Cut from team...what next?

There are some inspiring examples of those who fought back from being cut etc. Larry Bowa didn't make his high school team. He tried out and made the team at Sacramento City College and went on to win 2 gold gloves in MLB and was an all-star 5 times. Mark Buehrle (4 gold gloves, 4 time all-star in MLB) got cut from his high school team twice.

These stories are all over the states this time of year.  It's tough sometimes.  The kid suffers more than the parents.

My son attends a large 6A school, 90 kids tried out last week from Fresh-Sr.  50+ were Fresh. and they kept 18 for the Fresh team. JV and Var. kept 27 kids in total from grades 10 thru 12.  1/3 of the kids that were Fresh last year were cut, 3 I know personally as they play summer for me.  One is a LHP that was injuried, another Catcher, slow, nice swing good hitter but could only catch and a CF that mashes, runs bases well, legit 4.5 40 speed a real athlete.  All were devestated and most were perplexed at the CF being cut.

Another kid played Fresh. and JV was cut last year as a Jr..  Was told by head coach to put on weight and velocity and he would have a chance.  Never would he break into IF again b/c of the school this talent has.  Kid worked his arse off for a year and put on 30lbs, even went to pitching camp. Velo jumped to low 80's at tryouts.  Coaches even pulled him aside to tell him how impressed they were with his improvements.  Last week he was cut..................his Sr. year......................as a RHP 81-83mph and even 3 pitches didn't make it.   Everyone was shocked, some were flat pissed.

 My own kid a soph. LHP/IB was hitting 81-82 with a nice BB and CU along with 2 other Soph. RHP hitting low 80's will most likley be limited to JV and perhaps get a sniff a Var.  A few other Jrs. on Varsity cost the Sr. boy his shot at making the team and the 3 Soph. above may cost a upper classmen a spot next year and if my own kid doesn't progress he may be gone.  My point is this happens all over the country, it's worse for some kids and/or parents but don't lose perspective that your son, these kids can still play elsewhere if they desire.  At the end of the day being cut will fade into a distant troubled memory.  A building block for better character and better relationship between a father & son.  All the boys I referenced above will play this summer.

@2Lefties - Your post was excellent and should help offer some reassurance and valuable perspective to the OP'er.

What's next, don't give up.

This is a long story about never giving up and working hard to reach your goal!

My 2016 LHP/OF went out for the high school baseball team as a freshman but didn’t make the cut. The coach told him he needed to play travel baseball. So, we went looking for a team. He ended being picked up on a 16U team, he was the only 15-year-old and not playing high school. To pass the time before the summer season began, he decided to play Senior League Baseball with the guys he played with for year. Was the number one pitcher and through a 1-hitter in the opening game, he was 3 for 4 at the plate, scored twice, and stole home. He was pumped. The fourth game into the season he was stealing second and broke his left wrist sliding in, ending his Senior League season.

He was ready to go for the summer team and played well in their five tournaments. Was taken under the wing by several of the guys and became a starter by the third tournament. Didn’t pitch much, but was an asset in the outfield.

After the season he tried out for the same summer program but instead of moving up with his current team, he felt he should go with the 16U team again. Well, he didn’t make it because he hadn’t played high school ball in the spring.

He was devastated and was seriously considering giving up baseball. One night he was in his room crying, not knowing how he was going to tell me he was done with baseball. Well, his mother and I, asked him to give the high school team one more try and if he didn’t make in the spring, he could be done. He said he’d think about.

Then the magic happened. He got an invite to a camp at West Virginia University. It was one of the first college camp invites he had gotten. Since we live in Indiana, he wrote back to the Coach to find out how he found out about him. The magic was in the response. A scout from the Texas Rangers and a friend of the WV baseball program saw him play at a tournament in Indianapolis and though he was a player the Mountaineers should keep track of. Well that did it.

He decided he wanted to play. First, we found a travel team (two hours away) and then got him some pitching lessons with a former MLB pitcher. He blossomed.

Sophomore year rolls around. He does all the pre-season conditioning sessions and optional open gyms. Goes through a week of tryouts and gets a cut a second time. Told he was the last guy cut and that he was too one-dimensional (pitcher only), wasn’t big enough (5’8, 123 lbs), and wasn’t fast enough.

Being cut wasn’t that big of a deal to him. Said he keeping trying and would go out again as a Junior.  Well it prove to be a blessing because a week after tryouts he suffered a spontaneous collapse lung and spent a week in the hospital. Had he made the team it would have kept him from playing for at least six weeks, meaning he would have had only a week of high school baseball.

He had a very good summer season, ended up playing the outfield more than pitch because he was so valuable to his team in the outfield. When he did pitch, he kept his team in the game and won two of their three wins on the season. The final game of the year, he was sent to the mound with only 7 fielders. He went 5 innings gave up just 4 runs and went 3 for 3 from the plate with drove in a couple runs. He the stands were two college coaches, one who had come to see him play, the other the coach of the school were the game was played. A week later, he heard from both regarding his interest in playing in college.

He decided to try out for one of the stronger local travel programs and was offered a spot. He went through their conditioning program and weekly indoor practices from September through March. He also attended all the pre-season conditioning sessions and optional open gyms again. We also hit the indoor baseball facility at least twice a week to throw - weighted ball and long toss. He picked up a few more pitching lessons from his instructor.

So it was time for tryouts. Coach said there would be cuts after day 1 and final cuts after day 2. He felt pretty good after day 1 of tryouts. He then heard from the team manager, who he knows. The manager was picking up while the coaches starting comparing notes and overheard the hitting coach say to the head coach "How the hell didn't he (my son) make the team last year." At which time the pitching coach concurred.

Well son went to the coach first thing in the morning and before he could say a word the coach said, see you tonight at 6. He was relieved but still need to perform.

Day 2 of tryouts, he finishes second in an infield drill and again has the coaches talking. He was in the coach’s office early the next day, told the coach he couldn’t wait to find out. Coach said if you get cut once and try out again, if shows you have guts. If you get cut a second and try out again, it shows you have heart. He then welcomed 2016 to the team. Coach said it was unanimous amongst all seven coaches that he should be put on the team.

Coach said he was impressed with his work ethic and perseverance. He never quit working or bettering himself. Told him he’s got the best mechanics of any pitcher either on JV or Varsity. He’ll start the season as a reliever for conference games and will get a few starts in non-conference.

At our parent meeting, the head coach congratulated me for my son's accomplishments. Neat thing the director of baseball ops (yes we have one to solicit funding for the program) made a bee line to my son after the meeting. He told him how much he impressed the coaches with his hustle and willingness to give up his body to make a play. Said all the coaches were so impressed.

So take heart anyone he doesn’t make the team on the first, second or even third try. If you love baseball, keep working hard and don’t let anyone tell you no! 

JBoss ... I'm guessing the kid gave up. The poster hasn't been back since the original exchange two springs ago. But I'm guessing the kid has improved. Every time you do something you get better at it. Reps, reps, reps. I'm guessing since the kid quit baseball and football over this situation he's become better at quitting in his life. 

The walls weren't put there to keep you out. They're there to see how badly you want in.

As a coaches wife, we try to speak in positives on the lives of young people. On a positive note, since he wasn't playing either football or baseball at the time, I hope he hasn't gotten better at quitting, but found what he truly wanted out of life.