As a high school senior i rarely played, but my coaches still talked about how much i meant to the team. So i would like it if some coaches would give some perspective on this
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
letpetein
Every team needs players like you---that is why it is called a team
Every team needs players like you---that is why it is called a team
Its easy to be a team player when you are playing. Its easy to have a good attitude and work hard if you know you are going to play. Kids like you are the reason I coach. You are the type of kid that makes a team a great team. You will never know how much it means to a coach to have a player or players that gives everything he has and is a true team mate regardless of how much he plays or does not play. Maybe one day you will coach and then you will truly understand.
My son's team has two players that stand in stark contrast. One is a senior who has had but one at-bat and has never played in the field. He got cut from last year's Summer team, yet continued to work in the off-season and tried out this year despite the odds against him.
Then there is a sophomore who is related to a NFL quarterback. Plenty of talent, yet when he went into an 0-fer slump and was pulled from the lineup, he was on his cellphone (during the game) to call home to complain that he was pulled.
The ironic part is, both of these boys will eventually be out of baseball. One due to lack of physical talent, one due to lack of mental fortitude. Baseball is a strange game of attrition.
Then there is a sophomore who is related to a NFL quarterback. Plenty of talent, yet when he went into an 0-fer slump and was pulled from the lineup, he was on his cellphone (during the game) to call home to complain that he was pulled.
The ironic part is, both of these boys will eventually be out of baseball. One due to lack of physical talent, one due to lack of mental fortitude. Baseball is a strange game of attrition.
Not everyone can be a superstar, but attitude is a choice. As a head coach for many years, I can tell you that players like you are INVALUABLE to any team. At the end of the season, my players vote on an award for "best practice player" - the guy who was good enough to contribute to the team without playing much in games. To me, this award IS every bit as valuable as the MVP because being the star is easy...sitting the bench & still keeping a great attitude is much more difficult.
You should be extremely proud of yourself. Everyone can respect a young man who puts the program above himself. As the saying goes, "It's amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit." Kudos, kid - that type of attitude will take you far. Coach Knight
You should be extremely proud of yourself. Everyone can respect a young man who puts the program above himself. As the saying goes, "It's amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit." Kudos, kid - that type of attitude will take you far. Coach Knight
Letpete,
You made a positive choice to make the most that you could of being on your team. You are a great teammate and, I would say, a great player. You did your best every day!
I would aslo like to congratulate your coach. You are fortunate to have a coach that recognized your effort and value and appreciated it.
Best wishes
You made a positive choice to make the most that you could of being on your team. You are a great teammate and, I would say, a great player. You did your best every day!
I would aslo like to congratulate your coach. You are fortunate to have a coach that recognized your effort and value and appreciated it.
Best wishes
What many do not realize is that there are many ways for a non regular to help his team---we play in tournaments where the games are in a time frame,not innings and you run for the catcher---we always use a player for this role who is not a regular--backup fielder or pitcher--- the role is key because minutes are important---our runner was always on the field before the umpire called for him---every player must know their role how small or large it may be
Letpetein,
I want to congratulate you on reaching a high point of your baseball career........in the grand scheme of baseball, being a senior on a HS varsity Baseball team is no small feat........
In reality, the VAST amount of youths who start playing baseball are long out of the game by the time the senior year rolls around.....
Baseball is a pyramid.......at the beginning 5-6 years old, everyone plays........and as you go up, the numbers start to dwindle...My little town fields 4 teams of 5-6 year olds.......by the time age 12 rolls around, there are 2 teams.....then one PONY league team, then one COLT team....and maybe just a handful of those players are HS Varsity players.......and from that.....maybe one goes on to college baseball.....
So you see, HS Varsity is no slouch in real world baseball. There is a place in baseball for you. Once your playing career ends, baseball still needs you. You can try and leave it behind, but from your post, you seem to want to keep at it.....
Truth be told much of most levels of baseball are coached, umpired, administrated and supported by people who never reached the highest playing levels of the game......in all the years I have umpired my greatest contribution to the game came not from calling balls and strikes well, but from a cell phone call I made after a youth game.....
Congratulations on your career and my hopes that you will continue on in baseball in some area.....we need you.......
I want to congratulate you on reaching a high point of your baseball career........in the grand scheme of baseball, being a senior on a HS varsity Baseball team is no small feat........
In reality, the VAST amount of youths who start playing baseball are long out of the game by the time the senior year rolls around.....
Baseball is a pyramid.......at the beginning 5-6 years old, everyone plays........and as you go up, the numbers start to dwindle...My little town fields 4 teams of 5-6 year olds.......by the time age 12 rolls around, there are 2 teams.....then one PONY league team, then one COLT team....and maybe just a handful of those players are HS Varsity players.......and from that.....maybe one goes on to college baseball.....
So you see, HS Varsity is no slouch in real world baseball. There is a place in baseball for you. Once your playing career ends, baseball still needs you. You can try and leave it behind, but from your post, you seem to want to keep at it.....
Truth be told much of most levels of baseball are coached, umpired, administrated and supported by people who never reached the highest playing levels of the game......in all the years I have umpired my greatest contribution to the game came not from calling balls and strikes well, but from a cell phone call I made after a youth game.....
Congratulations on your career and my hopes that you will continue on in baseball in some area.....we need you.......
quote:Originally posted by Coach Knight:
Not everyone can be a superstar, but attitude is a choice. As a head coach for many years, I can tell you that players like you are INVALUABLE to any team. At the end of the season, my players vote on an award for "best practice player" - the guy who was good enough to contribute to the team without playing much in games. To me, this award IS every bit as valuable as the MVP because being the star is easy...sitting the bench & still keeping a great attitude is much more difficult.
You should be extremely proud of yourself. Everyone can respect a young man who puts the program above himself. As the saying goes, "It's amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit." Kudos, kid - that type of attitude will take you far. Coach Knight
That is an awesome idea Coach Knight. When I begin coaching I definitely will have this award.
LetPetein,
I am not a coach, and know many players who are or have been in your shoes. You have gotten some real answers from some real coaches.
One other thing, my son was just that, got a couple innings here and there in HS, continued to work hard, played summer ball, wrote to colleges the thought he had a shot at, signed, they told him they were going to redshirt him, couple guys got hurt, got his shot, made the most of it, did well, just finished his Jr yr of college, had his exit interview today, and will be back to finish his degree and play his final season.
Sometimes one teams needs are very different than anothers, and sometimes one coach see something in someone another doesn't. Reguardless, you should be very proud of yourself, as your coaches are.
I am not a coach, and know many players who are or have been in your shoes. You have gotten some real answers from some real coaches.
One other thing, my son was just that, got a couple innings here and there in HS, continued to work hard, played summer ball, wrote to colleges the thought he had a shot at, signed, they told him they were going to redshirt him, couple guys got hurt, got his shot, made the most of it, did well, just finished his Jr yr of college, had his exit interview today, and will be back to finish his degree and play his final season.
Sometimes one teams needs are very different than anothers, and sometimes one coach see something in someone another doesn't. Reguardless, you should be very proud of yourself, as your coaches are.
quote:Originally posted by LETpeteIN14:
As a high school senior i rarely played, but my coaches still talked about how much i meant to the team. So i would like it if some coaches would give some perspective on this
You keep your head on straight, continue to watch, learn, and understand the game and you will find that down the road you will be standing on 3rd base as an outstanding youth coach. I'm not here to pat you on the back for being a "trooper", I'm here to say you have my utmost respect for understanding the meaning of being a teammate.
As a senoir my son played in very few games.May of last year he almost gave up hope of playing college ball,college coach had been watching him in warm ups and offered him a chance.Son started 26 games behind plate this freshman year d-3,keep working hard someone is always watching.
thanks everyone for your responses. I do have plans to coach in the future at my old high school if at all possible. The game of baseball is funny in how it doesn't allow anyone to be bigger than the game. The babe thought he was more important in the end it brought him back to reality; because, he never got to manage. The Black Sox thought they could manipulate the game and it brought them shame. Peter Edward Rose thought he was larger than the game and it brought him a lifetime ban, and now bonds has done the same and he's the most hated player in baseball. The love of the game has to be accompanied with a greater respect for it. That's why i played for the love of it. We practice 3 times more than we played. So in all actuality i started every practice the whole team does. So in my mind i played 3/4ths the season. That's just the way i look at it. I find myself remembering more practice moments than game time situations because that's where the game really matters in the preparation.
LetPeteIn14
LetPeteIn14
Just keep in mind that many MLB managers and coaches were bench players during their career--not too many stars make good coaches/managers
LETpete,
I would encourage you to remember how you felt when you didn't get opportunities to play despite the hard work you put in. I'm not talking about playing in a league game with the score tied, I'm talking about the times your team was blowing out another team or being blown out by another team or when your team was playing a low key tournament or scrimmage. The times when a good coach will get his backup players playing time in case they are needed at some point in the season due to an injury to a starter or some other reason.
Remember that when you are a coach and give players the opportunity to prove themselves, one way or the other, and remember to give your backup players some real playing time. Your backups will be ready if you need them and it won't have any effect on your starters other than teaching them that they are part of a team also.
I'm speaking from experience here as I was a 16yo senior who didn't get much playing time and even though I didn't work as hard as I could have I did get some playing time in tournaments and when the coach found out I was one of the two fastest runners on the team (I looked slow so it took a stopwatch) I got chances to pinch run at least. I also saw a hard working player who did well in practice get chances to play and eventually win a starting job. Those limited playing opportunities and knowing that if I showed I could get the job done I'd get the chance to prove myself was plenty enough for me to look back fondly on my senior season and were also enough to keep me going in baseball afterwards.
I would encourage you to remember how you felt when you didn't get opportunities to play despite the hard work you put in. I'm not talking about playing in a league game with the score tied, I'm talking about the times your team was blowing out another team or being blown out by another team or when your team was playing a low key tournament or scrimmage. The times when a good coach will get his backup players playing time in case they are needed at some point in the season due to an injury to a starter or some other reason.
Remember that when you are a coach and give players the opportunity to prove themselves, one way or the other, and remember to give your backup players some real playing time. Your backups will be ready if you need them and it won't have any effect on your starters other than teaching them that they are part of a team also.
I'm speaking from experience here as I was a 16yo senior who didn't get much playing time and even though I didn't work as hard as I could have I did get some playing time in tournaments and when the coach found out I was one of the two fastest runners on the team (I looked slow so it took a stopwatch) I got chances to pinch run at least. I also saw a hard working player who did well in practice get chances to play and eventually win a starting job. Those limited playing opportunities and knowing that if I showed I could get the job done I'd get the chance to prove myself was plenty enough for me to look back fondly on my senior season and were also enough to keep me going in baseball afterwards.