RHP son too short for favorite D1?

Big Country, 

I would put this concern in the category of things you shouldn't worry about because you cannot control.  I think there's a Bible verse about not being able to get taller by worrying about it, and worrying about a coach's preconceptions will be just as unprofitable.

Focus on the things a large freshman pitcher and his father can control:  diet, exercise and throwing programs, discipline in skill development, academic preparation, getting competent instruction, playing for the best available travel program.  Encourage your son to do what he can every day to get better.  If he gets tall enough and good enough to play for his favorite team, great.  If he doesn't, he will at least have the satisfaction of knowing he has created all the opportunities for himself that he could have.

However, you may find it encouraging to hear that my four boys, who range from 6'5" to 6'1", had irregular growth patterns.  They grew in spurts.  Each boy had multiple growth spurts that came at different ages.  Each boy had extended periods between spurts when they didn't add any height.  All of them added height after their sophomore years of high school.  So don't give up hope. 

Best wishes, 

Big Country,

My two cents....Thanks for posting.  I think you have a couple things going on here.  First, sometimes kids get emotionally attached to a college in their area.  We live in ACC country too, and you can't help to see (on TV) the local or state schools battling it out on the gridiron, basketball court or baseball field. The media coverage for these schools is incredible.  You  may want to talk to your son about some of the other schools in the area, region, country to open his eyes on other opportunities.  Fixating on one school in future college baseball recruiting would not be recommended.  Casting a wide net and looking for programs that match your academic, athletic and financial requirements would be recommended.  So, yes I would consider your son's dream school for the future, but I would research & consider many others.

In my experience and observations, height and other metrics (velocity, foot speed, bat speed) are used by programs to fit a position profile.  There is no getting around it.  If your son doesn't fit that metric, he is going to have an uphill battle to prove his abilities to some programs.  This is a great example why my point 1 (above - cast a wide net) is so  important.  There may be other D1 programs that will take a chance on a pitcher less than 6'2".   My son is such a case.  He was offered across mid-major D1 and lower level D1 programs.  He's grown an inch since college, but my point is it was not easy to get past the height "thing".  It was the 800 lb guerilla sitting in the room

that no recruiting coach wanted to discuss directly with us.  THe big D1 programs passed, and others were interested.  He pursued the "others" that were interested.   i

 .

PS....Congrats to your son for making the high school team!  That is very exciting

Good luck!

I remember when I was a kid watching a Brady Bunch episode when Peter(I think) wanted to get taller, so he hung from their swing set in hopes of getting taller.  Dont have your son try this, it will only give him longer arms.  Just joking with you.  but then again, maybe long arms will give him more velocity.

I agree with fenwaysouth's post about not just looking at one school.  Or one division.  There is good baseball at lower levels than just ACC baseball, and good baseball at D-2, D-3, NAIA, and JUCO.

Also, dont talk to the high school coach.  If your son thinks playing the outfield will give him another recruiting advantage or whatever, have your son ask to try the outfield.  But remember, there are probably less outfielders at your ACC school then there are pitchers, and I would bet every one of them is freaky fast.

My son was 6 foot as freshman, and now is a 6-2 senior.  I was 5-10 on my first drivers license, and entered college at 6-1, so there is always room to grow, although I never thought of 6 foot as short.

I dont know if this is advise or not, and you are way too early in the process, but your son could always go the JUCO route if he always wants to go this certain school.  Go to a strong JUCO program in  your area, and "grow" for two years and maybe give him a second chance with this dream school.

Morning Big Country,

Like the others fellas said, don't worry about what you can't control, focus on what you can. Academics and a very strong workout ethic will be the difference between big time D1 or another school. We had a kid show up at my youngest sons middle school team a few years ago now, at 6'2" and 200(seventh grade) very dominate at that level. My son at the time was 5'10" 145. The big kid grew to be 6'3" maybe 225 as a senior this year, on Varsity because he is a senior, will maybe throw against non conference teams. He was never coachable, bad attitude no work ethic, poor mechanics yada yada. He won't be playing at the next level. My sons freshman year he was 6'3" 160, this year as a junior he 6'8" 190, he will be the number one Varsity pitcher due to his work ethic and coachable attitude. ( size and being a lefty hasn't hurt either). Our number two is another junior that is about 5'9" RHP throwing low 80's. he got there working hard and having a great attitude. 

Keep a long rambling story short, your son will have the opportunities available that he creates, work hard in school and on field and they will come.

Big Country,

My son will turn 16 next month, and he’s 6’-1”.  His growth rate slowed to zero for about 6 months around the time he turned 15, but he’s grown another ¾ of inch in the past 6 months.  He seems to be tracking almost exactly to the CDC growth chart.  If he continues on that curve, he’ll top out at about 6’-2” when he’s 18-19.  Of course everyone is different (and you have no control over it) but those are the averages.

http://www.chartsgraphsdiagram...eight-2-20-boys.html

Height can definitely be a limiting factor in recruiting, but I think velocity is king.  I would look at some other top D1 rosters for RHPs listed at 6’ and under, then check their Perfect Game profiles.  I look at one and his FB was 91 as a high school senior (he appeared in 9 games as a college freshman).

Would your son rather play outfield at his dream school, or pitch somewhere else?  He has a few years to figure it out, but I think you’re wise to start him thinking about it now.

Good luck.

Big Country-

I was six foot tall in 8th grade and didn't grow an inch after that.  My brother who is 6'5 grew two if not three inches in college, so you just never know.

I agree with MidAtlanticDad I would focus on the things he needs to do to add velocity as that seems more of a limiting factor for recruiters as much as anything.

Based on the wisdom shared here and his summer coach we have encouraged my son to work on arm strength and hitting almost exclusively right now.  All of his strength training and instruction is focused on those two areas.  We are focused very little on his pop time right now, it is good enough to play at the level he needs right now but will certainly need to improve in the future if he stays back there.  We will work on that later because from what I gather without the arm strength and hitting his pop time may not matter that much.

Just my two cents. Congrats on making the high school team and good luck to your son. 

Best pitcher in the ACC last year:  Marcus Stroman, Duke, 1st round draft pick, 5'9" (at most- probably a little shy of that)  Duke has another local kid pitching for them, a lefty, Remy Janco- 5'10"

....But....If a kid is a looking for an explanation for failure....being too short is as a good as any other.

I think it is a bit premature to be worrying about what level in college your son may or may not be able to compete at as a freshmen in HS. He made the first step at making his HS freshmen team. Enjoy this. Next step is making the Varsity team. Enjoy that event that he will hopefully make. After this you can start to worry about the next step. 

As others have said don't worry about things you have no control over. His grades will probably have more to do with how much money he will get in college so focus on this first. 

Frankly his velocity will have more to do with the level he plays at than anything else. If he is throwing 93, no one is going to care much about how tall he is or isn't. 

Best of luck to him this season. 

Unless he's throwing 90 as a freshman, it seems far too early to be concerned about how he will or won't fit in on the local ACC team.  Assuming your son is D1 material, its far more important to find a school that wants him then to focus so much energy/resources/thoughts on one school.  Go watch some other schools play.  Its like riding a motorcycle, it goes where you look, sometimes with unintended bad results.

I go with everyone else that says work on the things that you can control and not worry about the things that you can't.

I am assuming that the school is GT and yes they like their pitchers to be very tall.  Obviously they know your son , and in the end they will recruit him if he fits all the criteria they are looking for and it is not just for his height or lack of. 

Stop comparing your HS freshman son to professional players.

Here's a story. My son grew up in the backyard of UM.  That is the only place he wanted to go to play and go to college, until he became old enough to realize that his dream school really wasn't as it appeared when he was younger.  Things change. He did end up attending another ACC program and never looked back or was never sorry that he didn't take UM up on their OV.

Try to enjoy your sons time in HS and don't worry about what will be 2-3 years from now.

Big ... You're worrying too soon about college ball. Do you consider your son to be a D1 prospect already? Let his talent over the next two or three years decide his potential. Also, you're worrying about something you have zero control over. Your son can only control his physical and mental approach to pitching.

I hit 6'1" soph year of high school and stopped growing. My son is a college soph. He grew from 6' to 6'1" over three years. Last year he grew another inch. 

The best pitcher in the ACC didn't pitch at Duke. lol (Look in Raleigh)

and yeah, BC, chill, enjoy your son's freshman season.

Im just glad to see there is another Braves fan around here!

Now, all you need to know is this.....you don't stop growing until you're around 22. Between now and then he will have a spurt here and there. But like many of the others on here...the VERY last thing you should be concerned with right now is your son's FUTURE height. Why worry about something tomorrow when today has enough troubles of its own?

Help him grow like Swampboy said above. Shoot, your son hasn't even hit the "fume" era yet in high school. That has been known to throw many male athletes into a tail spin to never survive and quit sports altogether. Oh...what is the "fume" era? Car fumes and perfume. Need I say more?

Good luck

YGD

Golly, I love this web site!  I've been visiting, reading and absorbing the wisdom for over a year now, but just joined since RHP son made the team. Thanks to everyone. I really appreciate all the positive supportive advice you guys so freely share.

One thing I would like to elaborate on. Several of you have accused me of worrying too much about things I can't control. . Im not worried, even though my post made it seem that way. My concern was more about how RHP son would react once he too realizes that he may not be able to play at GA Tech(TPM is right), simply because of his height. He is stubbornly persistant, and doesn't like being told he can't do something he has already decided he will do. However If this ever becomes an issue I'll just let him read this thread.  You guys have explained things better than I ever could have,  Thanks again.   

One last thing. I had RHP son make a list of his top 5 choices of colleges to visit over the next couple of years, and of course GA Tech is still at the top of the list.  He just got his "learners license" and we are planning a Father-Son  driving lesson / baseball road trip to Auburn University to watch some SEC baseball. Does anyone out there know if Auburn offers a degree in Bio-Medical Robotics?

Big ... You're going to learn a lot on this site. One thing people may tell you is if your son wants to major in something as difficult as bio-medical robotics, unless he's a MLB prospect he will probably want to aim for less challenging baseball programs than the SEC. You don't see many D1 baseball players majoring in engineering. I'm not saying it can't be done. But college baseball is a job where the more powerful the program, in many cases the more the scale is tipped towards baseball. D1 players miss a lot of classes and often head for Monday class fatigued from a late night Sunday return trip. Another issue with some difficult majors is getting in afternoon labs when the players are expected to be at practice.  

Here's the difference between a ranked D1 and a ranked D3 (experiences may vary). A friend's son was benched for the first game of the CWS because he couldn't reschedule a final exam and missed the last practice before departure. Another friend's son at an academic D3 was told if he has a final he's not on the bus. 

I see 4 RHPs on Tech's roster who are 6'1" and 3 LHP who are 6' or below.

http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sp...ot-m-basebl-mtt.html

I would doubt that all of the 6'1" pitchers are 6'1" w/o shoes.  If your son is 6' without cleats, he's probably at least 6'1"/6'2" with.  If Danny Hall is that fixated on height, then those guys are probably exaggerating a little (both to statisfy the "requirement" of being a tall pitcher and for the program to attract other tall pitchers).

As others have said, don't worry about what you can't control and keep working on velocity.  My guess is that if your son is getting the job done (and throws in the 90s with great grades and SAT scores), he'll be just fine!

Big Country,

What RJM is telling you is spot on.  D1 baseball (or any level) and engineering is a tough, tough road not only in the recruitment phase, but once you get there.  THere are only so many hours in a day.  It can be done, but circumstances must be all lined up.  

Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss specifics.  My son is currently a junior engineering major and starting pitcher at an academic D1.  It took us a quite while to find a situation that fit him, but we found it.

I could not find a Bio-Medical Robotics degree at Auburn.  Use this wesite to look up schools that offer it.  I suggest you start with the entire US, and then narrow it down. 

http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=auburn&s=all&id=100858#programs

Congrats on your son making his HS team. 

He is only a freshman. Give him time to grow. He probably has a good bit of growing left in him. My son was 5'11 as a freshman. He's a sophomore now at 6'2.

sometimes the only difference between a D1 player and a D3player is their physical maturity during their junior year.Some kids just dont develop that quickly.Some kids develop early and peak.I do understand WHY a d one likes BIG kids..they are under the belief that that USUALLY can keep up their Speed over a greater amount of innings versus a kid that isnt as physical.you have got to realize these BIG D1 schools get the CREAM of the crop and can recruit many rhp that are six 2 plus throwing 90 plus for 5 innings.One of our kids got drafted by the orioles..the guy would be in the stands all the time..he wanted to make sure this kid could throw 92 just as easily in the 5th inning as in the first inning.

I assure you that if your son can dominate ACC hitters, he will get ACC interest. Even at Georgia Tech.  Part of the problem that people sometimes overlook is that a good majority of the best pitchers and hardest throwers are actually over 6 foot tall. So it stands to reason that we see lots of over 6 foot tall pitchers on rosters at top programs.

But not all of the best pitchers are over 6 foot tall and there are many of them pitching for DI programs. Concentrate on getting as good as possible.  Velocity DOES create interest. Size is an advantage, but lack of size only stops those that allow it to get in the way.  I'm pretty sure that Georgia Tech would have been very happy if they could have signed Cam Bedrosian 6'0" RHP from that area. But he decided on LSU and was drafted in the first round.

You can't control how tall you will be, but you can control how good you will be. Best of luck.

I am curious - is height less of a concern for a LHP?

Everything is less of a concern for LHP......LOL.

In line with what PGStaff was just writing, whether right or left-handed, it's less a matter of height than it is velocity; and the leverage of height tends to cause taller pitchers to throw the ball faster. For this reason, height ends up being a proxy, generally, for velocity.

So, perhaps the better question is one of whether or not recruiters and scouts tend to value velocity somewhat less in the case of left-handed pitchers. I think the answer to that question, generally, is "yes." Therefore, you might expect to see more left-handed pitchers under 6' tall.

However, at the end of the day (again, as PGStaff alluded), it gets down to being consistently capable of getting batters out at whatever level is being considered and evaluated; regardless of height.

In the end, outside of being too tall for a catcher (and I'm talking 6'4" +), and all other things being equal, being tall/big is almost always a plus in baseball. Perception = reality so much of the time. Can a 5'10" RHP pitcher be recruited to D1 and dominate? Sure! Is it less likely than for a 6'3" RHP? Yes.

My brothers are 6'3" and 6'2" and both are left-handed. In HS, I was 5'8" my senior year but kept growing slowly until I was 21 and finished up at 5'10.5". And I'm RH, but I still have hair ;-). My almost 14YO son took mostly after my brothers and is 5'8" in 8th grade. I tend to doubt my son will hit 6'3", but I hope he clears 6'1" or so. He's a catcher. 

Your son is a freshman, why not just let it play out, instead of taking him to see programs who may never have an interest in him,  continue to be seen and attend a qualified showcase to see if he fits the top D1 profile. I would wait until next year. 

If that is what he wants to major in, understand that in most high profile programs, they want you to have an easier major, so he needs to research other programs where they offer that and target those programs.

He has a long way to go, slow down an relax, and don't worry about what HE is thinking, he will figure it out. 

They tend to be better at this stuff than we are.

Okay I want you to imagine Allen iverson's voice:

"we talkin about a freshman,here....  We talkin about a freshman"

I do wish the lad the luck and enjoy our spring.

I am shocked -- SHOCKED -- to find out there is a prejudice against shorter pitchers in baseball.  This devastates me.  I will have to tell Bum, Jr. the bad news.