Freshmen, Sophomores

Of course Freshman and Sophomore ball isn't as good as Varsity.

I don't mind at all hearing about it. I don't know about your school, but at a lot of schools with big programs there are an awful lot of good players playing with their class. Quite often a kid playing up is the result of weakness in the program overall. There are exceptions, but most of the top programs feature Seniors and Juniors on the varsity.

Keep the news on the underclass teams coming

I agree with FastballDad. There are some coaches who do not believe in bringing up the younger players to any level.

Brandon Duplessis is a freshman at Lockport and Jordan Coffey is a freshman at Batavia and are similarly talented pitchers so why is Duplessis playing Freshman and Coffey playing Varsity. It has nothing to do with their talent and everything to do with all the other talented or less talented kids in each schools baseballs programs.

Agree, play dog.

There is a kid at Lincoln Way East playing shortstop on the freshman level that could play varsity at 95% of the big-time Chicago-area programs

Beenthere
What is the players name ?

Brandon Hohl

Duplessis is a **** good pitcher, I catch for him. We have a pretty good team here, and I agree with Playdog, because we've good solid teams at each level.

I thought that was who you were referring to , but wasnt sure . My son played with Brandon last summer so i had the chance to watch him play quite frequently and let me tell you that he has all the tools to become a stud varsity player and a D1 prospect .

I think that most quality freshmen are moved up. Not so much because of the lack of talent at soph and above, but so that the talented kids don't get ruined playing sloppy baseball. Especially the better travel players. Maybe Duplessis is an exception to the rule, but most top level freshmen are moved as soon as the coach figures out they don't belong with the rest.

quote:

most top level freshmen are moved as soon as the coach figures out they don't belong with the rest.

Believe me, I've watch amateur baseball for 45 years....

This kid (Brandon Hohl) is wasting his time playing freshman ball but there is no place to move him to...with quality players at the sophomore level; and, the school has a policy of not moving freshmen up to varsity.

Sort of like the Michael Jordan story. Everyone thinks that the coach cut Michael as a sophomore because he wasn't good enough to make the varsity. Not true. He was cut because the school board policy was that: only juniors and seniors on the varsity.

quote:

and, the school has a policy of not moving freshmen up to varsity.

That's about the dumbest policy I've seen in a long time. If the kid can play and help the varsity win some ball games, bring him up. You're only hurting both the kid and the varsity team.

My son is the only sophomore on varsity here at his school. He leads the team in wins and strikeouts at the 5A level and is at the top of the leaderboard in the Dallas area in both categories.

I'll repeat myself......That's about the dumbest policy I've seen in a long time.

3,700 students in the student body, Old.

I understand what you are saying, but I also see the other side of the coin: What is the hurry to move him up? Let him enjoy winning and succeeding.

Beenthere

What if the player isnt being challenged at the freshmen level ?

Sull...This kid isn't being challenged at this level. Very good players at his position at the higher levels, i.e., sophomore and varsity.

I'm not the coach.

I'm a fan who happens to know something about high school and college baseball.

Im not questioning your knowledge of high school and college baseball. Im just presenting you with a dilema...what to do in these situations..whats best for the program or whats best for the player ? There has to be some middle ground and some consideration for the player . On the one hand ... The philosophy ( policy ) of the coaching staff and no place for him to play at the higher level..on the other hand ...not challenging enough at the current level...what to do ?

Sull...Didn't think you're challenging it at all.

I, personally, don't have a son that should be moved up anywhere. My guy needs to put some meat on his bones and get some hips. He's like a weed...tall and thin.

On the other hand, I would suppose a coaching staff would make decisions on the head coach and his policy towards moving kids up. I would suppose that they might move the shortstop up to sophomores in May. The sophs, however, are undefeated and have a nice team, too.

Beenthere,
If you are talking about Lincoln Way East - the Sophs lost to Brother Rice according to the schools website.

quote:

I think that most quality freshmen are moved up. Not so much because of the lack of talent at soph and above, but so that the talented kids don't get ruined playing sloppy baseball. Especially the better travel players.

Dream on.

Behind the plate, am I reading your comments correctly, the talented players get ruined because some of the players on his team play sloppy baseball. So this talented player plays to the level around him? If the rest of the players on his team are not good then he is not good. I guess look at it diiferently in that I have always asked my players to pick up a player that is having a bad game or playing sloppy.

baseball2009...Sorry about that. I thought that they were undefeated, too. I saw part of that game at Rice and they were winning when I left to watch the freshman game.

Still...They have a nice team.

Beenthere

I wasnt only referring to Hohl and his particular situation , but other players who are up against the same thing as well .

Lineshot. You've never seen a talented kid play down to the level of competition he is playing with/against? Isn't that why they seek out better teams to play with during the summer?

No behind the plate, I would expect that player to help pull the lower players up to his level. There are a number of reasons why people look at different teams during the summer, for example better coaching, better competition, some for the trophies, whatever the case might be, but I never expect a player to play down to the lowest aplyer on the field. jmo

LS. You're living in a dream world. You play enough sloppy baseball, you get sloppy yourself. It's like hanging around with the wrong crowd. Good thing the kids have the summer to recover.

btp, I don't think I am living in a dream world but thanks for your opninion. Keep believing it is all someone elses fault, then you ca start living in your own little dream world.

Good players always shine . It doesnt matter what kind of talent he is surrounded by . If you are a solid fundamental player , you dont all of a sudden become " sloppy " just because some of your teamates or the competition is sloppy .

Even though you guys are arguing, I'm going to go ahead and agree with both sides.

There is always a chance, for some players, to play down to inferior competition. Sometimes when surrounded by less talented players, skilled players get sloppy and feel like the game is out of their control. Sometimes the level of play around them affects their attitude (they don't lose the skills, they lose the discipline to use the skills).

On the other hand, sometimes players truly enjoy the success that they have and it builds their confidence into something much stronger than it was before.

I don't recommend "playing down" as the best way to develop your baseball talent, but one high school season won't kill you either, and it could be a benefit in the big picture.

Last year my son played on his freshman team, which had several very good players. We played aginst some teams that were pretty bad. But we also played against teams with excellent talent on the freshman team...LT, OPRF, Hinsdale Central, Lockport, Wheaton South...good pitching and good defense in those games.

There were many freshman on those teams who would have succeeded on the sophomore level. Some could have been competitive on their respective varsities. But it really didn't hurt any of them to play freshman ball. I'll bet it may have helped some of them.

In any case, the high school season in IL is short. Summer ball, both with the high school and with travel teams, will ratchet up the level of play for the frosh who are playing freshman ball.

Behind the Plate's original question was "Freshman, Sophomores, Does anyone really care?" My answer is yes, there are many people who care. Each player has family, friends, teammates, and coaches who care.

I care about how my son and all his teammates are doing. I also care about how his friends are doing (some play freshman, some play sophomores, and some play varsity at various schools). I also care about how my friends' kids are doing (they play anywhere from tee ball to D-1 college ball). I also care about how the kids of HSBBW members are doing (mostly freshman through major leagues and everything in between).

I really like baseball and baseball players.

Sorry for rambling.

Mike F