Senior Year and already committed..

All the boy has to do is play his game and be himself

Take the Walks. Do not let him expand his strike zone. Be patient and make them pitch to him.

All this assumes that he is a hitter, not a pitcher!

baseball21 - I'm not sure I know a single kid who has been in this situation that wasn't some sort of "marked man." I've seen it many times. Its just something you and your family will have to do your best to ignore.

Enjoy the heck out of this senior season...you only get one of 'em!

You guys are right, I might be reading into things. I just thought this year would be so much fun and we could be able to sit back and relax with no pressure. He signed as a Pitcher and Infielder, so he has to deal with both..

bsaeball21,

Remind him that he is just one of many who are traveling the same path.

baseball21 - Your question is a good one...I remember feeling just as you do...somewhat surprised. But since then...I've learned its the norm.

I wish I'd have known at this point myself. I only figured it out when I looked in the rear view mirror.

quote:

Is there anyone that had to deal with this, that might have any advice to give.

I would tell him to change his priority and focus. Make it all about the team instead of all about him. It will be much more enjoyable for him and it will allow him to relax and let his natural abilities take over. Instead of trying to hit a 7-run homer each time up, his relaxed team-focus can let him sleep well at night with satisfaction from knowing for example, that his two walks and fielder's choice rbi were just as valuable as a 1-4 with a homerun where he was swinging out of his shoes and inwardly cussing himself out for three strikeouts outside the hitting zone.

When pitching, make that about his team. His job is to throw stikes and let the defense do their jobs. There is no defense for a walk and it is not his job to go out there and pitch like Nolan Ryan. I guess what I am saying is go out there and be himself. Never try and live up to some imaginary press clipping. It matters not what the hype says. It matters everything what his teammates think of him. Make it about the team and all the pressure will be lifted from his shoulders.

quote:

I just thought this year would be so much fun and we could be able to sit back and relax with no pressure. He signed as a Pitcher and Infielder, so he has to deal with both.

baseball21,
I don't view the items you have mentioned as fun, relax and no pressure as mutually exclusive.
Ours never signed an NLI so I don't have HS to use for comparison.
But, once they get to college, it is amazing how certain players combine intensity with fun. Some players are just wound a certain way and baseball allows the best to come out of them. They are focused, but confident, they are intense and driven, but loving nearly every minute of the competition. The more and better the competition, the more they love competing and rise to a higher level of performance.
They have an 0-4 and can't wait for tomorrow, they have a 4-4 and it is important for the rest of the day...if the team won.
Right now, your son gets to be a big fish in a small pond. Being a target as you describe it will be very helpful because in a few months, he will be a small fish competing in very big pond.

infielddad, agree 100%

This is a great topic. My son is in the same situation and I have been inwardly wondering what was going on with him. The last 2 years he led the team in his batting average and also in home runs but so far this year has been walked more times than I can count. Finally these comments make sense of the situation. It's just hard for mom to realize that people outside our small community are aware of son and pitch to him accordingly if they are able.

quote:

..Now that the season is here I am not sure it is so great and after a few scrimmages, it just seems that he is a marked man. I am worried that he will try to hard and want to live up to the hype..

"Hype" is a condition that has many levels depending on who's eyes are being looked through and there is only one pair that are important and those are his. Too many times a young player will rest on his laurels and while he may live up to those pre-set expectations, IMHO, the #1 goal should be to always improve in areas that are deficient. He should pick two areas that he feels "need work" and focus on those while maintaining his standards in other areas.

From someone who has been in the same situation:

Tell your son to "Relax and have fun!"

Let him know that it starts all over next year and the D1 coach really won't care much about his HS senior year.

Nothing more nothing less....

He accomplished his goal early and whatever happens this year won't really matter in the fall.

quote:

Originally posted by soxnole:
From someone who has been in the same situation:

Tell your son to "Relax and have fun!"

Let him know that it starts all over next year and the D1 coach really won't care much about his HS senior year.

Nothing more nothing less....

He accomplished his goal early and whatever happens this year won't really matter in the fall.

With all due respect, that advise can easily lead to complacency. IMHO, you always need to push yourself and set goals that exceed the previous year. The process of the "next level" is all about yearly progression and a year without the same attitude that got him where he is, is a year potentially stymied.

rz1,
I could not agree more with your point of view.
Looked at in a different way, those players currently on the college roster who will be returning in the Fall of 2010 certainly are not taking it easy, relaxing and having fun. They are learning what it takes to compete and what they need to do to be successful.
The more a HS senior relaxes and gets the view he accomplished his goal early and nothing he does matters next Fall, the bigger the gap will be with returning players competing for playing time come next Fall.
I have probably posted this too many times but my view, partly because our son didn't sign one and I saw how he responded, an NLI is the beginning. The player is starting over once he signs that document and everyone starts equally for the most part.
Hard work, focus and getting better begin with the NLI, and for most players, it is harder work, better competition and combined with mental challenges far greater than anything they experienced up to the day they graduate HS.

My sons definition of "having fun" was kicking a$$, taking no prisoners along the way, and winning as a team.

IMHO. that is the way a HS senior should go out

Seldom in our lives do we get a chance to leave a legacy mark and when we do it should be taken because more times than not it is a new benchmark for those who follow.

I agree that the worse thing for a HS senior is to take it easy and relax--to relax is for his parents now that he has sealed his college deal--he has to realize that what he is attained is step number one---when he gets on campus in the fall it becomes cutthroat---"it is kill or be killed"--it is no longer HS ball where he is the resident stud---in college he is one of 35 studs--if he gets lazy and complacent now it will follow him into the fall and he will be done

quote:

Originally posted by soxnole:
Let him know that it starts all over next year and the D1 coach really won't care much about his HS senior year.

I too also disagree with this statement. 17's college coach commented to son mid senior season "we need you to work on your offense" (referring to 17's performance at the plate his senior year.)

The coach still has an opportunity to recruit players at your position up to fall semester and even spring semester (from Jucos and other players that will walk on) even though you have a signed NLI.

backstop-17


Amen to that !!!!

I agree that the intensity should remain through the senior year. As a Sophmore my sons team won the State Championship and then as a Junior again they won. I would hope as a Senior that he could step it up for the team to help them 3 peat before he goes to College. This will also as you said, instill a desire to be competitive and work at it to win. Good topic!

This is a very common situation. First, walks help the team, so if they are walking your son out of respect for his bat, so be it.

Second, I totally disagree that the season should be approached with a "no pressure" mindset. Baseball is all about pressure, and as a d1 commit in his senior year, he will feel a completely different kind of pressure that he needs to deal with and perform under. And that is a GOOD thing.

My son had the same situation. His goal for the season was very simple: a state title. He wanted to just once taste that moment, the last chance he had, especially since his HS football team lost in the state title game, a game they should have won.

The team fell short, losing in the semi's, victim of a critical late inning blown call by the first base ump (another story for another day.) But he was at peace because he devoted the season to that one goal, and he knew he committed to it fully.

So my advice to your son would be: don't seek to reduce pressure. Change the focus of the season to something beyond his own performance. It brings about a totally different kind of pressure, a different level of commitment and accountability, which will make him a better ballplayer when he is in college.

And every time they pitch around him, intentionally walk him, or even throw at him - just smile. It is a sign of respect.