in Basketball, you can be a smaller sized kid and be a star. While maybe the younger fans think it is boring, it's more because they don't understand the game and how it is played that is the cause of it. Sit with me during a game, and you will never be bored, as I will show you the shortstop moving to his left or the third baseman moving in on the pitch. It's what you don't understand that boring, not what you understand.

 

TOG we sound a whole lot alike. I'll have to drive up the hill from Ludlow this year and watch a game with ya.

TOG we sound a whole lot alike. I'll have to drive up the hill from Ludlow this year and watch a game with ya.

 

You can find me rather easily, behind the backstop, with a score book in front of me. :thumb:

I was told that little league registrations for the Bardstown-Nelson Co. league are down dramatically from most years. They usually have 600 or so kids every year, and not even 100 have registered yet (cutoff is 2/28 and they'll probably have to extend).

These coaches and these progams are the cause of the decline, you can no longer excel at baseball with just a ball and glove, you got to play aau, fall ball, summer ball, it takes a ton of money for the kids to be on the team and play, and a lot of money for parents to travel around and be supportive. IMO its becoming a rich boys game.

I was told that little league registrations for the Bardstown-Nelson Co. league are down dramatically from most years. They usually have 600 or so kids every year, and not even 100 have registered yet (cutoff is 2/28 and they'll probably have to extend).

 

To clarify, that's not even 100 as of a few days ago.

These coaches and these progams are the cause of the decline, you can no longer excel at baseball with just a ball and glove, you got to play aau, fall ball, summer ball, it takes a ton of money for the kids to be on the team and play, and a lot of money for parents to travel around and be supportive. IMO its becoming a rich boys game.

It is the same in any sport you play now if you want to compete. My 12 year old son plays AAU basketball and we travel every weekend. The hotels and eating out will break you up, I am not rich by any means and it is rough sometimes but that is what we love to do, so I guess you just have to decide if you are willing to do it or not. It takes alot of time and effort, he also plays football and has just told me he wants to give up baseball and just play the other two-which is fine with me if that is what he wants.

These coaches and these progams are the cause of the decline, you can no longer excel at baseball with just a ball and glove, you got to play aau, fall ball, summer ball, it takes a ton of money for the kids to be on the team and play, and a lot of money for parents to travel around and be supportive. IMO its becoming a rich boys game.

 

I agree with your assessment Skilld-Kid. Here in Clay County the main focus tends to be on the All Star kids. Seems to me that All Stars begins too early and the other kids (most kids) see their season end way too soon. Add the fact that AAU basketball draws so many kids away from baseball, and I think it's obvious why we only have two teams in some of our leagues.

 

There were more than a few very good baseball players in Clay County when Little League was played all summer long and there was only 1 or 2 All Star games.

 

I blame the decline in baseball participation here on the All Star program.

AAU baseball is destroying youth baseball leagues. Not saying its hurting baseball. My kids have played at Praire Village in Louisville the past 8 years and the talent level has dropped drastically. All the top players started playing on aau teams and left the leagues. The games were terrible. 9-10 yr old kid pitch scores would be 5-5 after first inning with only one hit. We got frustrated with the league being down and are no longer in it. My son was not getting anything out of it. He wanted to play aau but we couldnt find a team to fit his needs so he is playing basketball.

AAU baseball is destroying youth baseball leagues. Not saying its hurting baseball. My kids have played at Praire Village in Louisville the past 8 years and the talent level has dropped drastically. All the top players started playing on aau teams and left the leagues. The games were terrible. 9-10 yr old kid pitch scores would be 5-5 after first inning with only one hit. We got frustrated with the league being down and are no longer in it. My son was not getting anything out of it. He wanted to play aau but we couldnt find a team to fit his needs so he is playing basketball.

 

I am not sure that I totally agree with this. At some level I do but I also agree with what Cooperstown said earlier in the thread. Here in Northern KY, leagues like SW OH are thriving with hundreds of teams and growing each year. Other similar leagues are also seeing their numbers grow. I just think that people are looking for different options than the traditional Little League and Knothole leagues that we had when we were kids.

I went to a Bengals game this year. First NFL game I had ever been to and it was terrible. Much rather watch baseball any day of the week over that. But everybody is different.

 

I agree with you. Pro football in person is painful. The TV timeouts while sitting in the stadium drive me crazy.

I am not sure that I totally agree with this. At some level I do but I also agree with what Cooperstown said earlier in the thread. Here in Northern KY, leagues like SW OH are thriving with hundreds of teams and growing each year. Other similar leagues are also seeing their numbers grow. I just think that people are looking for different options than the traditional Little League and Knothole leagues that we had when we were kids.

 

My sons former league is thriving with NUMBERS but not competitive. Praire Village in Louisville has over 20 t-ball teams. 10 full machine pitch teams. However, once the kids move up to kid pitch the best players start filtering out to aau. The older teams have numbers but just not competitive. Youth league teams practice 2 maybe 3 times a week if they can find a place to practice. A team of 12 will usually have 3 or 4 not show up for regular practices and still get to play. Parents of better players leave because they think they will get more out of aau. Practice more, play more games, more competitive. Parents invest in it so they make sure their kids show up.

Well according to Forbes magazine baseball participation has been on the decline for the past 12 years. However, it looks like the trend maybe changing.

 

”Thanks to the aching economy, the expensive summer vacation is out for many families around the country. A quiet beneficiary: youth baseball, a declining sport now enjoying a recession-induced resurgence. Following years of steady decline, organizations from Little League to Tee Ball USA to the Connie Mack league are generating more sign-ups in 2009, thanks to the financial downturn…Tee Ball leagues, have seen a 10% to 15% surge in inquiries and sign-ups this year…it’s the same story for the American Amateur Baseball Congress, which counts Connie Mack, Mickey Mantle and several other youth and adult leagues under its umbrella. After suffering a steady decline in registration over the past 12 years, from 300,000 players in 1997 to 200,000 in 2008…elsewhere, Pony baseball and softball, an independent national affiliation group that organizes local teams around the country, expects a 6% to 8% increase in registrations this year after several down years, according to president Abraham Key….Also spurring more interest around the country: ESPN’s increased coverage of the Little League World Series, which now includes a plethora of tournament games (once upon a time, ABC televised only the finals).” - Tom VanRiper on Forbes.com

TOG you are 100% correct in that knowing what you are watching and doing is the key to no boredom. However..............despite kids participating in baseball........baseball IQ I think is hitting an all time low.

 

Things such as moving a runner over, throwing behind a runner, etc are not part of the Playstation baseball game!!!!!!!!!!

TOG you are 100% correct in that knowing what you are watching and doing is the key to no boredom. However..............despite kids participating in baseball........baseball IQ I think is hitting an all time low.

 

Things such as moving a runner over, throwing behind a runner, etc are not part of the Playstation baseball game!!!!!!!!!![/QUOTE]

 

Neither is playing fundamental defense. All kids see are the players diving and making the specatular grabs on Playstation or Sportscenter.

Baseball is a dying sport. I can't remember the last time I watch a game on TV.