I know this may be early for some, but it is first day of practice/tryouts here in Texas so, I thought I would start this years thread.
Looking forward to a good year (I hope).
For 2025's school, I think this will be a rebuilding year. We lost 9 seniors (7 starters) the whole starting infield and the top two starting pitchers.
Only a couple seniors this year so the Juniors and sophomores will need to step up.
When does everyone else start? What do you think the seasons will look like.
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Texas also here. So starting today. Son's team is looking strong. Ranked pre-season top 10 in 6A.
We've been having offseason indoor practices since December. Our high school tryouts begin February 20 and last one week. 96 are trying out this year. Our first game is scheduled March 25. I'll be honest, it must be nice to be in Texas this time of year to be having tryouts already. All the best to all our kids, parents, and families this year.
Even though I don't have a kid on the team anymore (last graduated in '22), the dogs and I will take our annual (10 years running) trek to the HS to watch the 1st practice from the stands.
1st year in a long time that the coach is unsure about the team (and they are not ranked).
Always look forward to this day, but this one will be a little bittersweet, but I look forward as in 2 weeks as the youngest's JC team visits Texas for a weekend series.
First time to comment but longtime "listener" to sage advice. Texas also here. Son's team is top ranked pre-season team in 6A.
I was hoping I would be here chiming in on my 2025 kid but he retired from the greatest sport as a 11 year old for the grid iron. I am proud to be a junior member of team "pearl droppers", oddly I am probably older than some of the senior pearl dropping parents. Best of luck to your kids' upcoming season and I look forward to venting, crying, laughing and sharing the upcoming months. The therapy in here is awesome.
Ditto to @2022NYC's words. Well the part about good luck and we will be cheering your boys on. As for the rest...not sure I qualify as a pearl dropper....nor do I want to guess where I fall on the age spectrum. Lol
@FS713 posted:First time to comment but longtime "listener" to sage advice. Texas also here. Son's team is top ranked pre-season team in 6A.
FS713 - That is an interesting nugget you posted. For starters, I didn't have a clue what 6A meant being in Ohio, but I googled and came up with this:
CONFERENCE CUTOFFS
6A 2190 and Above 252 Schools
5A 1150 - 2189 252 schools
4A 505-1149 182 schools
3A 225 - 504 211 schools
2A 105 - 224 187 schools
1A 104.9 and below 142 schools
Question: Is 2190 and above grades 9 through 12 and also includes both boys and girls who are enrolled? Either way, being the top-ranked school in 6A is saying a lot and your son's team must be fun to watch.
I can provide a little context by how they classify here in Ohio. They go from D1 to D6 - with D1 being the most populous schools. In 2005, when my son graduated, his school had the highest enrollment in the state. His graduating class was 1105 meaning from grades 9 through 12, there were over 4000 (boys and girls) enrolled. It was not easy getting on the field back then with the large number of players competing for spots. He did not become a starter until his junior year, for example. Thus, when people say they made varsity as a freshmen, I have in the back of my mind - things are relative. Now with my grandson, our school has shrunk somewhat and is now the fifth largest in the state. His current class enrollment is about 650 meaning there are about 2600 enrolled (boys and girls) in grades 9 through 12. If my reading is right, our school would be a 6A school in Texas but you (or someone else) can set me straight on that. If 2190 for 6A is just the number of boys, those are enormous schools.
https://community.hsbaseballwe...25#75221024803693125
Your school would be classified as 6A in Texas.
The smallest 6A school in Texas has around 2,300 student population (grades 9 through 12). We have some 6A schools in our region (Houston) at 5,500+ student population. My 2025's school is around 3,900 now.
Below is the Texas High School Baseball Preseason Top 10. Any of those schools could be listed as #1. Many kids that get cut in these programs would definitely be starters at other schools. The student population fluctuates, but all of them are "big" schools.
1. Pearland Oilers 2. Austin Westlake Chaparrals 3. San Antonio Reagan Rattlers 4. Southlake Carroll Dragons 5. Hebron Hawks 6. Ft. Bend Ridge Point Panthers 7. Lake Travis Cavaliers 8. San Antonio Johnson 9. The Woodlands Highlanders 10. Flower Mound Marcus
Good luck to all in tryouts! We are still in indoor open gym mode, with tryouts not until the end of February (not Texas 
). Our high school is in the largest population bracket in the state and will have frosh, frosh/soph, JV, and varsity. Baseball is so popular here that the community where the high school is located supported 4 travel teams at son's age level alone last year (not including other travel programs that sprung up in neighboring communities that a couple of boys played for) - not all of these boys will make a team and this does not even account for the other age levels. Son is a 2026 and hopes to make a team (he's been on the most competitive of the age level teams for a few years now), knowing many boys currently working out with him will be cut, and that freshmen are simply not put on JV or varsity. He is optimistic, but he appreciates the realities of playing baseball at his very large high school.
HS varsity season officially started Jan 9 here in Atlanta. Had tryouts Jan 9 and 10, practice everyday since then. My son goes to a small private school but with a decent baseball program. Varsity team is looking good with 9 seniors, almost all starters returning, all of pitchers returning, 5 D1 commits (and counting), 4 other college commits (Juco to D2), and most importantly, a group of really good kids that truly enjoys each other with no drama in the locker room (and not much drama with the parents also last year). The team is aiming to make a run again at states. Everyone is excited for the season to start. First game Feb 8.
Classifications are based on total enrollment. If it’s an all boys or all girls school the enrollment is doubled for the classification.
I'm envious; next season will mark ten years since my son's HS senior season…
At the end of my son's soph season ('12), his team was three rounds deep in the playoffs but down one game in a best-of-three series. In game two, my son hit a 3-run bomb in the top of the 6th (photo of him rounding 1st) to give his team a 3-run lead. That should have been my most vivid memory of the game, but it wasn't (even with the photo).
Montgomery loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh and hit a walk-off grand slam. The raw emotion from the seniors and their parents was overwhelming and one of my most memorable baseball moments. There wasn't a single senior with dry eyes coming off the field, and they had parents in the stands to match. The finality of that moment hit, and those seniors never played together again, and it hurt.
That's when I understood there's an expiration date on this baseball journey and not to take that for granted. There's no guarantee if or how long anyone will be on the field at any level. It goes by so fast, and you never know when it will end. Enjoy the journey and stay in the moment!
Good luck to all the athletes and their families!
JucoDad - great, great story and memory. Only true baseball people get this type of stuff. It's not just about winning and losing. It's about competing. Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes it eats you. I always kid with people, that team on the other side have parents and grandparents who want to see their kids win equally as well as you do. That memory you describe, however, is just as fine a memory as the winning team had only a few moments later. Before the final blow of the game, the three run homer simply had to feel like it was your year and it must have been absolute elation. I believe both teams can "win" in a game and I'll never back down from that feeling. Who would have thunk a four-run, walk-off homer would have beaten you before it actually happened? Of course it hurt at the time, but that is the way baseball is.
I saw an excellent documentary on MLB network about Dennis Ekersley. There were the highest of highs in his life and the lowest of lows. I thought they asked him a dumb question about the famous Kirk Gibson homerun in the World Series. They asked him if he wished he would not have played in that game knowing how it turned out or something like that. He said something like absolutely not, it was one of the greatest moments in MLB history and he was glad to be a part of it. Obviously, he wished it had gone the other way but he was still grateful for the opportunity. I have great memories from winning and losing. Have experienced the low points like you describe. I wouldn't trade the experience however regardless of the outcome.
Great post @JucoDad! And I might add that your son (in the posted photo) was sporting a tremendous number on the back of his jersey.
@adbono posted:Great post @JucoDad! And I might add that your son (in the posted photo) was sporting a tremendous number on the back of his jersey.
You might be a Ryno or Gibson fan... I'd actually not though of the Gibson correlation and especially the photograph until you mentioned the number. I was a A's fan back then, so this image still irks me a bit... lol!
@JucoDad posted:You might be a Ryno or Gibson fan... I'd actually not though of the Gibson correlation and especially the photograph until you mentioned the number. I was a A's fan back then, so this image still irks me a bit... lol!
My reasons are a little more personal:
Me during Senior year of college:
My son in his Junior year of HS :
adbono - good #23 stuff. Who was your coach at Texas A&M? Did you get a chance to play in the College World Series?
@JucoDad posted:Like the stirrups, but love the HS image of your son - great work. Did the HS commission the image?
The HS Booster Club hired a local photographer to create images like the one I posted for each game day. He did a really good job with some of them.
@ClevelandDad posted:adbono - good #23 stuff. Who was your coach at Texas A&M? Did you get a chance to play in the College World Series?
I played for Tom Chandler. We were very good (SWC champs twice) but never got to Omaha. Got beat in Regionals both years.
Third day of trouts here. Looking pretty good so far. Two more cuts to make. Mine is a freshman, so I think he’s a lock for the sophomore (lowest) team and maybe a flier for JV. I’m not sure how our varsity will do this year. I think they have a lot of talent returning so could be a good year for them. They usually get to the 2nd round and get bounced 😁
Son just completed his 4th day of tryouts(here in Coastal South Texas). He knows he made the cut, but probably got JV and not Varsity(he's a Soph). He's so competitive that he's a bit hurt, but I know he'll shake it off. Varsity has 13 returning seniors and three returning underclassmen and three Junior or Senior transfers, so there wasn't much room on a 18-19 man roster. I'll enjoy him getting more play time on JV anyway. I just hope he'll see it that way, in the days to come. Plus, I told him there are several kids that he's played with for years that didn't make the cut, so he should be proud of where he's at. We're going to miss those friends, though.
Good luck to all the kids out there and to their parents and grandparents who will be biting nails during each game!
@Adams Baseball posted:I'll enjoy him getting more play time on JV anyway. I just hope he'll see it that way, in the days to come. Plus, I told him there are several kids that he's played with for years that didn't make the cut, so he should be proud of where he's at. We're going to miss those friends, though.
Good luck to all the kids out there and to their parents and grandparents who will be biting nails during each game!
It is the right way to look at it. Playing time is more valuable for sure. Reminded me of my dad’s story. He played basketball. He wasn’t good enough to make JV first two years (didn’t even make any team as a freshman) but kept grinding. Chose to play JV as a junior for playing time. Ended up starting varsity point guard as a senior and went on to play in college at a D1 school. He attributes it to being on the floor when his soph and especially his jr buddies were mostly riding the bench on varsity.
And your son should be proud to be on any squad in your area. It’s extremely competitive in many parts of Texas, just about all of them. 😁 Congrats!
Thx Lefty! I will pass your information along, to him. Our district has a #6 Ranked team, and our first scrimmage game is against a Highshool whose Varsity is ranked in the top 20. So we'll see how it goes. Trial By Fire! LOL
Update: Scrimmages are going pretty well. This years defense is strong, even with the large number of underclassmen. Pitching and offence could use some work (consistency). I think both will come around with more innings. 2025 son has started every scrimmage at catcher. I just wish they would release the varsity roster, but it is looking good so far.
Tryouts start Feb 27, first game is March 17th. 18 seniors are going out and they will be cutting some of them. There are going to be lots of upset parents.
@Master P posted:Tryouts start Feb 27, first game is March 17th. 18 seniors are going out and they will be cutting some of them. There are going to be lots of upset parents.
The players that get cut (and their parents) may well be upset, but what your coach is doing is in the best interests of the team and the program in general. My opinion may not be in the majority but I believe HS sports should be a meritocracy. And the best players should play regardless of their age. Keeping a bunch of seniors that aren’t good enough to get on the field is a recipe for disaster. Some inevitably turn into malcontents and team chemistry is destroyed. It boggles my mind that so many families think their kids are entitled to be part of a HS sports team just because they are a student in the school. And giving in to that nonsense is not doing kids any favors. It sets them up to fail.
@adbono posted:The players that get cut (and their parents) may well be upset, but what your coach is doing is in the best interests of the team and the program in general. My opinion may not be in the majority but I believe HS sports should be a meritocracy. And the best players should play regardless of their age. Keeping a bunch of seniors that aren’t good enough to get on the field is a recipe for disaster. Some inevitably turn into malcontents and team chemistry is destroyed. It boggles my mind that so many families think their kids are entitled to be part of a HS sports team just because they are a student in the school. And giving in to that nonsense is not doing kids any favors. It sets them up to fail.
You're exactly right. I had a mom tell me, "No senior should ever get cut if they have been in the program for 3 years, even if they wont play." All I could do was smile and nod. The coach has been telling all the seniors for 6 months that he would be making cuts, so its no surprise. He's even having a meeting with all the senior parents before tryouts.
@adbono posted:The players that get cut (and their parents) may well be upset, but what your coach is doing is in the best interests of the team and the program in general. My opinion may not be in the majority but I believe HS sports should be a meritocracy. And the best players should play regardless of their age. Keeping a bunch of seniors that aren’t good enough to get on the field is a recipe for disaster. Some inevitably turn into malcontents and team chemistry is destroyed. It boggles my mind that so many families think their kids are entitled to be part of a HS sports team just because they are a student in the school. And giving in to that nonsense is not doing kids any favors. It sets them up to fail.
We experience this in my son's high school team. Adbono, I am pretty sure you are familiar with the reputation of my son's school carrying an army for a varsity team. The 2023 class is one of the largest classes to come through in while. I believe we have 36 kids on the varsity team this year. That is up from 34 last year. There will be only 12-13 players that actually play. You have a half a team of parents in the stands questioning every move by coaches and players. The program has historically been one of the more successful in the state, so as long as the teams keep winning, it is hard to argue with how coach manages the roster. Never understood why coach carries that many. It almost feels like coach "rewards" them with a roster spot for part of being part of the program up to that point.
Our coach doesn't cut seniors. The roster is usually 25ish players and there's always 4-5 seniors who only play in the handful of the reserves games they have. These are the guys who were marginal players on JV their junior year. He tells the ones from that group after tryouts what their role will be & they can decide.
@ARCEKU21 posted:We experience this in my son's high school team. Adbono, I am pretty sure you are familiar with the reputation of my son's school carrying an army for a varsity team. The 2023 class is one of the largest classes to come through in while. I believe we have 36 kids on the varsity team this year. That is up from 34 last year. There will be only 12-13 players that actually play. You have a half a team of parents in the stands questioning every move by coaches and players. The program has historically been one of the more successful in the state, so as long as the teams keep winning, it is hard to argue with how coach manages the roster. Never understood why coach carries that many. It almost feels like coach "rewards" them with a roster spot for part of being part of the program up to that point.
I share your sentiments. Seems to go on the most at the more affluent High Schools
Last year older kid's HS coach cut a few seniors, one was a D3 committed pitcher. With 30 kids on the roster many kids never played. The practices and scrimmages were not that good so I doubt those players got any work in. I am sure it was hard explaining to the D3 coach on getting cut, hopefully the kid used the time training to get better.
WoW 30+ players on the HS Varsity team, that just seems like a nightmare (dealing with HS parents especially). Son's school carries 14-15 on the roster and just pulls JV starters up when/if they need additional players for tournaments at the beginning of the season. They only took 20 to districts and area playoffs last year.
Total number of players in the program is about 45 between the 3 teams (15 each). They also cut a lot of players from tryouts. A pretty good number come back, tryout again, and make it in a year or two.
@TxballDad posted:WoW 30+ players on the HS Varsity team, that just seems like a nightmare (dealing with HS parents especially). Son's school carries 14-15 on the roster and just pulls JV starters up when/if they need additional players for tournaments at the beginning of the season. They only took 20 to districts and area playoffs last year.
Total number of players in the program is about 45 between the 3 teams (15 each). They also cut a lot of players from tryouts. A pretty good number come back, tryout again, and make it in a year or two.
That’s the difference between a 4A HS program in Texas and a big 6A program that has 4000-5000 students.
@adbono posted:I share your sentiments. Seems to go on the most at the more affluent High Schools
there is a program in the metroplex (maybe the one that you are referring to) that has a huge roster. My youngest played with many of the kids on that team during summer ball from ages 12-16, and yes................just follow the money trail to see why those kids are not cut.
The larger roster size might also generate considerable donations to the booster club. A few schools in my area had over 20k in donations on day 1 of the donation drive. Add another 30 kids to the rosters and that could’ve been 30k on day 1 😁
My son’s high school team kept any extra seniors who wanted to be on varsity with some stipulations. These were typically players who were on JV as juniors and not playing all the time. The idea was they never quit.
They were to be positive cheerleaders. Have no expectations of playing (they might get to pinch hit in a non conference game). Retrieve foul balls. The parents must understand and accept the situation. The three years my son was on varsity two or three seniors accepted the circumstances. One of these seniors my son’s soph year was so well liked he was a team leader even on the bench.
One of these players in his only at bat all year came within inches of hitting a pinch hit homer.
First Non-district game tonight (soph team) vs a very talented opponent. From what my son tells me, they are doing 2IP Max per pitcher through non district. Not that district record even matters in the long run either at this level. My son was the starting pitcher and I probably haven’t been that nervous for him in years. Pretty cool feeling. He did really well btw, so it worked out for him. Season is gonna be fun win, lose, or extra innings 😆
