Taking a break, and thanks!

Yes, I agree.  I am one of the newer parents.  It does seem that there aren’t many new parents on here.  I’m not even sure if there is another parent of a 2027 like I have.  I have gotten a tremendous amount of help from a number of people which I feel has put me in a good position as my 2027 progresses.  I do wish there were more active members.  It would be nice if there was someone here in western pa as well.

I just had to jump in here I am the parent of a 2027. BUT my son is not a D1 prospect or pro prospect. He's not  6' plus or hard throwing. How do you best help your kid then they are basically swimming up stream to be the best player they can be.

I honestly feel intimidated posting regular HS kid run of mill issues. The crowd can be a bit tough here. We are not a super competitive HS. School ball at the JV level is very disappointing. My son is a bubble player in some regards he was a  JV starter last year and by outside assessment maybe a local D3 prospect. He's spent some years on the travel B team and more recently some years on a higher level  travel team.

I do read quite a bit here and my questions have been answered with respect and honesty.

One of my current issues with my son is trying to figure whether he wants to play in college or not. I think deep down he doubts himself and is trying to figure how passionate he actually is about baseball.

Also how to get him competitive at the bats and lots of exposure to off speed pitching to prepare for a competitive summer schedule while he plays in a very mediocre HS league where the pitching will be 10-15 mph slower.

Lastly how to build arm strength and improve throwing mechanics. What is best at 16 for a catcher? Long toss,  weighed balls, jaeger bands, throwing a football, working out at the gym etc.

If there are any other lurkers here with HS kids feel free to share.

One last observation is I think the travel ball culture is so geared towards selling the possiblity of the college baseball experience that it's not about developing the HS player to have a quality HS experience while having fun doing it.

Enjoy your time @JucoDad. 

Also a long time lurker with a 2027.  Don't post often since there is so much information on the site already and I can generally get my questions answered.  Some of the historical posts are dated (10 - 15 years old) and I wonder sometimes how much things have changed, but generally find all of it to be sound advice.  All that said, happy to network with other current HS parents and share the ride!

Thank you to you and all of those who give advice to those of us with players.  Still have a 2026 in HS and really do appreciate the experiences shared.

If you read older threads, you see that there have always been years when there were only a few active high school posters, and other years when there were a lot.  Just recently, there are a lot of '24s,  (current college freshmen), but only a few '23s, a ton of '22s, far fewer '21s, etc.  (I love this site for many reasons, and I keep my own list of this stuff).

I agree that there is a lot of information in the archive, but what I hate more than anything is when someone replies to a poster with "look at the archive".  Everyone's situation is different.  I think when an active high school player or parent posts a question, it gets a lot of answers - and I too wish there were more such questions.  But, even the venting for various reasons is valuable to someone who wants more examples about how things work.

Google often shows this site when you put a question about high school and college baseball.

JucoDad, your posts have provided a lot of sanity, and I have appreciated them.

@JucoDad, I have also appreciated your posts.

I remember when the board seemed to be mostly about D1 prospects. I got frustrated almost every response assumed the kid was going P5. He did so it worked out.

I remember when Jerry Ford left the board. Among other issues the board had changed. He didn’t want to be promoting PG events to D3 prospects.

It’s the slow time of year. Activity picks up as summer approaches and posters want to know more about exposure.

First, @JucoDad, enjoy your break.  For all else here, this site will be exactly what you want it to be.  That is the nature of the platform and the resources of this site including the archives and the posting membership.  I've been here too long and yet, I still enjoy the conversations, learning new things, and reminiscing about the old days.  I found this site when Bob aka "Head Cook and Bottle Washer" owned the site.  I was so thankful when Julie took over since this site had so much to offer.  It seems that posters come in waves.  If you have questions, please ask.  If you feel mistreated, send me a pm.  We want everyone here to feel welcome. 

@BB328 posted:

I just had to jump in here I am the parent of a 2027. BUT my son is not a D1 prospect or pro prospect. He's not  6' plus or hard throwing. How do you best help your kid then they are basically swimming up stream to be the best player they can be.

I honestly feel intimidated posting regular HS kid run of mill issues. The crowd can be a bit tough here. We are not a super competitive HS. School ball at the JV level is very disappointing. My son is a bubble player in some regards he was a  JV starter last year and by outside assessment maybe a local D3 prospect. He's spent some years on the travel B team and more recently some years on a higher level  travel team.

I do read quite a bit here and my questions have been answered with respect and honesty.

One of my current issues with my son is trying to figure whether he wants to play in college or not. I think deep down he doubts himself and is trying to figure how passionate he actually is about baseball.

Also how to get him competitive at the bats and lots of exposure to off speed pitching to prepare for a competitive summer schedule while he plays in a very mediocre HS league where the pitching will be 10-15 mph slower.

Lastly how to build arm strength and improve throwing mechanics. What is best at 16 for a catcher? Long toss,  weighed balls, jaeger bands, throwing a football, working out at the gym etc.

If there are any other lurkers here with HS kids feel free to share.

One last observation is I think the travel ball culture is so geared towards selling the possiblity of the college baseball experience that it's not about developing the HS player to have a quality HS experience while having fun doing it.

I'd say if your son isn't sure and he's a bubble kid. I'd honestly just recommend he pick a school for school and not necessarily baseball. There's always club and in some areas adult rec leagues. Unless you have the finances I think a good portion of schools have sports programs with large rosters just to bring in tuition revenue. My son is at a juco right now and after that he will transfer to an affordable 4 year school. His plan is to go to a public state school. If baseball permits a more economical option, then he'll continue to play, but otherwise he'll settle with club or a rec league.

For arm strengthening my son did all the above. I'm not sure one is better than the other. My opinion is variety is the way to go to better ensure multiple muscles are being developed. Do read up on studies about weighted ball programs as I believe there was some potential issues with starting too young. I believe Coop DeRenne did some informative studies back in the day, but there's newer studies probably too. Coop's son has been an MLB coach for years.

Also I agree about the travel programs. If you can, try to find a team that prioritizes fun and development. Also one where he's not the best or worst player. There's no need for flashy expensive equipment/uniforms or playing in expensive tournaments for exposure. You can get way more reps practicing than playing in a tournament.

@Momball11

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I wish your son the best while he navigates college ball.

When my son was younger we bent over backwards to sign him up for every clinic or camp we could afford. Did our best to find the right travel teams with quality coaching and development. We were super into it. It was where he spent the majority of his free time. We definitely spent too much money on private lessons. He put in a ton of work over the past 6 years to become a quality HS player.

But as my son gets older I think he desires to not just be a baseball kid but develop other hobbies and continue to excel at school. As other kids hit puberty and due to the type of travel team he is on he is now surrounded by tall big strong kids who throw and hit the ball very hard who have a high ceiling. He has a good bat but he is average size and likely will remain so, athletic and struggling to maintain his weight and put on a few pounds because he is so active.

We will always prioritize academics over athletics and do not have the money to send him to school just because there is an opportunity to join a baseball team. As much as I would love to see him playing in college I have to be realistic and the academics need to be a good fit. I think if he has the drive to continue to push hard and train intensely he could end up somewhere but its now his journey not mine.  I will provide support, help him practice drills, BP and get him lessons when I can but it's up to him now.

He has great travel coaches who have college connections and will play on a regional showcase style team this summer and guest play for fun in a local league. If anyone can get him noticed it would be these guys.

But at 17U next fall if he does not want to play in college we will choose a less serious program and dial it way back from the previous years and try to enjoy the remainder of his HS baseball career.

I just want to pipe up on the original post and say as a 2028 parent how much I appreciate the contributions of folks like @JucoDad, @Dadbelly2023, @fenwaysouth, @adbono and @PTWood (since we live in same area and root hard for James). I do hope people stick around, and as a newer parent I'll personally make it a point to start posting more. Would hate to see this invaluable resource diminish.

@BB328 posted:

@Momball11

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I wish your son the best while he navigates college ball.

When my son was younger we bent over backwards to sign him up for every clinic or camp we could afford. Did our best to find the right travel teams with quality coaching and development. We were super into it. It was where he spent the majority of his free time. We definitely spent too much money on private lessons. He put in a ton of work over the past 6 years to become a quality HS player.

But as my son gets older I think he desires to not just be a baseball kid but develop other hobbies and continue to excel at school. As other kids hit puberty and due to the type of travel team he is on he is now surrounded by tall big strong kids who throw and hit the ball very hard who have a high ceiling. He has a good bat but he is average size and likely will remain so, athletic and struggling to maintain his weight and put on a few pounds because he is so active.

We will always prioritize academics over athletics and do not have the money to send him to school just because there is an opportunity to join a baseball team. As much as I would love to see him playing in college I have to be realistic and the academics need to be a good fit. I think if he has the drive to continue to push hard and train intensely he could end up somewhere but its now his journey not mine.  I will provide support, help him practice drills, BP and get him lessons when I can but it's up to him now.

He has great travel coaches who have college connections and will play on a regional showcase style team this summer and guest play for fun in a local league. If anyone can get him noticed it would be these guys.

But at 17U next fall if he does not want to play in college we will choose a less serious program and dial it way back from the previous years and try to enjoy the remainder of his HS baseball career.

I can tell you're a great parent and have the right mindset. We didn't have the funds to do privates, but if I did I probably would have done the same. We did pay for a membership to a place where he could lift weights and have access to batting cages. I still am his pitching machine ball feeder when he's home. Except now he drives so I can continue to get my work hours in. I left teaching so I could have flexibility to help him when he needed me. No regrets. We're a bit more comfortable now, but I still do what I can. My latest thing is donating my plasma to help alleviate the expenses for my kids sports. Lol...the things we do as parents.

@greenjb posted:

I just want to pipe up on the original post and say as a 2028 parent how much I appreciate the contributions of folks like @JucoDad, @Dadbelly2023, @fenwaysouth, @adbono and @PTWood (since we live in same area and root hard for James). I do hope people stick around, and as a newer parent I'll personally make it a point to start posting more. Would hate to see this invaluable resource diminish.

Thank you so much for your kind words and your support of James! Both equally appreciated.