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Originally Posted by Nicks mom:

Thanks for all the great feedback. Granted, I may not know all that you guys/gals know, particularly at this level of play, that's why I sought out this site so I can get the info/advice I need. ...

 

Cabbagedad, I only know that basic stats. Nick and I are going to review your questions and get answers. We are very interested in the feedback: good, bad or indifferent.

 

Your words were encouraging. And,despite having the same advice for Nick that many of you gave, he was not receptive to it.  I'm a mom. What do I know? I told him what the vast majority of you have advised. He went to practice at 530am with a smile on his face and determination to prove he should play. 

 

We will also seek out a high-caliber club team.

Nick's Mom, to be honest, I anticipated that you would not have many of the answers (although I thought you would have a few).  I presented those questions for several reasons.  Coach May is right in the fact that it won't change the coach's current assessment of your son.  But I sensed from your opening post that there is probably a significant gap of awareness of the skill sets your son possesses and what the coach is looking for at the HS level.  Those questions were formed with the intent of letting you know that most HS varsity starters are working hard in the off-season to hone their skills.  Most are playing with decent club programs and tracking their measurables so that they know specifically where they stand and what they need to work on.  Many are attending the better showcases so they have a better feel for where the bar is when it comes to better players in the area and region.  I'm not saying that your son has to do all these things.  Confidence is good but some humility via awareness can go a long way.

 

Little League coach feedback isn't really relevant at this point.  That was several levels ago and the funnel continues to narrow.  Good private instruction is great but keep in mind that it is in their best interest to communicate lots of positive comments.

 

Agree with others that it was the right question to ask at the wrong time.  I will add... a coach looks for all players to embrace their role.  Your son said "I am not a scrub.." to the coach.  That could be seen as disrespectful to the fact that the coach has chosen for him to be a member of the team in some role.  It is important for all players to embrace their role in order for the team to be successful, even if that role is keeping the book, helping with runners and creating positive atmosphere on the bench.  I know that was not his intent but, again, just for awareness.

 

Nine plate appearances in what I would guess would be late inning non-critical situations or starts against lesser opponents are not what should be used as your measuring stick.  As others mentioned, his PT is earned primarily by what coaches see with the hundreds of daily reps, daily attitude, speed, arm strength, power, game awareness and ability to execute at the current level.

 

I would caution against putting much thought or stock into the posts that suggest your son is sitting because he may have a bad coach who is not evaluating your son fairly or properly.  Even if true, it is not where your son needs to be focusing his efforts in order to earn that PT he desires.  His focus should be on getting so much better that he leaves no doubt.

 

Lastly, you mentioned your son was not receptive to some of the advice.  So, he may feel he is not getting a fair shot.  To put what others have said in a different way... he can either whine and mope about the injustice and make things worse or he can come to grips with the fact that it is this coach who he must impress with his play and attitude and put every effort possible into accomplishing this.

  

 

 

Last edited by cabbagedad

I would also add that son's coach puts value in doing everything for the team.  Not just playing, cheering, being a good teammate, but also field maintenance.  Son told me the other day, don't worry about why XXXX isn't playing.  He's not playing because he's lazy.  He said he doesn't show-up early for field maintenance, and by not doing so, he is not being a team player.  Son said XXXX won't play, and he hasn't played for the last 4 games.

Originally Posted by ironhorse:
Originally Posted by Golfman25:

While somewhat true, I would caution about how much a HS coach actually sees.  If you just do the math, coaches have very little time before games begin to evaluate players.  Therefore, you could be looking only at 20-30 hrs. of practice time.  With maybe 20 kids on a team, that is at best about an hour of actual skills time.  And in many cases, the penciled in starters will get more time than the backups. 

 

 

Not sure what kind of practices you're used to, but they sound crappy. I would venture to guess that in 30 hours of practice (not factoring in scrimmages and games) my varsity kids have all gotten near 1000+ groundballs/flyballs and 1000 + swings. A lot of those on the field "game-like" reps. Subvarsity kids not identical numbers, but not too far behind.

 

 

While I am sure they are getting good, solid, reps, the amounts just don't add up.  If you take your 9 starters and give them 1000 fielding reps and 1000 hitting reps, that's 18,000 total reps over 30 hours.  That's something like 600 reps per hour.  Unless you have a lot of coaches and resources and can break up into many stations, you're probably doing something significantly less than 1000 reps per player.  Especially for the backups (probably another 5-10 kids), who probably get less than the starters. 

 

At my son's school resources are tight.  They only have two tunnels.  Varsity monopolizes them.  So the lower levels rarely get to hit on a regular basis.  With a single coach, situational infield/outfield is a slow process. 

 

Not to get bogged down into calculations and such, but the reality is the backups are getting less and less opportunities to prove themselves.  They just need to be ready when called. 

Originally Posted by Golfman25:
Not to get bogged down into calculations and such, but the reality is the backups are getting less and less opportunities to prove themselves.  They just need to be ready when called. 

And BA and OBP mean very little to the coach if he's not squaring up and barreling the ball.

My suggestion for fast track to PT.

HIT HIT HIT. And I mean hit. Not bloops, not walks, HIT

He gets one AB? He better produce. Or he will sit.

Some perspective....

 

Be thankful wherever your son is.  Be most thankful that he is a vibrant, healthy boy.  My son got called up late to varsity his sophomore year, got no playing time whatsoever, and yet, we were beside ourselves with joy.  He played for the largest public high school in the state of Ohio and even making the freshmen team was an achievement let alone getting playing time on varsity as a sophomore.  I never advised him one time in his career to talk to the coach.  The coach speaks to the team with the lineup card.  The player will not change that decision based on verbal argument.

 

Look, this whole topic and debate boils down to control.  Control the things you can control and let go of the things you can't.  This will take the 800 lb. gorilla off you and your son's shoulders.

 

What you absolutely CANNOT control:

Coach's decision

 

What you CAN control:

1a) Your attitude

1b) Your effort

 

Focus on the what you can's and let go of the what you cannot's.  It will simply your life and lead to ultimate happiness.  Now encourage the young man to get to work and have the best attitude on the team.  Encourage him to do this while keeping his mouth shut.  Someone will eventually notice. 

Originally Posted by Everyday Dad:
Originally Posted by Golfman25:
Not to get bogged down into calculations and such, but the reality is the backups are getting less and less opportunities to prove themselves.  They just need to be ready when called. 

And BA and OBP mean very little to the coach if he's not squaring up and barreling the ball.

My suggestion for fast track to PT.

HIT HIT HIT. And I mean hit. Not bloops, not walks, HIT

He gets one AB? He better produce. Or he will sit.

I mentioned in one of my posts about starting to hear some parents chirp about playing time now that we have settled into conf. play.  Im sure I will start hearing about my sons hitting the last two games.  O for 3 w/walk last night 0 for 2 w/2walks game before.  If you looked at his BA you would say he's only an average hitter.  What the BA does not show is the pitcher pitching 50 MPH two games ago.  Kid was way out in front of the ball.  He knows it, the coach knows it.  He was one of the few kids to actually put the ball into play.  Last night he went 0 for again.  He was hitting the snot out of the ball.  2 kids made exceptional plays to keep my kid off base.  As my son said. "sometimes you just hit them right at the kids; dad".  


Yet the other kids, whose parents will chirp,  strike out at bat.  My kids average is probably the same as some of theirs at this point, but he only has 2 Ks on the season.   He was hitting .698 before he went into the 2 game slump.

Last edited by joes87
Originally Posted by Golfman25:
Originally Posted by ironhorse:
Originally Posted by Golfman25:

While somewhat true, I would caution about how much a HS coach actually sees.  If you just do the math, coaches have very little time before games begin to evaluate players.  Therefore, you could be looking only at 20-30 hrs. of practice time.  With maybe 20 kids on a team, that is at best about an hour of actual skills time.  And in many cases, the penciled in starters will get more time than the backups. 

 

 

Not sure what kind of practices you're used to, but they sound crappy. I would venture to guess that in 30 hours of practice (not factoring in scrimmages and games) my varsity kids have all gotten near 1000+ groundballs/flyballs and 1000 + swings. A lot of those on the field "game-like" reps. Subvarsity kids not identical numbers, but not too far behind.

 

 

While I am sure they are getting good, solid, reps, the amounts just don't add up.  If you take your 9 starters and give them 1000 fielding reps and 1000 hitting reps, that's 18,000 total reps over 30 hours.  That's something like 600 reps per hour.  Unless you have a lot of coaches and resources and can break up into many stations, you're probably doing something significantly less than 1000 reps per player.  Especially for the backups (probably another 5-10 kids), who probably get less than the starters. 

 

At my son's school resources are tight.  They only have two tunnels.  Varsity monopolizes them.  So the lower levels rarely get to hit on a regular basis.  With a single coach, situational infield/outfield is a slow process. 

 

Not to get bogged down into calculations and such, but the reality is the backups are getting less and less opportunities to prove themselves.  They just need to be ready when called. 

We do 4-fungo infield 3 times a week for 30 minutes at a time. There are variations to it, but each position gets roughly 400 groundballs hit to them a day (we don't slow down swinging or we use machines/fungoman, so about a gb every 4 sec or 15 a minute for calculation). About 5 deep at every infield position (sr - freshman), that's about 80 gbs a day or 240 a week at the bare minimum. 30 hours is over three weeks of practice for us (only 8 hrs per week per UIL), so you can see we're close to or past the 1000+ mark I referenced off the cuff, and that's just in our one drill. ANd most of those are quality reps with our kids.

 

If you mean 1 coach with one fungo and 9-kids on the field than you have a point, but like I said, that's a very crappy practice.

Ok with my luck this will be the n last straw and I will be the one yelled at for hijacking!!  But I do like the debate on practice reps.  Ironhorse I agree on the reps.  In fact I dont even have infielders throw back.  Start with two buckets one by me and one by no more than 4 fielders.  I hit they field and drop in their bucket.  Rapid fire.  When my bucket is empty they run theirs in and switch.  Hundreds of grounders in a short amount of time.  Stations are the key.  If you don't have a lot of coaches then groups of 2 doing flips, hitting from tees, fly balls (2 groups total 4), ground balls (2 groups total of 4) that's 12 kids.  Got more?  Add a couple stations.  How about 4 kids (2 pairs) working on rundown catch?  The possibilities are endless.  And you really only need 2 coaches.  Too much standing around at baseball practices!  Let's improve our reputations and get organized!  Everyone doing something!
Originally Posted by Golfman25:

Not to get bogged down into calculations and such, but the reality is the backups are getting less and less opportunities to prove themselves.  They just need to be ready when called. 


Last night I umpired a lopsided game that ended by run rule after 4-1/2 innings. The home coach started subbing players in the bottom of the third and had all nine of his eligible substitutes in the line up by the bottom of the fourth.

 

Even with a 14-run lead, he watched every at bat his subs took with keen interest. Every time one of them took a strike he didn't approve of them letting go by, he barked out a reminder that this was their chance to show they can hit and if they don't want to hit, they will sit.

 

One at bat in a blow out may not be much of an opportunity, but if it's the only one you get, you'd better seize it.  

 

 

Originally Posted by Golfman25:
Originally Posted by RJM:

Most coaches aren't stupid. Typically they can judge talent. They see a lot more than the parent sees. And they don't see it with bias. If it appears the coach has a favorite player it's typically one that works the hardest or is the most talented.

While somewhat true, I would caution about how much a HS coach actually sees.  If you just do the math, coaches have very little time before games begin to evaluate players.  Therefore, you could be looking only at 20-30 hrs. of practice time.  With maybe 20 kids on a team, that is at best about an hour of actual skills time.  And in many cases, the penciled in starters will get more time than the backups. 

 

So not to put pressure on the kid, but realize that there is a very small window of opportunity to impress a coach and bump a "starter."  He may only have a handful of pitches to show he can hit, or a few balls to show he can field.  So he has to be ready to perform.  That is where the arriving early, staying late, and busting a$$ can play a part.   

How much of an opportunity the kid has to show himself may depend on the off season. He needs to be aware of every opportunity to show himself. In the fall of soph year my son passed on travel and played for the high school fall ball team. This was even though he was on varsity soccer.  He had shortstop won by the end of fall ball. Tryouts in the spring were a formality. He had been called the heir apparent since 8th grade. But he wasn't taking any chances. He also attended every winter indoor workout.

Originally Posted by RJM:
Originally Posted by Golfman25:
Originally Posted by RJM:

Most coaches aren't stupid. Typically they can judge talent. They see a lot more than the parent sees. And they don't see it with bias. If it appears the coach has a favorite player it's typically one that works the hardest or is the most talented.

While somewhat true, I would caution about how much a HS coach actually sees.  If you just do the math, coaches have very little time before games begin to evaluate players.  Therefore, you could be looking only at 20-30 hrs. of practice time.  With maybe 20 kids on a team, that is at best about an hour of actual skills time.  And in many cases, the penciled in starters will get more time than the backups. 

 

So not to put pressure on the kid, but realize that there is a very small window of opportunity to impress a coach and bump a "starter."  He may only have a handful of pitches to show he can hit, or a few balls to show he can field.  So he has to be ready to perform.  That is where the arriving early, staying late, and busting a$$ can play a part.   

How much of an opportunity the kid has to show himself may depend on the off season. He needs to be aware of every opportunity to show himself. In the fall of soph year my son passed on travel and played for the high school fall ball team. This was even though he was on varsity soccer.  He had shortstop won by the end of fall ball. Tryouts in the spring were a formality. He had been called the heir apparent since 8th grade. But he wasn't taking any chances. He also attended every winter indoor workout.

Very true.  My son has pretty much been to everything he is eligible for.  Camps prior to frosh year, summer ball, any meetings, and off season workouts --when he could.  Our school prohibits in season athletes from attending the off season open gym workouts during their active season.  So when they ran the open gym's this past winter my son was playing basketball.  He was not allowed to attend the baseball open gym.  I've been told they primarily do this for two reasons.  1 - to keep the kids from burning out.  2 - To make sure an in season athlete does not get hurt at an open gym.


In addition to the school stuff, my kid would work out with his travel team 2 or 3 days a week during the off season.  How many days he got in depended on his football/basketball schedule.  In addition starting in December he worked out with his hitting and pitching coaches as well.  His travel program actually ran practices 5 days a week but due to the basketball schedule he could only make W, Sat and Sun.  And W and Sat were hit or miss depending on his basketball schedule.  

 

 

 

 

I have a very good friend who was a year and a class behind me in sports. He was very talented. He was a QB in football and a LHP in baseball. But he was one year behind a dominant class that won state titles in both sports. As a soph QB he played JV while a junior watched a senior be all state. The next year as a junior he carried the clipboard while the QB a class above him became all state. Then senior year my friend was the starting QB after every starter but one graduated. He spent the season running for his life until he got injured. He could have been all state had he started either of the previous two years.

 

in baseball he was on JV as a soph. There were five pitchers ahead of him. Three were drafted in the top twenty rounds of the MLB draft. My friend was skilled enough to make the Legion team as a soph (no travel then). But he was behind the high school pitchers plus two more from a Catholic school (one drafted). Only one pitcher left after that year. He sat through another season. The Legion team won two state championships. My friend barely pitched until his last year of Legion. He dominated. He went on to pitch at he D1 level for a team that went to the College World Series.

 

The problem my friend had wasn't a stupid or unfair coach. He was buried behind a load of talent. Now, what do you think the dads thought of the Legion coach when their son's backups on the high school team started over them in Legion? The high school and Legion coaches saw and evaluated the talent differently. Personally I thought the Legion coach got it right. But the truth was it was just two coaches seeing different abilities in players.

Originally Posted by ironhorse:
Originally Posted by Golfman25:
Originally Posted by ironhorse:
Originally Posted by Golfman25:

While somewhat true, I would caution about how much a HS coach actually sees.  If you just do the math, coaches have very little time before games begin to evaluate players.  Therefore, you could be looking only at 20-30 hrs. of practice time.  With maybe 20 kids on a team, that is at best about an hour of actual skills time.  And in many cases, the penciled in starters will get more time than the backups. 

 

 

Not sure what kind of practices you're used to, but they sound crappy. I would venture to guess that in 30 hours of practice (not factoring in scrimmages and games) my varsity kids have all gotten near 1000+ groundballs/flyballs and 1000 + swings. A lot of those on the field "game-like" reps. Subvarsity kids not identical numbers, but not too far behind.

 

 

While I am sure they are getting good, solid, reps, the amounts just don't add up.  If you take your 9 starters and give them 1000 fielding reps and 1000 hitting reps, that's 18,000 total reps over 30 hours.  That's something like 600 reps per hour.  Unless you have a lot of coaches and resources and can break up into many stations, you're probably doing something significantly less than 1000 reps per player.  Especially for the backups (probably another 5-10 kids), who probably get less than the starters. 

 

At my son's school resources are tight.  They only have two tunnels.  Varsity monopolizes them.  So the lower levels rarely get to hit on a regular basis.  With a single coach, situational infield/outfield is a slow process. 

 

Not to get bogged down into calculations and such, but the reality is the backups are getting less and less opportunities to prove themselves.  They just need to be ready when called. 

We do 4-fungo infield 3 times a week for 30 minutes at a time. There are variations to it, but each position gets roughly 400 groundballs hit to them a day (we don't slow down swinging or we use machines/fungoman, so about a gb every 4 sec or 15 a minute for calculation). About 5 deep at every infield position (sr - freshman), that's about 80 gbs a day or 240 a week at the bare minimum. 30 hours is over three weeks of practice for us (only 8 hrs per week per UIL), so you can see we're close to or past the 1000+ mark I referenced off the cuff, and that's just in our one drill. ANd most of those are quality reps with our kids.

 

If you mean 1 coach with one fungo and 9-kids on the field than you have a point, but like I said, that's a very crappy practice.

Please put me in touch with your admissions office and a good local realtor....I'm moving my family to your district.  You might have a few sharp edges , but your program appears to be what most of us would wish for our kids.  Kudos to you, sir.

Originally Posted by Marklaker:
Originally Posted by ironhorse:
Originally Posted by Golfman25:
Originally Posted by ironhorse:
Originally Posted by Golfman25:

While somewhat true, I would caution about how much a HS coach actually sees.  If you just do the math, coaches have very little time before games begin to evaluate players.  Therefore, you could be looking only at 20-30 hrs. of practice time.  With maybe 20 kids on a team, that is at best about an hour of actual skills time.  And in many cases, the penciled in starters will get more time than the backups. 

 

 

Not sure what kind of practices you're used to, but they sound crappy. I would venture to guess that in 30 hours of practice (not factoring in scrimmages and games) my varsity kids have all gotten near 1000+ groundballs/flyballs and 1000 + swings. A lot of those on the field "game-like" reps. Subvarsity kids not identical numbers, but not too far behind.

 

 

While I am sure they are getting good, solid, reps, the amounts just don't add up.  If you take your 9 starters and give them 1000 fielding reps and 1000 hitting reps, that's 18,000 total reps over 30 hours.  That's something like 600 reps per hour.  Unless you have a lot of coaches and resources and can break up into many stations, you're probably doing something significantly less than 1000 reps per player.  Especially for the backups (probably another 5-10 kids), who probably get less than the starters. 

 

At my son's school resources are tight.  They only have two tunnels.  Varsity monopolizes them.  So the lower levels rarely get to hit on a regular basis.  With a single coach, situational infield/outfield is a slow process. 

 

Not to get bogged down into calculations and such, but the reality is the backups are getting less and less opportunities to prove themselves.  They just need to be ready when called. 

We do 4-fungo infield 3 times a week for 30 minutes at a time. There are variations to it, but each position gets roughly 400 groundballs hit to them a day (we don't slow down swinging or we use machines/fungoman, so about a gb every 4 sec or 15 a minute for calculation). About 5 deep at every infield position (sr - freshman), that's about 80 gbs a day or 240 a week at the bare minimum. 30 hours is over three weeks of practice for us (only 8 hrs per week per UIL), so you can see we're close to or past the 1000+ mark I referenced off the cuff, and that's just in our one drill. ANd most of those are quality reps with our kids.

 

If you mean 1 coach with one fungo and 9-kids on the field than you have a point, but like I said, that's a very crappy practice.

Please put me in touch with your admissions office and a good local realtor....I'm moving my family to your district.  You might have a few sharp edges , but your program appears to be what most of us would wish for our kids.  Kudos to you, sir.

I'll agree with that.  You obviously have way more resources then we have.  I'm not sure we even have a full bucket of balls. 

Originally Posted by Golfman25:
Originally Posted by Marklaker:
 

Please put me in touch with your admissions office and a good local realtor....I'm moving my family to your district.  You might have a few sharp edges , but your program appears to be what most of us would wish for our kids.  Kudos to you, sir.

I'll agree with that.  You obviously have way more resources then we have.  I'm not sure we even have a full bucket of balls. 

Haha. We definitely have more than adequate resources, but far from the tops in our area. I think what most coaches need are prepared plans and a little creativity. As long as your willing to take the time to teach your kids how the drills work and the importance of quality reps, a lot of times they can start running them themselves, and seniors take ownership of teaching which makes them better. 

I can't really add much, as I believe Coach May and some of the others have hit the nail on the head, but I do have a couple little things to offer.  What is your son's long term goal?  Does he want to play in college?  If so, his HS soph playing time won't have a lot to do with that.  But his grades will.  His club team will.  His work ethic will.

 

In 6th grade, my 2015 set a goal to make varsity as a freshman.  I'm happy to say he accomplished that goal and has been a V starter since the 3rd game of his freshman year.  As a freshman, he set the goal of playing in college.  I'm happy to say he has signed a scholarship to play in college.  To achieve these goals, above all, he worked extremely hard - on and off the field.  He's never had a drink or smoked anything.  He's never been in any trouble.  He also knows the importance of good grades. And you know what, the first question every college coach he worked out for wasn't "How much playing time did you see in HS?"  It was "What'd you get on your ACT?"

 

I know it's hard for a soph to sit.  I know it's hard for a mom to watch.  Try to look at the big (long term) picture.  Focus on grades, too.  And help in the ways you can.  Not to toot my own horn, but I happen to be a phenom as a front-tosser.  Every day, after a three hour practice, I front toss at least 100 balls to my son.  If it's dark or bad weather, I set more than that on a tee in the garage.  Every night. In season and out. I'm there to listen, and have sat through enough workouts to offer some advice on little tweaks.

 

Be supportive and don't talk to the coach.  Look at the big picture and focus on the long term goal.  Everything will fall in to place.

Originally Posted by FNL:
Originally Posted by Nicks mom:
He also is a very good outfielder and can play ss, 1st, 2nd despite being a lefty. 

 

Originally Posted by SluggerDad:

Circle the firing squad.  Ready... Aim....

 

He could maybe take a few grounders at 3rd. Has he tried catching?

 

(OK, that's kind of mean of me, I'm sorry - but I couldn't resist)

That was kindof mean...but funny.

Now if it were me,  jp would be complaining how mean I am..or in his words....sometimes the best response is no response.

Right jp?

nicksmom, you have gotten excellent advice. Best of luck.

Last edited by TPM

There are posts when you can tell the OP just doesn't know. Many of my conversations over the years have been with people that just didn't know. They need someone they can go to for advice. I once had a mom of a player who played for a team we faced in HS. She got my number from one of our parents during the game. Her son was a stud. I remembered him from the game. She called me and asked me some questions that made it clear she "just didn't know."

 

Their school had a terrible program. I just directed her to a guy that ran a program in their area. Two years later he signed with an ACC school and was drafted after his Jr year. This site is a valuable resource for people who know and don't know. But it also can serve as a means of stress relief for those that feel helpless to help those they love.

Sorry for replying to such an old post but as I google searched this topic I was interested by what everyone said. There was some good advice given and I hope it worked out for the player involved. With that being said my son struggles to get playing time also. He is currently 5'8" 165. He is strong and athletic. He squats 350, benches 150, runs the 60 in 7.4 possibly less now and a time to first in 4.2. His running was clocked by hand at a college scouting clinic. He has above average bat speed and other batting matrix numbers for his grade level. Numbers also taken at the clinic. He throws 76 in the field and 72 on the mound. He can pitch, catch and play outfield. His best position is CF. He has been at the top of his roster every year from 8-14 on travel teams. He started at Single A and as we saw him being the best on the teams we moved him up until he reach a low major team with really good players, but the team was weak on elite pitchers. He leads the team on offense as a leadoff batter and only had 1 error in the outfield after 40 games. He made the freshmen team at 13 in the 8th grade. He had the best tryout I have ever seen him have. He out ran everyone, had great catches and throws and hit the ball to the fence while others barely out of the infield. I noticed quickly that most kids trying out were from Dixie Boys Rec league and not travel ball. I could go on for hours so if you have a question please ask. So 4 8th grade kids made JV. My son started batting last as a DH on the freshman team. By the end of the year he was a DH batting forth and leading the team in overall offense. (Avg,Runs,RBI,Walks, Steals,ect) He rarely ever played in the field. While other less quality batters played were ever they wanted. My son was also never allowed to pitch in a game only scrimmages which he did very well striking out or getting ground outs from the JV team. If ever there was a sub to be made he was the first one pulled every time. The last 4 games were also played with 3 of the 8th grade JV players who could not hang with JV. When they brought them down they took my son's batting opportunities. None of the 3 even batted over .200 while on the Freshman team (He batted a low .400). At the end of the year he was passed up for an award as offensive player of the year. The winner had an average 15 points higher and a higher slugging percentage, my son surpassed him in all other categories and batted less often.  Next year my son has a good tryout almost as good as last year. He was out ran by one other kid if that matters. He made JV yay! He started again DH batting 9th. He is now DH batting 2nd with 2 innings in the outfield out of 11 games and 6 were blowouts we won.  He is currently leading in offense again and in the top 3 in all categories for hitting, stealing and so forth. Two of his team mates that he bats better than have been called up to Varsity. We know the coach does not like him, he said so and its the same coach this year. My son is afraid that he might have him a 3rd year if he stays on JV for a 2nd year. This coach really gets in his head and the game is no longer as fun. please give some advice and ask any question you like. My son would like to transfer to a new school or only play showcase ball the rest of high school. People say to hang in there and be tough but how much is too much if you strive and do your best and their really is nothing to look forward to in HS baseball except when its over you can go play with a better team and coach that appreciates you and encourages you. Input?

Input.....oh dear....my input would be that if he likes practicing with his friends it doesn't matter if he's IN the games.  Sometimes life isn't fair, that's true.  Your choice to stick it out or not. Play only travel ball or not.  For now I would tell him to talk to the coach about how he could get up to Varsity, and I would leave out ALL mention of who he is better than, and just ask for advice to improve.

BBDAD98 posted:

Sorry for replying to such an old post but as I google searched this topic I was interested by what everyone said. There was some good advice given and I hope it worked out for the player involved. With that being said my son struggles to get playing time also. He is currently 5'8" 165. He is strong and athletic. He squats 350, benches 150, runs the 60 in 7.4 possibly less now and a time to first in 4.2. His running was clocked by hand at a college scouting clinic. He has above average bat speed and other batting matrix numbers for his grade level. Numbers also taken at the clinic. He throws 76 in the field and 72 on the mound. He can pitch, catch and play outfield. His best position is CF. He has been at the top of his roster every year from 8-14 on travel teams. He started at Single A and as we saw him being the best on the teams we moved him up until he reach a low major team with really good players, but the team was weak on elite pitchers. He leads the team on offense as a leadoff batter and only had 1 error in the outfield after 40 games. He made the freshmen team at 13 in the 8th grade. He had the best tryout I have ever seen him have. He out ran everyone, had great catches and throws and hit the ball to the fence while others barely out of the infield. I noticed quickly that most kids trying out were from Dixie Boys Rec league and not travel ball. I could go on for hours so if you have a question please ask. So 4 8th grade kids made JV. My son started batting last as a DH on the freshman team. By the end of the year he was a DH batting forth and leading the team in overall offense. (Avg,Runs,RBI,Walks, Steals,ect) He rarely ever played in the field. While other less quality batters played were ever they wanted. My son was also never allowed to pitch in a game only scrimmages which he did very well striking out or getting ground outs from the JV team. If ever there was a sub to be made he was the first one pulled every time. The last 4 games were also played with 3 of the 8th grade JV players who could not hang with JV. When they brought them down they took my son's batting opportunities. None of the 3 even batted over .200 while on the Freshman team (He batted a low .400). At the end of the year he was passed up for an award as offensive player of the year. The winner had an average 15 points higher and a higher slugging percentage, my son surpassed him in all other categories and batted less often.  Next year my son has a good tryout almost as good as last year. He was out ran by one other kid if that matters. He made JV yay! He started again DH batting 9th. He is now DH batting 2nd with 2 innings in the outfield out of 11 games and 6 were blowouts we won.  He is currently leading in offense again and in the top 3 in all categories for hitting, stealing and so forth. Two of his team mates that he bats better than have been called up to Varsity. We know the coach does not like him, he said so and its the same coach this year. My son is afraid that he might have him a 3rd year if he stays on JV for a 2nd year. This coach really gets in his head and the game is no longer as fun. please give some advice and ask any question you like. My son would like to transfer to a new school or only play showcase ball the rest of high school. People say to hang in there and be tough but how much is too much if you strive and do your best and their really is nothing to look forward to in HS baseball except when its over you can go play with a better team and coach that appreciates you and encourages you. Input?

Your son starts every game.  What exactly are you concerned about?  What grade is he in and what level is he playing?  

The simple answer to the playing time riddle is that Coaches play kids that they believe can help them win. Period. This applies not only at the HS level but also college .

That being said , if a kid in fact believes he can help his team win and the Coach sees it differently , the player ( never the parent ) needs to speak to the coach . He needs to be direct and ask the Coach what it's gonna take for him to play or move up to Varsity in this case. At this point most coaches are pretty straight forward in explaining to a player what he needs to do or what the coach needs from him to advance .

It's pretty simple. But most HS kids are afraid to approach the coach. That is sort of a developmental thing at that age. But if he's truly unhappy or unclear about his role or future he needs to start there.

Don't let your son or yourself get caught up in the age old excuse of 'The Coach just doesn't like me' . That is a mistake and will just cloud your judgment . Because it's irrelevant. Remember , HS Coaches play the kids that can help them win. Period. They have 16-21 guys on Varsity , of those 16-21 guys , sure there may be a couple kids he likes personally more than others and occasionally a dislike and more often than not indifference towards some players, but it will rarely change how he makes out his line up card.

A bad student, bad attitude jerk that touches 88-90 mph will pitch at the HS level regardless of the coaches personal opinion of him. Don't forget that.

Have your son talk to the coach about what it's gonna take to advance in the program. After the meeting sit down with your son and put together a plan to accomplish those goals. Then have him go back to the coach once your son has improved in those areas and Hold the coach to his word.

Last edited by StrainedOblique

Welcome to the site, BBdad.  

You said... "We know the coach does not like him, he said so and its the same coach this year."

Based on the abundance of other information you provided, it is likely not his playing ability that the coach doesn't like.  So, what is it?  I don't know your son's situation or if any of what I am about to share applies.  But in my experience, your son is probably very aware of what the issues are.  And, those issues are very likely to be the same that cause the next coach to not like him as well.  And, assuming I am the least bit on the right track, he needs to face up to those issues and fix them.  He needs to share with the coach that he recognizes them and is addressing them and then he needs to do it.

I head up a decent program and coach V.  I oversee the entire program before we split off.  We have a handful of juniors that are still playing JV this year.  Generally, it is not due to their lack of talent.  Last night, we took advantage of a rain night and I conducted a hitting discussion for the JV group so that they all know the program way and so that they have a clear path toward continued improvement.  Toward the end of the discussion, I had to kick two players out of the meeting.  They were two of the juniors.  It was no real surprise.  They don't lack talent.  They were doing what they do that dictates why they are still on JV.  They comply just enough to stay in the program but don't care sufficiently to address the issues that prevent them from being a part of the next level in the program.

Again, I have no idea how much of this applies to your son.  

I also see that you have been involved in coaching previously and I see that you have quite a depth of statistical info on your son as well as exactly how his numbers compare to others on the team/in the program.  I suspect this won't go over well but my suggestion is that you let go of this, at least to a large extent.  The way you are using the comp numbers is not healthy or productive for your son.  Don't look for reasons he should be "in".  HE should be looking for reasons he is "out" and working toward eliminating those.  He should be working toward being the player the coach wants in the lineup, on the field and in the dugout as a teammate and he should have the goal of leaving no doubt with all three... regardless of who the coach is.

You found a site that can be a treasure trove of information and direction for you both.  I hope my "less than rosy" message doesn't scare you away from using it to the fullest.

 

It doesn't matter, tell him to continue to improve/get better. The situation may seem as a setback but it's a big character builder..........find the positives and forge ahead. Be the best teammate, best ball shagger, the best __(insert)___________................control his attitude and effort. The pieces will fall where they fall as you can't control others and the decisions they make.

I will continue to repeat, attitude and effort! It's very difficult to turn away a player that has a good attitude and works his tail off.

Don't compare other players tools, attributes, ect. It's irrelevant to your sons development as a person and a player. Be consistent working on his own game, energy focused for ONE second on another player is time away from his own improvement.

By taking ownership in his own journey, not blaming others and really focusing on the things he can control, that being attitude and effort.

StrainedOblique posted:

... Remember , HS Coaches play the kids that can help them win. Period. ..

A bad student, bad attitude jerk that touches 88-90 mph will pitch at the HS level regardless of the coaches personal opinion of him. Don't forget that.

....

I am almost always in agreement with Strained and his perspective.  However, as it applies to this particular OP, I have to disagree.  In our last game, I was put in a position to remove our best player about two minutes before first pitch.  He definitely could have helped us win.  There was a bigger message that he needed to understand.  It was made clear to him that he would not be entered back into our lineup until he showed that he did understand even if that meant the rest of the season and even if that meant we lose every game along the way.

cabbagedad posted:
StrainedOblique posted:

... Remember , HS Coaches play the kids that can help them win. Period. ..

A bad student, bad attitude jerk that touches 88-90 mph will pitch at the HS level regardless of the coaches personal opinion of him. Don't forget that.

....

I am almost always in agreement with Strained and his perspective.  However, as it applies to this particular OP, I have to disagree.  In our last game, I was put in a position to remove our best player about two minutes before first pitch.  He definitely could have helped us win.  There was a bigger message that he needed to understand.  It was made clear to him that he would not be entered back into our lineup until he showed that he did understand even if that meant the rest of the season and even if that meant we lose every game along the way.

You're correct cabbagedad. A good coach that's trying to develop not only a baseball player , but a responsible young man is going to take exception to that rule. Regardless of a players on field talent.

My comment was intended to illustrate a broader point about playing time . And I didn't include or factor in the demands of a High character Coach.

My son was a Top player in HS at a infamous West Coast program w/ a legendary coach. This coach was concerned about developing young men. And in the process Developed a USA Today HS baseball top 25 program

Son, wanted to go to Coachella music festival senior year ( During Season) . He asked the coach if he could miss a Saturday non-league game. Coach said ' Sure if that's what you want to do.

Son played Friday game . Left afterwards for festival missed Saturday , returned from Coachella and following Wed game was BENCHED.

When son asked coach about it , he said ' Coach I talked to you about going and missing a game , why did you bench me ?"  Coach said " That is correct. You did talk talk to me. And you asked me about missing the game and outlined your whole plan and I told you , You can do whatever you want to do. But you never asked my permission . You just dictated to me what your intention was , Without any solicitation of my opinion or how your actions would effect the team.....So, you'll sit and think about all that today"

cabbagedad posted:
StrainedOblique posted:

... Remember , HS Coaches play the kids that can help them win. Period. ..

A bad student, bad attitude jerk that touches 88-90 mph will pitch at the HS level regardless of the coaches personal opinion of him. Don't forget that.

....

I am almost always in agreement with Strained and his perspective.  However, as it applies to this particular OP, I have to disagree.  In our last game, I was put in a position to remove our best player about two minutes before first pitch.  He definitely could have helped us win.  There was a bigger message that he needed to understand.  It was made clear to him that he would not be entered back into our lineup until he showed that he did understand even if that meant the rest of the season and even if that meant we lose every game along the way.

Our HS team's best player(D1 SS, yada, yada) decided to not leg out a ground ball early in the 1st inning of a game. Coach yanked him.

  That's what you call sending a message that was heard up and down the dugout, not just by the player in question.

 

Thanks guys I will try to clear things up. My son is 14 in the 9th grade playing JV and yes he starts most games but not all games. I do have an extensive stat history from game changer because all of his teams have used that app. The numbers in my comments were not really to brag or compare but only to show that my son is not just gifted or talented he is a hard worker and he rises to the top of the skill level he plays with. If he sees someone working hard, hitting hard, running fast or whatever he sets out to be that good and better. Thats his thing, I don't have to push him in practicing or working hard, that is fun to him. He likes chasing after and passing others, but he is still tired of after he does good he gets sat or has to start at the bottom. He is small but not the smallest by a few other guys, the smallest gets to play and not produce. Its not about moving to Varsity either, he knows he wouldn't play, they don't let him hit the field in JV. Just saying that some guys moved up and play now. We even had a PO prove himself with a few at bats and now he bats 4th or 5th and now plays outfield when not pitching. He is not very good at RF, but anyway. I am happy for him he hits well. When will my son prove he can play the field. To answer the other remarks. He has approached the coach. The coach told him he didnt like him because of his attitude last year. More on that later. In the same conversation he told him that this year his attitude was good and he could tell he was working hard and hustling, and would give him a chance to take someones position on the field. Never happened by the way. Last year my son was the backup catcher for a few games. He could not throw anyone out like he had been in travel ball so he asked the coach he the pitchers could deliver the pitch faster (not such a slow high leg lift) coach just looked at him. Later on more than one occasions he would be batting and the runner would not steal when given the sign so he would take a first pitch strike for no reason. So he asked the coach to talk to them. Coach did nothing. My son was on first and got the steal sign( he steals a lot of bases 5 last night) the batter hits the ball foul or line drives into a dp. My son was mad. Coach does nothing. My son was catching, throws down to 2nd no one was there, he yells at the middle guys to talk and get it together. Coach did not approve and said it was his job to do the coaching. This coach is 2 years out of HS if that matters to anyone. So the coach does not like him. My son was very angry from that game forward. He lets it go now and says nothing until summer ball. At the end of last year at his review he has told about his attitude and poor fielding. What fielding he hardly play the field ever. He was told he had the most potential as a hitter on the whole team. They told him to hit the gym. That summer he did. He asked about pitching and they responded they didn't know he pitched. Are you kidding me they wrote notes about him and used the radar gun. If they don't like his pitching fine, but don't lie or be incompetent enough to not know someone pitches please. They struggled to have enough pitchers all year with the new pitch count rule. Input? Am I crazy?

BBDAD98 - from what you wrote, it sounds like your kid has attitude issues and needs to learn to keep his mouth shut, especially for a Freshman playing JV.  Probably just maturity issues that he'll grow out of, but coaches these days have to deal with tons of players with entitlement issues and your son is not doing himself any favors by acting like that.

It sounds like your kid likes the game and wants to succeed. That is good because it takes a lot of time, work, bp, infield, bullpens, lifting, plyos, speedwork... etc  to get to be a good HS player. Right now the numbers you posted are decent for his age but not a definite starter on the Varsity level. My opinion would be to put the coaches decisions out of his mind right now and just work on getting better. Work hard on baseball everything. Use his opportunities to show he is making progress. If he is not progressing like he thinks he should reassess how he is doing it and keep working hard. He is going to have to get to a higher level to be a definite Varsity player. Until he gets to that level you are going to drive yourself crazy having the my kid is better he should have this or that mindset.

Guys i am not suggesting he could start or deserves Varsity. His fielding and batting suffer at the HS practice. No fielding hurts and in BP he comes home with bad habits and we go to his club cage and fix them. He had an altitude even though he was correct. He no longer says anything. Last year he was told to not cheer or chant, so he just high fives now. Thanks

Ok...

Coaches will side with the coaches, parents who are just parents and never really played the game will defend their kids til the day is long. Not one person has seen your kid play so its all relative. Let me tell you what is going on at our school. Private, Catholic with great athletes. Up until last year, never missed D1 playoffs.

Our coach is in his second year. Got his position after two years of being the pitching coach under the former coach who, by all means, was a baseball guy. Not a people person but knew baseball. College coaching technique and his players got to college and played right away. Because he was tough and his baseball technique did not translate to all players, a few parents were miffed. Guess who became buddies with those folks?  The assistants.  Yup, the pitching coach who is now the head coach.  Guess who started feeding the AD info about the head coach and all the parents complaints without naming parents names and adding his personal views on the program? You got it. Flash to two years later and one mistake by the Head Coach with a Phys Ed class (unrelated to baseball) and who is terminated? You guessed it, the head baseball coach. Who is hired? Coach Judas himself.

Coach Judas steps in and softens up the program just the like parents want. We have 5 D1 commits and several kids getting ready to commit. First thing out of his mouth after cuts were made? "Starting today, if you are part of this program, there will be no more outside lessons, nor more club/travel ball and all interaction with colleges will now go through my office!"  My son, the future Marc Cuban, and definitely NOT a pitcher and has never worked with this guy, is the first one to respond, "Well I am getting ready to commit in a few weeks, so I would think that I, and others in the same boat are exempt from that plan? And, I have plans to go to Jupiter with my Club team in October because as a 4-year player, that is the ultimate honor by the organization I am with." Judas looked at him with the most evil eyes and said, "We'll see about that." There was never a problem to my knowledge from then on. They got along fine. Son has been a leader as a Junior and the team has been fun.

The season started off well. Through 8 games, the team was 6-2 and 2-0 in league and going into the second game of a double-header on a Saturday. My son was hitting .525 and had 3 doubles and 2 triples on the season. The coach pulled my son over prior to game 2 and said, "I am going to sit you and play Jack the second game. Give you some rest. It will boost Jack's confidence for later just in case we need him down the road." My son thought that was a great idea. Because he loved his teammate he said, "100% behind that, Coach!"

Four games later my son has yet to see the field since that Saturday. The team is 0 and 4. They have scored 3 runs in 4 games and Jack has started every game since. Jack has 12 at bats. 10 Ks. He is hitting .000. A year ago my son would have been losing his mind, paranoid, biting his nails and sitting at the coach's door the next morning at 6:00 am. Now he doesn't see things that way anymore. You might say, "Sure, he is getting ready to commit so he is fine". The commitment thing didn't happen until he went through this change over last summer after being diagnosed with a learning disorder called APD.  But that is besides the point. My point is that he realized that things are just out of your control when someone in control is taking away something with no explanation. The way he looks at it is, "Man, I want to win, I see my boys hurting, Jack is struggling, and what is Coach trying to teach me/us here?"  Well, he says it like a teenager would say it and I don't help the matter by calling the coach an <insert expletive> moron but we just laugh. But, I would recommend for all baseball players to look into a technique called "mindfullness" as way relax prior to games and after (also for tests and relaxation in general). UCLA has implemented this in their program and they are moving up the D1 ranks slowly but surely this year! Schools across the country as well as business are adopting it.

I have read some of the great responses on here written by coaches. Man do I wish I could print them all out, take them and go pick a team right now. But there are a lot of former pro and collegiate ball players that have convinced themselves they are good coaches that do a terrible job at the high school level. Coaching teenagers is tough. Getting their respect takes time and you can lose it in an instant. It requires the ability to be cool and tough but subtle enough that the young men are still the focus, not the coach. In the case of my son's coach, there really isn't much hope. My wife and I used to enjoy going to his games to relax after a long day at work. My son has asked us to enjoy ourselves somewhere else. He said that other parents aren't coming anymore and he doesn't want us to be there alone. He will tell us when it was fun again. He thinks the coach will have to change sooner or later.

Today my son plays the #1 team in the nation. He wasn't worried about winning, losing or even playing. He was just stoked to be going to their stadium for one last game. As he was was leaving, he said" Dad, I wont forget to say hi to Mr. XX (father from the opposing team) he misses seeing you, you know!". I said, "He enjoys seeing you better. If you have time after the game, please get photos of you and your friends on the other team. We may not see them for a while." It reminded me that just because a bad coach, that no one else knows anything about, can bench for a game or two, he can never take the years of memories, fun times and friendships you have made along the way.  Just stay positive, work hard, good things will happen.  There is plenty of time.

Oh my!  Please reflect on how you might be influencing your son's behavior.  Be thankful he can hit so well.  At this point, that is his saving grace.  The best thing for both of you at this point is to erase all opinions about what anyone else is doing on or off the field.  Zero judgement of decisions, quality of play, quality of student, or quality of coach.  Realize you can only control what you can control.  Your effort and your attitude.  Focus 100% on your attitude and your effort AND do not concern yourself about anyone else.  

Do not talk to other parents about your opinion.  Do not talk to your son about your opinion of other players or coaches.  Only provide support and direction for attitude and effort.  

BBDAD98 posted:

Thanks guys I will try to clear things up. My son is 14 in the 9th grade playing JV and yes he starts most games but not all games. I do have an extensive stat history from game changer because all of his teams have used that app. The numbers in my comments were not really to brag or compare but only to show that my son is not just gifted or talented he is a hard worker and he rises to the top of the skill level he plays with. If he sees someone working hard, hitting hard, running fast or whatever he sets out to be that good and better. Thats his thing, I don't have to push him in practicing or working hard, that is fun to him. He likes chasing after and passing others, but he is still tired of after he does good he gets sat or has to start at the bottom.

OK, yes, you have cleared some things up and it sounds like your son has many admirable attributes.  And he also knows what the issues are as we suspected.  So, this could be an easier problem to solve.  He needs to realize that there will always be hurdles and obstacles.  It isn't always going to be an exact "OK, I'm doing better at this, now i should get everything I think I have coming to me".  There are lots of moving pieces.  The coach has 16 or however many other players hopefully trying to make the same necessary improvements and trying to earn the same additional playing time.  Also, this is JV, there are development elements involved.  Best players are going to sit sometimes or play out of position so that others can get their shot.  Coaches are not going to see each player through the rose colored glasses we parents see our own kids with.  He has to put in the work to be in position to take advantage of the opportunity when it presents itself, not when he thinks he deserves it.

He is small but not the smallest by a few other guys, the smallest gets to play and not produce. Its not about moving to Varsity either, he knows he wouldn't play, they don't let him hit the field in JV. Just saying that some guys moved up and play now. We even had a PO prove himself with a few at bats and now he bats 4th or 5th and now plays outfield when not pitching. He is not very good at RF, but anyway. I am happy for him he hits well. When will my son prove he can play the field.

The comparisons are OK to use as general reference but again, there are many moving parts that you as the parent will never fully see.  Again, his goal should be to work to the point of excelling and leaving no doubt.  It sounds like part of his "attitude problem" is that he is doing those comparisons and being disgruntled because those decisions aren't going his way.  Again, don't be the enabler to this mentality.  

To answer the other remarks. He has approached the coach. The coach told him he didnt like him because of his attitude last year. More on that later. In the same conversation he told him that this year his attitude was good and he could tell he was working hard and hustling, and would give him a chance to take someones position on the field. Never happened by the way.

Again, don't expect things to happen in perfect order... lots of other moving parts and other players hopefully striving for the same opportunity.  And the "take someones position" means that the someone would have to clearly demonstrate that they are willing to give that position up.

Last year my son was the backup catcher for a few games. He could not throw anyone out like he had been in travel ball so he asked the coach he the pitchers could deliver the pitch faster (not such a slow high leg lift) coach just looked at him. Later on more than one occasions he would be batting and the runner would not steal when given the sign so he would take a first pitch strike for no reason. So he asked the coach to talk to them. Coach did nothing. My son was on first and got the steal sign( he steals a lot of bases 5 last night) the batter hits the ball foul or line drives into a dp. My son was mad. Coach does nothing. My son was catching, throws down to 2nd no one was there, he yells at the middle guys to talk and get it together. Coach did not approve and said it was his job to do the coaching. This coach is 2 years out of HS if that matters to anyone. So the coach does not like him. My son was very angry from that game forward.

Look, sure it can be a factor that the coach is 2 years out of HS.  But it is about perspective and expectations.  A coach that played V in HS and is two years beyond will certainly have some limitations but will also certainly know more than a 14 y.o. kid in JV in most areas.  Son should be latching on to all the positives this coach brings.  Every coach will have positives and negatives.  Which does son fixate on and why?  There are also a lot of advantages to having a young guy and it is not uncommon at sub-varsity levels.  To be honest, I wouldn't be happy with your kid either.  It's great that he recognizes game situations and wishes for the team to improve and do the right thing.  But, in some of those situations, he is also to blame (76 mph tops throwdown isn't helping the pitcher any so he should work on improving himself).  In other situations, it probably isn't his place to say and/or the coach is already very aware.  In other situations, there may be other reasons.  For example, while I am very aware that most programs have their hitters sacrifice themselves on a steal, we do not do that in our program.  We let our hitters hit when we steal... so nothing for the runner to be mad at if there is a double play or foul ball.  Furthermore, if he is giving himself up the traditional way, he should be swinging late at that pitch to protect the runner, not taking it.  And if he is using that as his excuse for what happens in his AB after that, I am all over him.  All this telling the coach to have the other players do better... NOOOOO!!!  SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE YOUR TEAMMATES.  DON'T THROW THEM UNDER THE BUS !!!!  Then, when your kid subsequently shows he is angry at his teammates and his coach while playing, that is a big attitude issue, no matter how warranted the reason.

He lets it go now and says nothing until summer ball. At the end of last year at his review he has told about his attitude and poor fielding. What fielding he hardly play the field ever.

Are you telling me he doesn't get ample defensive reps in practice?  This is where many of the position decisions are made.  Do you see all these practice reps that the coach/es see?  (I hope not)

He was told he had the most potential as a hitter on the whole team. They told him to hit the gym. That summer he did. He asked about pitching and they responded they didn't know he pitched. Are you kidding me they wrote notes about him and used the radar gun. If they don't like his pitching fine, but don't lie or be incompetent enough to not know someone pitches please.

By the time they reach HS, most kids are or have been pitchers.  There is nothing you have described that would have him standing out significantly from others to make the coaches specifically recall him as a pitcher even if they gunned him.  We time all of our runners on occasion.  I can identify those that stood out either good or bad but probably won't recall much about those in the middle.  It sounds like more and more opportunities are coming his way but both you and him are taking a skeptical, negative perspective, which is exactly what coaches don't like.

Input? Am I crazy?

Beyond that, no, you are not crazy.  You and your son are dealing with the typical issues that come up as kids start to head further into becoming young adults.  None of us handle it perfectly.  Much of the feedback you will get here is an effort to help others avoid the same mistakes we made before you.

 

Last edited by cabbagedad

Attitude problems?  Yes.

"my son was the backup catcher .... He could not throw anyone out .... so he asked the coach if the pitchers could deliver the pitch faster...."

"on more than one occasions he would be batting and the runner would not steal when given the sign so he would take a first pitch strike for no reason. So he asked the coach to talk to them. "

"My son was on first and got the steal sign... the batter hits the ball foul or line drives into a dp. My son was mad. "

"My son was catching, throws down to 2nd no one was there, he yells at the middle guys to talk and get it together." 

"My son was very angry from that game forward."

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