I think it was Clint who said "There are two kinds of people in this game. Those that are humble and those that are about to be."
Jerry you make some great points. And every post has been very good imo. In HS I can not recruit. Well at let me just say I do not recruit. I have to take what I get and then make the very most of it in order to build a winning program. And the other side of that is I want to help every young man become the best player he can IF he has the desire to get there.
It is very important to develop all of your players because those guys on the bench most of the time one day may be the guys on the field most of the time. And you just never know whats going to happen to a kid during the HS years. I have had kids who could not get many innings as Fresh or Sophs on JV to being our best players as Sr's. The fact is the kids that get most of the attention and individual time are the ones that need it the most. The ones that are really good understand how to do their own cage work. They know how to work. They have developed a great work ethic. They dont get as much individual time from the coaching staff because they don't need as much as the others.
Just because your on the bench most of the time does not mean you will be on the bench most of the time down the road. It just means your going to have to get better. Prepare for your opportunities. And then take advantage of them. There is a big difference - Waiting for your opportunities vs Prepareing for your opportunities.
If your not playing much make sure your in a situation where you are in the summer. Make sure your preparing for opportunities in the off season. What you do in the off season will determine what you can do during the season. What sitting the bench does is force a player to make decisions. Your either going to do something about it to get on the field. Or your going to decide its not worth it and you move on. And the fact is some kids "best" is good enough to earn this role player status. There is nothing wrong with that. Everyone can not be a starter. The problem is some people simply dont believe that is good enough. And many times its the people that dont wear a uniform and plant negative seeds in the persons mind that their best is not good enough.
Great posts I enjoy hearing everyone's opinion.