Can A 3 Year Old Play T Ball?
Tee Ball can be a great way to get your child outside and involved early in team sports. Developing motor skills and social interaction is at the core of a tee ball program. But, you may be worried because your child is only 3 years old and you don’t know if your local league will let him or her play.
Most leagues will advertise their tee ball programs for 4-6 year olds. This may seem like it’s clear that a 3 year old is unable to participate. However, if you can contact someone within the league, like the player agent, they may tell you they can participate. But, they may want to ask you a few questions first about your child to see if their ready.
Lets take a closer look at what tee ball is and those questions you may be asked.
What is tee ball?
Tee ball as an entry-level sport for little kids wanting to play baseball or softball. Tee ball allows younger players the opportunity to learn the basic fundamentals and rules of the game.
They will start to learn the proper techniques of catching, throwing, hitting and running bases. As they get older and improve, they will take these fundamentals on to coach pitch or machine pitch and eventually kid pitch.
What is the attention span of a 3 year old?
Most experts agree that generally the attention span of a young child is around 2-3 minutes times their age, with 5 times being the upper limit. Therefore, a 3 year old would roughly be able to pay attention for around 6-9 minutes and upwards of 15 minutes.
Now this is just a generalization and not a definite, some young children will be slightly less or more.
The reason they may ask this about your child is for three main concerns. One is for their own safety, safety of their teammates and distraction of other players.
If your child has an extremely short attention span, this may lead to them being a safety concern. The safety of players is a top priority for little league baseball and little league softball programs.
For example, you don’t want your child playing third base in their first game and running around chasing a grasshopper. Or, even worse walking in to someone swinging a baseball bat.
How is your 3 year olds personality?
Is your child easy going or does he or she get upset at the drop of a hat (pun intended)? This is an important question because at some point or another, a teammate is going to take the ball away from them or take their turn to bat.
I say this because tee ball coaches are volunteering their time to coach. And, coaches don’t need to be trying to coach 12 kids while worrying about a kid throwing a temper tantrum, every time they turn around.
Now of course situations are going to arise and somebody is going to get their feelings hurt, but it doesn’t have to be at every practice. Nobody wants to have to babysit someones kid while trying to have a productive practice.
Does your 3 year old show an interest in sports?
Now obviously this isn’t a deal breaker. After all thats why you’re trying to sign them up for tee ball. Having a 3 year old that loves the game of baseball right from birth doesn’t happen everyday. But, knowing whether or not they like to play outside with other kids, getting dirty and tossing a ball around, does help.
Be honest here. If you’re not sure if they like baseball or not, it’s ok. I have had parents approach me and say they just want their kid outside getting exercise rather than sitting at home.
And who knows they may really take a liking to the game of baseball and you’ll never be able to get them off the field. Not such a bad thing.
Final Thoughts.
Starting your child early in a team sport such as tee ball can have many positive effects on their development. Just give these questions some consideration before jumping in too soon. After all they don’t hand out any college baseball scholarships in tee ball.
Related Questions.
How much does T Ball cost?
Registration fees for tee ball are usually between 75-100 dollars. This will cover uniform costs, league operations and paying for umpires.
Some leagues will add in fundraisers to help offset the initial cost. Also, many leagues have scholarships for families who may need assistance. Don’t be afraid to ask during the registration process if money is tight and your child really wants to play.
What equipment does my child need to play tee ball?
Although uniform essentials are usually provided, such as baseball pants, jersey and a hat. There is also a need for other equipment, such as a baseball glove, baseball bat, baseball cleats and a helmet. You can expect to pay anywhere from 100-250 dollars, depending on how nice of equipment you purchase. For a complete checklist of the essential tee ball equipment click here.
What is the time commitment?
Normally there is a spring season and a fall season for little league baseball. For the spring season, practices in warmer climates usually start in February, while cooler climates will be early April. For the fall season, warmer climates will start practices in august and cooler climates about the same.
Teams will have simple practice schedules, usually twice per week after school, lasting around 1-1/2 hours in duration.
Games will either be on the weekends or one night during the week. These games may or may not offset a weekday practice. Game length for t-ball division is around 1 hour and 15 minutes, or 6 innings.
Also you may be asked to travel for games. Some leagues are big enough that they have enough teams within the league and never have to travel. Other leagues may consist of only 2 or 3 teams and you may be asked travel to neighboring leagues. It really just depends on the league.
Overall, just plan on being there 2-3 evenings per week and possibly a third day on the weekend.
Will I be asked to help?
Most likely you will be asked to help in some capacity. Recreational leagues don’t have a lot of extra money to hire coaches, assistant coaches or concessionaires. If you have any background in baseball you may be asked to volunteer.
Your assistance to the coach will be much appreciated, I assure you. You may also be asked to cover the concession stand for a game or two, normally on a rotation with other parents.
If you’re a mom with some organization skills and don’t mind wrangling a bunch of excited 4-6 year olds. You may be interested in being a team mom.
Team moms help in the dugout so the coaches can focus on what’s happening on the field. You will be there to help get kids ready to hit or if they can’t find something of theirs in the dugout.
If being a team mom is something that interests you, check out this article i wrote on dugout organization tips.
Is tee ball dangerous?
Tee ball, just like any other sport, can be physically demanding. Players will be asked to run, swing a baseball bat and throw a baseball. There will be some bumps and bruises along the way.
Overall, tee ball is relatively safe as long as kids don’t get out of hand swinging bats around other teammates.
