High School Question

Some thoughts that come to mind...

-One of the most important things about being a good team sport athlete is to do whatever the team needs you to do to help the team succeed.

-The coach obviously sees something in your son that makes him believe he can be a good catcher.

-There is something to be said for learning to sieze an opportunity.

-There is something to be said for learning glass is half full vs. glass is half empty.

-Your son is in 8th grade. If his "regular" positions are 1B,3B and P, I would hardly call that move a "tremendous transition". Keep in mind that most players who make the jump from youth ball to HS and/or from HS to college have to make a position change. He already plays positions that require a strong arm, willingness to stay in front and knock the ball down and the ability to pick. He is obviously a good young player. Over a year to learn catching skills isn't all that big a deal if he is willing to put the work in.

The only concern I would have is if your son shows the most promise as a P. Trying to do both P and C in HS is a tough task. That said, there is still plenty of time to sort that all out.

Best wishes.

quote:

2017 is considering it. Moving at this point would be a tremendous transition. He'll have to be ready for varsity, as a catcher, next spring. There is a lot of work that needs to be done.

I have my opinion on what 2017 should do. I have not voiced it to him yet as I'm letting him work it out first.

But what do you folks think?

I think the coach has given your son a heads up on what his needs are next year. Clearly, if he has those catching skills he will have the opportunity to win the Varsity catching position. It remains to be seen if he will have the same Varsity opportunity as a 3B/1B/P. If your son wants to play Varsity, then you may need to work with him or find resources that can help him re-learn the position for the varsity level (quickly).

quote:

They believe he'll be able to adjust as a hitter.

This is the statement that concerns me a little. What is plan B if he does struggle with the bat, becasue he probably will. In our district there is a vast difference between varsity and JV pitchers. I would want to know what the coaches plans are if he struggles with the bat or if they plan to DH for him.

Good luck.

Our son's stories seem similar...

My 2017 got invited to work with the JV/Varsity players at a camp by the varsity HC. He didn't play for the coach previously, but took lessons at his facility, and played 13U and 14U for another HS coach that he is friends with.

My son has been working on his catching skills for the past few months in anticipation of making a move back to that position after primarily being a pitcher for the past year.

As luck would have it, after seeing him pitch in a scrimmage against the varsity players - the HC made it pretty clear that his future was as a pitcher - not a catcher.

So, at least for the time being we are going to lay off the catching to focus on his pitching.

My son still thinks he is a better catcher than pitcher - but when the coach makes the choice obvious (like your situation), it's kind of hard to go against his wishes.

On the plus side, even though there is a lot of work to be done, there is a tremendous upside. It gets your son on the field faster, and shows he is willing to work hard for the team.

As a side note on the school choice - don't let baseball be the decision maker. Given the realities of how few players actually go on to play past high school - it's better to make sure that your son has the strongest academics possible.

My son has had the opportunity to enroll in some local private schools that are known as athletic "powerhouses", but are a little weak on the academic front. However, aside from baseball, my son is an extremely good student, and is far more likely to receive a scholarship for academics than athletics. With that in mind, it makes more sense to seek out the best academic situation, and let whatever happens baseball-wise, happen.

Have your son learn as many positions as possible. The more versatile he is the more valuable he is. My son is a freshman in HS this year. Always played SS caught and pitched some in TB. He is currently playing on the varsity team and has pitched, caught and played Center field. He is currently playing 3rd base which is a new position for him. The key here is that he can play multiple positions if the need arises giving the coaching staff flexibility.

Thanks guys. Some very interesting thoughts. Many have crossed my mind, some haven't.

He did get accepted into the private school. This is more of a factor for him then it is for me. I am far more concerned about the academics. Being a 13 year old boy he's far more concerned about the baseball. I get that. It's my job to make sure he sees both sides. My wife thinks I'm wrong, but he wanted to apply and see if he got accepted. I did not want to deny him that opportunity. To say that he coulda, woulda, shoulda but we didn't let him. Now he has to decide, with some parental guidance, on which is the best choice. And yes, I have made it painfully clear that academics are what you'll need for your entire life, not just the next couple of years.

The question on what will happen if he struggles at the plate is a great one (not to say the others weren't). That's something that I need to get a better understanding of, especially from my son's perspective. It could take some time.

When my son and I were at your stage we had very similar concerns. In our case, we were sure we wanted to have him go to one of the private schools as they were better for both academics and for athletics. As we came to decide on a particular school my son and I had a couple of meetings with the HC and discusses the options. The coach felt he could make Varsity Team but was not sure how much he would be able to play. Though there was a Freshman team, the coach felt my son good enough to be a regular/starter player on the J.V. team. So, our dilemma was whether to take a chance and be on the Varsity Team where my son may not get a lot of playing time or play on the J.V. team and be sure of playing a lot as a Freshman.

My son loves to take on challenges and I've always tried to have him raise the bar in an effort to get better. In talking to the coach we decided to go for the Varsity Team and give it a try if it didn't work out before league play, he would be allowed to go down to J.V. where he could get the playing time to develop his skills. Since the HC was good with that option, my son decided to go for the Varsity.

While my son had always been a SS/P, the coach started him in LF for the first few non-league games. Eventually, the SS who was a Senior, wasn't working out too well and Coach put him in there to see how it might turn out. Well, he did great defensively and the coach liked his strong arm and his bat was doing well too. It turned out that he became the starter at SS and had a great season on Varsity as a Freshman. The choice was the right one for my son. . . and I must add, he did work very hard at it. So it wasn't something that came easy.

So NYdad, if your son is willing to make a change to be on the Varsity Team, I feel he should try his best. And if the coach is willing and it doesn't work out as hoped for, see if he can move down to J.V. and play there at that point. But I would think the key is whether or not your son gets a lot of playing time. Your son probably wouldn't want to switch to being a catcher only to warm up guys in the bullpen.

quote:

Originally posted by standballdad:
Have your son learn as many positions as possible. The more versatile he is the more valuable he is. My son is a freshman in HS this year. Always played SS caught and pitched some in TB. He is currently playing on the varsity team and has pitched, caught and played Center field. He is currently playing 3rd base which is a new position for him. The key here is that he can play multiple positions if the need arises giving the coaching staff flexibility.

I have to agree. My son (now at a DII JUCO) played several positions during JV and varsity. In JV he played 3B/1B. His sophomore year he beat out the a senior for catcher - made Honorable Mention for District. Junior year coach moved him to 3B - made 1st Team All District. Senior year yet another move to 1B - made 1st Team All District, 1st Team All Region, 1st Team All Area (media selection) and Honorable Mention State.

The more valuable he is the more apt the coach is to want him. To paraphrase JFK, it's not what your team can do for you, but what you can do for your team.

FWIW - my son was the primary catcher for his travel team prior to JV/varsity. After he became the catcher at HS his sophomore year, we thought he'd be the catcher for the rest of his HS career. Little did we know coach had other plans. At first we were dismayed he was moved to 3B, but in the end it's what my son wanted to do. From that point on he was a team player and was one of the team leaders on their run to state his senior year.

quote:

Varsity coach claims they will have a spot on varsity for 2017 as a freshman as they need a catcher.

Do not misinterpret this statement. There's an opportunity for your son if he catches. Nothing is guaranteed.

In 8th grade the high school coach told my son his best chance to make varsity as a freshman was to return to catching. Over the winter the coach worked diligently with a starting infielder to move him to catcher. A junior replaced the converted infielder at his position.

My son stayed at short on JV as a freshman and started at short on varsity as a soph the following year. In 8th grade the high school coach invited him to a varsity practice to scare the cr@p out of the junior shortstop and get him looking over his shoulder.

My son admitted to me he would rather play a year of JV ball at short as a freshman than start varsity at catcher and get pidgeon holed into being a catcher. The varsity also stunk his freshman year with a lot of cancers on the roster and in the stands. It was mostly gone by his soph year on varsity. When he got called up end of frosh year he wasn't hazed. He was abused.

Thanks again for the replies.

I agree RJM, it would only be an opportunity.

After some soul-searching on my son's part, he has decided that it is best for the team, and him, to remain in his current position(s). He'll talk to the coach tomorrow and try to express how and why he feels the way that he does. Truth is they have a current sophomore that could grow into a serviceable catcher if he decided to work a little harder.

Ultimately it's their call, and my son will do what is asked.

I have a freshman son that odds are will be hitting 90 before summer ball is over or sooner.My problem is keeping his arm healthy.during travel ball its never been a problem.Its school ball.He has already played for the HS coach for 3 years(JR.High/Fall ball) Now its time for the real thing and after some short discussions with H.s. coach I just get the feeling that I will be having the same set of problems that has classified me in school ball as a trouble maker over my pitcher (son) being over used.A couple of years ago against what I told him face to face he did the oppisite which led to my son having to see a doctor and lose being able to pitch for close to a month.I have never said anything to the coach about nothing exept for this one subject.Now with warmups and tryouts starting and just from some sort talk I can already see that from my end is going to be a long,long.long four years any help...........

proudhemine,

I think we are straying from the OPS original post. If you are seeking advice, I think you should start your own thread in the General section(copy word for word) or give us more details. In addition, you can search on this topic and go tot he pitching and throwing section of the message board.

My two cents.....I have 3 boys and all them pitch. There isn't anything I wouldn't do to protect their arms. You and your son need to come with a strategy (together) that protects him. Good luck.

If your son has been told that there's an opportunity for him to be a 4-year starter on Varsity... DO IT!!!

 

My 2016 freshman made Varsity at our 8A school... He'll be starting in LF (Even though he's never played OF in his life before the last 5-games of the Fall season - Coach told him that would be playing OF, and not INF for the freshman season - unless an upperclassman got hurt, so he played him in LF the last 5 games in Fall)... He's only the 2nd Freshman starter since 2000 -  so it's quite an honor! Coach has put him in the lead-off or 2-hole... Hope he stays there!! LOL!

 

We had an intersquad game last Satuday and he got to face a former SEC and MLB'ers son... Senior, 6'3" - BEAST... Throws: 90++ (HARD)...

 

Full Speed:

http://youtu.be/afyfwVJng8E

 

Frame-by-frame:

http://youtu.be/9mwWPD-jsx8

Thought I'd follow this up with an interesting tidbit.  2017 was at a local (adjoining state) college showcase this morning.  At the end he has a brief conversation with one of the coaches, thanking him, etc.  He asked 2017 where he will be going to high school and 2017 said he has a choice between the local and the private.  2017 told coach the name of the local and the coach proceeded to complement the academics at that school.  I think this settles the issue for my son.  I know it did for 2017 Mom