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My opinion is that this is solely your son's issue; if it is an issue at all. If he's disturbed by it, then he needs to talk with the coach about why he's being asked to limit his participation to one or the other.
If after that discussion he continues to be at odds with the coach, he can decide what course to pursue. Chances are that if that's the case, he'll need to make the most of it during his high school season, work hard to further develop the skills that prevent him from playing both, and find a quality summer team that will consider playing him both ways.
While it may be the case that the high school coach is trying to make as many people happy as possible, it is often the case that large programs have enough quality players on the roster to ask them to focus on one or the other. In any event, it is the coach's prerogative to decide; just as it is your son's prerogative to decide how he's going to respond.
I would say it depends on the program.
Our varsity HC has a preference that pitchers don't field, and fielders don't pitch. He has a couple of reasons why:
1) Between practicing a position and throwing bullpens to stay sharp, let alone game appearances, two way players are putting a lot of wear on their arms. By the end of the season it takes its toll. Some may not totally agree with him, but at the worst - all he is doing is trying to protect his players.
2) Two way players in college and above are very rare. With this in mind he wants his players to focus on the position that gives them the greatest chance at playing at the next level. It's hard to pigeonhole the underclass players, but the upperclassmen should have an idea if they can hit or not.
My 2017 son played for the HC over the summer and was a two way player (P/C). At the end of the summer the coach told him that he would be a P/O during the HS season. While my son is a good catcher, and a decent hitter, he has turned into a very good pitcher. He was told the pitcher/catcher two way was not an option.
Watching what the catchers are having to do in practice, my son is quite happy to not have to suit up... He is getting a chance to focus on pitching and conditioning, and get an appropriate amount of rest.
My youngest son's high school team is the same way. Pitchers pitch and position players play positions because the coach wants to win. It is a very difficult high school team to make and they've had much success. The coach knows exactly what he is doing, and I don't think there is anyone in the state that can argue with his success or approach. Every year he has to cut players that would start at other high schools in the area. If your son is in a similar situation he should thank his coach for showing him what it is like to play at the next level.
Some programs do it some don't. Personally I think HS coaches are getting a bit ahead of themselves thinking that they have to run their program like a college program, particularly with developing kids, it is a bit soon IMO to pigeon hole them. Typically the best pitchers are the best hitters, but to each his own.
There is summer and fall ball this, but keep working on the side. I know my son put as much time in away from the program as he did in it, so don't worry about it, it is what it is. BTW what do you think you can do about it anyway?
It's probably early for a sophomore, but it depends on many factors. How well does the coach know the player? Who is ahead on the depth chart? What holes can the player fill on the team? Some programs aren't big enough to have the luxury of having kids that only pitch.
I think a lot of the issue comes down to how well the player hits. If the pitcher is one of top hitters in the program, the coach is going to find a spot for him on the field. If he's just average in the program - maybe not.
In my son's case, he played for the HC on a team from a local showcase program. So the coach got to see him pitch quite a bit over the summer. The coach has played and coached through the pro ranks, and was at one time the recruiting coordinator for a nationally known JC program. I truly trust his evaluation of my son's abilities. However I realize most players aren't in the same situation.
I would suspect the SEC team is recruiting based on hitting ability and arm strength. Not necessarily because they project the players to be two way players. They may just have happened to play both ways in HS. I would guess most SEC kids pitched at one point or another for their HS teams. If they have an arm strong enough to make an SEC squad, it was probably the strongest on their HS team.
I would suspect the SEC team is recruiting based on hitting ability and arm strength. Not necessarily because they project the players to be two way players. They may just have happened to play both ways in HS. I would guess most SEC kids pitched at one point or another for their HS teams. If they have an arm strong enough to make an SEC squad, it was probably the strongest on their HS team.
This is absolutely the case. The college recruiter is going to observe and evaluate your son independently of any decision your high school coach makes regarding his position; and the lion's share of the evaluation is done when he's playing for his Summer/Fall team.
It is for this very reason that many high school shortstops are converted to another position once they get to college. The recruiter bases his decision overwhelmingly upon the skillset he observes and decides after the fact where he'll play once he's in college.
Unless your son thinks his development is going to be hindered materially by being asked to limit his playing time to one position during only the high school season, I'd think long and hard before I made as dramatic a move as changing high schools.
High school ball is a big deal locally when you're in it; but, limiting his playing time to one position there when he's playing two for his travel team should not affect his "recruitability" adversely.
Finally, keep in mind, that if the high school coach is correct in his evaluation, it's virtually assured that the college recruiter's going to be way ahead of him in that assessment. Also consider the fact that, while most college players played two positions for their high school teams; very few play both ways in college...especially at the level of a conference like the SEC.
I believe if a player is one of the best pitchers and one of the best hitters on the team he will do both no matter how big or small the school is. My son played at a large high school. There were three examples of this. They didn't involve my son. He was a hitter only.
Sophomore year the best pitcher was also the shortstop and best hitter. Not very unusual.
Junior year the best pitcher, who played some 1B early in high school, was a pitcher only because he couldn't swing it very well.
Senior year one the pitchers went both ways (he hit pretty good with power), others didn't.
If a high school pitcher can hit well enough he will play both ways IMO. Why would a coach not bat a kid he knows can hit better than most other kids on the team? I would think he'd be more concerned with winning than keeping kids and parents happy. If he's not he should be.
This is the case at my son's school even though the coach is one who believes in P/O.
One of my son's summer teammates will be playing varsity as a freshman, and he is right now the best pitcher at the school. Six feet tall, throws mid 80's, has a nasty curve.
The thing is he is also a good defensive SS, hits for average and power, and runs a sub 7.0 60. Nobody in their right mind would keep him on the bench.
The summer coaches feel because of his size he will probably end up either at 3rd or in the outfield in college. Their opinion is that his offensive/defensive tools are greater than his pitching tools - despite the fact that he is the best pitcher at our school. I think this is ultimately the situation for most kids that end up at the big D1 schools.
