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Sticking it out

Coach WaltripCoach Waltrip100+ posts
This is my first post on this site and I want to say I am always impressed with the enthusiasm and knowledge some people have about baseball. I have read some of the best posts I have ever seen about baseball from you folks and I want to say thank you before I begin my first post.

I want to share a brief story about my son Sam. Sam has developed into a RHP in spite of my discouragements to try to become a middle infielder. Anyway, Sam made his high school Freshman team only to spend most of the season on the bench. He pitched a total of 4 innings, played 4 innings at other positions and had a total of 9 ab’s. Since he was 8 years old he has usually been a starter on the various leagues and club teams he has played on. Needless to say, he was very discouraged in spite of giving it his best shot.

Of course, I was very sympathetic with him being careful not to criticize the coaches, but encouraged him to stick it out, stay positive, encouraging his teammates and to work harder at making a better impression. The assistant coach has either coached Sam or seen him play for many years. There is no doubt some pre-conceived beliefs from this coach about what Sam is capable of doing on the mound. It wasn’t easy for me since I was not able to attend all of his team’s games because I was coaching a Freshman team at a competing school. Therefore, he was left on his own to work through his disappointments, which is a part of growing up. Since Sam is a pitcher he is kinda quirky so it was a challenge for him to stay the course, but he did.

All you dads know trying to coach your own sons can at times be a tremendous challenge. In fact, in my experience with 4 sons are after about 11 years old they don’t value your teaching as much as other coaches. That’s okay a guy just has to work around it. Because of this I knew Sam needed to change and improve his mechanics, but since he has been unresponsive to my suggestions I hired a quality pitching instructor (Ryan Henderson) to spend some time with Sam. Ryan did a great job with Sam working through his mechanical issues over 6 weeks. Sam put in the work and he was looking much better on the mound, but until he could demonstrate that in a game we did not know for sure how good, or bad he would do.

As Sam entered summer JV ball with all the players from his Freshman team I was not too positive things would change as compared to the spring, but concealed my doubts and remained positive for his sake. During the first game, which was a tournament, the JV coach to my surprise called upon Sam to start the game. The look on Sam’s face when he ran over to the stands to tell me he was starting is priceless and something I will never forget. Knowing how important this game was to Sam, I have to admit I was more nervous than I had been in years at one of his games.

Anyway, Sam shut down the other team for 5 scoreless innings with some good, but not exceptional defensive plays in the field. I could not have been any prouder of him knowing how hard he worked to get himself into this position. In just one game he pitched more than he had all spring!

As the summer season (June) progressed he pitched 22 JV innings with only one bad outing that lasted one inning. Sam continued to work very hard (well, very hard for a 15 yo) at improving his mechanics. The varsity team ended their summer with a tournament in Flagstaff and the varsity coach called Sam to see if he wanted to start the first game of the tournament. Of course he said ‘yes’ and he did start, but with limited success. However, he did pitch 4 innings and had come a long way from the spring sitting the bench. I was extremely proud of him even though he was not happy with his performance against varsity level players. He pitched a total of 26 innings during June.

I would like to hear of some other stories of how your kids overcame adversity and pressed on. I honestly believe sitting the bench during the spring may have been the best thing for him as it propelled him into action. Let me know if anyone else on this message board has had similar experiences.

Thank you.
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coach2709coach270910,000+ posts
Welcome aboard and that's a great story about your son. We really need more stories like this. In fact I love what you put here.

quote:
I honestly believe sitting the bench during the spring may have been the best thing for him as it propelled him into action. Let me know if anyone else on this message board has had similar experiences.


All players want to play but only 9 at a time can. So how you handle your time on the bench depends on your attitude. You gave your son the right attitude in that he needs to work to improve.
Infield08Infield081,000+ posts
Coach Waltrip, great story! And welcome to the HSBBW!

My son transferred from a private high school (where he had started on varsity during his freshman and sophomore years) to a large public high school with a nationally-ranked program. He sat almost his entire junior season. In one game, when his team was way ahead, he was allowed to play the last two innings, but didn't see any action. After the game he commented to his dad, "I wanted a ball to come to me sooooo bad!!!"

I truly believe that his year on the bench fueled the fire in his belly and helped him in the long term. I can totally understand where you are coming from.

Thanks for sharing, and best wishes to your son this coming year!
zombywoofzombywoof1,000+ posts
Bottom line for my son was he wanted to play and coming from a big school and stating out as one of the youngest freshman on the high school team (he was 13 when he started 9th grade), he had to work that much harder to prove himself and payed his dues thru the sub-varsity levels until the varsity HC no longer could ignore his productivity in the middle of his junior year as a player and when he got his shot to prove himself at the varsity levels, he eventually beat out a couple of players ahead of him and wound up a varsity starter and hitting in the middle of the order. There were times he was frustrated because he felt he worked his tail off, played hard and should have began his junior year on the varsity, wound up on JV since the varsity had 10 seniors and 5 juniors, a soph and 7 more juniors on JV waiting to be called up, there wasn't much room, he thought about quitting like a handful of others in his situation did, but he stuck it out, continued to assault JV pitching and play hard until he got called up during his junior year and split time and wound up as one of the impact players on the varsity.
Last edited by zombywoof
fillsfanfillsfan1,000+ posts
Nice story Coach Waltrip and welcome to the site.
I am a firm believer that negative situations or setbacks early in a players career can be the best thing to refocus and cause a player to work harder.

As a freshman my son did not make JV and was very disappointed. My advice was to just play his game and if he had success he would be called up. He went on to be the best hitter on the team and was never called up while others were.

Sophmore year was even more disappointing. Same situaion, did not make varsity while others did. Son was ready to quit school ball and wait for travel. Same advice, again best hitter on JV and no call to varsity. He dispised the coaches and could hardly hold it in.

Junior year makes varsity, starts at 1B every game, bats 3rd, hits almost .500 and breaks school home run record. Makes all of the post season first team awards. Basically puts himself on the recruiting map in one year. Best of all his team made it to the state sectional finals, and won the largest local in-season tounament. He came home every day saying how great his teammates were and how much fun he was having.

Tell your son to keep working hard and not let others defeat him mentally. Though it sounds like he is already handling things well. One of the best things I learned on this site is that this journey is a marathon not a sprint. If kids have talent, work hard and stay passionate everything will work out. Good Luck!
Last edited by fillsfan
ClevelandDadClevelandDadHSBBWeb Administrator
quote:
Nice story Coach Waltrip and welcome to the site.

Indeed Smile

Great stories by everyone thus far.

They should change the name of the sport to adversity and it would explain everything just fine. No one should wish it upon themselves but when it happens it makes you stronger - if, if, if, you are willing to battle through things and remain upbeat no matter what.

When my son sat the bench for the first time in his career in college, I encouraged him to focus on the things he could control and work to get better. Being the best teammate, the hardest worker, the best attitude, the guy willing to do the dirty work, and so forth. The best lesson a player can learn is they cannot control other people's decisions and that includes the coach. Let that baggage go and work on those things that you can control. When you finally get your chance after having paid your dues, you will be ready to produce with confidence. Confidence is the most precious commodity in the sport.
TPMTPMHSBaseballweb Member since 2003
Welcome to the HSBBW.

All players face adversity one way or another. And most players at some time (even those always being in the game in some capacity), find themselves not, it is very common and your support as a parent, without criticizing the coaches decisions (even if you disagree) helps him to understand that this is what happens often.

I beleive that the challenges one meets always makes for a better player.
Midlo DadMidlo Dad10,000+ posts
quote:
I believe that the challenges one meets always makes for a better player.


And a better young man, too. The boy here learned a valuable lesson about adversity, perseverance, and taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. Not many get to move on but so far in baseball, but no matter where his future takes him, that lesson can stick with him forever.
Coach WaltripCoach Waltrip100+ posts
Thank you guys for the warm welcome. One reason why I posted this story is because most people like to hear about the underdog who overcame obstacles to achieve success. It is inspiring. It gives hope to those who believe by hard work and determination they can become better than what they are now.

Although Sam is playing in high school baseball, I know success through hard work and determination can come at all levels from little league, Pony league, high school and college onto pro.

For those who have so far shared their son's adventure I thank you for your input. I have enjoyed reading them all. I look forward to reading additional stories of inspiration and hope because I believe it is important for those who have lived it first hand to share your son's story of how he overcame obstacles to achieve a goal.
BaseballGr8BaseballGr810+ posts
Thank you for this post, and welcome too! This is a good discussion and I also want to add that the parents need to hang in there too. If your son is not playing/starting please don't take it out on the kid who is starting over your son, that's just WRONG! Please stick it out, bite your tongue, but keep quiet when it comes to any anger you may feel when you don't see your son coming up to bat or your son is not one of the nine taking the field. Displaying your anger towards the kid who is out there in place of your kid is not the way to go! As parents I'm sure we've all had to deal with our son not playing at one time or another, we all know how it feels to see that our son is not one of the nine taking the field. But just hang in there is all I can say. Not going into more details, but it's just been bugging me, and hurts to see a parent be angry over their son not playing.
Borrowing this quote from ClevendDad:
quote:
The best lesson a player can learn is they cannot control other people's decisions and that includes the coach. Let that baggage go and work on those things that you can control.
I think this can apply to parents too?
Last edited by BaseballGr8
G gimages100+ posts
This a wonderful topic and timely for my family. Since son was in minors (LL), majors (LL), Babe Ruth, travel team and high school he never sat the bench and always was in the starting line up. Son is a wonderful player but not that stud every inning type of player. He was just always among the better players on teams that had players that ranged from very good to average players. Often times I wondered, since he started all the time for whatever reason might he not be learning those lessons mentioned throughout this thread. I know he doesn't take playing for granted and have seen him put in the work in the off season to put himself in a position to succeed. This fall he will be playing for a very successful JC in our area. Unlike all the other teams he has been on, all the players are very good and all could be starters.
Even though he will work just as hard as any of his teammates he may sit the bench for the first time ever. I hope this does not sound terrible coming from a Dad, but a small part of me will welcome the fact that he may not be a starter and may find himself on the bench. Don't get me wrong I would be very happy if he was in the starting line up. I will see it as an opurtunity for him to grow as a player and a man. That is what I wish the most for him to get out of playing baseball. I want to see his feathers ruffled not being a starter and see him work his butt off to become a starter. I want him to support his team and be a great teamate too even though he may not be a starter. I want him never to give up. He has always done all of the above as a starter, but doing from the bench will show how much of a wonderful person I know he is. I believe like Coach Waltrip does, sitting the bench will be a good thing. My favorite quote is "Baseball does not develop character it revels it". Whenever baseball may end for him I want him to be a better man for playing baseball.

BGr8 - Great advice I appreciate it.
B baseballfam4100+ posts
My son also over came adversity in Soph. year.
He was trying out for the Varsity team and had a great tryout,but for whatever reason,he didn't make the cut...he was devestated!And I mean DEVESTATED!
As a parent you feel more pain,but he was so upset, I would "secretly" cry for him.I believe things happen for a reason.He played jv (and had a great year) and he vowed to come back stronger,faster,better the next year.I'd never seen him so driven,focused and determined.He was going to show them they had made a mistake.He worked all Spring,Summer and Fall.Working out with speed training,batting everyday,mental training,vision training and xtra 2hr. infield workouts on Sunday mornings along with travel team and homework!! I must say he came back stronger,faster,better.He had gained so much...it changed him ... for the better.
B Bugzee10+ posts
My son too learned a good lesson this year.Like gimages son, my son also started for every team he ever played on. Was the starting pitcher on JV as a very young freshman(14)I don't think he realized all his success was do to the hard work he puts in during the year. Well as the season rolled along and the wins piled up he started getting lazy.Not doing anything extra above team practices. I was actually getting worried that perhaps like many young men do, they loose interest in anything that requires work. Well AAU season starts he comes out for first game and barely warms up.The team manages a win but not because of pitching. I mention this to him on ride home and he just says he was tired and shrugs it off.I could tell it bothered him a bit but didn't say anything. Next start comes and it was awful. Just a bad loss all around. Well this time his best friend since T-ball days, tells him that they couldn't rely on him anymore and perhaps someone else should be #1 in the rotation. Kinda mean but true. Well long story short, having his best friend tell him that seemed to wake him up. Next day he was back out on his mound working out and going through all the drills his pitching coaches have ever taught him. He did this every day until his next start. He even gave up time with his friends to get workouts in. The next game he throws a Perfect Game. His best friend happened to catch him that day, comes out after the final out and picks him up and carries him off the field(not easy task 5-10. 175pds) and says to the team "He's Back"
Talk about having a smile to die for. Him and me.
On the way home says he now knows why he likes to work so hard. The payoff at the end is worth it.
C CaBB1,000+ posts
As I read these great stories about overcoming adversity I am amazed at the HARD work and dedication these boys put in to try to be the best on the field (or certainly do their best). Baseball is a tough sport and those that succeed usually are the hardest workers. Some of the naturally talented players I have seen in our area don't continue to shine as they advance up the ladder unless they have an amazing work ethic. Talent only carries most players so far.

I was surprised to read on another message board I read (concerning college admissions and academics), that there was a thread about high school players using their athletics to get into a college and then choosing not to play their sport in college. Burn out was one reason cited. I find this interesting because I have never seen this (in my small area of the world) with baseball players. Hats off to our boys for all their hard work and dedication.
KC K Complex100+ posts
Good posts out here on this topic.

my guy had his dose of "swallow your pride" when as a freshman at his small school 3 of his freshman travel ball buddies were promoted to varsity but he was left on JV. The reason was his coach wanted him to get a lot of pitching experience and the JV team was the best place to get lots of innings and pitch. If he was strictly a firstbaseman, I am sure the coach would have brought him up with his classmates to Varsity as he was the same or better as the fielders on the team. In the HS scene, this was awkward for him as he was known as one of the 2 best players in his grade

At first, he was bummed out about it,but he didnt keep him from working hard and his attitude was never bad on the field. he got plenty of innings of work that later translated into going 3-3 as a sophmore on the Varsity, and then 8-0 as a junior and helping his HS to their first ever Long Island Chanpionship (in 100 years!)

I am glad he handled his initial disappointment in a mature way and I believe that extra year of fine tuning as opposed to an occassional Varsity start had a lot to do with his success as a junior later on. In order to learn how to pitch better, ya gotta pitch in games. And god knows, with some of the JV fielding, he got a LOT of pitching practice! Big Grin. But he even learned from the errors about how to pick up his teammates that made the errors and was considered a great teammate.

I cant wait to see him pitch in college next season!
Last edited by K Complex
B brod100+ posts
Our son sustained an arm injury soph year, and could not pitch. The coach put a lot of pressure on him and suggested he was 'faking." Finally, our son came to us and said he wanted to quit, because he was not playing. We told him to hang in there.
His arm got better, he won a national championship with his summer team, won lots of post-season honors in his junior year, and today he is a D1 pitcher.

Patience, understanding, and learn how to be tough..

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