My how time changes things

What a great post and I am excited for you just reading it. You have a very refreshing outlook that will provide you and your son life lessons beyond baseball.

quote:

Originally posted by jkkmom:

I believe it has been God's plan all along to save him for these last two years of high school and future college. Maturity was also in the plan.

I'm going to cherish these next two years of high school baseball, win or lose. After all, I've been at virtually every game since t-ball. I know if he goes to play in college I won't get to be at all of those games. Guess I'll take up quilting or something then!!

What a great mom you are. I really enjoyed your post and your heart is exactly where I try to have mine be.

Each player should consider that every time they step on a baseball field, it is one step closer to the day they will no longer be able to step on that particular field and play with those friends/team. So cherish away, and don't forget the important things:

- Enjoy the way he carries himself in both victory and defeat. Recovering after a loss is a good life preparation.
- Enjoy watching him lift up his teammates.
- Cherish your time after good games and not-so-good games.

And it is hard to imagine when you are going through it, but the things you won't remember are the individual game performances. You will however remember the highs and lows of your relationship with your son before and after those games.

I am sure that your son is on to one of the best two years of his life - up to now. And with the outlook you have it seems to me that there will be many more to come after this - with or without a baseball game on the line.

You are lucky.

Backstop-17

Good luck to you and your son, too, jkkmom! And thanks also for the great reminder - the spring season is just around the corner! Our tryouts and first practice are exactly two months from today.

An old sage once said that you should make a list of all the players on your 12 year old "all star" team.... then stash it away until your senior year in HS.....open it up and see how many of those players are still at the sport......

Time changes everything... for my son...maybe 6 of the starting "all stars" were still playing HS Baseball....and of them all only 2 of the "all stars" went on to play college level baseball...

The baseball pyramid is narrow at the top....enjoy every moment on the climb upward....

Backstop-17, thanks. No such thing as "luck". I try to keep that word out of my vocabulary. I am Blessed, instead.

At my sons future HS, there are around 8 LL and 2-3 Cal Ripkens feeding into the school. So you have roughly 572 former allstars trying for roughly 55 spots not including transfers or kids that weren't All stars or travel only kids. Even if you use bigger numbers it comes out to 10% or less of the all stars even making a team one year in HS. And when it comes to Varsity it gets even more brutal with only 18 spots available. It is no wonder why so many stop playing. No place to play! That pyramid narrows pretty dang quick!

quote:

An old sage once said that you should make a list of all the players on your 12 year old "all star" team.... then stash it away until your senior year in HS.....open it up and see how many of those players are still at the sport......

PIAA - your comment got me thinking..

From my son's 12 year-old LL All-Star team, seven of the twelve are still playing as seniors. Not bad! Five of them are my son's varsity teammates, and one moved to California and this week signed with UCLA.

Pretty good group.

JKK Mom: you have the right attitude. Just enjoy these next two years. They will be so much fun and neither you nor he will ever forget them.

I have thought of this often. I have looked back over the years and remembered how we felt at each level and thought "how good our team was" and could not wait to watch them play for their high school.
I was always amazed each year when another boy quit playing to pursue other interest.
From my son's 12u all star team that played in a super series world series 4 played on the high school team and my son is the only one to go on to
college and play.
Now I start all over with my youngest son, who is 12 right now, I have a much different expectation compared to the one I had 8 years ago.

It's my firm belief that having to struggle to earn playing time makes you a better player and person. Those at our school that were handed positions for various reasons not to do with ability are no longer playing, too hard when suddenly they have to compete, and no insider favors. I imagine that will affect their future attitude as well.

I can certainly add my 2 cents to this one.

My son who is now a freshman pitcher at a NAIA school now was also the only one left out of his 12yr old All-Star team to make it past high school. Even more is when he started playing travel ball at 13 I think there may be only 1 more besides him that is still playing. He was the slowest and chunkiest kid on the team looking back...lol. I had NO idea what the future held for him but I simply enjoyed watching him play when he got the chance.

I'll miss smoking the nice cigar up on the right field hill past the fence watching him play. Now I will have to find a new place at the college diamond! Wish me luck!

Bum, Jr. was a sub on that little league team. When he got to play, it was usually right or left field. None of those players moved onto to college except Bum, Jr. (Freshman LHP Pac-10)and one other player.

What concerns me now, though, is I see a lot of "fasttracking" of child stars straight into the high school program. That's what they've done with a younger group of kids at my son's high school. They brought in an entire TEAM of kids who played Pony ball together, convinced the school coach of their supreme talent level.

The truth? Only average high school players. So the natural "weeding out" process is getting corrupted by well-connected "organizers" who have stacked the deck in their kids' favor and it's driving out late-bloomer kids who are getting cut from the program.

This stuff is happening all over the city, and it worries me. In fact, I think it has the potential to destroy high school baseball in our town at least. Already the 2009 talent level is DOWN BIG TIME compared to 2008, as evidenced by the lack of 2009 college signings this year.

What are these "stars" going to do when the college coach tells them "I don't care who your daddy is!"

The LL mates dropped out a ways back, but there are still three of his early select team buds playing D1 ball, all pitchers.

Kind of reminds me of the music biz, and AC/DC said...

Ridin' down the highway
Goin' to a show
Stop in all the byways
Playin' rock 'n' roll
Gettin' robbed
Gettin' stoned
Gettin' beat up
Broken boned
Gettin' had
Gettin' took
I tell you folks
It's harder than it looks

It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock 'n' roll
It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock 'n' roll
If you think it's easy doin' one night stands
Try playin' in a rock roll band
It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock 'n' roll

I was thinking of how many Players my son has played with ( on the same team ), over the years. And how many are still playing.
I'm going to try and list were there playing now and at what age my son was on there same team.
Here goes it?

As a 9-10 yr. old, One player at Washington State, One player at Hawaii Rainbows.
11-12 yr old's, 1 player at Washington Huskies.

13-14 yr olds, 1 at Air Force Acadamy, 1 at the Washington Huskies, 1 playing for the WSU cougers.

15U, This group of players are all over the country.
Air Force, Navy, Fresno State, Pepperdine, Cal, UC Davies, St Mary's, And I know there's more in that group just don't know were they all went.
16U-18U, Pacific, UC Davies, USF, Harvard.

I haven't even mentioned the Players that went on to Smaller Colleges or JC.
I know i've missed a few.

1 Day I'm going to try and list all Players Son has played with Or Agains't over the year's. And how far they have made it in Baseball.
This is a fun Sport to observe Players over the years.
Following them as much as possible and were they end up.

EH

There are many Players that also have not continued to play the game past LL or HS.

And they were good ball players.
I just don't think Baseball is for Everybody.
To many Highs and Lows.

EH

theEH.. Ain't that the truth!

Little League All-Star: "But he's not good enough for travel ball."

Middle-School Starter: "But he'll never start in high school."

High-School All-League: "But he'll never play in college."

College All-American: "But he'll never get past Single-A."

Triple-A Veteran: "But he'll never crack the Majors."

MLB Rookie: "But he'll never be a an everyday starter."

MLB Starter: "But he'll never be an MLB All-Star."

MLB All-Star: "But he'll never be in the Hall of Fame."

MLB Hall of Fame: "But he'll never be as good as so-and-so."

*****

It never ends. Isn't possible our sons are successful, RIGHT NOW.. without the validation?

quote:

Ridin' down the highway
Goin' to a show
Stop in all the byways
Playin' rock 'n' roll
Gettin' robbed
Gettin' stoned
Gettin' beat up
Broken boned
Gettin' had
Gettin' took
I tell you folks
It's harder than it looks

It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock 'n' roll
It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock 'n' roll
If you think it's easy doin' one night stands
Try playin' in a rock roll band
It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock 'n' roll

Spizz, have you heard Motorhead's cover of this song? It's a good one.

Something about these kind of threads that try to focus on the short comings of those players that failed to make it to the next level confuses me. Every time players are eligible to move up a level the "funnel" gets gets more restrictive and players MUST be eliminated. This "elimination" process is inevitable. We try to analyze the players that are left behind and ask where they went wrong. This is not about failures or isn't the "fault" of the player that failed to move up ------ it is a pure numbers game. Unlike the academic side of college where the entrance level is "set" and meeting that level pretty much guarantees entrance, athletes will always be faced with the fact that only the "best 9" play. There will never be a "no athlete left behind" program. Something in our makeup has a hard time accepting that. Even if every player could throw 100 miles an hour, run the 60 in under 6.0, hit a baseball 500 ft., the number of teams, games, starting pitchers and players would remain the same.

Fungo

I agree with Fungo here. The fact that players stop playing baseball is inevitable. Some are eliminated because of talent, or lack of it as they age. Othes choose to stop playing due to other sports and interests.

quote:
"It's my firm belief that having to struggle to earn playing time makes you a better player and person. Those at our school that were handed positions for various reasons not to do with ability are no longer playing, too hard when suddenly they have to compete, and no insider favors. I imagine that will affect their future attitude as well."

I don't agree with this. Some kids get the daddyball spot on the field but most deserve their position. The most important aspect of all youth sports (8-13 yos) is learning and getting better. It is the parents responsiblity to help the kid get better if the kid shows interest in doing so. IMO what happens to some of the best LL players is that the parents don't think that kid has to work on his game because he is already better than the rest. This will always result in failure.

The kids who work the hardest and want to improve the most are the ones who are playing later in their school years. If a top youth player with the most talent continues to learn, practice and develops a good work ethic he usually will always be one of the top performers. He also will most likely become a pretty good person also.

quote:

Originally posted by Fungo:
Something about these kind of threads that try to focus on the short comings of those players that failed to make it to the next level confuses me. Every time players are eligible to move up a level the "funnel" gets gets more restrictive and players MUST be eliminated. This "elimination" process is inevitable. We try to analyze the players that are left behind and ask where they went wrong. This is not about failures or isn't the "fault" of the player that failed to move up ------ it is a pure numbers game. Unlike the academic side of college where the entrance level is "set" and meeting that level pretty much guarantees entrance, athletes will always be faced with the fact that only the "best 9" play. There will never be a "no athlete left behind" program. Something in our makeup has a hard time accepting that. Even if every player could throw 100 miles an hour, run the 60 in under 6.0, hit a baseball 500 ft., the number of teams, games, starting pitchers and players would remain the same.

Fungo

Good points.

As someone has said before (I believe FO), it is a game of musical chairs. I think some people carry hard feelings with them and I sense it in these type of threads. Some kids were always told of some flaw they had in their game (either explcity told or implicitly by the way they were treated) that they would never be the ones to succeed at the higher levels. When their kid is suddenly the last one standing (or sitting to continue the metaphor), some of these hard feelings come out toward those who did not recognize their kid's unique talents imho.

I understand some of those feelings but I know it can only detract from a kid's future success. Let those burdens go. Your kids will need strong support to succeed at the next level and remembering the hurts from the past will only detract from the task at hand imho.

This did get off track a bit. All of the players I referred to quit for various reasons, i.e., burn out, other interests, lack of dedication. Most all were good ball players and good kids. I think the key word is "dedication". To be good at anything takes dedication. My son, who I don't consider a late bloomer, was just hidden in the shadows during the early years. But his dedication and determination has brought him closer to the front lines and closer to the radars. Some of the younger "studs" had their baseball moments early, some get theirs later. He's never attended the large showcases but has been to a few of his favorite college camps/showcases. I believe my son has and still is learning proper mechanics to make him a better long term pitcher, not just for the moment. He doesn't have a cannon yet, but he does have quite a bit of movement which I understand is a large factor as well.

I still believe it was part of God's plan all along. Why else would He make him the only lefty in our surrounding family? As long as my son is enjoying it and remains dedicated, I'm looking forward to more cold nights on the bleachers. I can only imagine how this part of God's plan will impact His lifelong and eventual eternal plan for my son. But I know He is in control and I find total peace and comfort in that regardless of how long my son plays baseball. What JOY!!

quote:

I still believe it was part of God's plan all along. Why else would He make him the only lefty in our surrounding family?

He may have wanted him to be a first baseman or a president.

Lots of famous lefty's in this world.
Famous Leftys

quote:

Originally posted by fillsfan:
I agree with Fungo here. The fact that players stop playing baseball is inevitable. Some are eliminated because of talent, or lack of it as they age.

The kids who work the hardest and want to improve the most are the ones who are playing later in their school years.

I understand what you are saying, but there is some contradiction. Something must be said for god given talent and ability, or the gift of hand-eye, twitch muscles, and overall athleticism. A kid can work as hard as possible, but there are physical limitations such as being able to hit-consistently square up 90 plus pitching and offspeed recognition.

Most HS players are weeded out because they simply are incapable of that huge adjustment.

FUNGO says....." Something in our makeup has a hard time accepting that. Even if every player could throw 100 miles an hour, run the 60 in under 6.0, hit a baseball 500 ft., the number of teams, games, starting pitchers and players would remain the same."

Correct, so now imagine how the pro game is GLOBAL with more Latin/Asian participation these days and take that back to the pre-expansion days. This huge talent base would be constricted even moreso. The games would revert back to pitching dominant low scoring affairs, team ERA's in the 2.00 tolow 3.00, and a good batting average may be .250. It could even be less considering most teams 4-5 starters would NOT be in MLB. They would be replaced by about 28 other number 1's and 2's without the expansion.

Example: The 1967 Cleveland Indians finished 8th in the AL and had a .235 team batting average and a 3.25 team ERA.

The Red Sox won the AL that year with a .255 team batting average and a 3.36 team ERA.

POINT:

Even the best of players are eventualy sent home.
NFL has 7 rounds, about 220 players infused into the system fighting for about 1600 roster spots.
NBA has 2 rounds, about 60 players infused into a system fighting for about 275 roster spots.

MLB drafts around 1500 kids each year plus international free agent signings. About 5000-6000 players
are usually in the Mill in MILB with about 1/2 foreign born. It is safe to say these are all very talented
players/prospects who have rose to the top. When you add in the current 775 players on MLB active rosters, you have
almost 7000 players vying for 775 roster spots. The Mill churns every season, meaning great talents are weeded out.

The estimated math above should also be considered in any college vs. pro discussions.

Analogies may mean nothing in the process

EH You got me thinking...

Son's first team he ever played for, 7&8 year old Recreation team; 1 drafted and 2 playing college ball.

Like you, many he has played with/against thoughout the years are now drafted or playing on several different college teams and I enjoy following their baseball careers. I cheer for all of them, except of course when in direct competition. We even got to see some old baseball buddies reunited this summer in the wood bat collegiate leagues.

Enjoy each and every game like it's the last game you'll get to play/watch...

OS8,
I agree 100% about the natural talent. That's why the sentence you quoted was followed by this sentence. "If a top youth player with the most talent continues to learn, practice and develops a good work ethic he usually will always be one of the top performers."

quote:

The estimated math above should also be considered in any college vs. pro discussions.

Good point!

Let's bring this discussion even closer to home. When I joined this board around 2000, there were plenty of us whose kids were juniors and seniors in high school and we talked about getting them to this showcase and that showcase, and almost all of us had hopes of our sons either going on to college, then playing in the pros. I often wonder how many of those sons actually were drafted, or went on to college or made it to the "big show" or simply did other things. And yes, I do miss a lot of the old timers.

We all had aspirations for our sons. But through the natural process, or the numbers game or something else, a lot of our kids didn't accomplish any or many of their baseball goals. That does not imply that they were failures and did not accomplish many of their other goals in life.

The irony in jkkmom's thread for me is how many of the kids who played with my son early on and were considered to be baseball studs, but they didn't have an alternative plan. When they didn't make it in baseball, their whole lives seemed to unravel.

I guess one lesson to be learned from this thread is never to place all of your eggs in one basket. Have a plan A, B and C. That way you will rarely fail. Just my take on this.

Catfish,
It's the Journey that makes them winner's in my book.
Did they try there best, And were they given a chance.
Know matter what level a Player has ever played at, Did They Get a Chance to Prove Themselves.
I think any player can live with that.
No Regrets.

That has always been my only Concern as a Parent, from t-ball to the Present day.
Will they get a chance??

EH