Blatant Corruption, what should I do.

Sheesh, a little self promotion there.

Lets get this straight....you have already transfered schools once, you were late to practice and you think you are being run out on a rail.

Maybe you need to look in the mirror again.

I have no idea what would help but I can relate to that pit in your stomach. We have a kid on our team who's Dad built the batting cages. He plays infeild and starts and plays every inning of every game. He makes a minimum of two errors each game. Doesn't have much of a bat either! Why does he play? You Guess! He takes a lot of heat from the other kids with the snide remarks but he puts his head down and plays. With my son's problems everyone said "go talk to the coach". My son would never do that, he thinks that makes things worse. If you can't, maybe just wait it out and see what happens. Sometimes the reality is not as bad as what we imagine. Or maybe it is exactly what you think it's going to be. Are you going to be happy on this team if you both make it? Can only one of you make it or is it more about playing time? It seems weird that a coach would not just pick his best kids. But I do not understand why they put some kids on a team and then don't play them. Isn't that a problem for the coach waiting to happen? All I can say is try to stay positive and it may all just work out fine and you have worried for nothing. Do you have a good friend on the team that can call you whenever he gets a call? Maybe a parent that is good friends with your Mom? Not all kids have Dad's that can build batting cages but not all kids have the heart to keep fighting either. You sound like you do. Good Luck!!!

quote:

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.... Yet I am still on my way to getting screwed over.

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dot – Is this all there was to it? A missed phone call? I don't read anything in your post that should make you think you won’t be treated fairly. Can you explain why you think this? Not calling a team member does happen occasionally and could have just been an accident. It looks like the practice was planned for 1 hr 15 minutes by the original schedule, so starting at 4pm and you arriving at 4:35pm, still gave you almost an hour of practice with the team. If you hustled as you say you did and played well, then you did your job. Instead of worrying about this one practice, give the coach the benefit of the doubt and check (politely) if he missed you on his call list due to a bad phone #. That could be all this was.

Stuff happens, relax and don't go looking for "slights" in everything. Play hard, show the coach what you can do on the field, and keep good communication going with your coach off the field.

It happens. All the time and for people to even speculate that it doesn't are kidding themselves. If you have the talent, I suggest you move on instead of trying to push up against a concrete wall. The coach at our school had the team picked 2 weeks before tryouts, and they had already had a couple of practices. And of course, there are ALWAYS a couple kids on there who have lots of money invested in the team (or the program), so of course they play. If you do have the talent, you will get recognized elsewhere. High school ball isn't the last stop, and you can believe that.

i didnt clarify, the practice was to start at 4:45 and it was the coaches responsibility to call the kids. He decided to call me 25 minutes after practice had started and no one else informed me. He also didnt call 2 other kids who don't start.

He didn't call the wrong number, my father drove by and asked the assistant coach who we are good friends with and he pointed at the head coach and said "I had nothing to do with it."

KellerDad: A little self promotion? how about it was so u didnt think I was some second rate player trying to find a spot on a varsity team. Be a LOT more respectful in your posts, and you should put yourself in someone elses shoes.

This is about playing time, not making the team. I know high school isn't the last stop, I play on a very competitive travel team and attend showcases.

If this is high school ball I would play my ass off to win the job and if I get screwed over, I'd quit.

There is no way I'd let a high school coach stand in the way of my future. I would get out of his prescence as quickly as I could if the facts you state are true. He doesn't deserve you and probably doesn't even know how to evaluate you. If you're as good as you state, I'm sure there are great summer opportunities for you. The best baseball is played in the summer. I wouldn't worry over the politics of high school baseball.

Although there are some good high school coaches, the odds are you're dealing with someone who got his job because he is the teacher at the school who wants it. It more than likely has nothing to do with baseball knowledge.

I'd leave with my head high. I wouldn't make any waves. I'd continue my workouts and I'd have a hell of a summer.

Very few recruiting visits are done in the spring as the college coach is busy with his own season.

Show 'em your stuff in the summer and someone will come forward.

By the way, it isn't only high school baseball that takes a back seat to summer ball. AAU basketball is where it's at in that sport.

Why the hell we feel it so important to represent our school is more seated emotion than fact. The best opportunities in baseball and basketball are outside the school.

P.S. You high school coaches that are good, please don't put yourself in this category if you don't belong. But, you'd go a long way to fixing the problem if you'd first admit that a vey high percentage of your opponents are poorly coached.

the one thing in this thread that sticks out whether it is the truth or not is the idea of people who have money invested in the program. could it be that coaches make decisions based on outside influences?

quote:

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Originally posted by .:
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KellerDad: A little self promotion? how about it was so u didnt think I was some second rate player trying to find a spot on a varsity team. Be a LOT more respectful in your posts, and you should put yourself in someone elses shoes.

This is about playing time, not making the team. I know high school isn't the last stop, I play on a very competitive travel team and attend showcases.

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Respectful?

Son, you need to grow up some. You stated in your first post that you didn't make the team at your previous school so you transfered. There was and probably a reason you didn't make the team, and a reason you are not getting playing time now. You can't always move away from your problems, or blame others for them.

Just because somebody else's dad is giving money to a team doesn't mean that is the reason why you aren't getting playing time or making the team.

As I stated before, you might want to look in the mirror. There are a lot of reasons kids don't get playing time, and some of them have nothing to do with talent, and everything to do with attitude.

KellerDad- regardless of how this kid's question is answered, people need to read the post more carefully before making comments like yours. He states he was informed of the practice
AFTER it had already started.
I don't know the kid's situation, but he seems to be sincere in looking for some help.
Unfortunately, we don't know the whole story and never will. There's really not much to say in the way of a meaningful reply in this situation. Just not enough info on the player, the coach, and their intertwined attitudes about what's happening on this particular high school team.

Krakatoa,

I did read his post, and he did mention that the coach did take the time to hit him and another ground balls and do infield with them. So, how does that make the coach a bad person? Where is the CORRUPTION??? (his word, not mine)

The coach didn't call the kid, possibly on purpose, possibly by mistake. Instead of getting on an internet forum complaining about his situation, and blaming everybody else, maybe it's time for the kid to take the rose colored glasses off and try to figure out why he isn't going to be starting and getting playing time.

And coming on here expecting everybody to take up on his side against a coach is wrong, and then to lash out at me and tell me I should give him a LOT more respect......sorry, shows me the kid might just have an attitude problem.

He asks his question, what should he do?

My answer, reevalute your talent and work your butt off and keep your mouth shut. Quit blaming everybody else for your problems. Take some personal responsibility and quit whining.

Kellerdad you are the north end of a horse headed south. Hope u (not your kid) runs into the same situation in the next few weeks.
Take it out on someone thats a bit older. ITs supposed to be about the kids, remember? He asked for help not bs.

To the young man who posted:

Being you are from my state it might well be that I know you so if you care to call and chat please do so--perhaps we make help you sort things out

A word of advice though-- I undertsand your frustration but stay away from using terms like 'blatant corruption" when posting about your problem-- it tends to turn people off right from the git go

I look forward to hearing from you


Tom Rizzi
www.collegeselect.org
800-782-3672

I agree with Lamber.

Why waste all your time and energy dealing with this issue and with this coach?

Make an appointment with the coach for you and your mom and dad to appear. Get everything out in the open. You'll find out at the meeting where you stand and you won't be asking anyone to speculate about aything.

Remember, coaches are people, too; and, they make mistakes as do so many of the rest of us.

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I don't see a "blatant" anything except your feelings are blatantly hurt.

I disagree with Lamber. Quitting is the last thing you should do. I don't know how you can "keep your head up" and quit at the same time.

It's a short season. "Cowboy up" and don't let a coach drive you from a game you love. If you let this guy get under your skin enough to make you quit, people will remember the "quit" part, period. If you don't play, you don't play. Support your team however you can.

Concentrate more on things that you can influence and less on speculating what somebody (coach) thinks about somebody else (teammate).

IMHO.

I have to agree with catcherdad. Buckle down and work you butt off. Gain the respect of your peers. If the coach doesn't respect your game, so what. There will be many people, throughout your life, that won't respect you for one reason or another. Character is built by dealing with those people (and feelings) head on.

I know a kid who has dealt with the exact situation you are dealing with. Hard work, attitude, and desire paid off in the end.

Just my opinion, take it for what it's worth.

TXDad

Using the "quitter" image on this kid is unfair if his circustances are accurate.

Lamber, your words were

quote:

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...if I get screwed over, I'd quit.

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To me, that says "Quit".

You also said

quote:

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I'd leave with my head high.

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IMO, you can't do both.

That's more of a personal problem of yours than a universal absolute.

I have to agree with Lamber on this one. This is a kid, it is his forum, he's asking for advice (albiet with commentary that we may not see as appropriate)and labeling him a quitter SUCKS. There is probably a lot more to his stories than we know.

That's right Lamber, tell the kid to take his ball and go home.

Have you never heard of perceverance?

When the final tally is rung, that sixth tool (mental make-up) shows.

Hey dot, keep doing your best! Good luck happens to those who work hard! Remember: "You Can Doooit"

Hey Pitch...Need to remember Lamber's point of view regarding baseball's relation to real life (he feels there is none! ). This would be the reason, I guess, that he would see no downside to quitting."It's just a game...not having any fun today? QUIT! Move on! Sheesh...and we wonder where the "good 'ole days" have gone?

OOPS! I forgot!

If the coach doesn't respect you, work harder, and prove to him that he should. Even if you do not achieve that, you will be a better man because of your effort.

I would not waste any time worrying about what others are doing, do what you need to be a solid ballplayer.

As far as "getting screwed over" lets admit it circumstances be they right or wrong lend themselves to the perception or reality of such. It may start in LL and work its way into college. If you want to play you have to be tough and deal with it.

You have to explain the benefit of sticking it out.

The old "never quit" advice sounds good, the 50 and older love it. But explain it. I disagree that whatever benefit you come up with isn't going to be there anyway.

The kids goal is to play baseball. He clearly isn't going to play here short of some miracle. Just what benefit does he get from riding the bench and suffering?

I maintain the lesson is learned whether he sticks around or not. He should not let the unfair coach benefit from his ability. Whatever that benefit may be. He should not make waves. He should say thank you (if approached) and go on to summer ball.

Finally, this board would benefit if people thought and gave consideration to differing opinions before leaping to conclusions. The statement I made earlier was "baseball is not a means for teaching life lessons" or something to that effect. I followed up with "doesn't mean you can't learn some valuable non baseball lessons" from baseball.

The difference is....I don't want to play for a coach who is interested in teaching me life lessons. I went out for baseball to learn about baseball. I want to learn to hit, throw, play defense, pitch.....everything. I want to improve. I want to be the best baseball player I can be. And, through competition, I will learn life lessons. But they should be secondary. They should be a serendipity of learning how to play baseball.

The difference being, I want my coach to coach me. I want him to teach me baseball. That is what I signed up for. That is my motivation. I didn't sign up for Citizenship 101. Not saying there won't be some citizenship lessons. But, I want baseball from baseball. Whatever else I get is a bonus.

And let me finish with this. If I have a baseball coach that tries to directly teach me something other than baseball, I won't learn it. Why? Because that is not what I'm there for. I'm there for baseball. If I'm taught baseball, then and only then will I "hear" the other lessons. The best example (and there is almost one for every high school) is the high school coach who clearly doesn't know baseball, tries to disquise it, makes baseball mistake after baseball mistake, passes off losing or poor performance on nonbaseball issues, doesn't continue his baseball education, and covers himself with personality, and the dreaded "but we have nice kids" "none of our kids are in trouble".

Make no mistake. The ONLY coach successful in teaching life lessons to baseball players is the good baseball coach. The one who teaches the game first and lets the life lessons result from the baseball experience.

If you don't believe it, try telling a player the benefits of his benching when he's not hitting. All he wants to hear is how to hit.

The difference is in the language. The interpretation of "means". Most here think that is the purpose of baseball. But the reality is, the life lessons are not the purpose but the serendipity of baseball.

Lamber,
If he quits, it's "fer" dang sure he won't be playing!

1.The poster (.) starts out accusing "blatant corruption".
In my son's school, the coach did have a good idea of who the "best 9" were, then @ tryouts, he picked the best of the rest.

2. Coach calls all but (.) That was the only mistake.

3. infield was done. (.) "stuck" taking grounders with Coach & 1 other player. Looks to me like that was "individualized practice with the coach"! Maybe he's trying to see which of you is better, or help both of you get better.

4. Coach has had a thing for this kid since day one...
What is "this thing"? Explain, please? If you are out hustling, outplaying, then give Coach some credit to recognize this.

5. How are you on your way to getting "screwed over"?
Just keep on hustling & outplaying. Stop worrying about the other guy or politics.
I doubt very seriously the Coach is out to get you.

He has to do his job, you have to do yours.

I hope this works out for you, that you get picked & are playing. But really No need to be so vehement about any of this.
I like your passion, just hope you can channel it to benefit YOU. Keep your focus on you.
Try to see the positive here.

So what happened? Have you heard anything yet?

Lamber,

I agree with what you're saying. In my book the first qualification of a good baseball coach is his ability to develop talent by teaching the game. If they don't have that, they're in the wrong arena.

That said, the game itself teaches many important things that parallel life. The very best coaches are able to use baseball and normal situations in life to both their own and their players benefit.

For example: to get the very best results concerning potential, there's much more involved than simply learning how to do the fundamentals. Just as in life, a player needs to learn mental toughness, perserverence, and how to be a winner.

When I used to coach we would tell our players "there are only 4 things that create winning". 1. Talent 2. Effort 3. Intelligence 4. Luck. Every ingredient of winning or being successful is somehow involved in one of those four things. Often one ingredient leads to more success in another, such as more effort causing more talent. More effort, intelligence and talent causing more luck and so on.

These things are very important in baseball and perhaps even more important in life. The same 4 things can create success in everything. So if a coach can teach his players the importance of forming good habits, working hard, never quitting, and learning as much as possible, he will have the best baseball players possible, while he is also teaching young players how to succeed in life.

However, not all baseball coaches have the necessary ingredients it takes to be successful. All do not understand the importance of intelligence for example. Some don't really understand effort and others can't even recognize talent. They usually are the ones who feel unlucky.

They don't understand that "makeup" is an important ingredient that can seperate their players from the pack. There's a reason that MLB scouts are big on makeup. Talent is easy to see, but it alone don't win championships or get everyone to the Big Leagues. People can argue and bring up the "Yankees", but I can tell you, some of the best "makeup" guys in the Big Leagues are on the New York Yankees roster.

Things like confidence and everything else a person can think of are a result of those 4 ingredients of winning. And two of those 4 ingredients are absolutely in your control each and every time you set foot on a baseball field.

If all coaches were equal, how could we pick out the best ones?

Sorry, I was only replying based on reading a couple posts. Didn't mean to get off the original topic.

Also after reading what was posted again, I'd like to stick a big "IMO" only on it. Kind of sounded like the gospel the way it was written. That was not intentional!

Lamber...Points well taken...not as well explained in otherposts, so I'll quit "riding you" about that particular post. Still think it's a little deeper than you explain...(similar to what PG Staff is saying)...but I guess it's hard to have true discussion on opinions without having unusually long posts. Thanks for the clarification. That's not to say that I won't "draw swords" again down the road!

go back and read the original post. does the grammer and articulation really sound like a high school student? i could be wrong, but
i think mom or dad wrote that one! we'll never really know.

although politics and money do raise their ugly heads in high school baseball, i don't believe
a coach gets rid of a quality kid that can help him win games and has a good attitude. is there something else?

Behindthefence...... Funny you should say that,,,,,, Because that is exactly what I thought the very first time I read the post. It sure wasn't written like most students I know!

quote:

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Originally posted by baseballmom:
Lamber,
If he quits, it's "fer" dang sure he won't be playing!

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.....until summer.

dot, cool name, but you'll go further in life if you ditch your "victim routine"

maybe I'm missing somthing??

here's what I got so far

1) you indicate you did make the team - awsome!
2) all your team-mates dissapeared from the after school hangouts about 3:15 for the 4pm practice - you didn't notice?
3) ya show up at the gym about 4 to dress & warm up for your 4:45 indoor - just you and the janitor?? no red flags yet??
4) coach notices you're not at his practice, figures you were overlooked, so has someone call you
5) when you arrive he goes pretty much one on one with you to catch you up

and you come off with an "attitude"

I can guess why he likes the other guy



ps-if the guy competing for your position needs work as you say, you should be working with him to help him get better - he is your "younger team-mate", and if he's better it pushes you also

Lamber,
Sorry if this is construed as arguementative, but (.) is asking for help with his HS situation, not summer.
Furthermore, IMO, if he walks, he'll be even more "rusty" for summer ball, because he will have had NO practice/play time.

How does anyone gain anything by not participating at all?

Lonelobo:

I must say, agree or disagree, that is a great post. Of course eveyone wants to play and, in all honestly, if a clear and good alternative was present to play rather than watch, I don't know anyone who would turn it down, regardless of the life lessons that might be set aside. I think the life lessons come from making the best of a tough situation.

My senior year in HS, I got a lot less playing time than I felt I should have. Yes, I was frustrated at times, mad as he** sometimes. Here is what I did. I caught BP every day. After I finished catching I usually threw some BP as well. I caught bull pens every day. I hit fungoes, carried equipment, fixed gloves. During games I coached first and cheered my teammates. No, I didn't like my coach, but I loved baseball. I couldn't quit. (I also couldn't help but TP the coach's car a few times either!)

jemaz...Agree or disagree, I disagree that Lobo had a great post. Anytime a 15 year old speaks of "pathetic old-timers" , using foul language while doing it, tremendously dilutes any valid argument they might have originally had (IMO) ...and further proves the point that us "old timers" would never expect a 15 year old to fully understand about life lessons. I have a 14 year old (more compliant than most) and I constantly am able to show life lessons to him in his baseball situations. A good point you made was "clear and good alternative." I'm not convinced that I have seen evidence of that in this situation.