I saw a recent post about velocity development, and it had me thinking. How much velocity or hitting wise did your player develope over the course of their high school career? Also for people with college players, how much did they develope in college?
For example, my son has gained nearly 30mph on his fastball in the past 4 years in high school, but his hitting has steadily decreased.
Just thought it would be neat to see the different stories of development from players/parents.
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Sure hope your example is extremely hypothetical ! My son was throwing fastballs @ 78mph summer before 8th Grade and 83mph summer before Freshman year. Only way I know this is, opposing teams had radar on him while he played Summer Rec Ball @ our Summer Home in the Midwest. Son was throwing 88-89mph spring of his Soph year in HS. And there he sat for the next 4 years. Dean Stotz told him on his visit to Stanford in January of Junior year, that most guys with Sons' physique do not mature with their fastball until about 20-21 years of age. So my son asked Coach if he could redshirt. Coach Stotz replied, "Well Son, at $50,000 dollars a year, do you really think Red Shirting is a good idea?" Classic Stotz, I about fell off my chair, it was hard to keep a straight face ! But then Coach told my son, with someone like him, they would wait & wait & wait till the fastball came in. My sons' HS pitching coach, who pitched 8yrs in MLB & also was Pitching Coach for a MLB team in LA, always said, "You can not rush a Fastball, it develops in its own time." As for hitting, my son did well Fresh & Soph year, but HS coach stopped letting him hit Junior year. Fear of injury was the reason given. But hey, guess who won the HomeRun Derby with 14 bombs during the Alumni Game Senior year, even over MLB drafted team mate with 1 year Rookie Ball under his belt. Guess who was belting out 440 foot bombs playing Legion Ball summer before college. That was all done in the name of Fun. As for a pitcher taking reps @ the plate @ a D1 college, only time it happened at Sons' College was when the Head Coach got upset at the poor offense by the Fielders and let only the LHP's take a few Reps in 2 games. Sons' friend hit a Homer, but never got a chance to hit again. Psychological strategy by the Head Coach to motivate the Fielders. It is also very difficult to be a 2 way player in college, not enough time in the day to practice for both & do well in class.
Main point to this long response: Every player develops & matures at different rates & every Coach has a different philosophy for hitting & pitching. These are things that your Son can not control. Advice on this Web sites advocates, "Control what you can, as in Academics & Effort. My advice to you: STOP, right now from looking at others to compare your son against. Nothing good will come of it & it is not fair to your Son or your family to weave this type of distraction into the dynamics of his High School Career. It will steal a lot of joy, both his & yours. Instead, live in the moment & create meaningful memories , life is more enjoyable that way. Let your Son be motivated by his own Self-efficacy.
There is simply no way to answer that question. There are so many factors in play. Genetics, work ethic, proper training, improper training, coaching, how raw is the player, etc.
Development - physical, mental, experience good and bad, mechanics, opportunity, etc.
Some college programs work very hard on player development. Some programs simply recruit the best players they can get and then let the players sort it out with very little effort put on actual player development. Some have a good balance in my opinion. What is the best fit for your son? It all depends on so many factors.
All you can do is work to be the best athlete and player you can be. Find the right fit for YOU. And then let the chips fall where they fall. Some kids are as good as they are going to get as Soph's in HS. Some have not even scratched the surface as Soph's in college.
Journey on, awesome post! As the father of a 2019 LHP who is already a good pitcher able to locate all 3 pitches I'm still waiting for the fastball to come in! He throws in the 85th percentile for his age according to PG, but I know there is more in there. He's not a max effort kinda kid and more concerned with hitting spots and throwing strikes, so as he is only 15 I figure the velo will follow when his body matures. He is long and lean and has a nice body type for the long run...reading your post helps me understand my mindset is probably right!
also depends on how early you mature physically and how hard you Train.
Bryce harper was basically a man at Age 15 that could hit 500 feet bombs while other 15 year olds are like biologically 12 year olds.
also a guy that did Long toss since he was 10 will probably Peak earlier than a guy who only played rec with no extra Training till he was 12.
however early peaker doesn't mean that you flame out. of course there is the guy who is huge at 12 and never grows more but bryce harper did Bloom early and yet the other Players never caught up with him.
it doesn't matter when you Peak and how much you gain but how good you are when you are 18-19 and beyond.
I think my post might have taken the wrong way. It was not to compare. It was merely to just hear successful development stories.
My son threw a lot harder as a 6'1" 170 senior than a 5'4" 120 8th grader and 5'11" 135 freshman. I don't believe there's any secret training involved. He grew and got stronger.
2017Righty , I may have jumped the gun on something you have not thought of, or realize has the potential to occur, as you are just getting into the most stressful time of your Sons' journey over the next 3 years. So, I will share another little story. A talented 6'7" LHP two years ahead of my son was being heavily recruited by colleges and had numerous MLB Questionnaires sent to him. As our journey started to really amp up Spring of Soph year, his mom gave me some really sage advice. "Be careful, all this recruitment stuff has the potential to make you very angry and tear your family apart." They left the job of completing the Questionnaires totally up to the son, I do not know if he completed them or not, but he ended up going to a college with a strict Honor Code, (do not think this college was his pick, but family's religious choice based on what he shared with my son) and was home after the first semester. Had a major falling out with his Dad, and got the great experience of finding housing on his own & a job.
Point being, focus on encouraging your son and guide him to make solid decisions based on his goals not another players journey. Look up the definition of self-efficacy, assist him in firming this up or back up and let him find it on his own, because boy oh boy, he will desperately need this trait freshman year in college. Be sure to spend time & energy on the rest of your family, they will feel your distractions and anxiety if you focus on things that you have no control over.
Great posts journey on!!! Well said!
