I am a proud father of four, and my three boys started playing baseball at the ripe old age of four. They have played every mix of rec, select, and travel baseball you could imagine. They started at different skill levels, developed at different speeds, and each needed something different from me and the game as they grew up. My oldest plays high school ball now. My youngest son is playing travel ball. My middle son has mostly stepped away. That's been okay too.
I've spent the last 11 years surrounded by youth baseball, through more fall, spring, and summer seasons than I can count. During their earlier years, I always coached them in some capacity. Some seasons I was an assistant, and others I was the head coach. These days I'm not formally coaching. I'm just trying to be a supportive dad in the stands.
When I started coaching, I didn't really know what I was doing. I wasn't sure how to teach smaller kids just learning the game, what they were ready to understand, or what was fair to expect from them. Our boys were learning the game while we were learning everything that comes with it.
I made plenty of mistakes along the way. This site isn't built by someone who got every season or every decision right. I built it so parents who are new to baseball can find the explanations I wish someone had given me, and so families who already know the game have something worth coming back to.
My daughter is now moving from rec volleyball into her first club season. It's a different sport, but a lot of the family questions feel familiar, and we're still learning. I wish a site like this existed for volleyball. Maybe it does and I just haven't found it yet.
More than anything, I want Two Taps to remind parents that young players are still kids. Development matters. So do character and confidence, and so does how our guidance feels to the kid hearing it.
