Have you asked the coach why is was done? I remember that Little League pitching rules along with the number of games played in a short period of time during playoffs created situations where our team put a kid with little experience out on the mound at the end of the game. How does your son feel about it? Was it a bad experience for him? I just read a great article today that might interest you. Here's the link: http://www.mommie911.com/content/disturbances-field-eight-strategies-parent-resilient-athlete-winning-disappointment-game

Whether it was fair or not, how we parents handle things at home can make a big difference in how a young player feels about himself and the situation.

totally not

First and foremost, I would talk to the coach. Rules for the 9-10yr. old league state that any pitcher who pitches more than 2 innings(starts a 3rd inning) has to have 2 days rest before he/she can pitch again. The rules also state that at this level, pitchers can only pitch a total of 6 innings per calendar week (most leagues will only allow pitchers to pitch 3 innings a game as well). All of these rules may have been factors as to why the coach could not use another pitcher. This often happens when games are tied and go longer than the coach had planned for and has used his pitchers to the maximum he already can under the rules. As far as the warm-up, the rules also state that a new pitcher gets at least 7 pitches to warm up (this is a rule every coach and umpire should know).

Rolando, this sounds like you had a bad day. I don't know if you are the 9 year old player, or an adult.
If you are the 9 year old, let me tell you something, I remember being 9 and having the same disappointments. But now I know there is more to Baseball than winning and performing well. Even Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer ever, has bad days on the mound, like last night. The true greatness of Baseball and life for that matter is to bounce back. Every set back is an opportunity to rally! Remember a bad day on the ball field beats a good day at work (or school)!

To answer Delaney the Mom is wanting me to ask this, to her it was not fair that out of the whole season they had 4 pitchers which were for coaches son they also had a 5th that was one of there good friends so 5 pitchers pitched all season. Our son is a lefty he takes leason from Ozzie Consenco which says he is an awesome pitcher but one on one is a little different when you have abatter in front of you. He just turn 9 in April, he pitched maybe 4 inning out of the whole season, when the game came tied they did not warm him up, infact he was at batt the 3rd batter he was the 3rd out and I saw him walking to the mound he threw manybe 3 warm up pitches, it was 9 to 9 tie in the 6th, my wife was shaking and crying, he had played a great first base all game. No warm up and he was not ready, to her she kept saying these coaches mismanaged the game and now they expect my son to come in a clean it up,(they had runners at 3rd that should have scorec) )our son was very nervous it was all on his shoulders, he struck to batters out,picked off one and, walked 2 then the coach went to the mound my son started getting upset he said his arm hurt after the first pitch (warm up is very important) they took him out and brought in one of theree sons that had pitched anyway in the game they went into the 7 and lost 10-9, my son was hurt and of course we told him you played an great first base and you didn't do bad pitching, all he kept saying was I wasnt ready my arm hurt after the first pitch. He just turned 9 he made all stars, the other 5 pitchers that pitched on his team are 10 turning 11 there moving up to the next league, we just think they should of been pitching him more or attleast had him war up better, they mismangaged the game, and the 3rd base coach could have sent manyh runners in that he did not, My wife feels they put to much pressure on our son 9 to 9 tie and expect him to clean it up. Now he said the other day"I just want to play first base I do not want to pitch anymore"

I wouldn't be too concerned about your son's complaint that his arm was hurting. It doesn't sound like he threw too many pitches, and at nine years old, he'll recover pretty quickly. Watch his arm closely during all stars, but there's a good chance he just wasn't comfortable pitching in that situation. I've seen many boys complain of arm soreness in order to get out of a difficult situation. It also helps them save face if they were disappointed in their performance.

You have so many wonderful years ahead of you. Try not to get too upset over some poor coaching circumstances. My husband and I were disappointed that our oldest son didn't make the all-star team when he was nine years old. It was difficult, be we were patient and waited for him to get an opportunity to show the league what he could do in future years. The following year, he was the winning pitcher in our league's 10-year-old state championship game. He and many of the same players went on to win their high school state championship. My son has since played division one baseball, which has its own set of challenges with poor coaching. Use this experience to help your son learn how to handle these situations. Encourage him to continue if he truly loves to play baseball. There will be many moments to celebrate in the future if you can prevent getting stuck in bitter memories. And let us know how they do in their all-star tournament. Good luck!

Thanks to everyone and your kind answers I think my wife was more hurt than anyone it really shook her up. It is time to move on, and we all no there will always be "daddy" baseball I have seen on every team he has played on coaches sons and the soaches son are the pitchers.(except for last winter ball his coach was very fair and that is going to be the All Star Coach!! We are very happy to annoucnce he made the 9 year old All star team and will be Caoched by Mike Mazza whom he played with before whom is very fair and a really good coach we are looking forward to moving a head with All Stars!!! Thank you to everyone for your answers it really helped!!!

Hi Rolandos mom and dad. Not warming a pitcher up appropriately is a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, Coaches, players, parents, umpires, food stand workers, ground keepers.... Maybe this situation was just bad luck. It is better to be lucky than good, sometimes.

Maybe the Coach was too busy to warm Rolando up properly, the coach has a lot going on. Maybe you could offer help so the coach could give the kids more attention, Coaches always need help preparing the field before and after games, keeping score, taking players to the bathroom, bringing snacks and gum and stuff like that.

Also, you should bring Rolando to the field early before the game and prepare him yourself; play catch with him or hit him groundball or pop up, it is really fun!!!. I also suggest that you not dwell on Coaching mistakes, it sets a bad example for Rolando and destroys the teams spirit. Baseball is not about scapegoating, it is about team-work and overcoming adversity. I also suggest that getting emotional at games is a big big mistake. When parents act out like shaking and crying during games, it puts way too much preasure on players like Rolando. Players can not play well under those circumstances. Parents should stay on an even-keel, reassure their children that you believe in him (or her) win or lose, and you will always be their biggest fan, both on and off the field.

Delaney I understand and I treid to keep Mom calm, it just hurt her. I am not going to dwell on it I practice all the time with my son, had I known they were going to use him to pitch I would of gladly warmend it up. Bottom line is the coaches missed managed the game, they should of been pitching my son all along if they expected him to pitch at all insteat all season they used there 4 sons hey there volenteer there time thats there choice, when I coached i did not show favorites to anyone. We move forward to al stars with a great coach and we are looking forward to it..thanks

Hi Rolando!

Delaney said it well so I won't repeate anything about warming up.

My own son, who is 11, plays on a traveling baseball team and is a pitcher/catcher/first baseman. He is usually a starter when he pitches, but he has been called on numerous times to come in and play the role of the "stopper". He is not comfortable with it. He prefers to start, but he understands the importance of each player doing whatever he can for the team.

That is what my wife and I have stressed with all of our children. We try to get them to see the adversity as an opportunity. I also try and remind him that the life of a pitcher involves being put in some tight spots. There is no shame in giving it your best and not getting the outcome you desire. It is rather the enjoyment of the game and the thrill of the moment that they should remember.

It sounds like it was quite an exiting game. It also sounds like your son did a very good job considering the circumstances. He (and you) should be proud of his effort and the fact that he did not back down. Well done! That shows a lot of maturity fo ra 9 year old. Yes, I know that it stinks that they lost, but it sure sounds like it was a heck of a game to watch!

Oh yea, My son knows all too well about "daddy" baseball from his past team.

Good luck with the All Stars!

Hey robert buss thanks and your right there is no shame in giving it your best shot!!! I am very proud of him. He has a great left handed pic off move and a hell of an arm. He is an great first baseman in fact a parent came up to me and said he looked like Carlos Pena on first base. They did the same thing to him last All stars, he is not pich hardly any the whole season and they brought him in and he pulled it off, he had just turned 8 then. The thing that gets me is because of "daddy baseball he has not been given a chance to pitch to much, Even last season he is left handed they had him at 3rd base and catcher and he is a lefty, the only reason I let him do it is because they had no one else on the team with an arm that could catch and throw like him, I have taken him to Ozzie Conseco and he can not believe that he has not been pitching. Again Daddy ball has been in the way for sure. He told me the other day I dont want to pitch anymore. I am grateful that the All star coach is Mike Mazza who is the fairest coach I have ever seen, in fact he is tougher on his own son. So we wil have fun with All stars he is a great coach. It is tough when your 8 turning he just turned 9 right before that game, and your plaing with kids that are 10 and moving up and there gonna pitch before you. My main concern was they did not warm him up at all, and the fact it was alot of pressure on him. He had 2 strike outs pic one off and walked to batters, when he walked the 2 batter ther tears came, he said he was letting his team down, so they took him out. It was a tough situation. He still has another year on this league and I think he will be just fine , he is a great ball player, it hurt mom more than anything. I am hoping to get a team for winter ball, I played all my life, I went to the jr olympics in 1989, i have coached 2 other times. So I just want him to have fun with it, my dad was real hard on me and I just want my son to play ball and have fun .Thanks that was great advice

First of all at this age leagues should be all about player development. First of all in our organization, no matter what your record is, 1st or last, you still have a change to win the league in the playoffs at the end of the season. We do this to encourage more player development during the season and allow the teams to tighten it up a bit for the playoffs. I will use this as primise for a lead in to a true story. We had a coach who was all about winning and would only pitch 3-4 players during the season, he had the best record in league for 3 straight years, we also had a coach who played to win, but believed in the concept of player development and worked 7-8 pitchers during the season. When it came time for the season ending tournment, which is held over 3 consecutive days, because of league pitching rules about pitching on consecutive days, Coach A would always run out of pitchers and lose to Coach B. It was a real testimony to the patience and player development of Coach B . So as coaches we have to remember it's all about teaching and giving opportunities, if done well all our winners. I would also like to commend Laura Mooney for some solid insights.