As the Mom of the pitcher we are talking about, I'm going to pipe in with my two cents worth. (If you ask my husband, he'll tell you it's more like a dollars worth, but that's a different topic!) I think the "pressure" is the expectation to perform at the Varsity level, that the varsity coach sees my son might have trouble with. Last year, I would have agreed, as he was somewhat immature and needed the confidence to perform at the high school level. He excelled on the freshman team, leading the team in strikeouts, batting, slugging, rbi's etc. It did wonders for his confidence. Since the freshman season ended last May, he has been playing with the Varsity players in summer, fall and winter ball. He also went to Australia with Area Code. His maturity level has grown by leaps and bounds, and his confidence has also. He was successful playing against varsity competition, and knows that he can excell at that level. The Varsity coach could not watch him play since last July, so he is going by last years opinions, which is that he was immature. And he was. But he's not anymore. He's very frustrated by the fact that he's playing with and against lesser competition. He needs a challenge and he's not getting it at the JV level. This is just not our opinion, his fall coach and the Varsity players have said the same thing. Both games we have played so far this season, he was asked by mulitple players on the other team, and the other teams coaches why he wasn't on Varsity. It is not the parents who are applying the "pressure" here, it is the coaches perception of how our son will handle Varsity competition. I think we are just asking for him to have the chance to prove himself.