We have a 2016

Welcome and good luck your son. Many will tell you to enjoy the ride, it goes by fast. Speaking from one who's son just finished his freshman year, you may think he is just a freshman, but our first year flew by.
Encourage him to take ownership of his future. He needs to learn to speak for himself. Help him realize it's a marathon, not a sprint. Listen and learn from others. Understand his high school coach has ultimate authority but you have ultimate responsibility for his health.

Remember what he accomplishes as a freshman, he's just a freshman. Colleges and scouts won't really pay attention for a few years.

Again, enjoy and keep us posted.

Mom

Your post brought back memories my son is LHP and played 1b he is now just about to start his Soph year at college. Seems like yesterday I was in your spot

Dad19 gave you some great advice, the part about enjoying the ride is a cliche but there are reasons for cliches, they are usually very true. High school seasons go very fast.

Have him focus on his grades, "how are your grades" was the at least the second if not the first question every college coach asked my son.

God luck there are many great posts you can find on this board encourage you to take time and read through them.

Welcome good luck and feel free to send me or others on the board a pm.....many posters helped me out during our process you just have to ask.

Welcome!! It's going to be fun! You'll find great information on this site. If you haven't already, start with the green pullout tab on the left side. Follow the timeline & as said by others, grades are # 1 for scholarship consideration.

1. Timeline http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/recruit_timeline.htm

2. Articles & stories
http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/articles_part1.htm

3. Pay attention to pitch counts! In Texas, our season starts in Mar, temps can be in 40's-50's, & howling Northerly winds, as you know. Don't allow him to pitch more than 70-80 per game. And, be mindful of warmups & fielding throws, as well as frequency of outings. Hopefully, he has a coach who will protect his arm. Unfortunately, most HS coaches are looking for a W, instead of what's best for the player. Your son will have to become his own advocate & know what his body/arm is speaking.

Good luck! It goes by so fast!!

It's a breath of fresh air to see some of the newew Poster's on here giving out advise and wisdom to newcomers!

As some of the "Old Guard" fades away for various reasons it's always good to see new faces coming in and filling some big shoes.

My advise: There is a great timeline on HSBBW that if you'll move your cursor over to the left side of this page near the top a window will pop out. Click on "Recruiting timeline" to begin the process.

Good luck!

YGD

Welcome!

Agree that you've already been given great advice here.

If your son will apply himself to his college recruiting process as much as he does to developing his game and making good grades, you'll be very pleased with how the combination helps mature him.

Best of luck to him... and have a great time!

quote:

Originally posted by YoungGunDad:



My advise: There is a great timeline on HSBBW that if you'll move your cursor over to the left side of this page near the top a window will pop out. Click on "Recruiting timeline" to begin the process.

Good luck!

YGD

This is great advice coming from a HSBBW OLD TIMER.

I often wonder how many new posters actually know that this information (though outdated a bit) does exist.

CanyonsMom - Welcome. This site is a wealth of information. The "recruiting timeline" that has been mentioned is a great tool. But we have a son the same age, so i will attempt to use my own ideas to answer your question.

quote:

Baseball is his heart & soul, what should we be doing now to help him have his best shot at college ball.

It is great that he has a love for the game, you cant teach that. I see many kids (and parents) doing many different things trying to get ahead. Some play super competitive baseball at a high price, others seek out private instruction, the list could go on and on. What does your son do on his own without being driven to a practice or instruction? I think at this point playing catch, long toss, taking batting practice, and finding a summer team that will get him the most quality reps is probably going to help the most at this point. the goal is HS baseball for now without that the odds of going any further get really slim really quick.

My son has always had a desire to play for as long as he can. I often ask him if he still wants to play and if so what has he done today to improve? It is his goal and he has to work on it each day. He has a list of things that he can do on his own. Arm bands, work on pitch grips, fore arm rolls, tee work into a net. We play catch or long toss almost daily at a park down the road.

Welcome, best of luck and I hope I was able to help by sharing my own experience thus far.

Thanks for all the input! I've tried to look around the site and there seems to be tons of information. I know it's a long 4 years that will fly by, but I also know we need lots of guidance...it's nice to know I an find it here )

Welcome ... There aren't any stupid questions to be afraid to ask. There are only stupid results due to not asking the question and being uninformed. Enoy the site. Enjoy the journey.