Brag a bit - TPM please join

Okay, why not. My freshman is the #2 starter on the varsity team. I'm still amazed he's been able to come out of nowhere and claim such a spot on the team. He won't turn 15 until the end of May - a young one. Being around the older guys is having a great effect on his social confidence and love of what he's worked so hard for. As we all know, ballplayers have a great joie de vivre!
So, yes, I'm excited and proud. His first trip to the mound is on Saturday in Game 2 of a DH. It's a five hour drive, but I wouldn't miss it for anything!

My little one is going to be featured in our local city sports newspaper this weekend. I guess I could scan the paper. But how do I attach it to a post? Anyway, he won a local pitching contest. There was a 12U, 10U and a 8U division. My son won the 8U, but would have won the 10U also. He won both the accuracy contest and the velocity contest. His velocity averaged 52mph. Not bad for an 8-yr-old.

Folks --the key word for 12 and under kids is FUN

There wil be enough stress and pressure when HS time rolls around

Go out and have fun--make practice fun--make the games fun

Oh, this will be fun. I have a just turned 11 that is the #1 pitcher on his 12U travelling team. He picked off his first runner at second this weekend. they only play occasional tourneys but the boys have learned tons from the experience. My 8 year old is about to pitch his first little league game and is READY!

TRHit1--mine has nothing but fun. We put no stress on him and neither do the coaches. They are on this travel team just to experience ball other than LL. It is very low key (as is their winning record

I was going to start my own thread to brag but this is perfect. My 08 son is the starting catcher for the varsity team. After going 0-6 in the first 2 games he is now 8 for his last 17 with 2 doubles and 5 game hit streak and hit his first high school home run tuesday night.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
Folks --the key word for 12 and under kids is FUN...

Throwing 52mph at 8 years of age is pretty fun.

I think anything that may be precieved as negative in this post is not. What is trying to be said is that parents and players alike should not get caught up in the games ouside the game. The baseball road is long and the time to be a kid is too short. Enjoy the early success with your kid by explaining the positive team and leadership opportunities that come with it.

I'll brag a little! My 08 is starting behind the plate for the Varsity team. He is quickly building a great raport with all the pitchers, and they all feel more confident with him behind the plate than any of the other catchers we have used. In our second district game Tuesday night, he threw out two baserunners at second in one inning. Needless to say, after that, they quit running! He is struggling at the plate, but keeps working hard in the cage and at practice, and because he has always been a good hitter, we know it will come together.

Most of all, he is having FUN!

My son is an '09 catcher. Bats left and switches. Has always hit for high average, and now has now developed serious power. (His well hit ball flies about 325 feet.) He's a sturdy 5'9" and 175 pounds.

Season has not yet started up here. Last year he was the only 13 on a good 14U team, and had the highest batting average on the team by 75 points. This year his peers join him on the team.

His best pop time I've measured so far is 2.06, which is a full .25 better than when I first measured it this winter. He's thrown out a lot of runners in the past, should be even better this year (if they run!)

He loves baseball. Plays football and basketball too, but loves baseball. Not at all uncommon for us to be driving to or from some baseball related activity and have him just say, out of the blue: "I just love baseball..."

You know what I love about it? All the time I get to spend with him playing catch, pitching BP to him, talking about the game.

That time is priceless. He wants to be a major leaguer. I don't care how far he goes in the game, although I'll support his dream any way I can.

I get to share with him the pursuit of becoming an excellent baseball player, and all the character-shaping lessons it entails.

If baseball is a metaphor for life, it is an even better metaphor for growing up to be a man.

As a dad, I get to help use the game to form his character, and at the same time spend loads of time with him doing something we both love.

How good is that?

My 7-year-old's first coach-pitch practice is Saturday.

His organizational meeting was Tuesday. I couldn't make it; neither could my wife. So I picked up my college son after practice (he's on spring break right now), he dropped me off at work and he drove his brother to the meeting.

Folks there thought it very cool that a coach-pitch player has a brother who plays college baseball.

My other son, who is on the high school JV team, is going to the practice with me on Saturday (his practice isn't until later). And in a few weeks, my other son, who was on the HS varsity team last year (before he graduated), will be coming home for a little while and he'll drive him. But he goes first to the National Junior B hockey tournament in Minnesota.

For the record, my daughter doesn't play baseball. But her first junior high play is next week.

It's why they call it March Madness.

Pressure, stress, are you kidding me. If it were up to my little one, he would do nothing but play baseball. Right now his mother and I are really struggling to keep his eye on school. He was all "A's" up until the 3rd grade. He think's he has got it all figured out. That he will be drafted high his senior year. (This is an 8-yr-old talking, -older kids influence) Both his mother and I are college graduates and his mother isn't to fond of baseball anyway. So, I had to laugh about the baseball pressure comment.

I have an 08 Catcher/Pitcher, that enjoys pitching but does not want to BE a Pitcher,
cause he wants to play everyday. Has said he
wants a contract that will let him pitch and
then catch on his days off in his rotation
Nothing wrong with having big dreams!
He has had a great start with his HS Fresh
team. He has 2nd highest BA with Highest Slugging %. He has got his first throw down
out at second last week, and is having tons of
fun.
He has been a wonder to watch since the beginning at 4yrs old. He just keeps getting
better and better.

My '05 got home from an audition on Sunday and said, "Do you want to hear something ironic?"

He was being offered an opportunity for a year long gig modeling in Milan where he could have made six figures. He told them he's already signed to play baseball in college when classes begin in August.
They asked, which is more important to him, acting/modeling or baseball. He said it has always been baseball.

He also played guitar and sang one of his songs, tapped dance and did his monologue.
They asked him if he was any good at baseball because he was very good at performing. He replied, "Well, I'd like to think so."

They told him he can definitely have a career in entertainment when baseball is over. And since he's a guy, he will still be very marketable as a model at 22.

He should get some local work out of it at least....between games and practice :>

Oh yeah, baseball.....he's 2-0 right now as the starting pitcher at high school varsity.

Can you tell I'm beaming?

Just a little brag...
Frisco Tournament of Champions March 10-12, 8 of the toughest teams in North Texas...
Son hit 4 home runs, 2 doubles, 3 singles, 9 RBI's in 4 games...
Scroll down to Newman Smith story:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/city/northwest/stories/031805dnsponwdbase.83578.html


Whewwww Whewww!
Oh...and he's a pitcher! 2 wins so far...

Saturday the Newman Smith Trojans meet Denton Ryan Raiders at Ameriquest Field, home of the Texas Rangers!!Hope its good!

Jeez, BaseballMom..... that's quite a week!

Congratulations.

Rob

That's quite a month for most 'round here.

Well, we're two weeks into the Varsity season.

Before I brag a little ... I have to admit that I was a little nervous at the beginning of the season, and tell a little story why.

Last year as a sophomore, my boy pitched mostly in short relief as our Varsity team had two very good, monster senior starting pitchers: one was drafted 1st round, the other now pitches at Rice. He threw quality innings when he got the opportunity.

This year his role is to step up as one of the starters on the hill and add some offense with his bat. The rub was that he was shut down from pitching this past fall due to some tendinitus ... mostly due to his rapid growth this past year (+30 lbs)... he did showcases, camps, etc., this fall as a position player, and did get some visibility for his hitting and fielding, but no one saw him pitch.

So we get into pre-season scrimmages. His arm felt great, but he's looking a bit 'rough' on the hill ... velocity was a little off, didn't have his usual control ...

He was frustrated and he knew how much the team needed him to perform well ... so he worked very hard on towel drills, talked to his coaches about some adjustments to his mechanics to try and get his arm-slot dialed back in. He had worked hard to add a lot of core, back, and leg strength in the past year while gaining that 30 lbs in the right places, so we didn't really know how that was going to translate into his pitching ... he hadn't faced a live batter since August.

So he got his first start of the season against one of the top ranked HS teams in SoCal (Esperanza HS). I'm sitting in the stands crossing my fingers, toes, etc., not quite sure what to expect. I can't read his body language and he's not the kind of kid to show anything ... he pitched the first five innings: 1ER on 2 hits, 4Ks, and 0BB. He cruised comfortable 86-87 and touched 89 several times. His location control was spot-on and he was back to throwing his CB with a FB arm action for a late hard break. He came home very happy.

So far in four games, his opponent average is .172 with a WHIP of 0.86 ... 11Ks, 2BB in 14 innings of work. Needless to say, this was a confidence booster. Now he looks like his "old self" ... much more relaxed and just doing the job, and he's added 5-7 MPH since last year.

And he's hitting in the 5-hole leading the team in RBIs.

I can breath now.

To all you "braggarts" on this thread, I have one thing to say ... good for those boys.

Oh well, one more thing ... keep the stories coming. It is bringing back fond memories for some of us old timers with sons well beyond the high school, pre-high school, and even college days.

Futurebackmom

You are so right-- I am very proud to have the kids on our team who have become my "kids" every season

This is the forum to brag. Not in the stands around the other parents because well you know why. What better place to share your proud moments. I enjoy hearing about all the accomplishments of all your boys. Keep them coming they are fun to read.

Ok here goes my story and it is lengthy:

My son was your typical chubby 9 yr old kid who didn't want to play baseball and really didn't have any desire to play it. He was basically walking to the park until someone wanted to just sign him up because they needed kids to play. He was very hesitant at first but it wound up being the best decision he has made in his young life so far.

His first year was trial and error and he mostly played RF, he didn't care as long as he was on the field and having fun with the rest of the kids. He worked hard on his running and catching and his batting didn't come around until 3/4 through the season. Here is the situation, he didn't get a hit until his 7th game , his 2nd hit of the year was in the playoffs where he hit a double to win the game for us to go to TOC. From then on he worked harder and harder and the following year he made stars.


During the off-season he wanted to get better so we did cages and long toss. He went from chubby slow kid to the best player in his local little league. He always wants to work with kids who just started to play and he is always postitive and helpful to the weaker kids. I am too proud of him and he carries a B Plus average in school...baseball is his love now and he cannot get enough of it. He has made stars for the last three years and this is his fianl year in the league.

Last year he wanted to play Travel ball after his team won both the TOC and District Titles he was recommended to a team. He practiced even harder and is now the # 2 starter and batted from 9th to clean up. Highlight for him was a walk off grand slam to win a tournament in Orange County. I couldn't believe it and to see his face light up when crossing the plate was priceless!!!


Last week was opening day and this is his last year in Major's Little League. He pitched a no hitter struck out 16 out of 18 batters and only threw 70 pitches. He also batted 3 for 3 and showed good sportsmanship to the other team by telling the manager that the other team was good and they will get better. We spoke after the game and he told me he has always dreamed about the kind of game he had and he wants to continue to get better??

To say that I am proud is an understatemt, he will take these lessons and apply them in life. I know he will work hard for everything in life and I will be there to support him and cheer him on.


I also would like to thank this website and all of the posters of this board. The stories are motivating and heartfelt and I plan to be here for a long time.

Tonight was my son's first LL game as a major. He pitched all six innings with 13 strikeouts and only 1 hit. No balls went out of the infield. His first at bat was over the fence. He also hit another homer later in the game. We are so excited! Just had to share. I can come off of my cloud now.

Ok, here we go. I have two high school players and one eight year old. My oldest is 15, 6'1 155, and throws 82-83, he is the starting SS on his HS team. He also has the second highest batting average on a senior dominated team. He has a shot a making All-County. Andrew Paulene
My middle son is 14, 5'8 165, and a switch hitting catcher. He will likely be the starting catcher on the HS team next season. Last but not least is my 8 year old. He is playing up a year and will pitch in his first games this year. He plays SS and has never struck out so far in league ball. All my sons are excellent ball players, but they are great kids too.

Great stories. I have one on a different level.

My son is 11U but we have been "playing up" vs. 12U all year. He is our Catcher and does a great job behind the dish. He also pitches and dabbles at SS and 2B. He is very hard on himself - not like a "head case" hard but he expects to be perfect. In our first game, he threw 3 innings using only 21 pitches and facing only 10 batters. He was unhappy with his performance because he walked 1 hitter even though he retired 9 of 10. My instruction with him is more on the mental aspects of the game rather than the physical stuff and he has made great strides.

Anyway, we had a scrimmage game a few weeks ago and he was on the mound...he has one of the best hitters around in an 0-2 hole by throwing CU away, FB up and in. Next pitch...he wants a FB even higher (climb the ladder). He climbs the ladder but the hitter does too and blasts the ball about 270 feet out of the park. It was actually a good pitch - about chin high and in. I would have thrown the same thing. Anyway, I look out at my son and see him laughing. A reaction I did not expect out of him and I was happy to see it. After watching the kid hit THAT pitch, all you can do is laugh. I am happy to see my son is starting to "get it".

I just hope he continues to improve.

My son is an '08 who broke into the starting lineup last week at 1B on the freshman team.

Although the season is half over he hung in there and kept working hard at practice and finally got noticed.

My Turn.

My '07 is the starting 3b for his HS team, batting second in the order. He is leading his team in hitting after 10 games at .515 with 2 HR's, 2 2B's, and a triple. The team's Senior star P/SS is currently the second leading hitter at .444, who was 1st team All-State DH for our classification last year. His HS goals are to hit over .400 this year, over .500 as a Junior, and over .600 as a Senior, then to have his jersey # retired by his School (he knows that part is a joke). He hopes to play college ball and then professionally.

Last season as an 8 year old my son was selected to the 9 year old all-star team. On the whole as a team they were very succesful, winning 2 tounaments, a second place finish, and a poor showing. The whole all-star atmosphere was electric, playing under the lights, eating dogs, and of course playing multiple games over a couple of days.

My son has phenomenal hand eye coordinations and plays second base like he is in the big leagues. At this age his range is something to be seen, moreover he catches everything and I mean everthing. A backhand for him is routine, a short fly ball to right no problem. I cannot tell you how many people comment favorably on his fielding ability. So of course dad now has the baseball bug. It's something to see the passion he has for playing, but I cannot imagine he is having more fun than I am, I am so proud of him.

In our last tournament he was named MVP, he turned a single handed double play, and threw a runner out at first from the dirt after diving to his backhand side. He followed that up by batting lead off and going 14 for 17 at the plate with (2) home runs one went over the fence, not bad for a younger player. To see him peak and smile was priceless. Did I tell you how proud I am.

He played so well he was invited to tryout for an established elite team. This program is very succesfull and he is now a part of it. His first tournament is the Beast of the East in 2 weeks, hopefully he has continued success as I might want to brag a bit more.

Sorry this is my second response but....

My 08 is now the starting catcher on his varsity team. This past week he played in a tournament with them and went 6- 17 with 2 2bs and 4 rbi. His hit streak stopped at 8 games but the second game of the day he was 3-4 with 3 rbis batting second. He was named to the all- tournament team.

Keep these stories coming - they are fun to read, and in many cases, bring back some great memories.

I guess our boys are never too old to brag about. Well after graduating from Miami University(Ohio)04 tommy john(junior year) medical hardship(senior year) and the fire still burning at the age of 23...justin has been invited to be part of team canada's entry in the world qualifiers in bradenton florida in april 9-13....time will tell...never give up the dream...
cld (hi bob...you old timer)

Congratulations, CLD! I remember you when....so happy for your son and your family...and also congrats on your son's graduation!

nice to be remembered...as when this site was in its infancy stage....wow...he sure has come a long way....bob you must be proud....or crazy...i guess i need to get caught up on how everyones sons have done...like mine, most be in the post graduation stage...i look forward to keeping in touch with the old timers and maybe drop a line of opinion now and then


cld(a real old timer)

CLD: - actually I think it would be interesting to have a forum about what the boys are doing post graduation/post baseball - it may not be all about baseball by then - but it is about young men following other paths, with baseball still in their hearts.

I found this site in Sept of 1999 - and it was invaluable in the recruiting process.

I have enjoyed reading everyone's posts... Great to know that everyone gets excited when their sons make them proud..
My son is a college junior at a d-3 school which has been to the college world series twice in the last four years... My son has pretty much "sat the bench" for his first two years there.. At times, he became discouraged and wondered if he'd picked the wrong school [as far as playing time}.
We continued to encourage him and told him that his time would come... Be patient, we said. Well his junior year came. He once again hoped he'd make it into the starting line up. He'd been the back up second baseman for 2 years. IN his mind, he thought he'd paid his dues. He sat the bench for the first 8 games of the season. The starting "shortstop" makes multiple errors, but coach keeps starting him.. During a conference game.. the shortstop injures his foot... Coach takes a chance and puts in my son for the last two conference games of the weekend series... He goes 6 for 10 in two games. He has now played the last 21 games, and has the second highest batting average on the team, eleventh in the conference, and leads the team in steals. We're thrilled and he is ecstatic to be playing and doing so well. So, persistence does pay off. When opportunity knocks, make sure you are there to answer the door!!

Luvthgame,

I especially enjoyed reading your post. Congrats to your son for his perseverance, and for being prepared to jump all over the opportunity when it arose. Best wishes to him for continued success!

Just because Fungo wont do it - check this out

03/28/05
Auburn's Josh Bell Named SEC Player of the Week
The Jackson, Tenn., native hit .533 (8-for-15) in four games last week with three home runs, six runs batted in and four runs scored while hitting safely in all four contests.

TPM: What a great photo!

Sorry but I have to join 08 and sneak in a second post.....

My son pitched a no-hitter in his HS's district game this week. He threw a one-hitter his last outing. That OBA looks mighty nice

I also apologize for the follow up post ... kinda

But the BigFella threw a 3-hit complete game, 1ER, 6Ks, 1BB at the West Coast Classic last week. All three hits allowed were in one inning (thus the 1ER) ... the other six innings were shutouts. Also got a 3-run HR.

He now has 24Ks, 4BB, and 8ERs in 26.1 innings of work with a 3-0 record. His WHIP is 0.98, and his OPPAvg is .198. He's definitely starting to get comfortable with his mechanics again after taking the fall/winter off.

He's hitting pretty well too, .353 with a .618 SLG%, shares the lead in RBIs, and only 3Ks and 9BB in 44 PA. Just needs to find more gaps with those deep flys and the BA will start to move up more. I know he wants more hits ... I just tell him he's doing all the right things ... being disciplined, hitting the ball hard, not chasing bad pitches ... just keep it up, stay on top of the ball, and the ball will start to find more gaps for him.

Here's a short video (3min 45sec) of two innings of pitching versus Newport Harbor (time compressed by cutting out dead time between pitches ... otherwise every pitch):

Two innings vs Newport Harbor