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Reply to "Worth switching for?"

Scotty Doesn't Know posted:

In the past, my son has played for teams with excellent coaches but where the teams were short on talent.  Recently, he switched to a team that was extremely talented and successful.  But, the coaches have a different way of interacting with the players.

My son is the type of kid who likes to talk and ask questions.  With his old team, he was always engaged with his coaches, on and off the field, at almost any time.  It could be anything – swing mechanics, game strategy, base out situations, count philosophies – you name it.  The kid just wants to learn as much as possible and understand what works, what doesn’t, why things are done and not done, etc.  Again, the old coaches were great with this matter.  Literally, he could text his coach with a hitting question at 11 PM on a Thursday and the guy was replying right back to him.  These coaches were/are teachers of the game and they welcome these interactions.

But, the teams weren’t high level and he was missing a lot of experience and exposure opportunities because the old team wasn’t capable of being “out there.”  And, the few times they tried to be out there, they usually got slaughtered.   It’s much different with the new team.  Tons of talent.  They win – and they win against tough competition.  Sincerely, the opportunity to play with this new team on big stages and in big games against high level talent has been a tremendous experience. 

The issue is that the current coaches are 180 degrees from his old coaches.  They don’t like questions.  And, they are not engaging.  They will never answer a text from a player.  And, if a player asks a question at a practice or game, the answer is often “Why are you bothering me with this?”

This all said, my son wants to move to another team where he thinks it will be the best of both worlds – a better team (than his old one) and one were the coaches were more like his old ones.  (Whether or not the grass is actually greener is TBD.)

Since he’s the player, in my mind, this is his decision.  But, part of me is wondering if this will be a good thing?  Is this something that you switch team for?  Are players better served learning how to deal with the coach who doesn’t want to be bothered?  (And, then they find another resource for their questions and discussions.) Or, is this indeed a deal breaker where you should make a move to be with a coach who is more open, available, etc.?

Your son should ask the organization the following question:

I'm interested in playing college baseball, where do you see me playing?  This open endedg question will provide you some insights as to how they perceive your son.

If he is in their development plan, then he should ask for a plan. The plan should have some milestones and measurables.

If there is no development plan, find a team that can provide those services.  Secondly, do a showcase or two and some camps.

I've heard the headstart camps are very good. There is a lot of information on this forum to help out.

Also look at keepplayingbaseball.org

Regards.

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