Is it better to practice more or play more

Question: What is his playing position? Define "development"

Bob

Primary is catcher/OF.

I guess if I had to say ....he needs to get bigger/stronger, clean up his throwing mechanics and swing a bit and lower his pop time. He also just needs more exposure to better pitching. Lastly he needs to believe in himself and develop more confidence.

BB328;

Develop a baseball IQ. Learn from each practice each game. Study the runner on 1b and watch his "right" foot.Is the toe out?

"POP time can be neutral if you use your Baseball Intelligence. When a catcher warms up throwing catch the ball on the heal of the mitt for "quick" transfer. Do not catch like a 1b.

Bob

Practice is the homework. The game is the test. The goal is to do well on the test. But it takes doing the homework to do well on the test.

Practice matters more until it’s time to show the colleges what you have. At that point players are often responsible for getting their work in and showing up for the games/tournaments.

As far as JV versus varsity a player can’t impress the varsity coach unless he’s practicing in front of him. Besides, most JV games are hard to watch.

@BB328 posted:

Primary is catcher/OF.

I guess if I had to say ....he needs to get bigger/stronger, clean up his throwing mechanics and swing a bit and lower his pop time. He also just needs more exposure to better pitching. Lastly he needs to believe in himself and develop more confidence.

I'd strongly recommend getting regular playing time on JV.

My son went to a high school where the baseball program was extremely hierarchical...seniors who put in their time regularly played over underclassmen who were better.  He was one of five guys in his HS class to play D1, and three of them, including my son, were on JV as sophomores.  He hit over .500 on JV, with lots of power and steals.  That confidence led him to having a big Summer and he committed to a top 50 D1 program in September, before ever playing varsity. 

Will your kid be given a choice playing JV or V? Many coaches just pull up players. Lots of pearls dropped already.  Make sure the kid gets his rest and make progress with nutrition. How are his grades?

As far as varsity vs. JV I would love to see him stay on JV. His coach is great. His friends are there and he will get tons of reps and have a leadership role.  It's pretty clear that the varsity coach believes in calling up players so they can learn from older kids. But they don't play.

@2022NYC

His grades are very good. 4.0 GPA. Sleep and nutrition are still challenging lol.

Not sure what you mean by "lots of pearls dropped already".

There is a pretty good chance he will get pulled up next year based on what he was told last year. As always it's subject to change.

I guess I brought the JV/ Varsity is to illustrate that he would not be getting alot of quality in game reps between school and the team.

It's weird as they get older they invest so much time in training but not as much in actually playing the game they love. Is that normal for this age?

Plenty of pearls of wisdom already!  I would only say:

(a) you don't know what is going to happen, people get injured and the varsity team's needs change, so, in the end, he will play where the varsity coach needs him, and

(b) if he practices with the varsity team, even if he doesn't get much playing time, he will learn the varsity coach's system and will be ahead of things junior year (this also happened to my son).

Judging by the stats that were announced at the end-of-year banquet, j.v. was just an overall slower level of baseball, and if everything is slower (pitching, exit velos, ground balls, etc.) then it doesn't necessarily train you for higher speeds at varsity, which you would presumably get if you were practicing with the varsity.

But I sympathize - we didn't really understand what was going on during my son's freshman year (varsity but didn't play much), it only made sense when he was a senior.

Great "pearl drop" from anotherparent. I would also add It is unlikely any JV pitchers with velo + movement will be on the team they get pulled up to V. Getting live ABs with the V pitchers is the best training your young hitter can get. Yes, he may not get game time but he will become a better hitter practicing with V

It all depends on the program and individual situation IMO.

If he is catching every day on JV - this is a positive. Catching skills take time to develop, OF not so much. Catcher is a leadership position and do lots of kids move up to V the following year? He will become a team leader with the JV players moving up.

On V will he be part of the catcher rotations catching bullpens? If yes then he will see better pitching as a catcher just doing bullpens.

My son played on Freshmen his F year and there were others who were moved up, but they kept him there to develop (pitcher/OF) and he got lots of innings on the mound he would not have had on V or even JV. He got bigger/stronger/faster over the summer and the following year they moved him to V and he played in every game his last three years.

Again, it really depends on the program, situation, and your son's make up, but I would lean toward getting reps on JV. I know there is the ego aspect of being on V, but reps are more important in baseball.

Also, practicing with V doesn't always mean he will get good reps.  At least here, only the starters got the attention, the most reps, abs, etc.. Just an fyi.

He would catch every day on JV. If he went to varsity I think he would be able to catch bullpens. He would be mentored by the starter now. If things stay the way  he will probably start his junior and senior year. He is already catching and facing varsity level pitching in travel. Our competition in school ball is not great unless we change divisions this year.

Maybe I phrased my question wrong but do you think that 6 tournaments is enough of a summer season for 16U when most likely he will only play every other game in travel ball and may be a varsity bench player?

It just seems like he might need more in game reps.

@Dadof3 posted:

Also, practicing with V doesn't always mean he will get good reps.  At least here, only the starters got the attention, the most reps, abs, etc.. Just an fyi.

No split squad games?

BB328;

What is your son's time in the 60yd, the 30 yard?

What make is his catcher's mitt? Who is his favorite ML catcher? What is his dominant eye?

Bob

@Consultant posted:

BB328;

What is your son's time in the 60yd, the 30 yard?

What make is his catcher's mitt? Who is his favorite ML catcher? What is his dominant eye?

Bob

Bob - I would like to answer this about my son.

Personally 60 yard and 30 yard times are useless for my son as he's usually trotting around the bases, but his 60 yard is 6.25 and his 30 yard is faster than that.

My son is an outfielder but does use the Wilson A 2000 catchers mitt to increase the challenge of the game.  It comes to easy for him.  He has no favorite catcher, mine is Thurman Munson.

As for his dominant eye I think this answer is probably obvious. Both his eyes are dominant, they just take turns showing off.

IATG

@2022NYC posted:

No split squad games?

They would, and a number of times the non starters would be beating the starters and next thing you know, the rules would change, the starters would get more outs, etc…

@BB328 posted:

Maybe I phrased my question wrong but do you think that 6 tournaments is enough of a summer season for 16U when most likely he will only play every other game in travel ball and may be a varsity bench player?

It just seems like he might need more in game reps.

"Enough" and "better" may be the case, but you can only control what you can control.  I can think of many things my son might have done through the years that would have been "better" than what he actually did.  Some were choices he made, and some were out of his control.  For that matter, some things that were chosen for him turned out to be "better".

The question of training vs. playing gets debated on here quite a lot.  Many would say that more training and fewer tournaments will be better for his baseball development long-term.  That assumes that there is a long term.  My feeling is that the whole point of "playing" baseball is to play baseball - that's why I supported my son playing in a local fall-ball league in high school (and summer ball in college).

The main thing is to (a) try not to second-guess everything, because that will make you crazy, and (b) try not to be bitter if you later feel that the wrong choice was made (by you or others).

Of course, it's easy for me to give that advice, and I don't even follow it myself yet.  Maybe in 10 more years...

6.25 in the 60 is beyond elite speed.  That will be one of the fastest times you will ever see in baseball circles. 

@BB and BB posted:

6.25 in the 60 is beyond elite speed.  That will be one of the fastest times you will ever see in baseball circles.

Yes we have been told this about his speed.  It's not even his best tool.

So you hit the nail on the head here. There has been a shift with my son.... The back story is we are in disagreement about what team he should play for in the fall and summer. The showcase team is his choice. Its got a light fall and summer schedule with lots of practices in season but outside of the season you are expected to do your own development no team activities at all.

We prefer a more well rounded program with more tournaments and a good winter workout program.

School ball will provide very little.

A month ago he started an intensive training program, baseball specific strength and conditioning program to help improve his mechanics, strength and mobility etc. Hopefully down the road it will help with his velocity and pop time. He's not a huge kid but athletic and a very intense hard working kid. The thing is no one anticipated how much time this would take (6 days a week/ 2-3 hours a day) This doesn't include hitting or fielding.

He has very dedicated but I think it has burnt out him out a bit. The kid used to love to just play but it's almost like the training and  trying to keep up with everyone else on his competitive summer team  has made him less excited to actually play.

I asked him, " Aren't you training to be able to play better in games?  He said," I am training for the future". At this point  there are only two years of travel ball left plus school ball.

But what if he doesn't play in college or becomes one of those kids who sits on the bench and becomes discourages and quits. Shouldn't he enjoy it NOW and play more? I feel he's focusing on the destination not the journey. Also the training is pretty solitary and playing games is more social. My son needs the social aspect as well.

Sigh... part of me wishes we could return to the younger years when it was just about playing ball no showcases or certain metrics needed or what team to play on to get the next level.

Just don't push him.  Let this be his journey.  If he chooses to stop playing because it isn't fun anymore, so be it.  My son gave up basketball and football this year.  He just doesn't love them.  Very very disappointed as he was very good, but it's his decision.  With baseball my son has his end goal in mind with everything he does.  I think that's great your son is thinking like that.

@IAmThatGuy posted:

Yes we have been told this about his speed.  It's not even his best tool.

Speed is the best tool in every sport.

IAmThatGuy sometimes exaggerates...   [o.k. for those who might not know, he's being satirical]

@IAmThatGuy posted:

Yes we have been told this about his speed.  It's not even his best tool.

Throws harder than Syd Finch.

@IAmThatGuy and others.

Everyone knows that catchers are slower than slugs, and no one cares, in catching slugs are expected...what matters are is are they flame throwers.  Fortunately I have a new course especially for catchers. Sign up at www.timtheechanterscatcherflamethrowers.com only $2,995 and no ups or downs or extras...

Yes you can become a flamethrower and become a member of the elite flame thrower team. Yes @RJM Syd Finch is a member.

Tim

Any thread that has posts from both @IAmThatGuy AND @TimtheEnchanter is a little attention!

Worth a little attention

Wow, @BB328

This is the best advise you have received here:

It does not matter where he plays.

Be Tim.

Must be slow in the office before a 3 day weekend!   

Thank you Tim 😊

@TPM posted:

Must be slow in the office before a 3 day weekend!   

By now TPM you should know Tim does not work in an office...for obvious flame-o-rama reasons, surely TPM you know the office shrubberies would not survive Tim.... however if Tim did, Tim would likely be a safety officer where Tim's experience with flint and tinder could educate others on the dangers (or helpfulness) of pyrotechnics and how to handle them safely (or not) of course on the field as the CEO of Tim's Flame Thrower School of Pitchers at www.timsflamethrowingforpitchers.com. Tim has a special this week only for $2,295 for those who want to become the next Syd Finch.

Seriously @BB328 have your son be Tim.

I can't think of any HS programs in my area where a parent gets to pick which level of play their son plays.  Typically, I kept 18 on the varsity but some of those were JV players who dressed varsity.  In our area, the JV and Varsity play at the same fields.  Often, I would send for a player from the JV to run to the varsity game to fit a need.  On tournament games, I designated those who were expected to travel with the varsity.  In games where I knew we would have a blowout, I made sure to have some JV players stay with the varsity instead of playing the JV games.  As I mentioned before, I tried to set my schedule to be 1/3rd of games we would win, 1/3rd of games that we played a team equal in ability to my team, and 1/3rd of games where we would be considered the underdog.  Those games that I knew we would win were opportunities for me to play my top JV players to see what was in the future for my program.

Per practice, I practiced my JV and Varsity together.  I was fortunate to have a situation where we had multiple cages, a bullpen that had 6 stations, and multiple assistant coaches.  More than once, a JV player impressed me enough to get a spot start here or there. 

Finally, don't discount the fact that coaches are watching at all times. I had a rule about groups of three or larger. If I saw any player not working, I didn't like it. If I saw JV players messing around when given an opportunity to practice with the varsity, that would not be a good thing. 

@CoachB25

A parent would not be able to choose whether a kid would be on JV or varsity. Our coach usually gives certain players a choice as to what they want to do.