CaCO3Girl posted:adbono posted:CaCO3Girl posted:I think it is you guys that are missing the point of high school baseball.
You have to be qualified to make the team. Sophomores on varsity are rare. At my kids school if you are a 10th grader throwing 80 you don't even get a sniff at varsity. It's competitive and it's high school appropriate.
You people complain about the parents and yet you are trying to turn every high school player into a college stud. It's a GAME! What's the percentage of kids moving on and playing past high school, oh yeah, slim and none and you would rob a senior of some innings here and there in favor of the best 9? It's you guys that have a twisted view of what high school baseball should be.
Yeah, I'm well aware that there are other people besides you that view HS baseball (and other HS sports) as activities - just like going bowling or going to the movies. And to some extent that's fine. But you (and like-minded people) should not get the "HS baseball experience" you want at the expense of a more talented younger player that has aspirations beyond HS. Above all, what HS baseball players should be learning is how to compete. This is true regardless of level of ability. When the element of competition is removed from HS sports it diminishes the ability of the participants to learn life lessons as a result of the experience. There is nothing twisted about any of that.
That is what Travel Ball is for. You aren't removing competition either by playing seniors. Whether they get 1 inning or 30 depends on their work ethic and attitude.
My son, who is going to play baseball in college providing he stays healthy, is learning to wait his turn. JV season 9th grade he got 19 innings on the mound and 8 at bats....ALL season. Why? Because the varsity kids playing down and the sophomores had seniority. I personally liked that life lesson. There is a pecking order and you haven't made it yet kid.
Several kids and parents didn't handle that well. One quit mid season, a couple didn't come back this year. I see a whole new 9th grade class now mumbling while the sophomores are playing. The travel kids who play high level baseball are in shock that they aren't playing every inning...parents are grumbling about playing the best 9....I think this is a pretty big life lesson too. They can choose to have the chip on their shoulders that they are the best that ever played or they can work harder. I live less than 5 miles from East Cobb baseball, no shortage of talent in this area, lots of chips on their shoulders though.
Caco, the bolded is one aspect of your perspective that illustrates why I don't agree with you... If, as you say, seniors (soph's on JV) get priority, then working harder will not help because they are not a senior/soph yet.
Wrong message, wrong lesson but JMO.
The coach decision topic has been beat to death in past threads so I won't expand too much. Agree with Steve A that there are different philosophies and there isn't necessarily a hard and fast right and wrong. More important to me is how parents and players react and work with the philosophy in place.