Nervous Dad

It is possible that they weren't there to see your son, but there to watch someone else and with that performance they might start following your son closer now. It really is too hard to say.

A perfect example:

When I was a Junior in HS a friend of mine who was a senior was being scouted heavily at the time as a 3Bmen.

Pat Gillick, then with the Mariners came up to see him play and evaluate him. The pitcher during the game, also a senior was RHP was throwing high 8s and tossed a no-no, when the game was done nothing was said to the Pitcher, all they wanted to see was the third basemen.

They both went onto a Pro Careers.

quote:

Originally posted by #32 DAD:
Friday my 2013 LHP son pitched our first district game and threw a no hitter. Found out from a family friend (his son plays for another district team) that a Major D1 (currently in top 10) had two scouts at the game. One we using a radar gun and the other making notes. Our coach did not know they were there and they did not stop by and say anthing to the HC. Is this normal or were they just not impressed? They told my friend he was curising at 83-85 and occasionly hitting 88 on FB. possibly is isn't good enough for major D1?

Dad,
If you want to be nervous, reserve the feelings for what you can control. What those scouts might think, if they said nothing, is part of what you cannot control.
More importantly, continue to enjoy watching every game your son gets to pitch, and hopefully who is watching in the stands can fade into the background when we all appreciate there isn't anything we can do about their presence.
To address your specific concern, the Sunday starter for Stanford is a freshman lefty.
John Hochstatter is 80-82 and occasionally 84 mph with a change down in the 68-69mph and a big curve ball right around 74mph.
His ERA after starts against Texas, Rice and Fresno State and 6 1/3 innings of relief against Vanderbilt is less than 2.00.
One poster on this site has a freshman son pitching in the Pac12. He is a RHP. While he can get to 90mph, I expect he cruises more in the 86-88mph range. The plain fact is he can pitch and is fearless on the mound. In the Pac 12 opener for his University, he started, with a line of 6 IP, 3 hits and 0 runs and a record of 1-0.
Good luck to you and your son. Heck, have fun!!!

Learn to enjoy the game. If your son does the right things to get in front of college coaches you don't need to be nervous. He will find a place to play. What value does watching your son have if you can't enjoy it?

Dad32

My son is LHP and it easy to say do not be nervous and just enjoy...it is great advice

However easier said than done....if you are like me you will learn to have fun being nervous


If he is hitting those speeds and pounds the zone he will do fine


Good luck!

Your son is pitching... you have every right to be nervous. If you're not, you're a much better man than me.

I got the impression the poster is nervous about the process, not an individual game.

RJM you are probably right..my advice would not change...learn to have fun being nervous....the process is nerve racking with many ups and downs along the way....one minute things look like they are going your way and then it goes backwards...and visa versa

At least that was our experience but you are correct looking back I do wish I was less nervous but when youvare in the middle of it...hard to do.

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:
Your son is pitching... you have every right to be nervous. If you're not, you're a much better man than me.

...and besides, it makes you feel so alive....

Mid-high 80's from the left side is plenty of velocity for success in most any college program. Velocity we all know, is just one piece of the puzzle.

quote:

Originally posted by Dad04:

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:
Your son is pitching... you have every right to be nervous. If you're not, you're a much better man than me.

...and besides, it makes you feel so alive....

Mid-high 80's from the left side is plenty of velocity for success in most any college program. Velocity we all know, is just one piece of the puzzle.

Could not agree more.
Whether our son's are pitching, hitting, running, fielding, or for us now, coaching, I cannot imagine not being nervous.
Over time, we were able to silence, or not pay much attention to the chatter in the mind which certainly happens when the word "scout" or "recruiter" in the stands gets passed around and in Milb when some of that "chatter" happens. What they are thinking, saying, reporting or projecting is a mystery and there just isn't anything we can do about it. It just took me time to figure it out along the path.
With that said, we were plenty nervous when the MLB draft was going on and projected rounds passed without a certain name being announced.

quote:

Originally posted by Dad04:

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:
Your son is pitching... you have every right to be nervous. If you're not, you're a much better man than me.

...and besides, it makes you feel so alive....

Mid-high 80's from the left side is plenty of velocity for success in most any college program. Velocity we all know, is just one piece of the puzzle.

Dad04,

For a RHP velocity seems to be the 98% piece.

#32Dad:

Think nothing of the fact that neither recruiter said anything about your son's performance to the head coach. They could easily have come away impressed and had any number of reasons for not speaking to him. If they liked him, they'll either make a point of seeing him again or reach out to him.

Try not to read anything into the behavior of recruiters or scouts at a game or showcase.

Congrats to your son on a fine performance and best of luck to him!

quote:

Originally posted by HunterMac95:

quote:

Originally posted by Dad04:

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:
Your son is pitching... you have every right to be nervous. If you're not, you're a much better man than me.

...and besides, it makes you feel so alive....

Mid-high 80's from the left side is plenty of velocity for success in most any college program. Velocity we all know, is just one piece of the puzzle.

Dad04,

For a RHP velocity seems to be the 98% piece.

...and yet velocity without command is 100% useless from either side.

Your son threw a no no in front of a scout. Word will get out. They all talk. So your a little nervous...... Good that means I'm not alone and we are not robots.

why don't hitters dads get nervous?

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
why don't hitters dads get nervous?

Tr...I've seen many a dad pacing back and forth while wringing their hands when Jr. was up to bat. Maybe we "Pitcher Pops" are more obvious because our guys performance is a little more prolonged throughout a game.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
why don't hitters dads get nervous?

Having a son who is a 2-way player, there is that pitcher nervousness that is definitely worse then the batter nervous feeling. I agree with jerseydad, It has to to with the overall length of time involved. Each at bat is only a minute or two. Ever sat through a 20 minute inning with your son pitching? Nothing like it.

As a position player dad converted to pitcher dad, I can say that position player dad holds down food better than pitcher dad. Closer dad has the roughest time of all.

Thanks everyone. I am always nervous in the first inning but after I see he is on that part goes away. I am nervous about the process mainly. So far in 6 games pitched a D1 college has been there to watch and sometimes two. Still no one has contacted me. Maybe the coach has been fielding calls and just not wanting to put any additional pressure on my son. We are about to win our first district championship in over 30 years is son can win Friday.

Except in rare circumstances, they won't contact you. They'll contact him; either directly or through one of his coaches. Frankly, the less directly involved you are, the better.

Best of luck to him and his team in the division championship.

#32, better get started on finding a good advisor.

Just as an update (and brag a little) we won our game and the district. Son pitched a perfect game. He struck out the first 14 batters and 17 overall.

Wow! That's quite an accomplishment! Congratulations to him and his team!

quote:

Originally posted by #32 DAD:
Just as an update (and brag a little) we won our game and the district. Son pitched a perfect game. He struck out the first 14 batters and 17 overall.

Double WOW! What a great accomplishment. I'm sure the nerves were going as he wrapped it up. Sometimes that feeling can be so great.