Teenager Needs Clothing and Gear Help

[adieste]

My 14-year-old son has an expensive travel ball habit, and (amongst other ventures) has chosen Little League umpiring to pay for his baseball passion. The good news is that he participates in the sport in which he passionately loves, learns much more about the game, and is good enough that the local LL chapters are willing to pay him $25 per game. The bad news is that all of the money he is earning has been plowed back into blue gear ... a necessary evil.

While the $200 or so he has invested in beginner-level protective gear is an expected part of his overhead, he is struggling with the price of "looking professional", as the price of specialty shirts, pants, shoes, etc., can be pretty expensive. Right now he's getting by with a couple of used shirts, a pair of WalMart greys, and a pair of old solid black sneakers.

Added to the dilemma is the fact that he's a pretty little guy (5'4" and 100 lbs soaking wet), so it's tough to find pants that fit his 30" waist (those were the days).

So, here's the pitch ... if anyone here has/had a son who used to umpire, or if any of you were once that small, and would like to donate and/or sell inexpensivelly your used gear, you'd make a hard-working kid very happy.

Short note: It's not that his mom and I can't afford to pay for his baseball activities, it's that we beleive in that the more the kid earns his own way, the more he will appreciate it. Example - we pay gas, food, and hotels for tournaments, he pays registrations, fees, equipment, etc.

It's easy for kids nowadays to say, "Dad, I need a $200 glove (or two), a $250 BBCOR bat (or two), $300 per month to join the fancy academy team, etc. We prefer that the boy work part-time (umpire, sells baseball equipment out of his garage business, does yard work, etc.) There aren't a lot of (legal) things a 14-year-old can do to earn money these days.

Anyway, anything gently used and modestly priced would be appreciated. Feel free to contact:

Beto Dieste

209-588-1556

adieste@comcast.net

PS: Look him up on USSSA, and you'll see how much baseball the kid plays!

Thanks to you all ... Al (the Dad half of the father and son blue crew)

[BT_Blue]

Al,

take a look at Smitty gear or, god forbid, Officials Choice. They have some very inexpensive clothes. Also get a pair of combo pants from Smitty. Also pick up a 6 stitch combo hat to use on both the plate and base. Diamond has some inexpensive gear as well as Pro-9. As for shoes, go to Target or Walmart and pick up some steel toe black shoes.

Also hit ebay or amazon as well as the buy/sell/trade section on sites like this. Also some leagues can get deals on equipment through the companies they get their stuff from. Talk to the people at the league.