Freshmen Texas parent question

How big a Texas HS? It’s hard to play basketball and baseball in a 5A or 6A baseball program and expect much playing time. The other players are typically in the baseball program all school year and it takes a lot for a multi-sport athlete to take a starting spot. 20 is not a huge freshman squad in a large program.

My son’s freshman year (5A program) he was in the baseball class and the basketball coach convinced him to play basketball (told him he could reenter the baseball class after the season). Basketball season ended, he tried to go back to the baseball class and the coach told him to go pound sand (he worked it out himself, but that's another story). He was a baseball only kid the rest of the HS.

Texas HS baseball can be extremely competitive, in my son’s HS team there were several 2-year varsity players that never touched the field during a game.

Texas 6A here. Each team has 25 kids. It’s competitive but if you have talent you stand out. Playing 14u majors is/was way more competition. Multi sports athletes are loved here but it’s tough with basketball overlap baseball!
Playtime is given to the best players! (Minus politics, favoritism and big money donations)

Lots of kids play 4 years and never get play time. The kid that get the playtime produce hits!

As far as high school roster sizes go, like some have said, it depends on what class you are and your coach's philosophy on cutting players. My son's school is a large 6A school. There are 19 players on the sophomore team, 31 kids on the JV team, and 30 on Varsity. There is a kid or two on the varsity team that have been in the program for all four years and have never played an inning.

@CluelessNewMom posted:

So glad I have this site to ask!  We are 5A moving to 6A next year.  They profess they promote multisport participation but I get the feeling they really only want them to choose one sport….unless the second sport is football of course.

My kid hits well so eventually he will work his way out of boredom on the bench.  He also pitches and plays OF but the coach would not know…he never asked.  And since he has a “dont ask me a single question about playing time or you wont play at all” rule my kid keeps his mouth shut and does what he is told.  

Hopefully next year we will have better coaching.  Seems freshmen gets the “leftover junior football coaches” who have nothing to do after November - for both basketball and baseball.  When they had the head coach steering the ship before football ended basketball games were WAY better with regard to running an offense and player rotation.

Here is a different question…how common it is to have players play in your districts when they dont actually LIVE in the district (not employee kids either).  I can name 3 (and I dont even know that many people)...one who doctors the dates on the rental paperwork even though property records clearly show they moved into their new house zoned for the adjacent district several months ago, one who was allowed to attend our school district even though their parents’ house is under construction (which our very popular district clearly says shall not be allowed…must show closing papers to register), and another who uses an address of a “family friend” but really lives in another town…all “star” players taking spots of kids who live here and whose parents pay isd property taxes here.  Is that a COMMON occurrence…like the money/favoritism/nepotism thing?  I wouldve thought UIL rules were actually a real boundary line districts dont look the other way on…but I am naive/clueless about this stuff so who knows.

Multi-Sport participation all depends on how good of a multi-sport athlete you are. Certain programs overlap - That is what it is. If you choose to play basketball, then want to make the baseball team, well you better be more naturally gifted in baseball then the vast majority of your competition.   

In very large and competitive programs, the varsity baseball coach is going to be mainly concerned with winning varsity baseball games. This isn't just a Texas thing. At the end of the day, he is not going to lose any sleep over playing time on a freshman team. I know that sounds blunt, but it is the truth. He will keep his eye out for a couple kids that in a couple years might help him win in the seasons to come. But, honestly those kids usually show themselves on the practice fields well before any playing time is earned.

Also, after reading your last paragraph, I get the vibe you are not quite as clueless as you are leading on..... jm2c   

We’re in Florida but the competition is similar.  What you are going though is what most freshmen parents go through.  This is the first time that you have exactly zero say in where or how much your son will play.  

You likely will find politics or favoritism that work against you.  Speaking up will likely only hurt your son and cause added frustration.  It may not seem fair or nice, but it is what it is.  My suggestion, have your son work his butt off in practice and on his own. His goal should be make it impossible for his coach to sit him.  When he is finally given the chance, he better be ready.  Hit or sit is the easiest way to put it.  

My son is a sophomore at a 5A school.  We have a roster of 25 and another 13 “swing” players from JV.  So 38 players dress and attend every home and away game.  The same 12-15 kids are on the field every game leaving the others to sit patiently and wait for their opportunity.  Have him play travel ball in the summer for game action until he breaks into the lineup.  

Best of luck to you and your son.  

My sons sophomore year, there were 12 seniors on varsity, 8 of them probably got less than 4-5 innings/appearances all year. Every single one was committed to play in college.  Extremely competitive.  

We have never had any say in the past where or how much our kid played (cuz his dad never coached or assisted LoL).  But that is VERY good advice…we have told him to treat practice like a tryout and go out there 105% every day.  If the freshmen coach doesnt pay attention, well, hopefully the jv coaches do.  

@CluelessNewMom posted:

Cuz basketball was 8-10 players (depending on who was playing up in JV) and everyone got a decent amount of time…even the kids who were in football when it was off season and crossed over to bball in the winter.  

In basketball they need subs because the players get tired.  In baseball the same players can play all game, except pitchers.  But, they need to carry extra players in case of injury, illness, slump, etc.  It's just how it is, look at any baseball roster at any level, you'll have a full set of backups who may rarely play.  Your son needs to work hard in practice just in order to be the first backup called.

If it remains frustrating but he still wants to continue, make sure to tell him to have a post-season interview with the coach, asking how he needs to improve.  Many kids are hesitant to do this, but it's important, and that way he's not asking about playing time, he's specifically asking about improvement.

Will he play summer baseball?

@CluelessNewMom, I have been around baseball in Texas for a long time and I have rarely (if ever) seen a sub varsity HS program that wasn’t a complete waste of time. They typically include incompetent coaches (usually football), frustration from better players (and their parents) and expectations of equal playing time from the lesser players (and their parents). Not to mention the politics. Not sure where you are located but if you care to share details in a PM I will respond with my opinions.

@adbono posted:

@CluelessNewMom, I have been around baseball in Texas for a long time and I have rarely (if ever) seen a sub varsity HS program that wasn’t a complete waste of time. They typically include incompetent coaches (usually football), frustration from better players (and their parents) and expectations of equal playing time from the lesser players (and their parents). Not to mention the politics. Not sure where you are located but if you care to share details in a PM I will respond with my opinions.

This is golden and 💯 truth.

Dear Clueless New Mom,

we are in a 5A school (in Texas). There are approx 16-18 kids on our Freshman/JV-B team, and approx 18 on the JV-A team and same on Varsity(give or take a little). Some sophmores that float up and down, but usually get little play time anywhere.  My son is also on the swim team that won district and went to Regionals, causing my son to miss a couple of the first practices. Luckily, he had been in the baseball P.E. the entire year, so the coaches knew him. Could that be why he was not moved up to JV or Varsity in the beginning? Hard to know. Anyway, he's getting alot of play time with his team and really loves his coach , so it hasn't been a bad thing. I'm not sure I have any real good advice to give, as I'm still trying to figure it all out myself. I would definitely message adbono, he's proven to know alot and have sound advice.