Tagged With "development"
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Player Development roadmap for my 2024 Grad Year son - sure could use some advice
Sure could use some advice from coaches that offer guidance to players, or from parents that have navigated this journey before me. My only son is a 2024 grad year multi-sport student athlete entering 8th grade. He just now finished his 12u 50/70 travel ball with a trip to Cooperstown Dreams Park - so much fun. Moving up to 60/90 full time this fall. The kid loves to play, just about any sport, however his interest is greatest with baseball. Over the last few years in youth travel baseball,...
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Expectations for mid-sized HS baseball program?
(First Post) My son, a small 2023 LHP will be starting 9th grade in a couple months at a high school with just under 1500 students. It has the smallest student population among schools in its division (CA division 2), and I am given to understand pays around a $5000 stipend to the head coach of the HS baseball program. I don't think $5000 is likely to attract a high caliber head coach who is able and willing to put in the time and effort to build a comprehensive program. I have learned from...
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Players ages 9-16 Wanted
We have tryouts coming up at www.prosourceathletics.com/tryouts. We are a true development oriented organization in the Dallas area. We are looking for players ages 9-16 who want to compete, develop and be around men of high character on and off the field. A little about Pro Source below: All coaches have College or Professional playing or coaching experience We have won over 110 tournament wins! We have an organizational GPA of 3.2 We have over a 96% success rate of graduating seniors...
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Quality 15U/16U Players wanted for Summer Team.
We have a team coached by two former college players that is looking for 4-5 players at the 15U/16U level. Two Pitcher Only's and 2-3 position players. Email admin@prosourceathletics.com to set up a tryout. Thanks!
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TEXAS LIONS KELLER/HASLET/NORTH FT WORTH
Texas Lions Baseball is expanding into the N. Ft Worth/Keller Area and we are now scheduling tryouts for the 2016 summer. As an organization, we are committed to player DEVELOPMENT. We focus on helping our players develop their physical skills while also teaching and stressing the importance of the mental side of the game. We hold multiple organized practices every week during the summer to ensure that our players leave our organization better than when they came to us. All of our coaches...
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Marshals Tryouts for Summer 2016
The next open tryout for the McKinney Marshals is this Sunday January 10, 2:00 p.m. at Richardson Pearce High School. If you are a high school athlete who is willing to work hard to develop yourself as a player, we can provide a competitive environment to help you reach your goals, whether it is simply to be the best high school player you can be, or to play at the next level. To do this, we believe in fielding a few well-coached teams with quality players to compete in the best tournaments...
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Pitcher Development in High School - Importance of Facing Good Hitting
Hello - My son is a 15 year old sophomore LHP who is 6 foot and throws around 77/78. He's a very solid pitcher with good command of 3 pitches (2/4 seam, change up and curve). We have a bit of a dilemma and are seeking advice. My son is currently home schooled and plays for a highly competitive home school team which plays some of the top private schools (and a few public schools) in our area. So he has been pitching on varsity against some pretty high quality hitting. Due some various...
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HS Fall League Tryouts taking place now - Sunnyvale
Texas Select Baseball Club is looking to add quality players to the fall league rosters. We are a small organization with professional coaches who work with our players to help further develop their skills to help them move on to the next level. To fill out a tryout form and find out more about us visit our team website at www.claysmithbaseball.com
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Future Stars Series
New Balance Future Stars Series coming to Richmond November 4 and 5th 2017 Get a Player Development Plan for former MLB scouts and instruction from former MLB players-Plus NB Cleats, Hat, Shirt all for 225.00 http://futurestarsseries.com/combine-schedule/ Call 804-360-3395 for more info
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Final Summer Select Team Tryouts 15U, 16U, 17U, 18U
Final Tryouts 15U-18U Marshals Summer 2018 teams SUMMER SELECT TEAM TRYOUTS WHAT: Marshals 15U-18U Tryouts WHEN: Saturday, January 20 TIME: 2:00 P.M. WHERE: Richardson Pearce High School Baseball Field 1600 N Coit Rd, Richardson, TX 75080 BRING: - Baseball appropriate clothing & gear - Water We are called the McKinney Marshals, but we have teams and athletes across the Metroplex and North Texas. Athletes come to play with us from across the state of Texas and Oklahoma. Teams practice in...
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
Rough situation. Can't do much about it, the Coach loves his new toy. Hitters need to see as much live overhand pitching velocity as possible.
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
A few things... Heavy use of the machine, at least during some parts of the year, isn't uncommon at many colleges as well so he would be wise to figure out how to not hate it and make good use of it. Machines do have their place, at least for some aspects of hitting. Machines can have advantages as far as location consistency and good break if set properly, maintaining velo, etc. You can provide a steady dose of lefty and righty breaking balls with them. You can get unlimited bunting...
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
I know a guy whose son was on a team that did no live, simply because there was not a single coach on the team who could throw it. It was an uncomfortable conversation but he volunteered and was eventually accepted. Maybe that's the problem here? If so, maybe you could try to help out. ... or you could throw to just your own kid after practice. If you have access to the school cage, it might make a statement.
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
The coach can provide some rhythm by using his other hand to simulate a throwing motion. Put it in and at the same time wave down with the other hand that you have raised before. Maybe he can ask him to do that for him.
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
Weird then, because guys with arms like to use them. Maybe it’s a temporary thing.
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
CABBAGEDAD makes a very good point about many college programs using machines as part of their training. The top travel team in our state uses them, too. They set the machines up at 70mph from 35-40 feet away to help the kids learn to hit higher velocity.
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
Do you think it's messing up his timing more because he doesn't get to see a human throwing the ball, or because they have it set up wrong? If they're shooting 80 mph at him from 45' away, that kind of defeats the purpose of simulating real pitch velocity. Tough spot. How would a request for post-practice live BP from one of the ACs go over?
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
We used them to simulate fast pitching and to get a lot of swings in a short amount of time. Some loved it and some hated it. I have found that the guys that hit well hit live and pitching machine. The ones who struggled against fast pitching struggled against both. We did not use it exclusively but did it mixed in with live pitching. We had no one but our ace who threw fast and did not want to use him so we used the machine. I'm not a fan of coming in closer and throwing live fast because I...
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
There's his angle. As Mid and JCG noted, those college PO's like to throw. The player group appealing to that group is likely to produce results sooner or later. Or, at the least, they should ask one or more of those guys to throw live outside of team practice time. Meanwhile, conquer the machine.
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
In baseball, I used both. I find it hard to believe that machine alone is destroying a machine. I would suggest that the feeder can help the hitter by showing the ball just above the feeding chute and then, when the ball moves, the hitter start that load so that they are simulating a pitch in progress. Of course the best scenario is to have live arm. However, it is harder than one thinks to find someone who can really throw live BP that is beneficial. I've seen countless former college...
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
I hate the machines if they take the place of live pitching, but they are great for working on breaking balls, IMO, as someone pointed out above....assuming that you have a machine that throws somewhat repeatable curves. It's hard to get a BP thrower who throws a consistent, hittable breaking pitch from 35' away. I coached with a 6'7" former Milb/D1 pitcher last year. My 14 yo's team was terrified of BP. It wasn't so much the speed, but his breaking stuff, and the weird angle that his ball...
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
My son has trained on all machines, and they all have their benefits. But using anything exclusively is a bad idea. We knew they used a 2 wheel Jugs machine at the High School level and for the tryout. So he practiced hitting off one during the winter. But we would always compliment that practice with live arm throws as well as using a local Iron Mike, which is much more similar to timing live pitching. We used a ProBatter PX2 on the weekends to simulate live game at bats. You should do the...
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
One of the problems with regular pitching machines is a kid will tend to start timing his swing rather than reacting to a pitch. My son was fortunate to have access to a Pro Batter in high school and college. He would program it for twenty pitches that varied in speed and pitch type. Even then, whatever kind of pitch it was always came to one location for that pitch. He still did a lot of in cage, live pitching BP.
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
One of the best things we've done recently for my HS Soph kid's hitting is found a former D1 pitcher in his mid 20's who throws him Batting Practice twice a week (for a very reasonable minimal fee). This guy used to cruise in the low 90's, still throws mid 80's easy, can spin a good tight curve and throws 2 seams, 4 seams, changeups etc... My kid then has me videotape the BP on my IPad and looks at his swings in between BP Rounds. Anything you can do to face good overhand velocity is going...
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
My sons 2 travel coaches would pitch live AB's in the winter to the team indoors from regulation distance. Both old D3 players from a top level program. One was a righty and one was a lefty. They sat in the low to mid 80's and threw a great cb and slider. It was priceless practice. If you can't find that, look for a Probatter PX2 in your area. I would drive almost 2 hours both ways so my son could use one.
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Re: Daily pitching machine BP and a hitters development.
I recently tried to convince our HC to use Juggs machine to better develop our hitters. However, I think your son's coach is making a mistake if that is all he is doing to prepare them for hitting in game situations. It is a tool and should be treated as such. A good program is going to incorporate tee, soft toss, coach-pitch BP, and a machine. They are all valuable and provide opportunities for hitters to focus in different ways. Our HC has not incorporated machine yet but maybe that is why...
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Re: Expectations for mid-sized HS baseball program?
I don't think you will find a consensus. It depends on the coach and the time he has to devote to the program. Some are coaching multiple sports and/or have other obligations and don't have the time or see it as their job to develop offseason. Others feel it is the student's job to do it either through class or on their own. Ours is the weight lifting coach so he makes sure players sign up for his classes but it is still up to them if they do the work.
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Re: Expectations for mid-sized HS baseball program?
Big school, small school and in-between, development is on the player. Find good personal trainers (budget allowing), physical and baseball. Sit on his academics - they will be as important to his chances as baseball. Meet with guidance counselor as early as you can get an appointment so the family can get to understand the college selection process (most rigorous cirriculum, rigorous, etc. levels and their meanings). Also, take in a few local college games so you'll can get a feel of the...
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Re: Expectations for mid-sized HS baseball program?
My sons attended different NorCal Division 2 schools in the same athletic conference, so I was pretty familiar with their programs, as well as with others in our conference and in some neighboring conferences. I think you sort of answered your own question - overall, at most schools off- season conditioning is the player's responsibility. Partly because, as you note, coaches are not paid to be full-time, year round employees, and partly because usage of school gyms and weight facilities has...
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Re: Expectations for mid-sized HS baseball program?
Thanks for your reply. There is a fall ball program with practices and games, but my observation has been that the big gains in his play in recent years have come when he really gets into his calisthenics.
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Re: Expectations for mid-sized HS baseball program?
This all makes sense to me. He is 5' 3" and 105 lbs BTW so any kind of (age-appropriate) physical conditioning he does has a big impact. At age 12 1/2, when he first got into calisthenics, he worked really hard at it for about 3 months. He gained 5 pounds and his velocity went up 5 MPH. Since then he has been inconsistent with calisthenics and his gains in velocity (inconsistent) have reflected that. We would emphasize academics regardless. Neither my wife nor I grew up in sports families -...
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Re: Expectations for mid-sized HS baseball program?
You imply that he's a PO, and if so, he should take a few months off from throwing each year, IMO, and fall is often the best time for that.
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Re: Expectations for mid-sized HS baseball program?
He's not a PO yet (he has a good arm in right field and does fine at 1B) but clearly pitching is his strong point and his future, so PO will happen eventually. He does take a minimum 3 months off from throwing each year - which is a big reason I'm not a fan of fall ball. I also religiously track pitch counts. An advantage of being small is that he has not been pitched excessively - that honor usually belongs to the big, early developers who throw hard.
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Re: Expectations for mid-sized HS baseball program?
Over the next couple of years your son’s improvement will come from growing and corresponding strength development. Optimize his strength development with workouts. Just because the baseball program doesn’t have an offseason program doesn’t mean your son can’t develop his own with a small circle of ball playing friends.
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Re: Expectations for mid-sized HS baseball program?
Welcome to the posting side joeG. I coached HS for many years in Calif. until very recently. The stipend you mention is actually on the high side. It is essentially volunteer work. Your description is typical. Most fellow coaches in the arena had some depth of experience with the game, usually at the college level. Assistant coaches were more of a crapshoot. Some had extensive playing experience, some not so much - it can be hard to find those guys who will do it for free and show up...
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Re: Expectations for mid-sized HS baseball program?
Thank you very much for your perspective, cabbagedad. I really appreciate it - exactly what I was looking for. From what you describe - it sounds like our high school has a reasonable (average) baseball setup and I should express appreciation for that at every opportunity. I agree that 1500 is plenty of students from which to draw enough good athletes. Turns out that the 2023 and 2022 age cohorts in our town happen to be way above average, so our school will likely win a lot of games a...
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Re: Expectations for mid-sized HS baseball program?
"You imply that he's a PO, and if so, he should take a few months off from throwing each year," A bit of thread drift, but I distinguished between throwing and pitching. My son threw virtually every day from the time he began rec ball all the way through college. Throwing conditioned his arm. We took time off from pitching each year (varying length). For him, long toss made his arm feel loose and strong; just always pay attention to form and be aware of fatigue (especially when young and...
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Re: Expectations for mid-sized HS baseball program?
Southern California puts teams into divisions based on performance, so Division 2 (2nd highest out of 7) means that the baseball team has been pretty successful, and probably made the playoffs but perhaps stopped short of a championship. I point this out to suggest that you coach probably knows how to win and may very well be high-caliber, even if he's only paid $5k per year (which I believe is typical). Perhaps he has a full-time job, or perhaps he's a teacher on a full-time salary, or...
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Re: Expectations for mid-sized HS baseball program?
I don't coach in Ca but have never received $5,000 as a head coach. My school is 1,100. When I was the HC, my state only had 2 classes and we were one of, if not the, smallest school in our class many different years. Still, we managed to win our fair share of games and advanced our fair share in the playoffs. States differ so much. We are not allowed to have coaches set up anything other than weight room workouts. I did weight room and plyo program and we started at 6 in the morning.
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Re: Future Stars Series
Anyone have any recent dealings or experience with the Future Stars Series?
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Re: Player Development roadmap for my 2024 Grad Year son - sure could use some advice
1. Find a travel organization that provides opportunities to develop, national exposure and ideally has a track record of moving players to the types of schools you are targeting. Dont just hop teams because they play at national events 2. Play for a team consisting of his grad year 3. Ideally his travel team will be connected to resources who can supplement what they provide in coaching/training. 4. Dont showcase until their is something to showcase....highly recommend PBR showcase...
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Re: Player Development roadmap for my 2024 Grad Year son - sure could use some advice
After reading many many posts, I would say that many of the "recruting" things don't matter until your son is in high school. The advice that comes up the most frequently and gets the most likes on the board seem to be (1) maintaining grades (2) taking a college admissions test as early as possible (9th grade? Early 10th grade?) so your child knows where he stands and can work to improve scores as needed (3) tracking key statistics at home so you know when to showcase (don't showcase unless...
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Re: Player Development roadmap for my 2024 Grad Year son - sure could use some advice
Welcome to the site. Letsgo!! gives some great practical advice. It is certainly smart to be informed, have a plan and provide best resources for your son. This is a great place to find that information and know that you can also search by specific topic and find a treasure trove. I will touch on the other side. No matter how good or how promising your son's baseball future may be, keep things in perspective. Baseball ends for so many during HS years, even for those who you would least...
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Re: Player Development roadmap for my 2024 Grad Year son - sure could use some advice
Chuck all your questions and prove he can compete on the 60/90 field. Until he does this all your questions are irrelevant. He also needs to get himself playing grade appropriate in travel ball as soon as he proves he can handle the field size. Playing 12u as a 7th grader unless he’s a physical late bloomer he was a bigger boy among many little boys. At the least he was likely more emotionally mature. My son played 13u as a 12u eligible (May birthday) baseball player the summer after 7th...
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Re: Player Development roadmap for my 2024 Grad Year son - sure could use some advice
RJM, Do they still have 54' 80" for 13u?
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Re: Player Development roadmap for my 2024 Grad Year son - sure could use some advice
Your questions are a good starting point. My son is entering his last year of HS. He committed spring of his sophomore year. It's hard to be specific, we don't know you, your son. Even if we did, too exact of a roadmap could lead you astray. Here's my best summary advice. It may come across jumbled, but here you go. Listen to everyone but make your own decisions. Keep your relationship strong with your son. No path that strains your relationship is worth it. This has to be your son's journey...
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Re: Player Development roadmap for my 2024 Grad Year son - sure could use some advice
Our local USSSA affiliate tried it for 13u fall ball (12u players moving up) for one year about ten years ago and tossed the idea. Once in a while someone posts there is 54/80 in their area.
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Re: Player Development roadmap for my 2024 Grad Year son - sure could use some advice
54/80 is how USSSA 13U is played here in Michigan.