Finally found out which teams everyone made yesterday. Son received his Varsity uniforms. They will open the season with a tournament Thu, Fri, and Sat this week, with another three day tournament next week. They went 5-0 (2 4A teams and 3 5A teams) in the preseason scrimmages. Looking good so far.
Regular season started in FL this week. I have a 2025 playing his first year on varsity.
I've been Game Changer stalking a lot of our future opponents and one thing has stood out to me.... Really surprised at how many 85-95 pitch starts I am seeing in week one.
Now I get we only have around 25 games but you can't win or lose a district title in week one. Seems a bit extreme for a first outing. Hopefully these kids have prepared for that kind of workload.
@DaddyBaller posted:Regular season started in FL this week. I have a 2025 playing his first year on varsity.
I've been Game Changer stalking a lot of our future opponents and one thing has stood out to me.... Really surprised at how many 85-95 pitch starts I am seeing in week one.
Now I get we only have around 25 games but you can't win or lose a district title in week one. Seems a bit extreme for a first outing. Hopefully these kids have prepared for that kind of workload.
I saw one of the best 6A teams in Texas play twice yesterday. Their HC (who is one of the best HS HCs in Texas) was very responsible about managing pitch counts. In the 2 games they played I don’t think any of his 4 pitchers threw more than 60 pitches each. If that. Both were close games and in both games his starters were 89 - 92 with FB velo. Scouts were there and it would have been easy for some coaches to get caught up in those games and extend those outings. But not this coach. His game one opponent was different however. In a 1-0 game on Feb 23 he let his best starting pitcher (OU commit) throw 90 pitches in 48 degree weather. Within the rules? Yes. Being concerned about the long term best interest of his players? Not so much. The HC that did it right won both his games btw and the 4 pitchers that he used responsibly combined to throw 2 no hitters on the day. So doing it right early in the season doesn’t compromise a team’s chances to win. It provides opportunities to see what more kids can do.
We will be facing a real DUDE tonight. One of the top 2024's in the country making his first start Sits 94-96 with secondary stuff.... Excited to see him up close and I pray he has the right people around him to not run him into the ground this season.
How is it going for everyone so far?
Much to my surprise, 2026 son made JV (school with 4 teams). This is pretty rare at this very large school. They specifically told him NOT to change his approach at the plate (another thread). Should make for an interesting spring.
@ILoveBaseball04 posted:How is it going for everyone so far?
Much to my surprise, 2026 son made JV (school with 4 teams). This is pretty rare at this very large school. They specifically told him NOT to change his approach at the plate (another thread). Should make for an interesting spring.
Congrats on making JV (or any team)! How big are your teams? Would be nice to have that extra team at our school to help more kids get on the field. We have a lot of kids that could develop but won’t unless they put in work outside of the team.
Season is so much fun so far but I guess it would depend on who you ask. Luckily my son has turned it on and is a big contributor. There are only 10 kids that play more than 80% of the innings and probably will be a higher % going forward, with the rest riding the pine.
Well my son's program kept all 18 seniors. They told 4-5 that they would be on a "practice squad" and wouldn't be on the roster for regionals and state, that they wouldn't get as much BP etc. 3 underclassmen are on Varsity and they will have 2 more floaters. There are 4 teams total and I think there are 60-70 total in the program, they cut about 15-20 kids.
First game is March 17th and the boy is on the bump for game 1.
@TexasLefty posted:Congrats on making JV (or any team)! How big are your teams?
Congrats to your son - glad he is seeing playing time! The team is still working out some PO players (which will not include our son), so the final roster has some play. Still, from years past it looks like a roster of 20ish players for JV, which is much larger than what we are used to from travel. I do wonder whether our 2026 will see much playing time, but this is not our call. We are simply hoping for the best at this point! I do think practicing with some of the players on this team will push him to continue to get better (but of course we all like to see our sons play).
I agree about the teams, as it allows the development of a deep pool of talent. We are very fortunate that so many want to play baseball in our community. Some of the freshman will undoubtedly get bigger, stronger, and better this year and the fact that there are teams for them to develop on only helps the school program in the future.
@Master P posted:Well my son's program kept all 18 seniors. They told 4-5 that they would be on a "practice squad" and wouldn't be on the roster for regionals and state, that they wouldn't get as much BP etc. 3 underclassmen are on Varsity and they will have 2 more floaters. There are 4 teams total and I think there are 60-70 total in the program, they cut about 15-20 kids.
First game is March 17th and the boy is on the bump for game 1.
Man, keeping 18 seniors is a recipe for disaster. There will be at least one who is a malcontent and figures he has nothing to lose. All it takes is one of those to ruin team chemistry. And teams with bad chemistry always underperform. That’s the dilemma that HS coaches face at large schools. If they keep all the seniors they have to deal with an unruly player or two that can ruin a season. If they cut seniors they have to deal with rogue parents that might go after their job. That’s a thin line to walk and almost impossible for it to work out good for the majority.
@adbono posted:Man, keeping 18 seniors is a recipe for disaster. There will be at least one who is a malcontent and figures he has nothing to lose. All it takes is one of those to ruin team chemistry. And teams with bad chemistry always underperform. That’s the dilemma that HS coaches face at large schools. If they keep all the seniors they have to deal with an unruly player or two that can ruin a season. If they cut seniors they have to deal with rogue parents that might go after their job. That’s a thin line to walk and almost impossible for it to work out good for the majority.
It will be very interesting to see how the first few weeks of the season go.
@adbono posted:Man, keeping 18 seniors is a recipe for disaster. There will be at least one who is a malcontent and figures he has nothing to lose. All it takes is one of those to ruin team chemistry. And teams with bad chemistry always underperform. That’s the dilemma that HS coaches face at large schools. If they keep all the seniors they have to deal with an unruly player or two that can ruin a season. If they cut seniors they have to deal with rogue parents that might go after their job. That’s a thin line to walk and almost impossible for it to work out good for the majority.
Our high school kept seniors who hang in there all four years. The coach had a talk with them to understand they are cheerleaders and ball chasers. They were typically not playing full time on JV as juniors. One or two per year would agree to stay on the team. Some would quit midseason.
One was a genuine leader from the bench. I can still picture he was about the fourth player in the championship dog pile sprinting from the bullpen.
tryouts are tonight and tomorrow, teams announced wed. Should be a very interesting week.
Our first scrimmage is March 15. When my grandson was on his first travel team at 10 years old, he was assigned #9 without being asked and where most of the other players were given a choice. Obviously, numbers are not going to change the price of rice in China. I remember telling him at the time, make #9 special regardless of how that number came to you. He has been #9 ever since on every travel team he has been on. The only exception was last year on JV where a senior varsity player already had the number. He let me know yesterday his number this year is #9 yet, we would have been thrilled with any number. That being said, we are happy this number came back to him. Did not realize at the time that #9 was Ted Williams number.
So 2027 made the freshman team! Coach said a lot of positives and has pretty high expectations for him.
Season still going good. 3-0 in district play. Son has been playing well, splitting time behind the plate with a Junior.
It’s opening day of the HS season! 39 degrees with 15mph winds, “feels like” 30. But the sun is shining! The team has strong bats down the line-up and solid defense; with average pitching. Very excited to see what this season brings!
The wind was angry that day. Like an old man returning soup at a deli.
varsity won their first two games. my 2023 had a walk off single for the scrimmage and had a great scoop at first to end the non-conference game. another game today. high of 48 but windy, sunny. But the game is on! 2027 has his first game tomorrow. They still don't know the lineup. Freshman baseball is second fiddle. I get it.
@RJM posted:The wind was angry that day. Like an old man returning soup at a deli.
NO SOUP FOR YOU!
Son's team is off to a 12-5 start. Their starting pitching has been excellent. The bats are Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde. Runs have been a premium. Also seems that they get up for big games, and lowly teams they just go through the motions. They have knocked off two teams that were nationally ranked at the time and two other teams that were top 20 state ranked. But then they go up against a team that should not be on the same field as them and it's like they are sleep walking.
Individual wise, 2023 son is closing in on a couple of milestones for his varsity career (4 year starter). He is on the bump tonight and if he can get the W, it will be his 20th varsity win. He is six hits away from 100 career hits. These were two of his goals coming into the season. So good to see that he should hopefully accomplish both, especially since he only played 7 games freshman year because of the shutdown.