High School tryouts

We went through it w/ 2018 back in early November. Two day tryout, open to all w/ the condition you had to attend the high school summer camp back in June. Kids were timed in the 60, went to OF and had three ground balls (throw to 3rd), three fly balls (throw home). Then 6-8 ground balls at SS w/ throw to first. Did some other running drills - home to first, first to third, etc. Then 10 cuts off live pitching both days. Pitchers threw bullpens. We had almost 50 freshmen trying out for the team, they kept 19 of them. No surprises w/ who got cut, a few surprises w/ who made it - probably 3-4 kids made it that really aren't playing at the same level.

 

8 of the stronger kids were taken into the program prior to tryouts and played JV through Xmas (my 2018 included), then they moved all freshmen back down to the frosh team after Xmas break. We have played 1-2 scrimmages a week the past five weeks. They have two more scrimmages, then season opener on 2/28. The three week summer camp back in June definitely gave the coaches an idea of the core 15 kids, with room for a few add ons come the actual tryout. Hope this helps! 

Im in IL. Here is what we have.  At least as far as my kid described it to me.

 

 For the frosh team there is usually about 100 kids trying out for 28 - 30 spots.  Two Teams (A&B).  There is an optional summer camp prior to the students frosh year, so the coaches know how a lot of the kids play prior to the tryouts.  Tryouts start first Monday of March.  The first day is your typical pro-type tryout.  Timed 60, 5 to 6 grounders, 5 to 6 pop ups, 10 swings in the cage, a few pitches, etc.  From their they will weed out a few kids.  The next day they spend a lot of time in the cages and throwing bullpens (for the pitchers).  Weed more kids out.

 

By the third day the kids are moved into groups.  Unknown to them, they are grouped according to the coaches perception at this point.  I think they figure this out really quickly.  The kids who already have made the team are in one group, the kids on the bubble the next group, and the kids who will be cut unless they produce something spectacular the last day in the last group.  Everyone participates in the same drills, again typical pro-type stuff with additional hitting and bullpens.  Each group is in the field-house separately.  A(shoe-in) kids go first.  They are moved through pretty quickly.  C group next, again they move through pretty quickly, but not as fast as the A group.  The last group to go are the bubble kids.  They tend to spend more time going through the drills with this group.  

 

The kids are then split into 3 rooms by their groups.  A kids in one, B in another and C in the third.  The A kids are told they made the team as a group.  B and C kids are called into the coaches offices one by one and given their statuses.  They either leave the building after the meeting (cut) or are moved into the A room (made it).  For the most part kids do not see each other after being called into the coaches office.   The last group to be dismissed from the school is the kids in the A room.  They are not allowed to discuss their status with anyone until they leave the building.  They are also cautioned not to be too excited (if they made the team) while they are leaving school grounds.  

 

In addition they sometimes carry and additional kid or two for a few days.  These kids are told up front that the odds of them making the team are long but they did show enough that the coaches want to see what they can do in a more "normal" setting.

 

 

California.  Small/Medium school (750-800 total for 9-12).  Lots of multi-sport kids, depending on the year.  Ours is ongoing.  Shortly after season ends in May, we have a short summer program where returners and some incoming freshmen are invited.  We play about 15-20 games and get a good look there.  Those freshmen who are not invited are encouraged to play club and/or second-season Babe Ruth.  Some older established returners play club instead and that's OK - more opportunity to look at the youngsters.  Then, we have sign-ups at school in November and start conditioning in December for non-fall and winter sports kids.  In addition to traditional conditioning, this includes throwing and touching lightly on ground ball reps and occasional cage cuts.  On-field practice starts beginning of January. Our games start end of February.  Both V and JV are together for conditioning and on-field up until about now when we split off.  Cuts, when necessary, are ongoing from the beginning of on-field practices.  The early cuts are usually quite obvious where it is borderline dangerous for those kids to be out there taking reps with the V kids.  The tough part is waiting for the winter sports kids to return and leaving the proper number of openings (this year, about 12).  We usually know what we have returning from that group.  But the incoming winter sports freshman who didn't play in the summer with us get a very short look by default.  If they made soccer or basketball playoffs, we have already begun playing games by the time they are able to join us.  This is part of the pros and cons they have to weigh when deciding to play back-to-back HS sports.  That said, we will usually at least give them time with JV to prove themselves.  I think only one of the kids cut so far this year was surprised but he missed multiple practice dates and was not a winter sports participant. 

Big school in MI (about 2000)

Here was our indoor tryout if the snow prevents you from outside work.

About 65 kids at freshman tryouts last year in our gym (very bad place to hold tryouts, countless bleachers have been broken.

Warm/stretch around the gym, then throwing. (since it was so small in there you had basically a foot between you and the guy next to you.) 

Then agility stations, running around and through cones which were timed, since there was no where to run the 60. 

Pitchers went onto upstairs track and threw 10 pitches, 3 FB, 3 BB, 4 whatever else.

Hitters rotated through on the cages with live BP and tees.

Infield work was the coach rolling you a soft grounder on the gym floor and throwing it across to cut off man.

Since the process was so slow going, most of it was standing around. We then ran an infield at the end of the night, with each player picking individual positions.

After 2 days, the coaches met up with players at the center of the gym and called out a list of names (kids who made it) and were sent into a meeting room. The ones who were cut remained in the gym while the coaches talked to them.

 

Son graduated a few years back, but tryouts didn't start until Mid-February or so.  Usually about 50-60 trying for JV and Varsity (no freshmen team).  Usually keep 13-14 for varsity and maybe 15-16 for JV.  Tryouts usually started on a Monday.  By Wednesday, the first cut is made (don't have the skills).  Depending on how many are on the bubble, there may be more cuts on Thursday with the final cut on Friday.  Practice begins in earnest the following week.  Freshmen are not considered for Varsity - at least not when my son was there - only Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors.  And if a sophomore was cut, he didn't automatically make JV - still had to tryout in front of the JV coaches.  Juniors were out of luck if they didn't make V  - weren't allowed to go to JV.

 

If weather permits the tryouts are conducted on the fields.  However, due to weather the evaluations have been done in the gym or in the parking lot.  One year the gym was already occupied and there was no other choice but to use the parking lot as the field had 5-8" of snow on it.

 

Parents were not allowed to attend tryouts (or practices if your son made the team) so I don't have first hand information on what transpired but I'm sure it was the usual skill evaluation.

 

JV usually had a few more on the roster in case a few were called up to Varsity (rare, but it did happen now and then).

 

In Virginia. Smallish school in NoVA with a track record in mediocre baseball. Part of which is the size of the school (only 400-450 per class) and our local LL (which was second in the LLWS in 1994) and Pioneer baseball program are tiny. Within 5 miles of school are a few powerhouse HS teams with strong LL programs (there IS a strong correlation).

 

Anyhow, because the school is small we maybe get 50-60 kids total trying out for V and JV. They usually take about 20 kids for each but only the top 12 or so get meaningful playing time.The rumor is that the rosters will be smaller this year, like 16-17 per team. Coaches have plenty of "green day" activities in fall and an active winter training program so they pretty much know all the kids at tryouts, some more than others. They also know which kids play travel ball and where (maybe 10 total).

 

Tryouts start when allowed by Fairfax County and last two days. Some live pitch hitting, fielding in the outfield, and infield. They might have the kids run the 60. Honestly, the coaches know probably 13-14 of the 16-18 kids they will take. The tryouts are for the bench players, at least initially, and largely run like an early practice to get reps in.   

Mid Atlantic school here in the midst of typical Maryland February which means too snowy / wet / cold to get access to an outdoor field. School size is ~ 270 per class for a total of 1080 or so.  Typically 100 plus sign up and about 60 (almost all freshmen and sophomores) attend the captains throwing sessions held in Jan / Feb since Coaches are not allowed to organize any type of activity.  Tryouts begin on March 1st, the first day allowed by Maryland public school regulations and by that time the number has dropped (Usually as players begin to get an idea of competition) is more typically 60 split into groups Fresh/ Soph 1.5 hours (about 40) and Junior / Senior 1.5 hours (about 20) with the returning starters for Varsity helping the JV coach organize stations for the Fresh / Soph group.  Typically set up as stations in both the main and aux gymnasium.  One station fielding ground balls using Incrediballs looking for basics of footwork and glove handling. glove transfer and arm accuracy at 120 feet.  Another station is tee's and soft toss to loosen up for the cage.  The third is the cage itself where the coach starts off with a jugs machine.  I honestly don't think he looks for anything more that swing form for the first two days at the JV level. After the first two days he throws live BP himself of has the varsity coach throw and he looks for contact, exit velocity, ability to drive balls etc. Then there are pitcher / catcher sessions with 20 throws for velocity / accuracy and 5 change-ups, curveballs are not allowed.  This goes for 2 days and then first cuts (honestly pretty easy to get 40 to 25) Then another 3 days with the smaller group and the 25 becomes 18.  Then the Varsity coach selects the top 2 or 3 to work out with the Varsity squad, now cut down to 15.  Based on position needs the Varsity coach will determine final Varsity team making final cuts and set his roster between 14 and 16. Any Fresh / Soph not selected for Varsity will return to J.V. which will carry usually a 16 to 18 man roster.  Toward the end of the season a few JV players move to varsity for playoffs.

I know that tryouts are starting at the end of February for the local Northern VA teams.  I'd like to keep this thread alive to learn more about what takes place at the bigger schools such as Lake Braddock, Robinson, South County, Woodson and others. My son is one year away from the gauntlet and I  know he want to be at the top of his game. 

Thanks for the discussion so far.  I have enjoyed reading everyone's contributions.

This is my shameless attempt to keep this post alive.  I know that many schools in NOVA have tryouts coming up and I am interested in how those tryouts  are conducted, what  is expected of the boys  and your assessment of the selection process.

 

Thanks,

From a NOVA perspective...

• Many if not all of the schools take advantage of the Green Days: 12 permitted practices for all interested students conducted by the coaching staff. During the fall and the winter, it gives the coaches the opportunity to review everyone while providing the students the opportunity to compare themselves to peers. Be fully prepared for the Green Days.
• Weightlifting and Conditioning: many teams conduct these sessions 2-3x per week at the school under the coaching staff's supervision. If your son is not a PO and does not have weightlifting experience, now's the time to get him into a program with a personal trainer.
• ASSUMING THE FIELDS ARE NOT FROZEN SOLID, tryouts will take place starting on a date specified by the VHSL. Tryouts will last anywhere from 2-5 days. It's your typical practice environment where everyone is run through drills. More often than not, freshman and new sophs practice will practice separately at the start. After the first day, JV candidates are separated from V candidates, but that doesn't mean a player cannot be switched from one group to the other during the tryout period.
• During the tryout period, every player is given every opportunity, but there will be cases where a player just doesn't have a chance to make the JV roster. Many coaches will let that player know that his tryout is over, while providing guidance as to what the player needs to do to improve.

• After tryouts take place, decisions are made. The number of players on a roster is up to the individual team: some coaches carry a large roster, some limited. Depends

Below is the Tryout Schedule for my son's school.

 

Tryouts:  Schedule

Monday, February 23^rd

All Freshmen and Sophomores (unless told otherwise):  2:30-4:30

All Juniors and Seniors:  4:30-6:30

All players will be tested on the following:

30 yd, 60 yd, 5-10-5 shuttle, attitude, character, ability to follow directions.

Pitchers will be put through non-bullpen, max output testing.

Players will be designated a time and group # for day 2.

Tuesday, February 24^th

Group 1:  2:30-4:30

Group 2:  4:30-6:30

All players will be tested on the following:

Hitting:  Bat speed, hand speed, ball exit speed.  Video, radar, and 3D imaging will be used in this assessment.

Infield:  Speed of play, positional knowledge through situational tests, arm strength output testing, and Posture/Process.

Outfield:  Speed of play, read, 4 direction testing with ball in the air and at the feet.

Pitchers:  Additional output testing and arm-care work.  Bullpens possible (weather dependent).

All players will continue to be tested on attitude, character, and ability to be coached.

Wednesday, February 25^th

Group 1:  2:30-4:30

Group 2:  4:30-6:30

Testing will continue on the following:

Hitting:  Live Mix BP and target hit with scores.  Pitch recognition.

Infield:  POP times (catchers), Receiving, broken play, block and recover.

Outfield:  Live fungo and machine work.  Gap to Gap work.

Pitchers:  Bullpen—variety of tests including fastball command and secondary pitches.

Baserunning:  speed and spacing testing.

Thursday, February 26^th

Group 1:  2:30-4:30

Group 2:  3:45-6:00

If all testing is concluded to the satisfaction of coaching staff, cuts will be made on this day.  If weather or logistics have slowed the testing process, testing will continue.

This will either be the final day of tryouts or the first day of practice.  The time of tryouts/ practice will be maintained in either event.

Friday, February 27^th

JV Practice:  2:45-5:00

Varsity Practice:  2:45-6:00

too tall, Im not in VA, but from spending time on this board, and through my sons experience,  I can give you an idea of what is most likely to happen.  Things vary from school to school but in general I would expect this going into tryouts.

 

-If there is a summer camp prior to your sons Frosh year, make sure he attends.  In our area its common for the school district or the park district to run a summer camp for each HS.  Its run by the coaches and while its not a formal tryout the coaches are already starting to formulate an opinion on the kids.

 

-Make sure you attend any "optional" off season meetings, sessions and student run "open gyms".  In our area the coaches are not allowed to run anything until 3/1.  To get around this most schools have an open gym run by some of the Sr's.  Normally they spend some time conditioning and then throwing/long toss.  If your son is playing a winter sport, he should check on the schools policy for attending the open gyms.  Our school specifically prohibits in-season athletes from attending open gyms.

 

-Make sure your prepared for the official tryouts.  Don't lay off baseball all off season and expect that you can get prepared the weekend before tryouts.  I can guarantee you that all of the starters on our team have been at a local training facility since at least December. We see most of them there whenever we are there.   My son has been working with his hitting coach since late November and his pitching coach since 1/1. In addition he heads to the cages on Wednesdays and has about 5 hours of practice with his travel team on Sundays.  This is on top of playing basketball, lifting for basketball, lifting in the basement and taking swings in the garage (when its 2 degrees out).

 

-Before tryouts have your son review the information here:  http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/making_the_team.htm

 

-I would expect tryouts to last from 2 to 5 days.  As I mentioned how they are structured will change from school to school and coach to coach.  

 

-I would expect at least the first day (or two) to be a pro style workout. http://recruitingcycle.com/the...at-coaches-evaluate/

 

-If your son is a catcher or pitcher then I would expect that on day two or three they will have them throw (or catch) a light bullpen.  

 

-I would expect cuts to start after the 2nd day.  Some coaches will let the kids know why they were cut, others will just post a list somewhere.  If your son is cut resist the temptation to contact the coach and find out why.  Let your son handle that.  It will go a long way towards helping him make the team in the future if that is a possibility.

 

-If there are still kids left to cut after the pro-style workout and bullpens, I would expect the coaches to put the kids in the cages and have the pitchers throw more.  If you can get outside then I would expect them to put them in game type situations on the field.

 

-Best advice I can give you is to relax and let your son go through this.  Do not put any unneeded added pressure on him.  Its ok to ask how things went after a practice but don't dwell on how he actually performed in each drill.  Its hard to do but its something your son needs to go through and he will eventually let you know how things went.

 

 

 

does anyone really believe that "tryouts" are run as if there is a blank slate of 50 or 70 kids competeing for 30 or 35 spots? I can't imagine anyone really believes that.

 

my guess would be that at least 75% or more of the team is aready predetermined based off pasts seasons, scoouting reports, summer ball, fall ball and or winter workouts.

 

my guess is that 50% of the kids trying out are cut regardless of anything that happens just because they aren't athletic enough. lets face it most coaches can watch at least 1/3 of the kids warm and know they can't play at the level needed.

 

that would leave roughly 15 to 20 kids fighting for roughly 6 to 10 spots that would be really open...some of the numbers may be off slightly but for the most part I think it is pretty close.

Our city in Hampton Roads has no middle school baseball. 8th graders can play high school JV ball in the Spring. There is a well-organized wooden bat Summer league at both the JV and Varsity levels and a Fall league also for both levels. Each of these seasons provides for approximately 20 games per team. Tryouts and player selections for the Varsity and JV in the following spring in large part reflect the success of prospective players in the program during those two off-season leagues. In my 2016's case, he played at the varsity level during the summer as a rising 8th grader and as an 8th grader in the varsity fall league. He played JV in the spring of his 8th grade and never looked back. He's been a varsity starter since his freshman year. The coaching and play of the Summer and Fall leagues is monitored by the head baseball coach and his assistants who assess the current and projected skills of players in competitive situations. Conditioning for baseball starts in earnest in December, BP, infield drills and pitchers' bullpens are run at an indoor facility through January and February. The varsity roster at his school is limited to 15-17 players, JV will carry 20 usually. Final selections are made within one week of the initial practice date as prescribed by VHSL. Those kids who did not participate in the summer and fall leagues, for whatever reason, are at a disadvantage but there has been a small number of football players, wrestlers and basketball players who have made the roster over the past two years despite their limited participation in the off-season league play. In their cases, they made enough games in the Summer and Fall to make a positive impression on the coaching staff.

I think your pretty much right on. We are in a very large school (about 900 kids per class).  My guess is that the frosh coaches go into the actual tryouts with a decent idea of who can play and who can not based on the summer program.  I would say this would account for about half to 3/4 of the kids they take.   I don't think these kids have spots yet, but someone would need to beat them out at this point.  The remaining positions are whats being fought for by the rest of the kids.  On average we have about 75 kids trying out for 25 positions 15 of them are probably penciled in before tryouts.  That means that the remaining 60 kids are fighting for the last 10 positions.  

 

After the frosh year we cut down from 2 teams to 1 larger  (about 18 kids) soph team.  If I had to guess I would say 80% of that team is set before tryouts.  The number of kids trying out drops way down.  Figure last years team plus another 10 kids or so.  So in essence you have 19 kids fighting for 3 or 4 spots. 

 

From Soph to V/JV I would say most of the team is set before tryouts even happen and the kids know this.  You usually have a handful of kids who still come out but I would be surprised if there were more then 3 or 4 kids trying to make maybe 1 open spot.

Should a returning player be evaluated solely off his performance during the tryouts?

Probably not.  Can't see how that is even possible.  But a new comer should be giving the opportunity to beat out even a returning player.  If a kid flat out out plays and out hustles a returning player,  coach needs to take notice. 

I agree that starting positions should be subject to competition but we are talking about the tryouts. Coaches are not determining their starters at the tryout.

 

 

The coach should use all the information available to him and weigh it according to his judgment. He has no obligation to forget or ignore what he observed before the tryouts. 

oh no, i agree with the process for the most part. i just had a conversation last night with the parent of a fringe kid and the parent of a no way kid. they are quite upset with process but they at least understand it. i kept my mouth shut, listened and gave that I feel your pain look...but i wouldn't change it.

I believe most any program if a kid walks in the door and can play he will be noticed...you can hear a good swing, you can watch movement and see hand / eye.

If that is the case, then why go thru the charade of a "tryout?"  Wouldn't it be better to just look at the kids who will make up the last spots on the roster.  Give them a real good look, rather than spending time on a kid who has already "made" it. 

 

In other words, just be honest.  My kid's varsity basketball coach was a least honest this year when he told kids/parents that there was no way he could properly evaluate all players during "tryouts" and therefore the summer program was really important.    

Because maybe, just maybe, someone kid shows up the coaches didn't know about previously.

 

I think about this...by circumstance, I will most likely move to a different part of town as my son is an incoming freshman.  The coaches won't know him, most likely.  How would they know to send him an invitation?

because you have to do it for the school to be "fair" and transparent...just because we are discussing the real world here doesn't mean that it would be put out for public - right or wrong whatever that is our world.

he will have to keep his ears open in the fall..how is this for an idea find the coach at the start of the fall and go see him and or send him an email. tell him you are new and wanted to make sure you were involved with any fall program and offseason workout plans. if your boy can play they will know him by the end of September and he will be one of the already in's listed above.

Three reasons...

One, it helps the players who are not "in" get a true look at what they are competing against.  Almost always, the players figure out where they stack up in an honest 2-3 day tryout and those who are not chosen usually have a pretty good idea it's coming and sort of get why.

 

Two, parents would blow a gasket that their son had to try out and Johnny didn't.  In turn, administration would blow a gasket because they are fielding the bulk of these parent calls.

 

Three, "no way to properly evaluate.. therefore summer program is really important".  Would be interpreted as "you must play summer or else" and, again, parents and administration would blow a gasket.

Couple of more points regarding FCPS ball, too.tall...

 

1) Most likely your son's prospective HS has a summer camp. Go to it.

2) As you know, in FCPS 8th graders are not permitted to participate in HS baseball. However, you probably already know that a predominant number of prospective HS players usually play in the same spring/summer 14U program or team, e.g., a few LB boys participated in the DBA Dragons program (if that still exists), a few Madison HS boys participate in the MVP Terps program, and a few Stone Bridge boys participate in the Diamond Elite program. You'll want to investigate participation in these programs or similar. Why? There will be a chance that your son will be seen by the respective HS coaches (a pretty good chance).

3) GO TO THE HS GAMES! Let your son see what's on the horizon.

4) Lobby to have his spring/summer team participate in the Cougar Clash, hosted by Oakton HS. Many prospective FCPS HS players play in this tournament. And let the HS coaches know the schedule. Better yet, ask your summer team coach to contact Coach Janis at OHS to ask him if he would invite your HS coach to the event. Quite often these coaches break bread at fine cuisine establishments like Glory Days.

 

Point: gaining pre-tryout exposure to the coaching staff opens their eyes and gives them a base upon which to use when evaluating during tryouts.

 

Point deux: I cannot overemphasize the importance of establishing a solid weight training base going into the freshman year. And a solid base takes shape in about 6 months or so. Working backwards....get moving now! Get moving with the weights under professional guidance, and start increasing protein intake.

 

I think I can properly summarize most if not all of the points in this thread with this phrase: "pre-tryout exposure."

 

And that includes the Fall weight room workouts.

Im a coach of a school outside of Richmond Va. We are a small school that use to compete at the AAA level but have been re-classed to 4A. We have won at both classifications with 300 kids/ grade level. We train almost year round and most of our kids play some level of travel or showcase. We only get about 35 players that come out for JV and Varsity combined. Our staff is familiar with 99% of the players that will be at tryouts on Monday. We also have a pretty good idea who can play and who can't. With that said...I am always looking for a new kid...transfer...anybody who may be able to throw a baseball hard. Maybe a kid that has not come out in the past. I hear people talk about coaches employing the good old boy strategy. NO WAY! Coaches like guys that will help the program. Most of the time that means they need to be able to play. If they can play the coach will see it in 5 minutes at tryouts. I had a lady at the store tell me her best friends son was a complete stud and of course on a showcase/travel team. He went out for his high school team last year and was cut. She then went on to tell me it was all politics. I bit my lip and said that's a real shame. I went home and told my wife and we both laughed. Pretty Funny.

And I wish you were still competing at the now 6A level.

Dammit! I wanted to find out if that narrative was based on Kenny Powers or Showtime's "Shameless." Either way, it had the makings of a Hunter Thompson-like script.

why was my post deleted. I told you my tryout experience

As noted here Coaches have camps and our district is one of those 8th grader tryout for JV deals.  School has won and played in another State final in the last 4 seasons and is not unusual for 60+ kids trying out for 8-10 slots.

 

Sent mine to camp summer after 7th grade and coaches had no idea who he was.  We had just been redistricted because a new school had been built.  By Thursday he was playing in the summer league with the JV.  So his tryout was sending him to get on the radar and him making such an impression that he jumped the line 6 months before it started officially.

 

For what it is worth...that was the only real tryout...once you were in you were in for all 5 years if you wanted to be.  If you didn't make it...then it was pretty much over you could try to come back as a freshmen or soph. but I never saw it happen and the guys in front of me said they had never seen or heard of it happening either.  Transfers happened but not comebacks after being cut in 8th grade.

 

Ironically there were people that I felt sorry for because their son's made the team.  They became practice fodder or BP pitchers with no real hope of getting in games.

 

There is a new show there now....perhaps it is different.  In some ways I hope so.

Three reasons:

1. Profanity.  We try to keep the language clean and civil here.

2. Implausibility. Maybe everything happened just the way you said. But it seemed odd that someone who has moved on from baseball would join this site to tell this story in this manner.

3. Inapplicability. The value of this site in general and this thread in particular is to share experiences to help others succeed in baseball. The impediments to your baseball career as described in your post are of a sort unlikely to be applicable to other ballplayers beginning their high school careers.

 

If you wish to discuss further, please do so in a private dialog.

Tryouts in Fairhax County starte Monday. With 6 inches of snow and artic temps being the norm, I expect they will be entirely indoor, which is unfortunate. But then again, the kids who have been participating all fall and winter should be pretty well known to the coaches.

I've decided to return to baseball that's why I'm on this site.

I'll provide a 5th sons perspective of the first HS tryout last year. I think the boys know long before the coaches or parents figure it out.

 

Me: "So how did the tryout go?"

 

Son: "I didn't do well but I'll make the team"

 

Me: "How can you say you didn't do well but still think you will make the team?"

 

Son: "Dad, it is not like summer ball where I am going against the best players from 10 High Schools, half the kids are coming out of recreational leagues and haven't been on a 90 foot diamond and haven't played baseball since last June. Another group are local travel kids and there are one or two that looked like athletes and pretty decent. There is one transfer from Boston who is a stud, 6'2" sophomore throwing low/mid 80's there are 4 returning starters and coach said he was keeping a roster of 15 and there is no way I can't fall into that group. We will have 7 maybe 8 good ball players on the team and hopefully they will all be nice kids."

 

Me: "So what do you mean you didn't do well?"

 

Son: When I pitched my fastball was erratic and I didn't hit the targets the way I usually do, I bounced one change-up and had trouble keeping them down in the zone.  My fielding was fine but I had trouble timing the DP turns from short when I had to stop on the bag waiting for guys to make the transfer.  I almost killed some kid going out for first base and if we weren't using Incrediballs I think he would be dead, hit him right in the forehead.  The ball tailed and his glove didn't move....he laughed it off but it scared the crap out of me. For hitting they used the Jugs machine and it took 5 or 6 to get the timing and we only got 15 so for me I stunk it up"

 

I realized that the time for me worrying about my son and his making the team or playing time was long past.  He was aware in one practice of the situation, the competition and where he fit in.  He was aware of his strengths and his weaknesses, what he did well and what he needed to be ready to do better on. This is my last of 5 boys to have moved through the baseball process from T-ball and Coach pitch through HS and hopefully another in college but it is not something I have every gotten used to...Letting go is simply not in a Baseball dad's makeup!  

 

Enjoy the HS tryouts and just know that at the end of the day having a son that can deal with both failure and success, playing their best or stinking it up, making the team and being the star or riding the pine, and still be a good human being is what it is all about.  These are times that are gone all too quickly so you should enjoy them while they last.

 

Truer words were never typed.  When you start out at 5 and if you do the travel thing there are times when you are driving down the road at 6 AM on a cold April Saturday and you wonder what you are doing.  But when that May or June day comes and it is over and you look at your young man, good, bad or indifferent then something has passed that won't come back again.

At least not until grandchildren I hope!  I keep telling my boys to keep an eye out for those Volleyball players! 

 

Smokey, I found your story disturbing. I hope it was embellished or a creative writing project. If so, I think you did quite well.  If not, I think you should consider alternatives such as emancipation or living with another family.  I would suggest finding a school official, minister, social worker, or other adult who can advise you and act as an advocate.  If you stay in your current situation, and do try to play ball, save yourself a lot of trouble and take your equipment to school in the morning.

How is my story disturbing? I'm guessing you've never experienced family problems so you can't relate to what I'm saying which is making you think I'm an oddball.