Newbie: When to start?

Momof4Boys, Welcome to the HSBBW. You are about to embark on a journey that is full of surprises, unknowns, rewards smiles and a few tears. You have also found the most informative website that discusses in depth everything from little league, recreational ball, summer teams, high school baseball, all levels of college baseball, showcase and other "exposure venues", the recruiting "ride", travel teams, college, the pro draft and professional baseball as shared by players, parents, coaches and just plain good baseball people that have "been there - done that. First, there are a few guidelines that should be followed when it comes "grooming" for the next level. For simplistic reasons (and for just a moment) I suggest you look at this recruiting event and view your son as a "product" and see the college coaches and/or professional scouts as buyers. Your job is to understand your product (son) and to understand (as best you can) what each college coach and program is looking for and how you can ASSIST your son in getting connected to the right coach and right program. You need to continually ask yourself. Do you need to improve your product (lessons)? Do you need to advertise your product more (showcase). How well known is your product (reputation)? Who would buy your product? (D-1, D-2 JUCO or pro team). Your job is simple in that it will always be to support your son. You job is also fairly complex in that you're never sure what to do next.

While there will be suggestions here about what you should do and when you should do it, the thing that impacts EVERYTHING in your son's baseball will be HIS TALENT. His talent could be such that all he has to do is play the game and EVERYONE will flock to see him (you do nothing) ---- or it could be that you might spend lots of $$$ on doing what's "right" and no one wants him.

Now to address your specific questions:

Q. "We are only satisfied with him getting to play on the select team as it seems like the other players are getting more rounded experience in lots of positions while ours in just a couple."
A. Means nothing. It's not how many positions he plays its how well he plays as few as one position.

Q. "How and what do we do? We have 3 younger boys and can't afford lots of private lessons but do try to get him what we can when we can."
A. A few good lessons will help but HIS daily workout routine and his work ethic will impact his talent more that a 30 minute lessons.

Q. "How should we treat the upcoming tryouts for frosh bb and the politics with positions?"
A. Drive him there, drop him off and do whatever you want --- or you can sit in the stands and when you get home you can tell him how much better he did that the other players. (that's your call).

Q. Our son is such a hard worker that we impress that upon him to work hard and he will be rewarded but we are worried that "more money" and "more opps" that his peers have will leave him out. Any advice you can give on what we should do and how we should guide him through hs yrs would be appreciated.
A. Don't make excuses on the front end. Bad approach. Stay positive and adjust later if need be. However, those excuses are pretty common so I guess they are universally accepted. I suggest you support him as a parent. Do normal parent things like hugs and good food.

Q. Is marketing him this early helpful?
A. Marketing is difficult to measure but marketing has little negatives other than the cost. So in my opinion --- yes any marketing is helpful. The question should be is it necessary? Those in the business of selling marketing services (showcases, camps etc.) will name hundreds (if not thousands) of players THEIR services have helped. Exposure is necessary. Overexposure is a waste of money.

Mom, if he is good enough it will work out. If not, he will find out soon enough. Proper instruction helps and it does not have to be extensive. A few lessons from the right instructor can provide your son a base upon which he can build on his own.

The work ethic is great and important and will help, but will not guarantee anything. The quality of the program at his school will be important, and that can be both good and bad. If he is at a strong school and succeeds, that is a huge benefit, but the potential downside is that it might be impossible to break into the lineup. At a school with an average to weak program, the opportunities will be greater but with far, far less fanfare.

I don't think politics play nearly the role that many believe. I have never met a coach who did not ultimately play the best players. The wild card is that all coaches can make mistakes.

Best of luck.

The following page is the best place to start on this site for understanding the journey starting with "making the high school team."

HSBBW Articles

As far as high school politics goes, stay out of it. Have your son show up prepared and ready to impress with his talent, attitude and work ethic. He gains nothing positive by a parent getting involved. If you watch tryouts, watch from an undetectable distance. Be prepared for if there's a tie in talent level the kid the coach is more familar with will probably get the nod. It's not politics. It's comfort level. My son plays high school baseball. Most of what I've heard tagged politics is parents not being realistic regarding their son's ability (or lack of).

quote:

How should we treat the upcoming tryouts for frosh bb and the politics with positions?

Hi, Mom. There are things that you can control, and things you can't. This is one of the things you can't, so try not to worry about it. jemaz is right, politics don't play as much of a role as some parents would like to think. Rumors are generally stirred up by parents. Only the coaches know the reasons for the things they do, but there are always parents who claim to have the inside scoop, or believe that politics are why their son is playing 2B instead of SS, or why he's hitting 7th in the lineup instead of 3rd. Most of it is fiction.

There are nine positions on the field, and (as RJM put it in another thread) all nine are better than being on the bench.

You've gotten lots of good advice so far. I'd encourage your son to focus on the one position he plays best, in other words - be a master of one, not a jack of all trades. That said, if he's good enough and stuck behind a better player, then he can work in some reps at other positions. Most high school coaches figure out where they think a player can contribute the best, and that's where he spends most of his playing time.

As a parent, I'd encourage you to stay completely out of it. You can do nothing that will enhance his opportunities, other than by being the best parent you can be. You shouldn't tell anyone about his skills or baseball with other clubs, just let him earn whatever role he's able to earn and realize that it's a long road, and a couple years from now, nobody will remember anything about what he did or didn't do playing freshman ball.