The two major changes in HS bb in the past 15 years

Biggest thing I see is the sense of entitlement players/parents seem to have!! Earning a spot has lost its luster!

Understanding that more players have more access to good coaching because of technology, I don’t know that “better” swings has been the result. Logic tells me hitters in general have improved, but I haven’t noticed improvement, significant or otherwise. It may well be true, but how does one measure it?

The slidestep is something different. I think that one depends entirely on what’s common in any localized area. In this particular area, the SS has always been pretty much generally accepted as something that’s a valuable weapon in a pitcher’s arsenal. But again, I don’t know of any way to prove it one way or the other because I know of no way to measure it.

quote:

Originally posted by turnin2:
Biggest thing I see is the sense of entitlement players/parents seem to have!! Earning a spot has lost its luster!

I think that’s a phenomenon that’s pretty much localized. I know the kids on our team value making the roster very highly because the torture of getting on the roster is such a trial. But, there are programs where there’s not a lot of competition for spots, and thus it’s a lot easier to make the team.

And I don’t think its got as much to do with the size of the school as some may believe. We have 2,000+ students and have 30+ players trying for the V, 50 isn’t at all abnormal trying to get on the JV. But not 5 miles away, there’s another school of over 2,000 students that can’t get enough kids to come out to make a JV and V team. Meanwhile there’s a school right up the road that’s 2 divisions below us, and they often not only have the same number of players going out for the V and JV, they have another 25-30 trying for the Fr team. That doesn’t sound impressive until you see a large school like ours, and we no longer have FR sports in our school district.

The slidestep, without a doubt, has had the biggest impact in high school baseball over the last 15 years.

Our local school televises high school games and the introduction of HD has made the slide step nothing short of riveting drama.