Was it the greatest time ever, like in the movies and on TV, or, in retrospect, was it not at all as expected and there was relief that it was over? Or, was it somewhere in between awesome and disappointing?
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Our freshman year is about to be over. I was so excited. Turn out we’re playing back in little league. Our record is winning but the competition is lack luster. We won because the other team made errors, walks, etc. it’s bad. It’s not fun! Kiddo hasn’t learned a thing. Texas 6A I am so disappointed and wished I had preplan where we bought our home base on school baseball. 😂😂! I wish the competition was tougher.
LOL did you seriously just ask like if it was like in the movies? Is anything in life like it is in Hollywood.?!
Yes my son’s high school career was exactly like Field of Dreams mixed with a little Bull Durham. C’mon man
Junior year coming to an end soon. Ups and downs but overall I’d say it could have been better. Freshman year was Covid, started last year with a herniated disc, started this year with a weird hip injury.
Only a few games left this year and we are looking forward to a rising senior summer. Son is healthy and is looking forward to getting back in the gym for a month before things get crazy.
* it was a bulging disc, not herniated
OK, our experience. But, first the disclaimer that context is everything and not all High School programs are the same. Everything is relative.
My expectation going in: He plays 2 or 3 years of varsity and it's a relatively overall positive experience. Something to look back on, in the future, with favorable remembrance.
The reality:
Freshmen year: He makes varsity and is a starter - which is extremely rare at our school. He leads the team in OBA and HR and plays just about every inning of the season. Clearly well and beyond my expectations.
Sophomore year: Wiped out by COVID-19. Not his fault. Not anyone's fault. But, still sucked and was not what was expected.
Junior year: Misses the first one-third of the season due to injury. Comes back and was totally out of rhythm offensively. A few bright spots but overall a very poor performance hitting and disappointing.
Senior year: Limited to DH at the start due to injury. (Different one than previous year.) Starts off great offensively. (OBA of .600 in team's first five games.) But, suffers another injury (different from the previous year and not the same one that limited him to DH) and is now out of action until...who knows? But, there's only about a month left to the season.
If there was a perfect score of 100 for overall HS experience where each season was worth 25 points, it's looking like it would be a 40 for him: 25 + 0 + 10 + 5 (so far).
Maybe something really good happens in the last month to push it up to 50? But, that's still just so-so overall. And, it's just an "if."
In any event, the overall experience did not meet expectations. Big part of it was COVID-19. A positive sophomore season would have really changed the grade. But, the last 2 years were the fault of injury.
Ours was wonderful in many ways. Our starting line up was the youth travel team he had been playing with since he was 9. Son was clearly the star pitcher, crowds were always full of friends, family and college coaches hoping to recruit him.
There was just one fly in the ointment. Last game of senior year to go to state. One bad pitch. Gave up a home run that ended our season. It's the only thing we would change.
"You're killing me Smalls!"...between COVID, chronic injuries and major surgery plus limited playing time as he recovers, I am sure it is was a disappointing experience. He is fortunate to have the love of his teammates keeping him going. I selfishly pushed him to skip HS ball to train properly as he would get more reps and better instruction to prepare him for summer and college. He is a better person than me and elected to support his friends in his last year of HS and told me he will be ready for summer ball. I told him I would always double down on him, so it SAUL GOODMAN...but I can still come here and vent some.
@3and2Fastball posted:LOL did you seriously just ask like if it was like in the movies? Is anything in life like it is in Hollywood.?!
Yes my son’s high school career was exactly like Field of Dreams mixed with a little Bull Durham. C’mon man
OK, it's just sort of an expression. But, that said, it might be applicable to some? I'm sure there are some out there who played 4 years of varsity, were the star and team captain the whole time, and who got the hit or made the pitch to win the state championship. And, isn't that what happens in the movies?
JV ball freshman year was hard to watch. But it was expected.
The only bad thing about my son’s high school baseball career was a car crash where we spent a night hoping two players would live. It was my son’s soph year. From a baseball standpoint it was two pitchers. The team lost the final four games and dropped out of first.
It was the teams first winning season in six years and fourth in the last twenty. They won the conference the next two years. They made it through districts to states his junior year.
The last two years the team was dominated by my son’s class. They had a great time winning together. Twelve players from his junior year roster went on to play college ball at some level.
Given the past history of the team, seventeen losing seasons in the previous twenty seasons before the new coach arrived and losing his first two, the success they enjoyed and how much fun they had I would say it was more than expected.
Obviously, travel was better ball, but being a good team they faced future college pitching almost every game. As parents it was fun to watch.
My daughter played on an absolutely dominant softball team. They went 54-2 in conference play with four conference titles and four trips to states. They were approximately 98-14 overall. They had five future D1’s and ten future college players on their team.
@Francis7 posted:OK, it's just sort of an expression. But, that said, it might be applicable to some? I'm sure there are some out there who played 4 years of varsity, were the star and team captain the whole time, and who got the hit or made the pitch to win the state championship. And, isn't that what happens in the movies?
I mean, “Contagion” was a Hollywood movie. My son came home from school one day as a Junior in March of 2020 and never had an in person high school class again. No prom. No Homecoming. No Friday night lights Senior year.
@Francis7 posted:Was it the greatest time ever, like in the movies and on TV, or, in retrospect, was it not at all as expected and there was relief that it was over? Or, was it somewhere in between awesome and disappointing?
Son's was great. He really expected to be playing 2B on varsity as a freshman, but ended up SS, P and C on JV. Started at SS the next 3 years and also was the teams #1 pitcher his junior and senior years. Team set the school record for wins in a season his season year and he left with 3 or 4 school hitting records. He and two of the other senior players are now tearing up the local softball league lol.
Looking back, the coach had a long-term plan (although we didn't know that) and it almost worked out. Son was on varsity the whole time. Freshman year was frustrating because we didn't know what to expect, sophomore year somewhat more of the same, junior year was fun because the team started to click, senior season was like a dream, group of 4-year varsity captains, a great group of kids, they won and won.
In a movie, they would have won the state championship. In reality, the dream came to a screeching halt when they ran into a pitcher who had an unbelievable game and their playoff run ended in the first round. Three years later, no-one can believe they lost that game. Just like that, it was over. Maybe they should make a movie like that. Still, that's baseball, and we have many great memories overall.
Baseball mirrors life in many ways. Both are full of surprises, disappointments, triumphs, and heartbreaks. Just like no two lives are the same, neither are any two baseball journeys. That being said, my youngest son’s HS experience was this:
Freshman year: won the starting 3B job on Varsity in the fall. New HC wanted to build a program and was promoting young talent over less talented upperclassmen. I was excited about 2 of my boys playing Varsity baseball together for one year, Parents of 4 seniors to be cut found out, banded together and got the HC fired. Brought in a puppet they could control. First thing he did was demote my son to JV where he broke his hammate bone b/c all they did was hit in the cage. We transferred him to a larger, more competitive school at the end of the year.
Sophomore year: again won the Varsity 3B job in the fall. Fought thru politics and a broken toe and started almost every game. Son’s first varsity base hit was a double off a 95 mph FB from a LHP that will probably make his MLB debut this year. Team underperformed as they were poorly coached but son had a solid year in one of the best 6A districts in Texas.
Junior year: hurt his back lifting weights in the fall. This required ongoing program of rest/rehab. He played thru the discomfort and had a respectable season all things considered. He had back surgery as soon as the season was over.
Senior year: missed fall practice recovering from surgery but was ready for spring. He got off to a good start and, more importantly, emerged as the team leader. Finally being healthy he had a very good season which included getting the hit that put his team in the playoffs for the first time in many years, and a bigger hit that won their first playoff game in 8 years.
Overall, the experience was wrought with injuries, medical expenses, frustration, politics, and incompetent coaching. However, the lessons learned from the experience were perseverance, work ethic, leadership, and how to be a good teammate.
5A Texas HS, at the time (11'-14') arguably toughest 5A region in the state.
Freshman year: Accepted into the baseball class, coerced to play basketball – told he could reenter the baseball class by the BB HC, was not allowed to reenter baseball class after basketball was over, He met with the 2 head coaches and the AD - was reinstated in the baseball class (against the baseball HC’s wishes). I never knew any of this happened until next season, he took care of it all himself – in hindsight, I’m proud of that. I’d hoped he'd make JV, he made the sophomore team (there was no freshman team – so lowest team). Had fun taking photos and watching the kid play.
Sophomore year: No basketball this time, started with JV team but was moved to varsity at the beginning of the actual season due the senior 3rd baseman becoming academically ineligible. Started at 3rd and hit 6 hole all season (went 3 rounds deep in playoffs, team overperformed, he hit 3 or 4 HR’s including one in the playoffs). A lot of fun, senior heavy team, 3 with college opportunities – only one played – Mike Stanton’s son (yes, that Mike Stanton, for a D3). Took a lot of photos, started the tradition of giving each senior a fake ESPN magazine cover for the team to sign at the banquet. Coach was fired after the season.
Junior year: New coach with very different culture that clashed with existing varsity players, lots of drama. We had 11 kids from this team eventually go on to play college ball (2 starters at P5 D1’s). This season should have been amazing, but the team never gelled under the new HC. The old HC was very strict old school, and the new HC was very new age, lots of internal conflict. You could see who was in which camp by how the team lined up and reacted to the national anthem. Player’s not accepting the new coach were standing ram rod straight, heals on the foul line and touching, they'd hold a two count after the last note before moving – the others were nonchalant with hats going on before the last notes. Unfortunately the kid caught mono a couple weeks in and struggled to regain the strength and stamina required to have a great season. (BTW, if you think it might be mono, be sure the doc doesn’t prescribe a penicillin-based antibiotic, or your kid will get an awful case of hives). He played 1st and 3rd and hit in the 4 hole, the team did not make playoffs. Playing summer ball after this season is when I was told he was a D1 type talent both pitching and hitting. (he had not pitched in HS at this point – thinking about that after watching him toss some hitless frames against the Giants this weekend is a little odd).
Senior year: Accepted the first juco offer he received (Hill College), he had concerns about being ready for 4-year academics. (he was not recruited in HS, offers were after junior year and via tryout or camp) Fun season, he had the area lead for HR’s for a couple weeks, played mostly 1st and by the end of the season he was closing tight games (throwing hard, not really pitching). Having a place to play after HS let him relax and enjoy his senior year. They went 2 rounds deep in playoffs and it was over… I took photos, gave them to parents and had a blast. His plan A was to go to juco, play for a D1 or get drafted. Plan B was to join the Coast Guard with a 2-year degree so he wouldn’t start at the bottom. He’s still playing, so plan A worked for him…
I took and gave away a lot of photos, stayed out of politics and pretty much enjoyed the whole process. Youth and HS baseball were especially enjoyable because it was never about the next level expectations, he loved to play and I loved to watch him play - I still do.
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@jucodad...how many milkshakes between frosh and soph year did that kid down? holy...that's the growth spurt every dad dreams of
@mattys posted:@jucodad...how many milkshakes between frosh and soph year did that kid down? holy...that's the growth spurt every dad dreams of
He really didn't get serious about nutrition until coming back from mono his junior year - that's when he started drinking 12 ounces of egg whites with breakfast? Until then he'd gag on the texture of a protein bar or shake.
He bulked up pretty big senior year, too big IMO - juco took it off him a hurry a year later.
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2024's freshman season was challenging. His school's 8th grade season was cancelled by COVID, and he broke his arm after having only played 5 games of club ball the previous summer, so he was really chomping at the bit to get after it. Played JV, performed very well on the mound, at 3B, SS, and at the plate.
Sophomore year has taken a couple of unexpected turns. Wasn't officially named to the varsity team, though everyone knew he should have been, and was named captain of the JV. The reason for being named to the JV team was: "They need to win some games (with him on the mound)." He was so upset he actually threw-up when we got home from the team meeting that night. A couple of the other sophs are significantly better than those on varsity, too. We talk about it, and within a couple of days he's mentally prepared to kick some JV butt.
Team trip to Florida, he pitched the varsity to a win (they only have 2 so far this season) against a solid team, and played well at 3B and SS and did well at the plate in all of the games (varsity). Came back from Florida, and pitched the JV to an easy victory in its first game and got several hits. 2 days later has a flare-up of costochindritis (inflammation of the cartilage connecting the ribs to the sternum) which is very, very painful. A couple days after that, his doctor sees something he is very concerned with and sends him to the ER at STL Children's Hospital, where he is diagnosed with pericarditis (inflammation the tissue around the heart) and has a lot of fluid around the heart, too. After a few days in the hospital and batteries of tests and teams of specialists seeing him, they think he may be dealing with both costochondritis and pericarditis, which have very similar symptoms and can be very painful. Now he is sitting out of practice as per doctor's orders, and sees the cardiologist on May 2nd. Hopefully there will be some good news. Having this to deal with really puts things in perspective for the family. His attitude has been really great, and he hasn't had any pain since being released Due to a very wet spring, he's only missed one JV game the past two weeks, but has a lot of home homework/exams to catchup on. We plan on catching some games of local colleges at various levels the next few weekends so that he can get a better idea of the level of play.
@CubsFanInSTL posted:Now he is sitting out of practice as per doctor's orders, and sees the cardiologist on May 2nd. Hopefully there will be some good news. Having this to deal with really puts things in perspective for the family. His attitude has been really great, and he hasn't had any pain since being released
Prayers that the best news comes your family's way on May 2nd. Thanks for sharing.
@CubsFanInSTL - I couldn't believe it when I read your post this morning. I swear to the heavens that I was Googling the following last night before I ever read your post:
- Precordial Catch Syndrome
- Pericarditis
- Costochondritis
What are the odds?
Last Wednesday, mine was complaining about chest pains. Chest pains?!? WTF? My wife, thinking of all those stories of kid athletes who have heart attacks out of nowhere, says we need to go to the ER.
So, the ER was late at night and kind of sketchy. But, they do an xray and an EKG and the ER doc says it's probably muscular because the xray and EKG looked OK.
Thursday, the kid is still complaining but he goes to his game. He's not playing to be safe. Coach says we can't let you play next week unless you have a doctor's note that says it's OK. So, Friday we go to his pediatrician (he's still 17) to get a note.
Pediatrician says they won't do it because they think no way it's muscular and they say ER screwed up. They insist we see a cardiologist. But, we can't get an appointment for a week from now - even with us telling them that he's still experiencing discomfort.
In the meantime time, I'm Googling stuff.
So sorry about your son. I hope he's better soon!!
Oh my goodness so sorry to hear about your son. Wishing for a recovery so he can move forward. Keep us posted.
Please do the same. Your son has had a very tough senior year!
@CubsFanInSTL, @Francis7 I can only imagine how tough all this has been on the boys and the parents. Prayers sent for a speedy recovery.
I am so sorry @CubsFanInSTL and @Francis7.
Praying for answers and recovery. @CubsFanInSTL and @Francis7. I can’t imagine the emotional stress. Praying for healing.
@CubsFanInSTL and @Francis7, best wishes to both.
Thx @MidAtlanticDad @NY and @PTWood
My 2022 son's HS got on a 7a flight this morning to Florida to play in a tournament. After missing playing with his brother in the 2020 HS season, glad he's having his last HS hurrah....
I'm so sorry that this is happening to both of your boys.
To go back to what I assume was the point of your topic, the stories here show that the HS baseball experience can be derailed from expectations by injuries.
A warning to all, I guess, maybe not to get too wound up about teams, playing time, politics, etc.? And college too (see the current thread https://community.hsbaseballwe...otecting-eligibility), reminder to pick the school because you like it.
2022 player:
Had its ups and downs, but mostly a great experience. Using @Francis7 scale, probably a 85.
Freshman year- Made Varsity with 2 other friends. Only 3 underclassmen the team. Not a bad experience overall. Upperclassmen treated them OK, but not great. Were more concerned about losing their positions and playing time to the underclassmen. Senior Parents kept to themselves and barely spoke to us. Boys were not included in a lot of "off of the field" activities as they couldnt drive to hang out. Left in the parking lot when practices let out early or arrived late back to school on away games until parents could get there to pick them up. They got better as players, learned from the upperclassmen (both in terms of good and bad when they became uppersclassmen). Coach made a bet on these younger players and it worked out. 10 on 25 point scale
Sophomore Year - Varsity again. Previous years senior group was large and graduated out and moved on. Heavy Juniors and 5-6 Sophomores made varsity. Senior Leader steps in and says to the Senior class, this is an underclassmen team, get on board with it or get off of the train. Team is a tight knit group, go everywhere together and hang out off of the field. Chemistry is over the top. Parents outside fence, are all paddling in the same direction and generally like each other and hang out. Undefeated and then BAM Covid shuts the season down. My son is still GREAT friends with the seniors that were on that team and in fact several stayed with us over Christmas since Parents have moved out of state after graduation. 25 out of 25 as far as experience, 0 as far as Covid ruining the season. Most likely would have won state in my opinion.
Junior Year - Varsity. Most of previous years group back on team. Heavy Junior class, lots of Stud Seniors. Best team on paper in all of his years. Started out strong as a team. Fun group of players, super tight knit. Parents are the same. Mid-Season Senior parents in a heavy Junior starter class start to bicker. Team still plays well, purely on talent. Experience was great on field, but off field was terrible as a team and for parents, but son still was with his best friends so made it palatable. 15-25 on the scale.
Senior Year - So far so good. Talented Team and Unbelievable "role" players and parents. Best on and off field experience in all of high school. Seniors take care of the underclassmen. Rides home, rides to dinner with rest of team, never left on their own and always kept involved. Lots of coaching from seniors to the younger guys. Lots of playing time in blowout games for underclassmen. Seniors knew what they liked and didnt like from their time at the school. Planned team dinners weekly, pre-game meals every game, lots of laughter and fun inside and outside of fence and great locker room atmosphere.
Great season going, will make playoffs and will see what comes of it. Team "could" win State and probably should be at the final game, but honestly, mission accomplished for high school regardless of outcome. Seniors set out to be the "best" senior class to come through and wanted to be remembered as the ones that treated everyone with respect and like brothers. To date that is the consensus among the parents I have talked to. 25-25 on scale.
Hollywoodish? Maybe... Storybook HS career for mine with a lot of great memories, yes.
Freshman - JV good year playing with friends. 15-25
Sophomore - JV destroying the ball. Probably pulled up to play varsity with older brother. COVID ended it. 5-25
Junior - varsity starter for 2 weeks replacing injured senior. Replaced by recovered senior. Gets an at bat. Grand slam. Plays the rest of the year. Go deep into playoffs. 20-25. HOF head coach retires.
Senior - varsity. New head coach that never moves into area. Lives with his parents in area. His wife and kids in old school. Helps start booster club. Alienates booster parents. Alienates coworkers(teachers). Alienates other coaches.
Season starts, ranked and winning. Gets multiple parents banned from the field. Disbands booster club. Announces he's moving back to old school as the Athletic Director. Team starts losing. Coach tries to get two more parents banned. Half the team calls our AD to quit the team. Gets fired.
Lots of popcorn eaten while observing this year long cluster ... Can't say that I disagreed with the choices made on the field. All the crap done off the field is a different story.
New interim coach, still in the hunt for playoffs. New coach is actually training, teaching and coaching the boys. Son likes the new energy.
Now they're off to win the state championship for the Hollywood ending.
We had ups and downs. Super happy, extremely frustrated. Miss it and looking back, an amazing time and experience for our boys.
Freshman year (17-2): Super talented school. Made freshman team (very very few freshmen start any higher). Played with friends, won district, son got pitcher of the year.
Sophomore year (13-2-1): One of 2 sophomores to make varsity. Had 12 seniors on the team multiple P5 commits and 2 future day one draft picks. Coach asked son to change his arm slot or sit on the bench. Sat on the bench. Told the coach he would like some opportunities to pitch in JV games. Those were the most fun he had all year (us too). Got 12 innings with 25K, 7 hits, 3 ER.
Son committed to a P5 over the summer
Junior Year (37-5). Was on varsity. Was one of 3 pitchers who pitched the majority of our innings. One guy who would be drafted in the 2nd round at the end of the year got hurt, which opened up for my son to pitch double the innings of anyone else on the team. Did well and we went to the semi finals of 6A state. Very cool experience. Sending off the team for playoffs, etc., meeting for pregame, great times. It was the farthest into post season since becoming 6A and the first time getting through the 3rd round. Son got pitcher of the year.
Senior year, varsity (14-2-1). What we had all been waiting for. Very talented team. Son was getting a good amount of attention and 15-20 scouts at each game. We had an amazing group of parents on our team as well, so everyone was so excited and actually enjoyed each other. We were in a tournament in San Antonio and all the parents were at the restaurant between games. Got a call that the coach told them it was possibly their last game due to covid. I called a few parents who had skipped and told them to jump in their cars. It was the last game a lot of them ever saw their sons play. Looking back it doesn't even seem real. The coach had decided my son would only pitch district games, but I told him to pitch. Went in for the final inning. He was on his way to a fantastic senior year. 12IP, 26K, 1BB, 2H, 0ERA. Got MVP
Nothing has ever really been the same since. Overcrowded rosters, injuries, arm slot changes. Currently a sophomore in college. If we could go back and do one thing, I wish we could have played that senior season. Kids missed out on a lot and they were great kids, great teammates, had great parents...almost like in the movies
Thanks for the positive vibes, everyone!
@Francis7, the initial "incident" was in August of 2021. 2024 pitched a complete game and really brought that day. A couple of days later he mentioned that his chest hurt a little bit, but everything else was OK. A little bit later he was in a lot pain, said it was hard to breath, etc., we we ran off to the ER, fearing it was heart-related. They ran all kinds of tests, and the Dr. said that based on what she saw and after consulting with other doctors, it looked like costochondritis, which my wife and I had never heard of. They gave him something to help with the pain (nothing heavy-duty) and he was absolutely miserable for a couple of days, not getting much sleep as he couldn't lay down or get comfortable and the pain level was pretty high. Missed several days of school.
No cure for costo, as it turns out. Checked with doctors, chiropractor, and they all said it is miserable and that there isn't much that can be done (chiropractor was able to help a bit). I scoured the internet, and all of the info out there echoed what we had heard. There were, however, several stretching exercises recommended, and from what we learned, the inflammation in the chest was most likely caused by issues in the back. Saw several recommendations for something called a "back pod" and got one for 2024. He's been using it religiously and doing the stretching exercises, but did have flareups on November and January, causing him to miss several days of school each time as the pain is rather intense (we opted to avoid opioids).
The most recent one we simply assumed was costo once again, as the symptoms were exactly the same, but this time the pain was more intense, which prompted us to visit with his doctor to see if he can get a referral to a rheumatologist (this was recommended by a pharmacist friend of mine). Our son's MD took a chest X-ray and said that when he compared it to the one in August, the heart was noticeably larger, thus the trip to the ER at Children's and admission to the ICU.
The first 3 episodes lasted 5 days each. The last one a couple of days longer. 2024 would be mentally exhausted due to lack of sleep. Missing school made things even worse as it was always tough to catch-up, and when he was back in school he was a bit of a zombie for a few days. Meds consisted of over-the-counter anti-inflammatories as directed by doctor. He sleeps in a reclining chair, but for the most part is upright, when the flareups occur.
When this initially happened, we thought it was due to the "extra exertion" from the game a couple of days prior combined with some "growing." He was really grunting with each pitch, and the extra zip was noticeable.
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Played all 4 years - ✅
Still healthy - ✅
Contributing every game - ✅
Graduating - ✅
He seems happy as hell 80% of the time. So I would say it’s at least an 8/10. He’s a lucky young man, and we’re a lucky family. I wish the best for everyone else.
So sorry to hear it. Your road sounds worse than ours. Son had a game last Wednesday. Came home that night and said he almost had to come out because of chest pains. We asked him if it started in the game and he said no, they started in the morning earlier. Of course, he never told us AND he went to the gym for 2 hours before the game. I know...I know...WTF?!?
We went to the ER that night.
Thursday and Friday he was still experiencing them. Also over the weekend too "but not as bad."
Yesterday (Monday), was the first day without chest pains although his heart was "racing" last night. Then again, he was in a car accident yesterday evening too. (Seriously, you would think I was making this up! He was on the highway and debris from the bed of a pickup in front of him came flying through the air and hit his windshield. Could have been A LOT worse. Just damage to the windshield and he's ok but was shaken up.)
Never a dull freaking moment. No wonder why I am exhausted all the time.
@Senna posted:Played all 4 years - ✅
Still healthy - ✅
Contributing every game - ✅
Graduating - ✅
He seems happy as hell 80% of the time. So I would say it’s at least an 8/10. He’s a lucky young man, and we’re a lucky family. I wish the best for everyone else.
I don't remember every detail of every year for all three sons, but agree with Senna's list. All 3 boys loved baseball, but for different reasons. High school baseball was about growing up, being a leader or follower, finding your place in high school and being part of a team. There were incredible game moments that I will never forget. But the one moment I will take to my grave is when my youngest son (who was shy, struggled with school, didn't play travel baseball until 14yo) made the JV team in 9th grade at a school known for baseball....I will never ever forget that look on his face when he saw his name on that team list. Baseball changed his life at that moment, and he became more confident.
Frankly, I don't think my kids even remember every little baseball detail as my youngest graduated high school in 2015 and my oldest in 2010. We had to have a "come-to-Jesus" with their baseball equipment, awards, plaques, trophys, etc... in our house. I surreptitiously loaded all their stuff in their cars when they came to visit on a Holiday. I know their team pictures and game balls made the cut as I've seen them in their houses. Thankfully, all of it is out of my house.
My son had highs and lows, probably like most kids. He got to play in a great high school program - 11 state championships in about 20 years. He struggled to find his way some, had limited opportunities behind better players, had significant knee injury and surgery, became pitcher only, and showed out big time his senior season as the #1 pitcher. He was named to a high school All-American team and got to play in college. I think he has mostly good memories of high school baseball. I hope so. Probably closer to awesome than disappointing
Youngest son.
Freshman - started varsity was all-conference, all-district and all-state. Had a .380 era with 56 innings pitched and 119 K's. Batted .409. OBP .593
Sophomore - started varsity and same awards. Had .000 era with 56.1 innings and 112 K's. Batted .412. OBP .600
Moved from Missouri to South Carolina.
Junior Year - started varsity and same awards plus 2A player of the year. Had .240 era with 58 innings. Batted .442. 27 walks with 2 strikeouts. OBP .654
Senior Year - same awards. Had .517 era with 68 innings. Batted .327. 30 walks with 10 strikeouts. OBP .632
Career - .396 BA. .633 OBP. .294 ERA. 238 IP with 434 K's and 56 walks. Gave up 2 HR's in 4 years. Played in 88 varsity games.
But all of this has been surpassed by the experience of being at UT the last three years. Has been a major contributor out of the pen. Omaha last year and #1 this year and team setting all kinds of records individually and as a team. He would tell you now that his HS career was nothing compared to what he has experience the last two years and no one would have expected it when he or most of his teammates were recruited by UT.
Two words…. It sucked. Sons career goal is to be a HS head coach. He definitely learned how NOT to coach in HS, so there’s that. Playing in college has made up for a lot of the mistreatment in HS. Night n day difference.
We had a horrible baseball experience and then an excellent baseball experience in HS.
My son's experience had highs and lows. Class of '21.
He started out both pitching and playing outfield. He was one of six freshmen on the JV team - his high school had a freshman team. There were no freshmen on Varsity that year. By the end of the year, he was mainly pitching and had the lowest ERA on the team.
Sophomore year, he was the only sophomore of the six that didn't make Varsity. That was a gut punch. He worked his butt off and was the true leader of the JV team, again with the lowest ERA. He was still playing outfield but his focus was definitely shifting to pitcher only. He was put into some stressful situations (like bases loaded, no outs, score tied) and would get out of the inning without allowing a run to score.
Junior year, he makes the Varsity team. He pitched in one scrimmage that I didn't attend. I made a stupid joke and said "hope that isn't the only time you pitch this year." Later that week, the team played their only game and COVID shut down everything the next day.
Senior year was a shortened season. The school wasn't sure there was going to be any season until the last minute. Only two spectators were allowed per player until almost the end of the "season." For the first time in a long time, my son enjoyed playing baseball without any pressure. He knew where he was going. The team was not going to have any playoffs, so the season didn't really mean anything other than just enjoying playing ball. And once again, he had the lowest ERA of the team.
Of the six guys who made the JV team as freshmen, two are no longer playing ball. Two (including my son) are at D3 schools. One committed to a D1 school the summer going into senior year and is currently on the team. One walked onto a mid-major D1 team and is also currently on the team.