Which HS Team?

Kb2610,
At our high school the players would “try out” for the baseball program and would then be assigned to a team(s). Some players would actually play for all three teams,(freshman, JV, and varsity) during one season. At my son’s high school this was not the school's policy but just the way the head coach wanted to do it.
Fungo

At our HS you tryout for the program and the head coach evaluates and puts you where you fit best. His strong preference is that freshman play freshman ball, sophs play JV, etc. but will move a player up who 1. deserves it through hard work and 2. has the talent and maturity to start at the higher level. He never brings anyone up just for depth. The last 4 year varsity starter here was a position player who now starts for a D1 school nearby and was physically mature as a freshman. If you can't tell, we have an excellent head coach IMO.

Fungo & HMS,

Thanks for the feed-back...makes perfect sense to me. I just wasn't clear how this worked, but I suspect its the same way here. I was just a little concerned that if the player sets his sights higher and doesn't get picked, he may have shot himself in the foot.

Our school is similar to what Fungo discussed. Incoming players who have not participated in the program the year before (either Freshmen, got cut, or just moved here)will tryout over a two week period. Based on their skills they will be "assigned" a team. They do not have to tryout the following years. My son played Varsity last year as a sophomore, but that is rare. We have 18 on our varsity roster, 15 seniors and 3 juniors.

Everyone tries out at my son's school every year. We only have JV and Varsity. You try out and you're placed on the appropriate team by the coach.

Out here you don't tryout for any specific team, coaches place the boys based on fit and needs.

Going with the consensus here - you try out for the program and get placed. Our freshmen have an advantage over some of the schools in our area, where the frosh are still in middle school - easier to get to practice, etc if school is 9-12 like us. We have about 2000 students, we might cut 5-10 kids from JV/V this year depending on how many actually try out. Difference in PA vs Fungo's scenario: PIAA rules: if you play one game/scrimmage at either freshmen or V/JV level, that's where you stay for the year..not ALLOWED to move up or down. I know schools in the Philly Cathloic League allow jumping up and down throughtout the season [not just moving up as a reward for doing well - I know a school who dropped freshmen back down to the 9th grade team [from JV] when they were playing another freshmen team that they really wanted to beat!! Most frosh that try out with us don't have a prayer at JV, but it allows all the coaches more time to evaluate them and get a feel for their game/makeup, etc. Last week of tryouts, we'll tell the frosh that re not moving up to JV to take a week off, until the freshmen tryouts start - this keeps the numbers down for the last week/scrimmages for varsity/JV.

Following up last post, son's school has JV (B) , JV (A) and Varisty teams. The JV (B) team is basically the frosh team but it gives them the flexibility of putting sophs on the team.

Our school has about 2200 kids. Three teams-Sophomore (although it's strictly freshmen?!), JV and Varsity. About 100 kids this year tried out-around 16-18 kept on each team. Freshmen play on Sophomore team only unless able to contribute on Varsity. JV is only sophomores and juniors. Varsity is any grade level. Seniors are on Varsity or are cut. Everyone tries out but there are "varsity candidates" who try out together-most are already known but during tryouts a few players will get the shot.

My 14 y/o son, who is a freshman, and Pitcher, is currently trying out for his school's baseball program. All coaches (e.g., varsity and JV) are looking at all players. Any student who does not make the varsity team will automatically be considered for the JV team. Based on the numbers trying out, there would then be cuts from the JV team. So basically it's a top-down approach.

In the Chicago area most schools have a Freshmen, Sophomore and Varsity teams.

The public schools bring up a lot of Freshman to their Sophomore & Varsity squads and some of the private schools do as well. It depends on how strong of a program. In some of the Private schools you can see as many as 25-30 players on each of the Freshman & Sophomore teams and between 20-25 on their Varsity teams.

Here in Clearwater, Fl... You either make Varsity or play for rec leagues... kinda sucks, because were I recently moved from(WestWarwick, Rhode Island) there was a JV And varsity team , and only about 5 kids would get cut from the teams in the little town There. Now were I live it will be very difficult to make a varsity team...50-60 kids trying out for one team... my chances of making it are very low...But I look forward to playing varsity my JR. And Sr. years.