Son is at Mid-major D1 school. Pitcher. He is one of two freshman on team. He pitched 10th in 10 inning game for fall ball and just pitched 14 in 16 inning game. In your experience is the inning that they have you pitch indicative of how they see you working out in the Spring?
want to offer best advice to son, who does not want to sit, and wants to contribute.
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Yes, the inning that he pitched is very indicative of where he is in the pecking order. Most D1 coaching staffs tend to lean on the top 8 arms (sometimes even fewer). And they often don’t trust freshmen. A realistic expectation for this spring (barring injury or a big change in circumstances) would be 10 (or less) innings - all in non-critical game situations.
I'm not sure you can make much out of this. My son is also a freshman and all indications are he's got a good shot at being a weekend starter this spring. In our Sept scrimmage, he pitched 2nd. In our October final intrasquad, he pitched last. I didn't make much of either slot.
Your son should know where he stands, based on his performance all fall, being objective with comparing to his teammates. What's his velo compared to others, is he getting guys out during intrasquads, what has coach been saying to him, etc.
I agree with Adbono, going into this year, I was hoping for 20 innings. He's 18 facing 22yo, needs to continue developing and getting stronger.
Maybe I'm old school, but I think the days of me giving meaningful advice is over. It's between him, his teammates and his coaches now.
Just wait until injuries, minor or major happen and things shake up pretty quickly. Son carved in fall as a freshman when he was in college, was told he would be a set up man and ended up starting 6 games due to lefty with injury.
As we talk about often around here, has a lot to do with his specific situation which includes performance, feedback from coach, etc. As you can see from the different perspectives provided in the the responses already, it also has a lot to do with how the coaching staff approaches each fall scrimmage.
In my opinion, the best advice you can give him is to self-advocate. The first thing he should do is to find out if his HC and/or PC hold exit meetings following fall ball. If not, recommend that he talk with his PC to find out where he fits in once fall ball has finished up.
As has already been shared, most freshmen get limited innings in the spring unless they dominate in fall ball. I think every freshmen who shows up in the fall wants and sometimes expects to make a significant contribution once the spring season starts. Makes sense since there most recent playing experience usually includes significant playing time. Just remind him, if someone else doesn't first, that he needs to have realistic expectations. Did he get significant innings on varsity HS team as a freshman? Probably not but doubt he was looking at transferring.
As for advice, I respect CT's thoughts and believe that we need to give our kids space once they move on to college. However, I think it is important for your son to know that you are available should he need guidance. Hell, I still ask my Dad for advice occasionally and respect his opinion even if we don't always agree.
Following CoachLD above - do they have end of fall meetings with the coach (in your case, the pitching coach)? Those typically involve telling the player where they stand right now. He may also get details on what they've seen that they like, and what they need to focus on to continue to improve their performance, and by extension, their opportunity.
I tell mine to work as hard as he can, be ready when his names called .... that's all he can do.... performance is the key....
I would look at the positives of this situation. If he is one of only two Freshman on the team, that means the coaches were very selective this year and must really like him.
If there are only two Freshman on the team, that implies there are a lot of upperclassmen returning or transferring in. They are naturally going to get more chances and more reps. They too probably get few opportunities as Freshmen and now is their chance.
If he is a part of class of two, he is going to get great leadership opportunities in his junior and senior year. Becoming a leader or captain are incredibly valuable life skills that will serve him beyond college baseball.
Finally, as others said, there is a big difference between 18 and 22 year olds, just as there was with 18 year olds and 14 year olds. Every now and then there will be a phenom like Rocker burst out as a Freshman, but college baseball is really hard. Freshman have to learn so much and build up their strength and understanding of the game. It takes time and a kid has to earn opportunities over time.
Hopefully you and your son will be patient and let it play out over the coming years.
I recall my son's freshmen Fall season the coaches had a point system for intrasquad games. My son did very well to everyone's surprise he had the most points when the Fall season ended. But it didn't really matter. He was not selected on the 25 player travel team for the first Spring series in March. To say he was pissed, would be an extreme understatement. The team lost all 4 games and got kicked to the curb by a comparable D1 mid-major. My son was selected for the travel team in the next series. He made his first college appearance against then #1 UVA and pitched well in mop up duty. The next series he moved up in the rotation, and was given more meaningful innings. By the time conference games started a few weeks later he had earned the coaches trust and became their 4th weekend starter in a weekend doubleheader format. My point is that freshmen start below whale sh*t. You have to make the most of every opportunity and be ready at all times. Coaches want results and they want to see how you handle yourself at all times especially for freshmen.
100% agree with CTBaseballDad. By the time they are in college they either have "it", don't have "it" or have lost "it" and need to find "it". It is all up to them to figure it out. When my son was disappointed he didn't get selected for the first series as a freshmen I knew there wasn't much I could say or do. As a parent that part is difficult but that is why he is in college....to figure it out.
As always, JMO.
Yes, I think there's some order to it. The guys they're going to rely on a lot go first. But. . .injuries happen, kids get into academic trouble, stuff goes wrong and opportunities open up. As a freshman, mine pitched during the 13th and 14th innings of fall season. By Christmas coaches told him he was a "pleasant surprise" and by spring he scored some weekday starts and regular relief on weekends and the Big10 tournament.
Having said all that — we have made ourselves crazy by trying to interpret everything the coach said or did or if he talked to the kid during the game or the look on his face while kid pitched. And then we made our kid crazy by asking him to interpret the coach for us.
Now that we have a season under our belts, we're trying to relax and enjoy the ride, and let our son focus on working hard and doing his best, rather than trying to make us feel better.
bacdorslider posted:I tell mine to work as hard as he can, be ready when his names called .... that's all he can do.... performance is the key....
CONFUSED2023,
The above is the best advice that you can give your son.
A lot can depend on the conference the program is in as well as how competitive midweek games are. More than likely the coaches have an idea who will be the weekend/weekday starters and closer and maybe everyone in between. But there still is spring practice. Things change. Always. Some coaches don't like to add up a lot of innings for freshman. Some dont care. It definetly all comes down to performance for everyone.
I remember something Jack Leggett said in an interview. He said, that it usually takes about 20-23 games before all parts are in place. That seems like a long time, but roles are forever changing in this game. You want to know something, he was right!
Be supportive, don't worry and enjoy the ride.
THIS, from Iowamom:
“Having said all that — we have made ourselves crazy by trying to interpret everything the coach said or did or if he talked to the kid during the game or the look on his face while kid pitched. And then we made our kid crazy by asking him to interpret the coach for us.”
Our experience with our outfielder when he was a freshman was much the same. 3 returning OF starters, so he played second fiddle all fall and winter. Listened to player gossip about who was gonna be where. Watched and listened for signals from the coaches who were all as inscrutable as the Sphinx. Preseason practice more of the same. The morning of the first game, which was on the road, boys eating hotel breakfast buffet. Son piles a small mountain of food on his plate because they’re gonna play a doubleheader and he figures it’s gonna be a long day on the bench. Coach walks up and asks him if all that food is gonna make him faster. Son says I don’t think so. Coach says something like “you might want to cut back a little, Turbo, cuz you’re starting in center.”
That’s one of the first times my son realized nobody knows anything.
Our boys need to keep their heads down and grind, grind, grind. Then whatever happens, they’ve done all they can do.
Confused2023 posted:Son is at Mid-major D1 school. Pitcher. He is one of two freshman on team. He pitched 10th in 10 inning game for fall ball and just pitched 14 in 16 inning game. In your experience is the inning that they have you pitch indicative of how they see you working out in the Spring?
want to offer best advice to son, who does not want to sit, and wants to contribute.
Similar situation. Starts the intersquads but threw last in the games although he did get three innings each time out. Only freshman to throw in the games as well. The guys that threw before him are all guys I would consider to be better and more polished as well. The way I see it is that the coach likes where he's at for a freshman but just not entirely there yet. Something that takes time. Who knows maybe he ends up starting on Sats, maybe he ends up getting cut. Starting to wonder if RS is a possibility given the amount of senior/draft heavy talent. Will find out soon enough.
That’s a pretty drastic range of possibilities when you originally sounded optimistic, PABaseball. Saturday starter or cut...if he is on a draft heavy team, sounds like he has to bide his time.
smokeminside posted:THIS, from Iowamom:
“Having said all that — we have made ourselves crazy by trying to interpret everything the coach said or did or if he talked to the kid during the game or the look on his face while kid pitched. And then we made our kid crazy by asking him to interpret the coach for us.”
Our experience with our outfielder when he was a freshman was much the same. 3 returning OF starters, played second fiddle all fall and winter. Listened to player gossip about who was gonna be where. Watched and listened for signals from the coaches who were all as inscrutable as the Sphinx. Preseason practice more of the same. The morning of the first game, which was on the road, boys eating hotel breakfast buffet. Son piles a small mountain of food on his plate because they’re gonna play a doubleheader and he figures it’s gonna be a long day on the bench. Coach walks up and asks him if all that food is gonna make him faster. Son says I don’t think so. Coach says something like “you might want to cut back a little, Turbo, cuz you’re starting in center.”
That’s one of the first times my son realized nobody knows anything.
Our boys need to keep their heads down and grind, grind, grind. Then whatever happens, they’ve done all they can do.
Great story 😂
My son pitched the 14th inning of two 14 inning scrimmages his first fall season. Didn't pitch in the 3rd scrimmage. Opening weekend entered in the 9th winning 8-0 of the first game. Gave up 4 runs and did not record an out. Final score 8-6. He did not see the field for a month. He came in to mop up losing 13-1, bases loaded 1 out. K and a ground out, than pitched a 3 up 3 down next inning. After a few more successful mop up outings the coaches were more confident to put him in more meaningful situations.
Point of my story, fall was not an indication of his role in the spring. When he didn't perform in the first game he sat and other pitchers took his opportunities. As he started to perform he took other pitchers opportunities. As stated above when he gets his chance he needs to perform, that will keep him in the game.
WOW! thank you for all the advice from those who have been there. I appreciate the forum and your help!
