Unsure how to help your kid fall in love with baseball? You are not alone. Millions of parents ponder the answer to this question every year. They are eager to transmit the love of the game from their generation to the next but they don’t know how to. One way is to get your little one some of the best baseball gear for kids. Not the cheap stuff you see on local sports stores or outside baseball stadiums. But something that is as sturdy as it is stylish. That something should also be able to spark curiosity towards the game in your youngster.
Buying the best baseball gear for kids won’t be enough. You’d also have to put in the time and effort to help your child learn the ropes of the game. That means dedicating your weekends, evenings, or any other free time you may get to playing baseball with your little one.
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Wilson A200 Youth Baseball Glove
The Wilson A200 Youth Baseball Glove is made for kids who have never hut the diamond before. It’s made of EVA – not leather – and therefore provides better breathability than its natural-made counterpart. This allows it to keep your little one’s hands from getting sweaty.
Equally noteworthy is its H-shaped webbing pattern. Mostly preferred by adult infielders, outfielders and third basemen, it has more open parts and allows less dirt and debris to get into the glove. And it is also sturdy enough to handle (and catch) those fiercely hit balls.
The fact that it’s made of a synthetic material provides this glove with two features. The first of which is that it gives a very light feel to the wearer and is extremely easy to close. Secondly, this glove has no break-in period. Your little one won’t have to do anything to get it into game condition.
What is more, this glove also gives you the freedom to have the name of your little one’s favorite baseball team etched on its palm. And the best thing about this product? It provides room for your little one to grow without being too massive. What more can you ask for!
- Needs no breaking in
- Extremely soft construction
- Has room for growing hands
- Equipped with H-pattern webbing
- Pricey for a youth baseball glove
SKLZ Soft Cushioned Safety Baseballs
Do you fear that your little one hasn’t attained great aim yet? Worried he might end up giving you a shiner with one of those stray throws? Then you have plenty reasons to get them these nine-inch foam balls. Here’s why we’re saying that.
These cushioned safety baseball are precisely what their name implies. They have a soft construction that won’t leave any impact on the targeted surface – which, in most cases, might be the parent’s face. Your little one could practice for hours without worrying about the safety of her parents.
However, despite being softer than an average baseball, they are of the same circumference. Your little one won’t feel lost once they eventually transition from it to the real baseball. That is not where the good news ends.
Worrying less about the ball means your child could concentrate more on the pitch of their ball – in case they’re pitching it – and the their hand-and-eye co-ordination – in case they are the one with the bat. And the fact that these cushioned baseballs come in a package of two means you can afford to lose one.
- Same size as standard baseballs
- Come in a pack of 2
- Have a cushioned construction
- Reduce fear about impact
- Won’t last longer than a couple of months
Franklin Sports Kids Tee Ball and Baseball Batting Tee
Here’s one of those pieces of baseball gear that will help your kid learn the ropes of the game. It is specifically designed to teach young players how to perfect their hitting. You can also adjust the size of this batting tee to complement the height of your child.
That means you can adjust its height anywhere between 18-inches and 26-inches. Just make sure you have your kid’s height in consideration while you’re making the adjustment. Only then you’d be able to set it at a height where your young hitter can practice her hand-eye coordination.
The best thing about this batting tee is its versatility. You can either use it as a hanging tee when your children are still extremely young. Or you can remove the hanging attachment to convert it into your average batting tee with a height between 25-inches and 36-inches.
Yet another feature of this kit that impressed us was its budget-friendly cost. Most similar kits that you see on the market cost close to $100. This one costs less than 1/4th of the amount and still offers all the items that you normally get in models costing four times as much.
- Grows with your child
- Improves hand-eye coordination
- Comes with a plastic baseball bat
- Over hang could be sturdier
Blast Softball Swing Analyzer
Nothing excites kids as much as seeing their performance on a screen. Which is exactly what this baseball 3D bat swing analyzer offers. You’re required to attach it to the handle of your kid’s baseball bat and it will start delivering the goods. Here’s the information that it offers.
It assesses the bat’s swing on various factors including its connection with the ball, rotation in the build-up to the hit, acceleration of the bat as it was rotating and how good/otherwise the bat came into contact with the ball. That’s not where the fun stops.
This swing analyzer also gives highly useful tips for the players to improve their game. It also compares their performance metrics among others of similar age. This, in turn, leads to a feeling of competition and will encourage your child to do their best in every session.
Goal-setting is another worth-having feature of this swing analyzer. At the start of every session, you or your little one could type into the app the goal you’re targeting for the day. You can then compare your actual performance with the set goal, along with tips on where you have or could have done better.
- Provides useful tips
- Automatically assesses every swing
- Offers real-time insights
- Has loads of drills to help your child improve their game
- Doesn’t come cheap
Wilson Youth Poly Warp Knit baseball Pant
Performance and comfort are the signpost of this leading youth baseball pant. The presence of cuffed hems and graduated inseams allow it to provide a proper fit whereas the presence of ‘W’ Wilson logo on the side-pocket will let your little one show-off on the field.
Other features that let it provide a perfect fit included an elastic waistband, a zip front and a double-snap closure. All three joint their forces to give a snug fit. And you can also adjust any of the three if you feel that the fit is too tight for your liking.
This pant also has the ability to serve a wide range of audience. Mainly because it’s available in six different sizes – from XXS to XXL – that one could easily find their perfect size. But also because it’s available in three colors, ranging from the chic Grey to a classic white.
Not everything about this paint is above-suspicion though. Some of its previous users have complained that they found the legs shorter than expected on deliver. Which is why we suggest that you order one size bigger, just to be on the safe side.
- Adjustable elastic waistband
- Graduated inseams
- ‘W’ Wilson logo on the side-pocket
- Two snap closure and durable YKK zipper
- Legs run one size smaller
8 Best Batting Practice Jacket
SKLZ Hurricane Category 4 Batting Swing Trainer
Here’s another piece of item that will improve your little one’s batting. You can easily set it up in your own backyard and let your kid take advantage of the focused and repetitive training sessions that it offers to improve their mechanics and hand-eye coordination. That’s not where the good news ends.
Unlike other swing trainers that only stop at what we discussed in the previous paragraph, the SKLZ Hurricane Category 4 moves one step ahead. It does that by providing real-time feedback on contact, ball flight, power and bat speed. There’s more.
You can increase or decrease this swing trainer’s height as well. This way your little one can improve both their high pitch as well as low-pitch shots. And the fact that it has four resistance bands means you can practice for both fastpitch and slowpitch games too.
Yet another notable feature of this product is that you can practice both outside as well as inside pitches with it. Just take a step closer to the trainer when practicing inside pitches, before retreating when you want to hit an outside or middle pitch.
- Provides real-time feedback
- Comes with 4 resistance bands
- Lets you practice inside, middle and outside pitches
- Can be used both indoors as well as outdoors
- Very heavy and thus not easy to transport
Louisville Slugger Blue Flame Pitching Machine
The Louisville Slugger Blue Flame Pitching Machine belongs to the one-size-fits-all category. You can use it to throw virtually any type of ball including fast pitch softballs, dimple balls, plastic balls. It even has the clearance to throw soccer and volleyballs.
Equally adjustable is the speed of the balls coming out of this machine. Simply turning the screws on its frame let you decide whether you want to throw balls at a relatively slow 18 miles per hour. Or do you want the batter to handle hard balls coming in at 45 mph.
Its maximum speed limit for plastic and light flight balls touches the 60mph mark. You can also use it to throw slowpitch softballs at up to 12-inches arch. Or, if you just want to teach your little one proper swing mechanics, simply set this soft toss pitching machine to throw level pitches.
One more feature of this product that impressed us is its operation. Mainly because it’s completely manual and requires no electricity connection or batteries. But also because it’s incredibly lightweight for a pitching machine and can be carried from point A to point B by two healthy adults.
- Lightweight and compact
- Completely manual operation
- Throws (almost) all types of balls
- Lets you increase or decrease the speed of the balls
- Isn’t foldable
How To Get Your Kid To Love Baseball
Here’s what you could do to get your kid to love baseball:
Start at a young age
Experts tell us that children absorb much more information than adults. The first five years of their life are critical as kids develop 85% of their core brain during that period. Everything they’d learn for the rest of their lives would be piled on top of – and supported by – that base.
Which is why, if you want to get your kid to love baseball, you should start right now. Dedicate your evenings and weekends to practice throwing and catching with them in the backyard. Make sure your little one is sitting alongside you when you’re watching your favorite team play on TV.
Take them to their first baseball game
For better or for worse, humans behave differently in groups than we do alone. The desire to conform to the group’s norms and be a part of it overrides other emotions. That is mainly because, over the centuries, our brains have developed thinking that only in groups we’re safe.
Your child’s group thinking won’t be any different. When you take them to their first baseball game, they will get to know what it feels like to support a team in a crowd. They’d also get their first brush with the euphoria that engulfs us adults when one of our team’s players has hit a ball out of the park. And then there will be no turning back for them.
Buy them baseball gear
You can play with them for as many hours as you want, take with them to as many games as you could make time for, but your little one won’t really fall in love with baseball unless they have the equipment with which they can play the game at home, or in the park.
That’s why you might want to buy baseball gear for your kid. You could start by gifting them the youth baseball bat mentioned above. Or, if you have enough free time, you could set up a batting cage in your backyard. The choice is yours as to how far you want to go to help your kid fall in love with the game.
Share baseball stories with them
All the former baseball players have one thing in common: they love recalling their glory days. A home run they hit over the highway, that time they struck out a batter who went on to make a big name for himself in the game, or when their team went on a multiple game winning streak.
You should try sharing your favorite baseball stories with your kids too. They’d prove far more effective in getting them to love the game than simply telling kids how much you love the game. That’s because children feed off of emotions, and that includes your love for the sport.
Do not overdo it
It’s naïve to expect that your kid will love baseball the same way you do. Or that they’d apply your advice after listening to it for the very first time. Children learn at their own pace. As a parent, you should be aware of this as you try to get your child to love baseball.
That means that if your little one has missed a pitch while you are playing with them in the backyard, don’t inundate them with advice. Dish out ‘helpful’ tips as sparsely as possible. In other words, don’t be too serious and let your child have some fun. In their age, it’s all that matters.
