Is High School baseball important?

My quick take on this...

A well run and well coached high school baseball program will provide an aspiring, well skilled, and hard working student/athlete the opportunity to progress within the game and to shine so that others may see.

Conversely, a poorly run and poorly coached high school baseball program will not provide these same opportunities and although the student/athlete will have to endure this he must look elsewhere to really shine.

In short...high school baseball can be good, or it can be bad...and everything in between!

High School baseball is as important as any other step in baseball. Hard to tell just how important, but there are not many professional or college players who did not play high school baseball. Every level of baseball is important IMO.

The very most important thing a high school coach can give to his players is installing a love for the game. Players who enjoy what they’re doing have a big advantage over those who don’t. My sons had many different coaches over the years.

My favorite was a high school coach who taught very little about the game of baseball. This coaches major talent was “getting the most out of his players”! He did it by providing an atmosphere where players would do anything he wanted because they really wanted to. They had a blast playing for this coach who taught them you can be extra serious and still have a lot of fun.

This coach has since retired, but his legacy is the number of lives he touched in a positive way. His players left his program with a stronger love for the game than they had before playing for him. This coach was one of the classiest individuals I’ve ever seen on a baseball field. And yes he was a big winner no matter what his talent level was. And no, he did not teach baseball or help kids get recruited or scouted. He taught them more important things that had a much bigger impact on their future.

His name is Rick Netolicky.

Fungo, Thanks for causing that memory!

I coached high school baseball for close to 30 years. I get a little miffed at some people who excuse the importance of the experience. I would like to think i was a good coach and taught the kids how to play the game. people ask how many titles or how many kids got drafted or went on to play in college. I can say yes to all three but that is not what i am the most proud. You see high school baseball is about discipline and being about something more than baseball. You are part of a greater thing called education. High school athletics is an exrtension of the classroom. Learning how to play baseball is also part of being a member of a team that represents a school and a community. It is about structure. I have had players drafted and play in college and that is good but I also have more players who are successful in other things. A heart surgeon an **** surgeon among others. I have talked to others who are successful in business and are good family men. Despite all the things we talk about going to the next level this is what is the most important. I would like to think that their experience playing high school baseball had a little to do with accomplishments

Here in the Northeast HS baseball is critical for a number of reasons:

01-- it is part of the HS atmosphere socially---nothing like being a HS athlete to boost the confidence of a young man

02-- it is key in developing the players game

03-- it is key in teaching youth how to manage their time academically and athletically

04-- it gets them ready for summer baseball

TR I agree with everything but #2. I think that particular aspect depends on the quality of the coach. In my particular experience, the coach had some moronic ideas about pitch counts and rest. It was a constant battle trying to persuade him to not over work pitchers while not interfering with his authority over the team. My player was injured in a meaningless game prior to the playoffs for the sole purpose of rubbing a crosstown rivals nose in it. I realize not all coaches are covered by my concerns but it can be the one problem with High school baseball.

Like anything else in life you get out of it what you put into it, HS baseball is no exception.

This could be a very regional answer. In WI the HS season is THE SEASON for 99% of the players. With the only 1 "real" travel team and a PG Fall league both based in Milw baseball out of HS could be described as "sparse". Another issue is training facilities. Madison has weather issues 6 months a year and with a poulation of 250k folks and the all of the surrounding communities that brings the pop to ~500k has one indoor facility with 8 cages and 2 mounds, pretty sad. WI is known for producing "fresh" pitching arms, you wonder why.There is no baseball burnout inWI.

As a result the High School team is a very important development tool and a good HS coach may be your only local resource. We were fortunate that my sons HS team ended up with 10 seniors that had played LL all-stars together since 10 yr old, They were all good athletes but not all baseball players. As a side note 9 of the 10 went to a 4yr college, the last started his own business, 3 are engineers and 4 will begin med-school next fall, they played smart! It also helped that the HS coach has passion for the game, committed year round, and enjoys watching and helping the progression of any player who wants to make the committment.

So I guess what is meant by progression? I think we tend to lump HS baseball into a "next step" when actually it is a segment of time. How you use that time is up to the individual. Sometimes athletics is not the driving force in HS but is a big part of HS and as a result what you put into it is directly related to what you get out of it. With that said, HS baseball should be looked at as important as any other usable baseball resource. If you downplay the activity you are not maximizing the opportunity. We have never looked back. My son followed his dream, maximized his HS opportunities, and grew as a result. That growth may not have been all physical but a mental part of the baseball life.

Cleveland Dad, Wow! Very poignant. It sounds like your son is a fine young man who plays the game with respect. Good luck.

HS ball is IT here! HS ball in my area brings a tremendous amount of exposure for college and draft. While I think opportunities for exposure outside of HS ball are great, I can't think of a single player that's been drafted from my city that did much on a national level.

More importantly, it's what allows a young man to be given high fives as he walks down the hall by fellow students for a performance the night before, it's what allows him to have his story in the paper, or a newswoman refer to him as "her boy". It's about being a part of a "team" in your HS and your community.

I'm pretty sure that I can say my son wouldn't trade his HS years of baseball for anything in the world. His mom sure wouldn't! Wish I had a couple more boys to do it all over with again!!! The best of memories!

Right on CD.

People/Ballplayer's, need to understand that there is a fan base out there.
And there's old timer's that just love to read about the local talent.
And will follow that talent thru college and maybe Pro's.
They may even come watch a HS game, are go to the playoff's to watch.
They talk about the HS player's over coffee at the local diner.
And say I remember when so-so was playing that boy could really hit that ball.
Are the kid could pitch, I saw him throw 98mph. Maybe True, maybe not.
So is HS baseball is important. YES It's important.
EH

Long time reader, first time poster. Thanks everyone for all the advice, insights and opinions. ClevelandDad--your post made me click on, because so many of my friends and relatives have asked me over the last few years about whether or not playing select ball was worth the money, that I have had to scrape up, to pay for my son to play. As I read your post, I remember those kinds of highlights associated with my son, including the lumps in my throat, although his are of his days on select fields, for he is only a 15 year-old sophomore.
He is small at 5'5 and 140, and last year as a freshman, he was not immediately thought of as an impact player. But thru practice and about 4 /5 games into the jv season, he became the ss, #3 batter, and the #1 pitcher on jv 1 team. He was moved up to varsity after district play started- to pinch hit, pinch run and eventually shared alot of gametime at second base. He was the first freshman to letter at our high school in 12 years.
I share my sons' achievements, not to brag, as I'm sure you know, but to tell you that we have some insight into the high school baseball scene. So the question about 'how important is it?, is asked', it is very much to us. And that is not to say that we have allusions of granduer about my son playing at the next levels, but I do think it is a natural progression to move on to the college level. It would be awesome if he played college ball. But high school baseball is such a community thing. The fan base is not nearly as large as the football scene, so everyone really does know everyone in the stands, and that's why I sit down the right field line with my wife, alone- as I have read others suggest on this site- for I too know all the complainers.
I have heard many of the players on the team talk about playing college ball, including my son now, so I know the kids feel like it's just another step up the ladder in baseball. And I think that high school ball is a good gauge of what a player's talent level is. There are so many different summer league teams and tournaments to play at different cost levels, that I think to only gauge a player's talent solely on what he has done in the summer does the player an injustice. Players in a given area play against the same teams, and face the same pitchers- that should allow for some good comparisons to be made against common opponents.
Fungo also asked what it should be? As I stated up there somewhere, this is a community thing. I think high school baseball should still be about a bunch of kids in the neighborhood playing together, and trying to get to the state playoffs to represent their 'hometown', but I understand that that is old school thinking and today you have lots of parents moving their kids around the area to be on the 'great' teams.
And CD, I know exactly what you mean when you talk about your son being "tough as any kid I have ever seen on a ball field", for I have seen that same kid in my son's eyes.

Great story dragon.

Thanks for stepping out and sharing it with us.

Keep us posted on your son's progress.

Great Post Cleveland Dad! High school baseball is very important to the development of our son too, as there is nothing like pitching in front of your classmates, with teammates who you've played with since Freshman year. We also had a team that overachieved and got to the District championship game by knocking off the #1 and #2 seeds - and although we really have to separate the kids "authentic" experience from the parent's "second-hand" experience, we will treasure the whole thing until we do it again this coming season! Our son also won a national AAU championship with an elite travel team which also came out of nowhere to beat a top-seeded team, but it wasn't as thrilling as his high school championship season and everything it entailed with TV and media coverage.

We love the High School Baseball season in our home. For one thing, you don't have to drive 100 miles to get to the game! The community and the pride of playing for the local school and the home town is...priceless!
The level of play is not the same as travel ball, but it builds character, dedication, and mental toughness. There are usually weak links on a local team. And the team work and team spirit as each player encourages each other is an intangible benefit of playing High School ball.

How important is High School baseball to me? All I know is that I wouldn't trade my HS experience for anything in the world.

Great posts 1 and all.

Currently 98% of players are going to play HS baseball.

Judging from my 3 son's D1 team mates however, there are many HS coaches/programs out there that either do not measure up......or worse.

Here in Chicagoland we have some really great coaches and HS programs.

But we have some very poor coaches/programs as well.

There is an academically outstanding Catholic school in our area that has repeatedly hired coaches at the freshman and sophomore levels that never played baseball...or any other sport. These fellows actually ruined the game and the HS baseball experience for the players! This same school wouldn't think of hiring such a person for football or basketball. In fact, the school recruits long and hard for both players and coaches of FB and B-ball.

One of my son's actually experienced this very pathetic situation. Needless to say, except for the "team" concept and their allegiance to their school, they would have become a better player elsewhere.

Sadly, I can see why some players/parents would be happy to find an alternative to HS baseball.

High school baseball is very important. As I look back, most of the highlights for me were in high school. My son would probably say the same. Most of the "firsts" and "mosts" were in high school games. There were more "good" players in games in the summer and fall, but they all played in high school.

Only popular teammates get shaving creamed.

quote:

"I don't know what it will do for him [today], but I know right now that's a lifetime memory,"CCU coach Gary Gilmore said. "You never forget that. Anybody that ever played that gets hits like that in games like that, you'll remember that forever."

It's a biggie alright. Knowing you belong and have earned the right to enjoy it is huge. The confidence gained is very important.

i'm a little surprised any one would think high school sports aren't important.representing your school or even town.playing with your friends .it is important if for no other reason than it's your school.
it is a good benchmark for college coaches,how you balance grades and baseball.and it is much better with a good coach.one more step in our baseball life. very important imo

20dad, I totally agree with you.

But it would be nice if the high school administrators would also realize how important high school sports are (read baseball) and would select and hire good coaches, not just some guy because he is "in the building."

From reading this thread it appears that many have excellent high school programs. I'm envious. We are not so lucky here.

To those of you who are in a good program with good coaching and exposure, treasure it.

Because you do have a treasure.

.
Hey!

The B's story only gets better...(I've been waiting for the right opportunity to post this and here it is!)...

Now how cool is this...

September 20, 2006
Baseball Opens Fall Practice


CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University baseball team opened fall practice Sept. 19 with the annual Pro Day. The first day of fall drills will be Sept. 20 and will go until the annual Chanticleer World Series, which will take place from Oct. 6-9 at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field.


The Chanticleers have named five captains for the following fall practice. Taking the captaincy role this fall are seniors Andy DeLaGarza (Ossian, ind./Norwell), Dom Duggan (Cranberry Twp., Pa./John Carroll) and Matt Rademacher (Bay Ctiy, MIch./Michigan) and sophomores Tyler B (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) and Bobby Gagg (Hamburg, N.J./Wallkill).

quote:

My advice at any level, never give up or hang your head, and be ready when you get your chance.

Imagine that...from disappointed redshirt...to defensive replacement...to hero...to team capitan...all in less than a year.

Some people talk a great deal about working hard and being ready when given the chance ...others simply live it!

This is a great story.

44
.

Yep! Absolutely a GREAT story.

CD,

Now THAT is something to feel very proud about!

Congatulations

What makes Tyler B's story so special is that when Tyler has been faced with challenges, he has met them head on. There has been no groaning, no making excuses, no whining and no blaming anyone. Tyler took the RS announcement with the attitude of a winner.

There's tremendous wisdom in that.... whether our son be in HS or in college! You have some control in your successes and your failures!!

Tyler is poised for a great year not just because of ability but because he'll keep working as hard this year as he did in HS and as a freshman RS.

I know CD's and Tyler's story from following it last year as it unfolded. There is no better example of the rollercoaster some of our kids will go through when and if they move onto college baseball and that is why HS ball is so important. For most kids high school might just be the first time they have to face the specter of being cut. They will have to go up against kids as much as three or four years older than them and they will have to earn playing time. They may be playing for the first time for someone besides thier father and they will find out that coaches do yell, make them run when they screw up and that they can't play SS and bat third without earning it. As a father I didn't always agree with the decisions HS coaches made when it came to my son. I still think some of those decisions that had him sitting as a freshman on JV or again early in his junior year on varsity were wrong, but he had to deal with it and it made him tough enough to appreciate it when he became a starter and it made him tough enough to deal with being a college freshman that had to work to earn playing time.

Was HS baseball important, you bet it was.

congrats tyler,and to you as well dad.kind of gives ya goose bumps.

I could type on this forever. However, I hope that I can answer this question by demonstrating what we expect from our players. Here is our "Qualities of a Baseball Knight."


1. He wants the toughest and best competition in practice and in games because it makes him better.
2. He would rather his team win conference than himself make All-Conference.
3. Whether in the game or not, he wants all of his teammates to do well.
4. He practices hard and pays the price because he knows that most Baseball games are won or lost due to preparation.
5. He deals honestly with his coaches and teammates. He understands that disloyalty to either coaches or teammates hurts the team and will not be tolerated.
6. He never assesses blame.
7. He pays attention to detail.
8. He never likes losing but he is gracious in losing. He understands that he represents his team, coaches, school and community.
9. He will never back down from competition.
10. He practices to make small strides in his game each and every day to enable him to be a complete baseball player by the end of his playing career as a Knight.
11. He realizes that his off-court behaviors, demeanor and attitude affect the team, coaching staff, school and community.
12. He realizes that if we lose, it is not “his fault.” Losing is a team loss. He also realizes that if we win, it is not strictly because of him. Winning is a team win.
13. He realizes that the difference between most players is not so great that hard work cannot overcome it.
14. He puts the time and effort in during the off-season in the plyo-metric and weight conditioning program to enable his team to have success.
15. He would rather build character than be a character!


Perhaps you can determine if these same qualities help develop young men into grown adults that are positive members of our society. Yes, I believe high school baseball is important.

I agree with everyone here that HS baseball is crucial, as much so for its social and emotional importance as anything else. The problem that we have in NE (as I am sure in other places) is that if you are on the HS team, you are expected to play on the summer legion team as well, even though there are summer teams that will play against tougher competition and get you noticed. I know of instances where the coaches have told kids that if they don't play legion ball not to even tryout for the HS team the following season. I even know of one kid that was cut from his football team for not playing legion ball.

The problem is that they force your hand, if you play HS ball you may be jeopardizing your future. If you don't play HS ball you lose out on all the memories. It is really sad that these coaches take it so serious that they forget they should be there to support the boys, not just make themsleves look good. Our coach this year told us that if my boy takes time away from legion ball to go to showcases or to try to play for team USA, that he will be benched for as much time as he is gone. Petty and sad, that is all I can say

spinedoc, there are coaches here in GA that are the same way. Our situation is different. My son goes to a small private school. One of his varisty coaches is a former minor league player and a fair man, don't know about the head guy. The talent pool is small, but there are a few very good athletes on the team. This is not a powerhouse school program that represents the public community. It's an academic powerhouse that happens to have some sports teams. The best players MUST play elsewhere to improve, play competitively and get the greatest exposure.

In our case, I do still believe playing for the school team is important because it's the right thing to do, it is a part of the high school experience, and if my son wants to play in college it might be hard to explain why he could have played but didn't. He has a classmate who is an elite player, but refuses to play on what he calls a "rec-level team." Just seems selfish, and that's something I don't want my son to be.

I think we have almost gone to being 'snobs' about high school baseball, and I am speaking of our little part of the world in South Texas. I don't know how it is in the rest of the country though. At tourneys, parents talk about how their 'select' team are so much better than the high school team.

It is unbelievable the number of parents and coaches who feel like a kid is playing 'down' when he plays for his high school team. I do not feel like that, even though sometimes I felt bad about seeing kids that I coached as 6/11 year olds, this year act as though they were playing t-ball. I know I coached these kids better. I took my son out of our PONY league, into a travel team for his benefit, but left others behind. Even though I tried really hard to talk the other parents into moving out beyond our boundries, they continued to play at the local level, and really never progressed as they should have.
High school coaches have no choice but to take those kids that try out for his team, and try to turn them into a competative team. "Select" coaches just run an ad to find better players.
We have a State Championship in our family, and even though I try hard to explain to the kids that it was not given, but earned. No one really knows how many balls were taken off the chest, or how many 'bananas' were run or how many swings were taken, to 'earn' that championship. And I'm talking about kids and parents. I know parents don't understand/or know what a coach 'used' to be able do to us
players, to try to make us tough, or winners, as they used to say.
I have read about basketball players, tennis players, and s''''r players who do not play for the high school team, because it is not as competetive as state/national tourneys--that's crazy. Let them be kids, and if you go thru the season winning by 10 runs, so be it. It breeds pride and ethusiasm for one's local community, which I feel will breed pride and ethusiasm for one's country. It's America.

spinedoc
this doesn't apply to all coaches .but it amazes me how much of a touchhole a man can turn into for the chase of a ten dollar trophy.when he or they should be trying to advance a players game as far as he can.if that means travel ball so be it.in my mind the high school season is the most important anyway.maybe they should give all coaches a three foot trophy to start the season and take it away when they win.