Well it is that time of year again (at least down south). First day of practice is next Friday.
Son's (2025) team is "expected" to have another good season. All starters except for one from the 2023 Area Champion team are returning. Only lost 3 seniors total. Returners: 1 So. 4 Jr. 7 Sr.
Hope everyone is looking forward to the new season as I am.
When does everyone else start? What do you think the seasons will look like.
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We had our first official umpire training last night (FL) ;-) Oh wait - you meant the kids!! We'll be on the field in late Jan / early Feb with season around 12-Feb.
For those that care - a couple of rule changes / adjustments... One allowing electronic communication from dugout to catcher, minor adjustment to game mgmt (unruly spectators cannot be reason for forfeit), the cheat sheet wristbands have to be single, solid color and worn on forearm, but not pitching arm (and not white, gray, or "distracting"), and a speed up rule alteration (don't need to hand the ball to umpire to place on rubber - that's a softball thing). To "whom" something is "distracting" is a gray area which I suspect will only matter at pivotal points in the game or to get in some pitchers head.
Without umpires there would be no games. You are just as important to the season. IMO
Love the new comm rule. Should make things move faster. No longer have to get the number from the coach, look at the wristband, give sign to the pitcher. Now it's hear it, give sign and go. This should make pitchers that like to work fast (like mine when he pitches) a little happier.
Still early conditioning/lifting/open gym phase here with tryouts in late February. Son, a 2026, played JV last year and has a very decent shot at Varsity. Still, he'll have two large grades of players ahead of him, with a large returning class of seniors. Large public high school, so you are considered lucky to just make a team at his school. He is just working hard so he earns the chance to play as much as possible.
Tryouts are in the beginning of March here. Winter workouts going well. Tuesday, coach will list who the starters are going to be as of that day and will update it every two weeks. First scrimmage is March 11th. Son has been hitting really well and doing well defensively too. He is only a 2027 so most likely will be a crossover (jv and varsity) although the coach did tell him he will be giving a couple of the seniors a run for their money. I’m excited to say the least.
@Dadof3 posted:Tuesday, coach will list who the starters are going to be as of that day and will update it every two weeks.
Can I ask about this? I've never heard of anything like that. Is the point to motivate everyone to work harder?
@anotherparent posted:Can I ask about this? I've never heard of anything like that. Is the point to motivate everyone to work harder?
Sounds like a plan to get everyone in before season.
I guess a number of colleges do this. Yes, I think it is a way to motivate kids. Also, it will eliminate any surprises I’m thinking.
I like the idea. I think it works.
So, just to clarify: this is, "if the season started tomorrow, here's who the starters would be."
Not, "here's who is starting in the scrimmages this week."
Correct. Season doesn’t start until 3/15 or so
That is, first scrimmage not until March 15th or thereabouts. Tryouts March 4th or around there.
Not a fan of this approach. Playing little mind games for no discernible reason in a sport that doesn't work that way. Plus, I feel like it's hard enough to make decisions after a whole preseason of trying out and working out. Why do that to yourself every week?
Maybe to motivate kids to try and work harder to earn the spot? I guess some colleges take this approach?
@PTWood posted:Not a fan of this approach. Playing little mind games for no discernible reason in a sport that doesn't work that way. Plus, I feel like it's hard enough to make decisions after a whole preseason of trying out and working out. Why do that to yourself every week?
Also, not a fan of this, specifically posting a roster. And 100% agree, baseball is not like other sports and motivation in this manner is not conducive to development. I've seen coaches use this little mind game to give the kids he already knows are making the team a "kick in the pants" at what ends up being at the expense of the players he "acknowledges" (gaslighting).
I think if you are going to have winter practices you should also be having conversations with those participating in them, since these are the real tryouts anyway. Expectations and evaluations can be handled in private with goals.
Kids know when a coach is full of BS because their actions don't follow in line with their words.
Up here, tryouts will be late march, season starts first week of April. Winter practices before school and strength training after school have been going on since Late November.
@TxballDad posted:Well it is that time of year again (at least down south). First day of practice is next Friday.
Son's (2025) team is "expected" to have another good season. All starters except for one from the 2023 Area Champion team are returning. Only lost 3 seniors total. Returners: 1 So. 4 Jr. 7 Sr.
Hope everyone is looking forward to the new season as I am.
When does everyone else start? What do you think the seasons will look like.
It's funny how when your son graduates you pretty much lose all insight or knowledge of what is going on in the high school baseball world. LOL. I have talked to a few people about the season here and there, but really haven't followed much. I guess when the season starts, I will go watch a couple of Woodlands games when I am not coaching (got roped back into travel ball). But from what I am hearing on this side of town, Tomball looks to be loaded this year with Arrambide and the young players they had last year. I hear they have another round of freshman studs this year and more in the pipeline for the next year or two.
With the returning players son's team has, this may be the best team in a long time and the best team they will have for some time coming. There doesn't seem to be a lot of players in the pipeline coming in (could be wrong). The team made the top 30 in the state list for division. Don't think that has happened before. If the boys can stay heathy and focused, it could turn out to be a great year. They seem to have all the pieces this year.
The day is here. First day for Texas HS practices.
@HSDad22 posted:I think if you are going to have winter practices you should also be having conversations with those participating in them, since these are the real tryouts anyway. Expectations and evaluations can be handled in private with goals.
They are absolutely real tryouts. Firmly convinced that the coaches last year knew heading into official tryouts what they wanted to do, based on how it played out. The coaches had very much already sized up the boys based on the winter workouts.
The boy's first 100% bullpen since shutdown was today. 15 pitches, FB only. 92-94, T95. Practice starts March 4th.
Son's school tryouts were broken into 3 groups. First group was all new incoming Fr, players that didn't make the team last year that wanted to try again, and players that had not tried out before. Second group was returning JV. Third was returning Varsity (more of a practice). 4 returning JVs were asked to practice with Varsity to see if they were a fit. For the JV and Varsity groups, you could see the players that work hard in summer and fall to get better.
Tryouts started at the end of last week but the weather hasn’t cooperated. It’s not clear yet whether it might need to extend into this weekend but I’m guessing they won’t have a choice but to hunt for sunny days asap.
It is a completely different year as a sophomore. Last year, as an incoming Freshman, it was critical to make the team as validation of the youth rings we’ve accumulated 🤣. After playing very lackluster sub-varsity competition in HS last spring and then top tier competitive summer ball, HS baseball doesn’t seem that important to me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s amazing and crazy fun and I love watching my son play, but it is more of a treading water until the real show begins in summer. TexasLeftySon plays for a pretty competitive HS (make playoffs every year and usually advance a round and almost 2 every year before getting bounced in close games).
There is an outside chance to make varsity this year but he’d be outside the top 4 pitchers as we have some talented upper class-men pitchers. I’d prefer him to cruise at the JV level this year and get lots of mound time and ABs as he’s still starting as a two-way.
What I’m really wondering is whether his fall trajectory will continue while under the HS program. He made big gains in every aspect of his game and physical fitness this fall. The HS tryout delay has also taken him out of his workout schedule and bullpen schedule, which he dictates, but I quietly monitor. I’m silently disappointed in that.
Watching JV ball freshman year was hell. Once he was playing varsity soph year it was fun. It was cool when he was competing against his travel teammates.
One game my son stoled second a second time. He signaled 2 for 2 at his travel teammate catcher. The catcher signaled back 2-0. It was the score. His team was ahead.
Son's team was able to get through initial tryouts Fri and Sat (determined the first cut). They were able to get on the field to hit Monday night but, have not touched the field since and probably won't till next week from rain and flooded field.
Team selection normally continues until before the first game when uniforms are handed out. This was hard for son not knowing if he made varsity until he got his uniforms. Most of the players know by who they are practicing with, one of the 2 JVs or with Varsity. However, there are some player that are on the bubble of the next level up, that practice with the higher team, that don't not find out till uniform day.
Playing against travel teammates is fun. One of the tournaments that is scheduled, has four of the teams entered each with one player from son's travel team from last summer.
Last year at the Area championship, the starting pitcher for the other team is one of the guys that my son caught all summer.
Due to coaching changes at my son's school we know very little of what the jv season will bring. He is a freshman and there are alot of good sophomores so he probably won't play much. My son knew the former jv coach well and has played for him before. I had a fair amount of confidence he would make the team before but now anything could happen as there is new leadership. We don't know much about the new guy.
Our season doesn't start for a while so there is time. Son is working hard, goes to all the workouts offered by school plus trains on his own alot and is one of those kids who just enjoys being with his teammates and the daily practices for school ball.
So for freshman year just participating combined with a competitive summer season should be enough.
Best wishes to all the players through tryouts and into the season. I hope all players are at least given a fair opportunity to tryout. Grades, character, tools, work ethic, leadership...these are things that a coach should consider. It saddens me when I hear about decisions being made before the season starts. I just saw a HS post their team GPA for the fall semester...they haven't even had tryouts (I know because the state HS athletic associate sets the earliest date that tryouts can be held).
@RJM posted:Watching JV ball freshman year was hell.
This was exactly how I felt freshman year (last year) watching JV. The goal did not necessarily seem to be to win (philosophy definitely seems to differ from Varsity). We had not felt so frustrated watching baseball since house league (which son had not played since he was 9-years-old when he started playing full time travel). So so baseball in poor weather (punctuated by a game with a snow delay) is not much fun. Hoping this year is better.
@ILoveBaseball04 posted:This was exactly how I felt freshman year (last year) watching JV. The goal did not necessarily seem to be to win (philosophy definitely seems to differ from Varsity). We had not felt so frustrated watching baseball since house league (which son had not played since he was 9-years-old when he started playing full time travel). So so baseball in poor weather (punctuated by a game with a snow delay) is not much fun. Hoping this year is better.
My son’s JV team was good. They wouldn’t have come in last in the varsity league. Neither would the one team they lost to twice.
My son started on varsity soph year. A couple more sons came up mid season. Other JV guys came up junior year and helped win back to back conference titles. It was the competition that stunk. There was only one other good team they played twice. The JV team was 16-2.
Given the best freshmen played JV I can’t imagine what watching a freshman team game would have been like. In the years my son was in high school only one late bloomer freshman team pitcher ultimately made varsity.
Just received the full spring schedule. 33 total games to include scrimmages and tournaments (Tournament games were also included 2 four game and 1 five game). Then on to playoffs.
Those that have your schedules what does the game count look like?
19 Games 2 scrimmages. Starting 4/8 ending 5/24. Then Playoffs which I believe is 3 games to the championship.
We can now play 26 regular season games, which is up form 20 in years past. We start the season March 15th traveling to Dallas for 2 games.
30 games. 5 scrimmages.
Scrimmages are going good. 2 down so far. Team is looking great. Players are being moved around a lot. Son played some OF for the first time since he was 10.
How is everyone else scrimmages going?
Practicing outside today. Going to be 49 and sunny! Supposed to be going live. "try outs" are in a month. First scrimmage shortly after.
@TxballDad posted:Scrimmages are going good. 2 down so far. Team is looking great. Players are being moved around a lot. Son played some OF for the first time since he was 10.
How is everyone else scrimmages going?
Inept just like most of the HS coaching and most of HS baseball except for the top tier HS programs. Edit: they are batting the entire lineup including POs in scrimmages makes no sense
Our team makes the playoffs every year and usually makes it to the second round but it always ends there, but it’s really the lack of development and bloated rosters that contribute to that. I’m wondering after watching a few early scrimmages if my son should consider sitting out to train outside of the program. I’ll start another thread.
Season begins on March 21st with 24 games on the schedule plus 2 pre-season scrimmages. Being a very small school, the team lacks depth, particularly on the mound (2 legitimate starters), so it will be "all hands on deck" for several games. No trip to Florida this year, which is fine by us parents as our daughter's club volleyball season will be in full-swing.
The playoff schedule format definitely helps our pitching staff, so there is a good opportunity to make a run if everyone stays healthy. Two of the last 3 state champs in our class knocked the boys out. Just getting out of our district is challenge!
Good luck to all your boys!
2027 son just hit a 94.5 Exit velocity off a pitching machine ball. He has a few over 90 now with that being his highest. Just got him a baseball focused strength trainer as well.
2025 son's team has first 2 preseason games next week.
Just finished his first varsity basketball season last night. Went from JV bench warmer to starting every game this year on varsity. So that was a pleasant surprise.
It will be interesting to see if / how spending so much time on basketball will impact his baseball.
They made him a PO for now and was told he will be starting one of the games next week.
Will be hard to go from loud and excited basketball crowds full of students to baseball where it's basically just families.
Just thankful he made it through the season healthy and he had a blast playing basketball in front of his friends.
@DaddyBaller posted:Just thankful he made it through the season healthy and he had a blast playing basketball in front of his friends.
Just out of curiosity, how much weight did he lose during the basketball season?
Innocent question that cuts deep.😁
He's rail thin to begin with. Been telling him for years that lack of strength is going to be his downfall.
No commitment to weight training or diet.
He is 6'3 and floats between 165 to 170 lbs. Very athletic. Sub 7 runner, can do trick dunks, but lacks strength.
So while I don't think he lost much weight, he definitely did not gain ANYTHING as basketball has been pretty much Non-Stop since Thanksgiving.
Claims he was sitting 85 in his last "loose & easy bullpen." He thinks he will be around 90 by the end of the season?
I've stopped fighting and just let him do his thing.
@Master P posted:Just out of curiosity, how much weight did he lose during the basketball season?
This is a problem for baseball players. My son started his growth burst towards the end of summer heading into high school. By spring he was 5’11 135. Strength was an issue because basketball took away from the time he could have spent strength training. He also couldn’t gain weight despite eating like a horse. He was talented enough to start on varsity freshman year on a bad team. But, upper body strength wise he was a little boy compared to varsity players.
We were shocked he was cut from the basketball program soph year. He skipped freshman ball for JV freshman year. He started at point. People who knew the game expected him to start at point and defend the top scorer. The coach told him he was already playing varsity soccer, would be playing varsity baseball in the spring and never showed up for “optional” offseason basketball work. He cut him altogether. That winter he focused on getting stronger. He went from not making varsity freshman year to first team all conference soph year. He was now driving the ball hard. Junior year he got elevation (homers) on his hits.
It was amusing to have a former ten year NBA veteran dad yelling at the coach “Your best point guard is sitting in the stands” when the team struggled with traps. After a few games my son politely asked him to stop.
Still going good. 4 scrimmages down against 5A teams (we are 4A). "Won" all 4 pretty easily. We have used 8 different pitchers with no more then 2 innings in a game. One more scrimmage this Friday, then first tournament next week (BorderOlympics). Should be a good trip down south. Scheduled to play some good teams (5A, 6A, and 1 independent (private school)).
HS season for my kid started like last season… bench warmer and no opportunity on the mound. Luckily he’s turned it around quickly and is back to batting cleanup and starting to earn more innings on the mound.
I’d like to say it’s isolated, but on our particular team, 3 IF positions and 1 OF position have swapped to the ‘better’ player. Coaches anointed kids from tryouts and preseason that were definitely not the best players. It’s a little baffling that our coaches get it that wrong year over year. maybe I’m being too harsh. I appreciate the time these coaches put into the program for not a lot of pay. But… 🤯
Ha ha! Yeah. I get both sides. Going to be interesting here when we start next week. However, the coaches (here) are going off mostly indoor practice, hitting off machines. Some kids are great practice kids, others are gamers…. That being said I know several people are questioning the starting line up. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
At least they realized it and made changes... This site is full of stories where it's felt that doesn't happen and coaches stick with seniors. Maybe it's a ploy too - hungry players getting roles can cause those losing spots to become hungry. They can also become disruptive.
Season is still going good. Team is in the top 20 rankings in the state for their division. Big tournament starting today. They will be playing 2 other teams that are above them in the rankings and a good 6A team. We shall see how it goes.
My son is a freshman and I am new to this. I am wondering why and how the hs teams play in tournaments. To my knowledge neither our JV or varsity plays in anything but league play. Our program seems much less intense than others. Even winter workouts were basically about 6 weeks once or twice a week in the gym. Does it depend on the coach whether they are willing to put in the extra time? Or the school budget?
@BB328 posted:My son is a freshman and I am new to this. I am wondering why and how the hs teams play in tournaments. To my knowledge neither our JV or varsity plays in anything but league play. Our program seems much less intense than others. Even winter workouts were basically about 6 weeks once or twice a week in the gym. Does it depend on the coach whether they are willing to put in the extra time? Or the school budget?
If you want good feedback you need to provide more information. What part of the country do you live in? What size HS does your son attend??
It astounds me that people make generic posts, with no details, and expect helpful comments. That’s not how it works!
@BB328 posted:My son is a freshman and I am new to this. I am wondering why and how the hs teams play in tournaments. To my knowledge neither our JV or varsity plays in anything but league play. Our program seems much less intense than others. Even winter workouts were basically about 6 weeks once or twice a week in the gym. Does it depend on the coach whether they are willing to put in the extra time? Or the school budget?
My son played in one of the most competitive districts in the HS baseball hotbed of southern Texas. There were perennial powerhouse schools and schools that gave baseball very little effort. It's hard to know much about your son's program from the info provided, but I would just say HS baseball should be fun for the athlete and parent. IMO if your son projects to play beyond HS, the growth will likely come from activities outside the HS program (unless your son is in an elite HS program).
@BB328 posted:My son is a freshman and I am new to this. I am wondering why and how the hs teams play in tournaments. To my knowledge neither our JV or varsity plays in anything but league play. Our program seems much less intense than others. Even winter workouts were basically about 6 weeks once or twice a week in the gym. Does it depend on the coach whether they are willing to put in the extra time? Or the school budget?
My son’s coach turned a perennial doormat into a conference champion. His third fourth and fifth seasons were my son’s soph to senior years. The team came in second and two firsts.
The team went from no offseason plan and no fall ball to a M-F off season plan and fall ball.
The reason for playing in tournaments may vary from state to state. When my son played, in our state teams were allowed to play twenty-two regular season games. But a tournament counted as one event/game. A four or five game tournament only counted as one game. The tournament games didn’t count in the record and the ranking formula. So, tournaments were a good way to put players in real competition to see if they genuinely deserved to start.
Our coach ran summer camps to fundraise for the baseball team. We also had a major community wide fundraiser to upgrade the baseball and softball fields and facilities.
The new coach and how organized he was and his talent as a coach didn’t just elevate the talent. A lot of talent previously lured away by privates and Catholics in the stayed in the school district.
It all started with a new DA deciding the high school was too big (6A) to be a doormat in everything but country club sports (four CCs within the district boundaries). However, one of my favorite lines was the football coach telling me it was a challenge recruiting football players off the mean streets of the country clubs.
We are a 6A in TX and have baseball class everyday. I think a lot of the powerhouse programs do. We actually have class for all sports. So off season is class and “optional” after school practice run by the kids with the coaches watching on golf carts and in spring it is class the last hour of the day that continues into practice after school.
Ditto. In general, there's a regionality (including WEATHER) and sociocultural differences at play. Kid wrapped up a big HS preseason tourney of 26 teams with top HS teams from all over: soCal, Hawaii, AZ, MS. PLUS there was another big PBR tourney with great teams going on simultaneously as well. YES, $$$ matters, as you can imagine how expensive team travel can be. At one point we had >110 kids in our program. You know what they say, everything is bigger in Texas... and yes, understand that bigger is not always better
So we are in the Northeast small public high school about 800 students. Coaches have played college baseball. I think our JV season is about 20-22 games. No baseball class or any sports specific classes of any kind. They have a,short winter workout program obviously limited by the weather and space we have. There are plenty of kids who play travel and we do have some good players. But to gave you an idea of skill level I think we had 4 senior college commits last year mostly D3. Our league is not super competitive. We do win alot.
As far tournaments I don't know of any hs team tournaments here. Travel ball and tournaments at HS age with rare exception completely stop during school ball unless a kid goes to guest play down South somewhere.
My son would be so excited to play for some of the programs other posters describe above.
I think for my son it's more about playing with school friends right now then anything else.
@BB328 posted:So we are in the Northeast small public high school about 800 students. Coaches have played college baseball. I think our JV season is about 20-22 games. No baseball class or any sports specific classes of any kind. They have a,short winter workout program obviously limited by the weather and space we have. There are plenty of kids who play travel and we do have some good players. But to gave you an idea of skill level I think we had 4 senior college commits last year mostly D3. Our league is not super competitive. We do win alot.
As far tournaments I don't know of any hs team tournaments here. Travel ball and tournaments at HS age with rare exception completely stop during school ball unless a kid goes to guest play down South somewhere.
My son would be so excited to play for some of the programs other posters describe above.
I think for my son it's more about playing with school friends right now then anything else.
Our Mid Atlantic/northeast high school had after school indoor workouts alternating between baseball skills and physical training from November through February. There were also 5:45am workouts for baseball players playing a winter sport.
The coach made an arrangement with a nearby baseball facility where the kids could go in and hit during certain hours in the winter for $10 per month. Players were expected to show up March 1 in mid season physical form. The team traveled to South Carolina for tournaments.
Before the new coach showed up one or two kids from each class might go D3. Two of the three winning seasons out of the previous twenty seasons a 7th round pick put the team on his back. After the new coach came on twelve of my son’s junior year roster played college ball at some level. Three played P5. Two more played for a ranked D2.
Tomorrow's scrimmages vs. 2 other schools canceled due to rain. Bummer.
So far this season has sucked. Rain and wet fields all the time (usual for this time of the year), broken lawnmowers, my JV pitchers can't throw strike to save their lives, absolutely no discipline or commitment from a majority of our players, between JV and varsity we are off to an 0-5 start 3 of the 5 haven't really been close one of the other ones we made either 5 or 6 errors and lost to a really really bad team, the other game we led 10-9 vs the #4 team in the state (in a class lower than ours) going into the 7th but gave up 7 runs in the top of the 7th to lose it 16-10 because we only have one guy in the entire program that can consistently throw strikes. To top it off our team acted like idiots all night, I have been embarrassed by the baseball product we have put on the field before but I have never been so embarrassed by the way that they conducted themselves as I was that night.
Sorry for the rant.
at least it’s not snowing!
wait, I take that back … it is snowing in SE PA tonight
@JucoDad posted:My son played in one of the most competitive districts in the HS baseball hotbed of southern Texas. There were perennial powerhouse schools and schools that gave baseball very little effort. It's hard to know much about your son's program from the info provided, but I would just say HS baseball should be fun for the athlete and parent. IMO if your son projects to play beyond HS, the growth will likely come from activities outside the HS program (unless your son is in an elite HS program).
I think we have 70-72 players about evenly spread Soph, JV, and Varsity. I think it’s solely so the coach doesn’t worry about complaining parents but maybe it’s fund raising. I’d say he is actually trying to let players develop but that would be contrary to reality. Our Soph team is essentially equal playing time. JV is same until district. Varsity is just a mess IMO. We live in a baseball hotbed btw with 95% of our kids (and most other schools too) playing year round travel ball before they enter HS
I‘m only a couple of years into HS baseball, but if wasn’t for the fun and social aspects of being involved with HS sports (for my son and me), I’d just pull him out and have him train like he does in the fall. He’d make bigger gains. Our HS doesn’t have a baseball weight training program, Zero lockers for baseball players, and generally football coaches handling sub varsity. So pretty much an ‘who cares’ sport despite 110 kids trying out every year. All the while, we have one of the better talent pools in our district but not great coaching.
I’ll also reiterate what I learned here and from my son’s various coaches pre-HS - be utility, be explosive or fast (base running and hitting), and if you hit you will play. All are very valuable assets that play well in HS.
We just got back from our opening weekend going to Dallas to play a couple games. Beat a good 15-1 Grapevine team even though we didn't see their top arms. Then beat Denton Braswell today.
The boy went 4 shutout innings against Grapevine, 0H, 8K's was 91-94 in the first inning. The 4 walks are concerning but not a bad first outing.
Great Outing! Not an expert, just a baseball dad and pitcher's father that's been at it a while. Throwing gas with 2K's per inning against a top HS team is high cotton. It's hard at that age to live near max effort and not give away some bags. I think the goal is to work on the misses being competitive, it's hard tho, even the pro's struggle with 0 - 2 sliders that are close enough to give the hitter's pause...
@Master P posted:We just got back from our opening weekend going to Dallas to play a couple games. Beat a good 15-1 Grapevine team even though we didn't see their top arms. Then beat Denton Braswell today.
The boy went 4 shutout innings against Grapevine, 0H, 8K's was 91-94 in the first inning. The 4 walks are concerning but not a bad first outing.
That's impressive! That GV team is no joke. Too bad the powers that be didnt set up a match up against DH on the "hill" (all pun intended). That would've been must see TV and would've drawn scouts and coaches from ALL OVER. Great when these pre season tourneys pit great teams across state lines that normally wouldnt happen.
@GratefulNTXlurker posted:That's impressive! That GV team is no joke. Too bad the powers that be didnt set up a match up against DH on the "hill" (all pun intended). That would've been must see TV and would've drawn scouts and coaches from ALL OVER. Great when these pre season tourneys pit great teams across state lines that normally wouldnt happen.
He had pitched the day before for them in a much more important game. I was just glad we got the game in. Due to the rain it had to be moved and didn't start till 8pm.
Season still going good, 12 regular games left. Undefeated in district. Still in the top 20 in the state.
Son has mostly been playing outfield, they desperately needed another outfielder and son was their fastest option. Doing a really good job for someone that has not been in the outfield since he was 10. Gives him more practice being a team player.
@Master P posted:We just got back from our opening weekend going to Dallas to play a couple games. Beat a good 15-1 Grapevine team even though we didn't see their top arms. Then beat Denton Braswell today.
The boy went 4 shutout innings against Grapevine, 0H, 8K's was 91-94 in the first inning. The 4 walks are concerning but not a bad first outing.
Welp. The boy had a start against one of the top teams in the state. 3 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 4K. Gave up 2 bombs, 3 doubles and a triple.
Baseball.
@Master P posted:Welp. The boy had a start against one of the top teams in the state. 3 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 4K. Gave up 2 bombs, 3 doubles and a triple.
Baseball.
That has happened to every pitcher that has ever stepped on a game mound. Learn what you can from the experience, flush it, and move on. Tomorrow is a new day.
@Master P posted:Welp. The boy had a start against one of the top teams in the state. 3 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 4K. Gave up 2 bombs, 3 doubles and a triple.
Baseball.
This game will humble you quickly.
My 2025 had a similar nightmare in his first appearance this preseason. He had never given up a home run on "The Big Field" before. He then proceeded to give up a grand slam & a three-run homer in the same inning 😁.
To my surprise he handled it well. He told me after the game " Well it can't get any worse than that, can it?"
Has been solid ever since and has become The closer on a 9 -3 team.
I'm sure your boy will bounce back! @Master P
I will ask some questions. Who was calling pitches? Can your son shake if he doesn’t like the pitch call?? What pitches were the extra base hits off???
@adbono posted:That has happened to every pitcher that has ever stepped on a game mound. Learn what you can from the experience, flush it, and move on. Tomorrow is a new day.
That was almost the exact text I sent him. I added that I was proud of him and he kept his composure. It happens, its baseball.
@adbono posted:I will ask some questions. Who was calling pitches? Can your son shake if he doesn’t like the pitch call?? What pitches were the extra base hits off???
First inning gave up a full count bomb on a 94 FB to a Tennessee commit the other way. Second inning left an 0-2 change up and a kid hit it 400' Then he just started catching barrels.
His coach calls the pitches but they can shake it off. The other team was being aggressive and executing.
Additionally, your kid is in the 99th percentile for highschool velo.
So if and when a hitter barrels his pitches, it's going to come off real hot. Comes with the territory.
@Master P posted:First inning gave up a full count bomb on a 94 FB to a Tennessee commit the other way. Second inning left an 0-2 change up and a kid hit it 400' Then he just started catching barrels.
His coach calls the pitches but they can shake it off. The other team was being aggressive and executing.
Fair enough
@DaddyBaller posted:Additionally, your kid is in the 99th percentile for highschool velo.
So if and when a hitter barrels his pitches, it's going to come off real hot. Comes with the territory.
This is true. Hard throwers can give up bombs that go a long way. In a Karl Young college summer league game in Houston I gave up a HR to a LHH named Alvin Rueben (who later played DE in the NFL) at Del Mar Stadium. The ball was still going up as it cleared the RF fence, it easily carried the grass and the service road, and hit a car that was traveling on Hwy 290. Had to go close to 500 ft.
@Master P posted:First inning gave up a full count bomb on a 94 FB to a Tennessee commit the other way. Second inning left an 0-2 change up and a kid hit it 400' Then he just started catching barrels.
His coach calls the pitches but they can shake it off. The other team was being aggressive and executing.
additional thought:
We have a couple teams regionally that are really good at picking signs .... knowing what is coming really helps kids "catch barrels"
@ReluctantO'sFan posted:additional thought:
We have a couple teams regionally that are really good at picking signs .... knowing what is coming really helps kids "catch barrels"
Its funny you mention that. The day after I was at a game talking to one of the pro area scouts who watched his outing. He was talking about how he thought the other team "saw something" and how comfortable they were in the box, etc. Then he said, "We liked to see him get rocked, it happens in baseball."
my 2027 had a great day yesterday on JV. Hit his first hs home run oppo. It was on the varsity field but to be fair it is a short right field fence. 300 at the corner. Not entirely sure how far it went since it was not right at the corner. but it was more than 300'
@Dadof3 posted:Ha ha! Yeah. I get both sides. Going to be interesting here when we start next week. However, the coaches (here) are going off mostly indoor practice, hitting off machines. Some kids are great practice kids, others are gamers…. That being said I know several people are questioning the starting line up. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
My son told me the other day he once had a teammate who was a great baseball player — until you saw him in a game.
@Iowamom23 posted:My son told me the other day he once had a teammate who was a great baseball player — until you saw him in a game.
So I saw this one kid who was listed as starting. I really questioned it (to myself ) due to the hiccup in his swing. I even casually mentioned something to the coach (who I am friendly with). So we are now 4/5 games in and the kid has yet to get a hit. Killed the ball in practice. Not so much in games.
@Iowamom23 posted:My son told me the other day he once had a teammate who was a great baseball player — until you saw him in a game.
My son had a high school teammate who looked like anyone’s first pick for next level prospect. He was 6’4” 200. He was the last player in the roster. He didn’t make varsity until senior year.
@RJM posted:My son had a high school teammate who looked like anyone’s first pick for next level prospect. He was 6’4” 200. He was the last player in the roster. He didn’t make varsity until senior year.
Same. My youngest son had a 16 U travel ball teammate that had all the measurables. And his single mom thought he was all that. We called him Baseball Jesus. Looked great in a uniform. Couldn’t play a lick.
We are about a 1/4 thru our season here. Frosh son is on JV and getting good playing time so far in his primary position. They are undefeated so far. New coach is really good, super passionate and knowledgeable.
It's been a while since my son's had a coach that showed emotion like this. He makes no secret he wants them to win and expects them to but he's right there with them to teach, hold them accountable and back them up.
For us it's a bit refreshing some of the travel teams up to this point my son has been on the coaches would just check out and the players would not give their all.
I realize JV is not that serious but my son is enjoying it. I feel like in way HS ball is about being a team and how you can help your team. It's also been good for his development. In travel ball it seems that the players are more focused on their individual achievements within the game due to wanting to play in college and stand out.
Son's team is 6-2 so far, beating a couple of solid "big schools" and the games they lost were both by a run to good programs. He's had 3 starts and the boys won all three, including a league game over a team they hadn't beaten since 2016 (7-41 against them since 2000). Had a no-hitter going into the 6th yesterday in a rather sloppy game by our side. Won today, looking to win tomorrow and Friday! .
Finished last week 3-1. Our Friday starter had "one of those days" against a good team and they fell 9-7 (both teams will be the top seeds when districts roll around).
Today 2024 faced one of the top teams in Class 5 (his school is Class 3) and won 3-2. They are now 10-35 against that program since 2000, and have taken the last 3 games dating back to last season and are the only 3 wins the varsity has had since 2015 (he pitched 2 of them).
Son walked about half of St. Louis County today. Umpire was setup waaaay behind the catcher -- not sure how one calls a game from back there. Pics attached...
Update, son's team is 9-0 in District. Everyone is playing well.
Disappointing season here. We continue to do the same thing but expect different results. Overall 4-8. Only 6 games left including 4 conference.
Boys limped out of last week going 2-3. Played in a tournament over the weekend where they were out of pitching after the first game. Tough being a small school with a limited staff. Our star offensive tackle tossed a complete game shutout. Each year we wonder why we participate in this tournament given our small pitching staff. The competition is great, but the boys would like to play them when they have some arms available. Overall played well, just didn't win.
Tomorrow the boys take on a conference foe and last year's Class 4 champs (they are now Class 5 and we're now Class 3). Opponent isn't the same team as last year, but still not to be underestimated. Son has the start tomorrow and is looking to help the gang get rolling again. Good luck to all your boys this week!
We have a few more weeks until its over and are undefeated. We are not in a competitive division so I am kind of amazed of the low level of play compared to travel ball.
We do have some good players. There are kids are on the bench that play travel and are starters on their travel teams. I am really proud of my son that he is starting in his primary position and hitting well.
Socially it's been really fun for him. Since this is our first year of HS ball we are all just trying to enjoy it for what it is.
Just an observation, in the beginning of the season there was a small chance that son could go to varsity this year as he was called up to practice with them a few times. He didn't get called up but they called up one kid who is pretty talented and he has maybe played like 4 innings so far on varsity. I am curious as to why a coach would pull a kid up and have him sit. I know he's already got options at his primary position. Is it to groom him to be a starter next year?
@BB328 posted:We have a few more weeks until its over and are undefeated. We are not in a competitive division so I am kind of amazed of the low level of play compared to travel ball.
We do have some good players. There are kids are on the bench that play travel and are starters on their travel teams. I am really proud of my son that he is starting in his primary position and hitting well.
Socially it's been really fun for him. Since this is our first year of HS ball we are all just trying to enjoy it for what it is.
Just an observation, in the beginning of the season there was a small chance that son could go to varsity this year as he was called up to practice with them a few times. He didn't get called up but they called up one kid who is pretty talented and he has maybe played like 4 innings so far on varsity. I am curious as to why a coach would pull a kid up and have him sit. I know he's already got options at his primary position. Is it to groom him to be a starter next year?
It’s usually a just in case scenario. Varsity is all that matters in hs, but for the player, a year is 25% of their hs career. My son was pulled up at the end of freshman year during playoffs, and then again sophomore year. When we started to see that he would mostly be sitting, he asked the coach if he could play on JV unless they were going to pitch him that week. The coach agreed, and he had the most fun playing on JV. He got to pitch and play a position which never happened on varsity.
I agree with baseballhs, but it could also be getting to practice with the varsity, getting acculturated to the way the varsity coaches do things, part of a long-term plan of the coach. It happened to my son, he didn't play the first half of the season, then the seniors played themselves off the field, and he did field the second half of the season but didn't hit. It was very frustrating at the time. He was a starter soph year, captain by junior year, and they had an amazing senior season. So in hindsight it made sense.
@BB328 posted:We have a few more weeks until its over and are undefeated. We are not in a competitive division so I am kind of amazed of the low level of play compared to travel ball.
We do have some good players. There are kids are on the bench that play travel and are starters on their travel teams. I am really proud of my son that he is starting in his primary position and hitting well.
Socially it's been really fun for him. Since this is our first year of HS ball we are all just trying to enjoy it for what it is.
Just an observation, in the beginning of the season there was a small chance that son could go to varsity this year as he was called up to practice with them a few times. He didn't get called up but they called up one kid who is pretty talented and he has maybe played like 4 innings so far on varsity. I am curious as to why a coach would pull a kid up and have him sit. I know he's already got options at his primary position. Is it to groom him to be a starter next year?
Practicing with varsity has more value than playing JV. My son played JV freshman year. It was a waste of time. The varsity coach was against freshmen on varsity. He wasn’t too fond of soph starters. My son was the first soph varsity starter in four years.
The boys won a really tight game yesterday (2-0) that was very well played and pitched by both sides. No errors by either team! CubsSon went 6 to help deliver the win. Lost to same team today in a game rescheduled due to rain the other day.
Have two non-con this weekend.
Need to sweep a team next week (possible...) and have another get swept (not happening) to win the conference.
Son's team are Undefeated District Champions. Over all score in district 123-19. First playoff games start Friday (Bi-District).
I've been waiting to reply here but feel this is the right time. This year has been an interesting rollercoaster of a baseball season. My son is a sophomore and just transferred to a new school this year (where he fortunately knows almost everyone on the baseball teams). He knew he would be on JV since he is a catcher and the varsity team is stocked with 2 of the best catchers in the area (both senior D3 players but no junior catchers). Through the first 10 games he was hitless and felt totally lost - then he found out he had a major vision issue (20/25 in the right dominant eye, 20/200 in the left). He got perscription Oakleys and said he never realized what he was missing. Since that date, he's 12-20 (0.600) with 4 doubles 6BB and only 2Ks. He said the game feels like it is in slow motion now and can see every pitch.
School record for wins (20). Won as underdogs on the road vs our biggest rivals for the district championship!
Son got the final out on the mound with a comebacker with the tying run on 2nd. Got mobbed and ran over to our crowd and led the cheers.
There are hundreds of valuable pieces of advice on this forum, but one is above all others......
ENJOY THE RIDE!!!!!
So exciting @DaddyBaller!! Congratulations.
Finished the regular season as conference champs in one of the top leagues in the state. Regionals start next week. It's a 4 team, single elimination tournament to determine the 8 that go to the state tourney with the same format. I envy you states with Best of 3 configurations.
Son's team clinched the conference championship last night, our school hadn't won it since 2016. Got to do it on senior night in front of a big crowd. Will be the #2 seed in regionals. Been a great final HS season.
@Master P posted:Finished the regular season as conference champs in one of the top leagues in the state. Regionals start next week. It's a 4 team, single elimination tournament to determine the 8 that go to the state tourney with the same format. I envy you states with Best of 3 configurations.
Texas has a best of 3 format, unless both coaches agree on a 1 gamer. But a ridiculous number of teams qualify for the playoffs. In 6A alone it’s something like 128 teams (32 districts X 4 teams per district) that make the playoffs. In order to get to the final 4 a 6A team has to win 5 rounds of best of 3. That’s a lot to navigate and inevitably some really good teams get knocked off in the process. The final 4 is single elimination - which allows no margin for error after everything that has to happen just to get there. As a result of this format a lot of teams have a legitimate chance. 50 years ago an unheralded team from West Texas (that had 11 losses - twice the amount of the other 3 final 4 teams) beat a San Antonio HS (that had a first round draft pick at SS) in the semifinals and beat a Houston HS (that had the #1 overall pick in the ‘73 MLB draft) in the championship game to win the 1st State Championship in the history of that HS. That was my HS team. Nobody had heard anything about us and we were lightly regarded. But 5 of us went on to play in the SWC after HS. The #1 draft pick (who we didn’t face) was David Clyde, a LHP chosen by the Texas Rangers. Clyde was the most dominant pitcher I have ever seen. Google his HS stats - they are mind boggling. We watched him strike out 19 (in a 7 inning game) in the semifinal game vs Galena Park with a 95 mph FB (that was never straight) and a CB that buckled knees. Keep in mind the 95 was on the old gun. It would be more like 100 today. The State Tournament in Texas is more than worth the price of admission. You are like to see future big leaguers. And if you are fortunate enough to make it as a player, you will be facing off against incredible talent. It’s a very cool event and I highly recommend it even if you have no dog in the hunt.
Son's team won the Bi-district in 2 games. Area is this week Thru, Fri and Sat (if needed).
I wouldn't mind Texas going to the top 2 teams in the district go to playoffs. That being said, 3 of the 4 teams from our district are still in. The team that is out played one of the top teams in the state. They needed 3 games. The team had one good pitcher and used him to win the first game, game 2 and 3 went down him pretty fast.
