Tagged With "Father"

Here's the scenario, there is a kid who is a big kid who hits well and has a strong arm. Throws across the diamond low 80's, pitches in the mid to upper 80's. Strong hitter, but struggles on defense, hasn't played 3rd for very long. Some college coaches have expressed interest as a pitcher, mostly NAIA and D3 and they want to see him pitch this summer. High school coach likes his bat, and has said he will not pitch him (big school, deep in pitching). High School coach also feels strongly...

Club !

Club will maximize the opportunities for this player. He's a 2018? Big difference between expressing interest to play in college vs. determined to play in college, might want to get that clarified... We had a similar sort of thing happen with our HS Coach the past August. HS Coach sent out an email stating all HS Varsity players will play with his Legion team for the summer, and not their club team. I called the coach: told him our son had already committed to play for his club program and...

HOW strongly does HS coach feel about players playing summer with him? What is the summer season? How competitive is the HS travel program? Can he play travel afterward? Does he play other sports/football? Does he work with a P instructor? What year is he? What is your role in the relationship? You said he just started playing 3b... how much potential for improvement is there? If HS coach feels very strongly about players participating in summer program, be very careful. Also, with the...

Good points Cabbage. I should add to my post that son had always played Legion along with his Club ball for previous two years. This was the first time the HS Coach said "you will all play Legion with me and no Club." My son was fortunate that he was a starter with both solid defensive and offensive skills. The HS Coach could have very easily left my son on the bench during HS season to make his point. It could have been dicey, and agree you've got to be careful. We thought is was a risk...

You say big kid, strong hitter, biggish arm .... Stop right there. Those attributes will get him lots of looks especially at D3 -- but also at higher levels. You say weak defense -- okay he's not going to be a MIF or play CF. (Can he run?) But a big sticks speak loudly especially when wielded by a big body. Defense -- that can be improved with work. But sounds like he has that thing that college coaches love above all else - -- MAN STRENGTH -- especially when its accompanied by a swing that...

Is "both" at all a feasible option? Hitter on the school team. Starting pitcher only on club team and not attending club games he's not scheduled to pitch.

Lots of great feedback, let me answer some questions to see if that changes anyone's opinion. The father is my brother in law, known him forever, played high school football with him. Kid is 6' 2" about 180 - 190 (father is much, much bigger). Kid was a catcher when he was younger, didn't like catching after he got a little bigger. As far as playing 3rd, he made a ton of errors this season, but he is settling in. For the high school coach, he wants full buy in for his team. Totally...

Do you know how long the HS summer season is? Ours is only about five weeks, depending on playoffs. Still time to pursue travel afterward, particularly for good P's. What I really like about Gov's second post is that it shows how valuable good communication with coach is. Even if player doesn't like the answer he hears, I have a gut feeling this would be the best avenue. Have player ask to sit with HS coach and explain his situation, that he loves his role on the team and is committed but...

Play high school in the summer and Showcase in the late summer/fall. Travel Teams are, to me, more of a necessary evil and a huge ripoff at some academies. I get that they have their place but with Showcases and college camps you don't have to go that route

I was a travel coach...a lot of my guys played Legion also...we didn't start until after Legion (immediately after). Depending on what area of the country you are in, explore possibility of playing for the school summer team and a later summer/fall travel team. Fall of senior year is prime time D2/D3 recruiting season. Arm overuse shouldn't be an issue since he is not pitching on school team. Perhaps he could catch on as a PO and only attend games he is pitching. A lot of travel teams...

I agree with 3and2 that he has to find a way to do both HS and travel/showcases. He can even sign-up at the showcases as a Pitcher Only. But lots of them will let him do both and you never know if a coach might like his bat better than his pitching. If he is an academic kid, get him to either Headfirst or Showball. If possible do HF in August (should be after HS Summer) and then Showball in November. As many of us have experienced here, lots of kids wind up playing a different position in...

Tough spot to be in. Not doing exactly what a overbearing coach wants can cause problems as my son now deals with. 2018 grad, made jv team as 8th grader as pitcher/ catcher. Freshman yr varsity coach wanted him to go to outside pitching coach. Son liked pitching but prefered catching. Took catching lessons, played catcher on showcase team summer after freshman yr and committed to D1 school that fall. Coach never talked to my wife and I during recruting process. Coach and son relationship is...

OK, Manman, it looks like maaayyyybe you didn't buy into everyone's advice and perspective from your original thread. Some tough questions for you... Why do you think such a good kid who is a D1 caliber player has a bad relationship with his successful HS coach? Why did your kid not talk to the HS coach before going a completely different direction than what he was instructed to do? Do you think you are helping or hurting your son in the process at the present time? BTW, if you think the HS...

Great advice everyone. Appreciate the communication. I plan to relay this advice to my friend tonight, but I'm taking credit for it. Ha ha.

Club ball!

This is what I would push for. My son will be a PO for his club team and supplement his position play and hitting with his AAA Legion team. If there is any way to work it out, this, in my opinion, is the best case scenario.