T-Ball and Coach Pitch Buying Guide:
Glove - Find one that fits their hand and they can open and close easily.
Bats - Find a bat they can swing comfortably. You want to look for bats that are drop 10 (-10) to drop 12 (-12).
Cleats - Molded plastic only - good to have, but kids can get by with sneakers.
Batting helmet required.
JBO Minor Buying Guide:
Glove - Plan to pay at least $40 for a glove. If you believe your kid will want to continue playing, pay more. A good 10.5"-12" glove can last them into middle-school.
Bat - JBO players can use either BBCOR, BPF 1.15, or USA Baseball certified bats. Unless your child is a bigger kid, you still want to look for a drop 10 (-10) bat. Bat Digest suggests ~$10 per game played. So, at this age you shouldn't worry about spending more than ~$150 for a bat. You can find deals for good used bats on ebay.com and SidelineSwap.com.
Cleats - Molded plastic only. Strongly suggested.
Batting helmet required.
JBO Juniors Buying Guide:
Glove - Plan to pay at least $60 for a glove. If you believe your kid will want to continue playing, pay more.
Bat - JBO players can use either BBCOR, BPF 1.15, or USA Baseball certified bats. Bat Digest suggests ~$10 per game played. So, at this age you shouldn't worry about spending more than ~$200 for a bat. You can find deals for good used bats on ebay.com and SidelineSwap.com.
Cleats - Molded plastic only. Required.
Batting helmet required.
JBO Seniors Buying Guide:
Glove - Plan to pay at least $60 for a glove. If you believe your kid will want to continue playing, pay more.
Bat - JBO players can use either BBCOR, BPF 1.15, or USA Baseball certified bats. You will want to start lowering the drop on the bat as they get closer to high school when they are required to swing a drop 3 (BBCOR) bat. Trying out -8 and -5 bats and even -3 bats is advised. Bat Digest suggests ~$10 per game played. So, at this age you shouldn't worry about spending more than ~$200 for a bat. You can find deals for good used bats on ebay.com and SidelineSwap.com.
Cleats - Metal or molded plastic. Required.
Batting helmet required.