Practices and tryouts are starting. Across the country, kids are gearing up for the start of high school baseball. For those who have been there, what is your top piece of advice for a new high school player (or parent 
)?
I think mine is, you may not understand things now, but they will make more sense by senior year, so you have to be patient (it's impossible, but try). And ask questions here!
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To both parents and players, my advice, enjoy the ride, have fun, be supportive of your son and his teammates.
There will never be anything like HS baseball.
While I didn't always feel that way, 4 of my sons groomsmen at his recent wedding were from his HS baseball team. These married men, now married with children, are part of our family and my son the same to their folks.
It goes by so fast. I can remember coaching son his freshman year and now he is a senior in college. Enjoy the ride. The things that you think are important as a freshman parent are not really important in the long run. But the one thing that is important is spending time with your son. If they can't drive, enjoy the rides in the car. They go away very fast and don't happen very often after they leave, even if you are going to the same place.
Be coachable. Listen. Do what you are asked to do to the best of your abilities. Never, ever forget that you've been given an opportunity that many others covet. Stay hungry to learn and improve your skills.
JMO.
"Play every game like it is your last, because one day it will be".
(not my quote)
Parents, sit way down the first or third base lines. For many reasons. Don't get caught up in the parent drama.
Parents, if you haven't done so already, let your kid own his development. When he fails, be supportive and give advice when solicited. Allow him to figure it out. Getting cut is not the end.
Relax, have fun, don’t make a big deal about it.
If you serious about playing in college, do everything you can to get at least a 3.6 GPA or higher
Be the first to arrive and the last to leave. Treat every practice like it’s the seventh game of the World Series.
My advice, as is often the case, is a little different. The comments above are all very good and apply across the board. But some players are more serious than others. The first thing I would say to families that are serious about baseball is to temper your expectations. If you have spent many years, and thousands of dollars, getting prepared for this point in time it’s very likely that you be walking into a HS program that isn’t as serious about baseball as you are. That was certainly the case for me - twice. So don’t freak out when your son doesn’t make Varsity as a freshman. And don’t freak out when the JV coach is the Defense Coordinator of the the football team is the JV baseball coach - and doesn’t know how to coach baseball. And don’t freak out when you watch a practice and see no pitchers throwing bullpens, no work on PFP, no work on bunt defense etc. Instead of freaking out - which will be your first instinct - calmly assess the situation and determine what it is that your son isn’t getting in his HS program that he needs and quietly find a place and persons to get him supplemental work. If you do this you will save yourself a lot of needless stress.
I will second Adbono. Seen it lived it. 5 coaches standing in the middle of the field or sitting on buckets while kids throw to kids in batting cage and hit each other outfield. Pitchers don't throw bullpens and no work on PFP's. But plenty of practice on bunt drills but never bunt themselves.
Parents of pitchers--count the pitches. Don't let your son overpitch while he's growing. HS coaches don't always stick to the guidelines.
As usual, good advice from everyone. My 2 cents going in to year 2 with a 2025.
Don't let you or your kid get caught up in the negativity storm that swirls around high school sports.
"They had the team picked before the tryouts."...."The entire program is based on politics. "...."He's only playing because his mother/ father is......"
It's so much easier to rationalize why your child isn't in the position they envisioned then to put it the work to be undeniably deserving of that spot.
And in some cases even that might not be enough. All you can do is help your child work as hard as they can, and let the chips fall.
Be flexible. Your son is probably not the biggest, the strongest or the fastest. There is probably an upper classman playing his position that the coaches know. Your shortstop may end up an outfielder because that's what they need. He might sit the bench until he is bigger, faster and stronger. Accept it and get on with cheering for the team.
It doesn't matter how good you think your son is. It's up to him to show it and prove it.
It's time for junior to step up and speak for himself. It's time for you to stay out of it. My sons learned valuable life lessons from talking to coaches about what they needed to do to get better and get into the line up.
There will be politics involved. Just like there is in jobs and every other aspect in life. How you and your son deal with it will determine the outcome. Pout/complain to the other parents or use it to get better, bigger, faster, stronger?
Check his "toolbox". He will need 3 out of 6 tools to compete,
Bob
Entering HS baseball will be the first taste of reality for many athletes. It can be frustrating for many to learn that the coaches' perceptions don't always align with the athletes' or their parents' opinions of reality.
This perceived value gap (PVG – I think I just made that up) can come from many sources: Inept coaches, unrealistic parents, and entitled or uber-competitive athletes, to name a few. The life lesson here is that if your boss doesn't like you, you're likely screwed. Executing what's asked and making your boss's job easier usually pay the best dividends.
If you're thinking about saying anything critical about anyone you don't share DNA with on HS property, don't. It's a hard ask not to gossip or kibitz with other parents, but it's hypocritical to expect character on the field if it can't be demonstrated in the stands or down the foul line fences.
Nobody deserves to be a high school, college, or pro athlete. The capability is a genetic blessing; the realization is in dedication, hard work, and a bit of luck.
Stay in the moment and enjoy your kids because HS baseball should be a blast…
@Consultant posted:Check his "toolbox". He will need 3 out of 6 tools to compete,
Bob
This is true in 5A and 6A schools. Move down the classifications and a kid might make the team after not playing baseball last year just because he’s athletic.
When my son was in high school we went to watch one of his 17u travel teammates play in a 2A playoff game. My son commented his travel teammate was the only player on the team that would make his team’s 6A roster. He felt most of our high school’s JV team would have replaced the 2A’s team roster.
@RHP_Parent posted:Parents of pitchers--count the pitches. Don't let your son overpitch while he's growing. HS coaches don't always stick to the guidelines.
One should actually be doing this if they pitch a lot before HS.
JMO
TPM
abolutety
"If you're thinking about saying anything critical about anyone you don't share DNA with on HS property, don't. It's a hard ask not to gossip or kibitz with other parents, but it's hypocritical to expect character on the field if it can't be demonstrated in the stands or down the foul line fences." - JucoDad
I'm thinking about getting this framed.
In my son's freshman year (last year), I had to say to myself, and to my son a phrase used here all the time. "Only worry about things you can control".
Note: People/parents that complain don't always benefit from what they think they wanted. Those that complained to the highest level that there player should of been placed on varsity. It didn't go the way they were expecting. Their kids were moved up and never saw the field except for maybe a few pinch run opportunities. My son was placed on JV (practiced with varsity), caught every game and was always in the lineup (tons of reps). Then was pulled up to varsity for playoffs based on his performance and willingness to be a team player (what we were told by the coach when he was pulled up). Sometimes JV is a better place to be. Some may want to keep our experience in mind.
Everything said by members on this board.
Also, it is never to late to start laying the ground work college
@TxballDad posted:In my son's freshman year (last year), I had to say to myself, and to my son a phrase used here all the time. "Only worry about things you can control".
Note: People/parents that complain don't always benefit from what they think they wanted. Those that complained to the highest level that there player should of been placed on varsity. It didn't go the way they were expecting. Their kids were moved up and never saw the field except for maybe a few pinch run opportunities. My son was placed on JV (practiced with varsity), caught every game and was always in the lineup (tons of reps). Then was pulled up to varsity for playoffs based on his performance and willingness to be a team player (what we were told by the coach when he was pulled up). Sometimes JV is a better place to be. Some may want to keep our experience in mind.
My son went through a similar experience. His high school had seventeen losing seasons in the past twenty. The just fired coach wasn't much more than adult supervision. The parents owned him. A crappy senior would play over a talented soph. A rising star assistant from a powerhouse program took over as coach.
My son was the last cut from varsity as a freshman. He looked around him and didn't see nine better players. The coach contaced me. He explained he didn't want my son playing with a bunch of clowns and developing bad habits. The coach felt if he cut all the clowns he would have a town upheaval on his hands followed by a 2-20 season. As it was the clowns went 6-16. But their parents pounded their chests their sons played varsity. There was a group of four dads who amused me. I caled them The Jury.They were rec ball coaches. They criticized every move the coach made.
The coach told my son to tear up JV ball. He pointed out while he could start on a bad varsity team he probably wasn't ready to face the competition. He saw his class as strong. He wanted them to think like winners together. These were kids who had been together since their LL all star team went to states. Three of them played 13u for me. A fourth joined the team at 14u.
The following year my son started at short on varsity making all conference. Three other sophs were on varsity by midseason. The team was in first until the two best pitchers got in a car accident. They finished in second.** They won the conference the two following years.
** This season showed its possible to compete in 6A with D3 potential pitching if their command is so good they could knock the zit of a gnat's nose. The top three senior pitchers went on to pitching D3.
