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Freshman Blues

S slultan10+ posts
Son had a great High School career and was able to land a nice scholarship at a top 20 D-1 program. Topped out at 93 his senior year. Signed as a 2 way guy. Pitches around 100 innings between HS and summerball. Goes into fall workouts and Struggles with grades and they tell him to concentrate more on school and pitching, so they move him to pitcher only after about 10 AB and say he can help more on the mound then in the field. Son is fine with that and knows his future is on the mound. Pitches pretty well in the fall and tops out at 91. Spring practice starts and they had 3 weekends of scrimmages. First 2 outings went well for being a freshman, but his velocity was around 85. His last outing was rough and looked like he was throwing BP and velocity was still around 85. He said the pitching coach was not concerned about velocity right now, but I can't help not to worry that there might be a problem going on. I notice that some of the other freshman have lost a little bit of velocity. Is this just normal for freshman to lose a little due to not being use to all the workouts? He says his arm feels fine and is never sore, just velocity down. He was throwing harder as a junior in HS. After I have been stressing about this velocity stuff for the last couple of weeks, he finds out yesterday that he didnt make the travel team for the first away trip. I always heard it is tough being a freshman at a top program, but now wondering if we should have found a smaller pound.
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H Homerun041,000+ posts
That is not out of the norm, some freshmen have a hard time dealing with the year round baseball demands, as well as, the freedom of living away from home and the social life of college.

He needs to figure out that it is important to get his school work done, stay up with the conditioning, and not burn the candle from both ends or he will not be able to compete with the big boys of a top program.
ktcosmosktcosmos100+ posts
slultan,

I'd say it's not unexpected.

My son wasn't a pitcher, but he did have a less than stellar first year at his D-1. It made him figure it out by the next year and he had a breakout season.

Like Homerun04 said, figuring out the big picture is what they do their first year and then that will help with his entire life going forward. It sure did with my boy (and he's now a professional ball player Wink.

The experience is unlike any other and I hope he can work it out.

Best of luck to your boy.
Last edited by ktcosmos
DD Diamond Dog AZ10+ posts
He has 4 years to play, if he is at a major D1 and still on the roster he must be good enough. He should just be patient, work hard, experience and learn from the older players, and mostly stay positive. Many players jump ship after 1 year and regret it. Sounds like grades are good, attitudes good, he should have fun, work hard and enjoy his freshman year, you only get 1.
C CaBB1,000+ posts
Back from opening week-end of college baseball 2011 and have some thoughts about freshman players in several conferences.


Son has many friends that play in different conferences. We tracked them this last week-end to see how their teams fared. What is pertinent to this post is that several "can't miss" freshman (according to their parents) did not start or got minimal playing time. Quite often in the recruiting process parents think they are told their son will start as a freshman. In reality the coach probably said "your son will be able to compete for a starting spot". This doesn't mean the player won't eventually start but it's pretty tough to beat out an older established player that has been successful at that position.

So, for the freshman players that may be discouraged just keep working hard, stay positive, be a team player by encouraging all your teammates, and be ready when you do get your shot.

This brings up another good point in the recruiting process. Does your son want to play on a top ranked team and maybe not get significant playing time until soph year or later, or does he want to have the opportunity to play more from the start? It's a question that only the player and his parents can answer and there's no right answer for everyone.

For those parents that find their son is not starting or playing enough go support the team and enjoy the ride. Most likely with enough hard work and skill your son will start.

Slultan- this post isn't meant in any way to be negative about your situation. You bring up great points that many parents have probably faced. Obviously his coaches really think he can be an effective pitcher so just hang in there and try to enjoy it. Good luck to your son.
C CaBB1,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by CaBB:
Back from opening week-end of college baseball 2011 and have some thoughts about freshman players in several conferences.


Son has many friends that play in different conferences. We tracked them this last week-end to see how their teams fared. What is pertinent to this post is that several "can't miss" freshman (according to their parents) did not start or got minimal playing time. Quite often in the recruiting process parents think they are told their son will start as a freshman. In reality the coach probably said "your son will be able to compete for a starting spot". This doesn't mean the player won't eventually start but it's pretty tough to beat out an older established player that has been successful at that position.

So, for the freshman players that may be discouraged just keep working hard, stay positive, be a team player by encouraging all your teammates, and be ready when you do get your shot.

This brings up another good point in the recruiting process. Does your son want to play on a top ranked team and maybe not get significant playing time until soph year or later, or does he want to have the opportunity to play more from the start? It's a question that only the player and his parents can answer and there's no right answer for everyone.

For those parents that find their son is not starting or playing enough go support the team and enjoy the ride. Most likely with enough hard work and skill your son will start.

Slultan- this post isn't meant in any way to be negative about your situation. You bring up great points that many parents have probably faced. Obviously his coaches really think he can be an effective pitcher so just hang in there and try to enjoy it. Good luck to your son.


Also many freshman that may not get a lot of playing time have very fresh arms for summer ball. It's too early to stress about his velocity this season. 'm sure if he keeps working hard he'll come back up.

Just finished reading JH's thoughts about playing college baseball in the General Items forum. If you haven't read this yet you may really enjoy it. Very informative about college baseball from a players perspective.
infielddadinfielddad10,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by Eric G:
I know playing time isnt guaranteed but is it safe to say that if your son is getting athletic money he will see time on the field and maybe more time depending on the amount of scholly money he is getting?


Nope, not safe to say at all. Certainly this will vary to some extent with coaches and how the player is competing and performing.
For the most part, coaches and coaching staffs at the college level are focused on players who work very, very hard, get the job done, produce, and win.
This is especially true with scholarships being one year.
Players who under-perform their ability, or perceived ability will get plenty of information on how they are under-performing and why and how to change.
Bottom line: it would be a huge error, in my view, to think scholarship money buys any security in college baseball. If anything, money creates higher and greater expectations, and more money increases each of those.
Coach_MayCoach_May10,000+ posts
It might just buy you more opportunities to prove the coach right. But in the end if you do not produce you will run out of chances. Someone is going to get a shot and if they produce no matter how much money they are getting or not getting they will get your opportunities. Some players will get the opportunity to prove they can't play before others will get the opportunity to prove they can. But in the end the ones that play will be those that produce when given those opportunities.
J HJ H5,000+ posts
slultan- I'd encourage you to discuss this situation with your son. You expressed a lot of concern about the occurences you've detailed, but from what I gather from your explanation, your son isn't worried about it- or he is happy despite the apparent lack of playing time.

Your sentiments are appreciated and I can tell that you genuinely care and love your son and want the best for him, so I don't want you to take this the wrong way. But before jumping to conclusions on a public forum such as this, talk with him about how he feels and then go from there.
Rob KremerRob Kremer1,000+ posts
I don't know about the drop in velocity - I will leave that to the pitchers and pitcher parents here. But freshman year adjustment struggles are not at all uncommon.

I think it is the rare freshman who immediately adjusts and becomes an impact player in college, especially at the most competitive level and leagues. Not that it doesn't happen - it does. But it is rare.

Far more common is a period of the player figuring out what it takes to compete - and making the necessary changes in his lifestyle to do it (or not.)

It is an opportunity for incredible growth and accomplishment. In my view, a kid who shows up at a high level college baseball program and immediately succeeds is in some ways cheated out of what baseball can offer. Baseball is about adjustments, mental toughness, overcoming adversity and beating the odds.

Look at the freshman year as the year your son is challenged to grow in a way he has never had to grow, and the opportunity to meet the challenge, and then carry forward with the confidence he will have earned by overcoming all the obstacles necessary to compete at that level.

It can be a very tough year - in some ways worse for the parent than for the player. But what can emerge on the other end is a person - a man - who has been tempered by one of the hottest fires an 18 year old can put himself in. (I'd put military service in a category above this - perhaps the hottest fire of all.)
CADadCADad5,000+ posts
It sounds like the velocity drop is simply because the pitching coach is emphasizing something else so I wouldn't get too excited about it.

If at some point it looks like it isn't going to come back then I'd recommend seeing a doctor. My guess is that it is just due to focusing on other things though.

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