Akadema AJT99 11" Youth Baseball Glove - Perfect for Beginner Players

TMutaffisTMutaffis: Overall, I would not recommend this glove and would also pause with any Akadema purchase based on my experience with their customer service.

Positives:

* The glove is mostly leather (more on this later)
* Sizing is appropriate for Youth gloves, and it is relatively lightweight

Challenges:

* The palm liner is made of a slick synthetic material that becomes slippery once you wear the glove for a more than a few minutes. Obviously a slippery/uncomfortable glove is not good. (Major flaw!)
* I'm not sure that this glove has optimal geometry. It fits a Youth hand quite well but seems to naturally want to close thumb to middle finger instead of ring finger or pinkie, but it has a decent-sized pocket so this is not a huge issue.

Overall I think that this glove could be okay, but I've coached players and my kids have used Rawlings Highlight, Wilson A450/500, Mizuno Prospect, and other similar price range gloves and had better success with these alternatives.

I'd also like to mention that Akadema has been terrible with their responsiveness when I asked if they knew about the palm liner issues and had any recommendations to address it...

United States on Sep 05, 2023

Ray E.: This glove fit my 4year old, it’s a better quality glove than almost all tball gloves on the market right now.

United States on Sep 22, 2022

MAS1: My son (8 at the time of purchase and season of use) is small for his age and has little, weak hands at the moment. We tried a ton of gloves, and I do mean a ton. He tried nice gloves (read: thick, stiff leather) and couldn't close them well even when broken in. On the other end of the spectrum was the Mizuno Prospect series. The Mizunos are great little gloves. A little flimsy, but great for kids like mine that struggle with a higher quality glove. I really don't think there's a huge difference in the Prospects and Akadema Rookie series really.

But this past spring I picked up this Akadema because Amazon Warehouse had a return for a ridiculously low price. I also picked up an Akadema ARA93 for the same reason; it was cheap. The ARA93 seemed really cheap and flimsy, with cruddy laces, and although my son liked it because of the color (blue), I didn't think it was what he needed. So he reluctantly agreed to try the ATJ99. This glove instantly clicked with him. He went from literally struggling just to play catch, to making All Stars as a first baseman. It was honestly pretty wild.

This seems to be made of pigskin, and as a result 1) it breaks in quickly and 2) it may...

United States on Nov 08, 2021

Javier M.: I compared this to youth gloves from Mizuno, Rawlings, and Wilson and without a doubt this was the best option for my 7 year old. The quality of the leather shell for the price can’t be beat. The glove arrives slightly stiff and needs a little breaking in. However, I was able to break in to a point where it was game ready for my son in just one session using the Aso method (YouTube it - they’re very helpful videos). The adjustable wrist strap is also great and helps ensure my son can get a few years out of it before stepping up his glove game. The only downside I would say is that the inside palm could be a little better quality, but I don’t think that it detracts much from the value you’re getting out of this glove.

United States on May 12, 2021

hugo aguilar jr: its a great glove, but my son is 5 and its hard for him to actually squeeze compared to the academy gloves like nike and lousville slugger, in a few months or in the next year i know he will break it in and it will be an awesome buy. good material, just wish they would give u a "break-in" starter kit to come with it. good stuff tho! *note my son is 5 but plays 8u already i wanted a more "serious" glove for him but i guess his old one will do until he gets this one broken in properly

United States on Jan 23, 2015