2019 College Freshmen

I'll chime in and thanks for starting it PitchingFan. My son is wrapping up his first week of classes at a school with a historically middle-of-the-road baseball program in a top tier D3 conference. We dropped him off last week and the orientation schedule had him going basically non-stop until this past Monday (first day of classes). He's managed to work out a few times, played some catch with his teammates, hit just about every day (the baseball facilities are very close to his dorm), and is generally getting settled. He also got the good news today that he passed the medical review board for the AROTC program which, if any of you have followed anything I've posted over the last year, is a significant deal for him given shoulder surgery a year ago . In reality, I never really had any concern about this but we had to go through the rigamarole of sending in additional medical information i.e. every single report, image, diagnosis, note, and prescription. Needless to say we killed a tree during the process.

The baseball team starts "official" lifting next week and the first official practice is 9/30. D3 has a relatively short window for fall practice and I'm told it will get pretty intense during that period. Because of this, his program has elected only to intrasquad (rather than play outside opponents) to essentially double the number of ABs and IPs for the guys.

Best of luck to everyone else in this pool!

Good luck to all!  My son managed to both lose his wallet and break his phone in his first week.  Had never done either of those things before.  So most of our communication has been about replacing stuff, he is learning about the world fast.  As a result, haven't heard much about baseball, except that he is lifting, doing unofficial practices (D3) on the field every day, shooting baskets with teammates.  And going to class....

anotherparent posted:

And going to class....

Bonus!!

"My son managed to . . .  break his phone in his first week."

My son used that excuse for four years!

We'll be at that Nashville game in October! Not sure son will get a chance to pitch (hoping) but it will be the first time seeing him in uniform so we couldn't miss that!

KilroyJ posted:

We'll be at that Nashville game in October! Not sure son will get a chance to pitch (hoping) but it will be the first time seeing him in uniform so we couldn't miss that!

Our son has a scrimmage against Clemson next week but don't know if he will get a chance to pitch either.  He pitched first scrimmage yesterday and did really well he said.  But either way we will be there.  Hope to get to meet you in Nashville.

Good luck to all freshmen, no matter the division. Its like having two jobs. 

Parents if you close enough and the team has a Fall world series, make sure you go watch. It is usually a pretty fun event. 

Mine's a sophomore, but we were still excited to see his team start their fall season last week. Fourteen innings, every pitcher got one inning. Mine went second and struck out the side. Since he spent the summer working on his motion, it was cool. Most fun was, after the game the team tweeted out some of the analytics on one unidentified pitcher. They showed pitch choice, spin rate, release point and a few other things.

I looked at it and recognized my kid FROM HIS PITCHING CHART!!

This non athletic mom is proud for more reasons than one!

Suggestion to the parents attending fall stuff: ask your son to invite his friends to dinner, lunch, breakfast with you'll.

Food is a good lure.

Then sit back and listen to them. And enjoy.

Mine pitched really good in his first scrimmage last week.  Very few parents were there so I didn't go.  Will be there this weekend for scrimmage against Clemson and in a few weeks in Nashville against Xavier.  He is hoping he gets one inning against Clemson but you never know.  Either way looking forward to it.

Mine's a red shirt freshman, having transferred to JuCo from CSUN after the 2018 season. Wish I had better things to report. First scrimmage, he struck out the side in his one inning, but velocity is WAY down. Second showing was awful. In Albuquerque, he comes in against El Paso CC and no velo, and can't find the plate. Walks four and gives up one hit in 0.1 innings. Third scrimmage was another bust. Strikes out the first three batters, but the third of those reaches on a dropped 3K. What follows is four walks. Also velo down even more.

We're dealing with...something. He's gone from a kid throwing 91-93/T94 to throwing 85-87/T89 and the last outing was more like 83-85/T87. Off speed pitches down as well. Slider has gone from 79-81 down to 70-71.

He claims he feels fine and is in the best physical shape he's been in in years. No pain, etc. I spent the weekend pouring over video and do see some small mechanical changes, but nothing to account for this. 

He's been invited to a JC invitation only showcase in October for pro scouts and I want to tell him he shouldn't go, but we'll see.

As to the team itself, our new head coach has put together a contender. After losing the to Central Arizona last year for the chance to go to the JuCo WS, he has definitely beefed up. Pitching staff has far more hard throwers than we saw last year with Cal State Northridge. Not counting Dalton, Lamar CC has five guys sitting in the 89-92 range including an Australian kid that is sitting 93-95. He actually had the same velocity last year, but rarely saw the mound - walked 14 in 3 innings pitched. Looks nothing like the same kid this year. Also a huge JC team. Dalton is 6' 5" which makes him the fifth tallest pitcher on the staff, including a 6' 10" freshman from Oklahoma. 

Goosegg posted:

"My son managed to . . .  break his phone in his first week."

My son used that excuse for four years!

I heard five years of ... forgot to charge my phone the previous night. He got on edge when I suggested he try the “on” button.

When I did catch him it seemed he was always on the way to the library. When I called him on it he said it’s the best place to meet girls. “Let’s go somewhere so we can talk out loud.”

RJM posted:

Goosegg posted:

"My son managed to . . .  break his phone in his first week."

My son used that excuse for four years!

I heard five years of ... forgot to charge my phone the previous night. He got on edge when I suggested he try the “on” button.

When I did catch him it seemed he was always on the way to the library. When I called him on it he said it’s the best place to meet girls. “Let’s go somewhere so we can talk out loud.”

We'll see!  Took 10 days to replace and activate the phone, during which he came down with strep throat - on a weekend - had to get himself to an urgent care clinic with no phone (not easy when you are a teenager used to using Uber).  He would have called at that point if he could!  Instead we only got emails when he was in wifi zones.  Says everyone in his dorm is sick with something; they've had just long enough to share all their germs with each other, just when practices/scrimmages are ramping up.

anotherparent posted:

RJM posted:

Goosegg posted:

"My son managed to . . .  break his phone in his first week."

My son used that excuse for four years!

I heard five years of ... forgot to charge my phone the previous night. He got on edge when I suggested he try the “on” button.

When I did catch him it seemed he was always on the way to the library. When I called him on it he said it’s the best place to meet girls. “Let’s go somewhere so we can talk out loud.”

We'll see!  Took 10 days to replace and activate the phone, during which he came down with strep throat - on a weekend - had to get himself to an urgent care clinic with no phone (not easy when you are a teenager used to using Uber).  He would have called at that point if he could!  Instead we only got emails when he was in wifi zones.  Says everyone in his dorm is sick with something; they've had just long enough to share all their germs with each other, just when practices/scrimmages are ramping up.

First year being an adult can be a challenge. My son had all of his $$ budgeted out to last the semester (including his share of the house rent of 3600 %#!&* dollars a month) and I trusted his ability to handle it. His bank statements came to the house and I never checked until he indicated he was running out of money. I looked through his statements and found he was averaging $750/mo. on McDonald's/Wendy's/In-N-Out Burger. 

ROOTHOG66.... Sometimes the first inclination, if there is no injury,  is to immediately think there is a mechanical issue. However, according to what you wrote, it's not just one or two pitches, it's all of them that have dropped. To me that is not mechanical. You said he's in the best shape of his life. Could be be hitting the gym too hard? His muscles could be fatigued. Pretty sure Driveline has seen those results over a 25 week training period. Initially there is a gain in response to new workload, then a decrease for quite awhile. Eventually the muscles adapt and velo increases again.

  Even though he's a seasoned college pitcher, there is mental stress that can take a toll as well.  New coach and a whole lot of talent to compete against? Could be mental stress causing him to lose velo too. If you have film, can you tell if his arm speed has changed at all? Does he look like he's less explosive down the mound?  I feel like when pitchers are under mental stress ( not game stress related) they can throw tight. They either lose velo, command or both in games, and not just one  outing, but over and over. Not an expert by any means.....just observations.

Root - I have no credible suggestions for your son's apparent velo issues other than to inquire -  is it possible he's taking a little off in an effort to correct whatever command issues he may be experiencing?  Just a thought.  Best of luck to him and I'm glad he's not reporting pain.

He is showing a very marked decrease in external rotation. He has put on about 30 lbs. of muscle since high school and his last assessment through a chiro I had examine him shows a loss of range of motion. I'm having an assessment done by a guy who is certified in ART (active release therapy). It's an hour's drive per session, but I hear good things about ART. Wonder if anyone here has any experience with it?

Also, though I know the coach fairly well, I try not to meddle. However, I do have to consider that this transfer put him against the wall. Academically, he has to be careful because he has too many credit hours to consider a second year at JC

9and7dad posted:

Root - I have no credible suggestions for your son's apparent velo issues other than to inquire -  is it possible he's taking a little off in an effort to correct whatever command issues he may be experiencing?  Just a thought.  Best of luck to him and I'm glad he's not reporting pain.

Possible, though he claims not to be doing anything different. His first scrimmage, he was 87-89 and was surprised because he thought he was throwing harder than that.

If you are seeing a decease in his rotation, then he is probably getting less scapular load and that could be why his velocity is dropping?  When you said that he was surprised that he wasn't throwing harder in his first outing, I immediately thought rotation. Especially since he said he felt great. Also, look at his lead leg. Is he still getting fully extended and driving through? With less rotation he may be getting less from that leg as well.

I don't know where you are located, but if it's feasible to go to Driveline in Seattle and have him assessed, I would do it. It was the best thing we ever did with our son. They came out to the East Coast fall of 2018 and did a tour. It was not inexpensive, but worth every penny. 

I am a true believer in heavy lifting and building strength...but only to a point. These boys aren't training to be power lifters. They are training to be the best athletes they can be and have that transfer to the baseball field. 

Mominthestands posted:

If you are seeing a decease in his rotation, then he is probably getting less scapular load and that could be why his velocity is dropping?  When you said that he was surprised that he wasn't throwing harder in his first outing, I immediately thought rotation. Especially since he said he felt great. Also, look at his lead leg. Is he still getting fully extended and driving through? With less rotation he may be getting less from that leg as well.

I don't know where you are located, but if it's feasible to go to Driveline in Seattle and have him assessed, I would do it. It was the best thing we ever did with our son. They came out to the East Coast fall of 2018 and did a tour. It was not inexpensive, but worth every penny. 

I am a true believer in heavy lifting and building strength...but only to a point. These boys aren't training to be power lifters. They are training to be the best athletes they can be and have that transfer to the baseball field. 

We're actually a "Driveline school." DJ Edwards of Push Performance did assessments earlier in the year but missed this. Rotation is good in terms of hip/shoulder separation, the differences I'm seeing in comparing him to two years ago are 1) yes, scap loading has decreased his external rotation in the shoulders and 2) he's tilting down at the waist earlier and releasing lower and farther out over his leg than he used to. Front leg extension and bracing is fine. I think the main problem is scap flexibility. So, technically a mechanical issue caused by a physical limitation.  I think I can get him fixed in a fairly short amount of time if I'm right about what's at the root of his problem.

Playing our first and only scrimmage this weekend.  Very excited as I haven't seen son pitch since high school, as he took the summer off to rest and train.  He's had a great fall and it's looking like he'll log some meaningful innings this spring, but still needs to prove it on the field.

He broke 90 MPH this fall, so I got him on campus healthy and breaking that magic number.  My job is officially done, now it's up to him!

How are all the freshmen?  Hopefully getting sleep after the stresses of the fall, before the spring baseball semester begins? 

When my son was a freshman and came home for the holidays ... Anyone who wakes me up before I want to get up is risking death. 

We have an 98yo relative that we help care for.  She frequently decides she's too damn tired to get out of bed on a particular day.

My college junior got together with friends last night for the first time this vacation, and the result is pretty much the same.

We came up with a great way around the staying up late, getting up late scenario. Both my kids had jobs lifeguarding while on breaks. Both worked the 5:30 a.m. shift, got off by 8 or so and were free to do whatever the rest of the day, which often involved other jobs, and yes, napping. But they were also both in bed by 8 or 9 p.m. It was awesome!

Son (freshman, JUCO D1) headed back on Tuesday, classes started yesterday.  First spring game is 3 weeks from tomorrow!    As a result of the quick turn around Spring semester, coach sent a detailed workout, throwing program that he had to do over the holidays.   Fortunately for me and my arm a good high school buddy of his who is P5  pitcher worked out and threw with him over the break.   I told wife last night I don't feel like I even saw him over the break....girlfriend, highschool friends back in town, etc...  Team has almost 60 games scheduled.  Hopefully I wont need the long johns for many of them! 

Son went back Sunday afternoon and began meetings Sunday night.  Met with team doctor and therapist Monday about ankle he broke in November.  They released him to lift weights upper body and throwing flat ground lightly which he always did in early January.  I don't think his arm will be affected because we have always taken off in November and December.  He will start running in pool treadmill today. 

After much hard discussions, he finished last semester with 2 As, 2 Bs and a C.  Which was good for him.  He was never recruited by HA for sure. 

No girlfriend, praise God.  Got to spend a lot of time with him in December.  It helped that he was limited by school as to what he could do physically so he hung around the house.