Totally helpless.

This is a good post, and a good topic.

(I know, I know) ....

Roster sizes aren't necessarily the answer. We have a school of nearly 3000 students. They play baseball 9-10 months/year. There are more than 8 quality position players. There are more than 3 qood pitchers (we have about 8).

But that creates another problem. The function of the HS team is to represent the school and win games. If you routinely pitch more than 3-4 guys, no one will get sharp for the season ... so some underclassmen sit ... some pitchers who are seniors, but a shade behind, don't pitch at all.

When players are near each other in ability, you give the nod to the senior. Your junior/soph has his shot next season.

But ... the only thing I've really learned is that parents just don't have an idea of who is working hard in practice, running their poles without taking shortcuts, or doing all their laps instead of walking some. The coaches usually know, the other players know ... we don't.

Each coach has a personal philosophy. Sometimes it doesn't match ours. I've never seen any team at any level where the substitution patterns of the coach weren't 2nd guessed.

Example: You have your pitcher throwing a no-hitter, but you have a big lead. Do you remove your starters from the field, knowing that the replacements don't get to balls as quickly, so an out with the starters will become a hit with the subs?

These decisions are easy from the stands, but hard on the field. You get on a good travel team where you "fit" and will get playing time. You are seen by colleges during the summer/fall mostly anyway.

But ... on every team in the nation, there are parents who believe that Johnny or Billy should be playing instead of riding the pines. Sometimes they are right ... sometimes they are wearing rose-colored glasses about "lil junior".

Maybe the answer is smaller and more HS. But then you would have a taxpayers revolt. You would end up with schools that can't field a team -- that have no pitching -- where the players cannot defend themselves from a hard-struck ball and don't have the reaction time to be in the IF.

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One of the lessons of HS ball is dealing with adversity. How you handle the competition, (winning AND losing) is more valuable than the game itself. It's a humbling game.

A few points here

01-- most coaches don't wear the same colored glasses as the parents

02-- baseball is a ream game with only 9 spots yo fill on the field--players have to learn their roles and accept them--then work harder to improve their position

03-- parents must learn to accept the role that the player has on the team-- everyone will contribute at one time or another

04 -- The no hitter situation--what a coach does will depend on how big the lead is and how important is the no hitter and how strong is the second pitcher.

Bottom line--- parents need to understand that "daddy ball" ends when the boy gets to high school--the strings are beginning to be cut--- the boy is beginning to mature and realize the oncoming adult world around him--- "daddy" can still talk baseball with the boy but now it will be in the car or at the dinner table not on a ball field. And keep in mind that LL studs are not necessarily HS studs.

May I wish a successful spring season to both players and parents

Last year our varsity baseball team consisted of 13 players. The coach didn't want anyone on the roster that wouldn't get playing time. This year we have 19 players on the roster. Why the change? We now have 7 Sr. starters, 5 of whom have been starters since they were freshmen or sophomores. The coach knows that keeping the younger kids up this year will help them to learn from the older group on the field. Good coaches make adjustments and they have nothing to do with what is going on in the stands.

quote:

There is a simple thing a parent can do when things aren’t going your son’s way. Just stop going to the games. Nothing you can do or say is going to get him off that bench. It is really only the player himself who can change the situation.

I disagree! You don't have to be a baseball guru or an intervening parent to help your son improve his game, his attitude, his work ethic, and his ability to understand the situation. I would never turn my back on the situation as you suggest. If nothing else, he at least needs his parents to be his fans. I have no desire to fight my son’s battles, but we have had many discussions over the past four or five years about what he could do to improve his situation. I think we all have an innate ability to influence others...the question is: “Who do we influence and how do we go about doing it?”
Fungo