starting early

tk1212000, welcome to the HSBBW!

I can sense your desire to help your son and that is a good thing. That said, it is pretty much impossible to predict whether a 13-year-old will progress to the point where he can play college ball, much less pro ball. At this point, you need to focus on finding him a team to play for. Are there any select teams in your town or the surrounding area? How about Little League or other recreational opportunities? If he can play for some sort of team in the next couple of years, perhaps he'll have a shot at the high school team. If he makes the high school team, that would be the time to set your sights a little higher and aim for college ball.

Best wishes to your son!

thank you for your response. Yes he does play the summer league ball. and does play at least once a day with kids from around the neighborhood. He has such a desire to play I myself spend countless hrs. outside just playing catch with him. as far as any other leagues we do have a legionball league he can tryout for at the end of the school year and we do plan on doing so. my concern is, is one better than the other summerball vs legion ball? because they do play at the same time.During summer ball, stats were kept and he was top in batting avg. and fielding. these stats were only kept for his team. So this is the reason I continue to encourage him to keep practicing even though he didn't make the team, to allow his body to stay in shape over the winter months.

quote:

my concern is, is one better than the other summerball vs legion ball? because they do play at the same time.

This varies from region to region. Hopefully, someone in Southern Illinois can pipe in with helpful comments.

You are very wise to encourage him to keep in shape in the coming months. If I were you, I would have him try out next year for the school team. You never know what can happen from year to year.

quote:

Originally posted by tk1212000:
...One huge concern is that he tried out for the school 6,7,8 grade ball team however the only students that made it were well not verygood but, had relations to members of the coach and or school. my son did very well in tryouts and I was very upset to learn he did not make it even though if talent was judged he would have....

Welcome TK!

This is a great site to find answers to your situations, and also a site where sincere honesty prevails. I noticed that you are from a small town, what I didn't understand is why your son has not yet developed a relationship with the coaches or the school. While "sukking-up" is not recommended, your son should work on getting involved with the group of players that are "in the loop". The "out of sight - out of mind" mentality works when you do not want to be noticed but in this case I would suggest jumping in head first and competing full time with that group.

My next point should not be taken as a criticism but rather a suggestion. On this site the term "blinders" is frequently used. For your own mental health make sure the blinders remain on the nightstand. Look around at the other kids involved and see where their strengths are, what they are doing to make themselves better players, and assess the situation as a whole and not from the tryout you may have watched. Many times baseball is much deeper with more intangibles than what a parent sees, sit back and explain to your son that if he wants something bad enough he needs to dedicate himself to that goal. It won't take long for him to figure out if he want to make that commitment, if he he doesn't, so be it, but let him make it HIS choice.

ty, He will tryout again next year because then he will be in 9th grade and they have their own tryouts. thanks again for all your knowledge!

So thankful of all the responses, My sons desire to play ball is enough for me to offer all the support I can for him. As we all know there are kids forced to playball and kids that do it to make their parents happy, my son is NEVER asked or told to play or practice. But as a parent I want to direct him in the right direction to reach his goal. He did not make the team at jr high however I told him learn from this what you need to do or improve so that next year you will be even better. and who knows maybe he won't even want to play ball next year but, for now he eats, sleeps and lives ball and I will support HIS decision to do so and if he changes his mind then, I will then find a site for whatever he chooses to do next lol just want to help him prepare for what he wants.He is friends with several of the kids on the team. how can he get involved with the coaches when they don't have any camps or programs for the kids only schoolball.
p.s. my son is very unaware of my feelings of why he didn't make the team. I just tell him next year you can try again and learn from your experience. Thanks for your honesty.

Keep in mind there are thousands upon thousands of ball players who at 13 are way ahead of you.
I always have a concern with parents who blame not making a cut on daddy ball. It does exist as we all know but a talented player gets past that.

well you are sadly miss lead I would love for you to come watch the schoolball teams games. then tell me so. or are you guilty of daddyball yourself? because it does happen all too often! My son deserves a fair tryout then if he doesn't make it I will be satisfied. I am not saying my son is great but, def coachable!

First, as others have already said - welcome. This place is amazing when it comes to finding out facts, opinions and anything else you need.

My biggest advice for you is to slow down. Your son is 13 and isn't close to the age where you need to really worry. Let him be young and be a kid first before the pressures of real competition start getting to him.

You said that you think he didn't make a certain team because of politics and that you haven't told him how you feel about it - I think that's great. Politics exist at all levels of ball and on all kinds of teams. Unfortunately it's a fact of life but it can either cripple you or motivate you. When you start using it as a crutch to justify why you got cut then you might as well give it up because you are done. If you get cut because of politics then make yourself better and so good that it gets to the point they can't cut you.


Don't get caught up in the names of teams - showcase, select, all star, legion, super duper awesome outstanding league - because you can name a team anything you want in the world and be horrible. Do some homework and find out which teams have real talent and actually do things right. Some teams are dads who want to spotlight their son because he couldn't hack it on a real team. Just make sure it's a legitimate team.

If you really want your son to attend a certain school (college) my best advice is to start going to that schools camps. Most camps are just money makers for colleges but let's face it - if he's working out for their staff in a camp and he's got the talent they will notice. Go to showcases that you know will have the coaches of the schools you are interested in and go. When he gets to be a sophomore start making a list of schools and then start going to the camps. BE AWARE - this will probably cost some money so get a plan ready for it.

Make sure your son has good coaching. It might be a great high school coach, private instructor or one of those baseball school - just get him someone that knows the game. Then let them do their job. Don't ever undercut a coach to your son because that will only slow his development as a player. It's great to play catch with him in the backyard but he won't get to the next level until you get him great coaching.

My last and best two pieces of advice are - have a back up plan and have great academics. Understand the odds are against your son after high school. That doesn't mean it can't be done because we got tons of posters on this site who have sons that "made it". But your son better have another career he wants to go into if baseball doesn't pan out - doctor, lawyer, teacher, whatever - just having something else in place he can move onto. The grades are important regardless if he makes it in baseball or something else. Good grades open up so many doors that stay shut when his grades are bad. Colleges don't give out that much in scholarship money so if he wants a free education he better get academic money.

Good luck

I am not sure what I am misinformed about. You claim your son didn't make the team because of daddyball. You claim your son had more talent.
Do you know how many people post that post?

No I never coached my son and would never have entertain that. He made it on his own. RZ!s son came from Madison and he is a very successful MiLB pitcher.
You may not like the advice but I suggest you are not early as your post implies You are in fact late.
Why would I benefit from watching your HS ball?

Coach you forgot ROCK STAR.

In order for you and your son to enjoy the BB journey you have to get realistic. One step at a time.
My son was helping coach a 13U team in Charleston SC. He had a pitcher throwing 78mph. That team was loaded with talented kids who were very polished and dedicated.

thank you for the advise I will def. keep this in mind. I know it seems as if i am going too fast however I have actually done nothing. just wanted info on what steps we need to prepare for if he continues to choose to play ball I want him on track with classes and sports so I don't have to hear later well, you should have done this..
ty again.Coach2709 for your positive feedback

bobbleheaddoll
No one said your son didn't make it on his on I simply asked if you were guilty of this. It's good that you were not a victim of daddy ball as my son is. To watch the schoolteam play ball you would benifit in learning that daddyball does occur they have not won one game in two years, this would explain a little of why I was upset. let me inform you that my reason for posting was not to detail the fact that he was unfairly not choosen for the team but, to find other ways and options to play ball and still be able to been seen. I also wanted to know FOR THE FUTURE what he needed to prepare for. as you advise me to get more realistic, I would also advise the same for you welcome to daddyball era it happens everywhere.good players are past up because of this unless you are in a place of no mans land. but, thanks once again for any realistic advise. do you know how many sons have helped coach teams and had players all over the place that were majorleague material. sure it wasn't just your son and just because he did does that mean I should tell my son look there are teams evrywhere that are filled with players that are way beeter than you so just pick a new dream. I think not. Because of people like you dreams are crushed thanks but, no thanks bobblehead.

I don't know if RZ1 can help you but you should get him on a team that develops players skill sets. If it means rec ball then start there and see if he develops . Most areas I am familiar with have several levels of BB. Some cost very little other are as much as 7-10 grand a year. I would try to find a reasonable team that has good coaching . The good teams usually seek out the better players and daddyball is rarely seen. We were able to avoid expensive teams and showcases.
I would not worry about expensive teams at 13 but we played AAA city Allstar travel ball from 9yo. It was only 300-400 a year and went to elite ball at 15yo.
Be realistic in evaluating your son's level of skill but let his skill dictate where he plays. Of course that is subject to resources. I always negotiated a deal with the expensive teams. It also meant not playing for some of them.

tk, Just have your son keep playing, and make sure the academic's are good.
Most of those players at the middle school will not cut it in the HS.
They lose interest and lose there eligability to play.
Cars, Girls, jobs, whatever, there gone.
So if your son wants it, truly wants it.
Just keep playing, wherever he can find a team that has a good coach. Time will take care of the rest.

EH

quote:

Originally posted by tk1212000:
thank you for the advise I will def. keep this in mind. I know it seems as if i am going too fast however I have actually done nothing. just wanted info on what steps we need to prepare for if he continues to choose to play ball I want him on track with classes and sports so I don't have to hear later well, you should have done this..
ty again.

Great plan and attitude. I might suggest using the search function on this site and find similar threads. You're not the first in this boat and won't be the last. Good luck!

btw- We've all been guilty of "daddyball", wearing "blinders" or "rose colored glasses" to one degree or another....it's an add-on that comes with the parent tag.

thanks to all for the help and I will take your advise and learn from it yes even you bobblehead. thanks for the direction help and the good feedback

quote:

It's good that you were not a victim of daddy ball as my son is.

I didn't say he wasn't a victim of daddyball. He was but I never complained about it. At 10 he cried himself to sleep after being carded (call up) on a mosquito team. That was after playing the year before and it was the 1st year of pitching which he was really looking forward to. The coach was fired for daddyball and running the team into the ground. My son and 8 of the allstar players played rec ball that year. The new coach accused the old coach of picking his son's friends. The idiot did the same thing he accused the coach of doing. My son didn't even know them.
The point is we accepted what had happened. That event was very far reaching and harmful to the organization with fall out for several years after. We have had threads on daddyball.
You will enjoy the journey if you stay realistic. Anything can happen.

rz,

I resemble that remark!

quote:

btw- We've all been guilty of "daddyball", wearing "blinders" or "rose colored glasses" to one degree or another....it's an add-on that comes with the parent tag.

tk1212000,

Approximately 52.6 percent of all parents arriving at this website walk in the door wearing the "rose colored glasses" mentioned above.

Just kidding with the specific percentage, but certainly many of us first come here not knowing whether our son can make it to "the next level", whether that is the HS freshman team, the best travel team in the region, or a college baseball scholarship. And we don't know how to help him get there. But there are hundreds of parents on this site whose sons have "beaten the odds" and made it to HS varsity, then moved on to play college baseball. There are quite a few members whose sons are now playing pro ball, and even several who are playing at the highest level (MLB).

Keep reading, keep asking questions, and eventually you will be one of the parents sharing advice with other newcomers about what worked for your son and what didn't ... and the joys and frustrations of a player's parent along the way.

Welcome to the HS Baseball Web!

Julie

quote:

Originally posted by tk1212000:
bobbleheaddoll
I also wanted to know FOR THE FUTURE what he needed to prepare for.

Does that mean I should tell my son look there are teams evrywhere that are filled with players that are way beeter than you so just pick a new dream. I think not. Because of people like you dreams are crushed.

I dont think anyone here is asking you to not dream or not dream big...... My only advice would be to redefine your definition of sucess....If ONLY becoming a MLB player will define success to you and/or your son, then clearly the road to that dream is a rocky one...

But if you want to make sure that he

A. Makes the Middle school team
B. Plays at the Middle school level sucessfully
C. Makes the High School team
D. Plays at the High school level sucessfully
E. Makes a College Team
F. Plays at the College level sucessfully
G. Gets an education


That is success and the fulfillment of a dream that the VAST majority of players never obtain....

Success today is no guarantee of success at the next level...but it is a admirable goal, and will aid in enjoying the next few FAST and FLEETING years......



best of luck....

tk1212000,

If you feel your son has talent that is being overlooked by the junior high coaches, start trying to possibly catch the high school coach's attention by doing your throwing and hitting at the high school field. If you're seen there enough especially in a small town a good coach will take notice. Tell him you really want to work on your game and ask if it's alright to use the field or parts of the field. He may be working on field maintenance and things and if he notices you there every day he may get a good feeling about your son's desire and work ethic. Later approach him and ask if there is someone around who can give advanced hitting or pitching lessons. Don't tell the coach what he can do, just let the coach see that himself. Playing pitch in the backyard doesn't accomplish getting noticed.

tk, first of all welcome to the board. I think we can all agree that we want our kids to succeed and achieve the highest level they can. There is no doubt that daddyball exists and at some point has happened to every one of us. Hang in there, keep working hard and hopefully your son will see success.

I'll share an example of what had happened to us one year. My son was 11 and played for a fall travel team for the first time. Coach strongly encouraged us to come back for spring tryouts. We did and son did not wind up making the team. My son was devastated. I don't know if I have ever seen him so hurt. He played rec ball that spring and then was asked by that same team to fill in for them at their year end tournament. He did. Played 2nd, 3rd, SS, outfield and pitched for them. Parents were stunned and wanted to know why he wasn't playing for them all year. We just told them he got cut. Very satisfying.

This past spring as a freshman, he was a starting varsity pitcher. One of the games he pitched was against the school in the district of this former travel coach. At the time, this HS was #3 in the state. He pitched a complete game throwing only 71 pitches in a 1-0 loss. That old coach was there and had nothing but good things to say.

Sure is good to have something very difficult happen and be able to have some vindication. Hang in there, find a team with a good coach - regardless of the level - and have your son keep working hard to get better. None of this really matters till you get into HS anyway. Good luck to you and your son.

The one thing I would point out is the importance of developing a team mentality. That can be hard to do if you feel there is daddyball going on. You have to work around it and ignore it to a degree. Work on your game as has been mentioned.

Could it be as simple as a large portion of those kids were on the team last year already? A coach who plans on sticking around a few years will fill out the roster usually with younger kids 6th & 7th graders then take a new 8th grader trying out for the team. If he didn't he'd start next year with all new players, makes sense to keep a few underclassmen to groom for next season. It happens a lot out there.

Next year they will all be new to the school so your son should have a fair shake at tryouts.

quote:

Originally posted by tk1212000:
My son deserves a fair tryout then if he doesn't make it I will be satisfied. I am not saying my son is great but, def coachable!

If he got the same reps and at- bats as everybody else. Then he got a fair tryout.

I believe bbhd point is simply, if he jacked 4 -5 over the fence and was lights out in the field he'll play. My perspective, if the roster has been pre set, move.

While the MLB is a terrific goal, allow me to put it into perspective. For caculating purposes lets assume there's 300 division 1 programs that play baseball. Lets assume each school needs 10 new players each year. 10 x 300 = 3000 players needed each year. There are an excess of 150,000 HS players for those 3000 spots not counting juco transfers. Keep in mind D1 baseball is 1.25 light years away from the mlb.

Before you set the course for MLB stardom you may want to consider the tremendous sacrafices required by the player and the families in both time and money to get there. Of course there are no guarantees and your an injury away from it all going into the crapper.

If your guy did hit 4-5 hrs during tryouts it will be a little easier to commit if not, there's always s****r.

quote:

Originally posted by piaa_ump:

quote:

Originally posted by tk1212000:
bobbleheaddoll
I also wanted to know FOR THE FUTURE what he needed to prepare for.

Does that mean I should tell my son look there are teams evrywhere that are filled with players that are way beeter than you so just pick a new dream. I think not. Because of people like you dreams are crushed.

I dont think anyone here is asking you to not dream or not dream big...... My only advice would be to redefine your definition of sucess....If ONLY becoming a MLB player will define success to you and/or your son, then clearly the road to that dream is a rocky one...

But if you want to make sure that he

A. Makes the Middle school team
B. Plays at the Middle school level sucessfully
C. Makes the High School team
D. Plays at the High school level sucessfully
E. Makes a College Team
F. Plays at the College level sucessfully
G. Gets an education


That is success and the fulfillment of a dream that the VAST majority of players never obtain....

Success today is no guarantee of success at the next level...but it is a admirable goal, and will aid in enjoying the next few FAST and FLEETING years......



best of luck....

I think this is a great response for this topic.

I find it interesting that whenever the HSBBW gets slow, same type of post shows up. Written differently, same theme. JMO.

tk,
Welcome, FWIW, all of our boys have had the same dream, to play at the pro level. And all of our boys have been subject at one time or another to daddyball, whether it be the players own daddy or someone elses's daddy. Learning to overcome obstacles is the greatest path to ones' success. You and your son have met up with the first obstacle. And indeed we all wear the rose colored glasses, the important thing is when we take them off, and begin to see things for what they really are and that is that at 13 you cannot judge what an individual player will be like at 13, 15, 19, 20, 25. Just like you and many others, we had NO CLUE what college ball was like, what pro ball is all about. I am still trying to figure out teh pro ball stuff.
Good suggestions, within the next year, get some lessons in, attend local camps, some HS coaches run their own camps, during summer, fall. Attend HS games, college games, milb games, ML games. This broadens horizons and lets your son see just how good you need to be to reach the next level. Not to discourage but to encourage.

Best of luck.

quote:

Keep in mind D1 baseball is 1.25 light years away from the mlb.

LOL

dswann - did you use a sextant to determine this distance???? Is this 100% or 99.4% accurate????

tk1212000,
It certainly is a pleasure to read about parents such as yourself who are behind their youngsters 100% no matter what their age,"GOOD FOR YOU" I get so disgusted at those parents who you see at every practice and game until their young one acquires their drivers license and then you very seldom see them period,They are not really interested in supporting their young one's activities but only haul them around as a matter of convenience, It is a great feeling to look up in the stands and see your parents and even your friends there supporting you, especially when you are playing college and professional ball,an acquaintance of mine has two sons who are in their 20's, they both play hockey s****r and one also still plays baseball to boot,mom and dad are still there supporting them,sometimes the are really spread out pretty thin, all parents etc. who share this kind of love for their siblings and their activities should be greatly admired by their peers,keep right on encouraging your son, it sounds like he has the desire,here are some words of wisdom or whatever you want to call them that are most important not only in sports but also in one's daily life's ventures,"YOUR MIND LEADS YOUR BODY" "ALLOWING NEGATIVE THOUGHTS TO ENTER YOUR MIND CREATES NEGATIVE body ACTIONS WHICH CONTROLS YOUR BODY""TRAIN YOUR MIND TO TRAIN YOUR BODY" bottom line,there is absolutely no middle ground here. Help your son follow his dreams, listen to every bit of positive suggestions you can find, have high hopes,motivation comes from within so keep encouraging him and find ways to to keep him interested enough to motivate himself, find him a team to play for at his now caliber of play, If he is capable of playing up all the better, find some one in your area who is willing to work with him who can"TEACH" him how to bring out his potential, without costing you a weekly fortune, There is a significant difference between a coach and an experienced, knowledgeable, qualified and competent "TEACHER" TEACHING" is foremost and most important aspect of the two, If you were here in my area and I was helping him I would have him on what I call my perpetual cycle learning system which enables one to learn faster, retain more mental knowledge and physical attributes by being on and remaing on a regular, successful workout cycle learning curve which entails three sessions per. week, not to interfere with regular sessions,say, Mon. Wed. Fri.with this type of workout schedule there is only 2 days in a row off,Sat.&Sun.with an every other day "on" session,three sessions per. week evenly spread out with a day on and a day of time frame is the minimum number of sessions for one to be able to acquire improvement on one's activity
Mon.-on
Tue.-off
Wed.-on
Thur.-off
Fri.-on
Sat. Sun.-off
I know of a very smart lady who realized that her son needed specific practice and was also wise enough to realize that he would not get the necessary practice to enable him to improve as he needed to so she wisely kept him on his certain number of practice sessions instead of playing some extra travel games,"ALL PLAY AND NO PRACTICE MAKES ONE AN INFERIOR PLAYER AND ALSO CREATES INFERIOR INDIVIDUAL SKILLS AND TEAM PLAY" I observe this game after game here in Springfield from all age groups and levels of play, The coaches and parents who fall into this trap certainly are not thinking of their players improvement.
Legion and summer leagues ball in this area is suffering some what due to the fact that the better players so to speak are getting into the travel tournament ball syndrome in hopes of being seen and signed by college or pro. scouts who attend these tournaments, it is my belief that if parents and coaches would do their home work by contacting college coaches and arrange for their players to attend tryouts and show cases there would be less need to travel all over the country so many times although many tournaments do have some advantages but their big disadvantage is that there is no time for players to work and improve on their much needed individual skills on a regular basis away from the speed of the game unless they hold practice sessions between tournaments.
Keep up the excellent way you are handling the situation and the very best of success with your son's quest to become the best ball player he can be, as long as he loves playing the game and you all work diligently towards improvement every thing will turn out fine, he must learn and remember that there are mountains to climb, before one acquires the position to go over the top and down the other side, climbing to the top and going over is the main and hardest part of the battle,going down the other side is winning the battle, These battles are daily confrontations so tackle them head on with a positive attitude.
If you want assistance on any particular segment of his play feel free to contact me and the many others on this web site who can be of help to you.
Don Ervin.
kom_ervin@yahoo.com

Don,
Good post but seems that tk has come and gone, so not so sure if it was for real.
Regardless, these topics spark good discussion.
One point you made, most HS players cannot try out for D1 programs.
So coming from Kansas City and living in Springfield, which are you, a Royals fan or a Cardinal fan?