Well let me give another take on this. Running five miles will make some kids puke. For many others it will just be a five mile run. Some players when ragged on by a coach will get discouraged and use that as a reason to have a pity party and quit. For others it will cause them to be even more determined to not let that *** beat them. Some players that have promising futures are pampered and have a wonderful baseball experience their entire baseball career. They never have to learn how to deal with a coach like this. And then something happens. That wonderful guy that recruits them that they decide to play for in college. Turns out to be a totally different person when they step on the college campus. They have never had to deal with anything like this. They are away from home for the first time living on their own with the challenges of college academics , college baseball as well and they fold like a cheap lounge chair.
If running five miles and having a coach that talks down to his players causes a kid to quit at the hs level I wonder just how tough that kid really is. I also wonder how bad he really wants to play. And I seriously question if he will have the mental toughness to play at the next level.
If my son were in hs and he had a coach like this "and there are many like this" I would tell him this. "If you want to play then you will do whatever you have to do to play. If he says your going to run five miles then run five miles. If guys puke then tell them to get in better shape and be able to run untill he gets tired of seeing you run. If he rags on you take it like a man. If your team mates b*tch and whine when they get ragged on tell them to man up and not to let him ever see them pout."
Use this situation as a way to teach your son that he will not always play for a coach that he agrees with. He will not always be in a perfect baseball world. Teach him to man up and do what he has to do.
He will have a much more promising baseball future if he learns
this.
Believe me your son is not in any situation that many players have not found themselves in before. A coach that may not know how to coach and uses conditioning as a means of attempting to motivate his players to play better. A coach that attempts to motivate by using negative means "talking down to players" etc etc. The ones that are mentally tough deal with it and come out on the other side even tougher and more determined. The ones that are not will simply quit.
Just another way to look at this situation. Good luck.