HS Coaches Control Over Players

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Originally posted by TromblyBaseball:
The new spring club league has created quite a buzz! It has brought on many discussions, comments, suggestions, feelings, etc. My stance is that it’s beneficial for the players to have a combination of both HS baseball and club baseball. HS coaches and club coaches need to work together and do what is in the best interest of the players.

There is an underlying topic that is brought up often and I would like to get a discussion going about it. I feel it needed its own thread so here goes…….

The topic is HS Coaches Control Over Players.

The biggest problem I have with HS coaches is many think that they have 12 month control over their players.

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When should a HS coach be able to control their players?

Once the season starts officially(tryouts and scrimmages)

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When does this power start and when does it stop?

From the time the coaches are allowed to be in contact with the players according to state rules.

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If a player has a game for his HS team during the offseason and also has another baseball opportunity that conflicts, which should take precedence?

Once the high school season ends, there shouldn't be a high school team. The player should be playing in the most competitive league he can in the summer.

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If a player has a baseball opportunity during the offseason and it does not conflict with his HS team, should his HS coach be able to tell him he can’t do it? Should he be able to punish him if he does participate?

No. There shouldn't even be an official high school team after the season's over and schools out. If they happen to all play on the same team, that's fine but the school or coach shouldn't have control over that.

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What are your thoughts on the HS Coaches Control Over Players?

They should have no control over them during the off season. However, if they run optional workouts during the offseason at the school, those players should be attending those and a coach should have some say in what they expect their players should be doing in the off-season to stay in shape so they go to tryouts ready and in shape because of the heavy practice schedule. If they don't come in ready, they could get hurt.

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The biggest problem I have with HS coaches is many think that they have 12 month control over their players.

The biggest problem I have is ANY coach who thinks they have 12 month control of a player. Yes, including the travel coaches who tell their players NOT to play any other sport.

That is wrong as well. Let's get some thoughts about that one.

Steve - From all accounts, you're a good guy so I don't want to come off as insulting to you.

But so often these topics have a tone of lumping all HS coaches together. Rarely do we see a set of questions lumping travel/summer coaches together and I'm sure you know there are plenty of bad ones there too.

I'll just say that we are quite lucky on these issues with both of our sons. Older son's HS coach never interfered...but he didn't have a summer program anyways. Neither of his travel coaches interfered with HS sports either.

Now we have a sophomore at a different HS, different coach. One of the top-5 or 6 competitive programs in Northern California. He does have a summer program...but he simply says, "just communicate." In other words, if you're off to EC or JOs or whatever....just make sure he knows so he can plan accordingly. Makes sense to me. His HS football coach is the same. "Just communicate." No punishment, no retribution...actually support.

And his travel coach, who you know quite well I believe, is the same...including in Fall where football interferes with his program. "Just communicate" is pretty much the order of the day there too.

Oh, there are other travel coaches who force decisions (i.e., "You gotta choose between MY travel team and football/basketball/whatever"), but I choose to run away from those.

And of course I know of situations where players don't communicate, call in "sick" and miss their Friday night HS football game to attend a showcase or tournament out of town...or "can't pitch due to sore arm" in Section championship but then pitch 2 days later in their travel team's tournament. In other words...they lie.

Right or wrong, don't you think this contributes to coaches drawing lines in the sand?

So...what do you think of a travel coach who tells his player that he must choose baseball over everything else? How about one who tells his pitcher that his tournament 3 days after the HS season is more important that the Section/District championship game? Should a travel coach take a player out of state when he knows it interferes with his HS football team? Does a travel coach own all rights to the player during the 9 months that HS baseball is not in season?

There are questions to ask in both directions...thats my view anyways.

I just think there are bad HS coaches, bad travel coaches and bad parents who allow their kids to lie to coaches. Its almost case-by-case. I don't think anything will get resolved by pointing the finger in only one direction.

Good luck this summer. I've always had great respect for your program.

Travel coaches are complete idiots that forbid players to play other sports. Your best athletes are the ones who play more than one sport. Let them zero in one sport if they play beyond high school.

They most likely do this so they can make a ton of money off each player so they're coerced into training year round at their facilities and stuff like that.

zomby

Your post is totally insulting to travel coaches, my coaches included. There is simply one sport I don't like my players playing and that is football---first and most importantly there is the injury factor especially for pitchers who a QB's and secondly Fall is the best time to be seen by college coaches and pro scouts

You statement regarding making a "ton of money" and coercion is totally off base. Apparenmtly you know nothing about the quality of Travel Coaches you have in your state.

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and secondly Fall is the best time to be seen by college coaches and pro scouts

which is why lots of football players play football in the fall.

I do agree QB/pitchers are a surgical stay waiting to happen. Nearly every QB-pitcher I know has had arm/shoulder health issues.

Great post JBB - it's amazing how great things work out when people talk to one another.

Ken Griffey Jr. - HS baseball AND football star, offered a football scholarship with Univ. of Oklahoma.

Roger Clemens - HS baseball, basketball AND football star.

Mike Mussina - HS baseball, basketball AND football star.

CC Sabathia - HS baseball, basketball AND football star.

I don't know...these are just a few quick names I checked. Guess they couldn't have played for at least one travel coach here?

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There are questions to ask in both directions...thats my view anyways.

I just think there are bad HS coaches, bad travel coaches and bad parents who allow their kids to lie to coaches. Its almost case-by-case. I don't think anything will get resolved by pointing the finger in only one direction.

Great post justbb. Somehow I suspect these problems are magnified in California but I could be wrong about that. We never experienced much interference from the high school coach but he was known to offer his opinion on which team he might like to see his players on. He never held it against anyone who played somewhere else however.

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Originally posted by TRhit:
zomby

Your post is totally insulting to travel coaches, my coaches included. There is simply one sport I don't like my players playing and that is football---first and most importantly there is the injury factor especially for pitchers who a QB's and secondly Fall is the best time to be seen by college coaches and pro scouts

You statement regarding making a "ton of money" and coercion is totally off base. Apparenmtly you know nothing about the quality of Travel Coaches you have in your state.

Are you saying as a travel coach, you make your players give up other sports? If not, then you're doing the right thing. The question is about travel coaches dictating to players and force them to give up other sports they can play. If you force your players to give up other sports, your wrong. There's no way a travel coach can justify forcing an athlete at the high school level or below to give up other sports.

As for injuries, they can get hurt anytime, anywhere. In fact, a multisport athlete is likely in top shape and less prone to nagging injuries and repetitive/overuse injuries.

A great athlere won't be missed by a scout if he's all-state calibur at multiple sports. It'll come down to the player zeroing in on one sport if he plans to play past high school. I'm dead-on right about this.

zomby

I dont make anyone do anything

I advise them what I think is best for them

the final choice is the players not mine

Please do not try and tell me where I am wrong or right--you do not know me well enough---everything we do is not posted here thus there are a lot of thing within the team framework that is between ourseklves the players and the parents

What do you mean by "force"???


May I ask the age of your son and who he plays for in NJ during the summer and fall ?

I think a high school coach should have 100% control from baseball tryouts until the last game of the season.

Anything out of this season needs to be handled by communicating with the high school coach and the travel coach/coach of other sports.

My son's HS coach just asks for a summer calendar with the days you will miss blocked out. How easy is that? If my son is gone for a week, a JV or freshman player gets a chance to play for the varsity coach.

My son's travel coach carries many players on the roster and just asks for early communication so he can plan his lineups. So, I guess we are lucky here.

Regarding multiple sports:
Our HS coach encourages kids to play multiple sports through HS. He has seen enough of the examples of multi-sport athletes becoming some of the top baseball players. He also realizes it is good to get away from having the same coaching staff in your ear all year.

His travel coach would like him to commit full time to baseball, but won't insist on it. The point about missing showcase opportunities is right on. We experienced this first hand last fall as we had to back out of the AZ Junior Fall Classic and several other events due to conflicts with Football and just not being on top of his game enough to showcase.

We seem to be in a great situation with our coaches regarding sharing the playing time. I don't understand why it can't be this way for all coaches.

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the final choice is the players not mine

I agree. It should be the players choice.

What is meant by force is the players are pressured into giving up other sports. Perhaps 'forced' isn't the right choice of words.

From what I understand from the post, there are coaches who are making players give up other sports. If that's not the case in your situation, then it wasn't directed at you. There was nothing directed at anybody specific to start with.

As for my son, He played 4 years HS, 2 varsity, American Legion and travel for a couple of seasons. He was a 2-sport letter winner in high school.

My dad was the real athlete in the family. He was a 4-sport letter winner and first and second team all-state in all four sports he played in who set school, county and state records in his day. He was a highly recruited and sought out athlete, primarily as a football player but could've picked his sport. He's an inductee in his high school's athletic hall of fame.

zomby

The times have changed !

What do you guys think about this situation? Coach will be losing 8 senior starters from the 2009 class. After this year the team will be very young and very inexperienced. Coach told the freshmen through juniors that they will have to play with the high school summer team this coming summer so they can learn to play together and gain experience. Coach usually lets players play on more competitive teams during the summer, but not this coming summer due to losing so many starters. I agree with him in this situation.

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Originally posted by louisiana09:
What do you guys think about this situation? Coach will be losing 8 senior starters from the 2009 class. After this year the team will be very young and very inexperienced. Coach told the freshmen through juniors that they will have to play with the high school summer team this coming summer so they can learn to play together and gain experience. Coach usually lets players play on more competitive teams during the summer, but not this coming summer due to losing so many starters. I agree with him in this situation.

Well, our team lost 7 starting seniors from last year. No such demands were placed on our players. Most played with the high school summer team when it fit their schedule, but it wasn't required.

Really, the "learning to play together" factor is over-rated and gaining experince can be done with other more competitive teams. Sounds like a high school coach trying to justify controlling his players.

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Originally posted by TRhit:
zomby

The times have changed !

Yes..I'm aware of that as well as the bigger part travel plays in today's sports.

With that being said, a top flight multisport athlete can still be the best at multiple sports and don't necessarily have to train year round exclusively in one sport to be the best.

With athletes like my dad, he was an uncommon athlete who was the type that could pick up a ball for the first time and do it better than anybody who trained in their sport. While that may be a rare gift, today's top athlete's can't be much different.

There are multisport athletes in my area now that are being recruited in different sports. They are playing in the travel and showcase events for further exposure. I'm sure they have their sport picked out by this point.

I do agree that today, more than ever, travel teams and showcases are a great vehicle and probably necessary for ballplayers looking to get on the colleges radar screen.

I've seen high school coaches of all views on this.

My son's HS baseball coach does run a summer team. In Oregon there aren't many club teams around so it isn't really an issue. But my son's HS coach was always fine with him taking time away to attend showcases and camps each summer. No problem at all.

All he asked was that when the summer post season started, he would be there.

Contrast that to another local HS coach who runs a summer team: Demands that players commit to EVERY game, no leaving the team for showcases or college camps. If you miss a game for that purpose you are off the team.

Then he strongly implies that going along with his summer demands has a direct bearing on how you are treated during the HS season.

And to make it worse, he schedules a gruelling 60+ game schedule over about 60 days.

Sure am glad for my son's HS coach!

Rob...Sounds like your son has a great HS coach. That is not always the case.

Another side to this whole topic is when a coach is very demanding of a player's time outside of the baseball season and when the player does not comply, he bad mouths him to college recruiters and MLB scouts. It happens and happens often.

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Originally posted by louisiana09:
What do you guys think about this situation? Coach will be losing 8 senior starters from the 2009 class. After this year the team will be very young and very inexperienced. Coach told the freshmen through juniors that they will have to play with the high school summer team this coming summer so they can learn to play together and gain experience. Coach usually lets players play on more competitive teams during the summer, but not this coming summer due to losing so many starters. I agree with him in this situation.

While you can't blame the coach for wanting his team to play as a unit, there should be plenty of time during the hs season since as soon as the season opens. In our area, the high schools practice 6 days a week about 2-3 hours a day. I'm sure the baseball hotbeds practice and play even longer. Once the games start, they either play or practice those 6 days unti the end of the season. I would think that would be enough time to get the team ready without putting summer damands on players.

Steve

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What are your thoughts on the HS Coaches Control Over Players?

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Parents should determine if the High school or Club team coach knows anything about training regimen and timeline. In almost every case this is not happening!! The question then becomes how are parents or players supposed to know that this is the paramount question and how do they know what coaches have this knowledge. An unconscious or inexperienced approach by coaches whether it is from culture, ignorance, educational or laziness seems to have evolved our system incorrectly.
From what I have witnessed parents should avoid both entities in the off season accept for all practices put on by the High school coach even if he is a history teacher and attend Club team or private practices not games. If you must play games the training timeline should NOT be broken on that day which means that athletes will be performing at a diminished athletic capacity for any kind of judgment from Actually useless tryouts, camps, showcases and games because of training regression.
With the final elimination of the association rule this is now possible here for the baseball coaches to put forth other than multi-sport athletes here in the Southern Section of CIF.
This whole problem is because of the extreme specific shape pitchers need to peak up to because of their biological age in High school dictates that they only pitch ballisticly competitively no more than 4 straight months from March thru June then rest by lightly maintaining light Sport specific training from July through September then a gradual increasing of stress from October thru December where they should be in full training regression In January and February they should be maintaining their training by halving their training out put and start to pitch light bull pens increasing intensity all the way up until full competition starts in March. After 19 biological years old the pitching athlete should maintain peak athletic health year round with no breaks unless you have destructive pitching mechanics. Note, some athletes are biologically 19 when they are chronologically 17,18 or 19 and some are not biologically 19 until they turn 19,20 or 21 chronologically.
When you are playing in club games that are competitive and not controlled scrimmages where things can be honed with out recrimminational effects this correct training timeline cannot possibly happen.
This is why the JO’s are perfectly timed to take advantage of this timeline (they sould also have 4 venues 2 covering the northern states) and all other age groups event offerings after 16 should run at this time only, like the useless (for southern states) talent agencies and area code type events.

Steve this is a great idea by Mike that I think you should be a big part of. Nothing will keep incorrigible High school coaches in line better than this Spring system. Just remember the ones that do not like guys that do what you do will think the same way what ever you do and the ones that are even keeled will still be.

Justbaseball,

One thing that it appears we agree on is that you can't lump all HS coaches together as one group and then lump all club coaches together as one group. There are good and bad coaches in each type and often guys coach both HS baseball and club baseball. So it's therefore unfair to label a coach as a HS coach or club coach and have a generalized description of them.

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Oh, there are other travel coaches who force decisions (i.e., "You gotta choose between MY travel team and football/basketball/whatever"), but I choose to run away from those.
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I agree that travel coaches shouldn't force decisions and it's best to stay away from those that do.

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And of course I know of situations where players don't communicate, call in "sick" and miss their Friday night HS football game to attend a showcase or tournament out of town...or "can't pitch due to sore arm" in Section championship but then pitch 2 days later in their travel team's tournament. In other words...they lie.

Right or wrong, don't you think this contributes to coaches drawing lines in the sand?
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If a player made a commitment to play HS football then when that team is in season that is their priority. They should not miss a football game for any other event.

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So...what do you think of a travel coach who tells his player that he must choose baseball over everything else? How about one who tells his pitcher that his tournament 3 days after the HS season is more important that the Section/District championship game? Should a travel coach take a player out of state when he knows it interferes with his HS football team? Does a travel coach own all rights to the player during the 9 months that HS baseball is not in season?
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The fact is there is a HUGE difference between the influence a HS coach has over a player vs the influence a club coach has over a player. Many times players are forced to do (or not do) things to make their HS coach happy. Most of the time with the HS coaches it's "my way or the highway." This goes for good and bad HS coaches. If a HS coach cuts you, doesn't play you, etc there is no alternative for players in HS between Feb to June. You can't simply go to a new HS. Because of this fact HS coaches often abuse this control on a year round basis.

If a club coach tries to control players and make players do (or not do) things then the player has an opportunity to find a new club team. This situation puts the control where it should be, with the players.

I believe that this new spring club league will help the player have some control of his baseball career during the HS offseason. It offers an alternative and will hopefully make some coaches who abuse their power and influence over kids loosen the reigns.

The word that you used in your post often was "communicate". This is the most important thing when dealing with this situation. I believe that most HS coaches have good intentions and with proper communication will want what is best for the player. Letting your HS coach know in advance what your plans are or what events you will be doing will greatly help in the whole process. Calling your HS coach the night before or day of an offseason game and telling him you wont be there because you are doing ______________ is not the way to handle it. I think that with proper communication between the players, HS coaches, club coaches etc these situations can be handled so that a player can get the most out of his baseball career.

Steve,

Good post, good stuff! A couple of thoughts...

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Most of the time with the HS coaches it's "my way or the highway."

My older son ran into a travel coach who tried this...we took the highway. My younger son has run into this too...highway once again. Its not an issue "owned" by HS coaches alone. Its a thing that people with their own interests above a player's interests do...no matter where they coach.

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If a club coach tries to control players and make players do (or not do) things then the player has an opportunity to find a new club team. This situation puts the control where it should be, with the players.

Yes it does. But this comment alone could be a whole thread unto itself. For example, could 'in-season' HS (or for that matter college) baseball be viable with control completely with the players? Partially with the players? I submit that control should not always be with the players. Control is not always owned by me as a good employee...or even as a business owner. Control is with the teacher in the classroom...not many of us challenge that control. Gotta learn to work under someone else's control at some point in your life. Why not as a teenager?...at least for 3 months.

Again, my comment on this gets at my own personal experience with travel coaches who try to control players during the HS season or other activities that are important too. Its the same problem in reverse that you brought up about HS coaches wanting control during summer season.

Thanks for your thoughtful response.

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Rob...Sounds like your son has a great HS coach. That is not always the case.

I'll bet there are FAR more high school and travel coaches who are straight-up good coaches, great at what they do, etc than there are bad coaches on both sides of the fence. Problem is-- those coaches don't get mentioned.

FWIW Here is my opinion, though I really think it is fact rather than opinion

There are good and bad People
There are good and bad Kids
There are good and bad Players
There are good and bad Youth coaches
There are good and bad Travel or Club coaches
There are good and bad High School coaches
There are good and bad College coaches
There are good and bad Professional coaches
There are good and bad administrators
There are good and bad Everything

Now who specifically is good or bad, might involve different opinions.

Here is a real opinion

Kids should play whatever sports they enjoy and want to play. Kids should not play any sport that they don’t enjoy and don’t want to play. There shouldn’t be any outside influence by anyone. JMHO… That said… I know some might disagree, at least to some extent.

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Kids should play whatever sports they enjoy and want to play. Kids should not play any sport that they don’t enjoy and don’t want to play. There shouldn’t be any outside influence by anyone. JMHO… That said… I know some might disagree, at least to some extent.

I agree!

Yes, my son's HS coach has been great. I agree with PG, though, which was the point of my post. Not five miles away the other HS coach is a nightmare - won't even let his own kids go to showcases to get exposed!

Some are good, some are bad!

Another facet of the discussion is how coaches respond to multi-sport athletes. In my son's case, his HS baseball coach also is on the football coaching staff. No problem!

It does make things easier when coaches are involved in other sports they play in.

When my son played his winter sport, the head coach was also the asst. varsity baseball coach so he kept him aware of the important baseball dates and told him not to worry about missing some of the off-season conditioning days until the state tournament and the season ended.

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Kids should play whatever sports they enjoy and want to play. Kids should not play any sport that they don’t enjoy and don’t want to play.

Absolutely agree 100%!

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Another facet of the discussion is how coaches respond to multi-sport athletes.

At my school, there were very few coaches who didn't encourage their kids to play another sport.

Our football coach told us you have three choices in the winter and three choices in the spring... In the winter you could play basketball, wrestle, or you'd be in the weight room with him 3 days per week. In the spring, you could play baseball, run track, or you'd be in the weight room with him 3 days per week. If you played another sport, you lifted 2 mornings per week if you didn't have class.

Our basketball coach told us we had 3 choices in the fall. Play football, play s****r, or run cross country. If you didn't do either of those 3, you were going to run so you might as well run with a team . In the spring, he wanted you to either play baseball or run track.

Our baseball coach wanted you do play football. He wasn't a big fan of s****r. He wanted his players to play football so they'd get "tougher."

My high is rare though.. Pretty well all of our coaches get along. Even our s****r coach and our football coach get along!

Before addressing how my son's situation works, I hate to see posters throw major league athletes into the discussion as an example (football and baseball). These athletes are the elite of the elite. On the other hand we have no idea how many baseball dreams may have been ruined by football injuries.

My son (soph and 16U) is very fortunate to have good high school and travel coaches. Each coach knows of the other program and a mutual respect exists. The high school coach played college and pro ball. I never asked the travel coach his background. I do know he has a great track record of getting kids into 18U showcase programs. Most of his former players play(ed) college ball.

While the high school coach runs a year round program he does not demand his players participate. He does strongly suggest players get their work in somewhere. The coach is the head of instruction at an academy. He is not offended if kids go elsewhere for instruction. If asked, he'll recommend other organizations and instructors.

He doesn't mind his players playing other sports, but tells them make the baseball work fit in somewhere. Back at the beginning of November he told players and parents many games are won before the season based on good off season work on skills and the body.

My son chose to play 18U fall ball for the coach. While he was likely to move up from JV and start this spring, he figured he could win his position playing in front of the coach on a weekly basis. He accomplished his goal. With the incredible deal (15 group lessons for $60) the coach gave the high school players my son goes to his academy twice a week just for the swings.

Last year my son made the 5:45am workouts twice a week (scheduled early for winter athletes) and missed the three afternoon sessions. The coach was happy he's not playing basketball this year and making all the workouts. He told him he would advance his skills faster working out full time in the winter. He was right. But playing basketball last year was not an issue.

My son has travel practice on Sundays starting after New Years. If asked, he communicates what he's been taught in travel to his high school coach. The high school coach noticed a change in arm slot along with increased movement and velocity. He only asked who instructed him. He knew the pitching coach.

It's been the best of both worlds. When looking at the finished product (to this point) my son credits the travel coaching with his hitting and pitching and his high school coach with fielding. The high school coach was an infielder.

One strict rule by the high school coach: No outside sports (organized rec sports, skiing, snowboarding, etc.) once tryouts start.

As far as playing as many sports as desired, my son was cut from basketball for not making the off season workouts and not being in midseason form during tryouts. He was the starting point guard on the freshman team. The coach said he'd love to have him back in the program if he commits to it. With baseball a huge priority and seeing what full time offseason workouts have done for him, my son is done with basketball. He plays in the area high school rec league. In the fall, he plays s****r and fall ball.

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Before addressing how my son's situation works, I hate to see posters throw major league athletes into the discussion as an example (football and baseball). These athletes are the elite of the elite. On the other hand we have no idea how many baseball dreams may have been ruined by football injuries.

On the other hand, I think it'd be interesting to see how many professional athletes (in all sports) were multi-sport athletes. My guess is a large percentage of them. Sure they are "The Elite" and I agree. But could it be that they are "Elite" now because they did more than one thing in the past?

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I hate to see posters throw major league athletes into the discussion as an example (football and baseball). These athletes are the elite of the elite. On the other hand we have no idea how many baseball dreams may have been ruined by football injuries.

Since that is directed at my post...lets put it into proper context rather than just isolate it.

TRHit...a well known poster here said:

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There is simply one sport I don't like my players playing and that is football---first and most importantly there is the injury factor especially for pitchers who a QB's and secondly Fall is the best time to be seen by college coaches and pro scouts

I simply Googled a few well-known players names to see if there was a direct link?:

** Well known and successful baseball players = no football

It was a 3-5 minute exercise...nothing more. And it quickly proved to be false. If you can suggest how I'd get definitive data with a dataset you will find appealing on that assumption above (**), I'd be happy to look for it.

I feel that if I cited 5 lower-order examples (ones of non-superstars), someone else would question if you could become a star without focusing on baseball. Seems like a no-win discussion almost?

But if you want a 'bottom-of-the-ladder' example...I will use my younger son. NOT an elite football player...started only about half the games on JV this past year...certainly not a star. But good baseball player...a good pitcher...made varsity as a sophomore at a very competitive HS. Beyond-HS quality? Maybe...don't know yet? Running a 1,000+ player youth baseball league for 15 years that produced dozens of eventual college baseball players and having had a son play D1 for a top-25 school has taught me that I cannot tell the answer about that yet...unless he was already 6-5 and throwing the ball 90+ mph.

Back to the question...is football/did football hurt him in baseball? Well, I cannot really tell that yet either. He did get hurt for a short while in football...but as a sophomore he also did make varsity baseball as a pitcher on a team with at least 4 other D1 pitching prospects (2 already committed to high D1 schools next year).

I've also never seen him look stronger, more confident, more composed, more team oriented, more fresh nor more willing to take responsibility for his own actions and results. It looks to me like its been a good thing!

Might he get hurt by football down the road? Yeah, maybe. But he knows that, I know that, my wife knows that. None of our lives hinge on whether or not he plays anything beyond HS. And just like baseball, its HIS decision about whether or not to play football (so long as his grades are decent). Not his travel team's coach...who by the way supports that decision...nor his HS team's coach who also fully supports it.

I look at citing Griffey, et al, as a sign that you can reach the very highest level while doing more than one thing in HS...in fact, while it may 'hurt' you...it may also make you a better athlete and a young man more prepared for life overall.

I completely understand where TR is coming from on the football. My son played football in middle school. There were fall ball weekends he couldn't grip a bat after getting his hands mashed. When he got to high school he decided the banging on Friday didn't mix well with weekend travel fall ball. He returned to s****r. He played travel s****r except for 8th grade when he thought he would continue with football into high school.

On the other hand I've also read some scouts like baseball players who have played football for their mental toughness.

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There shouldn’t be any outside influence by anyone.

I agree! The way I see it, coaches (HS, travel, whatever) have "control" of our players because we give it to them. They think they "own" our players because we let them think that.

It's one thing to make a commitment to a team and honor that commitment, and to respect the team and the coach and his wishes during the time frame of that commitment. That is honorable and right. It's another thing altogether to let any coach dictate what a player does in the offseason.

The FHSAA explicitly discourages HS summer baseball programs, but almost all of the high schools in our area have one. At the same time, all of the better players play on a travel team and showcase in the summer and fall. Coaches can rant and rave against summer travel, they can jump up and down and scream and holler and make all the threats they want, and several coaches have done that. But all the players seem to still be out there in the spring with their respective HS teams. Even the big schools. The bottom line is that if the kid can play and can help the team, he will play.

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I completely understand where TR is coming from on the football.

Actually, so do I. But I don't think that its any of a travel team's coach's business to keep a player from playing other sports. Some do (or try). In TR's case, it sounds like Griffey/Clemens/Mussina/Sabbathia et al wouldn't be getting the best advice?

BTW, I forgot to mention...just as another example, which is all we have (i.e. "examples")...the very top prospect on our son's HS baseball team (a top-100 prospect according to Baseball America)...headed to a high-D1 school next year...could have gone nearly anywhere for college...is one heck of a football player too. Best football AND baseball player at his school to be exact! And the whole thing is supported by everyone there. Its a beautiful thing when adults put the kids first.

JB

If a kid wants to play football he can, he just won't play with us---I cannot see a QB playing Friday nite and then pitching the subsequent Saturday or Sunday---they are too beat up not to mention that they are in football shape not baseball shape-- We don't ask the kid to make the choice--we have a policy of no football players---this avoids all conflicts

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Originally posted by TRhit:
JB

If a kid wants to play football he can, he just won't play with us---I cannot see a QB playing Friday nite and then pitching the subsequent Saturday or Sunday---they are too beat up not to mention that they are in football shape not baseball shape-- We don't ask the kid to make the choice--we have a policy of no football players---this avoids all conflicts

While I'm all for kids playing multiple sports, I agree that if they're playing football, then they don't have much rest time trying to double up as a baseball player at the same time. Football players are often too beat up to play the day after a night football game and could lead to injury. I've seen that from a player from my son's fall team who's an athlete. He eventually quit football and basketball to focus on baseball.

If they play a sport in season, they should stick with that sport. Good multisport athletes catch up fast so there's no point in trying too much in one season. One advantage they have is they're already in great shape when the season starts. All they have to do is get in baseball shape.

It seems to me that we are making a mountain out of a mole here.
To paraphrase PGStaff, there are good and bad in everything we do. It is up to us to determine what is best for our own kid and act accordingly.

If your son enjoys and wants to play multiple sports he should do it. There might come a time when he has to decide on one. Do what's best for him and his future.

Also 2Bmom said we give control to coaches. She's right. But why. If a hs or travel coach gives an utimatum, make your choice and move on. If the HS wants to spite himself by not letting one of his better players play, that's his problem. I doubt he will though. If a travel coach says don't play other sports, find another travel team.

IMO any coach making demands and ultimatums about where and when you can do other things you enjoy is not someone you should play for and doesn't have the kids best interest in mind. Find one that does!

A HS coach making demands and a travel coach making demands are two totally different things. If you don't like the rules on your travel team, go find another. I don't know about everywhere else out there, but where we live there are TONS of teams to play on. It's a free world. A travel coach can make his own rules and the players can make their own decision to play elsewhere.

HS is different. If you don't like the coaches rules or "recommendations", there is nowhere else to go. That is not right. HS coach has a lot more influence on the kids decisions because there are no other choices. My opinion is the HS coach could let the kids know what he would like them to do (in regards to other sports or where they play summer and fall), but ultimately it is up to the player. Regardless of what they choose, there should be no disciplinary action or "shunning" of the player.