Well Our son RHP 2015 has thrown 36 innings with 27 K's to only 10 BB's with a 1.35 ERA. He hasn't pitched since March 25th since feeling front shoulder pain. We had an MRI and got the results today. We were blessed with no damage to cuff or labrum and they diagnosed him with bicep tendinitis. We know that may take several weeks and he will probably miss playoffs as a pitcher but we have taken that deep breath knowing his shoulder is healthy. We are 2 weeks away from our district tournament. Good luck to everyone as they approach their post season.
Originally Posted by okballdad:
Well junior is now 3 and 1 on the season. And getting better every outing, team is 6 and 5. He went 4and1/3 innings 2 hits 1 earned run ( more on that later)9k's. Son had a shut out going into the fifth. Leaves my son on mound and subs all second string players in including catcher. Son strikes out 1 st batter but catcher is struggling catching and ends up dropping third strike and catcher doesnt throw to first. Runner safe. Then junior is a lefty and catches R1 leaning towards second and makes the throw to first,has runner picked off and second string first baseman throws ball away runner safe at second. This is were my son needs to learn to control his emotion. He began pitching next batter with to much emotion and ump sees and can feel it. And ends up walking him mostly cause catcher could not catch one pitch all bounced out of catchers glove. I could see steam coming out of my sons ears. Coach goes to mound and takes my son out and tells him my fault I thought catcher could do a better job.
We had a six run lead going into fifth. And I understand coach needing to get second string some playing time. But we start district play next week. and my son was ok with coaches decision but he was bummed he didn't get tofinish cause the second string allowed the runners to score so he got tagged with the earned run. All of this on top of four errors behind him.
but it fun watching my son grow as a pitcher. But he is struggling at the plate, he is starting 1b when not on mound. He is 0 for 12 in last 3 games average has fell from 350 to 250 and that is truly messing with his thought process at the plate. His swing still looks good and he is making contact, no strikeouts in last 12 ab's just a bad case of hit it right at em. Ok I am done rambling, high school season goes fast gentleman enjoy it while you can.
It's nice to hear about your son's pitching successes on the field. I'm sure his hitting will come around. As for the 2nd stringer comments, I think a successful pitcher needs to learn leadership on the field. There's nothing wrong with being frustrated over erros/mis-plays. Good leaders hide that emotion (some of it shows a little) and pick their teammates up. Once he's pulled from the mound or after the game, that's when he can show some frustration/emotions.
Good luck to your son, he sounds like a talented pitcher!
Originally Posted by 13LHPdad:
Originally Posted by okballdad:
Well junior is now 3 and 1 on the season. And getting better every outing, team is 6 and 5. He went 4and1/3 innings 2 hits 1 earned run ( more on that later)9k's. Son had a shut out going into the fifth. Leaves my son on mound and subs all second string players in including catcher. Son strikes out 1 st batter but catcher is struggling catching and ends up dropping third strike and catcher doesnt throw to first. Runner safe. Then junior is a lefty and catches R1 leaning towards second and makes the throw to first,has runner picked off and second string first baseman throws ball away runner safe at second. This is were my son needs to learn to control his emotion. He began pitching next batter with to much emotion and ump sees and can feel it. And ends up walking him mostly cause catcher could not catch one pitch all bounced out of catchers glove. I could see steam coming out of my sons ears. Coach goes to mound and takes my son out and tells him my fault I thought catcher could do a better job.
We had a six run lead going into fifth. And I understand coach needing to get second string some playing time. But we start district play next week. and my son was ok with coaches decision but he was bummed he didn't get tofinish cause the second string allowed the runners to score so he got tagged with the earned run. All of this on top of four errors behind him.
but it fun watching my son grow as a pitcher. But he is struggling at the plate, he is starting 1b when not on mound. He is 0 for 12 in last 3 games average has fell from 350 to 250 and that is truly messing with his thought process at the plate. His swing still looks good and he is making contact, no strikeouts in last 12 ab's just a bad case of hit it right at em. Ok I am done rambling, high school season goes fast gentleman enjoy it while you can.
It's nice to hear about your son's pitching successes on the field. I'm sure his hitting will come around. As for the 2nd stringer comments, I think a successful pitcher needs to learn leadership on the field. There's nothing wrong with being frustrated over erros/mis-plays. Good leaders hide that emotion (some of it shows a little) and pick their teammates up. Once he's pulled from the mound or after the game, that's when he can show some frustration/emotions.
Good luck to your son, he sounds like a talented pitcher!
Well Junior is just a freshmen. so he has some time to mature, and hopefully learn to lead his team from the mound. thanks for the kind words a weekend of tourney play begins today.
Well pitched game last night between big rival conference foes. My 2014(our ace) versus their ace (also 2014). Both headed to D1 schools next fall. We lost 1-0. Thier 2014 had 9k, gave up 2 H and 1 BB, my son 10k, 2H, 1 HPB. Difference was one of thier hits was a triple by another soon to be D1 player and a ground ball out. Both were throwing really hard (guessing upper 80's) with thier offspeed stuff really working. 7 inning game in 1 hour 15 minutes.
Wonderful game to watch despite losing.
I can tell my son is maturing. His older brother after the game talked about when one of our player who had got on as lead off of inning got picked off. He said he thought that was the difference in the game. Couple years ago 2014 would have agreed with older son. Last night my 2014 said he thought the difference was a pitch he threw that went to deep left center for a triple 
.
I have a question. What do I do with a coach that has favorites on our team and doesn't train my son to play on the outfield (he always plays short stop or second base). He hardly plays him and when he does he puts him on the outfield and my son's confidence has gone down so much so that he isn't even hitting good (he had a 500 batting average last year). My son is miserable, we thought about moving him to JV but, the training and the team is not up to his level so I feel like that will harm him too....Does anyone have any suggestions??
Originally Posted by millyskeeze:
I have a question. What do I do with a coach that has favorites on our team and doesn't train my son to play on the outfield (he always plays short stop or second base). He hardly plays him and when he does he puts him on the outfield and my son's confidence has gone down so much so that he isn't even hitting good (he had a 500 batting average last year). My son is miserable, we thought about moving him to JV but, the training and the team is not up to his level so I feel like that will harm him too....Does anyone have any suggestions??
I might make a few suggestions based on more info...
You don't mention what year your son is in. That's pretty important. If he was hitting .500 as an 8th grader somewhere, that means little to the HS coach.
You say your son's confidence has gone down. Is that because he isn't playing 2b/SS and having to play OF? Real simple. There are 9 positions, all have to be filled. You play where they need you, not where you prefer.
You say "we thought about moving him down to JV". I don't think that is your decision.
As to what you should do with a coach...I don't think you do anything. It's his team. You also say he isn't training your son to play OF. That's pretty much a given. There isn't enough time in the day to train every player for their position. It's HS baseball.
So here's the biggest suggestion(s). Be supportive, tell your son to work hard and to stay positive. And you (as a parent) should be supportive of the team and coaches.
Good luck.
I agree with soulslam55. Also add that you should never talk badly about your HS team/coach or other players. You never know who is listening and if your son aspires to play college ball, your son will need to list his HS coach on recruiting forms.
Try to find a good summer team. In Florida, tryouts already occurred in December, but some areas may have different timing.
Originally Posted by millyskeeze:
I have a question. What do I do with a coach that has favorites on our team and doesn't train my son to play on the outfield (he always plays short stop or second base). He hardly plays him and when he does he puts him on the outfield and my son's confidence has gone down so much so that he isn't even hitting good (he had a 500 batting average last year). My son is miserable, we thought about moving him to JV but, the training and the team is not up to his level so I feel like that will harm him too....Does anyone have any suggestions??
Welcome to HSBBW! My suggestion would be to read "HS ball players are not victims", another thread running currently. Your post is a bit of a head scratcher to me but in order not to derail the thread I've put some thoughts in a dialogue for you.
Is it safe to assume that the above mentioned ball player(milly) is a freshman?
Originally Posted by proudhesmine:
Is it safe to assume that the above mentioned ball player(milly) is a freshman?
I was guessing sophomore because he quoted his BA from 'last year' and would he really compare an eighth grade batting average to a high school varsity? Scratch that, I've learned here, that yes, people do that occasionally. He does sound young, so perhaps a frosh. But then why the whining about being played in the outfield? Lots of ninth graders play behind an upperclassman, particularly in a large school or if they are the size of a typical 9th grade player. Like I said, headscratcher.
millyskeeze, I'm assuming your son is in Section 1. If that is the case, I was told that once they play one game on varsity, players are not able to move down to JV. Now if your son plays for a CHSAA team it may be different. Your profile does state he is in 10th grade.
I reside in Westchester also.
Originally Posted by millyskeeze:
I have a question. What do I do with a coach that has favorites on our team and doesn't train my son to play on the outfield (he always plays short stop or second base). He hardly plays him and when he does he puts him on the outfield and my son's confidence has gone down so much so that he isn't even hitting good (he had a 500 batting average last year). My son is miserable, we thought about moving him to JV but, the training and the team is not up to his level so I feel like that will harm him too....Does anyone have any suggestions??
You "do nothing." It's the coach's team, not the parents team. Previous batting avg doesn't mean a whole lot. Especially if it was while your son was on JV. Varsity is a different animal.
Your profile indicates your son is a sophomore. His time will come in the next few years. Your son needs to work hard in practice and be ready for his chance, if and when that comes. In the meantime be a team player and be supportive of the team. As posted, he needs to play where the team needs you. That may or may not be the position your son wants to play.
In the three years my son played varsity (he's at a JuCo now), he played catcher as a sophomore, 3B as a junior and 1B as a senior. He preferred catcher but he played the position the coach needed him to play for the overall benefit of the team.
That's the reason I thought the player could be a freshman and OP did not know whats typically done with the underclassmen on varsity.My 2016 got put at S.S. his freshman year on varsity.He gave it all trying.Even buckets of ground balls any time he was home before dark.In the end he does a whole lot better playing outfield(center mostly)He plenty athletic enough for S.S. he really needed to be coached up on the position.There is no dought in my mind he was pretty embarresed more than once.He hung in there and helped out a lot more in other spots.This year they were able to put him in his comfort zone.
Thank you all for your advice. He is in 10th grade. We did decide to stay on. I agree that the coach probably has some plan in his head for my son. He is slowly putting him into the short stop position. He is learning a great lesson this year: to be humble, work hard and stay dedicated.Again, thank you all for your great advice and support!
Son played his last home game today. Bittersweet feeling. he walked out getting a double in his last home ab and his team securing a playoff spot. Plus the weather was great. So it was a good day.
Wow. That is bittersweet I'm sure. Good luck to your son in the future. The end is just the beginning.
This has been my first year watching HB baseball full time. Even though, as I've posted elsewhere, I have not been crazy about seeing my Freshman ride pine (mostly) on Varsity, rather than start on JV, the team and its games have been so much fun to watch. Because the team is successful, this is shaping up as a special season for the entire team and its fans. The wins have not come easily. I think they have won at least 6 or 7 one-run games, and their 2 losses have been by one-run. So they play entertaining games!
Its been a joy learning what these kids are about while watching them play. The defining nature of the team so for for me is its grit. These kids never give up. They are not always the most talented team on the field. They're a bit undersized as a group. They make mistakes like anybody else, sometimes with surprising frequency. But they play hard, work hard, and scrap until the last strike. I've never seen so many 2-out rallies or 2-strike hits. I've seen pitchers get lit up in the first inning, bear down, and put up 0's for the next 6. The team leader is a senior catcher, tough as nails, who personifies the never-give-in nature of the team. This is the kid you want hitting when the game is on the line. He is the kid you can trust to make the game-saving play. And he's the only junior or senior who stays on the field until all the tarps are down and all the rakes and hoses are back in the shed after every practice. My boy looks up to him like he has never looked up to another kid before, and he has learned so much by watching how he comports himself on the field, at bat, in the dugout, and at practice. He'll be at a D2 next year and we'll probably get to see him play a couple times. But more than that, I'm looking forward to seeing him and the rest of the boys play today.
JCG - Great post. I wish that every player has someone to look up to and then one day be a mentor to those who follow. The best thing to come out of my son's(jr) first year on varsity was his composure on the mound (LHP) even when he has a rough inning. Not letting bad calls rile him or even getting pulled from the game. He's not a robot, but he also doesn't throw tantrums like I have seen other players.
Summer team practice starts Monday and he is so excited! This is the summer he has waited for. Hopefully all the years of hard work both in the classroom and on the field will align with the colleges he wants and the colleges that are looking for what he has to offer.
Wow, this season has flown by. Kid's team is playing its final game of the season today - going for 19th win in a row, and an undefeated season in league. It's senior day as well, and the opponent is an arch-rival. Should be a fun day.
Well Jr.'s baseball season ended last weekend, lost in the second round of the playoffs. They were expected to go deep, so it was a huge disappointment for all. They played tense, made uncharacteristic errors, didn't hit, and just let the pressure get to them. Great season, undefeated in district, and 22-2 overall.
There is a finality associated with HS baseball seasons ending, especially so for the seniors. We had two seniors, one will pitch at the next level, the other will start college to hopefully become a dentist. After the game, the boys went through the line shaking hands with the opposing team, then reversed the line, and one by one, gave each other a very heartfelt bear hug. The field was a very nice stadium style field, and they then went down both the 3B & 1B lines tipping their caps to fans on both sides. It was then that you could see that not one of these "tough guys" didn't have tears running down their cheeks.
BFS Jr. did well, he really took to the whole school pride aspect, and made himself proud. 1st team all district, and new comer of the year. Had a coach from SEC school scouting opposing team's pitcher, and wound up talking to Jr.'s coach after the game about him.
Below is an email that was sent the day after our last game to he and I. I know this is just HS, but it is part of the overall journey, and since this thread is more personal experiences, rather than advice, dad is going to take a moment to brag!
email:
Steven and Steven Jr.,
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed watching Steven pitch this season, and how proud I am of his composure and performances on the mound. I've been watching you pitch for 10 seasons now and I've watched you grown into a seasoned pitcher. What a great season…undefeated District Champs? Nothing short of glorious baseball!
I want to share a moment with you that I saw and overheard at yesterday's game. During the game I was over at the concession stands by the opposing dugout when Steven hurled this perfect slider to strike a batter out. As the batter was returning to the dugout the Coach confronted him with "Why didn't you swing at that third strike?"
The player responded "Coach, sometimes you see a pitch that's so purty and so perfect, you just have to stand perfectly still to fully appreciate it."
The Coach stood there for a second or two, then smiled and patted the player on the back and said "That was a purty one, wasn't it." Classic!
I was sitting surrounded by the other team’s parents and grandparents and there were numerous compliments on Steven's pitching, with lots of "oohs" and "ahhhs". True lovers of the game appreciate talent and skill, even when it's on the opposing team. Great job!
As a former pitcher and pitching coach I know that the greatest barrier to overcome, the one that separates good pitchers from great pitchers, is remaining composed on the mound when things just aren't going your way. You might not be hitting your spots or your defense may not be backing you up. Not once, not ONCE!, this entire season did you lose composure or give any body language signals to a batter that you weren’t confident with what you were doing. That is a major accomplishment in itself and an attribute that you should continue to work on and take great pride in.
I once read that when the game was being created, it was felt that the pitcher always has the advantage over the batter. The idea of having 4 balls for a walk and 3 strikes and for an out was based on the batter's perspective, to give him four chances to avoid swinging at balls not in the strike zone and to give him three chances to hit a ball pitched into the strike zone. The three strikes were conceived of this way: there's one that the batter thinks isn't quite right to swing at - that's a strike for the ump to call; there's one pitch in the zone for the batter to swing at and hit or miss; and there's one strike for the pitcher to fool the batter with. I don't have the stats on your season Steven, but I'm confident in saying you earned way more than 1/3 of the strikes you pitched. Thanks for a great season Steven, I'm really looking forward to the seasons to come. Keep working, keep them guessing, and keep the faith. You're definitely on the right track!
My sons season is complete and the team left last night for the state tournament off island. after what i saw this year (his 1st in HS) made me one proud papa. yeah there were hits and great plays in CF (first time playing) but what really got me was the professionalism he showed throughout the year. kept his emotions in check at all times.
Unlike others we dont have summer ball to look forward to so its going to be 7 months in gym, batting cage and long toss (as long as my shoulder holds up) and most importantly SAT prep as he is an incoming junior. we have Headfirst and Stanford to look forward to but competitive ball is almost over
Well HS Varsity Season over for my 2016 - team made states as a #14 seed, lost to #3 seed by a score of 5-1.
Overall, an incredible experience for not only 2016 but for dad as well. To say I am proud of what he accomplished is an understatement.
One more game for my 2016. Team doing fairly well presently 17-6.
Kid had his toughest year ever.Led the team last year as a frosh in every category.
This year ouch. Never struck out more than 10 times in a season and NEVER twice in a game.This year I'm guessing 20 times and twice in 3-4 games.
The light went off somewhere.
Hope to re-focus this summer
Originally Posted by JCG:
This has been my first year watching HB baseball full time. Even though, as I've posted elsewhere, I have not been crazy about seeing my Freshman ride pine (mostly) on Varsity, rather than start on JV, the team and its games have been so much fun to watch. Because the team is successful, this is shaping up as a special season for the entire team and its fans. The wins have not come easily. I think they have won at least 6 or 7 one-run games, and their 2 losses have been by one-run. So they play entertaining games!
JCG, this is the story of my 2017 this year. Started 2-0 w/ sub-1.00 ERA and 2CG. Then promoted to Varsity, started 2-0 with sub-1.00 ERA, but then has a rough outing in early May and has been on the pine ever since, which was a combo of the coach feeling uneasy about a frosh in a playoff race, and the schedule not needing a third starter. Tomorrow is last game of the season, and we are in state tourney if we win (but likely out shortly after!).
Regardless, it has been a wild ride, and the quality of ball is superior to that of JV, so I too have enjoyed watching quality ball, even though my son is getting splinters.
It's exciting for sure!
2017 just got the bump last week to varsity. Coaches had started him at JV with orders to play every inning of every game and I think they made the right decision for him. Now has the starting catcher spot at Varsity; threw out the one kid that has tried to take second and picked off two at first. Contributing with his bat and having fun. Districts start next week and I don't expect them to go far, but the JV squad took their conference so, hopefully, our boys are a force to be reckoned with in the coming years!
Wow, I just realized there's no game to attend tomorrow. Bummer! Kid's team had a disappointing finish, losing 5-4 in 2nd round of section championship. They looked flat and gave up the lead 3 times with weak defense and a few fat pitches. I think they would have been better off if they had lost one down the stretch, as it seemed like they were taking wins for granted just a bit after winning 20 or so in a row, and the section gave them a crappy seed anyway, so a loss wouldn't have hurt their chances much if at all.
Anyway, that one did leave a mark. The good news is that the kid started a 3 day tournament the day after. He did very, very well, and the team won their division.