quote:3. Your brother (the h.s. senior) needs to cast a very wide net right now. He should email the recruiting coordinators of D1, D2, D3, and JUCO programs that he is interested in and explain his situation. (Don't contact only high-level D1's. Be open-minded to any and all opportunities.) The good news is that many college programs are still looking for pitchers in the spring and summer. He should email these recruiting coordinators his spring schedule, but don't be surprised if they are too busy with their own seasons to come to any games. Honestly, your brother should give serious thought to playing for a select team this coming summer, when more college coaches can see him on the mound. I live in Texas and am familiar with a number of programs. I would be happy to talk with you more about this if you'll send me a PM.
I guess I should clarify my my post a little bit. My brother's coaching this kid. In the past he's done a lot to get his kids noticed, but he's never had one with this much talent.
I'll talk to the kid tomorrow at practice about his plans. I know he wants to play ball somewhere, but I'm not sure if he's got anything planned out(or aware of what's available to him).
I'll definately send you a PM, I appreciate the help. Select ball is what both of my friends suggested when I asked them about the kid. One played for Houston KC, and the other the Houston Heat. The one that pitches at A&M didn't get noticed until the June after his senior year. I'm just not sure how feasible select ball is for the kid. I'm kind of ignorant of his situation and the costs.
I'll be sure to help them contact the recruiting cooridinators of the schools he's interested in. One thing though, how open are they to this type of contact? I know from experience how inflated MPH numbers can be. Hearing and seeing can be two different things, so I can imagine they'd be fairly skeptical.
quote:You need to find an adult league to play in. The next level, at this point in time for you, is any level. You need to play somewhere, if that's what you want.
quote:1. I noticed that you are a student at Texas A&M. Gig 'em! They have a very good club baseball program you can look into. Here is the link:
http://studentactivities.tamu....ofile#profile-public
If you get in some innings your senior year and still feel like you would like to try and reach the next level, you can always attend a few free pro tryouts in the spring/early summer of 2009 or 2010.
Definately a Gig 'Em back.
The thing is I'm pretty busy this semester. Not so much with class, I've only got them on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but with helping out with my brother's team. I'll graduate in August or December depending on what I do this summer, and after that I'm not sure what I want to do. I've thought about giving it shot for a while, and that's impacted my plans quite a bit. I know I've got a job assisting my brother if I wanted, but also like I said, our area is pretty devoid of select ball so I've thought about trying to get something like that together.
It's kind of sad. When I was in high school every player in our area worth anything was playing on travel teams. We easily had 100+ games of experience on the kids now, and you can tell. There were 6 kids from my high school alone that went on to high level D1 schools or were drafted in a 5 year stretch, and at least that many from towns within 30 minutes of us. There hasn't been one in the four years since I graduated.
Any way, I was thinking that I could do one of these things, and during that time work my way back and then maybe go to a few tryouts. The problem with that is definately a lack of game experience. After six years the mental side of pitching is just as rusty as the physical. I can pick up on holes in hitters swings just as quickly as I did while I was pitching, but there's a lot more to it than that.
quote:Some might disagree, but sliders are for the older boys. Your not the first kid to blow his arm throwing sliders at too young an age. I also believe split finger pitches are hard on young kids. We have seen kids throw splitfingers that don't do much at all other than put strain on the arm. To me that is another pitch for the older boys. If anyone doesn't believe that... Hold your hand out at release position and feel how relaxed your arm feels. Now spread your index and middle fingers apart as far as you can. You should immediately feel the tightness. Tightness is not a good thing when throwing a baseball. Especially in young arms that have yet to develop.
Looking back I think that's definately what happened. It all started out with my brother teaching me a cut fastball and a two seamer. All of the movement came from pressure and a little bit of supination and pronation, but that quickly turned into me wanting to get more out of my cut. So my cut turned into a slider, and getting more out of it came at a price. I also pitched way too many innings the fall of my freshman year, 50+. I thought I had a "rubber arm". Since then I've decided there's no such thing.