What has happened to the meaning of "TEAM"?

Playing with pressure and being able to succeed is what its all about. Those are the players who continue on. Pressure on players comes from many different places and sources....but the good ones will overcome and perform. Pressure from teammates, coaches, parents, press, recruiters, self.... When it comes down to it he needs to just play, its hard maybe in his situation, but just play the game and not worry or over think the pressure thats on him from whatever source it is.

Just play the game he loves to play the rest takes care of itself. The minute he lets himself use "pressure", no matter where the pressure is coming from, as an excuse to not perform,he will never succeed. Because once the teammate pressure leaves there will be another pressure waiting in the wings.

Just play the game.

This stuff happens in every sport, first row violin in the orchestra, lead in the school play and levels of honor roll. Then it happens in the job world over positions and promotions. It goes on in the neighborhood over houses, cars, kids, spouses and second homes. Now what did you say was the problem?

Pressure comes from lack of confidence and/or lack of preparation. Tell your son to believe in himself and tune it out. He'll find out who his real friends are. It's not going to be any different than the rest of his life. The jealousy is just other people disappointed in their lives and accomplishments.

The more I read on this site, the more I realize how fortunate we are here. When a player is getting looks from colleges, teammates are more likely to want to help him look good.

Bleacher Dad, sorry for your experience, but I think the coach sets the tone and strong leadership can prevent this.

Quite surprisingly, most of his real friends don't play baseball, they play other sports.

In the past, he has used the doubt of others to motivate him. He's just surprised, like we all are, that there is a group of teammates that work so hard at bringing someone down rather than building themselves up. But, unfortunately, that's life.

I think that it is jealoulsy on some level. My son is a 2014 playing on varsity for the 1st time. Some of the older boys are saying stuff about him. I told him to suck it up and show what you can do on the field.

Now as a parent it sucks because in my son's case he works harder than all but one kid on the team. The one's talking aren't the ones working hard in the off-season.

He can't wait until HS season is over and start playing summer ball with kids that share the same passion he does.

Interesting thread. Pressure basically comes from within and is manufactured within one's own mind imho.

The only thing he can control is his attitude and effort. Get him to focus on external things that he can completely control without failure. Start by having the best attitude on the team with no expectation to be treated in kind. Focus on being the hardest worker on the team. The guy willing to do all the dirty work such as manicure the field after games or carry equipment or fill the water cooler etc.

He is obviously playing with envious kids who have envious parents but it appears to me that they have touched upon an insecurity - both his and perhaps yours. If he is a D1 talent, it matters not one iota what they think yet based upon your posts here, it appears to matter. The more he tries to play perfectly to "impress" them and "convince" them of his talent, the more he will struggle and fail. Let that baggage go. Focus on those tried and true principles that never fail (attitude/effort) and don't worry about results.

Let those uncontrollable burdens go (e.g., what his teammates think) and the pressure will magically go away as he will find that it is all coming from within his own mind in the first place. He doesn't have to prove anything to anyone. The sooner he realizes that the sooner the pressure will subside and ultimately, the better he will play.

"People throw rocks at things that shine." Taylor Swift

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Let that baggage go.

If your son continues to be a team player I imagine it will blow over soon. Our son's teammates have been nothing but proud for him. If and when your son commits somewhere I imagine they will be excited as well.

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Originally posted by Bleacher Dad:
Several teammates almost seem to thrive on any mistakes 2013 makes, as do their parents.

Well, now you know why. Stupid parents.

Thanks folks! I will pass the comments along to him.

Best regards,
Bleacher Dad

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"Then it happens in the job world over positions and promotions. It goes on in the neighborhood over houses, cars, kids, spouses and second homes."

Lawns RJM...you forgot lawns! With our neighbors...



I erase all doubt. I feed it every decade or so whether it needs it or not.

"Did you hear what gotwood fed his lawn four years ago?"......"Yeah...candy bar wrappers."

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I feel for your son. Believe me, it does not get easier. My child is an expert now at dealing with this. One thing I have never been able to figure out is how can a parent root against their child's teammate. It is absolutely sickening.

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One thing I have never been able to figure out is how can a parent root against their child's teammate.

We had it. The school district is three towns overlaying a LL and a CR. The LL was very successful. The CR program was mediocre on a good day. The former CR people didn't support the former LL players. And this is high school 4-6 years later!

By the time my son was a junior most of the people who were a problem had sons that graduated. The noticeable issues disappeared. Maybe winning the conference for the first time in twenty years and going further than any team in the history of the school made a difference.

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Originally posted by Bleacher Dad:
Just curious if others have ever seen such behavior? To my son's credit, he does not resort to the same behavior when his teammates mess up. But we have noticed that he is putting more pressure on himself...as if the whole recruiting thing hasn't done that already.

We kind of have the opposite thing on my son's team. One of his teammates (2012 RHP - has been clocked in the low 90's) has been getting "looks" by several scouts for the past 18 months. At this year's first game there were 16 pro scouts that came to see him. If anything, all the parents and his teammates, want him (and the team) to do well. I have yet to hear of any pettiness from any players on the team or from any parents.

Why anyone would "rejoice" when any player (D1/pro prospect or not) makes a error is beyond me.

I agree with the others - just play the game and things will sort themselves out. The coach should nip the pettiness - that is definitely not a team.

What I have seen is other teams making derogatory comments to our highly recruited 2012 pitcher. I feel for him as he is a great kid.

Bleacher Dad:

If you think the problem is out there, that's the problem. Help your son to focus on being a great teammate. Every second you or he spends wishing someone else was different is time wasted. Why criticize your son's teammates and his parents? Support them no matter what and encourage your son to do the same and you have the best chance of influencing their behavior. Best of luck to your talented son.

One thing I've heard a lot about lately is that pressure is brought upon yourself. Your son is in the driver's seat, if anyone should have pressure on them it is the kids who don't have the same interest. Sometimes as hard as it sounds playing the game because you want to have fun is the best thing to do.

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Originally posted by Aleebaba:
What I have seen is other teams making derogatory comments to our highly recruited 2012 pitcher. I feel for him as he is a great kid.

I am sure its 90% jealousy and about 10% "what's so great about this guy" mentality. He is solid.

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Why anyone would "rejoice" when any player (D1/pro prospect or not) makes a error is beyond me.

That is a great question. I have been out of it for some time. I can not imagine. As I read some of the posts it just reinforces my opinion of what is going on in some instances. As a coach I do not know how I would deal with a player who would engage in such.