Is High School Baseball Still Necessary?

To be or not to be, Mantle or Koufax? That is the question.

Ask a kid by the name of Charles Benoit.

I think it is. Sure there are the travel teams, but in some area's of the US there are no travel teams. For that reason, players need the HS team to play each year. In my part of the state you either travel 100 miles to get your son on a travel team or he plays on the HS Summer team. So there may not be any other option other than HS baseball.

The day may come when top select clubs start playing in the spring. I am told this is just beginning to happen in other sports.

My son has a teammate who missed his senior year last year due to a Charles Benoit type situation. There is indication that he was not drafted at all because of it. He was projected to go in the top half in June.

Can a player just skip HS baseball without it negatively affecting his career. I don't think so, and why would you want to?

.

Being the dope that I am....

Will someone please bring me up to speed on Charles Benoit...Must be a good story here. I love good stories....

.

From March 1st until May 15th of every year, the only 17-18 year olds I watch are all playing high school baseball. If you want to get drafted and you are in high school, it will sure help you to be seen if you are playing high school ball.

If you want to get selected to play in the Area Code Games, it would help if you play high school ball, because that is where the scouts are when they notice you and give the scout from the selecting team your name for his try out.

There aren't any that I know of in my area that play exclusively on a travel team unless they aren't good enough to make the high school team or, unless they got kicked off by the coach because they were a “hothead”.

I would not encourage a child to play only on a travel team. He would be missing out on a great part of high school. The "school pride" thing and the feel of having a great deal of the student body turn out for the big play-off games.

There is 0 connection between high school baseball and playing in college or beyond.

It represents the worst of baseball played in that age group.

It is ruled by high school athletic associations whose interests are 180 degrees opposite of what any athlete's interest would be.

School districts' committment to it doesn't register on a scale of 1 to 10.

What ever the purpose for providing it is, it has nothing to do with teaching the game and it's skills to players.

The level of coaching registers an identical number on the 1 to 10 scale.

quote:

Originally posted by observer44:
.

Being the dope that I am....

Will someone please bring me up to speed on Charles Benoit...Must be a good story here. I love good stories....

.

I had to figure this out as well...

Google is my friend:
http://www.perfectgameusa.com/2003/springleague/springleaguestory.html
Benoit a 6’2/225 lb lefty threw in the low 90s with an outstanding breaking ball at the Perfect Game/Baseball America World Championship in Jupiter, FL. last fall. He showed excellent command of three pitches and has Big League poise on the mound. He is not playing high school baseball in Texas after a well publicized dispute regarding early season high pitch counts. Without making any judgment, we know Benoit as a hard working polite kid with great makeup and he needs to be seen. He has high draft potential and is ranked in our top 100 nationally. He signed early with the U of Oklahoma.

Contrary to the thoughts of the all knowing ozzir (rshard et al), HS ball is a key element of a young mans teen years--- it preps him for summer and fall ball-- it has social aspects === it teaches them how to properly allocate study time--need i go on ?

The fact of whether or not the baseball teaching/coaching is good or not doesn't even enter into the equation for me

In addition it compiles some fond memories for the parents such as my son being the centerfold in his baseball uniform in his senior class yearbook.

quote:

Originally posted by ozzir:
There is 0 connection between high school baseball and playing in college or beyond.

It represents the worst of baseball played in that age group.

It is ruled by high school athletic associations whose interests are 180 degrees opposite of what any athlete's interest would be.

School districts' committment to it doesn't register on a scale of 1 to 10.

What ever the purpose for providing it is, it has nothing to do with teaching the game and it's skills to players.

The level of coaching registers an identical number on the 1 to 10 scale.

Lets review:

Item 1 - I disagree with that.
Item 2 - I disagree with that.
Item 3 - I disagree with that.
Item 4 - I disagree with that.
Item 5 - I disagree with that.
Item 6 - I disagree with that.

LOL - At least we have consistency. LOL

Tr and Its, you fellas beat me to the punch. Mr. Ozzir sounds like a very bitter man.Unless he is the summer and fall coach, he probably dislikes the coaching there too.

I am afraid I have to disagree with ozzir, also.

In my area, baseball is very competitive among the high schools. In fact, it is not unheard of to actually have students "recruited" to a school who just happen to be great players..lol…even though it is not exactly legal by the athletic associations. School rivalries are still going strong here.

As far as coaching goes, many of the local high school coaches here have either played college ball or minor league ball. They may not be able to teach you "how" to pitch or bat, but they can teach you the strategies behind each and every situation. And, yes, the best coaches are often “recruited” themselves…lol…

JMO

HS BB is not for preparing anyone for college ball. It is more of a social athletic activity just above the level of a good PE class.

After watching for years now, many players I have come to the conclusion that if you have a son that wants to play above HS you must take the time to coach him yourself, or provide him with private lessons or both.

It takes many sessions with dedication and countless hours of practice aside from team practice and league play, and then if your son doesn't have great athletic ability, the chances are slim that he will go further than HS.

But HS baseball we used more for practice in game situations than worrying about whether it was the absolute venue for the best development platform. It isn't.

But it is where my son developed some of his closest friends and they are all now at various colleges, some of them playing BB. I wonder where they would be without cell phones and email.

Ramrod and ozzir,

Based on your comments - a reasonable person would have to assume that you are both omnipresent.

Everywhere - all the time - throughout the high school landscape in the USA.

LOL

RR

You talk the same bitterness as ozzir but then you have always been bitter

itsinthegame | TRhit

"JMO", my opinion based upon my own observations. Watching most recently from let's say for the last 25 years. And having played HS ball myself...

I would say my opinion is more closer to the truth about how effective HS BB is in preparing players for college BB. However, I'm sure there are "good" programs out there, but the truth is HS BB is no longer what it was many many years ago because schools no longer fund it, don't support it and have slim to little money to offer any coaches fair and decent payment for their efforts. If it weren't for volunteers HS BB would disappear from HS campuses.

My opinion has nothing to do with bitterness toward anything or anyone. The facts speak for themselves. HS BB is not an adequate avenue for a player to make it in upper level BB. That's a fact. Take it or leave it.

If it were not so there would be no need for BB promoters, showcases, camps, private instruction, summer travel teams, select BB programs(guess that would eliminate your program TR), and would probably eliminate the need for the HSBBWEB.

In this part of the world, HS ball is far, far less competitive than select. I don't think anyone around here would try to make a case that HS ball is at a higher level than select (at least the majority of the select teams).

It's comparable to the LL Inc. vs. select situation. HS's have limited "recruting" boundaries (if you will). A very small pool of players from which to draw. The select teams my son have played recruit from metropolitan areas of millions, and for a 200 mile radius.

From my observation, there is almost no teaching going on in HS ball. Good select club coaches still teach.

I have seen some HS coaches pull stunts you wouldn't believe. I have seen them treat darn good players very poorly. Saw a kid who didn't get a lot of mound time, got badmouthed by the coach, treated poorly. He went on to make a D1 team that went to Omaha. Why was he treated that way? Because the HS coach couldn't stand the boy's pitching coach.

I have seen pitchers arms abused by HS coaches who wanted the win more than they cared about the kids arms. That is a matter of the coach's interest not being aligned with the players interest.

But HS ball is where the letter jacket is. It has the HS social aspect.

And don't bring up the theory of sour grapes. My son made the team and so far has had no problems with coaches. He has been fortunate to be at a school with a great program.

This may not be the case everywhere, but it is around here.