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Good luck! 
Been there. Done that. Only now it's at the college level (JUCO). Only the college season starts much earlier - tryouts are ongoing as I type this with the season starting in early February - 56 games by end of April.
Good luck!
The only year I didn't worry was his senior year. Coach rarely cut returning seniors.
Good luck!
The only year I didn't worry was his senior year. Coach rarely cut returning seniors.
Best of luck to both you guys!
My son begins tryouts again in February! I don't think it ever really changes, lol!
My son begins tryouts again in February! I don't think it ever really changes, lol!
I watched some of the try-outs at my kids school yesterday...saw a LOT of kids locked up due to nerves...fortunately it was jsut fielding day, hitting is today, then 2 days of scrimmaging...at least they have time to overcome and still have a good showing.......good luck to you guys.
I remember those days....
First trying out for select teams, then Freshman, JV and then Varsity.
Once those are over and if you made it then comes the next wait - where are you on the depth chart - starter, reliever, etc. How much play time...
Son is a Senior this year. The bigger more dredded wait is what we are now facing - college!
Son has offers but the schools don't align academically with his needs. So the dreaded wait continues....
First trying out for select teams, then Freshman, JV and then Varsity.
Once those are over and if you made it then comes the next wait - where are you on the depth chart - starter, reliever, etc. How much play time...
Son is a Senior this year. The bigger more dredded wait is what we are now facing - college!
Son has offers but the schools don't align academically with his needs. So the dreaded wait continues....
I remember also.
I remember as a 9th grader he came running out of the hitting facility onto the field out into right field where I was sitting and watching/waiting to pick him up after try-outs. I kinda held my hands up like
trying to get an indication if he had made it or not. He just kept looking at me and pointing. I didn't get it - at all.
After practice when he finally came to the car I asked how did he do. He said "Dad, I kept pointing at my new team hat I was wearing thinking you'd know!"
Man, did I feel dumb! LOL
Perhaps the beginning stages of oldmanhood.
My son begins tryouts again in February! I don't think it ever really changes, lol! Now that's about the funniest thing I've read in some time. Tryouts?? That Grabe kid was just a one man wrecking machine last season for the Bristol White Sox in his first season and won just about every award known to man! His only problem will be WHERE he ends up this season!
I remember as a 9th grader he came running out of the hitting facility onto the field out into right field where I was sitting and watching/waiting to pick him up after try-outs. I kinda held my hands up like
After practice when he finally came to the car I asked how did he do. He said "Dad, I kept pointing at my new team hat I was wearing thinking you'd know!"
Man, did I feel dumb! LOL
Perhaps the beginning stages of oldmanhood.
My son begins tryouts again in February! I don't think it ever really changes, lol! Now that's about the funniest thing I've read in some time. Tryouts?? That Grabe kid was just a one man wrecking machine last season for the Bristol White Sox in his first season and won just about every award known to man! His only problem will be WHERE he ends up this season!
Every level that you move to is a "new" tryout and a new hurdle to clear. Never rest, keep working, and always get better.
My son is a Junior in college now. It seems like yesterday that I was worried about his HS tryouts. Where did all the time go?
My son is a Junior in college now. It seems like yesterday that I was worried about his HS tryouts. Where did all the time go?
Well, its seems there really won't be cuts after all. After having 50-55 players in the fall, coach has lost about 15 players for various reasons - grades, dropped out, changed mind, etc. So they are down to ~35.
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quote:Originally posted by Furrybear:
UPDATE: Made first cut. one down, two to go...
Great news. Hopefully he keeps on rolling.
Furrybear, congrats to your son!
Also, congrats to you...you got more information out of your son regarding a try out than I've ever been able to get from mine!
Also, congrats to you...you got more information out of your son regarding a try out than I've ever been able to get from mine!
Congrats on making first cut. Good luck to everyone!!
Good luck to your Kid , let us know the results
The fact that you guys have enough kids to have tryouts is amazing. My son is at a school with 140+ kids per grade....and they'll probably have less than 30 kids total going out for JV and Varsity combined.
Furry,
Some advice from my sons team...
Final cut day is the worst! Usually each kid is called into the office 1 by 1 and told yes or sorry..
Knowing several of his friends were competing for a limited number of spots - each one came out and left the facility without saying anything or showing emotion either way.
That way NO ONE knew who was in or out and everyone could hold their head and not have to say anything.
Words got out but in private later that night. There were some surprises but condolences were done 1:1 not in front of the crowd waiting to go in.
The tradition continues allowing everyone time to absorb and reflect on what just happened and take some of the initial emotion out of it - especially for those who did not make the final cut.
This is usually done on a Friday so kids have the weekend until they have to face others at school on Monday.
I thought this was a pretty nice measure and wanted to pass it along.
Good Luck
Some advice from my sons team...
Final cut day is the worst! Usually each kid is called into the office 1 by 1 and told yes or sorry..
Knowing several of his friends were competing for a limited number of spots - each one came out and left the facility without saying anything or showing emotion either way.
That way NO ONE knew who was in or out and everyone could hold their head and not have to say anything.
Words got out but in private later that night. There were some surprises but condolences were done 1:1 not in front of the crowd waiting to go in.
The tradition continues allowing everyone time to absorb and reflect on what just happened and take some of the initial emotion out of it - especially for those who did not make the final cut.
This is usually done on a Friday so kids have the weekend until they have to face others at school on Monday.
I thought this was a pretty nice measure and wanted to pass it along.
Good Luck
Interesting tradition 2013. No surprises, here. From what my youngest mentioned, the guys that were cut had a feeling all Fall they were well behind.
Thanks 2013leftydad
My son is going through tryouts for the first time. All the teams he's played on were by invitation mostly. I hadn't thought through how sensitive the cuts could be and will have to remind him not to boast about if he makes it over someone else.
Also have to consider what I can say if he's the one getting cut.
How do programs reconcile 4 grades feeding into 3 teams?
Varsity - mostly seniors?
JV - mostly juniors, few Sophs?
Frosh/Soph - mostly Freshman
Assuming there are more than enough kids in each grade to make a team. If 30 or so Freshmen try out, are they looking to fill 15+ spots or are most Frosh/Soph spots spoken for with returning Sophmores?
My son is going through tryouts for the first time. All the teams he's played on were by invitation mostly. I hadn't thought through how sensitive the cuts could be and will have to remind him not to boast about if he makes it over someone else.
Also have to consider what I can say if he's the one getting cut.
How do programs reconcile 4 grades feeding into 3 teams?
Varsity - mostly seniors?
JV - mostly juniors, few Sophs?
Frosh/Soph - mostly Freshman
Assuming there are more than enough kids in each grade to make a team. If 30 or so Freshmen try out, are they looking to fill 15+ spots or are most Frosh/Soph spots spoken for with returning Sophmores?
The team roster make up is usually determined by the coach----no two are the same in their thinking
Some coaches favor seniority. Some go solely by talent. Guess which way is more successful. That said, I believe the senior gets first shot but must be more talented to hold the position. And that said, my son as a soph beat out a senior due to talent. Much of the shot a younger player gets may be determined with how in tune the varsity coach is with the middle school players coming up. My son's coach attended middle school practices and games a few times per year. He would sometimes have the JV practice with the varsity.quote:Originally posted by 2016Dad:
Thanks 2013leftydad
My son is going through tryouts for the first time. All the teams he's played on were by invitation mostly. I hadn't thought through how sensitive the cuts could be and will have to remind him not to boast about if he makes it over someone else.
Also have to consider what I can say if he's the one getting cut.
How do programs reconcile 4 grades feeding into 3 teams?
Varsity - mostly seniors?
JV - mostly juniors, few Sophs?
Frosh/Soph - mostly Freshman
Assuming there are more than enough kids in each grade to make a team. If 30 or so Freshmen try out, are they looking to fill 15+ spots or are most Frosh/Soph spots spoken for with returning Sophomores?
quote:Originally posted by TRhit:
The team roster make up is usually determined by the coach----no two are the same in their thinking
quote:Originally posted by 2016Dad:
Thanks 2013leftydad
My son is going through tryouts for the first time. All the teams he's played on were by invitation mostly. I hadn't thought through how sensitive the cuts could be and will have to remind him not to boast about if he makes it over someone else.
Also have to consider what I can say if he's the one getting cut.
How do programs reconcile 4 grades feeding into 3 teams?
Varsity - mostly seniors?
JV - mostly juniors, few Sophs?
Frosh/Soph - mostly Freshman
Assuming there are more than enough kids in each grade to make a team. If 30 or so Freshmen try out, are they looking to fill 15+ spots or are most Frosh/Soph spots spoken for with returning Sophmores?
There are around 2100 kids at my son's school. They have three teams
Freshmen--made up of freshmen
JV--made up of fresh/sophs
Varsity--made up of the best 18 or so, regardless of grade.
I guess juniors could play JV, but our coach figures that they may not help, so he doesnt let them play JV.
When my son was a freshman, about 70 freshman tried out. He said there were more than that at the meeting yesterday and about 120 total kids to tryout for all three teams.
Also, when he was a freshman, there were 15 freshmen on the freshman team, 9 on the JV team, and two on the varsity team. Of those 26 kids, there are 6 left as seniors. Kids figure it out fast if they will play or not, and they are usually very courteous to kids who get cut. Last year, my son and some of his teammates took some kids out to dinner who got cut after tryouts.
quote:Originally posted by Mizzoubaseball:
...There are around 2100 kids at my son's school. They have three teams
Freshmen--made up of freshmen
JV--made up of fresh/sophs
Varsity--made up of the best 18 or so, regardless of grade.
I guess juniors could play JV, but our coach figures that they may not help, so he doesnt let them play JV.
When my son was a freshman, about 70 freshman tried out. He said there were more than that at the meeting yesterday and about 120 total kids to tryout for all three teams.
Also, when he was a freshman, there were 15 freshmen on the freshman team, 9 on the JV team, and two on the varsity team. Of those 26 kids, there are 6 left as seniors. Kids figure it out fast if they will play or not, and they are usually very courteous to kids who get cut. Last year, my son and some of his teammates took some kids out to dinner who got cut after tryouts.
My son's HS has similar overall numbers in school (over 2000 students 9-12), but I doubt they've ever seen 60 in freshman tryouts (25-30 is more like it).
Its been noticed in a few local programs, the coach had enough players to field two very watered down talent freshman teams, but oh no, they all "made the team". There seems to be a desire to get as many freshman in as possible, so they can get signed up for fundraising. This big number of freshman bunch turn into big numbers of sophomores, again a very watered down mix. By their Junior year, some of them figure it out & quit. I don't subscribe to this approach, nothing but dissatisfaction from the younger players & their parents.
quote:Originally posted by 2016Dad:
How do programs reconcile 4 grades feeding into 3 teams?
Varsity - mostly seniors?
JV - mostly juniors, few Sophs?
Frosh/Soph - mostly Freshman
Assuming there are more than enough kids in each grade to make a team. If 30 or so Freshmen try out, are they looking to fill 15+ spots or are most Frosh/Soph spots spoken for with returning Sophmores?
I guess our area is different. Our county HS has never had a "Freshman" team. It's always been JV and Varsity. Since there was not a middle school or 8th grade team, 8th graders were allowed to try out for JV. Typically 8th graders and freshman tried out for JV. Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors try out for varsity. Sophomores who don't make the varsity cut can try out for JV - unless they are absolutely horrible skill wise they usually make JV. Juniors who don't make the varsity cut are truly in a bad spot as they cannot tryout for JV - it's either make it or no ball. That said, it's very rare a Junior doesn't make varsity. Typically 25-35 tryout for varsity and 35-40 for JV.
This year will be different as the school board has authorized a middle school team. So 8th graders will be restricted to trying out for the MS team only. JV will be freshman/sophomores and varsity sophomores/juniors/seniors.
The HS school is currently an AA school with a student population of ~1400. Not sure what the MS population is. Next year with the reclassification it will be a 4A school.
Just a word of warning - just because there are 15 spots doesn't mean the coach is obligated to fill all of them. During my son's HS baseball career the varsity coach usually only kept 13-14 at the start - he always left room to bring one up from JV. The only time I remember the team at 15 players was during last years playoff run - we had 13 and he brought up 2 more from JV since a few had some minor injuries.
I don't remember the exact makeup of last year's team but I believe it was six seniors, five juniors and four sophomores. And typically the JV coach carried about 15-16 (might lose some to varsity) - about 50% of last years JV squad were 8th graders.
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quote:Originally posted by Furrybear:
UPDATE: Breaking news from dinner...Apparently The Varsity coach had asked the JV coach to speak to Furry jr and let him know he will also be playing outfield next season (primary position 2B)... Safe to assume he's made it?
I would think that any time the coach expresses a plan or a role for a player it is a positive sign.
Congrats Furry!
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Breathe Furrybear! Breathe!
Everything will turn out ok.
Best of luck to your son!
BaseballByTheYard.com
Everything will turn out ok.
Best of luck to your son!
BaseballByTheYard.com
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Glad his hard work paid off. I hope he has a great season.
Tell him congrats and good luck this season!