Essential T-Ball Equipment Checklist for Little League Baseball
Having your child start tee ball for the first time can be a very exciting time for you and your child. Tee ball will be a place where they learn the fundamentals of baseball, as well as getting benefits from exercise and social interaction.
The biggest thing about starting tee ball is making sure your child gets off to the right start. Getting your child off to the right start means making sure they have the right equipment they need to have fun and learn how to play baseball. But what does that look like?
Do the need a glove, bat, baseball pants, etc.?
They need certain pieces of baseball equipment to help them play and others to keep them safe. Tee ball doesn’t require a ton of equipment to get started, but if you’re new to the baseball scene it can be helpful to have a guide.
I have created this list as a guide for what I consider essential and optional equipment for the first season of tee ball.
Tee Ball Glove
baseball gloves are synonymous with the game of baseball. They are what is needed for your child to play defense. They will use them to learn to catch and field a baseball.
Tee ball gloves aren’t just smaller versions of youth and adult baseball gloves. They are specifically designed for little kids with developing hands.
Constructed of materials such as mesh and pig skin, allows t ball gloves to be light weight and easier to close. They usually range from 8-9.5 inches in length.
Although it may be tempting to buy a youth glove because they are larger, leading you to think it would be easier to catch a baseball. Youth gloves are made from higher grade leather and tend to be much stiffer and heavier than a true t ball glove.
You will also have to break a youth glove and then you most likely will be disappointed when your child can’t hardly close the glove when needed.
Tee Ball Bat
Besides a baseball glove, a tee ball bat will be the second most important piece of performance equipment. Unless you’re on a rare team where they have team bats, it will be a good idea to have your own.
Finding the right t ball bat can be one of the trickier pieces of equipment to choose. It can also be where you can spend most of your money.
There are four different aspects that can determine what is the right bat for tee ball. These characteristics will be length, weight, material and price.
It can be confusing when trying to find the right length or bat drop. Or, what about alloy bats or bats made from a composite material.
Tee Ball Batting Helmet
A batting helmet is probably the most important piece of equipment for safety your child needs for playing tee ball. After all, keeping your child’s head safe should be top priority in any sport.
Fortunately, most tee ball leagues use a rubber ball and not hard balls. This takes a little bit of the worry away as players learn to throw and catch.
However, you will never be able to predict an errant throw.
Some teams may have team helmets, but I feel that each player should have their own helmet, that only their head has been in.
Not all kids have the same size head and getting the proper fit is an important part of wearing a helmet.
Also you will be able to keep a closer eye on the condition of the helmet, incase it sees any damage that could render it unsafe.
Tee Ball Cleats
Baseball cleats are another important part of a baseball players equipment. Cleats help a player get grip when they are running or suddenly changing directions.
Unless your local league has turf baseball fields I would suggest buying some baseball or softball cleats.
You can get away with using tennis shoes, but they are not ideal. If you decide to go with tennis shoes, your child will more than likely be slipping and sliding, trying to find his or her footing.
This can be frustrating to the player especially when they are tagged out because they slipped when trying to run from base to base.
If your local field has turf, I would suggest trying to find turf shoes. Turf shoes are specifically designed for turf fields.
Once again tennis shoes will definitely suffice for use on turf, but they will still tend to slide around. Not as much as they would on dirt or clay, but just enough to be frustrating at times.
Baseball Equipment Bag
Some people would tell you that an equipment baseball bag isn’t an essential part of the equipment needed for tee ball.
However, by the time you buy a glove, helmet, bat, cleats and maybe a couple balls, you will want something to put all that gear in. Carrying it to and from the car for practices and games will get old rather quickly.
You can find baseball bags in all different shapes and sizes. Most common bags for this age are back pack style. You can find them in smaller sizes just built for tee ball players.
Many young players like to carry their equipment with them to the field. It makes them feel good and like they fit in with everyone else on the team.
Protective Cup
A protective cup is a device that boy players wear to protect their private area on the body from contact. They wear this for the rare occasion a baseball takes a bad hop and hits them in this area.
Many tee ball division do not enforce a young player to wear a protective cup. And, many parents don’t want to push wearing a protective cup on a player if they don’t have too because it is uncomfortable a first.
However when players get old they will be put in situations where they will want to wear a protective cup. Catching for instance puts them at a much high risk of being hit by a baseball in this area.
Today there as many advances in the way protective cups are designed. They can be found with more flexible sides and breathable holes allowing them to be more comfortable.
Optional Tee Ball Equipment
Now that you know what I would call the essentials for tee ball equipment, lets talk about optional equipment. Optional equipment may be a piece of equipment that will allow to practice anytime, anywhere.
For a younger player this will allow them to get the hang of baseball much quicker than just a couple practices during the week.
Batting Tee
A batting tee is perhaps the best piece of optional equipment you can buy. Its one of those pieces that if your child is serious about wanting to play baseball, then a batting tee is essential.
This will allow you to work on hitting anywhere you can get some swings. Also a batting tee is a great training tool that baseball players use to hone their swing for their entire playing career.
If you ever decide to get into coaching this will for sure come in handy.
Soft Tee Balls
This goes without explaining. You cant practice baseball without having baseballs. Tee ball baseballs for little league baseball will be of the soft rubber variety.
These are called safety baseballs. They help cut down on the number of injuries that would be sustained if players were using real hard baseballs.
Having a dozen or two at your disposal will allow you to get more work done on non team practice days. Early work will set your child up for success on the field.
Chest Heart Guard Shirt
A chest heart guard shirt is a shirt with padding located over a players chest or heart. These shirts have started to appear more and more at the youth baseball level.
They are intended to soften the blow from a baseball if it were to hit a player right in the chest.
There have been several instances of players being hit in the chest and disrupting the rhythm of their heart and going into cardiac arrest. This is called Commotio Cortis.
However there hasn’t been much data to show that these shirts will actually help prevent this from occurring. But, I would like to also say that it definitely won’t hurt if you decide to have your child wear one while playing.
Tee Ball Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a helmet with a chin strap?
Youth helmets can be found in several different sizes and finding the right fit shouldn’t be that hard. You are not required to have a chin strap on you helmet.
Do I need to buy a helmet with a defensive face mask?
Most traditional t ball divisions don’t require defensive face masks for players. However many softball divisions do. I would recommend checking with your local league to see what they require.
Can my child wear soccer cleats?
Yes, your child can wear soccer cleats. Soccer cleats will allow you child to get the needed grip just like baseball cleats. If your hesitant to buy baseball cleats and have a pair of soccer cleats laying around, then by all means try those first. Just don’t wear cleats with metal spikes.
What are bat standards?
Bat standards are different requirements that bat manufacturer must meet depending on the league the bat is designed for. Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth tee ball divisions are using the new USA baseball bat standard. Check with your league if you are unsure what standard your local league requires.
