GaryMe posted:...I also MARVEL at the lack of vision some families/players have when it comes to converting to PO. Look at the rosters for any college team, and 1/2 the roster is pitchers, and maybe 1-2 guys listed as 2-way players. If I had a kid that was being converted to a PO in high school I would embrace that and work like a lunatic to get his measurable where he could play at the next level, be it JUCO or D1. Your chances of playing at the next level are exponentially better as a pitcher. ...
Well, what you say is all true. But I would hope that HS player being converted is a senior or very specific junior. How may 14-16 y.o. kids want to play baseball and JUST be a pitcher? Nor should they want to. Heck, they've only been on the big diamond for a few years and are really just learning so many aspects of the game. I think that for the vast majority, even if evident that their next level opportunity will be as a P, they should play the whole game in HS if the situation allows, both to enjoy it and learn it. As secondary benefit, that will only help them should they continue playing beyond HS. There is certainly nothing wrong, however, with tilting the extra instruction and training on the P side if indicators are pointing in that direction.
I do get what you are saying in the sense that so many parents resist that direction when presented. But the vast majority of parents are just gaining an understanding of the reality of the funnel as it is happening and their sons have always been standouts as position players up to this point. And, of course, there is the natural phenomena of rose colored glasses when it comes to our own offspring. So, it's tough. But predictable and understandable.
Tying this back to one of Jayden's questions... ("At what level do position players that also pitch stop pitching and just play their position.")...
For a position player who can also pitch, this almost always becomes a product of team needs. It can happen at any level and it can go away and come back. Within our HS program, we typically have occasion where something happens to the expected mound contributor(s) and then others who have had previous pitching experience are given a look to fill the void.